Southern Gardening

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

My recent stroll through the display gardens at Mississippi State University's Truck Crops Experiment Station brought a few pleasant surprises. The biggest was the Persian Shield.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Dancing Flame salvia lives up to its name in a couple of ways. This spectacular variegated salvia with scarlet flowers mesmerizes like a fire dancing at night.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

I have fallen head over heels in love with Chocolate Mint, a new coleus making its debut this year.

The catalog refers to the leaves as having a chocolate-colored line with mint-green margins, but to me the leaves are a dark mahogany, and the margins are a dark lime-green color.

Chocolate Mint is made for the shade or filtered-light area of the garden. I first thought the plant could not take our intense heat and humidity, but it is a real trooper once acclimated.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It was a hoot watching gardeners fight over the papyrus plants at this year's garden and patio shows. Botanically speaking, the papyrus is Cyperus papyrus.

If you remember your elementary history, this plant is native to Egypt and was used for making papyrus sheets for writing. Our word “paper” comes from “papyrus.” It is a close relative of the umbrella palm Cyperus alternifolius, which is from Madagascar.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Most gardeners think spring is the best time for gardening, but if you haven't tried a fall garden, consider putting one in now. These can be the best gardens all year.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The Imperial Taro is one of my favorite cold-hardy elephant ears for lending that lush Caribbean look to the garden. Most elephant ears are thriving this year in a summer that started off dry and now has followed with almost daily monsoons.

The Imperial Taro can be found under a couple of other names like Illustris and Antiquorum. Most catalogs refer to them scientifically as Colocasia antiquorum var. Illustris. However, the real botanical name is Colocasia esculenta.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Lime continues to rock the garden world. Recently, I have been enjoying a new iresine, or beefsteak plant, called Blazin' Lime.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Gardeners looking for the perfect hanging-basket plant are finding an outstanding option in the new Bonfire begonia, which produces hundreds of fiery, scarlet-orange flowers. Bonfire brings incredible beauty and a rugged nature.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Lime green is a hot, hot, hot color in the garden, and it won't be long until the new Limón talinum will help soothe the quest for this jewel color.

Botanically speaking, Limón talinum is Talinum paniculatum and is in the portulaca family. It is native to the West Indies and Central America and has common names of Fameflower and Jewels-of-Opar.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Whenever someone tells me they have quite a bit of shade and want to plant flowers, I always direct them to impatiens. These tropical-looking flowers from East Africa are literally unbeatable for season-long color.

Long before we had all of the dazzling choices today, our grandparents and great-grandparents no doubt felt the same exuberance for their version called Touch-Me-Not.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

We can complain about the lack of rainfall this year, but we can't complain about the beautiful and fragrant petunias that are blooming everywhere we turn.

Even though they all have been photogenic, this year's All-America Selections winner Opera Supreme Pink Morn is catching my eye.

If you knew how hard it was for a new petunia or petunia series to get established in today's competitive market, then you would know how special the Opera Supreme Pink Morn is.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The word chaos is about to have a new meaning in landscapes. Webster's dictionary defines “chaos” as extreme confusion or disorder. This may describe your garden. In my case, it describes my office and garage. You will think differently about chaos after seeing Pink Chaos coleus.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Orange is a color in the garden that cannot be overlooked. It just reaches out and grabs you. I recently wrote about blue, the complementary or opposite color for orange, and said this was a marriage made in gardening heaven. Whether you want a marriage or not, orange can stand and dazzle all on its own.

On a color wheel, orange is between yellow and red and is the hallmark color of the hot side of the wheel.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Magilla perilla became an instant hit a few years back probably because of its funny name that appealed to a generation who grew up watching Magilla Gorilla. It has since reached legendary status because it is a tough-as-nails plant for sun or shade that works in any style garden.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The lantana is probably the plant you're looking for if you want a flower that gives vibrant color from late spring though frost. Lantanas, which are native to tropical America, are related to verbenas and have the common name shrub verbena.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Periwinkle planting time is here, and you have got to try the 2007 Mississippi Medallion award-winning Titans. The Titan periwinkles really live up to the name in vigor and performance.

The botanical name of periwinkles is Catharanthus, which means pure and without blemish. That is how you will feel about the Titan series. You may remember them as Vinca rosea, but the official name is Catharanthus roseus.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Blue is one of the colors that catches your eye when used in the garden and is a color we all treasure.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Irises are among the most versatile plants for the North American landscape. They are prized for both flower and foliage.

Mention iris, and the first one that comes to mind is the bearded iris. The spring bloom of the bearded iris is a site to behold because of the size and shape of the bloom and its deeply saturated colors.

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

It's hard to believe that a native, spring-blooming tree can be so passionately loved from the Gulf Coast all the way to Pennsylvania and New York, but that is how people feel for the Grancy Graybeard.

They are known as Old Man's Beard or white fringe tree in some areas. It is in glorious bloom now in the lower South and as spring arrives further north, it will bring joy throughout the rest of the states.