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News Filed Under Lawn and Garden

April 3, 2023 - Filed Under: Community, Lawn and Garden, Landscape Architecture

PICAYUNE, Miss. -- The public is invited to celebrate part of the Mississippi State University Crosby Arboretum’s history during the Strawberries & Cream Festival April 16 in Picayune. The event commemorates the Depression-era strawberry farm located on the grounds of what is now a premier native plant conservatory. The festival begins at 1 p.m. and ends at 3 p.m. Activities will be held on the Pinecote Pavilion. Admission is free.

Dr. Eddie Smith
April 3, 2023 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Flower Gardens

Eddie Smith is the new face and driving force of the Southern Gardening family of resources that includes weekly videos, newspaper columns, guest appearances and social media posts focused on gardening in Mississippi.

A cluster of red blooms is surrounded by green leaves.
April 3, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

I believe the geranium is one of the most popular landscape plants in the South. I see them at almost every garden center or nursery I visit. I also remember as a kid seeing my grandmother’s potted geranium in a container on her front porch. It had bright-red flowers.

White daisies.
March 31, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Landscape Architecture, Landscape and Garden Design

After an unseasonal cold snap in March, spring has officially started and the warmer weather is here to stay– at least for a little while. Hopefully, the cold didn’t damage your plants! Working on your yard is a great excuse to spend time outside now that the weather is nice. Here are a few things you can work on in your landscape for the month of April:

Numerous red, trumpet-shaped flowers bloom on a vine.
March 27, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

Weeds are often defined as being any plant out of place, but that definition never sat well with me. This simplistic definition seems to emphasize the aggressiveness of plants that don’t behave in the garden. For example, I’ve never heard anyone having problems with hydrangeas popping up in the landscape unexpectedly.

A woman works in a laboratory.
March 23, 2023 - Filed Under: Sweet Potatoes, Soil Testing, Plant Disease and Nematode Diagnostic Services

Sweet potato growers in Mississippi can get free nematode testing of soil samples they send to Mississippi State University from now until Dec. 31, 2024. The samples can be submitted in nematode bags available at local county MSU Extension Service offices; samples are also accepted in quart-sized, sealed plastic bags.

A large, yellow bloom.
March 20, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

I’m a fan of whatever plants happens to be in bloom at any given time, but sunflowers are definitely one of my top five favorites, especially for use in arrangements. Last summer, I decided I wanted to have sunflowers every week until frost.

March 20, 2023 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Cut Flowers and Houseplants, Floral Design

MERIDIAN, Miss. -- Gardening and floral design enthusiasts and professionals can enjoy a floral design demonstration and reception at Merrehope in Meridian. Petals & Prosecco will feature Jim DelPrince, a horticulture specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. He will show attendees how to make 19th century-style mantel garlands.

Frayed Daffodils
March 17, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

For a few short weeks, daffodils grace the planet with their beauty and remind us of warm weather right around the corner.

A bush has dozens of light-orange blooms.
March 13, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

Azaleas are starting to produce their beautiful flowers in my landscape, and it is a welcome sight after a few months of cold weather. Like many of your azaleas, mine had some tender, new growth that suffered cold damage from the freezing temperatures we got last December. I hope you did the right thing and did not do any pruning to your azaleas yet.

A squash sits in a garden.
March 10, 2023 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Vegetable Gardens

BELZONI, Miss. -- A team whose mission is to “Keep Belzoni Beautiful” has earned national recognition for its work.

Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit organization committed to community improvement and beautification, presented the Mississippi State University Extension Service a Keep America Beautiful State Agency Partnership award for 2021. Only 13 such awards were presented nationwide. Keep Belzoni Beautiful -- KBB for short -- is a chapter of Keep Mississippi Beautiful.

Blue phlox.
March 10, 2023 - Filed Under: Landscape Plants and Trees Diseases

Native plants are talked about quite a lot in the gardening world. Everyone talks about what great plants they are to have in your landscape, but what exactly are they? 

Sandy field where pine tree stand has been recently harvested
March 6, 2023 - Filed Under: Trees, Forestry, Forestry Impacts, Forest Management, Forest Soils

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- When planting loblolly pine trees on well-drained soils, landowners should heed two basic rules: Don’t do it during a freeze, and make sure to plant roots and seedlings deep.

To increase the chance of survival on well-drained soils, some Southern regeneration foresters suggest planting loblolly pine in a deep hole with the root collar several inches below the soil surface.

A hummingbird feeds on lantana.
March 6, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

It’s time once again to clean those hummingbird feeders and cook up the sugar water. In Mississippi, we can set our feeders out in early March as hummingbirds are migrating north from southern climes. Providing food in backyards is important, as these birds need to consume half their body weight each day.

Orange milkweed.
March 3, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Landscape Architecture

I woke up to a dusting of yellow pollen on my car this week, the true sign that spring is on its way! Several flowers are blooming, making the world a little more vibrant after a cold, gray winter.

Close up of black-eyed Susans
February 28, 2023 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Landscape Architecture, Landscape Design and Management, Smart Landscapes

Native plants have garnered a lot of attention, especially because of their relationship to pollinators, but these plants are valuable for many other reasons. In addition to pollen, they provide food and shelter for birds and other wildlife, as well as creating biodiversity in the ecosystem.

Bottles and bags fill a row of shelves in a store.
February 27, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

Go down the garden section of any home improvement store, and you will find a dizzying array of fertilizer options available to help you reach your garden goals. But which one should you choose?

The numbers on each bag of fertilizer mean something different, so let’s take some of the confusion out of this common problem.

Bradford pear tree blooms
February 24, 2023 - Filed Under: Landscape and Garden Design, Trees

If you have Bradford pear trees on your property, you are quite familiar with the odor they release. How could such a beautiful tree smell like rotting fish? The odor isn’t the only thing that makes this tree undesirable.  

Light-purple blooms on a vine have dark-purple centers.
February 20, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

After a dreary winter comes every gardener’s favorite time of year: spring! Here are some hot plants you should try this season. Some varieties are fairly new, while others are making quite a comeback.

A leaf shaped like a heart grows in a pot.
February 13, 2023 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

Valentine’s Day is a time for people around the world to profess their love for someone or, like most of us, our love for our gardens!

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