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Yellow tulips provide a colorful contrast with purple pansies.
December 1, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

This year was my first time to take part in the Black Friday Christmas shopping chaos. From now on, I'll just stay at home and plant bulbs. I am not talking about daffodils, although I suppose if you found a good buy you could certainly do that. What I am really talking about are tulips and hyacinths purchased back in October.

Chardonney Pearls deutzia, Sanguna Midnight Blue Petunia and Coffee Twist sedge combine wonderfully in a container that would be a hit on any porch, patio or deck.
November 23, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Just when you think you've seen everything in the gardening world, up pops a new deutzia. Your grandmother may have had an old white variety that bloomed every spring. The new Chardonney Pearls will change everything you ever thought about deutzia.

Visions of sugarplums take on a new meaning when people see this snapdragon variety called Sugarplum. A part of the Luminaire series, Sugarplum is vigorous and ideally suited in hanging baskets.
November 17, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

As exciting as the new pansies have been, 2005 was also a great year for new snapdragons. Our growers hit the target with the highest quality snaps I have ever seen. Garden centers tell me the snapdragons seemed earlier and created steady sales to enthusiastic customers.

Scarlet-colored Diamond dianthus complements these yellow and orange Calypso calendula in cool-season gardens.
November 10, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Just when you thought dianthus had reached its peak, up pops more great new varieties like Diamond and Dynasty.

The Diamond is being brought to us by Sakata Seed and is available in some rare colors for dianthus. There are Blush Pink, Carmine Rose, Coral, Pink, Purple, Scarlet and a mix. This range of colors really allows for some interesting, cool-season combinations.

Citrona Orange will stop traffic with displays such as this one as it towers over Matrix Blue Blotch pansies.
November 3, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The highly colorful and attractive foliage of flowering cabbage, kale and mustard gain them a lot of attention, but keep your eyes open for the breathtakingly beautiful flowers of Citrona Orange.

Peach Frost violas from the Sorbet series offer a wide range of colors beginning with blue and moving toward a center of creamy yellow with a splash of hot orange. They are spectacular in this bed with True Blue Panolas.
October 27, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The wind chill of 39 degrees this morning told me I better start getting ready to plant pansies and violas. As usual, I find myself a little behind in bed preparation. I need to tidy up the area where lantanas and verbenas have run rampant.

In 2000, the Panola was a Mississippi Medallion award winner, and there were just a handful of colors that first year. This fall, there are 22 colors and nine mixes. One of the most sought-after no doubt will be the True Blue Panola.

The Matrix series of pansies are large-flowered with 12 colors and four mixes available. They come with blotches and clear-faced, and with this many varieties, are sure to have a color to suit any palette.
October 20, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Judging from those attending this year's Fall Flower and Garden Fest, pansy planting season is here, and there are some terrific new selections to pick from.

I enjoyed watching people shop at the festival in Crystal Springs. In one area, tropicals were selling like there was no tomorrow, and in another area it was pansies and snapdragons. It was good to see people paying attention to the landscape again.

October 13, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

The recent cold front put a little spring in my step and gave me a fresh outlook. It is finally time to plant cool season flowers. One you may have noticed over the past couple of years is Redbor kale, a Fall 2005 Mississippi Medallion award winner.

Container gardening can provide colorful displays throughout the fall months. This combination, including purple pansies beneath spikes of lavender, yields a spectacular accent on a backyard deck.
October 6, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Gorgeous fall colors don't have to be limited to the yard or landscape, but can be artistically arranged as floral accents at any home's entrance. Some well-placed, colorful planters can welcome family and guests to your home even if you don't do a lot of gardening.

Knock Out roses have been added to this year's garden at the Truck Crops Experiment Station in Crystal Springs. You'll see them blooming as well as have the opportunity to buy them from vendors during the 27th annual Fall Flower and Garden Fest.
September 29, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens, Vegetable Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

After Katrina, Rita, and almost endless tornado warnings, "Dr. Norman" has the perfect prescription for the blues -- the 27th annual Fall Flower & Garden Fest in Crystal Springs.

Scheduled for Oct. 14 and 15, this annual event at the Trucks Crops Experiment Station is without a doubt the best free horticultural activity in the South.

Some of the most durable Belgian mums are Conaco Orange and Conaco Yellow, which produce impressive floral displays.
September 22, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Landscapes are starting to look great as hurricane debris is cleared and fall mums are planted. There is something to be said about the way mums change your mood and brighten the landscape.

The Black Pearl ornamental pepper produces semi-glossy, deep purple-black leaves that contrast nicely with these Luna Hibiscus.
September 15, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Mississippi's second planting season is here, bringing many choices to liven up tired landscapes. There are mums and marigolds, salvias of all sorts, late season zinnias and one of my favorites, the ornamental pepper.

Ornamental peppers have changed dramatically over the last few years to become real landscape assets. We now have choices like the colorful, Medusa, Chilly Chili, Masquerade and a new one called Black Pearl that will steal your heart for sure.

It is possible to save special plants after they have suffered hurricane damage. If damaged, this Baronne Prevost, a hybrid perpetual from 1842, could be salvaged by taking cuttings or digging it up and transplanting it.
September 15, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

After Hurricane Katrina, words like "uprooted," "transplanted" and "salvaged" are applied to many devastated lives, homes and communities. They also may be applied to the landscapes where homes once stood and where fallen trees now lie.

Nothing will perk up the neighborhood and your spirits like planting. Color in the landscape can certainly bring a renewed spirit. Some garden centers are already bringing in mums as well as fall blooming salvias, ornamental peppers, fresh marigolds, petunias and a host of other flowers.
September 8, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Landscape Architecture

When disaster strikes, the little things take on more importance. Saving something from a site of total devastation can be a big boost, even if what is saved is just a tree or a special bush. As I travel around in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, I have noticed a few things that could be overlooked by homeowners.

Water is critical...

Andrea Brown, a 14-year-old Oktibbeha County 4-H member, rakes limbs and debris in the yard of a senior adult friend in the Bell Schoolhouse Community. Many Mississippians are depending on the help of friends and family to assist in cleaning up in the wake of Hurricane Katrina.
September 1, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden, Landscape Architecture

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Knowing you live in an area at risk for hurricane damage is one thing, but watching a Catagory 4 or 5 hurricane barrel down on your home is a helpless feeling. When the time for recovery arrives, cleaning up landscapes can seem overwhelming, especially if a lot of trees are down. What took a few hours to bring down, may take weeks to clean up.

Wind Dancer love grass in the top of this photo makes a spectacular backdrop in a bed with Peach Sunrise lantanas, some of the new selections in the Landmark series.
August 25, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Even if the heat has been oppressive, you must admit that late summer opens the door to one of the best times in the landscape for ornamental grasses. Just when you are ready to throw in the towel for the gardening season, these landscape warriors start sending up blooms and plumes demanding attention.

Late summer- to early fall-planted marigolds can give gardens the pick-me-up of color they need. Use the complementary color of blue when growing marigolds in the orange to red color scheme, or violet when growing those in the yellow range.
August 18, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Late yesterday evening, I was surveying the landscape and looking at the results of being gone for almost a week. The conclusion is it is time to begin some late-season planting. If you are like me and ready for a colorful pick-me-up, then late summer- to early fall-planted marigolds could certainly be what is needed.

Blue passionflower, known botanically as Passiflora caerulea, is a tropical vine and prolific bloomer across most of the state. Although called blue, this native to South America actually has white petals and scores of attractive blue filaments.
August 11, 2005 - Filed Under: Flower Gardens

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

To say that blue passionflower is a vigorous vine is a huge understatement, and the flower production is also very impressive. The blue passionflower is known botanically as Passiflora caerulea and is cold hardy over the entire state.

Ogon, a leading variety of Japanese sweet flag grasses, is outstanding with its golden color combined with green variegation.
August 4, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

Ogon, the leading variety of Japanese sweet flag, is just beginning to attain all the wonderful landscape possibilities that it is capable of achieving. This year has given me a new appreciation for this member of the lily family.

Dwarf sweet flag, mostly called Japanese sweet flag, is known botanically as Acorus gramineus. Although still fairly new in our local markets, this grass is drawing increased attention.

The dark-purple Cognac is one of several newly released Joseph's coat varieties.
July 28, 2005 - Filed Under: Lawn and Garden

By Norman Winter
MSU Horticulturist
Central Mississippi Research & Extension Center

No matter where you go in the South right now, the plant that seems to be in a constant state of standout performance is the alternanthera, or Joseph's Coat.

Of course, most of the Joseph's Coats we see are the lime green selections usually partnered with coleus or cannas. They are doing quite well at my house even though there is a baby cottontail trimming them for me nightly.

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