Southern Gardening

Just as sure as the leaves start changing colors one of the sure signs that fall has arrived is when your local garden center has their beautiful fall mums on display. Each year nurseries grow acres of mums for us to enjoy during the autumn season. We call these plants mums, which is actually short for Chrysanthemum, and are an easy way to add color to the fall landscape. And it’s easy to see why fall mums are so popular because there are more flowers than you could possibly count. The selection of colors can fit almost any design scheme, from rustic earth tones to bright and cheery pastels.

Our friend Jason has converted an old baseball field into a pumpkin patch and to play off the classic movie line, “if you plant them, they will grow”, pumpkins that is. Pumpkins, as well as gourds and squash, are interesting plants and many folks don’t know that they have both male and female flowers. The male flowers have only the pollen producing stamens. The female flowers have the pistil and have what looks like a baby pumpkin behind the flower. It’s pretty easy to see the difference, but it’s also important to know that the actual pumpkin comes only from the pollinated female flowers.

Several years ago we briefly showed a plant that was new to many gardeners. After growing this plant I’m convinced that Golden Thryallis is a must have plant for our Mississippi landscapes. Golden Thryallis is a fantastic fall flowering shrub that is known botanically as Galphimia glauca. Flowering starts beginning in July with the plants in full flower from August 1st until early winter. The flower clusters are a very bright yellow that simply can’t be missed. Adding to the color are the red stamens and pistil. The flower petal bases are also tinged with red.

The fall season is always a favorite of mine as our flowering landscape plants get a second chance to shine. Today we’re at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona taking a look at some of their display plantings. I’ve always liked the varieties of cutting zinnia, maybe even more so in the fall garden. The vivid colors of these varieties, including Benary Giants, are impressive especially on the tall stems. With the range of colors including white, pink, yellow, and purples, these are perfect for cutting to be enjoyed indoors.

I love the use of different textures and plant heights for layering in the landscape. Let’s take a look at a great example at the North Mississippi Research and Extension Center in Verona. If you know me you know I love Hawaiian shirts, so it should come to no surprise that I love these varieties of tropical elephant ears. Blue Hawaii has leaves with prominent bluish purple veins with undulating edges. Diamond Head has intense jet black leaves with corrugated texture. Maui Gold has chartreuse leaves with small purple dots and looks great with the black leaved Diamond Head.