Southern Gardening from 2001
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Many Mississippi gardeners are big on container gardening during the spring, summer and even fall, but once cold weather hits, the pots start to look kind of dismal. Take heart gardeners, we still can brighten up those cold dreary porches, patios and decks.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The large, tulip-shaped, purple, pink and white flowers of the Japanese magnolia will open soon in neighborhoods all across our state, making you wish you had planted one or two. One of Napoleon's retired soldiers is credited with making the cross.
These huge-flowers produced in late winter and early spring are a sight long remembered. The past few years they have been exceptional in bloom. It won't be long until they start to show up at garden centers.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
After those 100-plus degree days in August, we should feel guilty complaining about the cold winter we've had. It helps knowing that some hot new plants like the Bouquet Purple dianthus will be showing up soon to help us forget the frigid December and January.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Horticulturists are always looking for "60-mile-per-hour plants," which means pretty flowers in some landscapes can divert your attention while you are zipping down the highway.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
This coming spring has all the signs of being a good year to bring back that old-fashioned plant, the nasturtium. I considered writing about plants for cold, saturated conditions, but decided to write about a plant that is beautiful, edible, suitable in the flowerbed and perfect for tucking in containers.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Yarrow is considered an herb, a perennial and a leader for cut-and-dried flower arrangements, yet it is still overlooked by many Southern gardeners.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Some gardeners believe roses have lost their fragrance, but I have stuck my nose in more than a few that deliver delightful scents for season-long enjoyment.
Double Delight has been one of the most popular hybrid tea roses for almost 20 years. An outstanding rose with a creamy white color contrasting with bright strawberry red, it has a fresh fruity scent you can smell up to 10 feet away. In 1986, the American Rose Society awarded it as the most fragrant.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Kathy Ann, a native yaupon holly from Stone County, Miss., leads an impressive list of plants that have been announced as Mississippi Medallion winners for this spring.
You won't have to go to Stone County to find the Kathy Ann yaupon holly as this exquisitely formed small tree already has found its place in the hearts of landscapers from Texas to Georgia and the Carolinas.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
All landscapes reach a point where they need a little re-engineering. This year's storms have created problems across the state that will require repair efforts for years to come.
Re-engineering is a popular word today. Corporations use to describe changes they are making in their market focus or their corporate structure. Re-engineering basically means looking at where you are and assessing how you can capitalize on what you have.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
An outstanding feather reed grass variety named Karl Foerster is the Perennial Plant of the Year, according to the Perennial Plant Association.
This Perennial Plant of the Year will work well in Mississippi, too. As a highly acclaimed cultivar, Karl Foerster is one of the most versatile, attractive and low maintenance ornamental grasses around. The deep green, shiny foliage appears in early spring and lasts until early winter.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Planning, growing and maintaining beautiful gardens is not always an easy task. Gardeners who rely on expert advice typically have the prettiest, most successful gardens, but finding that expert advice can be difficult during the spring rush using traditional sources such as local nurseries, catalogs and books.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
If I had a singing voice, I might do a few bars of the Hallelujah Chorus. The fourth Mississippi Garden and Patio Show was a huge success, but even better was the fact that the native azaleas had to be among the hottest plants getting carried out of the buildings.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Landscapers and homeowners are always looking for what is new and outstanding in shrub selection, and this year's Mississippi Medallion winner fits that category. The plant is the Burgundy Loropetalum.
This is a great new shrub in the witch hazel family. You might ask yourself, wasn't there a white-flowered loropetalum? There is, and at the risk of offending either nurserymen or gardeners who have them, I will say I have never seen one that I thought was attractive.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
If the varieties Aztec, Babylon and Tukana don't ring a bell with you, they should. These are among the best new verbenas that will be in the market this spring. If you look around now, you will see verbenas stealing the show in many flowerbeds.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
The tears rolled down my cheeks, and my lips felt singed and blistered as I ate what I thought was the most wonderful chicken in existence. I may have muttered something like "it hurt so good." This happened at a beach side restaurant in Negril, Jamaica. The street vendor in the town of Gosier on the French Island of Guadeloupe, however, equaled the experience with his own scorching version.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Butterflies, hummingbirds and gardeners will love the Mississippi Medallion award-winning Butterfly pentas. This group, or series, of herbaceous plants proved almost conclusively that butterflies not only have a unique flying ability but also an underrated intelligence. Apparently, butterflies can read.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Purple coneflowers, known botanically as Echinacea, may be named after a hedgehog or a sea urchin, but these wonderful Mississippi natives are one of my favorite perennials.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
Sages or salvias represent some of Mississippi's finest plants for the perennial garden, or for those who are seeking the cottage garden look. Their future looks even brighter based on Mississippi State University trials.
By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center
With spring bedding plant season in full swing, many gardeners are faced with trying to add beds of color to shady areas of the yard. There are a lot more choices than most gardeners realize.
The first plants to consider for these areas have to be impatiens. Impatiens are impressive with their vibrant colors that can yield tremendous floral displays from now until fall if watered thoroughly throughout the summer.