Visiting the Birthplace of Helen Keller

A few weeks ago myself, Mr. Fix-it and the Jimster took a trip to Alabama with the Montgomery County Master Gardener Group. The trip was a learning trip for the fifteen folks who joined in. The trip was open to the entire master gardener group and their families. All we had to do was drive ourselves to Muscle Shoals Alabama, pay for our food and enjoy. The master gardener group paid our entrance to the Helen Keller house and the Huntsville Botanical Gardens as well as our one night hotel bill. In case you all didn't know Huntsville is about a 3.5 hour trip from the Clarksville area. It was an awesome trip and one I am so happy my family was able to join me on. This post is the first of a couple of posts on that weekend learning trip. I have lots to share and thought it best if I would break it all up. One post will be about yard art at the Huntsville Botanical Gardens and two more will be about the gardens themselves-all from my point of view.

Soothing Swing

I have had some family members visit me here in my Georgia Gardens the past few days. It has been nice sitting back and enjoying some of my surroundings such as my swing.

Busy week ahead

Lucky me to be able to find "back-up" evergreens for the two that may not make it here in my Georgia Gardens. The harsh summer has taken its toll on the June planted beauties but they are still hanging on for me. Not only did I pick up two replacements (if need be) but also a nice 15 gallon Holley filled with berry's. McCorkles Nursery "Sale to the Public" had these on special for $15.00 each, again! Wow, I love a bargain...

Green Spiders

Blogging never ceases to amaze me! I was at Randy and Megs Blog, (Click HERE to view) on Tuesday. Randy posted about a Green spider. I made mention in the comments how I have never seen a Green Spider in person. Well, today I spotted one in my Georgia Gardens! Thanks to Randy, I know this is a GREEN LYNX SPIDER, In the Garden...
Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the GardenPosted bySkeeterat9/29/2011 04:30:00 AM

The Montgomery County Master Gardener PLANT SALE

See you there....


in the garden....

Words and Photos Property of In the Garden Blog Team, In the Garden Posted bytinaat9/30/2011 05:00:00 AM

Camellia Seedlings In The Garden

With the advent of fall things in the garden have been happening rather rapidly. I've been very busy planting many new plants, creating a new garden, dividing and filling in, and preparing the greenhouse for the winter. While scurrying about doing all my chores I passed by my very large fall blooming pink camellia and I happened to notice some evergreen plants growing below the tree. There were seven evergreen seedlings growing under the camellia and I thought to myself-dare I hope? Dare I hope for seedlings from the camellia? I have had camellia seedlings before and tons of camellia apple seedpods but I have not had luck really getting more camellias from the existing camellias-until now.

Frozen Tomatoes

I did not plant any vegetables other then Tomatoes in my Georgia Garden this year. The only tomatoes I seem to have luck with are Roma. That is fine by me as I love to use Roma's in sauces, soups and chili.

A New Garden

Another new garden for Tiger Gardens and I have to tell you that this new garden thing is getting tougher and tougher. I can hardly find spots to create any gardens let alone new ones but somehow I manage to carve out spots for special trees and/or shrubs I happen to bring home to the garden. Sometimes I wonder if every little lost shrub or tree sends me vibes and somehow manages to trick me into tossing it into my car to bring home because I honestly don't need another tree or shrub. This little Cornus kousa is, of course, the exception. I simply needed it; plain and simple. That plus the fact it was very cheap (less than $20 for a five foot plus tree) absolutely convinced me I needed a new Korean dogwood.

Acorn's

Have I mentioned we had a drought in my Georgia Gardens this summer? Of course I have mentioned it and more then once. This drought continues to plague us in many ways. Here you see the tiny acorns falling from the Willow Oak trees.

A Few Flowers For October Color

Tiger Gardens is doing very well this fall due to the nice rains we received in September, warm days, and cooler nights. Here are a few blooms from the gardens I find noteworthy this fall. 


'Autumn Chiffon' is one of two Encore azaleas that I have posted on before. The post titled 'Encore Azaleas Not So Encore' is a very popular post in early spring. When I see all the searches (from my Sitemeter)  related to Encore azaleas not doing well I have to smile because I know I am not the only gardener in the same boat with having trouble with Encore azaleas being hardy as promised. I have found the solution to their hardiness problems-plant them in the spring in a protected spot and give them a few years to settle in. Both of my Encore 'Autumn Chiffons' are putting out more blooms this fall than they did in the spring. Azaleas in the fall are a very nice treat.

Santolina chamaecyparissus, aka Lavender Cotton, aka Wonder Plant

It has been quite a while since I have done a Plant of the Month post so I thought I'd let you know about a fantastic plant growing in my garden that tops even the Plant of the Month. This plant commonly called Lavender Cotton or Santolina (Santolina chamaecyparissus) is a contender for Plant of the Year in my gardening book (that is the book I am keeping about my gardens:). 


Lavender cotton is a gray foliaged plant that is soft to touch and has a very fine frilly fine textured appearance. It is slow to get started in the garden but once it settles in and gets going no other plant can match it for endurance and its year round good looks. Santolina needs a well drained area in full sun (but will grow in part sun as evidenced in my garden) with average soil. I never prune my santolina nor do I fertilize it. Be sure to site santolina near the front of your border so it can be enjoyed up close and is not overshadowed by other plants. Being a gray leaved plant santolina does not need a lot of water-I've never watered mine. Plant santolina in any hot and dry area and it will slowly fill in that area making a great evergreen ground cover. 

A few good companion plants for santolina can be sedum (as evidenced in the second and third pictures of this post), irises, baptisia, roses, or salvia. Santolina is actually a plant that can go with almost all other plants except other gray leaved plants that are frilly (like catmint and artemesia). I also think santolina is a better groundcover under roses than the usual lavender but remember santolina does not need a lot of water. Lavender is not always a long lived plant for our area so I am not a big fan of lavender. Be sure to allow for at least a four square foot area for your santolina to grow and spread.

Yard Art from the Huntsville Botanical Gardens-Like it or Not??

I am so behind on postings but am trying diligently to get these all done and in a timely manner. It just seems as though I either don't have the time to prepare my posts or I am doing other things that have a higher priority. I'm not sure which but I do know I enjoy posting so will continue to work at it. This blog is a picture book of things going on in our lives that include not just the garden so I am very serious about keeping up this blog-can anyone give me more time? 


Anyhow, I introduced you all to our master gardener trip to Huntsville on Wednesday and promised three more posts on the trip. This post will focus on yard art. Those who read this blog know I love yard art. A famous gardener once said, "You don't want anything shiny in the garden because it will spoil the garden." Do you all know who said that? I shall tell you later but a hint is that it is a gardener from across the big pond. Perhaps English gardens like boring dull non shiny gardens but over here in the Americas I believe we love our shiny things as evidenced by many of your garden blogs and my recent visit to the Huntsville Botanical Gardens. Just look at the shiny things I found in the garden. These were not in the Children's Garden area proper so you can't blame it on that. This can whirlygig was too cool by itself.

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