A morning of learning- Coleus, Conifer Garden, Ginko Biloba, Kousa Dogwood Tree (edible berries)

I spent Monday morning at Smith-Gilbert Gardens weeding with the other volunteers. After about an hour and a half we got to do a walk around. It’s a way to learn about the vegetation around the gardens and discover new things.



Doug Davis (our tour guide) talked about the Kousa Dogwood tree. This tree originates in Asia where people there eat the fruit off the tree. Doug says it tastes a little like strawberries. Here in the U.S. we only use the tree for ornamental purposes. The fruit is a light red color and attracts birds and squirrels. Here is the Kousa Dogwood that we stopped to look at. The fruit isn’t ripe yet but you can get the idea.




Smith-Gilbert Gardens has a wonderful conifer area. A conifer is a cone-bearing plant and most of the time you'll think of pines. Here in the garden is a Ginko Biloba plant. The male plants produce small pollen cones so they are considered conifers. It looks a little out of place but it belongs here.




Here is a Robinia pseudoacacia ‘Frisia’ -Yellow Locust tree. It has a light green colored leaf. This tree was blown over about 40 degrees during a wind storm and Doug didn’t want to lose it so he commissioned an artist to sculpt a brace for the tree. He had it set upright and braced it. It’s doing just fine now.



Lastly I checked on the Coleus we planted at Smith-Gilbert on April 16th. That photo is on my Grow It First Facebook page.
Well just look at them now. Beautiful!

Find out more about Smith-Gilbert Gardens at http://www.smithgilbertgardens.com/

A visit to past blog posts - Astilbe, Butterfly Bush, Gladiola, Red Shrimp Plant, Coleus

Look what just started blooming at Setters Run. My butterfly bush! It has really gotten big and will attract lots of bees and butterflies. I wrote about my butterfly garden on this blog site dated 7/9/11. I’m very happy with the way this garden turned out.

I posted a blog on 10/16/11 about the Astilbes that I had planted. Well, they have finally started to show some color. It took a while. They looked pretty weak last year but now they are getting bigger and brighter. I hope they will continue on this path of lovely beauty. Great shade plant by the way.

On April 16 of this year I talked about volunteering at Smith Gilbert Gardens on my Facebook page. We were planting Coleus that day and after work we were able to bring some of the extras home. Here is where I planted mine. This is Grandmother Worleys old wash tub. We set it in the front of the house by the tree swing. I think it looks great.

Remember when I posted photos of the Golden Shrimp Plant on my 7/26/11 blog? I knew the plant wouldn’t last through the winter but I loved it anyway. They don’t like the temperature to get below 55 degrees in the winter and that’s more like South Florida weather where my sister lives. I found some Red Shrimp Plants and added them to my butterfly garden in 2012. Low and behold, they came back this year! Boy, was I surprised.

I also found a bag of 6 coral Gladiola bulbs at Big Lots for a dollar and really never expected much out of them. I am so happy I planted them where I did. The coral flowers match the Encore Azalea bushes we planted in the front. They are beautiful flowers.

How do you make a black wire gate look better? Put some planter boxes on them and fill them with flowers. I used wire to hang the baskets on the gate and they seem to be happy there.




It’s too nice to be inside any longer. I’ll visit with you again soon but for now there's planting, trimming and weeding to do.