Garden Experiments
For the love of gardening and wildlife habitat
As part of the spring tourism season, the city of Columbus holds a Spring Pilgrimage that includes tours of antebellum homes, live music events, arts, food, a 5K race, and stories from the town’s history. We selected the tour that included Colonnade Gardens. The original gardens were installed in the 1860’s and include a boxwood maze, gazing …
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Wisteria vines bloom in early March, adding a sweet floral scent to the air. The flowers appear before the leaves. In the South, this vine is everywhere—in the forest, in neighborhoods, in rights-of-way, and even along highways. That is both the joy of and the pitfall of Chinese wisteria, which has purple flowers that grow on a …
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The first hummingbirds start showing up in southern Texas, Louisiana, and northern Florida in late February and the first week of March. Hummingbirds will arrive in my garden around mid to late March - at the same time as the red buckeyes are in full bloom. This is when I’ll hang my hummingbird feeders in my garden. How to Know When to Hang …
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When I reach my limit with the bleakness of winter and cold temperatures, the tiniest pink striped flowers start to poke their heads out of lawns and ditches. To me, the Virginia spring beauty (Claytonia virginica) is a harbinger of spring and warmer weather. These wildflowers bloom just before the false garlic – so they fill up the lawns and …
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Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) is a favorite of native plant gardeners for many reasons. If you're looking for a shrub that is hardy, produces beautiful flowers, can grow in the shade, and has lovely fall colors, look no further. Here are just a few of the reasons why I love this shrub: #1 The large white flowers (in the …
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This is the second year that I planted freesia bulbs. I had a bag that had been in my gardening supplies for a year or so (I have a tendency to put things away and forget about them), so I finally decided to put them in the ground. The results were great! These are such strong-smelling flowers; I recommend you don't cut them to bring them …
