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Southern Gardening from 2019

More than a dozen purple blooms stand above feathery green foliage.
October 14, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

We have finally gotten some cool, fall weather, and it’s time to start planting our cool-season color, but sometimes we need to enjoy the summer color that’s getting its second wind.

Flowery grasses glow pink as they are backlit by the sun.
October 21, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

If there is a showier plant in the fall than our Mississippi native Gulf muhly grass, I don’t know what it is. Since it is a native, it was not bred for any particular characteristic but struts its stuff naturally.

Several spidery, red blooms rise on slender stems above a grassy background.
October 28, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

I love the autumn season because we’re starting to recover from Mississippi’s hot and humid summer with cooler weather. Not only do gardeners appreciate the season change, but so do many of our landscape plants.

A single, delicate yellow bloom is centered in a frame filled with other yellow blooms and green foliage.
November 4, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

Earlier this year, we were enjoying a cool and wet spring, and then one day, WHAM! We were thrown into a full-blown hot and dry summer that seemed never-ending.

A close-up photo of a green cucumber growing on a vine with another visible in the background.
November 11, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

This past weekend, I had the privilege and pleasure of being an invited speaker at the Gardening for Life Symposium hosted by Magnolia Plantation and Gardens in Charleston, South Carolina. I was a member of a diverse group of speakers from across the country.

Long, narrow orange and red leaves dangle from branches.
November 18, 2019 - Filed Under: Plants and Wildlife

I am thoroughly thankful I made the move to coastal Mississippi a dozen years ago. One of my truly enjoyable fall pursuits happens after the temperatures have gotten chilly. On bright, sunny fall days, I really like driving on Highway 90 to my office at the Coastal Research and Extension Center in Biloxi along the Gulf of Mexico.

Small, flat blooms of white and lavender rise above a bed of green leaves.
November 25, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

For cool-season color, you can’t beat the old-fashioned plants our grandparents called Johnny jump-ups. We now call these pansy cousins violas, and they give the home garden big color.

A branch with green leaves and dozens of clusters of red berries is in the foreground of an outdoor parking area.
December 2, 2019 - Filed Under: Landscape and Garden Design

I love when the calendar strikes December 1, because it means we are officially in the Christmas season. Now, I know it seems like many stores have had their holiday decorations out since before Labor Day, but none of that counts until we get to December.

Purple, red and yellow stems are topped by rich green leaves.
December 9, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

Winter is finally here, whether you go by the meteorological date of Dec.1 or the upcoming astrological date of Dec. 21. To me, it means that I’m going to enjoy the freshly harvested cool-season greens from my little urban farm.

A cluster of green kale plants with white centers.
December 16, 2019 - Filed Under: Greens

I’m continuing to catch up with my landscape and garden work after an extremely busy fall and early winter season. This past weekend was perfect to get some much-needed cool-season color planted.

Dozens of blue flowers bloom over green leaves.
December 23, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

Our Mississippi landscapes and gardens really had a tough year in 2019.

Small planters in a row overflow with young lettuce plants.
December 30, 2019 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

As we approach the end of the year 2019, I’ve been reflecting on gardens and gardening in general. I wrote several weeks ago about the changing attitudes and current perceptions that home gardeners have about their landscapes and gardens

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