Picture this, gardening friends:  I got up early today and stumbled to the kitchen.  Turned on the coffee maker and poured a steaming cuppa.  Tied the belt on my robe–I’d watched the news the night before, so I knew our temperatures had dropped toward freezing–and headed into the garage, intending to raise the door and fetch the paper that the deliveryman always slings into my forsythia bushes.

That’s when I froze.  I walked into a blast of freezing air in the garage and suddenly realized that we’d left the door open all night long.  Which might not have been so bad, except that I’d temporarily moved all my frost-tender potted plants and hanging baskets in there, including my long-lived lemon tree, the one that yields dozens of tart, yellow lemons for our pies and lemonade each year.

I could’ve frozen my all favorite plants in a single night, but so far, I haven’t found any blackened stems or wilted leaves. The next few days will tell, though, so I’m keeping my fingers crossed and the garage doors SHUT.

Since Atlanta temperatures are predicted to plunge into the 20s later this week, there’s a lesson here.  Make sure your tender plants are moved to a frost-proof place.  Go ahead and drain your hoses and sprinklers, and turn off any outside spigots, letting the water drain so the pipes won’t freeze.

There’s still time to mulch your beds and borders with shredded bark, chopped leaves, and other materials, too.  Established outdoor plants should be okay, but show a little TLC to anything you’ve recently planted.  When the Southeastern Flower Show opens next Jan. 28, you’ll see exhibits using some attractive, new mulches, and you can shop the show’s marketplace for tips on where to purchase them and how to use them effectively.

Speaking of working outdoors, I’d like to hear if other gardeners are seeing an unusually large crop of acorns and other nuts this year.  They seem to be raining down on my yard like crazy.  Not that I mind, although they can be a nuisance to rake, but I know these crops provide nutritious winter food for deer, squirrels, and other animals.

Samantha's baby picture, shortly after she fell from her nest

Speaking of squirrels….I want to share some great photos with you.  My friend Linda recently came home to find that her cat, Louisa, had brought a present into the house for her.  What was Louisa’s gift?  A baby squirrel that had fallen from its nest.  Fortunately, Louisa was gentle and didn’t harm her.

Linda made a bed of blankets and towels for her new baby, and fed the squirrel with a tiny bottle and formula purchased from a pet store.  When little Samantha the Squirrel was big enough to eat on her own, Linda took her to a nature center in Paulding County, GA, where wildlife specialists are helping her learn to live on her own.  When she’s ready, they’ll release her into the woods, where we all hope she’ll have a long, happy life.  So don’t bag and toss those acorns!  Samantha might be feasting on them later this year!

Samantha the Squirrel, all grown up and ready to go into the forest

Did you know that Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue has declared today, Nov. 15, “America Recycles Day” here in our state? 

So save those paper towels that you cleaned the kitchen with this morning, along with the cartridge from your laser jet printer, yesterday’s milk jug, the motor oil from your car, and…well, you get the idea.

It’s all about being good stewards of the environment.  Not sure about what to do with your recyclables? Click below for a link to the Georgia Recycling Coalition.  You can enter the type of material you want to recycle, and your county or zip code, to find a location that accepts your items.

http://www.myecoville.com/us/ga/recycling-resources

And don’t forget that EnviroExpo USA is still going on today, from 10 AM to 5 PM, at AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta.  It’s packed with great ideas and products for better, greener living.  Be sure to catch the EcoBright booth, which is one of our partners here at the Southeastern Flower Show.  

Thanks, Governor, for raising our awareness about recycling and re-using.  The Flower Show is passionate about being green!

Ready to go green?  Of course you are!  If you live in the Southeast, like me, you’ve struggled with the drought over the last few years.  Because you care about our environment, you’ve switched to canvas bags, instead of those flimsy plastic ones, when you go shopping. You crunch aluminum cans, recycle newspapers, cook with fresh produce, and buy from local growers whenever you can.  

That’s why you’ll want to stop by EnviroExpo USA this weekend.  The show is going on now at AmericasMart in downtown Atlanta, on the corner of Spring and Harris Streets.  It runs Nov. 14 and 15, from 10 AM to 5 PM, and it’s FREE.  

The Southeastern Flower Show is proud to participate in the Expo this year with a booth about EcoBright horticulture.  EcoBright promotes sustainable landscaping through greener living, and even if you don’t see EcoBright’s environmentally-smart ideas and products this weekend, you can still catch them at the Flower Show next Jan. 28 through Feb. 1.  But why miss out this weekend?  You could be living greener, saving money, and most importantly, helping save the planet, right now.

If you’re wondering what “sustainability” means, here’s how the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) defines it: it’s meeting our present needs, without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own. We’re talking about our children, and the world they’ll live in, so that’s why we want to protect our environment while continuing to grow our economy in ecologically friendly ways. 

Stop by EnviroExpo USA this Saturday or Sunday.  Get going, and go green. 

 http://www.enviroexpousa.com/events.php

Imagine your holiday table dressed up with gorgeous flowers blooming in deep red or snowy white; pale pink or brilliant copper; dark burgundy or even pale green.  Better yet, imagine that you’ve grown these beauties yourself, indoors–and with very little effort at all.

You may have already guessed that I’m talking about amaryllis (Hippeastrum).  You can find amaryllis bulbs for sale now, at garden centers and home improvement stores, or order them from mail-order suppliers.  But you’d better hurry.  They should be planted soon, so they’ll send up their magnificent flower shoots by Christmas.

To grow an amaryllis, simply pot the bulb at least six weeks before you want flowers.  Because these plants prefer crowded conditions, use a container that is only slightly bigger than the bulb.  A two-inch gap between the side of the pot and the bulb is fine.

Use a well-drained potting mix that is rich in organic matter, but leave about 1/2 of the bulb sticking up above the the soil.  Soak the entire pot in a sink or a tub of water, until air bubbles stop escaping from the mix.

Now put the bulb in a bright window that gets indirect light, and water only enough to keep the soil from drying out.  In one to two weeks, a flower stalk should appear.  You may need to stake these top-heavy plants to keep them from tipping over, but be careful not to spear the roots.

Turn the plant daily, so the flower stalk grows nice and straight.  As the flowers fade, snip them off.  You may be rewarded with another set of blooms! 

Although amaryllis are stunning all by themselves, you can dress them up even more by placing small, shiny ornaments, like red or silver balls, on top of the soil.  A beautifully tied bow around a simple pot is also pretty.  For a natural look, dress the top of the pot with some sphagnum moss or tiny pine cones, and use a branch as a stake, tying it loosely with raffia. 

The biggest problem with these plants is deciding which color to grow.  I’m crazy about ‘Green Goddess’, which has a glowing green center that fades to white.  For a Christmas-y red, try Double Dragon, a double-flowered delight.  I’m eager to grow a rare amaryllis that comes from the rainforests of Brazil, ’Papilio’.  Its orchid-shaped blooms are said to have a sweet scent.

Where can you find these beauties? If a local nursery doesn’t carry them, check out these links:

www.jacksonandperkins.com

www.whiteflowerfarm.com

Before we leave the subject of pumpkins (see yesterday’s post), I want to tell you about an unusual variety to look for at this time of year.  It’s the beautiful, so-called “true” or French pumpkin, also known as Rouge Vif D’Etampes.  You’ll recognize its classic shape, which artists copied when they drew Cinderella’s fairy-tale carriage.

Cooks disagree over the taste of this rather flat pumpkin with brilliant red-orange skin.  Some says its flavor is sweet and custard-like, while others grumble that the flesh is watery and not fit to grace a humble pie crust.  Even if you don’t puree it for pie, it’s still attractive enough to display on a porch or side table.

Although this variety doesn’t have many seeds, it is an heirloom, which means that you can save and dry its seeds, and plant them next year to grow your own Cinderella-carriages.  (You can plant the seeds of non-heirloom varietites, too, of course, but they don’t always grow true-to-type.  That simply means you won’t get baby pumpkins that look exactly like the one you started with.)

And just for fun, here’s a recipe from my book, Gardening with Heirloom Seeds.  The recipe was originally published in 1896 in a cookbook called The Thorough Good Cook, authored by George Augustus Sala:

“Take a ripe pumpkin, and chip off the rind or skin; halve it, and take out the seed and puffy part in the centre, which throw away. Cut the pumpkin into small, thin slices; fill a pie-dish therewith; add a teaspoonful of sugar, with a small quantity of water. Cover…and bake in the ordinary way. Pumpkin pie is greatly improved by being eaten with clotted cream and sugar.”

pumpkins for pie or the porch? the choice is yours!

Well said, George!

Lynn

www.LynnCoulter.com

begin by carving out your pumpkin; find an empty glass jar that fits inside.

Got a dollar?  That’s all you need to make a pretty arrangement for your Thanksgiving table.

You see, many grocery stores have pumpkins on sale right now—poor, little wanna-be Jack O’Lanterns that nobody bought to take home and carve.  Because the stores need to make room for fresh produce, they’re often willing to sell these orange orbs at bargain prices.

Our local Publix had some beauties on sale last weekend for $1 each.  I choose a nice, small pumpkin, took it home, removed the top, and cleaned out the innards.  (I like to dry the seeds and then put them out for the birds, but I could’ve roasted and salted them for a yummy snack.)

Next, I filled a clean glass jar with water and put it inside the hollowed-out pumpkin. I added a saucer underneath, in case of leaks. Finally, I filled the jar with an assortment of materials from my yard, including dried grasses, berried stems, branches studded with colorful leaves, sprigs of ivy, and, for color, a few blooming mums.  If you make your own ornamental pumpkin, and you have small children or pets, just avoid using potentially toxic berries or other plant parts indoors.

Voila–a handsome harvest arrangement that can last up to two weeks.  All you’ll need to do is replenish the water as the cut flowers and foliage drink it up.

use autumn grasses, leaves, and flowers from the yard for your table top pumpkin, or buy a small autumn bouquet to arrange instead.

This is just one design idea.  Come to the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show, and see what else we’ve got to share!

Lynn

a butterfly catches a late-summer snack on a tithonia blossom

I’m passionate about almost everything in my garden (well…okay.  Maybe not the Japanese beetles and thrips and all their buggy relatives).  One thing I’m most passionate about is wildlife.  Check out this late-summer butterfly that stopped to visit my tithonia flowers a few weeks ago.  If you look closely, you’ll see that his wings are a little ragged, a sign that the wind might have tossed him around recently, or even that he had an uncomfortably close encounter with a bird or other predator.

Here’s another butterfly sipping from the same flowerbed. Because my camera caught him in motion, his wings look almost translucent. 

And finally, one more wild thing from my garden:  a kitten who recently showed up.  He’s feral and won’t let me close, unfortunately.  We’ve named him Cornbread, for no really good reason, I suppose, except that it seems like a good Southern name.

Here’s a question for you, something I’ve wondered about for a long time:  Does every truly great garden have to have a cat?  I see cat pictures all the time, posted on gardeners’ websites and blogs.  Or does every garden need a dog instead–preferably one that doesn’t dig in the potato patch or stomp all over the lettuce?

Send me a picture of something wild and winged, or wild and wooly, that lives in your garden.  What are you passionate about?  The folks at the 2009 Southeastern Flower Show want to know!

cheers,
Lynn

Beautiful beautyberries

Yesterday I promised to list a few terrific trees and shrubs for fall color, and a promise is a promise.  Here are a couple of my favorites:

Purple beautyberry

(Callicarpa dichotoma) – When this deciduous shrub loses its yellow leaves in the fall, it reveals clusters of gorgeous lilac and violet berries.   Birds love the fall fruits.  For best effect, plant it in masses, or try it in the understory of wooded areas that get filtered sun.  Tip: save the berried stems for accents in your autumn arrangements.

Orange and red sugar maple leaves

Sugar maples

(Acer saccharum) – I lovelovelove these trees, even though they can get stressed by the extreme heat and air pollution often found in urban environments.  Still, if you’ve got space for a specimen tree, and you crave a shady landscape, its rich red, yellow, and orange foliage can’t be beat.

Where can you see more glorious trees to add to your garden, and learn about their growing habits?  The upcoming Southeastern Flower Show, of course!

Lynn

Have you looked outside your window lately?  (Of course you have–what kind of a question is that?  It’s fall, and enthusiastic leaf-peepers are out every weekend, winding up and down the roads in the north Georgia mountains, and along every other scenic route.) 

Autumn is spectacular this year, and the light has a lot to do with it.  When the sun gleams through a canopy of foliage, ordinary yellows turn to burnished gold.  Scarlet leaves practically glow.  Right now, the sugar maples in my yard are a riot of ruby, emerald, and orange.

November is an excellent time for Atlantans to plant trees and shrubs for glorious color.  The cooler temperatures encourage them to establish strong root systems, which serve them well during the next warm growing season.

When you’re out leaf-peeping this fall, jot down some notes about where the light hits your garden.  Then, when you plant for next year, you can make the best use of nature’s spotlight—the sun. 

Tomorrow I’ll share some of my favorite fall trees and bushes with you.  What plants are “glowing” in your garden right now?

Lynn

Red, the color of passion

Passion.

What does the word conjure up for you?

To me, it means feelings of intense emotion, like love, desire, devotion, and excitement.

Gardeners are usually passionate people, and often we fixate on something special.  Maybe your passion is a rose with petals the color of a tropical sunset, all mango and gold and flaming red.  Maybe you’re crazy about a bed of sunny daffodils in your yard, or a stately, Aromatic cedar tree, or a trellis filled with moonflower vines whose creamy-white flowers unfold each night after dark.

This year, the theme of the 22nd Southeastern Flower Show is Passion!  How do you bloom?  As the weeks go by, we hope you really will tell us how you bloom, and where your passions lie.  Soon we’ll set up a link so you can submit pictures from the plants you love to grow, and we’ll select the best of them to post online.

As the worker bees keep buzzing behind the flower show scenes, building exhibits, sketching designs, and growing the fabulous plants you’ll see next January and February, remember to keep sharing your passions with us.

Tell us about your green thumb, or about the uncooperative plants that make you want to throw away your hoe in despair.  Let us know how you’re teaching your kids or your class about organic practices and conservation and “living green.”  And please, somebody tell us how to use or get rid of all that extra zucchini that grows in the vegetable patch each summer!

As we post more information about the upcoming show, we’re looking forward to having a great dialogue with you. In fact, we’re passionate about it!

Lynn