My favorite rose for Middle Tennessee

Roses are not the easiest plants to grow here and other than the latest phenomenon 'knock-out' or 'Flower carpet' series, which fulfill the request " I just want color in my garden!" there is precious little to offer a garden client who is extremely busy making a living doing something else.  IE: Roses take a lot of maintenance. Do not give up yet!


Meidiland rose 'Scarlet red' is a very hardy rambling rose for our hot humid weather. Thanks to daughter, Barbara who took this photo for me in our 95+ degree heat.

The ubiquitous 'knock-out' shrub roses are everywhere and yes, they add color (red, white, yellow or pink) with very little effort from us, but, no fragrance. The meidiland rose fills that capacity as a rambler.

Of course, water roses regularly (Never on the leaves. Well,... only if you are watering with rose food and only in the morning so the leaves can dry out during the day.

I always scratch a little organic rose food into the soil when planting roses.

I don't know the variety of the rose in the next photo and neither does it's owner, but we agree that it is gorgeous and grows well right here in Meadowlake.

So, don't give up on growing roses here in Brentwood TN.

It can be done well if you select the right ones.

P.S. I still LOVE fragrant old fashioned roses the best, however, wouldn't recommend them to really busy people.

Bachelor's Button

"I used to love my garden, but now my love is dead, for I found a bachelor's button in black-eyed Susan's bed!"  author unknown

Both of these perennials grow easily in SUN in Middle Tennessee.

Meadowlake History updated

The other day I posted a letter about Meadowlake Entrance.

 With it I added a little bit of history of our neighborhood (what little I knew). Afterwards I received a  very helpful response from Bob McGowan and I thought I would pass it on to those of you who are also new to the Meadowlake/Iroquois neighborhood. Thanks Bob!


"Mary,after reading your email , I was encouraged to enlighton you a tad---------  Iroquois subdivision sarted developing in 1962 and continued for about 4 years. It was developed by Eddy Arnold ( yes, the singer) and Charley Mosely, hence Arnold road and Mosely drive. Meadowlake started developing about 2- 3 years later about 1965-66.We moved to Williamsburg road in June 1963 and there were about 12 -15  homes there  when we moved and Meadowlake was farmland  at that time, all the streets dead ended a few feet north of what is now Meadowlake road.   Thought you might be interested----"   Bob McGowan



If you have any history knowledge to add to Bob's please send it along. We live in a fascinating neighborhood and I am sure I am not the only one who is hearing this for the first time. Please add comments to bottom pf post or email them to me (Mary) at  lavenderbluegarden@gmail.com. And, thanks again Bob!

Cicadas

In the past few weeks many clients have been pulling me aside and asking,
"What can I do to prevent damage caused by cicadas?" And, "Are there really cicadas coming?"
The best place to turn for answers is to the great folks at the TN Agriculture Extension Service. And according to them, the 13-year cicada is expected to emerge from soils across much of Tennessee soon.

Millions of 13-year cicadas are expected to emerge from the soils across the state this spring. Female cicadas can damage young trees when they cut slits in twigs to lay eggs

Sometime this spring, when soil temperatures reach about 67 degrees at a depth of 4 inches, large numbers – millions – of cicadas are expected to emerge from the soils of more than one-third of the state's 95 counties. The greatest population concentrations are expected to be in Middle Tennessee.
 
The target date is early May, and four or five days after they emerge, the adult males will start “singing” says University of Tennessee Extension entomologist Dr. Frank Hale. “In some locales, the sound may seem deafening.”


Hale says the high-pitched, shrill-sounding songs of the males may be distracting or irritating, but it’s the activities of the females that can cause damage to the landscape, especially young trees. “After the males attract females with their song, mating occurs and females begin laying eggs inside the branches of woody plants. A female cicada has a knife-like ovipositor that she uses to slit twigs before she lays eggs inside the slits,” he said.
“A single female cicada can lay anywhere from 24 to 28 eggs in each slit she cuts, and she can cut anywhere from 5 to 20 slits in a single twig.” Hale explains that each female can lay a total of 400 to 600 eggs and that the egg punctures pose a threat to young trees.

“Apple, pear, dogwood, oak and hickory are their favorite hosts, but you can see the puncture marks on many tree species,” Hale says. “The punctures can damage young transplanted trees in nurseries and orchards causing the twig tips to wilt and die.”

In areas having a previous history of high populations of periodicals cicadas, Hale says certain preventative measures should be followed. “Delay pruning young fruit trees until after cicada emergence so damaged branches can be removed and a proper scaffolding of branches can be established. When feasible, small, valuable shrubs and trees may be covered with a loose woven or spun fabric such as cheesecloth or floating row cover for protection while cicadas are present.” Hale says insecticides have not proven to be effective for preventing cicada egg-laying damage.

Cicadas cannot sting, and adult cicadas live for only four to five weeks. Eggs hatch six to seven weeks after they are laid and the newly-hatched nymphs (which are white and ant-like in appearance) drop to the ground and work their way into the soil. Nymphs grow slowly and they feed on sap from roots until the spring of their 13th year, when they emerge to start the cycle again.

Out on a limb



Have you ever felt like you are out on a limb? After a very windy night, we woke up, looked out our window and saw this little guy enjoying the calm that followed the storm. Not to worry little guy, Luke is building a new house for you straight away.



April 4 wind storm blows through Brentwood. Who has seen the wind?

Monday, April 4th was a blustery day for Meadowlake as winds swept through our neighborhood. Christina Rossetti's words tell the story once again.



Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you.




But when the leaves hang trembling,
The wind is passing through.



Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I.



But when the trees bow down their heads,



The wind is passing by.





Who has seen the wind?
 by Christina Rossetti





A colonial home like this one with it's well kept, traditional garden out front can be found here in Meadowlake.

 One way to find the style of garden for you is to look at your house architecture. This Georgian Colonial  has a square, symmetrical shape, central door, and straight lines of windows on the first and second floor. There is usually a decorative crown above the door and flattened columns on either side of it. The door leads to an entryway with stairway and hall aligned along the center of the house. All rooms branch off of these.

 The traditional style garden shown here looks appropriate with this style house. As with the house, the plants are arranged symmetrically, balanced and carefully placed along the foundation. 

Using evergreens, boxwood, laurel, holly, and yew is always a safe bet.  Flowering trees, redbud, dogwood, crabapple and cherry  are some of the choices that are used so that each season showcases one main focal point. The idea here is clean, neat, color in contained areas and not busy.

The saying, 'A place for everything and everything in it's place' is quite true for this style garden.

Some other details used in a traditional garden are:



Chippendale Bench



Gate with arbor



Brick path through garden



Meadowlake is sprucing up again

 Every year at about this time our neighborhood goes into overdrive. It is exciting to see how everyone is spiffing up their homes.


A new garage? Nice!



Total renovation going on here.



New wing was added here.  Landscaping designed and installed by John Logue.



New porch. Wow! Can't wait to see it finished.








One, Two, Buckle my shoe

One, two, buckle my shoe;



Three, four, knock at the door;



Five, six, pick up sticks;



Seven, eight, lay them straight:

The Duncan family spent a day cleaning up their yard after the gusty winds blew through our neighborhood the other day.
If you want to join in on the fun, just go outside and see if you can find any sticks to pick up. Here is the rest of the poem so you can recite it while you work. See if you can make a bigger pile at the street than anyone else! Most of all, have fun. I am sure you can make your parents really happy doing this too.


Nine, ten,

A big fat hen;
Eleven, twelve,
Dig and delve;
Thirteen, fourteen,
Maids a-courting;
Fifteen, sixteen,
Maids in the kitchen;
Seventeen, eighteen,
Maids a-waiting
Nineteen, twenty,
My plate's empty.

What does your mailbox say about you?

These are a few of the mailboxes in our neighborhood that I pass every day. Each of these homeowners has obviously made a commitment to keeping them well maintained. 

So...What does your mailbox say about you?




These white blooms of silver lace vine are stunning in late summer.

 


This homeowner used 'Forest pansy' red bud for strong contrast with the nice, earthy buff color of their brick. They have also planned the next season's color with day lilies waiting to bloom.



Not only did this homeowner design a delightful color combination and a very welcoming mailbox statement, the easy to read numbers are definitely appreciated when trying to find an address.

 The mailbox is one of the things that creates a first impression. Unfortunately, in some cases, that is not always the image we have in mind.

So, go outside and look at your mailbox area. Does it reflect your character? Do you like what it says about you?

Creating a nice mailbox area does not have to be a huge undertaking, so, why do we keep putting it off? It is one of the smaller projects that make a lot of difference to your home's curb appeal. Too busy to maintain a garden around your mailbox?

Clean and neat is also very welcoming especially if you have no time to maintain a garden. This homeowner added details like a border on the driveway and updated a newly laid stone culvert. Now they have easy maintenance and and great look.

P.S. So, everytime I pass one of these pretty entrances, I am going to remind myself that this is the year for mine to be updated too.

Does your garden have good bones?

Wintertime is a great time to look at the bones of your garden and draw a design to improve your outdoor garden space.

Pay close attention to areas that do not drain. Wet areas can create problems for growing plants as well as attracting moles and mosquitoes.

Center a birdbath in your garden and give the birds a clear path to their favorite watering hole as well as allowing you to have a bird's eye view.

Believe it or not, your herb garden can be as beautiful in winter as it is in other seasons and birds love to peck around at fallen seeds.

A focal point will bring some interest when foliage and color are absent. Children love to have someone to keep a careful watch over their garden at night. This is kane. His brother Able is in the nearby butterfly garden.

A misty frost creates an ethereal feeling on this outdoor trellis. Very calming.

 How do you begin to create a design, you say? Take it a step at a time. For now, just spend a few minutes today looking at your garden bones.

Not tonight deer

Early in the morning we see this family making their rounds.

Back when I had a garden nursery there was a product called Not Tonight Deer. It was supposed to keep the deer away from garden plants. Hah. It didn't work of course and we took it off the shelves, but I still think the name is pretty catchy. Watch out for products that claim to do the impossible.

A new year in Brentwood for Meadowlake Gardeners

Last year on Meadowlake Gardener blog , photos of plants and styles within our neighborhood gave us a pictoral record of a year in Meadowlake/Iroquois neighborhood, Brentwood, Tennessee.



Remember the sweet little bird that came after the rain? I thought it was a Baltimore Oriole. One frigid day when I was curled up in my favorite chair, reading Joe Allen's book 'Enjoying Nature About Us'  I learned that this bird is a Towhee. This towhee landed in our birdbath the day after TN May 2010 flood and has made our garden a permanent home for it's new family since then. If you also have a towhee in your garden, you can post a comment to let the rest of us know about it. You might be helping bird conservancy efforts to locate different species.



*Don't forget to put water out for the birds in WINTER too. They will appreciate it!!! Did you know that we are extremely lucky to have so many bluebirds in our neighborhood? Our mature trees and open spaces between our gardens provide a perfect home for these beautiful creatures. Do you have bluebirds? Tell us about that.

 This year, our neighborhood blog will be an interactive place for posting local garden tips. Emma (below) is our spokesperson. Any comment you have can be directed to Emma. She is a terrific listener and is quite knowlegeable about everything outdoors.

Look forward to local gardening sources, sales and inspiration for the new year here in Brentwood / Nashville area. Comments are welcome from all of you.

Comfort Food from the garden

Just before Christmas one of my clients asked if she could grow a nutmeg tree here in TN garden. (Not wanting to be too negative about it with an answer that I might later regret, I said I would look into it.)

After all, just because a plant is best suited elsewhere for climate or humidity concerns doesn't mean that it CAN'T grow here.  There was a gentleman in Clarksville who consistently proved me wrong in this regard. His name was Jimmy Glenn. Jimmy Glenn spent years and years growing trees in his garden that were indigenous to Asia, Australia and many other climes and was successful at it. Mind you, he had a great deal of patience and it was a passion for him.

 In other words, if you have money burning holes in your pockets, (for a greenhouse, for example) an inventive and experimental streak to try unusual things, and have lots of time on your hands, yes, you might be able to grow a nutmeg tree right here in Tennessee. For the rest of us, nutmeg can be found at the local grocery.

It is true. I grate nutmeg on just about everything I cook. It's fragrance permeates the air and that usually means comfort food is on the way.

Winterberry holly. An easy arrangement.



Winterberry holly makes an arrangement all on its own. This branch of Ilex verticillata (winterberry holly) will last about 4 weeks, and longer if it is kept in a cool place.  If you want to grow this deciduous type of holly in your garden for the berries, remember to plant at least one male ( good variety here in TN is called  'Jim Dandy') along with as many females as you want. Sounds unfair, but, that's the plant world for you.



Brentwood's first snow of 2010

We woke up to a lovely, light snow falling on our 'Mary Nell' holly outside. It is December 5TH and this marks Brentwood's first snowfall of 2010. Now it feels like winter.



If you have not met him yet, this is George. George came all the way from Charleston, SC, from a wonderful place called Hyam's Garden Center. On days like this we think George might be feeling a little bit homesick for warmer weather, however, pretty soon his pansies will begin to bloom and he is always rather proud of those. So, as William Shakespeare said,"All's well that ends well."