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Container Edibles Can Work in Formal Settings

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A co-worker, many years ago, who knew that I love plants, asked me what she should plant in a very large blue glazed pot that she had just bought.

Beautiful container plantings of mixed flowers and herbs decorate various areas at Calloway Gardens and Hills & Dales Estates in Georgia.
Container plantings of mixed flowers and herbs, along with kale and Swiss chard, decorate various areas at Calloway Gardens and Hills & Dales Estate in Georgia.

At the time, all I could imagine was a central cluster of three dwarf okra (like ‘Cajun Jewel’), surrounded by bush beans and  bright orange ‘Tangerine’ marigolds. Even now, that still seems like it would be just about perfect in a large blue pot.

There are plenty of people locally, though, who would hesitate to plant such a mix, even if it appealed to their own sense of aesthetics, because many Homeowner Associations (HOAs) prohibit the planting of edibles where they can be seen by the public.

However, there are also gardeners who are untroubled by such rules but who want to maintain a formal style while including more edibles in their yards. These gardeners might consider mixing herbs and leafy greens in with their cool-season flowers.

On a recent trip to Calloway Gardens and Hills & Dales Estate (both are about an hour’s drive South of Atlanta), the cool-season container plantings included parsley, red veined sorrel (at Calloway), Swiss chard (Hills & Dales), and several kinds of kale. These herbs and leafy greens either accented the floral display, or, in a few instances, they were the main feature.

All of the containers plantings were beautiful, and they did not look out of place, even among the clipped boxwood hedges, stone columns, and statuary.

I will be curious to find out how the plantings change for summer. Parsley works the whole year here in the South, but other herbs and greens will need to be switched for plants that can take a lot more heat. Maybe it will all be changed to okra, marigolds, and bush beans!

If you were putting together planters for a formal setting, that had to stand up to a Southern summer, what edibles would you include?

Edith’s Darling Rose, from Weeks Roses

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National Garden Bureau has named (with help from the American Rose Society) 2017 the Year of the Rose. It is also the year of the Pansy, the Daffodil, and the Brassica.

My yard would be short of one whole category of plant in the big celebrations, but the good people at Weeks Roses have provided a great rose for me to grow this year.

They might not have let me have the little plant if they had known how many rose bushes have died in my yard in the past.

However, I currently am the proud caretaker of an actual, living, Edith’s Darling Rose, one of a series of roses named for characters from the TV series Downton Abbey.

I acquired the little plant last fall, and it lived through the winter. The leaves look green and healthy, and the plant is making a few, sweetly-scented, amazing flowers.

Of course, the real measure of success in keeping this little plant alive comes toward the end of August. Summers in Georgia can be hard on roses. The humidity is worse than the heat. Dampness in the air means that leaves stay wet for a long time after a rain. Long-term dampness makes it easy for plant diseases to take hold.

If all goes well, though, the rose bush will thrive. It is a hybrid shrub rose that should reach a mature size of about 2-to-3 feet in all dimensions, be somewhat disease resistant, and not get the “leggy” look that some roses do. In other words, it could be perfect for a small garden.

Wish me, and my sweet little rose, luck?

Boxwood Blight Leads to Need for Alternative Shrubs

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Back in 2014, UGA’s Dr. Jean Woodward wrote about finding the first case of Boxwood Blight in Atlanta. Gardeners and landscapers who have followed that story have been taking the warnings about this plant disease seriously.

However, following sanitation guidelines to avoid spreading the disease, and then destroying any infected plants, is not convenient. These steps aren’t especially easy, either.

In yards and gardens that have been affected by this blight, alternative plants that can fill the same role are needed. Replanting more boxwood in those empty spaces is not a good idea!

UGA’s publication “Think Outside the Boxwood” (original link to webpage for this no longer works) lists some planting options to consider and some to avoid. The publication includes photos of some of the examples. These give readers an idea of how the substitutions could change the look of the landscape.

In a formal setting, such as a knot garden, the alternate plants may bring a whole new look. Can you imagine the knot as a string of Purple Pixie loropetalum twined with Pineapple guava? Or a string of upright Plum Yew with a spreading holly fern?

Those who love formal, clipped-boxwood hedges might not love some of the alternatives, but there is plenty of room for creativity, and there are some small-leaved, compact options (like the yaupon hollies) that can bring a close-enough appearance to the beloved knot. The substitutions may seem strange now, but they are are a good option for helping to reduce the spread of boxwood blight in Atlanta.