southernmagnolia's Blog

Red Mittens in the Trees
Sep 18, 2009 | 2:31 AM PST
Tags: sassafras , tomatoes , zinnias , hummingbirds

I was standing out in our backyard, looking into the woods.  The sassafras trees' leaves are turning red and look like childrens' mittens waving in the breeze.  A few leaves fluttered from oak trees and blew to the ground.  I like the changing of the seasons because it gives me a sense of freshness, newness, renewal.  I like the autumn because I love the holidays, and autumn gets me thinking about how I'll decorate this year.

The garden is drying back and the zinnias are about spent.  I leave the flowers there until I quit getting any new blooms.  I can't bear to yank them out when they are still producing flowers, even though the stalks are getting splindly and the leaves are turning brown.  The pentas are still going strong and the hummingbirds are still visiting.  Last year we saw the last one in early October. 

I am not a tomato gardener.  In all, we have gotten 21 tomatoes from the two plants and I didn't think they tasted any better than grocery store tomatoes.  For all the effort and the cost of the plants, I am not going to put them in again.  Not unless someone I personally know gives me some plants that will yield some really flavorful tomatoes. 

I am going to Southern Vistas nursery today and get some new flowers for the fall and hope to put them in this weekend. 

The Beautiful Zinnias
Aug 6, 2009 | 6:56 PM PST
Tags: giant cactus flowered zinnias , impatiens , salvia , geranium , tomatoes

I got home late from work. Our company has moved to a new office and I am working late every night doing extra tasks associated with the move.  Tonight I didn't get home until almost 8:30, but it was still light outside so I went out and sat on the low brick wall and looked out over my garden.

It is looking good.  The zinnias are opening at a record pace and they are so lovely.  God definitely loves color.  He sure makes those zinnias the most lovely shades of orange, pink and yellow.  I love to drink in the colors with my eyes.  I am happy that this year I put in a wide variety of flowers with the zinnias, impatiens, salvia, forget me nots, flocks and pentas.  Everything seems very happy although I am learning to plant some of the low plants out away from the tall ones that shade them.  Leftovers from last year are the Mexican heather, the dead nettle and a couple chrysanthemums.  Oh and the hot pink geranium I nursed through the winter on the dining room table.  The butterfly bush is doing well too.

The tomatoes are okay, although they seem like they should be getting some new fruit.  The same 13 tomatoes have been hanging on since mid-July, and no new ones have set on.  The fruit that's there looks good, at least to a novice like me.  I keep hoping for the gargantuan tomatoes that the plant labels promised... but right now they look like the size of most grocery store varieties.  Hopefully they will keep getting bigger.  And someday they'll be red and ripe!

 

 

Mid Summer Garden Update
Jul 11, 2009 | 4:06 AM PST
Tags: slugs , zinnias , salvia , pentas , tomatoes , forget-me-nots

This summer everything is taking a long time to get accomplished.  After the slugs were killed off, I put two large zinnias in and waited.  They both did well, and are continuing to grow and bloom profusely - one pink and the other orange, both with double petals.  After no slug damage, the following weekend I put in 3 packs of zinnia seeds, two are the giant cactus variety and one of the doubles.  Wow, are these coming up strongly and so many - like over 100 plants are growing in 3 beds.  I just hope they have enough sunshine to bloom for a long time into the fall.  The house shadows these beds come fall.

The pentas are doing well and the hummingbirds are enjoying them.  This year, I have red, lilac and white ones.  The birds go for the reds first. 

Yesterday I bought 18 red salvia to plant where the pansies pooped out.  I am hoping the hummingbirds will enjoy them.  Last year I had a salvia in a planter and I remember the birds checking it out.  So later today I will get busy planting them. 

My husband wanted to see if we could grow some tomatoes so we went and bought two plants back in mid June and put them in.  Just this week I saw that 4 little maters are setting on, right now only the size of marbles.  But this is exciting for us.  We haven't grown any vegetables in more than 25 years.  So I hope they do well and that the sunshine will continue on them long enough for them to get big and ripen. 

The forget-me-nots didn't bloom this year and now the leaves are fading.  I thought that there was something wrong with them, but I got on a gardenguides forum and asked a question and found out that they bloom early in the year.  So they will hopefully be full of blooms next Spring.

We had a nice long Spring this year, but now it is a typical South Carolina summer with very high temps.