Perennials are nature’s miracles. Look at a perennial garden in the dead of winter and what do you see? Nothing, most likely! Then, as the days get longer and the sun begins to warm the earth, little green things begin to emerge from the soil and soon there are bursts of foliage everywhere not long after complemented by blooms in all sorts of colors. My favorite flowering perennials, in a still young garden, are Sedum “Autumn Joy”, Shasta Daisy “Crazy Daisy”, Daylilies, Gaura “Siskiyou Pink” and Joe-Pye Weed. Let me add to that Baptisia, Asters, Phlox, Bearded Irises, and well enough. In my garden, plants have to love sun. For that reason I have only a few Hostas and Lenten Roses and other perennials that are not so thrilled about growing in full sun. Thus, my experiences and advice will benefit you if you have a sunny garden: by picking…
Atlanta’s Summer Birds: Listening, Seeing, Watching, Learning
Some of the newer or more casual members of the birding community may think of summer as the ‘slow’ time for birding. And in many ways it is. Spring migration is a done deal. If you so choose, you can hang up the binoculars, put the scope away after a good cleaning, and use your photography gear to capture more land-dwelling forms of life, such as your family, whom you may have neglected during the spring migration! So at the risk of being a spoiler for the summertime you thought you had “off”, I offer a few comments of interest about our summer avifauna in the Atlanta metro area. Migration and Nesting One point in this article will be the following: it is erroneous to think that “summer” is the time “after” spring migration and “before” fall migration. It is true that spring migration moves along at a pretty good…
A Bit of Dirt – Winter 2010
The full pdf copy of this edition is available here. PRESIDENT’S CORNER – By Jackie Kujawa I’m writing this, as we are just ending spring and a very busy time with volunteer service. We have just finished a successful Plant Sale making approximately $4000.00. I want to thank everyone involved in the effort. The Garden Tour will have been completed by the time you read this. I know it will be successful as well. Everyone gets ideas for our gardens from other Master Gardeners homes. We also will have gotten together at our June picnic at McDaniel Farm to celebrate these successes. I know the plant swap will have been exciting as we exchange plants at the picnic. July, August and September are usually slower months for us, but I would encourage you to keep working at ongoing projects, such as Bethesda Senior Center, McDaniel Farm Park, Vines Gardens, and…