Backyard Wisdom

Welcome Your Majesties

The listening audience of Backyard Wisdom knows that Dr. Raymond Kessler is one of the regular guests on the show. Generally, Raymond, who is a horticulture specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, is chatting with me about flowers.

Well, early October is the middle of the planting season for one of his favorite flowers. In fact, he calls them the “queens of the fall and winter garden.”
He says few other bedding plants can perform as well or for as long in the landscape.

Check out this video featuring Dr. Kessler on the Alabama Cooperative Extension System’s YouTube channel to learn more from him about selecting pansies and planting them.

Plants for Rain Gardens

I know there is more than a little irony to be talking about rain gardens in Alabama after what seems like almost two weeks of everything from showers to deluges. But on our Sept. 19 show, Dr. Amy Wright talked about selecting plants for rain gardens.

According to the Alabama Smart Yards Web site, rain gardens catch, filter and hold stormwater. The site explains that these are simple gardens designed in depressions in the landscape. They capture rain water from roof tops and hard surfaces, such as driveways and patios as well as upland areas and then allow the rain water to slowly soak into the ground, generally in a day.

Wright, who is an associate professor of horticulture at Auburn University, says that not every plant is well suited for use in rain gardens. She says they must be able to survive alternating wet and dry conditions. She says ideally a rain garden uses the water it captures during rain events and will not need supplemental watering during normal weather.

She says choosing native plants offers some benefits. First, natives are adapted to our climate. Next, there are a variety of native trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs that are both attractive and suited to rain gardens. Finally, native plants’ growing popularity is making it easier to locate them at nurseries and garden centers.

You can find the Alabama Smart Yards Web site here. The Alabama Smart Yards site has lots of great information on about creating a beautiful landscape using environmentally sustainable methods. Many areas are discussed including creating a rain garden. If you scroll down the page, you will also find a link to the "Alabama Recommended Plant List."

That Bug Is Bugging Someone Else Now

Earlier this summer, you may remember I wrote about a strange fluffy white bug that I found on my eggplant. This tiny critter jumped---hopped---or flew quickly to a new spot every time I tried to crush one.

You may also remember that I had some challenges correctly identifying the bug. I finally decided it was some type of wooly aphid. My friend, Danny Cain who is the county Extension coordinator in Walker County in northwest Alabama, suggested that the aphid might be specifically an Asian wooly hackberry aphid.

Just this morning I read in the Florence Times Daily that Asian wooly hackberry aphids are being seen in high numbers in northwest Alabama. Reporter Dennis Sherer has a great article that you can read here. Plus, there is a great photo of this insect.

As for me, I’m just glad that bug is bugging someone else.

Spice Up Flower Beds With Ornamental Vegetables

Dr. Raymond Kessler, a horticulture specialist with the Alabama Cooperative Extension System, joined me on the Backyard Wisdom radio show, and we talked about spicing up fall flower beds with ornamental vegetables. Many ornamental vegetables, particularly kales and chards, have dramatic foliage and stems that provide a great background for flowers such as pansies and chrysanthemums. What makes them even better is that they are edible.
Check out this list of some of Dr. Kessler’s favorites.

Kales
‘Redbor’ — deep red-violet leaves
‘Red Russian’— a flatter leaf
‘Winterbor’ — deeply curled leaves

Mustards
‘Red Giant’— burgundy-copper green foliage
‘Osaka Purple’ — dark red, almost black leaves
‘Southern Giant’ — bright green leaves with divided margins

Pac Choi
‘Joi Choi’ — thick, white petioles and midribs and dark green foliage

Swiss Chard
‘Bright Lights’ — a seed mix of reds, oranges, yellows, pink, cream, gold and purple

Rhubarb Chard
‘Ruby Red’ — deep green puckered leaves and bright red petioles and midribs

Beets
‘Bull’s Blood’ — 12 to 15 inches in height and has deep reddish-purple leaves