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William Shakespeare included so many botanical references in his plays that there are about 175 mentions of flowers, fruits, grains, grasses, seeds, weeds, trees, spices, herbs, and vegetables in his works. 

There are also lots of comments about how to care for various items so he must have been knowledgeable in this area. Here are just a few examples you may recognize. 

Acorns, Garlic, and Figs

As You Like It:

Celia says, “I found him under a tree, like a dropped acorn.” 

A Midsummer Night’s Dream:

Puck says, “All their elves for fear, creep into acorn-cups and hide them there.”

Bottom advises, “Most dear actors, eat no onions or garlicke, for we are to utter sweet breath.” 

Titania suggests, “Feed him with apricots and dew berries, with purple grapes, green figs and mulberries.” 

Roses

Henry VI:

Somerset says, “Here in my scabbard meditating, that shall dye your white roses in a bloody red.” 

Violets

Hamlet:

Ophelia says, “I would give you some violets but they withered when my father died.”

A Midsummer’s Night’s Dream:

Oberon notes, “Where oxslips and the nodding violet grows…”

The Tragedie of Cymbeline: 

Queen Cymbeline mentions, “The violets, cowslips and the primroses...”

[Reference: Botanical Shakespeare by Gerit Quealy, illustrated by Sumie Hasegawa-Collins, (Harper Collins, 2017)]

I don’t have a watering system, so I get tired of watering when there are long periods of hot, dry summer weather. Here in the Midwest when it is over 90F, potted plants need watering twice a day and beds on slopes do too. It is a chore that makes me wish I had more drought tolerant plantings. 

A drought tolerant landscape does not mean zero watering, but it requires plants that can tolerate low amounts of water, even in extreme heat. Xeriscape plantings (“Xero” is the Greek root meaning dry) still need some watering during extended dry periods, but less than other plantings. 

While plants are getting established, they need deep watering to ensure good root growth. This is essential if you have sloping beds, as I do, and hillside plantings where water runs off. 

Sedums, lavenders, euphorbias, yuccas, yarrows, alliums, lilyturfs, salvias, oenotheras, santolinas, lobelias, gauras, coneflowers, and coreopsis are not big drinkers. Remember, too, that small plants need less water than tall plants, so grow lower varieties or keep plants pruned back when it is hot. Afternoon shade is also helpful.

There are over 200 species of hibiscus, and they are beloved because of their big showy flowers and green, clean-looking foliage. They fall into three different major categories: tropical, perennial and hardy. 

The tropical hibiscus is native to Hawaii and comes in beautiful colors, and we often see them in photos tucked behind the ear of a beautiful model. 

The perennial varieties go dormant in winter and come back the following spring, but they often do not survive cold snaps.

Hardy hibiscus come just in three colors—white, pink and maroon—and can be grown from seeds. Their blooms are large and showy and grow on small shrubs about 3-4 feet tall. A popular one in Midwest gardens is 'Blue Bird' and it is as lovely as its name. 

Rose of Sharon shrubs that grow up to 15 feet tall are old-fashioned members of the Hibiscus family, too, and they reliably bloom in late summer/early fall, year after year, in purple, white, and violet shades. 

While the older varieties self-seed everywhere, modern ones do not. So, try 'Cherry Cheesecake' with pink flowers with maroon centers, which grows 4-5 feet in full sun and also part shade. But before you buy any hibiscus, check to be sure it is hardy in your zone.

Stylophorum diphyllum is our native celandine poppy that grows well in dappled shade in woodland conditions. 

It has cheerful yellow flowers and hairy seed pods. There are also two other woodland poppies that are native to China. All three species prefer moist soil and self-sow. They bloom in spring and intermittently into summer. 

Wordsworth even wrote a poem about this unassuming charmer:

"Long as there’s a sun that sets,

Primroses will have their glory;

Long as there are violets,

They will have a place in story:

There’s a flower that shall be mine

‘Tis the little celandine.

Comfort have thou of thy merit,

Kindly, unassuming spirit!

Careless of thy neighborhood,

Thou dost show thy pleasant face

On the moor, and in the wood,

And in the lane; there’s not a place

However mean it be,

But ‘tis good enough for thee."

 Wordsworth obviously was as impressed with this versatile plant as we still are today. 

 It is wonderful in shade gardens with companions such as forget-me-not, pulmonaria, ferns, bleeding heart, Virginia bluebells and other wild flowers.

If you welcome birds into your garden you probably know that during the summer, water sources are very important to them. Place your birdbaths in the shade and clean them regularly to keep the water fresh. Have a few birdbaths in different parts of your yard, maybe one where you can see it through a window. 

Some types of birds prefer ground level water sources also, so even a plant pot saucer can serve during hot days. You don't need feeders during the summer, but water is crucial in times of drought. 

Also, some debris in a yard gives birds places to search for insects and grubs. Grow shrubs that produce seeds and fruit that will appeal to your feathered friends and plant a variety of natives that the birds enjoy during different times. For example, native viburnums such as those that attract birds as well as pollinators. They are host plants for the larvae of spring azure butterflies and hummingbird clearwing moths. 

The Serviceberry arborea has flowers to attract insects and small fruits late spring early summer that are eagerly consumed by cedar waxwings, bluebirds, and catbirds. They also have fall color, attract butterflies, and are deer resistant.

Canna comes from the Greek word spelled "kanna," which means "reed," though the canna plant does not have narrow reed-like leaves. 

There are about 10 species in the genus, which has showy flowering plants that grow from tender rhizomes that can only be left in the ground over winter in zones 7-10. In other zones they must be dug and stored over the winter. 

Canna plants enjoy moist but well-drained soils in full sun. Plant the rhizomes 4-6 inches deep and space them 18-24 inches apart for best results. They can also be grown in large pots and stored in the pots in areas where the winter temperatures remain above 40F degrees. 

If dug for storage, do this after the first frost and store the rhizomes in vermiculite. The rhizomes can then be divided and replanted in the spring. If they shrivel during winter storage, spray lightly with water occasionally. 

Plants can be grouped and used to provide height and dramatic effect, in beds and borders, or used to conceal a fence or shed. When bloom is finished, cut the flower stalk right down. If you grow and enjoy these bold, showy plants, you will soon have a lot, as the rhizomes increase quickly. The original bright reds, yellows, and oranges, as well as the newer shades, pack quite a punch in the garden in high summer.

The common evening primrose is native to Virginia and was sent to England in the early 1600s, feeling quite at home there and has naturalized in several parts of Britain. 

The Missouri primrose was identified first in 1811. 

The evening primrose has both roots and leaves that are edible. The roots are sometimes eaten in France and some herbalists believed that the plant can be used medicinally for asthma and whooping cough. 

The botanical name for evening primrose, Oenothera, is from the Greek, which is interesting since all members of this plant family are natives of the New World. 

Oenothera fruticosa is hardy zones 3-8 and blooms in late spring, and its common name is sundrops. The nectar attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, and it grows 12-24 inches high. 

The pink evening primrose is Oenothera speciosa, and the flowers open in the evening and close in the morning. The white form is called 'Alba'. 

The Missouri evening primrose 'Missouriensis' has lemon yellow flowers on low red stems. It blooms from May through August and enjoys a dry soil. 

Divide these plants in spring or fall. Sometimes these primroses are aggressive growers, especially the pink ones, but they also often die out after a while. They are popular pass-a-long plants and easy to grow and are fun.

Many of us are familiar with ageratum, the low-growing annual with fuzzy flowers that are blue/lavender color. It is a member of the Ageratum genus that includes 43 species of annuals and perennials, most of which are native to warmer regions of the American continents. 

They have felted oval or heart-shaped leaves and clustered flower heads. They like full sun and moist well-drained soil, and a common name is floss flower. Another common name is billy goat weed, which suggest perhaps that goats may like them. I am guessing about that, as I have never seen a goat eating ageratum in my garden. Of course, I do not have any goats in my garden, even though I do have ageratum, as it pairs well with just about any other plant of any color. 

I also grow tall varieties ‘Bavaria’ and ‘Blue Horizon’, which are 18-20 inches tall and produce good cut flowers that dry well. 

Some species of ageratum can be pink and white as well as blue. Some even grow in light shade—for example, Ageratum altissima, which gets quite tall and has fluffy white blossoms. 

Some native varieties of ageratum winter over in our zone 6 and may become a pest as they self-sow prolifically. As long as you just grow varieties of this plant that are annual in our cold climate, however, it is well behaved. Otherwise, you may need to get some goats!

Blue false indigo, with the botanical name Baptisia australis, is a lovely shrub that blooms in the late spring in zones 3-9 in full sun or part shade. It grows about 4 feet tall and as wide and is drought tolerant and deer resistant and has blue/green foliage and blue flowers that resemble lupins. 

It was used by pioneers to dye cloth and is called 'false indigo' because its color is not as deep as true indigo. It has a big root system that cannot be divided. However, it grows easily from seeds. Gather the dark-colored seed pods in the fall and start new plants any time. 

This plant has been hybridized so that there are now white, purple, and yellow flowering varieties available and some that are smaller. 

They prefer full sun and good drainage to bloom well and can be planted as a hedge or as a background plant. The foliage stays grey/green and crisp and neat until late fall when it can be cut to the ground. I have mine in the front of a large flower bed, but if I was planting it now, I would place it at the back of a bed, as its flowering period is short, and it tends to self sow. However, the foliage always looks cool even on the hottest day of summer.

Native to Mexico, dahlias probably grew in Aztec gardens as they were already in cultivation when the Spaniards arrived.

Francisco Hernandez, a botanist and physician to King Phillip of Spain, described them in a book published in 1651. But dahlias were not introduced to Europe until 1789 when seeds were sent from Mexico to the Royal Gardens in Madrid. The flower was named in honor of Dr. Dahl a Swedish botanist and pupil of Linnaeus. They were sent to Kew Gardens in England in 1798 by the wife of the British Ambassador to Madrid. 

By 1835, John Wedgewood, the founder of the British Horticultural Society, grew over 200 different varieties of dahlias. They were popular cut flowers with blooms of many sizes and colors. 

If a tuber has a sprout of more than 2" long, clip it off before you plant the tuber. Dig a hole 4-6 inches deep and place the tuber on its side and cover it with soil. Fertilizer is needed every 3-4 weeks and must be low in nitrogen. Do not water until sprouts are visible above the ground and then water deeply 3 times a week. Full sun is best, but plant in part shade if your temperatures go over 100F degrees. 

Dahlias bloom about 3 months after planting. Cut blooms that are 2/3 open and place the stems in hot (but not boiling) water in a plastic container and leave them in it until the water cools.

Red Hot Pokers belong to the genus Kniphofia (Kniphofia uvaria) and are also known as tritoma or torch lilies. 

Some dwarf varieties are 'mango popsicle', 'pineapple popsicle', and 'red hot popsicle'. They are orange, yellow, and red with grassy foliage. 

They spread by rhizomes and can become invasive. 

Native to South Africa, they like full sun and well-drained soil and do well in zones 6 through 9, as they tolerate heat and drought and dislike boggy soil. 

Flowers fade first at the bottoms of the torch-shaped blooms, but the striking blooms last a long time on the plants. After the blooming is over, do not cut down the foliage until it yellows and dies back in the fall. 

These are not flowering plants to put in pots or urns, as they look best in clumps and swathes in garden beds. Their vertical shape and vibrant orange, red, and yellow blooms make a strong statement. Give them room to spread and do not combine them with small plants that they will overwhelm. 

They are interesting perennials that have become popular on both sides of the Atlantic. While they do not combine well with cottage garden plants, they do create a modern looking presence and are perfect near a mid-century modern home.

Dianthus are well-behaved in our gardens. The flowers are fragrant, and the plants can be perennial, biennial, or annual. The common name "pinks” does not refer to the color but to the fringed edging of the petals that makes them look as if they had been cut with pinking shears. 

They like full sun but can manage some shade and a variety of soils. However, they do best in well-drained soil with good air circulation, as they are susceptible to root rot and fungal diseases. Rabbits eat the narrow grey/green leaves, but thankfully deer leave these plants alone. 

There are over 27,000 registered cultivar names, so there are plenty to choose from. Colors can be pink, lilac, purple, white, and combinations with picotee edging on the petals. They originated in Eurasian countries and are grown worldwide in home gardens because they are easy care and don't mind periods of dry weather. Dead heading keeps them looking attractive and the plants stay low. 

The flowers make sweet little arrangements and even just a few, in a small bottle, look pretty. I would not be without these plants in my Midwestern garden. Most varieties are not especially long lived, however, but that is okay as then one can always be tempted to try new varieties that come on the market. 

Common names are cheddar pinks, clove pinks, maiden pinks, and gillyflowers.

In the lower Midwest, May is the month when we see lots of white flowers. For example, Spirea ‘Bridal Wreath’ shrubs completely cover themselves with lacy white blossoms so that they do, in fact, resemble brides in traditional wedding gowns. 

The low-growing perennial iberis, commonly known as candytuft, also has lacy white flowers, and there are white lilacs and dogwoods in abundance too. Dogwood trees are positively dazzling when they are in full bloom. There is even a rare white double flowered dogwood Cornus Florida ‘plena.’   

Other white flowering trees include Bradford pears, serviceberries, and star magnolias. The kalmia shrubs, our native mountain laurels, have some whites, and the miniature white variety ‘Elf’ is especially lovely. The mock oranges are fragrant as well as white, and Philadelphus ‘Virginal” has luscious double blossoms. 

A dainty white flowering groundcover is sweet woodruff (gallium odoratum), and it has a scent like vanilla and has been traditionally used as a May Day centerpiece for celebrations. If you want to use this shade lover as a centerpiece, dig up several small clumps of it in bud and pop them into a basket lined with foil. They will happily bloom indoors and then can be replanted back into the garden. 

Lily-of- the-Valley is usually in bloom in the lower Mid-West on Kentucky Derby day and so make perfect centerpieces for Derby Parties. They smell wonderfully fragrant and partner well with mint juleps.

The common European marigold, (like the Mexican variety), is justly popular because it is easy to grow, and pests don't like it. It was first mentioned by the old-time herbalists in 1578, quote, "It has pleasant and bright shining yellow and orange single-petal flowers." 

It was used by herbalists during the times of ancient plagues, and the petals of the flowers were dried and sold for use in making broth in the winter. The flowers have also been used to add yellow color to cheese in times past.

Native to southern Europe, the seeds can be sown directly into the soil and germinate easily in sun or part sun. Plants begin to flower in June and continue till frost. Gather seeds when they ripen in August and September.

Some people use the flowers to treat the stings of wasps and bees and also to treat warts. Large flowering marigolds (those that originated in Mexico) are usually yellow or orange, and French marigolds are smaller and orange/brown in color.

All types of marigolds last well as cut flowers, but it is best to remove all of the leaves below the water line in a vase as they otherwise develop an unpleasant odor.

Marigolds are excellent plants for children to grow when they begin gardening as they are likely to grow well even with sporadic watering.

Note: 

The European variety (about 20 species) is daisy-like in appearance, and the botanical name is Calendula officinalis with the common name of Pot marigold or English marigold. The name calendula comes from the same root as the word "calendar," signifying that it blooms almost all year in zones 6-10.

The Mexican variety is larger and many petaled, and its botanical name is Tagetes, and they are unrelated to the European varieties.

Larkspur is a member of the Delphinium family and though native to Europe, it grows well in North America. The plant is poisonous if eaten by cattle but fortunately only mildly toxic to domestic pets and people. 

Its colors are shades of blue/purple, white, and pink, and its tall upright habit and ferny, lacy foliage is good in combination with other garden plants. Larkspur likes well drained soil in full sun and is a good cut flower. 

In my midwestern garden I cannot grow perennial delphiniums or perennial larkspur. So, I buy packets of annual larkspur seeds and just sprinkle them in my beds (unmulched, as mulch often has a seed germination deterrent) in early spring. I am rewarded with pretty flowers that meld well with many of my perennials. For example, I have a bed of white iris, and the larkspur grows up and blooms before the iris have finished their show. Larkspur also blend nicely with daylilies because of their height. Larkspur seeds germinate best between 40-50F in zones 4-7. 

I would not be without my annual larkspur, which I have enjoyed year after year and some often self-seed and return, but in order to be sure, I always buy some seeds. I don't want to risk a year without it!

 Note: Larkspur grows well in zones 4-7 but needs protection to self-sow below zone 5. Field larkspur grows wild in cornfields throughout Europe.

The most commonly grown deciduous magnolia in the Lower Midwest is Magnolia x soulangiana, usually referred to as the saucer magnolia.

Hardy in zones 4-9, it may be a shrub but usually is a tree about 20-25 feet tall with a rounded crown. It usually develops a number of trunks and may over time even grow 30 feet tall and as wide.

It blooms before it leafs out, and the pale pink blossoms look striking against the rough grey bark. However, about one in three years the late spring frosts ruin the bloom and the flowers turn brown. I am told there is a hybrid called ‘Forrest's Pink’ that will make new buds if the old ones are ruined.

I think ‘Spectrum’ and ‘Galaxy’ bloom a little later also, which provides more reliable bloom.

There are actually a large number of more modern hybrid cultivars now available and some produce flowers in other shades such as white, rose, magenta, burgundy, and purple.

The genus name honors Pierre Magnol, a French botanist (1638-1715). Since it is a long- lived tree, think carefully before you decide where to plant it as it needs space for its branches, which cast a lot of shade when it matures. This allows for a large shade garden beneath it.

I have a tree that is 83 years old and underneath its sheltering arms I grow winter aconite, Virginia bluebells, perennial geraniums, ferns, hellebores, bleeding heart, wildflowers, epimediums, and for-get-me-nots. The birds love to perch above.

Horticulturalists at the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences are predicting some strong trends based on their feedback from their County Extension Offices. They report that more and more gardeners are seeking information about sustainability. 

Specific questions about native plants have increased significantly, as well as wildlife-friendly landscapes, dwarf hybrids, succulents, novel edible greens, and landscaping to mitigate natural disasters. Modern gardeners want plants that do not require much water or fertilizer and resist insects and disease. In short, plants that are good for the environment and not hard to maintain. 

Gardeners also want to do less pruning, so prefer smaller shrubs that can be left natural in shape, as well as fruit-bearing shrubs that can provide food as well as attract birds to the garden. Modern gardeners also like to layer shrubs of varied heights in their gardens to provide shelter for wildlife. They also prefer trees that will survive storms since storms are more unpredictable than they used to be. 

Another trend is a preference for decorative foliage in addition to flowers in gardens. For example, dark foliage plants with red, purple, or black leaves year-round, in addition to plants with fall foliage colors. Foliage can provide contrast and year-round interest and can also be used in bouquets.

A novice gardener once told me that she was only going to plant perennials, as they did not need any care. If only that was true!

On the contrary, I have found that it seems easiest for new gardeners to start with annuals and then to move on to perennials. Annuals only last one year, but once they are planted they stay in one place, don’t reproduce, and just need water and fertilizer. They are less complicated for an inexperienced gardener.

Perennials seem preferable because they live from year to year, but their habits vary greatly and they are more unpredictable. Many are easy and stay where you put them. Others hop around the garden, some quite aggressively, and some die out after a year or two.

Perennial plants are quite different from each other in terms of their needs and performance. So it is more complicated, though great fun, to design and maintain a perennial garden. And, of course, some won’t grow in the zone the gardener wants them to…Have you ever tried to grow delphiniums in the Midwest? Thugs, like bishops weed, look innocent but are very invasive. But, as a group, perennials fascinate us despite all of their quirks.

Beginners need to be aware of pass-along plants, like loosestrife, as they are the ones that usually have over-run an owner’s garden. One can learn more about the perennials that grow best locally by joining a garden club or taking a master gardener course, as they can become a life-long challenge.

Christopher Morley once said ‘April prepares her green traffic light and the world thinks GO.’  Green, in all of its shades, is the color of the month. The colors of the evergreens that anchor the landscape through all of the seasons now provide a backdrop for the early spring bulbs. The herbaceous perennial Hellebores, are flowering now too, and have leathery dark evergreen foliage, but need to have any winter-damaged foliage removed to look their best. The perennial groundcover, Vinca, also has evergreen foliage that provides a glossy foil for its little periwinkle blue flowers in mid-spring. Cicely Mary Barker (1895-1973) is well known for her flower fairy illustrations and poems. Here is her song of the Periwinkle Fairy: 

            In shady shrubby places,

            Right early in the year,

            I lift my flowers’ faces

            O come and find them here!

            My stems are thin and straying,

            With leaves of glossy sheen,

            The bare brown earth arraying,

            For they are evergreen.

 Evergreen leaves and needles provide the deepest notes in the spring symphony of greens. They complement the delicate freshness of the filmy green haze that is first seen on deciduous trees and shrubs followed by the varied hues of emerging perennials and the textured tones of the unfurling ferns and hostas. 

This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on spring greens.

April is a month when gardeners long to plant but as T.S. Eliot said, it is “the cruelest month.” Warm days are often interspersed with freezing temperatures damaging over-eager plants that set their buds too soon. Over eager gardeners can also make mistakes. An exemplary gardener, Thomas Jefferson was born on April 13th in 1743 and he died at 83 in 1826. He spent 60 years developing the gardens of his estate at Monticello in Virginia, and he kept meticulous garden records. In his era all plants were open-pollinated so seeds could be gathered to grow the plants for the following year. 

Today many of our vegetables and flowers are hybrids, and their seeds don’t produce new plants. However, gardeners can still find sources for seeds from heirloom plants. Many of our annual old fashioned flowers such as larkspur, hollyhock, cleome, celosia and love-in-the-mist may self seed in our gardens and this is another reason not to begin digging in our flower beds too early. Jefferson’s records helped him to learn more about the patterns of growth during the seasons in his garden. Yet he never felt he knew enough, because towards the end of his life he wrote, “Even though I am an old man I am still a young gardener.” Young as well as old gardeners are important in April, but whatever our age and experience, this month we must be cautious.

This is Moya Andrews and today we focused on the cruelest month.

When we are awaiting the beginning of gardening season in early spring, we sometimes have periods of cold where tender plants, such as the emerging perennials in our gardens, are at risk.

Temperatures, even those that remain above 32F degrees, may still damage plants. When they do, it’s called “chill injury.” However, if the temperature that has been warmer than freezing suddenly hits 32F degrees or below, the effect that is triggered in the garden is called a frost.

If we have vulnerable plants in our early spring flower garden and the forecast predicts frost, we need to take protective action.* Actually, any prediction of temperatures even close to freezing should be cause for alarm.*

A visible white coating, or freezing temperatures in the absence of visible signs, will hurt vulnerable plants because low temperatures cause both dehydration and disturbance of cell membranes deep within cell tissues. This results in blackened, lifeless leaves and stems.

Different parts of the garden, such as hollows or areas near walls and hedges and southern exposures, may vary in temperature from other parts of a garden.

Remember the danger of sudden spring frosts and wait to set out your tender annuals, and protect vulnerable perennials coaxed out too early by warm days. Plants grow more quickly when temperatures warm more and stay warm. Don’t plant too early!

*Cover plants at night especially. But remove covers once it warms up again the next day.

**Anything below 35F, when it is still and there is no cloud cover.

Air temperatures that hover just above freezing for a prolonged period of time in the spring can kill most tender plants if they’re set out too early. So if you set out your houseplants outdoors too early, even if it’s actually above freezing in terms of the air temperature, they simply can’t endure it after being accustomed to the warmth in the house.

All air temperatures affect plants, as it affects most of their physiological processes such as their absorption of water and nutrients and time of flowering, fruiting, and also seed production. Each plant species has its own critical air temperature, which includes the minimum and maximum temperatures between which a specific plant can continue to exist, grow, and/or thrive. There is the perfect temperature for it to grow optimally and the lethal temperatures, both high and low, when a specific plant will expire.

All these levels are also, of course, influenced by the individual plant’s stage of growth and development. Seed germination requires more warmth than vegetative growth as well, and optimum temperatures are different for both day and night.

The important point here is, of course, do not take risks by setting out your annual plants too soon. Always be cautious for it is better to be sure than sorry when considering when to plant outdoors in the spring.

The weather in our flower garden has to do with local atmospheric conditions: hot and cold; wet and dry; calm and stormy, and so on.

Climate refers to the region’s atmospheric conditions and predictable events for that region or particular place. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) divides North America into 20 separate zones, and the zone we garden in determines the plants that we can grow.

But as well as the average highest and lowest temperatures that occur in our specific zone, many other factors affect our weather and the perennial plants we can grow since perennials need to winter over.

Frost dates are very important. Gardeners need to know the average dates of the last frosts in the spring and the first frosts in the fall in their area. The date of the average last frosts is crucial so that we know when it is safe to set out our tender annual plants, which would be damaged or killed by a frost. The date of the last spring frost for a zone is like a marker that allows gardeners to schedule gardening efforts.

Of course, there is a difference between usual and average frost dates. We also need to establish how many frost-free days there are in our climate, as this defines our growing season and our options about what we can grow.

There are also micro-climates within our personal gardens: places, for example, where there is more sun, less wind, or more shelter for the plants.

REFERENCE: Gardener’s Guide to Frost: Outwit the Weather and Extend the Spring and Fall Seasons, Phillip Harnden, Willow Creek Press (2003).

NOTE: It is best for gardeners to err on the side of caution when planting spring annuals. If a late frost comes, the plants will be killed if they are planted too early. Annuals do best when the soil has warmed enough so that they can immediately begin to grow in their new location. In my Zone 6 Indiana garden that is usually around Mother’s Day.

Many of us with clay soil complain loudly about it, and it’s true that gardens with clay soil can be hard to dig. Also, with clay soil, it is not a good idea to put a bed in areas where standing water collects.

However, one can have very successful flower gardens where there is clay soil, as it has excellent water-retention, and less water and nutrients need to be added to the soil than are needed with sandy soil, for example.

Plants with tap roots such as coneflowers and Japanese anemones all do well in clay as their long roots penetrate deep down to access moisture during drought. Also, plants that dislike wet feet can be planted on a slope or in raised beds so water will easily run off.

Bulbs do well in clay, as do shrubs such as hydrangea, lilac, spirea, dogwood, viburnum, kerria, and yew.

Trees such as river birch, willow, crabapple, and serviceberry also like clay.

Perennials such as asters, daylilies, baptisia, hellebores, hosta, irises, coreopsis, and black-eyed Susans also thrive.

While fast-draining sandy soils need frequent watering, once clay soil is well saturated during a rain storm, gardeners don’t need to provide nearly as much supplemental watering for days. So, during dry spells, be thankful if you have moisture-retentive soil. — “Clay is okay!"

Plant families are like human families in that successive generations of their members often have improved looks, health, longevity, and vitality.

This is certainly true of the latest versions of the heucheras, commonly known as coral bells. So many new heucheras are now available in many different foliage colors and combinations. The flowers themselves, spires of tiny florets that are raised high above the leaves, have not changed much but the leaves are almost unrecognizable when compared with the ordinary green leaves that this family of plants had in the past.

If you browse online you will be amazed by the new generations of this common shade-loving perennial. The fanciful names evoke wonderful visual images of each of the new heuchera varieties. For example, ‘Forever Purple’, ‘Georgia Peach’, ‘Cherry Truffles’, and ‘Carnival Limeade’ give one an idea of the single-colored purple, peach, cherry, and lime foliage.

But, there are also bicolor leaves featured on some of the new varieties. For example, ‘Red Lightning’ that has handsome chartreuse leaves with red veins and ‘Cinnamon Curls’ with cinnamon curly edged leaves.

The photos in catalogs and online of this new plant generation are irresistible. I plan to order as many as I can afford for spring planting!

At this time of the year we usually read about gardens instead of gardening.

I have been reading about deadheading—the way we ensure plants keep blooming by chopping off the spent flowers. This prevents them from forming seeds, which is a signal that no more flowers are needed by the plant.

Annuals have to produce a lot of flowers because they only live for one year and so have only one flowering period to procreate. Perennials, on the other hand, have a second way of continuing in life: they can grow back the next year on their own roots so setting seed is not so crucial for them. That means that we don’t have to snip off every spent flower on the perennials, (though it does increase their vigor), the way we should with our annuals to keep them blooming. Most perennials will only bloom for a few weeks anyway.

However, the whole garden looks better if plants are deadheaded, so it is a good thing. You can snip each flower off individually, or you can cut back a plant that has finished flowering by snipping half of the plant off with shears.

Colorful flowers attract pollinators that fertilize them, so annual flowers are often especially showy as they need to be pollinated in a shorter time frame in order to perpetuate themselves. This is why we need a sequence of different perennials that bloom at varied times to have continuous perennial blooms in our gardens. Many of us find that deadheading is a calming repetitive activity that we enjoy, so we do a bit each day all through the growing season. It keeps the color coming.

In February, it is appropriate to think about roses.

Here is what Gertrude Jekyll (1843-1932) wrote:

"There is scarcely any rose that we can wish to have in our gardens that is not also delightful in the cut state. A china bowl filled with well-grown hybrid perpetuals, grand of color and sweetly scented, is a room decoration that can hardly be beaten both for beauty and for the pleasure it gives, whether in a sitting room, or on the breakfast table. The only weak point about cut roses is that their life is short."

William Fitzroy (1851-1924) wrote: “The houses I love best are those where warm old red bricks and old roses seem to melt into each other.”

Margaret Millfield in 1931 had this advice:

"Plant your rose in a good square hole, keep it weeded; prune it once a year, thoroughly; apply a spade of manure in February and you will have blooms the rest of your life."

And John Boyle O’Reilly (1844-1909) wrote this verse:

"The red rose whispers of passion, and the white rose breathes of love;

O, the red rose is a falcon, and the white rose is a dove.

But I send you a cream- white rose bud, with a flush on its petal tips;

For the love that is purist and sweetest, has a kiss of desire on the lips."

The earliest iris to bloom is the petite Iris reticulata.

The reticulated irises have a fibrous network on the bulbs that is similar in pattern to the markings on a giraffe, which is also described as reticulated, “like a net.” These earliest blooming iris have 3- to 6-inch stems and they bloom with the crocus. To display the blooms indoors, I use a tiny bottle for each one.

There are also intricate patterns on the small petals, and their beautiful colors—maroon, purple, lavender, white, and yellow—delight winter-weary eyes.

Plant the little bulbs in drifts in the fall. Since they dislike wet feet, a good spot for them is in a sloping or raised bed so there is good drainage.

Iris is the sacred flower of the Goddess of the Rainbow, and iris means “eye of heaven.” (It is also the name of the center of our eyes.)

After their spring bloom, Iris reticulata bulbs should be given an application of granular fertilizer, sprinkled over them, and their leaves should not be cut down. They are hardy in zones 5 to 9 and are long lived if they are not disturbed. Plant these little bulbs 3 inches deep.

These darling little miniature iris are the start of a progression of flowers of varying types of plants in the family Iridaceae. They are followed late in the spring by the taller Siberian iris.

Try to grow as many different types of iris in your garden so that you can have a progression of these blooms until June each year. The deer leave them alone!

[Note: Try the following : Iris histrioides ‘George’ Zones 3 to 8, which are dark purple with gold marks, and Iris histrioides ‘Katherine Hodgkin’ zones 5 to 8.]

Reference: Perennials Short and Tall: A Progression of Flowers for your Garden by Moya Andrews and Gillian Harris, Indiana University Press (2008), Page 67.

Quite a number of flowering annuals can be started by sowing their seeds directly into the garden. 

Wait until after the last frost in the spring when the soil has really warmed enough for seeds to germinate. I tend to pick up packets of seeds wherever I go so usually have a big stash of them, and it is fun to scatter them in my bare perennial beds. Since seeds are inexpensive, I throw them around with abandon expecting that they all won’t germinate, but hoping that some will and give me surprises later in the season. 

I especially love the tall blue/purple spires of larkspur, since delphiniums do not thrive in my climate. Last year I hopefully flung some into my bed of white German iris, and though the iris bloomed first, the larkspur looked lovely among the blue/grey iris foliage later. 

If I have big pots on my deck, I sow zinnia seeds into those. Even the small daisy-flowered variety ‘White Star’, which does not need to be dead-headed, does well in pots in full sun. 

Cosmos is a pretty, floriferous annual that can be scattered on top of the soil in beds, and it will bloom in 8 weeks. It has pretty foliage and is good for cutting, which stimulates the continued flowering all summer. 

Small French marigolds, the gold and brown ones, will germinate easily, also, and are very drought-tolerate, flowering until frost. 

And of course, I always save or buy Cleome seeds—better known by the common names of ‘Spider plant’ or ‘Cat’s whiskers’—and scatter them in the middle of beds or the back of borders because they grow tall and last a long time. Those I do not cut, as they are best left in the garden to produce seeds for the following year. Besides, I do not like their smell very much. 

Another favorite is blue Clary sage. Direct sowing is inexpensive, easy, and fun and usually results in a few surprises!

David Hosack was born in New York in 1769 and in a book about him by Kerri Miller, she states that he is responsible for the establishment of New York’s first botanical garden. There was an interview by Victoria Johnson on NPR that drew my attention to this. 

Hosack was a brilliant medical scientist who focused on medicinal plants. The Bartrams, earlier on, grew medicinal plants in their gardens in Philadelphia, but Hosak was the first to grow these plants in North America for scientific research purposes.

Dr. Hosack studied medicine in both London and Edinburgh and then returned to North America to teach and practice at Columbia College in New York City. In London he had been trained in the classification of plants using the system developed by Linnaeus in the 18th Century. Miller describes in her biography how Hosack met Joseph Banks and other famous plant scientists in London in the early 1800s and became knowledgeable about European plants and their medicinal properties.

When he returned to New York he realized the need for a public garden as a research facility for medical scientists and their students. He even wrote to President Jefferson to ask for plants gathered by the Lewis and Clark expedition. 

Later he became the personal physician of Alexander Hamilton and Aaron Burr. He used his own money, and later went into debt, to buy and maintain 20 acres on Manhattan Island to grow plants, including many natives that had not been known abroad, in order to study and teach students about their medicinal effects. His garden was the first scientific garden established on our shores.

This is Moya Andrews, and today we focused on David Hosack.

Before long now, some of the earliest flowers to bloom will be stirring in our gardens.  

Many of them are ephemeral, a descriptor that means “short lived” or transitory. In garden-speak, this means that these cold-hardy little plants bloom early and then die down leaving no trace until they return the following year. 

Most grow in woodland settings, where the soil is moist from late snows under deciduous trees and there is weak sunlight, as the trees have not yet leafed out. Some bloom even before al the snow has melted. Their early flowers can be picked and taken into the house for tiny vases. 

When the blooms fade, the plants set seed and then go dormant. They are at their best planted where they are not disturbed after they die down, though they co-exist well with low growing plants that grow up over the bulbs and shade them in the hot dry summers. 

The sunshine-yellow winter aconite is usually the first to bloom, followed by the snow-white snowdrops (Galanthus spp., zones 3-9), hardy cyclamen (Cyclamen coum, zones 5-9), bloodroot (Sanguinaria Canadensis ‘multiplex’, zones 3-9), Dutchmen’s breeches (Dicentra culcullaria, zones 3-7), Virginia bluebells (Mertensia Virginica, zones 3-8), and European wood anemones (Anemone nemorosa, zones 5-8).

Later the red trillium (Trillium erectum, zones 4-9), and Japanese woodland primrose (Primula Sieboldii, zones 3-8) light up our gardens. 

The best way to get these early bloomers in your garden is to acquire starts from another gardener during the early spring, or you can find them listed in catalogs. Their dense root systems help them persist and colonize.

Notes: Source material from Amanda’s Garden, Dansville, New York.

In 1785 William Cowper wrote:

Who loves a garden, loves a greenhouse too.
 Unconscious of a less propitious clime
 There blooms exotic beauty, warm and snug
 While winds whistle and the snows descend.

In 1974 Maya Angelou said, 

And there is a Chinese proverb that makes many of us smile:

If you would be happy for a day, get drunk.
 If you would be happy for a week, take a wife.
 If you would be happy for a month, kill your pig.
 But if you would be happy all your life, plant a garden.

And Jude Patterson wrote, “In winter, when roots and seeds sleep under the crusted snow, the gardener is an artist hatching ideas for the coming season.”  

But my personal advice to you in January is to be careful of all of those tempting offers that arrive in catalogs in the mail this month, as well as all of the seductive offers to order plants online. We are all so eager to have flowers on our gardens again, that we are susceptible to all of the plant offers that bombard us. But it really is too early to start ordering plants—January is too soon!—so try, if possible, to exercise some restraint.

During the middle ages, the Christmas season lasted for 12 days and reached a climax on Jan 6, which is called Twelfth Night. 

 We often wait, nowadays, until Twelfth Night to take down the Christmas tree and holiday decorations. Once everything is put away the house seems suddenly quite bereft, and we long for something natural and fresh. 

 January, of course, is a difficult month for garden flowers. Sometimes, however, one can unearth some long stems of ivy in the winter garden. In the summer, I am always trying to pull it out and get rid of it, but I am glad to see any green leaves in winter. 

 If you ever find any, cut some pieces and hammer the stems and submerge them in a sink of cold water overnight. Next morning, shake the water off and pat them dry with a towel before placing them in a vase. 

 With this background for an arrangement in place, you may be able to find a few other bits and pieces in the garden, for example, bare branches, berries, Bergenia leaves or even a Christmas rose (Helleborus), to add to the ivy. Otherwise, buy a few blooms to combine with the ivy and rationalize the purchase as absolutely necessary food for the soul.  

Buy any color flower but red, as after the holidays red seems passé and our eyes have become tired of it.

Norah Lindsay (1866-1948) lived in the Manor House at Sutton Courtenay in Oxfordshire, England. She was admired for the way that she combined herbaceous perennials in borders, which were so popular during the Edwardian time in England. 

In her obituary in 1948 in the London Times it was described how she would trace out a plan for a whole garden in the dirt with the tip of her umbrella. She was known as one of the first amateur, but not quite professional, garden designers who were active in the years before and after World War I.

Strongly influenced by Italian gardens, she was famous for her parterres. One that she planned is still maintained by the National Trust in England today. It was a formal planting using low plants and repetition of colors around a central fountain. Clipped yews and a Doric Temple in the distance added to its feeling of formality and structure. 

Norah Lindsay was born in Ireland but always admired the classical gardens of Florence and Rome. She created large-scale double borders that stretched down hillsides to create breath-taking vistas. 

Her husband, Harry Lindsay, was a flying hero during World War I, and she was so well-connected that she even advised the Prince of Wales on his gardens at Fort Belvedere. 

Lindsay was the Grande Dame of gardening in a time when ladies did not have professional careers.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson wrote a poem about the garden at the end of the year. This seems to be an appropriate time to share it with you.

 A spirit haunts the year’s last hours
 Dwelling amid these yellowing bowers:
 To himself he talks:
 But at eventide, listening earnestly,
 At his work you may hear him sob and sigh
 In the walks;
 Earthward he boweth the heavy stalks
 Of mouldering flowers:
 Heavily hangs the broad sunflower
 Over its grave in the earth so chilly;
 Heavily hangs the holly hock,
 Heavily hangs the tiger-lily.

 The air is damp and hushed and close,
 As a sick man’s room where he taketh repose
 An hour before death;
 My very heart faints and my whole soul grieves
 At the moist rich smell of the rotting leaves
 And the breath
 Of the fading edges of box beneath,
 And the year’s last rose.
 Heavily hangs the broad sunflower
 Over its grave in the earth so chilly;
 Heavily hangs the hollyhock,
 Heavily hangs the tiger lily.

Oscar Wilde in The Selfish Giant wrote the following words: 

 “He did not hate the winter now, for he knew that it was merely the spring asleep, and that the flowers were resting.” 

 And Anne Bradstreet, who died in 1672, wrote: 

 “If we had no winter the spring would not be so pleasant.” 

 Kathleen Norris sounded a little more impatient about winter when she wrote: 

 “There seems to be so much more winter this year than we need.” 

 Nancy Hutchens in her book A Garden’s Grace described plants that look good in winter. She said, 

 “The wheat-colored blooms of Hydrangea paniculata ‘Grandiflora’ add charm to my backyard—one at its entrance and another next to a red-twigged dogwood.”

 She continued:

 “…the tall black stalks and round heads of Rudbeckia, Echinacea, and bee balm are attractive and fill the bare ground with texture and interesting shapes… The sedum ‘Autumn Joy’ turned out to be another winter jewel. Its faded bronze was spectacular next to the pearly silver of a large Artemisia. As I began to think about how a particular flower or shrub would look in winter, I discovered many choices that enhanced the poor evergreens, who had been doing all the work alone."

The English colonists in Virginia used mistletoe to decorate their homes and their churches during the Christmas season. Mistletoes are evergreen parasitic plants with small leaves, yellowish flowers and waxy white berries.

When sprigs are hung as a Christmas decoration, men are, by custom, privileged to kiss women who stand under it, according to the description of it in Websters Dictionary.

When I consulted Hortus (Third Edition) I found that the type of Mistletoe the colonists probably used was Phoradendron serotinum, which is found on deciduous trees of Eastern North America.

The seeds of this parasite germinate on host trees, and the plants attach themselves so that they can absorb fluids from the host. Since this type of mistletoe grows high up in the tops of hardwood trees, it is hard to gather.

To add to this problem, it only becomes visible when the deciduous leaves have fallen from the trees. Luckily this happens at the right time of the years so that it is visible before the holiday season.

Young colonial boys apparently enjoyed a popular sport known as shooting down the mistletoe.

The mistletoe of literary fame is an old world variety known as Viscum album, and there is also a very showy red tropical variety. The State of Oklahoma adopted mistletoe Phoradendron flavescens, which blooms in the summer, as its floral emblem.

The first day of winter in the Northern Hemisphere is marked by the winter solstice, which for example, in the year 2023 occurs on December 21. For the northern part of the Earth, the winter solstice always occurs annually on either December 21 or 22. This solstice marks the day with the fewest hours of sunshine in the year, which means that it is described as the shortest day. 

 After the winter solstice, the days begin to grow longer until in the following June, we reach the summer solstice, which is the longest day of the year. The summer solstice is the day when many flowers in gardens are in bloom and so many garden-related events in our area are usually scheduled on or near the summer solstice. 

 When the Northern Hemisphere is experiencing the winter solstice in December, the Southern Hemisphere, of course, is experiencing its summer solstice. In Australia, where I grew up, for example, it is high summer in December, and it is winter in June. 

 Depending on where you live in the world, the same plants flower but at different times in the year. Near to the Equator, however, the weather remains warm enough for flowers to grow throughout the entire year. Hence the billion-dollar cut flower industry in South America, which supplies the flowers in our stores for us to buy year-round.

This winter I have been reading some garden writer’s words of wisdom, which now I will share with you. 

In 1899, Gertrude Jekyll wrote: 

“For I hold it that the best purpose of a garden is to give delight and to give refreshment of mind, to soothe, to refine and to lift up the heart.”

And Sara Stein in 1988 wrote:

“January is the best time for gardeners. From the window of the attic where I write, the gardens are bare to their bones, neat and clean, nicely edged, weed free. They are an empty page on which to draw the garden of my dreams.” 

And in 1954 Georgia O’Keefe, who painted so many glorious flowers, wrote the following words that completely surprised me. She said, 

“I hate flowers. I paint them because they’re cheaper than models and they don’t move.” 

More profound are the words spoken by Lydia Child in 1842. She said, 

“Flowers have spoken to me more than I can tell. They are hieroglyphics of angels, loved by all for the beauty of their character. Though few can decipher even fragments of their meaning.”

However, “anonymous” has the last piece of wisdom for us:

“In gardening I have one gift you won’t find in manuals, but I can change perennials into annuals.”

Many tropical plants, and also some temperate zone plants that resemble tropicals, make excellent house plants in cold climates. 

One fairly easy to grow but underused example is the South East Asian native with the common name of jewel orchid. Its botanical name is Ludisia discolor. This is a terrestrial plant that grows in soil in a pot, and it has narrow leaves. The color of the leaves varies from dark red to maroon and there is striking veining. The leaves grow on succulent stems that hang over the sides of the pot. The flowers appear in late winter to mid spring and are white in color and a little like snapdragons in form and are white in color. 

This plant likes cool temperatures at night and soil that stays just slightly moist, so do not over water these beauties. Afternoon shade is best, so they do not like a windowsill on the western side of the house. 

Jewel orchids are available with several different types of patterned leaves with silver-gold veining. This type of foliage guarantees a handsome house plant even when it is not in bloom. The name is a little deceptive because this plant is not like the orchids that grow on trees.

Epiphytes are plants that get nourishment from the air. They are non-parasitic, but they frequently, for example orchids, grow on another plant such as a tree. When they are grown in a pot, epiphytes prefer a growing medium made up of two parts soil-less mixture and one-part fine bark mix. 

A favorite house plant of many people is the hoya, an epiphyte vine that is commonly called wax plant. There are many varieties of this plant, and the shape, color and texture of the leaves depends on the species. The flowers, however, always come from little umbrellas called peduncles. After the blooms drop, the peduncles should be left in place as they will continue to grow and bloom. 

Hoya is a member of the milkweed family so the seeds are in silk in pods. The easiest way to propagate, however, is to root cuttings dipped in rooting hormone and placed in a soil-less mix for about six weeks. 

The plants enjoy indirect light and weekly watering, with fertilizer every second week. 

Hoya lacunosa has especially fragrant blooms and grows compactly in a hanging basket. However, there are many other delightful ones such as the H. shepherdii with lovely pink flowers, as well as a sweet perfume. 

Hoya is easy for me to remember as it is one of the only words in the English language that rhymes with Moya.

(Reference: Zachos, Ellen, “All Stars of the Indoors,” Horticulture Magazine, Vol. 105, #1 Dec/Jan 2008, pp40-45.)

Torenia is a pretty annual that hails from tropical African and Asian woodlands. This branching annual is not frost hardy but grows rapidly to a height of about 12 inches with a spread of 8 inches. It flowers in summer and fall, producing racemes of trumpet-shaped, two-lipped flowers that look a bit like snapdragon blooms. There are two lobes on the upper lips and three lobes on the lower lips. 

Torenias make attractive plants for containers in sheltered positions. Pinch out the growing shoots of young plants to encourage them to get bushy. 

Now that we have had our first frosts in the Midwest, I am thinking about what to plant next year. 

‘Summer Wave’ is a trailing, long-flowering strain of torenia that has large blue flowers, but purplish-blue, red, pink and white varieties are also available. The leaves of these plants are light to dark green and ovate to elliptical in shape, and they have toothed edges. Grow them in fertile, well-drained soil in part shade. 

Another pretty blue annual to consider next spring is Scaevola, or fan-flower as it is also called. I am partial to it as, like me, it hails from Australia. It has profuse blue, mauve, purple, or white flowers in sun or part shade, and it drapes well over the sides of pots. ‘Blue Wonder’ is very pretty as well as being drought tolerant.

In her book Making Things Grow---a Practical Guide for the Indoor Gardener, Thalassa Cruso calls succulents “neglectable plants.” That is because all fleshy-leaved succulents are slow to lose the water stored in their leaves. They also can go into dormancy to conserve water during drought. Cruso says that is why succulents make such good houseplants, thriving in the hot dry conditions in our homes and allowing us to, on occasion, neglect them. 

Of course, the degree of succulence in the tissues of plants varies, but the amount predicts just how long a plant can go without any water. Gloxinias and African violets are succulents, as well as hoyas, sempervivums, sedums and the various types of cacti. 

At this time of the year, the Thanksgiving and Christmas cactus plants are getting ready to delight us with their colorful flower displays for the holidays. Some experts advise us to withhold water from these plants for the month before their expected season of bloom to precipitate dense flowering.

Also with all succulents, always repot using a dry soil mix and never bury any of the leaves. These plants require less water than other houseplants, and they will rot if they become waterlogged so water sparingly and only when the soil is quite dried out in the pot. 

Succulents are durable plants and can usually be left at home alone, while we vacation.

Hyacinths were first found growing in Asia, but because of the efforts of Dutch growers, there are now many varieties in the genus Hyacinthus. 

Most bloom in the spring from bulbs planted in the fall. The showiest are the bedding size ones with masses of florets completely surrounding 10” stems. They are dramatic planted in the sun in groups. Probably because of their strong fragrance, deer avoid them. 

Deer also avoid the smaller, very hardy and versatile grape hyacinth, Muscari armeniacum, which will grow in sun or shade. Its flowers are small and bell shaped, arranged in a cone, and held erect on six-inch stems. They are a wonderful cobalt blue, which is rare in flowers, but white and paler blues have also been developed. They multiply and are great mixers with other spring flowers and naturalize happily.  

Another hyacinth, Hyacinthoides non-scripta, also naturalizes well and is actually the English woodland bluebell, which thrives in shade. These bulbs were first brought to England from Persia in the 16th century but are now considered to be thoroughly English. Look for them under the name of wood hyacinth.

Whether you prefer the large hyacinths that are synonymous with the Dutch or the smaller ones beloved by the Brits, do plant some hyacinth bulbs this fall.

Even after a heavy frost, the stalwart perennial sage plant stands erect in the garden. It shows its elegant silvery grey color even in winter reminding us that next spring it will give us fragrant lavender flowers. Common garden sage, Salvia officinalis, is a staple in the herb garden and a plant for all seasons. 

The genus Salvia contains both aromatic and non-aromatic varieties, and the name is from the Latin word meaning safe or healthy. There are over 700 species, both annuals and perennials.  All like well drained, dry locations in sun. Since the thick leaves retain moisture they should be dried in the open air, not in a covered container.  

It is good to have some of the culinary types on hand in November, as sage is a traditional element in turkey stuffing. It was thought by the Chinese to be a symbol of immortality…but this obviously doesn’t apply to turkeys. Sage was also believed to aid digestion and so is traditionally used in recipes with fatty meats such as sausage and liver.

In 1633 John Gerrard wrote: “Sage is singularly good for the head and brain, it quickeneth the senses of memory, strengtheneth the sinews, restoreth health to those that have palsy and taketh away shakey trembling.” 

All these virtues, and wonderful flowers in the spring as well!

In the autumn our gardens are mellow and yet the end of the growing season is bittersweet. As we work in our gardens and put them to bed we are reminded of some of our favorite poetry. This poem is an excerpt from the well-known "Ode to Autumn" by John Keats who lived from 1795-1821. 

 Ode to Autumn

     Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness!

     Close bosom- friend of the maturing sun;

     Conspiring with him how to load and bless

     With fruit the vines that round the thatch-eaves run;

     To bend with apples the mossed cottage-trees,

      And fill all fruit with ripeness to the core;

     To swell the gourd, and plump the hazel shells

      With a sweet kernel; to set budding more,

      And still more, later flowers for the bees,

     Until they think warm days will never cease,

     For summer has o’brimmed their clammy cells.

    Who hath not seen thee oft amid thy store???

    Sometimes whoever seeks abroad may find

    Thee sitting careless on a granary floor,

    Thy hair soft-lifted by the winnowing wind,

    Or on a half reaped furrow sound asleep,

    Drowsed with the fume of poppies, while thy hook

    Spares the next swath and all its twined flowers;

    And sometimes like a gleaner thou dost keep

    Steady thy laden head across a brook;

    Or by a cider- press, with patient look,

    Thou watchest the last oozings hours by hours.

Alliums are members of the onion family, and the bulbs are planted in the fall and extend the bloom spring-bulb season.

The most spectacular is Allium giganteum with tall, stiff stems tapped with globes, averaging 5 inches in diameter. These flowering onions look exotic floating above the other plants. Colors range from white through lavender to dark purple. 

Plant a ribbon of these bulbs in the center of a perennial bed or put them around hostas, ferns, or daylilies to provide exclamation points.

The large globes are made up of tiny florets arranged in a similar pattern to the seeds of a dandelion puff. Designers have used this globe pattern to make spectacular round water fountains that you may have seen and admired. A rounded shape, composed of sparkling water jets or colorful flowers, has great architectural appeal.

Allium is the Latin word for garlic, so any allium plant has a pungent taste that deer and rodents avoid.

The smaller alliums bloom later than the giants. Try the ‘drumstick’, a dark purple, which blooms in July and naturalizes well, or Allium ‘Moly Jeannine’, which throws up 2-inch umbels of bright yellow florets in May. There are so many to choose from, and the more you have the more you will want.

If you garden in zones 5 through 9 and are looking for a small to medium shrub that has fall color, Itea virginica, commonly called Virginia Sweetspire, may be a good candidate for you. 

It has an upright growth habit and flowers in early summer. The flowers are white and like bottle brushes with nectar that is sought after by butterflies and other insects. 

Itea is a shrub that does well in sun or shade, which is a handy asset when surrounding plantings either grow up or die down, thereby changing the exposure. However, the red fall foliage color is more dramatic in a sunny site. 

I have Iteas in both sun and shade in my Midwest garden, and it is one of the few shrubs that will flower in shade. I plant them near evergreens as they like a slightly acid soil, but they also adapt well in neutral or alkaline soil. 

This is a deciduous shrub that lends itself to being planted in a serpentine curve to separate two garden areas, for example.

In a shady woodland setting, they will develop colonies and naturalize. Offshoots, potted up, make an appropriate house warming gift as they can be planted nearly anywhere and thrive, and they look good as a specimen plant as they don’t need much pruning.

The cultivar ‘Henry’s Garnet’ turns a dark red in late October in my garden, and ‘Little Henry’ is a more compact cultivar while ‘Shirley’s Compact’ is a true dwarf that is perfect in small areas.

From late fall through winter, Ilex verticillata produces a grand display of bright red berries that persist and light up its branches long after all the leaves have fallen. 

Commonly called winterberry, but also known as Michigan holly or swamp holly, this is a deciduous type of holly for cold climates. However, only the female plants produce the colorful berries. Gardeners must plant one male near 3 to 5 females to ensure good pollination and fruiting. 

They perform best in full sun in acid moist soils, so they need to be watered in July and August if there is not good rain and be given acid fertilizer. 

‘Afterglow’ is a cultivar with big orange-red berries. 

In a large planting, it is best to include both early and late blooming male shrubs to maximize pollination of the females. For instance, ‘Jim Dandy’ is a slow-growing dwarf male useful for pollinating early flowering females such as ‘Red Sprite’, which is a popular dwarf female maturing to less than 4 feet tall bearing large red fruits. 

A taller variety, ‘Sparkleberry’, matures to 12 feet and has the additional bonus of bearing dark red berries that often persist until spring. 

Winterberries are hardy in zones 3 through 9.

There are some perennials that provide an added bonus of foliage that changes color in the fall.  For example, some species of Amsonia feature brilliant yellow foliage. The common name is blue stars, as the plants have pretty little blue flowers in the spring. Another, less poetic common name is dogbane.  

The narrow leaves are lancelike, similar to the foliage of a willow, and the stems have a milky sap.  All Amsonias are native to North America and like full sun or partial shade and moist soil, but established plants can tolerate dry soils. Plants can be cut back after flowering to keep them compact as they can grow up to 4 feet in large clumps in zones 5 through 9. They can also be divided either in spring or fall.  

Amsonia ciliata or Downy Blue Star, native to our southeast, is a good one for small gardens, as its clumps are only a foot wide. Because of its pale blue flowers, it combines well with other spring bloomers and when its elegant thin leaves turn yellow it provides impact in the fall garden, especially next to dark purple asters. This is a plant that pays its way by performing well across the seasons.