Preparing for spring’s harvest of beauty is the task that will occupy Southern gardeners in September. Bulbs of all kinds should be put in now and iris beds refurbished. Don’t forget to sow seeds of annuals to hide the fading bulb foliage after your narcissus and hyacinths have bloomed next spring.
NARCISSUS will bloom in all parts of this section. Select those needed to fill out your borders and put them in now. Don’t put them on the edges of borders; thin lines are not nearly as effective as groups of narcissus here and there through other plantings to give masses of brilliance as they flower.
==>> Click Here Learn about Small Treasures in the Garden
Plant series of ten of a kindÑlarge trumpets, barri, incontparabilis, poetazand poeticus narcissusÑto make your garden gay for weeks on end. If the narcissus clumps have become crowded, you will need to lift them and replant them before putting in any new stock. Some of the clumps planted in my small garden in 1938 have given me wonderful gifts of color through the succeeding years.
SNOWDROPS, or galanthus. are the first of the small bulbs to bloom. Long-lasting and charming, they make a quiet note of beauty in late winter, often showing their white blossoms in February. Soon afterward come the brodiaeas and crocus. Scilla hispanica and S. sibirica, or Scilla campanulata, are other choice bulbs. Their soft pink, blue and white flowers are welcome anywhere. As soon as the flower stalks fade, the foliage dies and disappears. to return next season.
Annuals to Grow with Bulbs the South seeds of these colorful annuals may be sown now to cover bulb beds; the flowers will make an attractive screen when bulb foliage fades. For a lovely color medley, blend some of these in your garden – California poppies in shades of yellow, orange, white, soft pink and deep rose; Phlox drummondi, varying from white, buff, pink and red to purple; larkspur and cornflowers for blue; baby snapdragons in rose, red, purple, yellow and white; and blue or white nemophila.
IRIS PLANTINGS are next on our list of September jobs. Old clumps which have become overcrowded and uneven should be lifted, the rhizomes cleaned and the stalks cut into fans; then the clumps should be replanted for better and stronger bloom next season. The old white and purple Iris ilorentina is the first to show its stalks of color in the spring. The listings of I. germanica, the bearded iris, grow longer and better year by year. Use iris as you can afford them and as your garden space offers room. They thrive and bloom in every section, in sand, clay or loam.
Japanese Iris are the Attention Grabbers
THE SMALLER IRIS. I. reticulata and moisture-loving I. sibirica, are well worth including. L ochroIcuca, a tall, late-blooming yellow iris and the Louisiana or Delta iris. which grows well alongside pools, are not as spectacular as I. germanica, but they give flowers over a long season and extend the iris bloom. Japanese iris make an outstanding show and are favorites of many iris-lovers. Where the soil is swampy and water can be sluiced in freely, I. kaempfcri make an amazing pageant of color.
ROMAN HYACINTHS, which bloom through the years, regularly offering small, fragrant plumes of white, blue and rose. are ready to put out too, also the not-too-hardy Dutch and Spanish iris. All of these bulbs should he planted from 4 to 6 inches deep in well-drained soil.
LILIES ARE MUSTS. Lilium candidum, L. centifolium and the Croft and Regale hybrids should be planted now. L tigrinum is good and spreads rapidly. All these lilies grow in sun with shade on their feet.
Don’t forget zephyranthes. This lily, commonly called the rain and thunder lily because it blooms after every rain, is not the same as the prarie lily or rain lily. The foliage of zephyrantlies is finely cut, dies down in winter and comes up thicker each year with lovely, soft, bell-shaped flowers. This flower grows from the mountains to the sea all up and down the South. The native zephyranthes is the white atamasco lily of the swamps.
LAWNS should be seeded now with Italian rye grass seed to keep them green through the winter. Rake and cut the lawns now showing Bermuda, carpet grass or centipede grass, and soon they will give you a green carpet. By keeping the winter grass cut regularly, you not only have a better lawn picture but do riot injure the grasses that show in summer. Carpet grass is so coarse. and grows so heavily that it is hard to cut it close enough to allow the winter rye room to show its beauty. Sustitute centipede stolons; then put on rye seed and all will be well for the winter and the rest of the year.
by D Julia – 62923
