Southern Gardening from 2002
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
It seems no new plant has captured the fancy of gardeners this year like the gaura. From Picayune to the Madison County garden tour and right on up to Oxford and Tupelo, everyone has been admiring the gaura.
Gaura is still a new plant to the majority of gardeners, but leaders of garden clubs and horticulture tours are catching on to the enthusiasm for this plant's unique floral display.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
One of my favorite plants since I was a child has been moss rose. Moss rose is known botanically as Portulaca grandilfora and has green fleshy succulent leaves with unbelievable flower power.
Moss rose is native to Brazil and has a ground-hugging habit, which means you cover much more space with fewer plants.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
This time last year I accepted a new challenge, horticulturally speaking, when my family moved into another home with a sun-challenged yard. Shade inspired us to plant azaleas, hostas, ferns and cast-iron plants like crazy, but some of the most enjoyable flowers have been the impatiens, especially the Fiesta double or rose-form impatiens.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Gardeners, get your checkbooks out and start shopping for daylilies. Ideal planting time was a couple months ago, but daylilies are blooming everywhere now, and this will aid you in making your selections.
I'll confess that in the past, I have looked at daylilies with tunnel vision. I have only wanted those that give the best landscape impact for massing as a bedding plant. For this type of use, one has to admit that Stella d Oro is No. 1.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
It seems that unless a plant is a flashy bloomer like New Gold lantana, then it really doesn't get the recognition it deserves. One such plant is the bluebeard, known botanically as Caryopteris x clandonensis, and called caryopteris by most gardeners who grow it.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
An old-fashioned plant at the New Orleans Botanical Garden recently just blew me away with its beauty. It was an old cosmos variety called Sensation. Cosmos are native to Mexico and related to coreopsis and rudbeckias.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The popularity of Mexican Heather exploded in the 1980s, and this plant, also known as false heather, is still an excellent choice. Other species and varieties from Mexico are tough, good looking and unique enough to possibly interest your children or grandchildren in gardening.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The castor bean, one of the South's best old-fashioned plants, really starts to attract attention this time of the year. The castor bean is undergoing a revival of sorts -- not only showing up in the rural cottage gardens but also in places like Northpark Mall in Jackson.
The castor bean has been grown in the United States for a long time but comes from northeast Africa. It is in the Euphorbia family, making it related to poinsettias and copper plants.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The Outback Sunset lysimachia has surpassed my greatest expectations. Although several people predicted problems from Mississippi's afternoon summer sun, I had the perfect location that afforded shade after 2 in the afternoon.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Fountain, maiden and muhly grasses are among the most popular ornamental grasses, but watch for the new kid on the block, Mexican feather grass. The Mexican feather grass, known botanically as Stipa tenuissima, will bring an entirely new look to the garden.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
They say, "seeing is believing," but in the case of Salvia van houttei, seeing is wanting, whether you are a hungry hummingbird or a gardener with an eye for color.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
When I say you need some fiber, I'm not talking about bran flakes for breakfast. If you love tropical plants as much as I do, you have got to try the Japanese fiber banana in your landscape.
Even though it is a tropical, gardeners on the Tennessee border can grow this cold-hardy banana species. The plant is known botanically as Musa basjoo. The banana gets about 10 feet tall and adds great interest to the landscape.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Many people are looking at tired gardens in the late summer and fall, but Miss Ann is a friend near Terry, Miss., who will tell you it's time for Mississippians to enjoy four o'clocks for their beauty and their fragrance.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Chrysanthemum shopping time is close at hand, and while I would like you to buy the Belgian mums and others, you must have the old-fashioned Clara Curtis, also known as Country Girl.
This heirloom plant from Russia has a new name: Dendranthema zawadskii. It is still in production because it is an heirloom, but mainly because of its glorious fall display of large, rose-pink flowers with orange disks.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
My choice as the poster child for tough and beautiful plants is the small tropical plant Joseph's Coat, which livens up landscapes with its richly colored foliage.
From late spring until frost, Joseph's Coat performs admirably in the garden, making it a favorite of home horticulturists and commercial landscapers. In fertile well-drained soil, it is a problem-free plant.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The gardening world truly is coming of age when a millet or grain is named an All American Selections Gold Medal Winner. Even before the public learned that Purple Majesty was a winner, they were craving it and buying up the limited quantities.
Thousands of shoppers have seen it growing this year at Northpark Mall in Jackson and wondered what it was. In the Northpark garden, it was used with cannas and elephant ears for a really unique, if not exotic, look.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
As you drive around neighborhoods and see gardens, the old-fashioned cosmos stands out like a beacon. I am not talking about the pastel pink and burgundy ones but the brilliant orange and yellow Cosmos sulphureus. This drought-tolerant member of the aster family hails from Mexico and Central America and loves Mississippi, too.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Three recent experiences provide evidence that tells me Mississippi growers and garden centers are hitting the mark when it comes to the newest plants.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The fall planting season is one of my favorite times of the year, and it is evident that many Mississippians feel the same way. The first cool snap makes people want to get ready for pansies and violas. Garden centers are already bringing in supplies of the rugged winter annuals.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The fountain grasses are among the prettiest plants in the landscape at this time of the year. They transition well from working with summer flowers to fall mums and ornamental kale and cabbage.