EDDIE SEAGLE: Rain brings color into our landscapes

“Sunshine is delicious, rain is refreshing, wind braces up, snow is exhilarating; there is no such thing as bad weather, just different kinds of good weather.”

— John Ruskin

“Sweet April showers do spring May flowers.”

— Thomas Tusser

We have been getting some much needed rain in the area which is bringing out lots of color into our landscapes. The knockout roses are beginning to look really good and the bedding plants are growing up real fast. As you continue working in your yards and landscapes, let your motivation and enthusiasm guide you to learn more about plants. In so doing, certain colors and characteristics will tend to attract you to specific plants, moreso than others. Below are some plants that offer various qualities which help to beautify the landscape and grounds throughout the season and year.

Jasmine (Jasminum): There are very few vines that can challenge jasmine for appearance and fragrance. It is easy to grow and produces beautiful flowers (white or yellow) in clusters whose fragrance can be detected across the property. They bloom in late winter and early spring. However, the Arabian jasmine flowers throughout the year in many locations. Jasmines prefer full sun to part shade in moist, well-drained soils. They can climb upward to 15 feet or more and are deer resistant.

Lemon verbena (Aloysia triphylla): Lemon verbena stands up to its namesake. It offers a strong lemony flavor filled with a most delicious citrus taste. Packed with this desirable citrus flavor, thinly sliced leaves of lemon verbena add spice and scent to foods such as fish, salads, steamed vegetables, fruits and desserts. Also, the leaves can be used in preparing a refreshing summer tea. Lemon verbena prefers light shade and benefits from selective pruning. This shrub, which reaches 6 feet tall and spreads of 6 feet wide, generally blooms in late summer and early fall with flowers that can be collected and enjoyed as lemon bouquets indoors. It is easy to grow and offers deer resistance.

Lilac (Syringa): Even though common lilacs become leggy and take up space, they can provide a lavish, green screen or can be selectively pruned into a shapely, small tree. New dwarf lilacs afford you the opportunity to utilize these exciting plants in space-restricted areas such as flower borders and in containers. The dwarf Korean lilac, among other newer hybrids, bring the lilac fragrance closer to your patio for your personal enjoyment. Lilacs are easy to grow and prefer sunny locations in well-drained soils. They are drought tolerant and attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Orange (Citrus): The fragrant flowers, rinds, and fruits of oranges make them some of the most fragrance-rich plants grown today. From the hundreds of different cultivars available, choose a cultivar that matches your wants and needs. Some cultivars are best for juicing, others for eating fresh, and still others for rind harvesting. Keep in mind that a dwarf tree is the best selection for ease of harvest and all pruning exercises. Orange trees prefer full sun.

Serviceberry (Amelanchier): A very desirable characteristic about the serviceberry is that it offers some degree of attraction and interest during each season of the year. Its beautiful white flowers in the spring develop into tasty purple berries that attract birds in the early summer. These berries are also harvested to make jams, jellies and pies that are most flavorful. Then, its bright green or bluish green leaves turn into spectacular shades of red and orange in the fall. And completing its seasonal stage appearances as its silvery bark offers stunning winter appeal. Serviceberry is fairly drought tolerant and can be grown as a large shrub or small tree in part- or full sun.

Spirea (Spiraea): The delicate foliage and cascading branches of white or pink spring flowers make the spirea an excellent choice in the landscape bed. These characteristics bode well when designing it amongst the spring flowering bulbs. A traditional favorite among many gardeners is the bridal wreath spirea. Other cultivars offer attractive light-green or gold foliage which contrast effectively with purple-toned perennials and shrubs. Also, the compact spirea varieties serve well as mounding backdrops in those gardens with limited space. Spireas like full sun and prefer fertile, moist soils with good drainage.

Summersweet (Clethra alnifolia): Summersweet’s fragrant flowers bloom in late summer or early fall in spicy-scented white or pink clusters. Its dark green foliage turns bright yellow in the fall. It prefers partial shade and forms a colony of stems thus needing sufficient space to grow and develop. Summersweet is relatively easy to grow and attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

Viburnum (Viburnum): Viburnums are very diverse in shape and foliage, thus offering special contributions to the landscape. Such contributions include attractive fall color, aromatic blooms, and clusters of colorful fruits which attract overwintering birds. Viburnums prefer sunny sites that are well drained. These drought tolerant, deer resistant plants are easy to grow and attract birds and butterflies.

Weigela (Weigela florida): Weigelas are characterized by their arching stems which are covered in bell-shape flowers from late spring to early summer. Many new cultivars offer showy foliage in shades of gold, green, white, and rose for a display of color lasting all season. Reaching upward from a compact size to heights of six feet, weigela prefers well-drained soils in full sun with sufficient moisture. These plants are drought tolerant and attract hummingbirds and butterflies.

Yellow bells (Tacoma stans): Yellow bells like the heat and dry conditions. This tough plant has outstanding yellow trumpet-shape blooms from late spring through the fall. It can be grown as a shrub or in containers. Yellow bells prefer full sun to part shade and soils with good drainage. This drought tolerant plant attracts hummingbirds and butterflies.

As you commit to the effort and cost of spring purchasing and planting of flowers and plants in your home landscape, please also commit to providing the necessary care to keep them healthy and attractive. Continue to think in terms of native and sustainable plants in the landscape rather than those with invasive characteristics. Remember to feed and water the songbirds, and give your pets the care they need (do not leave them unattended in a hot car). Also, Earth Day is April 22 — so do something favorable for the environment.

Many thanks to all who read this column which is an effort to provide each reader with timely and useful information. It is a small contribution on my part in “paying it forward” to my readers, as a means of sharing the blessings bestowed upon me. In keeping with this thought, many of you are aware that we are planning a mission trip to the Peru this summer. We are currently raising funds to help finance this discipleship journey. If you feel led to do so and would like to donate to this cause, please make a check payable to Heritage Church and mail to Eddie Seagle, Peru Mission Team, 108 Tallokas Circle, Moultrie, Ga. 31788. We would appreciate your prayers for a safe journey as well, and many thanks to each of you.

“I know that my Redeemer lives, and that in the end he will stand upon the earth.” (Job 19:25)

Eddie Seagle is a sustainability associate, Golf Environment Organization (Scotland); agronomist and horticulturalist, CSI: Seagle (Consulting Services International); professor emeritus and honorary alumnus, Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College, and associate editor of The Golf Course, International Journal of Golf Science. Direct inquiries to [email protected].