July 7 , 2011
Tough plants for tough times|William Welch Heirloom Gardening in the South
The garden ’s under serious droop alert . Not many of my plants are whiners , but right now I need ear hack . Crinum ‘ Ellen Bosanquet ’ did n’t join the chorus , though she delayed her annual performance by about 10 days until she got a dose of rainfall .
She is a tad grouchy , but has seen worse since Louis Percival Bosanquet hybridized her around 1930 in pureness of his married woman .
Like us , she sags within minutes when her flush open in other morning . By former afternoon , when spectre give her a break , she ’s done for the solar day . But she ’s a tough previous broad who rebounds the next morning .
Then , in the scalding good afternoon sunshine on July 4 , the mystery pink crinum in the cat cove decided to put on some fireworks . This one acquire full sun almost all day . To each her own .
Both of these were passalongs , and their recent story is glued to mine . But as we meditate when rain will come our direction again , permit ’s get the backstory behind some of our toughest plants .
In Heirloom Gardening in the South : Yesterday ’s works for Today ’s Gardens , recently release byTexas A&M University Press , William C. Welch and Greg Grant captivate us with the cross - cultural thawing pot of garden purpose that influences us today .
To separate you a few of the stories , this hebdomad on CTG , Tom touch with William Welch , Texas A&M Extension Landscape Horticulturist .
Today ’s design found their roots in the settler who brought along their seed , air division , and visions , eventually revised and mix as the thaw pot converged .
InHeirloom Gardening in the South , find out which aboriginal plants were respect for survival , those that made their agency to our shore , and the I that have stick it out through buddy-buddy and thin . Discover the reason behind “ swept gardens ” and how plants like crinums andPhlox paniculata‘John Fanick ’ found their elbow room into our backyards .
In this beautifully written and illustrated book , Bill and Greg prompt me of the origin of my reliable oxblood lilies . Some Septembers , drouth deters them a bit , but I never lose them .
For years , Bill and Greg have been my vicarious garden mentor . As a new nurseryman , I devoured their book , The Southern Heirloom Garden(their newfangled book is an expanded and revised interlingual rendition ) . Other Book by William C. Welch to add to your subroutine library :
- Perennial Garden Color * The Bountiful Flower Garden : Growing and Sharing Cut Flowers ( with Neil Odenwald )
And be certain to moderate out Greg Grant ’s heirloom flora stories and cultivation wind atArcadia Archives . Also , every month inTexas Gardener magazine , travel with him along the back route of flora story and restoration .
Onto my Christmas Kindle , I even got his Kindle ledger : In Greg ’s Garden : A Pineywoods Perspective on Gardening , Nature & Family .
On tour , the past run across present ingarden clothes designer Mitzi VanSant’spositively adorable 1929 Arts and Crafts bungalow and formal garden in Smithville .
She was but a name to me when years ago , she joined theTexas Rose Rustlers – along with William Welch , Michael Shoup , Pam Puryear , and many others – to deliver old , hardy rose and bring them into refinement
In her new garden , 2011 encounter 1929 with hardy roses and other fragrant plant , along with vegetable garden line with pass - along fleur-de-lis . See how she design a children ’s garden to pass along to her grandchildren the sensational memories from her grandparents . On Mitzi ’s website , The Fragrant Garden , get her various plant listto include in your waterwise garden .
Daphne ’s plant of the workweek , Lamb ’s ears ( Stachys Byzantina ) , found its way to Central Texas from its pedigree in Turkey , Armenia , and Iran .
Its small fuzzy silver - gray foliage is a scrumptious command prompt against blossoming plants or tall evergreens . As Daphne tells us , its enemies are poor drain and too much water , which lead to rot . And even though it likes sun , Daphne prompt us that it wants some protection from hot good afternoon sun . I can attest to that ! I ’ll spare you the word-painting : it ’s gruesome .
Plus , get her summertime survival tips . For sure , take a respite and let your plant have one too . forefend fertilizing and pruning ( luminousness deadheading is okay ) . Raise that mower up and never mow more than 1/3 off the top . I watched someone scalp my neighbor ’s yard last weekend . What little grass was left will be utter by this weekend .
But you’re able to fecundate and trim your pond plants ! Steve Kainer fromHill County Water Gardens & Nurserydemonstrates how to straighten up your pool plants .
And , get his technique to fertilize your pool container with ONE 10 - 26 - 10 tablet per gallon of pot .
Until next hebdomad , hang in there ! Linda
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