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Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780807854730 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | The University of North Carolina Press |
| Publication date: | 10/13/2003 |
| Edition description: | 1 |
| Pages: | 288 |
| Sales rank: | 1,039,859 |
| Product dimensions: | 7.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
Garden Perennials for the Coastal South
By Barbara J. Sullivan
The University of North Carolina Press
Copyright © 2003 The University of North Carolina PressAll right reserved.
ISBN: 0-8078-2795-9
Chapter One
The SeasonsWinter: The Gardener's Secret Pleasures
You may be one of those people who love winter in the garden. Instead of sitting inside and reading about plants, you may wander out and cut camellia blossoms to float in a bowl. You may revel in the intense fragrance of winter daphne. Maybe you keep a disreputable-looking old parka, a woolen hat, and a pair of heavy work gloves by the back door just in case the mood strikes. The secret here is that puttering in the garden is not only possible all winter long; it can be a source of quiet, peaceful pleasure.
The garden in winter is made up of a mixture of evergreen and deciduous shrubs, ferns, herbs, vegetables, bulbs, perennials, and annuals. It won't be the lush, visually stimulating production that a midsummer garden is, but it can be an oasis of beauty on a different scale and with different values.
It requires first and foremost neatening, trimming, and mulching, so that weeds and decaying plant material don't detract from the more subtle design of the minimalist winterscape. Paths, garden beds, and lawn should all be cleaned up and edged, so the winter garden can show through. The British have used the concept of dirt mulch to great effect for generations. And the African tradition of the swept dirt courtyard has the same spare grace. There's something to be said for a bed of neatly raked dirt in which each individual plant is seen to advantage-especially in winter. And winter mulch in the form of bark, pine straw, or other organic material will be the soil of summers to come.
There are a number of ways of creating winter pictures. Large rivers of gold or gray groundcover can offset the silhouettes of deciduous shrubs or small trees and will provide a beautiful backdrop for winter-blooming bulbs. Squared-off plots of salad greens, cabbages, or chard can be combined into tapestries of color and texture. Even a simple pair of cement containers overflowing with tangerine and copper-colored pansies will bring an otherwise drab scene alive. Often winter plants are the last ones we pay attention to because we're so used to focusing our efforts on spring and summer. With some planning, however, a garden can work in all seasons.
Trees and Shrubs
The bones of a garden will show in winter. This is when evergreen trees and shrubs such as magnolias, camellias, azaleas, Indian hawthorns, viburnums, hollies, loropetalums, mahonias, and fatsias, among others, provide the all-important context for the rest of the garden. Each of these gives year-round value for the investment. Probably the most beautiful and classic winter-blooming shrub for the coastal South is the Camellia japonica, which produces colorful peony-like or rose-like blossoms for weeks at a time. There are hundreds of named cultivars, some blooming as early as November and some continuing on until May. A good place to start to learn about the history and variety of these beautiful shrubs is through your local camellia society.
Another excellent shrub for winter color, Mahonia x media 'Winter Sun', produces showy yellow flower panicles from November through January. The dark plum-colored leaves of loropetalum (Loropetallum chinense 'Rubrum') are often offset by shocking-pink flower tassels in winter. The deciduous holly Ilex 'Sparkleberry' will give you plentiful clusters of red berries for months in winter. Ilex verticillata 'Scarlet O'Hara', with its male pollinator (guess who?), is an especially outstanding holly for rich, red winter berries.
On a less showy scale, there are a number of viburnums (Viburnum spp.) that produce masses of attractive flat white or pink flower umbels in late winter and early spring when flowers of any sort are truly appreciated. Lauristinus (V. tinus) is especially reliable, with tight, pink flower clusters opening white. Several cultivars of Lauristinus have been developed, including 'Variegatum' with creamy-yellow-margined leaves. The deciduous, shrubby viburnum V. grandiflorum produces clusters of pink-flushed white flowers on bare stems all winter long. If you can't have snow in winter, plant V. grandiflorum 'Snow White' for its white flower clusters emerging from dark pink buds.
One evergreen winter bloomer, which is particularly known for its remarkable scent, is winter daphne (Daphne odora). Unlike the camellias, hollies, and viburnums, daphne has a reputation for being difficult. It needs perfect drainage, not too much sun or shade, and even in the best of conditions it may drop dead for no apparent reason. This presents the kind of perverse challenge gardeners leap at.
Equally stunning to those who appreciate nature's eclecticism are the dramatic pale green candelabra of the fatsia fruit (Fatsia japonica), which stand out beautifully against its large, tropical-looking, dark green glossy leaves for several months beginning in late fall and continue throughout the winter. Other eye-catching and persistent winter fruits include the bright orange hips of rugosa roses (Rosa rugosa) and the red-orange fruits of firethorn (Pyracantha coccinea). If you have room for it, grow the eight-foot-tall, arching winter honeysuckle shrub, Lonicera fragrantissima, and let it perfume the air all winter with the scent of its many, tiny whitish-pink blossoms.
The smaller, more compact L. nitida 'Baggensen's Gold' provides golden-colored foliage, a valuable addition to the spare winter garden. Along the same lines is the brightly variegated Euonymous fortuneii 'Emerald and Gold', which will stand out brightly at the feet of evergreen shrubs. And the classic gold dust plant (Aucuba japonica 'Variegata') will light up even the shadiest, driest corner with its yellow-splotched, glossy evergreen leaves.
Certain outlines can be especially striking in the winter garden when everything else has died back. Palm fronds and the dried blades and plumes of decorative grasses add drama to temporarily depopulated spaces. The variegated Spanish bayonet (Yucca filimentosa 'Golden Sword') shows off its creamy, sword-like leaves to advantage at this time of year. An espaliered ivy or camellia against a white stucco wall, a strategically placed topiaried shrub, or the peeling bark of a river birch may become the star players now that the competition is dormant.
Shade-Loving Winter Beauties
When things clear out in December, we come to appreciate those perennials and their companion plants that have been looking good all year but have gone unnoticed against the more colorful summer and fall plants. These include the large, glossy-leaved holly fern (Cyrtomium falcatum), the finely incised autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), and the various fir-textured club mosses (Selaginella spp.), each of which provides an important evergreen anchor to otherwise unstructured bare patches and an excellent accompaniment for winter bulbs. That old Victorian standby, the cast-iron plant (Aspidistra elatior), retains its arching foliage year-round, as does the yellow-spotted gold dust plant (Aucuba japonica 'Variegata').
Winter is also when the Lenten roses (Helleborus orientalis) are at their best. In the shady woodland garden their subtle greenish-white or plum-colored bells hang demurely above and underneath handsomely lobed evergreen foliage just waiting for someone to come and take a peek at their maroon-freckled interiors.
Another treasure is the Italian arum (Arum italicum), which sends up its narrow, arrowhead-shaped leaves just in time to take over from where the hostas have died back and gives us handsome dark green foliage all winter. It, in turn, loses its leaves during the hot months when the hostas resume the point-counterpoint pattern.
Winter Vines
When the winters are mild, we can enjoy the flowers of the classic trumpet honeysuckle vine (Lonicera sempervirens). Flowers can be anywhere from deep yellow to orange-yellow to red. The coral-pink-and-yellow flower clusters of coral honeysuckle (L. heckrottii) may also appear in winter if the weather is mild.
Winter jasmine (Jasminum nudiflorum) can be trained as a vine or as an arching shrub. Its attractive, leafless green branches bear bright yellow, salverform flowers in a sunny spot in late winter. A near relative, downy jasmine (J. multiflorum) has woolly gray-green leaves and bears clusters of white starflowers in late winter and early spring. Downy jasmine can be trained as a vine or weeping shrub.
Winter Groundcovers
Groundcovers also pull their weight in the lean months. They gracefully mask the ground around dormant perennials and provide a nice carpet for jonquils, paperwhites, summer snowflakes, and other winter bulbs. Small-leaved, variegated ivies (Hedera), sedums (Sedum), low-growing members of the lily family such as monkey grass (Ophiopogon) and lily turf (Liriope), cream-edged variegated periwinkle (Vinca), the cheerful gold of creeping jenny (Lysimachia nummularia 'Aurea'), and the soft, silvery carpet of lamb's ears (Stachys byzantina) can provide a tapestry of color and shape in the dormant garden, sending the unmistakable message that someone is carefully tending to and nurturing this spot of ground.
And there will be attractive evergreen basal leaves of obedient plant, coneflower, columbine, and other perennials to add interest. Even the artemesias, lavender cotton, and dusty miller-if they haven't been allowed to become too leggy over the summer-can lend an attractive, slightly bushy, evergray presence.
Herbs and Strawberries in the Winter Garden
If you're looking for a variety of textures and fragrances to combine with your winter bulbs and annuals, you may want to try herbs. Parsley, mint, lemon balm, thyme, chives, Greek myrtle, and Mexican tarragon (in Zones 8b and below) are just a few of the evergreen herbs that can be used in the winter landscape as well as in the stew pot. They can be arranged in an herb garden of their own or in any sunny spot in lieu of a groundcover, to edge a bed, to fill out a container, or to mix and mingle.
The woody, gray-leaved herbs, rosemary and germander, can be grown as handsome subshrubs and will produce tiny, bright blue flowers to cheer you during the winter months. Borage is a gray-leaved annual herb that grows best in the cooler weather from fall through spring in the coastal South, producing clouds of blue, saucer-like flowers at the end of its growing cycle.
One of the very loveliest edging or groundcover plants for winter is the ornamental strawberry plant (Fragaria 'Pink Panda'). The handsome, dark-green, toothed leaves and freely produced delicate pink blooms are outstanding for their fresh appearance in winter and even more useful as an accompaniment to early-blooming bulbs.
Winter Delicacies
Other delicate winter flowers include the simple violet-colored blooms of the evergreen vincas (Vinca minor and V. major), the classic charm of white or blue tufted violets (Viola cornuta), and the pink or white five-petaled flowers of wood sorrel (Oxalis). All of these will begin blooming in late winter or early spring depending on the clemency of the weather.
Surprisingly, two cultivars of the perennial pincushion flower, Scabiosa columbaria 'Butterfly Blue' and 'Pink Mist', may bloom during mild winter months even though in other places Scabiosa is a summer flower. The lilac blue or pale pink pincushion-like flower heads and healthy foliage are a welcome sight, especially if planted in sizable groupings.
Winter Vegetables
Winter is also an excellent time to make room for vegetables in your perennial garden. Cabbages and kales (including the highly ornamental, but not very tasty, frilly pink and purple varieties), the eye-catching rainbow-colored Swiss chards, a wide variety of lettuces, mustard, carrots, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, collards, onions, and cauliflower all grow very happily in winter and can be incorporated into any garden scheme. Many of them produce interesting flowers just before they bolt into oblivion. Even if you don't grow vegetables in summer, you can make room for them in winter where your hot-weather annuals have died back. Treat yourself to a freshly picked lettuce and herb salad on New Year's Day!
Winter Bulbs Paperwhites and Other Early Narcissi
When we're still well and truly into the lean season of short days and long nights, we have the luxury of paperwhites (Narcissus tazetta var. papyracceus), a plant grown only indoors in other parts of the country. Their nodding white clusters and evocative scent contrast fairly dramatically with the relative spareness of the rest of the winter landscape. They will bloom most prolifically if lifted and replanted more deeply (about six inches deep) every few years. A cream-and-yellow relative of the paperwhite, the Chinese Sacred Lily (N. tazetta var. orientalis), blooms in winter in the warmer parts of the coastal South. By far the most durable and reliable of the paperwhites is Narcissus tazetta 'Grand Primo', which has persisted in Southern gardens for generations. It needs no lifting or dividing and can stand both wet and dry conditions. However, since it is hard to come by 'Grand Primo', you may wish to substitute the creamy white, double-flowered Narcissus tazetta 'Erlicheer', which will be equally permanent, although it may take a few years to get established.
Another early-blooming Narcissus (really a kind of small wildflower) is the Lent lily or N. pseudonarcissus. The Lent lily, with its pale-and-deep-yellow blossoms on short stems, seems to thrive on the vagaries of our winters. N. tazetta 'Avalanche' with white petals and a lemon yellow cup blooms somewhat later.
The most prolific of all early-blooming daffodils in our climate are the hoop petticoats (N. bulbocodium), tiny grassy-leaved gems with narrow star-like petals and rounded cups that can be counted on to form large colonies over the years. Hoop petticoats may bloom any time from midwinter to early spring.
Spring Starflower and Summer Snowflake
Other late-winter-blooming bulbs include the tiny, milky blue starflower, Ipheion uniflorum, its flower a cheerful starry wonder when skies may still be leaden and most perennials still dormant. You will often see Ipheion naturalized in lawns and the strips between sidewalk and street. They work equally beautifully among pansies and the late-winter/early-spring bulbs in the perennial garden.
Continues...
Excerpted from Garden Perennials for the Coastal South by Barbara J. Sullivan Copyright © 2003 by The University of North Carolina Press. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Table of Contents
Contents
Preface
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Garden Where You're Planted
1. The Seasons
Winter: The Gardener's Secret Pleasure
Spring: An Abundance of Beauty
Summer: Mad Dogs and Salvias
Fall: Rebirth
2. The Best and Worst Plants for Coastal Gardens
Fail-Safe Perennials
Perennials to Avoid
3. The Types of Gardens
The Dry Sunny Garden and Gardening at the Beach
Coastal Shade Gardens
The Subtropical Garden
4. The Companion Plants
Companion Plants for Perennials: What Are They?
Bulbs: The Food Storage Experts
Vines and Climbers: Fee, Fie, Fo, Fum
Groundcovers: Watching Jenny Creep
Ornamental Grasses: Beyond Pampas Grass
Ferns: Easy and Rewarding
Herbs: Rosemary for Remembrance
Annuals: Easy Come, Easy Go
Roses: Timeless Beauties
5. Practical Gardening Tips
Using Perennials in the Landscape: Where Do You Want Me to Put This?
Soil Basics: The One with the Best Dirt Wins
The Care, Feeding, and Propagation of Plants: Ignore Them and They Will Go Away
A-Z Plant Guide
Recommended Reading
Internet Sources for Information and Ordering Plants
Index
What People are Saying About This
Aware of the basic problems we face in day-to-day gardening. . . . An A-to-Z plant guide that is concise and useful. . . . Dipping into [this] book is a pleasant and educational experience.—Free Lance Star
A fundamental volume for gardeners in that hot and humid stretch from the Gulf Coast of Texas to Tidewater Virginia. This attractive and authoritative guide covers everything from companion plantings to 'fail-safe' perennials.—American Gardener
Whether a gardener is new to the coastal South or a lifelong resident, he will find this large format book an indispensable and beautiful addition to his gardening bookshelf.—Rocky Mount Telegraph
A thoroughly researched book.—Gainesville Sun
A beautifully illustrated book that will appeal to both beginning and experienced gardeners.—St. Augustine Record
Offers a wealth of knowledge for gardeners who aim to please Mother Nature, especially where she's a tough taskmaster.—Virginian Pilot
This book is packed with great information for all southern gardeners, from the casual to the very dedicated. . . . This engagingly written book is filled with many gardening solutions, nicely complemented with over 200 color photographs. It should be a great resource for the simple gardener to the landscape architect and general horticulturist. In addition, it will provide many enjoyable hours of reading.—HorTechnology
Garden Perennials for the Coastal South fills a huge void by providing good solid gardening and specific plant information to native coastal residents as well as those recently transplanted to the area. The acknowledgment section of those consulted is a who's who of plant experts from coastal Virginia to Texas. If you garden in the Coastal South, this is both great reading and an indispensable reference. Two green thumbs up!—Tony Avent, Plant Delights Nursery