garden checklist

MAY 2004

Quick Color

To instantly brighten your flowerbeds and containers, use caladiums.The leaves come in multiple colors and shapes. Shade-loving favorites include 'Fanny Munson' (pink with crimson veins), 'Aaron' (white with green edges), and 'Freida Hemple' (red with a green border). Many new selections can take some sun and like the heat. Sun lovers include 'Fire Chief (red with a green border), 'Pink Beauty' (pink with green speckles and edges), and 'White Queen' (white with red veins). If you want more variety, good plants to mix with caiadiums include ferns, begonias, and impatiens in shady areas. Use 'Silvery Sunproof monkey grass (Liriope muscari 'Silvery Sunproof) as a backdrop for caladiums in sunny areas. You will love the results.

* Tomatoes-Stake now to keep fruit off the ground and make optimum use of space. Use wooden stakes and bamboo, or make your own cages with wire fencing (a 4- x 6-inch mesh will allow you to reach in to pick), ideal dimensions should be 2 to 2 ½ feet in diameter and 4 to 6 feet tall.

* Basil-Plant this herb in your garden, and harvest the rewards for months. Many selections are available, each with its own unique flavor. Common ones include 'Purple Ruffles,' 'Genovese,' 'Thai,' and lemon basil.

* Snails and slugs-Tired of these voracious eaters using your garden as a buffet? Try Sluggo, a new product that's safe to use around pets. Look for it at nurseries and garden centers, or order it from Biocontrol Network, 1-800-441-2847 or www.biconet.com.

* Southern magnolia-This elegant tree with beautiful evergreen leaves and fragrant flowers is blooming now. Add this treasure to your landscape. Use as a specimen, or plant en masse as a large screen.

If you do not have a whole lot of room, try 'Little Gem' (10 to 15 feet wide and 25-plus feet tall at maturity). It has small, dark green leaves with rusty brown undersides.

* Lawn care-Continue to seed, sod, or sprig (plant small starts of) Bermuda, centipede, St. Augustine, and Zoysia if you need to repair or establish a lawn. Remember that Bermuda, St. Augustine, and Zoysia prefer a fertilizer high in nitrogen, so use a 27-4-6 granular product. Centipede requires lower nitrogen, so use an 18-0-18 granular fertilizer. Apply at rates recommended on the labels.

* Oakleaf hydrangeas-These easy native shrubs offer multiseasonal interest with pretty flowers, handsome green foliage, brilliant fall color, and peeling bark in the winter. Try 'Snowflake' (double flowers), 'Snow Queen' (blooms held upright), or 'Pee Wee' (lowgrowing). Protect from midday sun, and provide well-drained soil.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation May 2004
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