A Red Clay Garden

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-12286202762279804472011-11-27T15:24:46.903-08:00A Red Clay GardenCasey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.comBlogger231100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-4963584584604051132007-05-08T11:45:00.000-07:002007-05-08T12:20:54.307-07:00Signs of Late Spring

I took this photo just after noon today. these mallow plants will grow to over 6' tall before November, and some of them won't die back over the winter. They will be in constant bloom until fall, giving color all season. Mallow can be a pest, though. For particulars on these plants, go here.

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-77375591717147613402007-05-02T17:30:00.000-07:002007-05-04T07:40:35.187-07:00Pretty Portulaca

Yesterday I repotted about 30 or so different plants. It was a busy day, with the repotting, the watering, and the usual daily tending to the garden. This is a great time of year for us gardeners. I love being this busy, and being outdoors. The days are starting to be hot enough to knock off working outside from about 10:00am until after 3:00pm. As of today, I am getting up earlier in the

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-16237213133759898902007-04-24T13:01:00.000-07:002007-04-24T13:02:10.206-07:00A busy time of year

It's been too long since I last posted, but I think most gardeners will understand that I have been incredibly busy outdoors since the late freeze happened. Freeze or no freeze, this is a very busy time of year for those of us who like to dig in the dirt. I've been re-landscaping the yard, mowing the grass, pruning dead limbs; and, of course, planting, planting, planting. Sorry for the lack of

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-41626573182076907302007-04-10T12:31:00.000-07:002007-04-10T12:40:25.013-07:00The damage isn't too bad

Okay, the freezing night-time temps are over for now, and I've been trying to figure how to catalogue all of the damage done by the hard frost for this post. I can't really give a comprehensive account of what took a hit versus what didn't. I've looked around, over at Leigh's site, and a few other random gardening blogs. Everybody took the same hit. Everything not covered that was susceptible

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-16581494519162161552007-04-08T11:17:00.000-07:002007-04-08T11:30:30.740-07:00Cold weather and Murphy's Law

I hate Murphy. I know, hate is not good for the soul, but I just want to go on record for saying that Mr. Murphy can kiss my ass. It's bad enough that the temperatures have been dropping into the twenties at night; I was already going to have to deal with some level of frost-kill among some fruit trees, and a few plants that couldn't be sheltered for one reason or another. We have a very long

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-72730602396466574312007-04-06T14:53:00.000-07:002007-04-06T14:55:19.106-07:00A visit to the Vet with Buckwheat

I spent another morning doing the health care thing, but today was better than the last two days, because it was a baby goat that was sick, so my Mom and I took the little kid to see the Vet in Jacksonville. Vet offices are so much more pleasant to deal with than seeing an MD. I'll take a DVM anyday, when it comes to human interaction. Not to mention that this vet office has a really cool

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-53649063069087094052007-04-04T20:38:00.000-07:002007-04-04T20:44:15.213-07:00Rough April Weather

Not a lot to write today. I'm too beat, from trying to frost-proof all of my outside plants that will be damaged by the cold weather in the next three days. It's getting down in frost area temps, with a low of 28F in two days. Covering my plants with plastic, overturned pots, etc. was a big job.Today's photo is of the ajuga starting to bloom, with Chameleon plant growing through it's edges.

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-37103310363143872252007-04-03T08:15:00.000-07:002007-04-03T08:18:17.261-07:00Harry gets new clothes

Today's photo is my Harry Lauder's Walking Stick, (Contorted Filbert). Harry really looks his best in the winter, with his bare, contorted branches giving a spooky silhouette. In this photo, taken last Friday, his leaves are just opening. This little tree/shrub provides great shade for the sun-hating plants that I have planted under his shelter. This is a great little specimen-tree, with

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-49030003787754590212007-04-02T11:06:00.000-07:002007-04-02T11:09:18.159-07:00Mucho Macho

We finally had rain this weekend. It had been very dry, no rain at all for about two weeks, which is not normal for this part of Alabama. As usual, though, immediately after the rain, more new shoots have started peeping up. Today's photo, though, is of a plant that wintered-over indoors, and has just been put outside for the summer. Behold the Macho Fern, a giant of a fern, from Texas.

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-13478518188212488722007-03-31T15:23:00.000-07:002007-03-31T15:32:22.820-07:00I don't think he liked the flash very much

Since I missed posting yesterday, I thought I'd step out this afternoon and take a stroll with the camera. Check out the racing stripes on this little tree frog among the horsetail in Alda's water garden.

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-29772697083919691642007-03-29T19:49:00.000-07:002007-03-29T20:10:03.490-07:00Another hard but satisfying day

This post won't be very long. I'm very tired, but satisfied with the nursery-work that I did today. See, I've been meaning to dig up and pot some small trees for sale in the nursery. but I had to wait until the little seedlings developed leaves before I could identify them properly. Well, global warming has resulted in rapid development in all the growing-stuff on our property, and today

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-90834347462717969152007-03-28T16:52:00.000-07:002007-03-28T17:01:48.615-07:00A long day with no new photos

Sorry, folks, no photos today. I simply didn't have time to take any new pics. See below for what my day was like, and you'll know what I mean.1. get up, get coffee2. go outside, water plants by hand (no irrigation system yet)3. pull weeds from beds and pots4. feed goat breakfast5. feed self breakfast6. Write for 1 hour, posts for MySpace blog7. Back outside, mow grass until hot and

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-8888913483496807692007-03-27T09:16:00.000-07:002007-03-27T09:51:42.747-07:00Yep, gotta water today

Before breakfast this morning, I went outside and did some gardening chores. Pulling weeds, spreading a little more mulch, and checking all of my recently-potted plants, to see if they need water. It is cloudy outside, but according to WeatherBug, no rain for today. There is a slight breeze, though. The breeze is going to dry the soil in one of my raised-beds, because the soil in that bed

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-48235299240384283552007-03-26T09:12:00.000-07:002007-03-26T12:36:49.192-07:00It ain't Black Magic, not this time

In my last post, I showed a photo that I thought was Black Magic Elephant Ear. Well, after a few days, the plant's true nature is showing. Last year, I transplanted a grouping of plants that were in a container which had been overrun by Vinca minor. (More about this pest in a later post) In this container were sedum, Houttuynia chordata, (chameleon plant) and one lonely, blue-grey Hosta.

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-86014622412013561972007-03-23T16:14:00.000-07:002007-03-23T16:38:34.648-07:00Black Magic returns unexpectedly (I think)

The tall, purple and green spikes poking up through the soil are a little suspicious. For the last two growing-seasons, I've had Sedum in this spot, which I recently removed because I didn't like the way it looked in mid-summer. Three years ago, I had planted the Black Magic variety of Colocasia. (Elephant Ear) It performed very well there, growing to 4.5' tall, but when it died back in

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-73178572554775782102007-03-22T17:28:00.000-07:002007-03-22T17:58:17.331-07:00A civilized, shade-loving ground cover

Today's photos are of Ajuga reptans, commonly known as Carpet Bugleweed. I found this particular variety growing wild, and installed it in a bed underneath a Contorted Filbert. (Harry Lauder's Walking Stick) Since the Harry Lauder hasn't leafed yet, the bugleweed gets full morning sun, which I think helps to develop the darker colors. Later in the spring, old Harry gets his leaves, and this

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-73897010927049098262007-03-21T18:02:00.000-07:002007-03-21T18:14:10.724-07:00A terminal encounter with Yucca

As you can see, Yucca does not get along with anything that isn't puncture-resistant. Most of us don't need to be told this, since everyone who gets near the stuff gets stuck. My eleven-year-old nephew just discovered the worst place in the yard for an inflatable ball to land. I had to take this picture.

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-3847681874955059372007-03-20T16:21:00.000-07:002007-03-20T16:50:19.774-07:00Garden-blogging, Southern style

Welcome to A Red Clay Garden. I've started this blog because I want a public record of my own gardening at home, and also the work that my brother, Marty, and I do with our commercial nursery. Here I'll write everything that I can, sharing some of the techniques that I use tending my personal garden, and any other gardening topic that comes to mind. I'm also using this space to document the

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-73829317316761406542007-03-20T16:14:00.000-07:002007-03-20T16:46:35.939-07:00The best part of spring

In this picture, my Hostas are just peeping up out of the ground. Hard to believe that in only a couple months, these little pink shoots will be my beautiful, summer-flowering Hosta. This is the best time of year for gardening. I love checking my beds in the spring, every morning, looking to see what is peeping up above the leaf-litter.

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-41100345156346596762007-03-20T16:07:00.000-07:002007-03-20T16:42:41.132-07:00What's coming up?

I should have put something in this photo to show the scale. These baby Lenten Roses are volunteers, about 1" tall, coming up through the cracks in a brick walkway at my Aunt Alda's house. I'll be digging these little gems up, and selling some in our commercial nursery. Some of them are going in my own flower beds, though. The Helleborus orientalis blooms early (hence the Lenten Rose

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-68271430911268860662007-03-20T15:58:00.000-07:002007-03-20T16:48:49.441-07:00Spring is kicking ass in the South

The Eastern Redbuds (Cercis canadensis) are blooming. So are the Cherry trees. The trees in the photos above are loaded with bees. It's planting time again.......

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-53108222894316868892007-03-20T15:38:00.000-07:002007-03-20T16:39:10.559-07:00How kill weeds without using chemical herbicides

My parents have lived in the same place, on the same property, for over thirty years. Prior to 1988, my grandparents also lived on this property. My Mom and my Grandparents are and were avid gardeners. When my grandparents were alive, and for a few years after, my Mom kept up with maintaining the yard and all the various ornamental plants scattered over a 3-acre plot. Mom is now 70, and for

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1228620276227980447.post-82037533548027212832007-03-20T11:31:00.000-07:002007-03-20T16:45:03.673-07:00Why the #&*@! did you put the Nandina there in the first place?

While working as horticulturist at Talladega Superspeedway, I spent a hell of a lot of my time maintaining landscape plants that should never have been planted in the places where I found them, an all-too-common landscaping mistake. The reasons for this are many, varied, and all equally stupid. I could go on about junipers planted in low, boggy spots, shade-loving Hostas in the full sun, etc.;

Casey Rollinshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11026264321953113776noreply@blogger.com0