Tennessee flowers inspire garden design
I just returned from Gatlinburg, Tenn., where I had the opportunity to participate in one of the many guided hikes offered as part of the annual (this year marks the 58th) Spring Wildflower Pilgrimage and National Park experience in the Great Smoky Mountains. On the drive into the park, I had a hard time keeping my eyes on the road as I passed masses of white, pink, blue and yellow flowers carpeting the woodland on the sides of the road. So it was with great anticipation that I set out on a hike at Porters Creek Trail. I quickly discovered many of the same beauties that I had driven past just hours earlier including swaths of white foam flowers, Tiarella cordifolia, groups of the purple-pink Geranium maculatum and masses of the charming lavender-blue dwarf crested iris, Iris cristata.
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Tulips come in many sizes and colors
My daughter loves tulips and I promised her that we would plant some this fall for next spring. For her, this means bright red or yellow and the bigger the better. While I admire big tulips like ‘Red Impression’ and love the fragrance and color of ‘Apricot Beauty,’ I also like some of the smaller species types that are easy to tuck into the perennial or rock garden. Not only do they take up less space, many are easy to force or grow in containers and some will perennialize in the garden, offering years of beauty. At McMahan’s Nursery in Gainesville, Ga., you can purchase some of these bulbs in pots this spring. Favorites of theirs include Tulipa ‘Peppermint Stick,’ with its narrow petals of red and white that is reminiscent of a peppermint stick; and Tulipa clusiana ‘Tubergen’s Gem’ with petals that are red on the outside and bright yellow on the inside. This tulip only grows 8 inches to 10 inches tall. Tulipa turkestanica is a fragrant multi-flowering selection that has white petals with an orange center and grows 6 inches to 8 inches tall.
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Plant spring bulbs that are easy to grow and live long
Spring is upon us and bulbs are popping up all over. Although I love daffodils and feel that one can never have too many, there are a host of other spring bulbs that are beautiful, easy to grow and long lived in the garden. Some, like snowflake, Leucojum aestivum “gravetye giant,” form large clumps and grow 18 to 30 inches tall or taller. The white bell-shaped flowers tipped in green add movement to the garden as they dance in the breeze. I have some planted in an area where I grow azaleas, hellebores, Christmas ferns and other woodland delights like Pulmonaria, also known as lungwort, but this versatile bulb will also thrive in damp soils in sun or shade. A good combination for shady damp sites is Senecio aureus, golden ragwort, Leucojum aestivum and Acorus gramineus “ogon” with its variegated yellow and green grass-like foliage.
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