Around The Garden World - Day 52

 This past week I was putting Nandina Firepower, Nandina Sienna Sunrise or Nandina Obsession in containers. There were a few folks who thought the slightly tinted green shub was a little boring. "Give me a few weeks", I say. These will be far from boring. These photos are of a simple planting I did a few years back of Nandina and orange pansies.

 The cold weather transforms these little green meatball shrubs into flaming accent pieces.

These planters of camellia, Autumn fern ajuga, carex grass, and vinca vine were planted at the door of this same house

Around The Garden World - Day 38 (Fall in Franklin, TN)

A little inspiration for fall

Blue Angel Pine, Red carpet sedum, Blue pansies, and a little ivy make a pretty planting from fall to spring, especially when placed in front of this blazing red japanese maple! 

Around The Garden World - Day 33 (winter containers)

 A fall container in case you are feelin' blue about changing out your summer annual plantings.

Deodora Feelin' Blue, Red Bor kale, Caramel Heuchera, Pansies

Winter Container Idea

Took this picture mid-January

'Edmee Gold' Lonicera, 'Scotch Broom' Cytisus scoparius,Heuchera, Ivy, pansies.

Day 174 - I Am Not Going to Say "I Told You So"

But it did get down to 31 degrees last night so I still have time to show you some more winter/early spring planters
Camellia, vinca vine, black mondo grass
Evergreen dogwood, Scotch broom, sedum, heuchera, camellia

Red twig dogwood, nandina, iberis, Algerian ivy

All in a day's work

Yelena, my co-hort in botanical artisanship, and I get to spend days at a time creating containers for the folks in the neighborhoods where we work. Enjoy a few of our creative ventures from the past week.

Camellias for your winter containers

Some childhood images can never be shaken. Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners could only be served surrounded by bowls of camellias, or what my grandma called winter roses, accenting our family feast. When moving to Tennessee after growing up in Georgia I was afraid that this tradition would only remain a memory. But thanks to Dr. William Ackerman, a research horticulturist with the National Arboretum, a cold-hardy camellia collection is now readily available to deepen the link to a true southern garden.

Camellias are happiest when planted on the east or north side and given dappled sunlight. Their deep glossy evergreen leaves allow them to serve as a winter flowering hedge or a background for displaying summer collects of hosta, Japanese painted fern, and impatiens, or the fall color of chelone or anemone. The show-off look of these camellias in a winter container surrounded by Lonicera “Edmee Gold” or Heuchera “Caramel” will keep your holiday guest talking ‘til spring. And don’t forget to bring some blooms inside!

Quick Facts

Common name: Camellia

Botanical Name: Camellia hybrids

Zone 7-9, only a few in Zone 6

Varieties to look for in Zone 6: “Ice Angel ™” series, “Winter’s Fire”, “Winter’s Interlude”, “Winter’s Joy”, “Winter’s Rose”, “Winter’s Charm”, Pink Icicle; “April Remembered” is fast growing and long blooming.

Blooming period: Fall through spring, depending on the variety

Type: Evergreen Shrub

Size: varieties range from 4 feet to 8 feet

Exposure: Light shade and protection from winter wind; Cold hardy to zone 6.

Keys to success

When to plant: Spring is best or Fall with extra winter protection

Soil: Moist, well-drained acid soil; keep mulched year-round

Watering: Camellias are not drought tolerant so keep watered during the summer until established

When to prune: Immediately after blooming

When to fertilize: Spring or Fall

Suggestions for Your Landscape: container planting; hedge row; foundation planting

Oct. 2, 2009 - My mind is full of annual bed designs, container planting ideas and football, but container ideas are the top of the hour. This container is a simple shade container with Camellia "Winter's Joy" and Lonicera "Edmee Gold".