Through Our Garden Gates 2023
Our Gardens
The Flower Garden
Pam Beasley
Hardy Hibiscus; Hibiscus x Summerific® 'Evening Rose'
Huge 8”, puckered hot pink flowers cover a round, dense habit of near black foliage. Grows well next to stream or rain garden. I’ve planted mine next to a drainage swell. Attracts bees and hummingbirds. A vigorous, easy to grow plant, this is a “must have” north American native plant for the garden. Blooms into October in the 901.
Sun Requirements:
Grow in full sun (6+ hours).
Soil Condition:
Moist, well-drained soil.
Type, Color & Size:
Tall perennial growing about 4’ high and can spread to 5’. Produces hot pink flowers with dark foliage.
Care and Maintenance:
It leafs out late in spring but grows very quickly. Cut it down in spring before new growth appears. Easy to grow – zone 4-9 cold hardy. Can be susceptible to Japanese beetles.
Gold Flame Honeysuckle; Lonicera x heckrottii
Gold Flame Honeysuckle is a vining honeysuckle that is very winter hardy and easy to grow. Hummingbirds and butterflies are always visiting this plant in my garden. It has a lasting fragrance that brings back childhood memories for me of playing near the woods. Birds like to nest in the twining branches as the plant thickens in growth – I welcome this!
Sun Requirements:
Grow in full sun (6+ hours).
Soil Condition:
Fertile, well-drained soil.
Type, Color & Size:
It will grow to a height of 10’ to 15’ and just as wide. It has loads of fragrant reddish pink, tubular flowers from late spring to fall.
Care and Maintenance:
Be sure to give it a support to climb on right away or soon after it’s planted. It will need to be trimmed a few times during the growing season to maintain desired shape. It blooms on old wood, so don’t prune until foliage emerges in the spring.
Neon Star Dianthus; Dianthus x ‘Neon Star’ pink
I love this cottage garden plant because it is extremely versatile and ideal for the front of garden beds, borders and in rock gardens. It has a highly scented clove fragrance that can be enjoyed throughout the garden.
Sun Requirements:
Prefers full sun but will tolerate some shade.
Soil Condition:
Likes well drained soil with some sand. It is an excellent choice for hot, dry sites or gravelly soil.
Type, Color & Size:
This plant is considered a ground cover that grows to 6”-8” tall and wide. Pink frilly blooms rise on sturdy stems above a tidy mound of grassy, sliver blue leaves. This little plant will grow in almost every zone and is heat and drought tolerant.
Care and Maintenance:
Deadhead to prolong flowering from spring through summer. Trim lightly after flowering.
Bee Balm ‘Jacob Cline’; Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’
Hummingbirds love this perennial! I find it to be a carefree, strong grower. I have paired this bee balm in between two climbing roses. The tall plant adds a strong vertical accent in the garden. I really like the whimsical jester hat shaped blossoms on this plant – it adds a playfulness and an interesting texture. When crushed, the foliage will release a spicy fragrance and the leaves can be used to make a delightful tea.
Sun Requirements:
Grow in full sun (6+ hours).
Soil Condition:
Fertile, well drained soil.
Type, Color & Size:
This repeat flowering, medium English shrub rose grows to
4’ tall and wide. The blooms are a beautiful blend of pink, apricot and yellow, giving the overall impression of orange. They have a lovely myrrh fragrance. It forms a bushy, rounded shrub with quite straight stems.
Care and Maintenance:
All roses benefit from good pruning techniques and regular fertilizing throughout the growing season – this rose is not exception. Our humid climate can be problematic for roses with “black spot” and other diseases present unless treated with chemical preventatives. I choose not to do this and just deal with bad along with the good. This flower is worth any trouble and effort.
‘Carding Mill’ David Austin Rose; Rosa ‘Carding Mill’ English Shrub Rose
In terms of roses, I think there is none more beautiful than the English rose. This was my first rose that I planted in my Manor Woods Garden and is my favorite, if I have to choose 😉 I like to grow this rose in a bottomless, large container.
Sun Requirements:
Grow in full sun (6+ hours).
Soil Condition:
Fertile, well drained soil.
Type, Color & Size:
This repeat flowering, medium English shrub rose grows to 4’ tall and wide. The blooms are a beautiful blend of pink, apricot and yellow, giving the overall impression of orange. They have a lovely myrrh fragrance. It forms a bushy, rounded shrub with quite straight stems.
Care and Maintenance:
All roses benefit from good pruning techniques and regular fertilizing throughout the growing season – this rose is not exception. Our humid climate can be problematic for roses with “black spot” and other diseases present unless treated with chemical preventatives. I choose not to do this and just deal with bad along with the good. This flower is worth any trouble and effort.
The Nature Garden
Karen Jordan
Cleome hassleriana; Spider flower
Favorite in Southern gardens for its easily brown delicate spider-like flowers ( pink rose, purple, white, bicolor) along with its spidery seed pods. Many new cultivars including dwarf series making them good for smaller areas & containers. Older cultivars (Queen series) leaves may be sticky & have strong sometimes unpleasant odor & sharp thorns at base of leaf. Many types have no noticeable fragrance, while others are very fragrant, often described as a musky, sweet and pungent, or spicy scent. Newer cultivars (Senorita series, ‘Linda Armstrong’) are odor & thorn free making them good choice for gardens. Cleome can be an excellent, striking cut flower if the scent is not considered disagreeable.
Mature size:
1 1/2 to 5 feet tall with 1-2 feet wide spread. New dwarf cultivars would be good choices for smaller areas & containers. Pinching back young plants will promote shorter, bushier plants Bloom time: June until frost. Deadheading not necessary. Following bloom I time, seed pods ripen & split open to reveal small seeds— older cultivars ( such as Queen series) reseed but newer cultivars are sterile & do not produce viable seed.
Sun Requirements:
Full sun to light shade
Soil Conditions:
Average well-drained
Native:
Native to South America
Deer resistant:
Yes
Drought resistant:
Somewhat drought tolerant, but would benefit from extra watering during dry periods.
Wildlife value:
Nectar attracts hummingbirds, hummingbird moths, butterflies, bees
Disease/pest issues:
Tough annual so none serious. Aphids, spider mites, & whiteflies. Space plants properly to allow air circulation to prevent powdery mildew in humid climates.
New Dawn Climbing Rose; Rosa ‘New Dawn’
This is the forerunner of the modern perpetual flowering climbers. It produces abundant clusters of sweetly fragrant, medium-sized, soft pink double flowers, which deepen in colour towards the centre. There is plentiful glossy dark green foliage. New Dawn is versatile enough to be grown as a shrub or a climber. Excellent cut flower for vases.
Landscape uses:
Can be grown on trellises, poles, arches, and pillars, trained along fences or 10 ft high walls
Plant type:
Reblooming climbing rose, very fragrant blooms
Mature size:
10-15 feet climbing with 6-10 feet spread
Bloom time:
Unusually long flowering period from early summer to late fall as blooms repeat throughout the season. Spent blooms should be deadheaded to encourage new blooms. Prune in late winter.
Zones:
5 through 11
Sun requirements:
Full sun to partial shade
Soil requirements:
Chalk, clay, loam, sand; well-drained
Disease resistance:
Yes. More disease resistant than most roses
Wildlife value:
Drought tolerant
Care and Maintenance:
Attracts butterflies
Chaste tree; Vitex, Vitex agnus-castus
Grows quickly into multi-trunked tree with broad, spreading habit. Shows large clusters of fragrant lilac colored blooms (can be pink.blue or white) in upward growing panicles up to 1 foot long. Produces small black berries which will need to be cleaned up to avoid seedlings popping up around yard. Landscape uses: Used as a single specimen in the landscape along property line or to line a driveway. Lower plants can be planted beneath it. Can be trained to use as a small tree in the landscape or to accent a patio, but must be pruned as it could become invasive if left unchecked.
Plant type:
Deciduous, perennial, ornamental tree
Mature size:
15 to 25 feet tall & wide. Prune in winter by removing all side branches from main 4-5 trunks.
Bloom time:
Blooms in summer
Zones:
5-9. Cold hardy to -9 degrees F
Sun requirements:
Full sun, tolerates partial shade but will flower less heavily
Soil requirements:
Acidic to neutral soil (6.0 to 7.0), well draining. Prefers dry or clay soils over moist.
Native Region:
Native to Europe & Southern Asia but does well within Tennessee zones.
Drought resistance:
Stands up to dry spells in summer, grows just about everywhere.
Wildlife value:
Attracts ail kinds of pollinators—insects, birds, bumblebees
Chinese Pistache; Pistacia chinensis
Unattractive, almost gawky tree when young, Chinese pistache develops into outstanding tree with an umbrella-like crown. Very tough, drought tolerant, easy to transplant, and pest free are all terms used to describe the Chinese pistache. Chinese pistache has lustrous green foliage during the summer months, and terrific fall color, plus exfoliating bark for winter interest. The fiery orange and red leaves make this one of the prettiest trees in autumn. The male and female flowers emerge in the spring before the leaves. Flowers are dense or loose greenish clusters. The female flower, once pollinated, produces a red fleshy fruit that ripens to blue in October and is enjoyed by birds, but is inedible for humans.
Landscape Uses:
Small shade tree – Fall color
Plant type:
Deciduous, grayish- brown peeling outer bark that reveals a salmon-colored inner bark
Mature size:
35 feet tall & w/o top 30 feet spread
Bloom time:
Male & female flowers emerge in spring. Female bloom produces red fleshy fruits that ripen to blue in October.
Zones:
6-9
Sun requirements:
Full sun
Soil requirements:
Adapts to most soils & pH types
Drought resistance:
Yes
Insect /pest concerns:
Insect/pest free
Wildlife value:
Enjoyed by birds, attracts songbirds
Baptisia “American Goldfinch”; False Indigo
Baptisia is big, bold, beautiful perennial which will make a dramatic statement in the garden in late spring. The golden yellow spikes rise up above the wide plant base & will last for many weeks. At the end of blooming season in the fall, round seed pods develop. Perfect specimen to fill a large space in the landscape or for a mass planting as in meadows, borders or as a single plant.
Landscape uses:
Perfect specimen for filling in large spaces or for mass plantings in landscape. Could be used as backdrop for borders or mass meadow plantings
Plant type:
Herbaceous Perennial
Mature size:
3 feet high, 4.5 to 5 feet wide
Bloom time:
Perennial blooms late spring. Flower spikes stand tall for many weeks. In early spring, may set up peony ring (circular wire stake) so plant can grow through & spikes will stay more upright & plant till take up less horizontal space.
Zones:
4 through 9
Sun requirements:
Full sun to part shade
Soil requirements:
Poor to average quality soil, well-drained
Native Region:
Native to North America
Drought resistance:
Drought tolerant due to deep taproots
Deer resistance:
Yes
The Waterfall Garden
Liz Thomas
Climbing Hydrangea Vine; Hydrangea anomala petiolaria
Twining vine with beautiful leaves and lace flowers.
Tulip Magnolia; Magnolia soulangeana
Beautiful pink and magenta flowers in early spring. It is my husband’s favorite tree because it blooms in the early spring.
Culinary Sage; Salvia farinacea
Violet tall purple flowers, perennial and great pollinator. Late spring to early summer blooming.
Carolina Jasmine, Yellow Jasmine; Gelesemium Sempervirens
Climbing vine. Beautiful flowers in the spring. Love it around my back door.
Mountain Laurel; Kalmia latifolia
Beautiful two tone flowers, dark pink and light pink, hand-sized spring blooms.
The Hydrangea Garden
Dixie Johnson
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The Shade Garden
Barbara Pierce
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