What a Day for Daylilies!

I love daylillies, but never realized the complexity of planting and maintaining different varieties. I planted some but couldn't tell you their names and discovered I wasn't treating them with the respect they deserved until our garden club visited the "Fern Cove Daylily Farm" last Saturday. I didn't say it was hard to grow them only that daylilies will bring you more joy in the yard and garden, if you learn more about their planting and care. Regardless of your favorite color or size needed to add color and beauty to any yard or garden, you can't go wrong with showers or sprinkles of this amazing flower. The pictures in this blog are some I bought during my visit. Above is a "Phoenician Ruffles," it has a medium sized bloom and I wanted a dark burgundy, as a companion to other colors, I bought.

The daylily pictured above is called a "Dublin Elaine," I think everyone in the garden club bought this variety. As, Deberah commented in her Tuesday blog, Mr. Denny told us Saturday, she is his favorite. Daylillies are in the "Lilliaceae" family, regardless of variety, the scientific first name is "Hemerocallis." They are a strong growing (long lasting) perennial that originated in East Asia, China and Japan which naturally grew in damp, low lying meadows. Some varieties were naturalized in Great Britain and central Europe in 1570. Other varieties from Japan were introduced into Europe in 1832.

I chose this gorgeous "Biggie" variety for my yard because of it's size and color. It has the "biggest" bloom growing at "Fern Cove Daylily Farm."

"Above is the "Shady Lady." Although, it's got shady in the name most daylilies need at least five to six hours of sun, but if  your yard or garden has only shade, your in luck but inquire before you buy with experienced growers like J. G. and Mary Ann Denny who own "Fern Cove Daylily Farm."

I'm not sure if the daylilly pictured above is a "Little Darky" or another picture of  "Phoenician Ruffle" and since I want to be correct, I just say, I bought the "Little Darkie" because it is burgundy, shorter in height and multiples faster than many varieties.

I loved this "Pink Attraction," too and thought it would make a good companion with another darker blooms.

And of course, since I'm a southern peach, I had to add "Cameo Painting" to my landscape, as seen above, just a peachy color!  All in all, I bought nine different daylily varieties to brighten up my yard and garden. Not pictured are "Scarlet Orbit" and "Sunshine." If, you need advice, love daylilies, want to add color to your landscape, visit the farm located at 400 Jim Starr Road, Newnan, GA   30263 or browse their website at www.ferncove.com. I guarantee you'll enjoy the day and the experience.

I took this picture, as soon as, we arrived Saturday morning and really the rays of sun captures my feeling about this fantastic flower. Daylilies are sunshine painted in flowers.

Until next time.....

Happy Gardening 2012!


Posted by Wilma Smith

Visting Fern Cove Daylily Farm

I have seen photos of Fern Cove Daylily Farm before but have never visited. I wasn't prepared for how lovely a field of these hardy perennials could be until I arrived. When I did it was a real treat and though I have some daylilies in my home landscape, I didn't know how to care for them.

But it didn't start with my visit. Mary Ann and J. G. Denney were speakers at our Crossroads Garden Club meeting on May 23. Mary Ann spoke first and gave us details about their farm, located on Jim Starr Road in Coweta County.

She told us that they had been operating this farm for almost twenty years, since her husband had retired from a power company in Florida. Originally from this area, they then moved back to Coweta and began a second career when they opened their farm.

Denney's love for gardening and especially for raising daylilies was apparent as he talked about growing daylilies, telling us that his love for gardening and especially daylilies had been passed down from his grandmother and mother.

He explained that daylilies are one of the most easily grown perennials and will reward you with beautiful blooms that multiply if you fertilize and prune them. After a season, or two, if given proper care, you may divide the plants to expand their growing area and they will continue to grow and flower. An added benefit is that the tuberous roots of the daylily will help keep sloped areas from washing away and will add substance to troubled areas of your lawn and garden.

Each flower only lasts for one day, but daylilies almost always have multiple flowers on each stem or "scape." After this many varieties, called repeaters put out more "scapes" with multiple blooms.

He told us that daylilies are either tetraploids, meaning the scapes are sturdy and won't easily bend, or diploids, with less sturdy scapes that blow in the wind. Each type has advantages and most people have favorites in the thousands of varieties grown by developers, or hybridizers each year.

After the Denneys talked to us at our meeting they invited us to visit their farm. Last Saturday morning a group of our Crossroads Garden Club members decided to go there and see exactly what they were talking about. As we arrived, we were treated to an array of color everywhere. We saw they had a vegetable garden close by that the Denney's son tends and a large patch of beautiful corn that is being grown by his 16-year-old grandson. 

Denney began his tour and lovingly told us about his daylily varieties and answered all of our questions.

 Denney's favorite daylily variety is Dublin Elaine. It is a beautiful pink double and ruffled variety that grows 32 inches tall with evergreen foliage.

The ruffles around the edges are bred into some varieties. Each hybridizer knows how to get the desired characteristics and must keep careful records in order to name a new variety. Denney has gone through that process years ago and has a named variety but decided it was too hard to be both a grower and a hybridizer, so he chose to be a grower.

The smaller stems on this pretty pink variety with a yellow halo in the center makes it a diploid variety.

If you click on the photo above, you will see that this Camden Gold Dollar variety is labeled. Each variety is carefully labeled to make sure the right variety is prepared when someone places an order.

Denney also recommends planting tall plants in the center and surround them with shorter varieties. These Camden Gold Dollar daylilies make a great companion to the daylily most used in landscapes around our area, the Stella de Oro. The flowers are very much the same but the Stellas are short and the Camden Golds are tall. It is striking when both used in a bed.

Above these plants you can see there is an electric fence that surrounds the farm so that deer will stay away. Denney says that deer consider daylilies to be candy.

Above is a beautiful variety that wasn't labeled correctly at one point and though it is a beautiful and hardy plant, it isn't as valuable as it would have been had it been handled correctly.

Again, the wire at the bottom right of the photo is an electric fence used to keep deer away.

Denney recommends that you only fertilize daylilies in the spring. He uses bone meal and Miracle Gro. Recommendations for planting new plants are to dig a hole big enough for the plants, around 18 inches deep. Denney recommends planting in triangles for a more filled in look with three plants per triangle. They will grow and fill the area between them and will be very lush all year long, since many are evergreens.

He recommends amending the soil (in the spring only) with a handful of bone meal or slow release Osmicote and a generous application of Miracle Gro. Another recommendation is to use a mixture of sand, compost, dirt and water crystals underneath each new plant. The water crystals really help if there is a drought and the compost is something to always use liberally.

After each scape has finished flowering, it is helpful to prune it back. Denney also says that pruning daylilies is very good for them. He recommends pruning plants to about six to eight inches above the ground. Denney says, "They love it!"

Never fertilize in the fall because the plants will develop new growth and might then freeze which could cause the plant to die. Always fertilize in the spring.

Denney showed us how to pluck the blooms off the plant and discards all blooms underneath the plant to provide extra mulch. His advice was to do this daily, if possible. It is hard to do when you have so many daylilies as he does at Fern Cove.

Denney's recommendation for replanting the extra daylily growth was to divide them every two years if they have produced extra plants from the roots. He suggests discarding any seeds that develops because they will not necessarily be a true form of the original plant since these plants are hybrids. You won't know what you will get if they multiply through seeds.

 It was a hands-on experience for all of us. The flowers are so beautiful and come in such a large variety that it is very hard not to touch them. We knew that the flower was only at its best for the day and this made us feel more free to touch.

Denney also gave us a tour of the other side of his garden where he has planted rare trees, shrubs and grasses along with more daylilies. This gate was used as an entrance to his garden at his previous home before he retired and moved to Coweta. It now welcomes you into his garden via the garden path.

A variegated Japanese Maple, stripped grasses and a male ginkgo tree are among the many attractions along the pathways at Fern Cove. The Denneys have been on the Master Gardener's tour for several years. Though Denney is not a Master Gardener, his garden is a real treat for visitors because of the variety. He is also full of useful information and it was a treat to hear him talk about all his plants.

Denney explained that he will be moving the daylilies from this side of the garden to the more commercial area in the fall.

The Denneys are thinking about their second retirement at this point and will be downsizing the farm. The upkeep is hard for them to continue. We all really appreciated the tour and thought even the areas they consider not kept up was wildly beautiful and well worth the tour.

Some of us purchased his daylilies and I know I will never look at a daylily display again without thinking of the Denneys and their love for this beautiful plant. They are really an inspiration.

Poison Oak -- My Nemesis

There aren't many plants, insects or animals, I despise. I understand the reason for their existence but one plant I despise and can't understand why it grows everywhere is poison oak. It is my nemesis or to put it in dictionary terms, "One that inflicts relentless vengeance or destruction, or an unbeatable rival."

Because I'm highly allergic, over the years, it has grown everywhere in and around my yard. I've avoided doing any work to remove it, since I get the annoying rash just looking at a plant. But I'm waging war against it this summer and using measures at least to keep it out of areas my pets and I play and travel.

 

Poison oak depending on location can either be a vine or a shrub. As a vine it will climb to the top of any tree or support. As a shrub it can grow from one to six feet. It is a perennial that returns each year bigger and stronger maintained by strong root crowns and a hardy rhizome network. Birds spread seeds from mature plants to areas in the yard and roosting spots under trees.

Even if you cut the leaves or woody stems it will grow back two fold. A brush killer like "Roundup" is needed to kill this plant demon. Don't be fooled, even the dead growth can illicit a reaction and start a rash.

Poison oak or "Rhus toxicodendron" can be recognized by groups of three leafs on each stem, bearing small green flowers and white to green berries the size of  tapioca pearls. As seen above, "Roundup" will kill the bush or vine within several days. But since I'm so allergic, I will wear rubber insulated gloves, long sleeves, pants, socks and boots to pull up and discard these dead plants.

The rash from poison oak is made by a substance called urushiol oil found in all parts of the plant. Three fourths of all people react or develop the rash when contact is made to leaves, stems or roots.
The effect is a burning itch resulting in redness and blisters if rubbed or scratched. The oil is not water soluble and easily spreads by breaking the blisters. I found this product, pictured above, good to wash away the urushiol oil after I had been infected last year.

The best solution for poison oak is to use a brush killer every year and spray early in spring to prevent over growth, but below are a few handy tips for you and your family to prevent poison oak infection:

      * Dress appropriately; rubber based gloves, long sleeves, long pants, socks and boots.

      * Wash after contact; bathe immediately, wash clothes and tools before future wear or use.

      * Do not burn poison oak leaves, plants or roots, as the oil can be inhalled from the smoke!

      * If pets are exposed, bathe them, as soon as possible, as the urushiol is easily transferred by
         petting.


As, I mentioned earlier, there aren't many insects, plants and animals that I don't respect and accept as part of God's creation on this great planet. But poison oak ranks first above ticks, mosquitos and fire ants and is my nemesis. Instead of a sword or gun, I plan to defeat this foe with a sprayer full of "Roundup!"

Untill next time.....

Happy Gardening 2012!



Posted by Wilma Smith

Summertime is Vine Time

On the first field trip our garden club made to Hills and Dales in Lagrange, I noticed plant seedlings for sale as we exited the visitor center. Instead of something in the gift shop, I bought two vines that would remind me of our fantastic day. I put them on my kitchen window sill until I decided where I should plant them and in my search for the perfect spot, I realized how many other vines were already growing around my house and in my yard.

One of the vines I bought, seen above, was a "Cardinal Vine" or "Ipomoea Stoleri", it is an annual vine that attracts bees, butterflies and birds.  This vine likes a spot with full sun to partial shade and soil with good drainage. All parts of the Cardinal Vine are poisonous, the foliage, the flowers and the seeds. Once the seeds pods dry, you can pick them to plant next year or let them re-seed at the same spot. The flower size is medium in red color and resembles a morning glory.

The other vine I bought was a "Hyacinth Bean Vine." Their blooms are purple and white clusters that bloom all summer long and in our southern climate, through the early fall season. This legume is used in window boxes, on trellises, as a ground cover and on any available pole. Similar to a pole bean it adds nitrogen to the soil,  it also loves sun, good drainage and will grow ten to fifteen feet under the right conditions. However, like the "Cardinal Vine," it's purple pods are poisonous, but will re-seed or can be gathered to plant the next season in a different location.

The "Hummingbird Vine," pictured above is one of my favorite. The small red flowers DO attract hummingbirds. I have been re-seeding and growing this same family plant for over seventeen years.
I just hope the same families of ruby red throated hummingbirds have enjoyed the nectar every year.

The plant above may look like a weed growing in the edge or somewhere else in your yard, but if you don't recognize this native it's OK. The "Trumpet Vine" grows everywhere along our roads and
by-ways. One of the biggest vines I've ever seen grows on the Lower Fayetteville Road bridge overlooking Interstate I-85. The orange trumpet flower is an attraction for all our friends of the garden.

Not all the vines in my yard bloom, the "Virgina Creeper" or "Parthenocissus Quinquefolia" starts out a dark green in spring and summer, loves a wall or any sturdy support. In the fall it turns red to scarlet and bears small bush berries that birds love. This woody climber makes it's way up a house or tree by suckering, amazingly, without damaging the anchor and will climb thirty to fifty feet.

Periwinkle will bloom violet flowers in the spring and I use it like a mulch around several islands in my back yard. I transplanted these periwinkle plants from an old home place when I moved to my home in 1993. I can honestly say, it has survived several drought seasons and I don't remember ever applying fertilizer.

I don't know about you but I see a pattern to annual summer vines. Most love a sunny, well drained spot to grow, attract friends of the garden with their blooms and seeds, love a good place to climb, and will sustain themselves, year after year if planted in the right spot. The down side is most are poisonous if consumed, not through contact.

If, your not partial to the vines I grow, there are hundreds you can plant in your yard and garden....
so happy planting........and until next time...


Happy Gardening 2012!

Posted by Wilma Smith

God Bless America -- Memorial Day Tribute

Happy Memorial Day to everyone! I hope you, your family, your friends and neighbors enjoy the day with all the food, gusto and fun that can be enjoyed in our great country. And at some point during the celebration, I hope you and yours remember, as this day was meant to celebrate, remembrance of all past and present who served to make us free..........and keep us free to this day!

Today, I'm remembering my dad (and his brothers) who served in World War II. As, you can see above, he was a handsome man. Although, this picture was taken way before my time, he taught me some valuable lessons about our county, later in my life when I was born.  How to be a patriot, love America and how to respect people and their property.

Growing up, we never had eagles nesting in our trees only hawks, but to me, both always captured a sense of freedom that became a symbol for our country for hundreds of years.

During my dad's service in World War II, he brought back alot of artifacts worn by German soldiers on their uniforms, as seen above. He told some war stories, but really not to me, as I was not born until long after his service.

God Bless America......and God Bless my dad, his brothers, and all brave men and women who served in the past......and all who serve in the present.......America needed them then and America needs them now!


Happy Memorial Day and .....

Happy Gardening 2012!

Posted by Wilma Smith

Friends of the Garden -- the Birds and the Bees

When I moved to my home in 1993, I planted a large strip of mixed wildflowers close to the garden plot. Little did I realize then I was doing a big favor to my yard and garden by attracting alot of birds and bees with the flowers. Over the years, some of the flowers died out but the most prevalent and aggressive still come back every year with zero maintenance. Pictured above are "Mexican Hats" and it's easy to see how they get the name, as they do resemble a large brimmed sombrero to include the pointed crown.

Pollinators like honey bees, bumble bees, solitary bees and butterflies are attracted to bright colors like blues, yellows, reds and violets. These "Black-Eyed Susan's" pop up everywhere in the yard even where I have to mow the grass and I cut around them when possible. Pollinators are crucial for high yield and quality fruit and vegetable crops, strawberry, squash, melons and apples to name a few.

I also planted day lilies close to the garden but I don't remember the name of this variety, I just love the color.

Fragrant herbs like this basil deter many unwanted insects in the garden. The pink flowers in the background are wild primrose. This is just a small sprinkle that appeared at this location. There is a bigger grouping on the right side of the garden. Pollinators are important to set seeds and set fruit in the initial growing stage. How do they do it? They light on the anther (male part of the flower) and collecting pollen on the mouth, body, antennae or legs then light on the stigma (female part of the flower) and deposit the pollen and so on and so forth.

So, how do you attract them? Diversify, limit pesticides and leave flowers blooming in your yard and garden when possible, unless disease or insect infestations are a problem. These bok choy above have bloomed and are now seeding, but we won't cut them back until the pods fully ripen and then turn brown because they are attracting the pollinators we need for our garden. Plus we will harvest the seeds and plant them in the fall.

Another wildflower close to the garden that comes back ever year is this white yarrow. Although it's not my favorite I do love the fern like leaves. Yarrow comes in a variety of colors and can be used live or dried for arrangements. Plus, it also attracts pollinators.

I've talked about the bees, but now I'll give the birds some credit for being friends of the garden. Birds are not only fascinating to watch and sing beautiful songs, but if you let them and attract the right kinds, they will control unwanted bug populations. For several years, I have let the blackberry bushes around our garden grow until the crop ripens then cut them back. Why? One reason is so we can make a blackberry cobbler but another reason is to give my birds a tasty treat.

Also, I have a fig bush growing within yards of the garden, another attraction for the birds. And a plus to make preserves or dried figs to use in other recipes. Just like bees, birds need staples to attract and keep them close to your yard and garden. They need fresh water, shelter, food and the absence of strong chemical pesticides. All these staples are easy to purchase at a local garden center like Wal-Mart, Lowe's, Home Depot, etc.

All in all, the birds and the bees are some of the best "Friends of the Garden" and the yard for that matter, so I hope you take steps to attract them at your house.

Monday is "Memorial Day," so, please pay some tribute to a family service member, friend or someone in the military you may not know, regardless of past or present service.

Until next time.....

Happy Gardening 2012!


Posted by Wilma Smith