Southern Gardening

Today I'm at the MSU South Mississippi Branch Station in Poplarville checking out the Zahara zinnia in the trial gardens. Zahara zinnia are tolerant of hot and droughty conditions, and that's good for our Mississippi landscapes. Zahara zinnia are great choices for providing annual color in the landscape. The selections in the Zahara series are well branched to support the abundant flowering. There's a wide range of new colors including yellow, white, and scarlet. A favorite of mine is Starlight Rose.

One of the true native southern fruits that many homeowners enjoy are Muscadine grapes. Muscadines are a popular with home owners in Mississippi because of their natural adaptability, resistance to pests, and the delicious fruit. Today I am at MSU's McNeil Research Unit in Pearl River County where the USDA/Agricultural Research Service grows a wide variety of Muscadines. Muscadines grow well in the heat and high humidity of Mississippi and in late summer will reward the homeowner with their sweet, fruity flavors. Muscadines should be planted from November through February.

Canna lilies are another easy landscape plant that everyone should have in their garden. Cannas are valued for their large tropical foliage and showy, brilliantly colored flowers. Many gardeners are familiar with the big cannas that have to be grown in the back of the planting bed. With their upright growth habit canna have an almost statuesque presence in the landscape. But the plant breeders have been at it again, developing selections that have dwarf characteristics. At 16 to 24 inches tall, these canna demand to be planted right up front.

Most gardeners like plants that lend a tropical feel to the landscape. Some of the easiest tropical plants to grow that have a big impact are elephant ears. There are two species commonly found in our Mississippi landscapes, Alocasia and Colocasia, and they're both called elephant ears. But today we're just going to look at Colocasia, which is also called taro. These all feature big leaves and big texture, but they're not all green. In fact, there are Colocasia with black leaves. A couple of fantastic examples are Black Coral and Diamond Head.

We're now in August and that means it's hot and humid in our Mississippi landscapes. This time of year I'm always looking for the shade. I love the way the path curves around with the hydrangea and Japanese fatsia making me want to ask, "What's around the corner?" That's when we encounter the weathered back gate. Passing through we find the wonderfull shade garden. The moss and lichen on the brick path creates the sense of well worn age. Plants have been selected that will tolerate the lower light conditions.

Our mission at Southern Gardening is to show you many beautiful scenes from the garden. These exquisite flowers require a lot of hard work from the home gardener. But there’s another gardening enthusiast whose work we often forget about, the bumblebee. Bumblebees are busy little insects that constantly buzz from flower to flower, collecting pollen, and in the process, providing pollination for the eventual production of fruit and seeds. Bumblebees are attracted to many flowering plants. Just look at how many bumblebees are on these Victoria Purple salvia.

Have you been bored, restless, or even irritable because you can’t get into the garden this winter? Well my friend you have cabin fever. Cabin fever is also called seasonal affective disorder because of the short and cloudy days of winter, and can impact many gardeners during the winter months. And for the active gardener it only gets worse when all those catalogs start arriving. But there is a simple cure until spring arrives. You need to grow an indoor microgreens garden. Microgreens are colorful, nutritious, and a delicious way to brighten any winter mood.

One of the easiest ways to add a tropical flair to any landscape is to use plants with large leaves. Rice paper plant is a favorite of mine that looks amazing. Rice paper plant is a native of southern China and Taiwan and is known botanically as Tetrapanax paperifera. It’s the foliage that really creates interest, With huge leaves that can be up to 15 inches across. The leaves have five to eleven coarse lobes. The undersides of the younger leaves have a dense white felt-like pubescence.

One of the most popular of the small fruit grown in Mississippi are Satsuma oranges. Imagine picking these fresh and tasty fruit right from your own garden. Today we’re visiting my friend Terry who has several Satsuma trees at the back of his property. Satsuma’s are related to mandarin oranges. These are very juicy fruits with deep orange rinds that, with practice, can be peeled in one piece. These trees can really produce a lot of tasty fruit. You can see how Terry has to provide support to the branches or the fruit load could damage the trees.

A garden event I look forward to every year is when the winter cassia begins blooming. Wherever it’s planted in the landscape the tropical looking flowers are sure to create winter interest. Winter cassia is certainly one of those show-stopping plants, especially considering the prolific blooms in the winter season. This specimen is a fantastic example of the impact of winter cassia. Imagine sitting on the porch on a cool day and enjoying the mass of bright yellow flowers. Beginning in November the flowers are displayed in spike-like clusters, each having up to 12 individual blossoms.