Made any resolutions for 2009?  My list includes the usual (eat less and exercise more), but I’m also thinking green this time around. When it comes to my next year’s garden, I resolve to:

1. keep my indeterminate tomatoes staked as they grow, instead of waiting until they start to fall over.
2. weed more often, so the cat doesn’t get lost in the bushy stuff.
3. plant only ONE zucchini this year, so I won’t have to run out at night and leave bags of those prolific little veggies on my neighbor’s porch, just to get rid of them
4. not rush the season by transplanting before the soil is dependably warm (nursery owners love me, because invariably a late cold snap kills my tender plants, and I have to buy more and start all over).
   
5. plant a row for the hungry.
   
6. replace my half-dead blueberry bushes and read up on where I went wrong with the first ones.
7. start a strawberry bed.
8. use more organic controls and less chemicals and sprays.
9. plant a border along the split-rail fence with lots of butterfly-friendly flowers
10. reduce our water usage by turning some of our grassy yard into flower beds (hubby should like that because it means less mowing).

And…..well, let’s face it.  I’ll be lucky if I can stick to these, so I’d better stop.

As we count down the hours to midnight, I wish you a very happy and green New Year!

blessings,

Lynn

P.S.—Enjoy these beautiful photos contributed by Kersten of Athens Select.  For more info on Athens Select plants, which are heat and drought tolerant, look for my post dated 12/29/08 or visit www.AthensSelect.com.  Remember, you can click on most of the images on my blog to enlarge them.

Lately I’ve been getting a new garden catalog in the mail almost every day. Today brought a packet of info from the Trial Gardens at the University of Georgia in Athens. Ooo la la….the gardeners there have given their thumbs-up to some stunning new plants for 2009. Known as the Athens Select 2008-2009 Plant Collection, these flowers and foliage varieties are recommended for our region thanks to their high tolerance for heat and humidity.  The plants were selected by Dr. Allan Armitage of UGA–a popular gardening speaker who will appear at the flower show on Saturday, Jan. 31.  Look for him at 3 P.M. on the Home Depot Stage (Don’t worry.  We’ll give you a map of the stages and gardens when you arrive.)

Here’s a sample of  what you’ll find in the Collection:

• Coleus ‘Gold Brocade,’ which features gold leaves with deep maroon variegation
• Coleus ‘Mariposa,’ a coleus with large, dark crimson leaves edged in deep pink.
• Verbena ‘Homestead Carpet Red,’ a cousin to ‘Homestead Purple,’ this vibrant red verbena has a trailing habit

Want to know more about other sizzling hot varieties for sultry Southern gardens?  Come to the flower show!

green blessings,

Lynn