December Chores
My most important chore this winter has been to get rid of the Helianthus-ridden bed and path in the front yard. They were so pretty, and of sentimental value because I found them on a roadside near Okefenokee, but oh, so agressive. Here’s a photo of them 5 years ago when they were just a little clump
It is going to take years to get rid of them completely, but eventually they will be preplaced by frequently mown grass (which I will sod in the spring) and an odd-shaped central island, which will block the view across the street from the front door (which since July has large windows). At the moment, the bed contains hydrangeas, 2 ill-considered Cleyera, and a large red camellia Thom gave me, whose color offends me. Not sure what to do about that.
Helianthus angustifolius in all its native glory. Also in this photo, I see is one of Connie’s clerodendrons. Also charming and well-behaved if you spend hours every spring pulling out their million offshoots. By the time this fall rolled around, I had to take a machete to the Helianthus before people could get to our front door.
Now that we have cleared many trees so that there is some sunshine at the back of the house, I am moving most of my gardening to the back yard. I want the front to be reasonably simple, so that it can be looked after by George and an annual weed/newspaper/pine straw blitz.
This month I have also added to this camellia bed a second Acer palmatum ‘Bloodgood,’ a second Meyer’s Improved lemon, and a banana from the Bamboo Farm. I’ve already forgotten the variety, but apparently a woman on Tybee ripened several pounds from it this year.
In addition, the Brugmansia, which started life as a cutting I stole from Evergreen Nursery when it was alive on President Street, had amazingly survived in a choking thicket of morning glory, and was flowering beautifully, so I chopped it back and moved it to a better location where George won’t weed-whack it. It is now sending out new shoots at high speed.
Furthermore, there is a Brugmansia down the road which is the size of a small tree and blooming like crazy in the middle of December. Global warming strikes again. The first time I saw one that had overwintered (without any set back) in this part of the world was in 2006 in downtown Charleston, but I assumed that was in a heat island.
