Blossoms are everywhere, including Historic Norcross. Come join the celebration of spring gardening during the Blossom Garden event on Saturday, April 28, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The event includes plant sales, garden art, garden-related workshops and open houses hosted by the downtown merchants. Best of all, there will be a free garden tour! There are six gardens featured on the free self-guided tour. Visitors can begin at the Norcross Garden Club where they can shop at the Club’s spring plant sale and pick up a map of the gardens on tour. --- Gardens to tour for ideas you’ll love: …
While watching the Masters® Tournament on TV, viewers are often struck by the beauty of the Augusta National golf course. Many of the holes on this famous course are graced by billowy clouds of evergreen azaleas. These swaths of color are used to add interest and structure to the course just as they can be employed in our home landscapes to add visual appeal. There are many varieties of azaleas to choose from depending on your needs. Some larger azaleas can grow to be 10 feet tall and can be used as a privacy screen. The Southern Indica hybrids are useful in this way. Depending on the year…
Strolling through Historic Norcross this time of year, one can see the nodding heads of hellebores in many of the older gardens. Hellebores are more commonly referred to as Lenten rose. Lenten rose flowers appear in late winter or early spring (usually during Lent, as the name suggests), at a time when there are few flowers in the garden. Lenten roses are drought tolerant and have few, if any, insect or disease pests. Deer avoid eating them, which is a real advantage as the deer population has grown in Norcross over the past several years. Plants can form clumps that are 12 to 18 inches …
For those of you gardening aficionados who, like me, subscribe to every gardening magazine available, you have probably at some time heard the phrase “the bones of the garden.” Upon examining the meaning of the phrase, I have come to understand that it simply means creating structure in a garden. The importance of structure in my garden became apparent to me the first winter after creating a perennial border at our first house. The spring and summer prior the border was overflowing with colorful and exuberant flowers. Once the first heavy frost cut everything to the ground, I was left …
Looking for that perfect Holiday gift for the gardener in your life? Try a live plant. Poinsettia, amaryllis and Christmas cactus all make unique gifts for those with a green thumb--and those without one. Poinsettia: More than Just Red The poinsettia was introduced to the United States in 1825 by Joel Robert Poinsett, first U. S. ambassador to Mexico. Poinsettias are available in a wide range of interesting colors besides the ubiquitous red. Pink, burgundy and white make a beautiful addition to any color scheme. If given a poinsettia for your home, place it near a sunny window where it …
Autumn has finally arrived. Mornings have a nip in the air and afternoons often bring the smell of burning leaves. Weekends are perfect for cooking soup in the crockpot and watching football on TV. Everywhere you turn, you see the colors of autumn: brilliant yellows; fiery oranges; and burnt reds. Now is the perfect time to evaluate your own landscape and consider planting a few of the following autumn superstars to add fall color to your garden. Trees- Red maple is a Southern native reaching 40-60 feet. Young trees are pyramidal, becoming more rounded at maturity. It is called red maple…
As we start to feel a chill in the morning air and the leaves begin their autumn show, we know it’s time to think about replacing our tired summer annuals with fresh flowers for fall. One great thing about living in the South is that we have the opportunity to enjoy flowers all winter long when we plant pansies. Pansies come in a kaleidoscope of colors ranging from white to rich gold, purple, red, rose, maroon, orange and violet, with many shades in between. You can choose from solid colors (called 'clear' faced pansies) and blotches (having a darker, contrasting center, often referred to as…
Have you ever wondered who to call for advice on removing squirrels from your attic or slugs from your petunias? How about having someone identify the spider in your basement or the strange weed in your lawn? Questions like these are routinely answered by the Gwinnett Master Gardeners. The Gwinnett Master Gardener program has been in existence for 32 years. It is part of the educational outreach program of the Georgia Cooperative Extension Service. Through this program, individuals are trained and certified in horticulture and related areas. These individuals, in turn, volunteer their …
After a summer hiatus, the Norcross Garden Club will resume monthly meetings beginning in September. The Norcross Garden Club is comprised of area residents from Norcross, Peachtree Corners, Duluth, Lawrenceville and Berkeley Lake. Members meet once a month in Historic Norcross to hear speakers and organize community involvement efforts. The club is a diverse group of both male and female members ranging from ages 30 to over 80. The members are very involved in our local community with past projects including donating landscaping materials to beautify Norcross and donating plants to the …
The American Hydrangea Society is hosting it’s annual garden tour this weekend in Metro-Atlanta. The AHS 2011 tour will feature many beautiful hydrangea filled gardens all over the city. The tour will be held this Saturday, June 11th, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM. Visit www.americanhydrangeasociety.org for ticket information. This one-day tour will offer the unique opportunity to visit private gardens and see the many different types of hydrangeas. You will walk away inspired with ideas for your own garden. The big snowball shaped blue flowers, hydrangeas, are synonymous with summer. They provide …
What do Arkansas Traveler, Box Car Willie, Georgia Streak, Mortgage Lifter, Mr. Stripey, Mule Team and Spitfire all have in common? They are all different varieties of tomatoes. With fun and creative names like those, how can you resist the temptation to grow them? Even harder to resist is the robust flavor of a homegrown tomato still warm from the sun. Tomatoes are easy to grow and require relatively little space for large production. According to my Georgia Master Gardener Handbook, each tomato plant, if cared for properly, will yield 10 to 15 pounds of fruit. When selecting plants, …
Spring has sprung! Blossoms are everywhere, including Historic Norcross. Join the first “Blossom” event on Saturday, April 30 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The event includes plant sales, garden art, a mini farmer’s market, garden-related workshops and open houses hosted by the downtown merchants. Best of all, there will be free garden tours offered. There are five gardens featured on the free self-guided tour. Directions are available at each garden and will guide visitors to other events and tours. Norcross Garden Club House 33 College Street Spring Garden Club Plant Sale The Norcross Garden …
I was bitten by the gardening bug early in life and through the years I have developed quite an addiction to collecting plants. When we bought our first home, it had a large empty yard that begged to be planted. After just a few trips to the nursery, I had already spent all the money we had budgeted for landscaping. Bearing that in mind, you can imagine my delight to read about “multiplication by division” in a gardening book I had checked out of the library. It explained the simple process of dividing perennials. The book explained that the three main reasons for dividing perennials are to …
One of the many benefits of living in the South is that our winter months are made bearable by the occasional spring-like day. Its not uncommon during February and early March to drive by Thrasher Park to find it full of children in short sleeves. Itʼs days like these that are perfect for getting out in our yards and doing those winter chores that prepare our gardens for spring: -Prune Crepe Myrtles in February. -Prune roses back to a few strong canes about 18” high -Cut back Liriope and mondo grass before new leaves emerge. -Begin starting seeds indoors for spring planting. -Plant peas & …
