My Six plants a growing (sorry the 12 Days of Christmas is still playing in my head!) on this Saturday….
Camellia behind Shell Ginger
On my daily walks I am seeing more and more camellias in bloom. Love to see them in January!
Camellia
The Camellia japonicas are especially showy. Tomorrow I will be going to the Judge Soloman Camellia trail at the Coastal Georgia Botanic Garden.
Queen’s Tears
I showed this plant last week, and now the “tears” are beginning to fall. By next week, the bloom will be fully out…it is a process to look forward to for plant geeks.
A lovely home that illustrates our Winter on Skidaway Island, in Savannah, Zone 8b that feels like 9.
Lily of the Valley
Today is the sad task of taking down the Christmas tree. I imagine that anyone who celebrates Christmas and is reading garden blogs also has many garden themed ornaments. The Lily of the valley, gifted by a friend, is a perennial favorite! The tin pail behind it, showing hydrangea blooms is another favored ornament.
Will 2022, become 2020 too? Let’s hope that 2022 brings about all good changes from 2020. Better health and a better understanding of how to achieve that in the age of Covid 19! And more acceptance of other points of view. There is no way to achieve that if we do not listen to one another. Listen with compassion in hopes of understanding.
More time in the garden, because that is where you can find deep satisfaction, alone with your thoughts in the solace of the natural world. This is what is happening in our garden. This is where solace awaits.
Trough at Christmas
The trough is quite lush right now. This will most likely need to be divided in Spring.
Parsley
The parsley by the back door has revived with warm temperatures.
Queen’s Tears or Billbergia nutans
The original Mother plant was given to me by my son and daughter in law when they first visited us in Georgia. It is now divided and I have several. It is always exciting to see it bloom, and makes me think of them…miss them, so far away.
Camellia from seed
This camellia bud is beyond thrilling. Why? Because when Hurricane Matthew struck Savannah, we evacuated to Augusta GA, and spent a day visiting Aiken SC. While there, walking through a public garden, I picked up a camellia seed pod, and planted it when we got home. I now have three camellias growing from that attempt. This plant is still in its pot. The other two I planted in the ground have not set bud. So perhaps the lesson is to keep young plants in a pot longer. Anyway, I am so excited to see what the bloom will be! Since camellias do not always grow true to seed, it will be a surprise!
Camellia
The camellias are out in full force in my neighborhood. The combination of camellias flowering among the Spanish Moss draped from towering live oaks is a sight that never fails to take my breath away.
I didn’t make the Saturday deadline for The Propagators blog this week, but I resolve in 2022, to live life at my own pace, so deadlines need not stress me. Let’s see how long that lasts! In the meantime, visit him, he is very good with deadlines! http://thepropagatorsblog.com
Autumn is here and though fall color is not something to travel to Savannah to see, this year has been ablaze. Particularly the cypress (admittedly trees are not my area….cypress, right?)
Live oaks and pine trees predominate on Skidaway Island, providing green all year long, while the cypress, hickories and sweet gum trees drop their leaves, nuts and needles.
Camellia ‘Yuletide’
Another source of color all Winter are the camellias. This one blooms reliably at Christmas, thus named ‘Yuletide’! My Mah Jong group purchased this one for one of our regular members who recently lost her Dad.
And of course, this marks the time for harvesting citrus. Our neighbor has many grapefruit, orange and lemon trees. The lemons, this year, are like giant juicy oranges. One lemon gives me at least 4 times more juice than one from the supermarket! So far, from my kitchen….lemon bars, 2 lemon pound cakes, and an apple crumb pie.
Citrus from Hal’s yard
The pollinator borders at the Skidaway Community Farm continue to entice any lingering pollen loving insects.
My Christmas cactus is blooming on schedule.
Bloom continues at the Pollinator Garden at Sparrow Field.
Because the sea, the sky and the creeks and rivers dominate the landscape on Skidaway, the nightly show creates color that dwarfs all plants.
I did mention the live oaks which form a miles long iconic scene at Wormsloe. This time of year they drop their old leaves and quickly replace with a fresh green for Winter. But this is what they look like during the transformation…reminds me of the Winter greyness of CT where we lived for so many years.
Wormsloe
I have gone beyond 6 photos, but I hope you won’t mind. I love joining in The Propagators Six On Saturday! Be sure to go his site to link to more photos from around the world.
Where do you work the land? Does your volunteer life place you in other gardens or farm plots to plant, grow and weed? My own garden is my jam, but I also spend a lot of time in the Skidaway community farm and also spend some time at the Sparrow Pollinator Garden. My 6 come from these communal places today.
French breakfast radishes
We have our own plot at the farm, but I also manage another plot whose produce goes directly to the Social Apostolate of Savannah to feed the hungry.
Skidaway Community FarmBoth ends of the Farm include pollinator plantsCool weather cropsSparrow Pollinator GardenSparrow Pollinator gardenCamellia sasanqua from my garden
The weather continues to be divine, though rain would be useful. Here are my Six On Saturday. Hats off to The Propagator, https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com//, who provides this dizzy delight of garden photos from around the planet. I am happy to join in. Visit his site by clicking the link.
Georgia Southern campus
A visit to the Plant sale and a walk about on a perfect day in Georgia gave me plenty of opportunity to snap some photos.
A quiet space
I help at the Pollinator Garden here on Skidaway Island, and now that the heat has abated, it is pure delight…no, actually the fire ant hill I stepped in yesterday kept it from being PURE delight.
Pollinator Garden
This is an educational walk and once had an adjacent field, called Sparrow Field, but the golf course and club own the land that we are allowed to garden, so when they took back the field for construction maintenance, we lost a LOT. But they still allow our work on this strip to go on.
Skidaway Community Farm
I also spent some time working at the Farm. This is the second plot I work in where all the produce goes to feed the hungry through The Second Apostolate.
Days End
Crossing over the Bridge is always a wonderful way to end the day on Skidaway Island.
Oh my October! How do you top these golden days in Georgia when the light is lower and more golden than ever, the greens are deepening and our tropical and subtropical cplants keep rolling on. I love to join in The Propagator Six On Saturday
I am cheating a bit, because I am continuing with pictures of plants that were in bloom last week on the campus of Georgia Southern/Savannah. Continue on with me through this beautiful place.
There will be a plant sale on campus this month! Guess who will be in line hoping to procure a piece of this spectacular plant!
I like the foliage on this plant, but the eye of a gardener immediately tries to place those long and lovely stems among other plants in places in one’s own garden. Could I fit this in somewhere? That is the question.
Temperatures in Savannah still reach into the 80’s during the day, but the cool evenings, perhaps down to the 50s this week end, assure that there is some sign of Autumn. Leaves change color, some yellow, making for that wonderful feeling of a change of season. You know, pumpkin spice and all things nice, like apple cider and warm donuts!
Who knows the name of this vine? It might work to fulfill my wish to have more vertical bloom in the garden.
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I am trying to have rose blooms and firecrackers in my garden, but we have a huge deer population on Skidaway Island. I have moved a rose to the fenced area in my yard, but it is in a pot where I move it from one sunny spot to another to get the required 6 hours of sun….I don’t know how long I will be willing to that! The firecracker is just a plant I love and when I see it here in full bloom I am thrilled. The deer graze on mine continually so I do not ever see this show.
That is my six on Saturday. What are you doing this week end? My spouse is currently digging a hole for my Bird of paradise plant that has outgrown its huge pot. I think 5 years in a pot is long enough to wait for bloom….it never did. So it is going into the ground. I hope it does better in the earth. I will continue to give it space, because I adore the foliage…so very tropical.
October on coastal Georgia brings bees, butterflies and blooms. While my gardens in New Canaan CT were prepping for a cold Autumn and Winter by October, this climate encourages the garden to continue delighting the gardener. I was fortunate to be able to go on a small private garden tour early in the week on Skidaway Island where the owners were developing a passion for gingers. I love the gingers, so this was a morning I couldn’t pass up.
Many of the gingers weren’t in bloom, but the owner had an I Pad to show us the many varieties he grows.
Today on a warm overcast morning, I drove to the Georgia Southern State campus in Savannah to walk along the many paths that encompass a 268 acre arboretum.
Gingers along a pathBrugsmania
The garden areas are spread around the campus, so a long, reflective stroll was the order of the day. Stopping to examine new plants, I tried to photograph the ones unknown to me along with their tags.
The vine above was growing up and through a shrub in the Conifer Garden. Do you recognize it? It is similar to the Blue Moon vine I grow, but I’v
e never seen pink!
I am growing a stag horn fern on a board, at home, but I’ve never thought to grow one on a tree directly, un
til I saw this.
Stag horn fern
I spent an hour walking the campus, so there is much more to see. I may save the rest for another post. But I can’t leave this post without remarking on the glorious Overstory of magnificent trees.
So, check back next week, for a continuation of the walk on campus, once known as Armstrong State, but now part of the Georgia State University system.
I remind you to visit thePropagator http://thepropagator.wordpress.com for a look around a British garden and to connect with other gardeners around the world. His Six on Saturday is always a joy.
Birds nest fernFirst Camellia sasanqua to bloomCardinal climberCanna Bengal TigerSalvia Black and Blue
Please visit https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/author/cavershamjj/ to see the author of six on Saturday, and see what is blooming all over the world today!
Jayne In Georgia 