Friday, June 12, 2009

Whats blooming in mid-June

I do not have much spare time to write this week but I want to keep a log of the color changes as we move through the season..so here is this week's tally.

WOW - Butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) everywhere is big and orange and beautiful. Most of these plants are slow to show their foliage in spring, (mine didn't show until after the hostas even), but as soon as we got heat, they went crazy. I love this plant. It is stunning, loves heat, and is not very demanding.

Daylilies (Hemorocallis), all kinds are showing off, especially the old fashioned orange and the tall yellows. Stella d'Oro, a reliable repeat bloomer, is around on many a development corner, and look nice in small bunches in corner gardens too.

Hydrangeas are really lovely this week. I have seen all colors, but my favorite is a warm pink in an old old homestead in Woodbine.


Lots more perennials blooming are: Coneflowers, Echinaceas and Rudbeckia; Magnolias, Southern and Sweet Bay are looking good and smelling nice too; Garden Phlox; and Knockout Roses.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Events, Saturday June 6

BAMBOO

At Carver Food Park, a community garden in sw Nashville, Adam Turtle speaks on temperate bamboos.
1001 Gale Lane (corner of Gale and Lealand) 12 noon. More info: Sizwe Herring at 300-2941

GARDEN TOUR

"Seeds of Hope"
The Seeds of Hope Garden Tour will showcase eight unique gardens in Oak Hill, Belle Meade, and Green Hills. The annual Tour benefits at-risk youths ages 16-24 who reside at the non-profit Monroe Harding campus in Oak Hill. Tickets are $12 in advance at www.monroeharding.org or any Bank of Nashville location

http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=186144425365&ref=mf


HIKING/TRAILS

It's also National Trails Day with at least four opportunities in Nashville for enjoying the woods and other folks while helping with park projects.

http://www.americanhiking.org/NTDSearchResult.aspx?sId=42

Opportunities!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Zone Detour

What a difference a zone or two makes!

I was in east Tennessee/western North Carolina last week (Which was it?... Both in fact. I was hiking a portion of the Appalachian Trail, which straddles both states, in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.)

It was pleasing to notice the wildflowers blooming as we started our ascent in the 4000' elevation range. Blooming were white trilliums, solomon's seal, false solomon's seal, some small yellow lilies that I couldn't identify. I thought it interesting that these were just blooming, as they peaked in Nashville area late April/early May. Several weeks difference .


Microclimates As far as I can tell this area of the mountains is zoned 7a, so it is not much different than our 6b. But at 4000-5000' or more in elevation, in the mountains, the understory is a lot cooler as well. Nashville peaks at around 1100 feet.


Driving into the area, around 2000' we saw plenty of Rhododendrons blooming, but up in the mountains the rhodies were just showing buds. I did find this one beauty...it had a lot of western exposure and was growing quite near a large rock which probably reflected back some heat.



We can consider microclimates in our own yards and plantings: sunnier areas, reflected heat from patios, sheltered areas, extra dense shade. These all will create variations in the growth and bloom of your plants. Even the cool spring we had was noticeable here in Nashville. My butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa), always late to emerge, was slow in gaining height. Despite the rain. But two weeks of rising temps and a few days into the 90s... and it grew monstrous and today, first of June, is about to bloom.


A few more mountain plants: at lower elevations we also saw plenty of mountain laurel,Carolina allspice, and an umbrella magnolia in bloom. And just for fun, here is a doghobble bush in bloom (aka fetterbush, aka Leucothoe).



A final detour on our trip was a visit to the Joyce Kilmer National Forest, a tract of old growth timber (unlogged since Europeans arrived, and protected since 1936). Go see this, in person. It's an easy walk from the parking area to see Tulip poplars (Liriodedron tulipfera) over 400 years old., 15 to 20 feet in girth. There's nothing to compare with experiencing old forest like this with your own five senses. You don't have to go to the west coast to see living giants.
http://www.main.nc.us/graham/hiking/joycekil.html