Welcome Home : Grandma’s Garden

As many of you know I live in my family Home. Not only have I inherited an amazing older Home it came with a great backyard and garde.n that my Grandmother planted and Now iam a care taker off. Making my House a special Home for us. Lisa

My Garden View :

My Grandma is the lady in the flower dress – she was a master Gardner and laid out the backyard/ This is an early family picture with all of us. Featuring her amazing azalea bushes that border the property. I am blessed that many of her flowers and bushes have survived the years. My Dad continue her garden and today I try to do her garden justice and add my touch to her master plan.

CAMELLIA (Camellia )

This is one of Granma original flowers. She planted this bush in the 1920’s and still growing.

Zones: 5-9
Exposure: Partial to full shade
Mature size: 6 to 12 feel tall and wide
Bloom time: Depending on variety, from late fall through spring
Flower colors: Red, pink, white

Camellia is the standout of the winter garden, bearing showy rose-like blooms in shades of white, pink, or red when other shrubs are dormant. The glossy, green foliage of this broadleafed evergreen is also attractive year-round. The bloom season is long and by staggering plantings of early-, mid- and late-season varieties, you can have flowers from November through April or May

Banana tree

I have two extremely large trees. If we get an early frost or a harsh Winter the tree will die back. This year its in full bloom.

Bananas are tropical, rapidly growing herbaceous perennials that produce fleshy trunks called pseudostems from underground rhizomes. Winter cold kills the pseudostems in most areas of Louisiana, but some bananas’ rhizomes have enough cold tolerance to survive the winter. A good layer of mulch over the rhizomes can help them survive.

Bananas are grown throughout Louisiana as an ornamental to give a tropical affect to the landscape. North Louisiana residents are limited to a few cold-hardy varieties; these are frequently planted near buildings to give additional warmth. Residents in south Louisiana have a wider selection of banana varieties and fewer climate limitations.

Flower stalks produced before the banana produces new leaves in the spring will die. Flower stalks produced after leaves have developed will often produce fruit. Plants that flower in May will sometimes develop mature fruit before the cool weather starts in the fall.

Gladiolus

These were Grandpa favorite flowers. But I must confess my least favorite flowers. They come in assorted size and colors but I have 2 large clumps that have survived over the years from her original planting.

is a genus of perennial cormous flowering plants in the iris family. It is sometimes called the ‘sword lily’, but is usually called by its generic name.

How To Plant Gladiolus

Light: Gladiolus grow and flower best in full sun. Gladiolus corms will flower in part shade, but the colors will not be as vivid as when planted in full sun, and the plant won’t grow quite as well.

Soil: Gladiolus like well-drained, sandy loam soil. The corms will rot if the soil is too heavy and wet. If you have clay soil, grow in raised beds and loosen the soil to 12 inches deep before planting.

Spacing: Space gladiolus corms 6 to 10 inches apart in the garden and plant corms 2 to 6 inches deep depending upon the size of the corm (plant bigger corms deeper).

Planting: Plant gladiolus corms in spring 2 weeks before your last expected frost date. To enjoy flowers all summer, plant your Glads every 2 weeks until early July. This will stagger the plantings and flowering times. You can also extend the flower season by growing early, mid and late-season Gladiolus varieties.

Spring is the best time to plant.

Begin planting your gladiolus bulbs in mid-spring and continue to plant every two weeks until mid-July to enjoy stunning flowers throughout the summer months.