Hello, gardening friends; hope you are enjoying this lovely spring, the cool mornings filled by birdsong and light breezes as dawn comes softly, slowly expanding until the morning sun bursts through mist, fog, trees, whatever blocks the sun and lights up the day. The almost too-hot afternoons (above 82) fade with late afternoon’s cooling winds, slipping across the area and equalizing the temperature between shade and open areas as evening falls.

Most of the late-winter and early-spring flowering native trees and shrubs have finished their bloom cycle. Many perennials will be the next wave of color; these are often seen growing in yards, bordering lawns and in gardens and flower beds.

Daylilies are one of our finest perennials; they are hardy in our area, easy to grow, bloom for a month or more, some rebloom. They are so versatile in color, forms, height, evergreen or winter dormant; you can choose what you want and the best way to do that is to visit one of the local daylily farms. You can walk through row after row of magnificent flowers in colors from peachy sunrise to purple, red, orange, yellow and pale cream with petals that have ruffled edges in another color or hue of the same color (ruffled edges are also called braid, dental), haleos, eyes, diamond dusted petals, a rainbow of colors and combinations.

May is usually the month of the Hemerocallis Societies Annual Daylily Show. I have not been involved since COVID, so maybe a member will give me a call and if a show is planned this spring, I’ll let you know. To find out more about daylily growers google it, or call Busby Daylilies, it is located a few miles out the Morven Highway. Wynn’s Daylily Garden is in Hamilton County, Jennings, Florida. Their phone is (386) 938-4722. The Garden is located less than 10 miles from I-75, on a state road.

Another grower is Bell’s Daylily Farm located 60 miles up I-75, a mile or so off the Interstate is a wonderland garden of floral delight. Tim and his family have been growing and selling daylilies for about 25 years that I know about. It is a mature garden with flowing or splashing water every few feet, many microclimates are created by the interplay of sun, shade and the effect of water. 

Each area, as you follow paths through the garden, are constantly different; there is an extensive collection of hydrangeas in pinks, reds, blues, purple, white, green and bicolors. The color names are plural as you will see shades and hues of each color. Around the little creeks, moisture-tolerant plants grow and bloom.

“Naked Lady” ginger lilies crowd some curves and bloom in masses. Magnificent pink flowers that usually bloom before any foliage comes out, are so pretty that every gardener wants a few. They grow from a tuber as do all gingers and are winter hardy in South Georgia. 

Their sister, “Hidden Lady” gingers, bloom in the summer after their foliage has grown and the foliage partly hides the blooms. Water iris, Iris pseudacorus, a.k.a. Yellow Flag or Blue Flag, grow in or beside water, are abundant. Ferns of many types, rare plants that are not often grown due to the heat, are thriving under the canopy of trees and the cooling effect of water. 

Large orange fish swim and sway among big rocks and plants in the water and small bridges cross over the creek several times. There are daylilies everywhere sunlight allows growth in the garden and in open areas near the garden, rows of daylilies grow in large clumps. There are many other plants for sale as well as daylilies. Tour buses stop at the Garden, after seeing the Garden, a picnic-style meal is served under large shelters built on the grounds; the BBQ is very good.

Saw the first hummingbird in the flowers this year. It was feeding on several blue iris flowers then zoomed away. I would love to have gotten a photo but my phone does not have the zoom power of the camera nor the focus.

It is a busy time for gardeners. Camellias that need pruning should be completed before much longer, new growth is coming out and the shrubs do not need to expend growth to have it cut off shortly after by pruning. Do not worry about cutting off forming bloom buds this early in the season. Do not just shear off the last few inches of growth when pruning, open up the center of the shrub for air circulation and to allow light to enter. Both help control disease and fungus on the plants.

Azaleas need to be pruned before July Fourth to prevent cutting off forming flower buds for next spring. The only bushes that usually need to be pruned yearly are the large flowering Formosas, they also grow fast. An azalea can grow foliage from out of anywhere on its branches, they do not require a bud node to sprout new growth. Intermediate size and dwarfs do not usually need to be pruned yearly, their growth rate is much slower.

Most plants need fertilizing to get them off to a healthy start. A good outdoor, all purpose fertilizer is 10-10-10, you can use it for flowers, vegetables, trees and shrubs. There are lots of specialized fertilizer formulas on the market and they are created to give a special boost to certain plants. 

Bloom Buster is an old one that has a high second number, phosphorus, it increases the number of roots in young plants. Older or mature plants can be encouraged to bloom, bloom more abundantly and to nutritionally support flowers for longer bloom time. 

Some formulas assist in changing the pH of the soil to make minerals easier for plants to absorb and utilize. Tomato formulas usually have extra calcium to help prevent blossom-end rot. To add calcium to your soil; dry and crush eggshells and mix in before planting time, allow nature time to decompose the shells and free the calcium.

I’m sure to be over my limit, must stop here and there are photos to share! See you in two weeks.

Susan Grooms lives and gardens in Lowndes County.