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The English dogwood's blooms are produced by the hundreds along arching stems, forming a beautiful, fountain-like appearance. (Photo by Norman Winter)
May 7, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The big, fragrant, long-lasting blooms of the English dogwood, or Mock Orange, make it one of the most beautiful plants of mid- to late spring.

The Limelight hydrangea has an extended season of incredible blooms from midsummer through fall. It has small leaves and an incredible quantity of flowers that start off almost white, then change to bright, light lime and finally turn pink as fall approaches. (Photo by Norman Winter)
April 30, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you love hydrangeas and lament when they quit blooming for the year, then you should buy the 2009 Mississippi Medallion Award-winning Limelight hydrangea. This hydrangea gives an extended season of incredible blooms from midsummer through fall.

The native coral honeysuckle is a fiery red to orange with yellow on the inside. The trumpet-shaped blossoms are a treat to ruby-throated hummingbirds and butterflies, and the flowers give way to fruit relished by birds such as the cardinal and purple finch. (Photo by Norman Winter)
April 23, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you are one of many gardeners wondering what native plants to put on your arbors or trellises, consider honeysuckle.

Mention the word honeysuckle, and many people get as irritated as they do when imagining bamboo or kudzu in their gardens. Of course, most are thinking of the Japanese honeysuckle, Lonicera japonica.

The cheerful lavender-pink of the Senorita Rosalita cleome combines well with other flowers and greenery in any type of garden. (Photo by Norman Winter)
April 16, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

If you choose the right flowers, your garden can have an exciting, festive atmosphere all summer long. If you’re looking for the life of the garden party, you need to look for the 2009 Mississippi Medallion award-winner Senorita Rosalita.

This outstanding new cleome creates interest and excitement in the garden by offering an intricate, spidery flower structure.

Perennial phlox bloom from the end of May through the first frost and are available in more than 100 varieties. These Peacock series phlox combine well with the rich colors of salvias. (Photo by Norman Winter)
April 9, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Gardeners across the country cherish phlox, but it is one of dozens of plants that get passed over because it is typically not in bloom when it’s shopping time.

Flambé chrysocephalum is a proven winner in Mississippi with honors from New York to Florida and Minnesota to Texas, and most states in between. It has nonstop blooms on a plant that is drought tolerant, heat tolerant and frost tolerant to around 30 degrees.
April 2, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As you shop your local garden center this spring, keep your eyes open for the 2009 Mississippi Medallion award-winning Flambé chrysocephalum. It has the ability to make itself at home in your garden, and it is one of the toughest plants you will grow.

The Mississippi Medallion award program began in 1996 when it recognized New Gold lantana and Blue Daze evolvulus. This year’s award went to Flambé for its stalwart performance in Mississippi’s extreme heat.

Slim Jim eggplant offers exceptional dark purple foliage and iridescent lavender-violet blossoms and can be grown as an ornamental. (Photo by Norman Winter)
March 26, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Whether you are interested in an edible landscape or a plain old vegetable garden, you will want to try the 2009 Mississippi Medallion award-winning Slim Jim eggplant.

Slim Jim is the fifth vegetable to win the Mississippi Medallion award. The others are Purple Ruffles basil, Mini Charm tomato, Tequila bell pepper and Red Giant mustard. You'll find these and other vegetables and herbs at your local garden center.

Supertunia Raspberry Blast is an attractive, deep hot pink with a dark cerise star accent at the throat of each blossom. (Photos by Norman Winter)
March 19, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A trip to any garden center this spring will likely show that petunias are increasingly popular. Though there are dozens of varieties from which to choose, one group rising to the top is the Supertunia.

Many trial reports have given top honors to the bright-pink Supertunia Vista Bubblegum and the reddish-purple Vista Fuchsia. However, shoppers at a recent garden and patio show preferred the Supertunia Raspberry Blast and Supertunia Royal Velvet.

Allow Wojo's Gem vinca to hang down from baskets, creating a great vertical element. This planting uses Wojo's Gem with Dragon Wing Red begonia, Melampodium and Diamond Frost euphorbia for a dazzling combination. (Photo by Norman Winter)
March 12, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It won't be long until you start thinking about designing your mixed containers, and when you do, remember Wojo's Gem. This exceptional variegated vinca gives an incredible performance as a spiller plant.

When we mention the formula of “thriller, filler and spiller” or “tall, small and fall,” I think sometimes we put too much emphasis on the thriller plant and let the filler be treated as an afterthought.

The fiery orange and yellow flowers of Scooter Flame scutellaria will prove to be a delight to visiting hummingbirds. (Photos by Norman Winter)
March 5, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It's always interesting to see the crowd favorites at garden shows, and the winners at the recent Gulf Coast Garden and Patio Show appear to be Kangaroo Paws and skullcaps. These are the plants the throngs of gardeners were elbowing each other to purchase last weekend in Biloxi.

Kong Salmon Pink coleus partners well with Dark Chocolate coleus. Despite the deep, dark chocolate color, these plants grab your attention in shady locations.
February 26, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A lot of gardeners ask me what they can grow in shadier parts of the garden to add color and pizzazz. If you find yourself asking that same question, it's probably time to let Kong loose.

The Kong series of coleus was selected as a Mississippi Medallion winner a few years ago, and it has continued to be one of the largest-leafed selections and tops in color.

The warm, cheerful yellows of a large, naturally growing forsythia and a patch of daffodils complement the cool, deep purple flowers of a fine saucer magnolia. A concrete bench encouraging visitors to pause and take in the beauty of spring is the perfect finishing touch. (Photo by Norman Winter)
February 19, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Mention complementary color schemes in the garden and your first thought is probably of flowers. The idea can be carried further to include shrubs and small trees, and spring is a great time to put it on display.

Groundcover conifers offer a staggering difference in texture because their leaves are needle-like. This Parson's juniper contrasts with the smooth, glossy leaves of the fatsia, a large tropical-looking shrub.
February 12, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Your first thought of shrubs for your home is probably the staples like hollies or ligustrums and showy bloomers like azaleas or camellias. Those are great choices, but I want you to consider using some conifers.

While many conifers are tall trees like pines or bald cypresses, shorter conifers like the shrub-type junipers offer a lot for the landscape.

This outdoor fireplace with Adirondack-style chairs, matching coffee table, end table and loveseat creates a room that is soothing and inviting on our cooler days. (Photo by Norman Winter)
January 22, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A trendy new word used throughout the landscape design industry is “nesting,” and the outdoor fireplace certainly has become a focal point in new nests. While the phrase “feather your nest” may be for the birds, each of us has that opportunity as well.

Wine and Cheese is a new blend that offers red, burgundy and peach in a most enticing arrangement.
January 15, 2009 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Flames are dancing in the fireplace and I know an arctic blast is on its way, but I am looking at photos of Cotton Candy, Wine and Cheese, and Roccoco, which sounds like a delightful chocolate. These tasty-sounding names are all new selections of verbenas.

While we're stuck inside waiting for warmer weather to arrive and the rain to stop, this is a great time to plan which plants you will use this year in your landscape and mixed containers.

Winter landscapes look good when they include bones, berries and bark. This scene has all three, with American holly and its plentiful red berries in the foreground, the smooth, shiny bark of crape myrtles, and the deep, dark greens of the bushes, which serve as the "bones," or structural foundation, of the garden.
January 8, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A lot of people dread winter because the landscape starts looking a little like Siberia, but it doesn't have to be that way if you remember the “three Bs”: bones, berries and bark.

The widely varying Acanthus family of plants has many terrific varieties for the landscape. Here Persian Shield shows off its iridescent purple and silver foliage. (Photo by Norman Winter)
January 1, 2009 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

I've decided to go where no garden writer I know of has gone before and give a “Family of the Year” award for 2008. Time magazine recognizes people of the year and Barbara Walters lists her 10 most interesting. I want to recognize the Acanthus family as my “Family of the Year.”

I was inspired to give this award this fall when a couple from Brookhaven sent me a photo of a 4- to 5-foot-tall plant with the most amazing blooms I have ever seen. They wanted me to identify it.

Joey is a hot, new plant from Australia that is coming this spring. Its 4-inch-long flowers have an iridescent sheen of neon pink and silver that are bottle brush-like with a little tilt at the top that hints at a feather. (Photo by Norman Winter)
December 25, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

At this time of the year, some people look back and reflect and others look to the future. Joey, a hot new plant from Australia that is coming this spring, will have us looking to the future.

Nonstop Fire, or Begonia tuberhybrida, is a blaze of orange and yellow. The plants develop lateral branches, giving a great mounded look for baskets and planters. (Photos by Norman Winter)
December 18, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

2009 looks to be the Year of the Begonia. This is not an official proclamation but my expectation of the incredible new begonias that will debut this spring. From hanging baskets to the landscape, begonia lovers can rejoice.

Penny violas and ornamental grasses make great cool-season mixed containers. Here a few Penny colors are mixed with the long stems of the carex.
December 11, 2008 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

A few Pennies can make your winter landscape look like a million bucks.

I'm not talking about the proverbial penny saved or even the penny found lying on the sidewalk. The Penny I am talking about is not copper-colored but perhaps a rich orange, deep blue or one of more than 20 other colors.

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