GARDENING SOUTHERN-STYLE: MAY GARDEN
I now understood what Celestine Sibley meant when in the first line of her book she writes, A Place Called Sweet Apple. "The sin of pride was upon me."
So now many of my lovingly planted seedlings and plants were blooming-- and it made my heart sing. The sin of pride was definitely upon me. My back yard had undergone a transformation to enable me to travel through my garden. The brick patio was original to the home my husband and I purchased in 2019. My husband passed away in 2020 and I immediately turned to gardening to occupy my mind and time.
Now comes the preparation for the new garden.
As you can see, when we purchased the home it was beautiful, but without the flower beds or structures. We brought the gazebo (a gift for my 50th birthday when our home sat on 2 acres) to this property. You
do not see it yet, but we also brought the playhouse with us that now has a pergola attached. The two metal arches also came from that property when we planted a Monet Garden along with Dothan Nurseries
with Joanne McFarland guiding the seed planting there in the front yard. Both arbors have Confederate
Jasmine and roses, the one closest has a Generous Gardener rose.
Comfortable seating is placed on the brick patio to listen to the birds and look at the roses and seedlings now plants.
Raoul Dahl, an apricot David Austin rose, and the yellow Julia Child (on the left) tree rose love their
place in the sun. The Iceberg tea rose to the right is a Kordes rose developed by the German Reimer Kordes. The David Austin roses I planted a couple of years ago are:
| Constant Gardener |
| Thomas a Beckett |
| Darcy Bussell |
| Benjamin Britten |
Rouol Dahl |
| Jude the Obscure |
| Lady of Shallot |
| Olivia Rose Austin |
| Queen of Sweden |
| Ancient Mariner Winchester Cathedral I have been reading THE SECRET LIFE OF PLANTS. If you are a gardener or just someone interested in the stories of living beings, plants included and our relationship to them, I recommend it! Winchester Cathedral has a story. She was originally planted on the far left of the picture above. I noticed she was reaching for the sun and not blooming very well. That was one reason I redesigned this part of the bed. There were several others that I had to replant because they didn't like their spot. They had been moved to other parts of the garden, but still didn't prosper. My back yard is pretty shady. When the landscape people came, they limbed up the trees and cut back the ligustrum. Sun streamed on the shady places, mushroom compost enriched a bed where Winchester Cathedral could be in the sun. So I moved it and I thought she would be happy there. Unfortunately, some ant like thing invaded the hole in which she was planted. I picked her up and moved her to another spot. Unfortunately, she lost all of her leaves there. I looked at her one day and thought she had had it. I would just have to pull her and dispose of her. The next day I went out she not only had leaves but she had branches. OVERNIGHT! The Secret Life of Plants reveals to us how we communicate with plants. Somehow plants know. And Winchester Cathedral knew my intent leafed out so I knew it still had life. And now it blossoms out with the most beautiful blooms. |
In the process of preparing the ground for my pathways some of the bulbs already planted there like the twelve apostles given to me by family friend, Mary Kirkland, had been divided and divided. They were once again divided along with some iris that had lost their previous home and some daylilies. From the look of that leaf, one of the bulbs I thought was a lily must be an elephant ear. These plants line the new patio in the center of my yard that my new flower beds (enriched with a load of mushroom compost), have been created. You will notice the different leaves that are planted among them. These were seedlings I planted in compostable pots and nurtured under the grow lights in my bathroom where my African violets now abide. You will see that these are quite vigorous.
Caladiums are slowly popping up in this urn. You will see some of my favorite tools: the post hole digger, the hula hoe and the dog poo picker upper.
Here I will note that one of the major things my landscape guy, Matt Cardin, had his people do was to limb up the trees in the center of the yard and trim the Ligustrum on both sides. Now a path lead to the concrete bench. The New Dawn rose came with the arbor and got transplanted in the sun and now blooms much more happily than the it was under the tree. I also planted a Nellie Moser Clematis. Amazingly the Confederate Jasmine on the left has also survived transplant and seems to be prospering. I planted a Jackmanii clematis to climb up the Confederate Jasmine.
My granddaughter, Megan, helped me plant the leftover seeds directly into the soil at the end of March. We put sand in a large container and decided to add all the seeds rather than focus on individual types of seeds. We shook it up and spread the seeds on the right side flower bed. Megan then spread the zinnia seeds I got at the Dollar Store. Zinnias were my Grandmother Burson's favorite flowers so they will become a staple for my garden. Zinnia now grow inside the arbor and within the beds.
Old Fashioned Garden Mix Calendula | |
Babys Breath | |
Cosmos | |
Shasta Daisies | |
Papaver Rhoas | |
Bachelor Buttons | |
California Poppy | |
| Delphinium | |
| Mallow | |
| Black-eyed Susan | |
| Painted Daisy | |
| Blanket Flower | |
| English Daisy | |
| Zinnias |
As you can see, those directly sown seeds are not nearly as large as the seedlings grown inside in the peat pots or the seed trays or the winter sowing efforts. Here you see the beautiful purple hydrangea in the back of my yard. To the left you will see the gorgeous drift roses planted quite soon when we moved into this house To the right is the former playhouse now she shed with the pergola.
The terra cotta pots are filled with herbs to make tea with.
Here you see another view of the directly sown seedlings. We also have a camellia that was not doing well elsewhere and was transplanted here out of the hot direct sun of the front yard. Behind the directly sown seeds is my new effort with dahlias. In this bed I have also planted some hardy geraniums (much loved in English gardens), echinacea, and a plant loved by Laura on Garden Answer--a Chitalpa. I also ordered from Jenny with Gardening with Creekside another tree, Temple of Bloom. You Tube shows on gardening like Garden Answer and Gardening with Creekside are inspirational.
| Sage "Rocking the Blues" (Gardening with Creekside) | |
| Denim and Lace Salvia (Braces | |
| Multi Colored Geranium (Bricks) | |
| White Jubilation Jardenias (Lowes online) | |
| Sedum | |
| 100 Gladiolus bulbs and 3 Garden amaryllis | |
| Hawaiian Punch Elephant Ear | |
| Multicolor Colocasia Waikiki | |
| Pink Caladium Bulbs | |
| Multicolor Colocasia Maceira Star Elephant Ear | |
| Pink Cannas Dwarf Pink Futurity | |
| Black Magic Elephant Ear | |
| Schneider's Irises | |
| Breck's Coneflowers |
Here we are looking across the patio and see the Twelve Apostles lilies growing under the tree with the lady at the well statue. The large yellow urn is surrounded by Rocking the Blues salvia, anemones and little lime hydrangea. A bed of daylilies are to the right with the gazing globe. Gardenias form a sort of hedge dividing the new garden area from the old lawn and daylilly garden.
Molly and I bought these Daylillies on our trip to the daylily garden.
| Accent on Style |
| Altered State |
| Gypsy Rose Lee |
| Javanese Jewel |
| Jay Turman |
| Look Here Mary |
| Mama's Cherry Pie |
| Orange Velvet |
| Pastel Classic |
| Pearlfisher Pink |
| Ruffles Have Ripples |
| Small Gestures |
| Two to Tango |
| Tuscovilla Snowdrift |
| Victorian Lace |
| Signature Truffles |
From the pergola you can see my efforts at the beginning of a fruit orchard. Near the large yellow urn is an apple tree. The other apple tree on the other side did not survive. Directly opposite here in the daylily garden is a fruit cocktail tree. On the other side of the fence, in the front yard, I planted a pear and a plum tree. I will wait until fall to purchase replacement trees for the apple and the peach that did not make it. Behind the yellow pot grows little lime hydrangeas, ligustrum, and azaleas. I will wait until fall to plant replacement trees. The fig tree is every happy there on the corner of the house. Unfortunately, I have failed once again with my attempt at growing blue berries. One plant survived but the one he was intended to pollinate with did not.
My granddaughters helped me plant the 100 gladiolus bulbs scattered in the daylily bed and in the bed leading to the gate.
Ferny yarrow has shown up throughout the daylily garden.
The grass here is regrowing after being a part of the construction of the garden. Directly before us is a butterfly garden with lantana, agapanthus, butterfly weed and a baby forsythia that will be beautiful next year. (above)
The pavers have certainly improved getting around in the back yard. Formerly the playhouse, now the she shed with a pergola. the generous gardener and confederate rose may someday cover the pergola but I think that is Virginia Creeper. Gardeners must deal with the strangest things.
Here beneath the buzzing of the many bees that adore the Vitex, bulbs have been planted in the pots but are taking their time popping up out of the soil. However the pink cashmere verbena looks lovely front of the Black Magic elephant ear.
Daylilies came from Enterprise at the Neighborhood Daylily Farm on a trip with granddaughter, Molly. | ||
| Perfecto Mundo double white azalea | ||
| George Tabor are the white azaleas along back | ||
| Vince Dooley Reticulata | ||
| Frank Howser is a reticulate camellia named for the doctor who oversaw the medical evacuation of wounded soldiers at the Battle of the Bulge where my mother served. | ||
| Merry Christmas | ||
| Mary Ann Lawrence | ||
| Robin Ann Cross | ||
| Lemon Glow Betty Sheffield, Professor Sergeant and Pink Perfection were camellias in most older Dothan gardens. | ||
| Betty Sheffield | ||
| Prof. Sargeant | ||
| Pink Perfection | ||
| Miss Santa Clara | ||
| Mine No Yoko (white sasanqua on north side) | ||
| October Magic Ruby (red against the back wall) | ||
| Blushing Bride Hydrangea | ||
| Limelight Prime on South | ||
Variety of daffodils:
| ||
| True Blue Butterfly Bush | ||
| Vibernum (aka snowball) |
| Hibiscus Pink Paraplu is new to our yard. I also ordered some hibiscus seeds and all three granddaughters helped me plant them in some peat pots. They have joined the African Violets under the grow lights with my African violets.  The photo below shows the raised beds Megan and I planted. In the right bed, she planted all the lettuce seeds I had collected over the years, In the left bed, I planted the spinach seeds I had collected. Megans seeds grew well. My spinach seeds did not grow, period! So I planted nasturtiums. I added half a bag of compost. The nasturtiums seem to like that spot. And I LOVE nasturtiums.  When one plants a garden there is always something to look forward to. People who plant gardens are optimists. "A thing of beauty is a joy forever" (John Keats) If you are interested in commenting or sharing with me your own garden, email me at:  The Vitex is so beautiful! Sitting here one gets a view of the whole garden. |
