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May Plant of the Month
 Fringetree
By Sue
Hamilton
Fringetree or
Old Man's Beard is a beautiful, small tree when it is in full spring
bloom. It can grow nearly anywhere in the continental United States and
its striking white flowers kick in just as the dogwood blooms are
fading.
For more information on Fringetree visit Plant of the Month.
May Gardening Calendar
and Tips
By
Research Horticulturist Jason Reeves, UT Gardens in Jackson
Early
May is a good time to cut back woody perennials such as rosemary, rue,
caryopteris, lavender, santolina and artemisia. If you prune before the
danger of frost has passed, new growth may appear - and a freeze can
kill that new growth and sometimes the entire plant.
If needed, prune spring-flowering shrubs (azaleas, flowering quince,
forsythia and Loropetalum) soon after they finish flowering. To
keep them from looking like a perfect little meatball, follow the
taller branches down into the shrub and cut just above a leaf node. A
good option for a large and overgrown Loropetalum is to prune
into a tree form. This shrub can easily be limbed-up by removing lower
branches.
Speaking of branches, Japanese kerria or yellow rose of Texas, Kerria
japonica, often have dead ones. Cut such branches at the base of
the shrub. Remove older branches in the same manner to keep the plant
looking good. Older, overgrown or neglected plants can be cut to the
ground for rejuvenation.
Wait to plant caladium and summer annual vinca or periwinkle
until soil temperatures stay warm. Caladium bulbs will rot in
cool soil and vinca is prone to root diseases and stunted growth. Night
temperatures should regularly be above 60 F before you
plant.
If you are interested in container plantings, the following are some
good combinations:
- A combination for a container which gets morning sun and afternoon
shade is a red 'Dragon Wing' begonia, a blue trailing torenia and a
white caladium.
- If your container is larger than 12 inches and you would like to use
a golden Boston fern (such as Rita's Gold), be sure it gets no more
than two hours of morning sun. If it gets more than two hours of sun,
an asparagus fern is a good choice. For an even larger pot, Persian
shield (Strobilanthes) is great for height. If you can find it,
the upright growing Fuschia 'Gartenmeister' makes a good addition.
- An outstanding combination for a 12-inch container receiving morning
shade but hot afternoon sun or full sun would be 'Batface' or 'Tiny Mice'
Cuphea, 'Diamond Frost' euphorbia and your favorite sun coleus. For a
16-inch container, add a yellow lantana and a blue or purple million
bell. For a 20-inch or larger pot, you could add a purple fountain
grass, a canna such as 'Australia' (dark red foliage with red flowers)
or 'Bengal Tiger' (bold yellow and green striped foliage with orange
flowers), 'Tropicana' (red foliage with brighter stripes and orange
flowers) or tree-formed tropical hibiscus in the center of the pot for
height. Throw in a variegated jasmine, potato vine or ornamental sweet
potato vine or perhaps a trailing petunia, and you have yourself a
winner.
For more timely gardening calendar items, go to the Garden Girls Calendar site.
Now Showing
 Cornus kousa - Kousa Dogwood; Japanese
Flowering Dogwood - Several selections of this dogwood can be found
throughout the UT Gardens. Kousa dogwoods have better disease
resistance than our native flowering dogwood. Grows 15 to 30 feet tall
with a vase-shaped habit. The showy bracts of Kousa are narrowly
pointed, whereas the bracts of flowering dogwood are rounded. Flowers
are followed by berry-like fruits which mature to a pinkish red in
summer and persist into fall. Fruits are edible, but provide good food
for birds. Dark green foliage turns reddish-purple to scarlet in
autumn.
 Calycanthus
'Hartlage Wine' - Sweetshrub. Don't miss the big, showy, rosy-red
fragrant flowers of this select hybrid Sweetshrub.
 Hosta -
Enjoy the new, fresh and colorful foliage of the oodles of cultivars of
this popular perennial scattered throughout the gardens.
 Peony -
You'll find single- and double-flowering selections of this
old-fashioned pass-along perennial.
 Asimina
triloba - Pawpaw. A native tree valued for its late summer
banana-like fruit. Many folks miss the beautiful flower it produces in
the spring.
 Amsonia
tabernaemontana - Blue Star. One of the few perennials that has
blue flowers. The light-blue flower clusters of this spring-flowering
perennial make it a must-have plant in any garden.
 Viburnum
dilatatum - Linden Viburnum. Grows 8 to 10 feet tall. Shrub is
loaded with 5-inch white blooms that will be followed by red berries in
the fall.
 Sisyrinchium
angustifolium - Blue-eyed Grass. Bright blue, star-shaped flowers
with gold centers that rise above fine, semi-evergreen, iris-like
foliage.
 Enkianthus campanulatus 'Red Bells' -
Redvein Enkianthus. A deciduous shrub which looks similar to
Rhododendron but has clusters of bell-shaped blooms in the spring.
 Halesia
carolina - Carolina Silverbells. A native deciduous tree with
beautiful white bell-shaped flowers.
 Pinellia
tripartite - Dragon Tails. Pinellias are in the arum family (araceae),
and close cousins to jack-in-the-pulpits. Easily seeds and loves a
woodland setting.
 Michelia
x skinneriana - Skinner's Banana Shrub. Soft yellow and
banana-scented blooms on an evergreen, leathery-leaved shrub.
 Dianthus
gratianopolis 'Spangled Star.' One of several beautiful and
colorful selections you'll find in the gardens.
 Encore
Azalea 'Autumn Twist.' One of several of the Encore azaleas
in the gardens that will bloom sporadically throughout the summer and
then heavily again in the fall.
 Iris
pallida 'Variegata' - Variegated Sweet. Highly prized for both its
fragrant violet-blue flower and its strikingly showy bi-colored
foliage. Enjoy the varied colors of Dutch, bearded and Siberian iris
scattered throughout the gardens.
 Liriodendron tulipifera
'Aureomarginatum' - Variegated Tulip Poplar. Enjoy the new and colorful
yellow and green foliage of this choice selection of our state's tree.
 Lamium
'Pink Chablis' - One of the best selections of this perennial ground
cover we have in the gardens. Flowers nonstop all summer. Best in a
partially shady location.
National Public Gardens Day,
May 8, 2009
National Public Gardens Day is a national day of celebration to raise
awareness of America's public gardens and their important role in
promoting environmental stewardship and awareness, plant and water
conservation, and education in communities nationwide. Visit the NPGD Facebook page and
become a fan today! Or download materials and artwork
to promote NPGD at your garden.
Lunch and
Learn Series
Liz Etnier, a longtime UT Gardens
volunteer, gave a fascinating talk on March 26 for the first Lunch and
Learn presentation of 2009. An avid hiker and wildflower enthusiast,
Liz related details of gardens she saw during a recent trip to England.
She and a friend completed a hiking tour of the historic Cotswolds
region, "one of the most 'quintessentially English' and unspoiled
regions of England." After whetting the audience's appetite for
travel, she followed up with pictures of wildflowers that can be found
a little closer to home in the Cumberland and Smoky Mountains. Liz's book, "The Day
Hiker's Guide to All the Trails in the Smoky Mountains," is
available to help those who are interested plan their own wildflower
adventures.
 Don't
miss our May Lunch and Learn session, scheduled for noon on Tuesday,
May 19. Bring your lunch and join us as Stuart Bartholomaus presents
"A Tennessee Yard Done Right." He will be discussing
water-wise gardening techniques that you can implement in your home
landscape, including rain barrels, rain gardens and water diversion.
The lunch and learn program is free and open to the public. It will be
held in the classroom of the new greenhouses adjacent to the gardens;
follow signs from the garden plaza. Drinks will be provided. Please
contact Beth Willis (865-974-2712 or ewillis2@utk.edu) for more information.
Above: Liz Etnier inspired wanderlust in the audience
with wonderful pictures of the gardens of the Cotswolds region in
England.
Bulb Rescue Project
If were at the UT Gardens
recently, you probably noticed the large masses of beautiful tulips,
daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths and other spring bulbs that were
blooming throughout the garden. For the second year in a row, the UT
Gardens received a large number of bulb varieties from an anonymous
donor who wanted the bulbs to be used in a public space so that many
people would enjoy them.  Gardens
staff and volunteers banded together late last fall to get more than
15,000 bulbs in the ground. Many of the bulbs will be left in place to
naturalize and return year after year. So, if you didn't get a chance
to enjoy them this year, don't worry - they'll be back next spring for
your viewing pleasure!
Left: Hundreds of bulbs were massed
together at various locations throughout the garden late last fall.
Right: And here's the payoff! Bright, beautiful spring blooms appear in
giant drifts throught the garden.
UT Schedules First Organic Crops Field Tour
The East Tennessee Research and
Education Center in Knoxville will present the first Organic Crops
Field Tour on May 15, beginning at 8 a.m. A tour designed for home
gardeners will cover heritage seed saving and heirloom tomato
production as well as how to use growing degree days for timing when to
plant a home garden. Topics to be discussed of interest to commercial
producers include conservation tillage techniques; high-tunnel
production; variety trials; and evaluating the use of cover crops for
optimizing fertility, enhancing beneficial insect populations, reducing
soil-borne pathogens, and managing weeds. How to become a USDA
Certified organic grower will also be featured.
A
90-acre unit of the UT center was recently dedicated to organic crop
research, and tours and talks at the facility will highlight current
research projects and discuss how commercial producers and home
gardeners can engage in organic crop production. Organic production has
the potential to increase profits by reducing the use of off-farm
inputs and providing consumers with locally grown, high-quality organic
products - products that are in high demand in a rapidly growing
market.
Both
tours will address the importance of encouraging bees in the landscape,
and commercial vendors and educational exhibitors will be featured in a
trade show. The trade show will open at 7 a.m.; tours and talks will
begin at 8 a.m.
The
UT Organic Crops Unit is located at 7315 Government Farm Road in
Knoxville. This is the site of the former Small Grains Unit of the East
Tennessee Research and Education Center. The facility is approximately
seven miles south of the UT agricultural campus and downtown Knoxville.
Visitors should follow U.S. Highway 129 and take the exit for Highway
168 (John Sevier Highway). Government Farm Road will be 1.7 miles on
the right.
Updated Hardiness Map to Reflect Warming Trend
A revised USDA Cold Hardiness Zone
map will be released this year, "Scientific
American" reports.
Horticulturalists and experts who have helped with the revision expect
the new map to extend plants' northern ranges and clearly show the
extent of gradual warming over the past few decades.
Scientists Develop New 'Green' Fungicides
Scientists
in Canada are developing a new class of "green" fungicides
that could provide a safer, more environmentally friendly alternative
to conventional fungicides, "ScienceDaily" reports.
The new fungicides, called paldoxins, could do the work of conventional
pesticides, helping to protect corn, wheat and other crops. The new
fungicides also could help fight the growing problem of resistance.
Calling all gardening enthusiasts! After several months
of performing greenhouse tasks like transplanting seedlings and potting
up plugs, our volunteers are ready to "take it outside." This
exciting time of year is when we start installing the hundreds of tropical,
 annual and trial
varieties that fill up our raised-berm display beds. If you have time
to donate and would like to be involved in creating these important
displays, then give us a call. Contact Cindy Williams (865-938-1895 or orchidsandonions@aol.com)
or Beth Willis (865-974-2712 or ewillis2@utk.edu) for more information and to
arrange a volunteer orientation.
Above: Volunteer Lynette Ringel plants annuals in the UT
Gardens.
 Spring Plant Sale
Mark your calendar now for the spring plant sale! The event will be
held 9 a.m.-2 p.m., Saturday, May 9 (the day before Mother's Day for
any procrastinators who are reading this - you know who you are!). Join
us on the Friendship Plaza for a wonderful selection of annual,
perennial and woody plant selections. Our feature plant will be the
rose. If you are interested in volunteering to help at the plant sale,
please contact Cindy Williams (865-938-1895 or orchidsandonions@aol.com)
or Beth Willis (865-974-2712 or ewillis2@utk.edu).
Knoxville Garden Club
Presents Paige Dickey
The Knoxville Garden Club will present author Page Dickey at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, May 6, at the Knoxville Museum of Art. Dickey will provide
slides from her book, "Gardens in the Spirit of Place," which
focuses on creating a garden that is in harmony with its particular
setting. Private gardens around America that were made with a
sensitivity to the ecology, climate, culture and history of the place
where they are located will be showcased. The program is open to the
public and free of charge.
Dickey has also written "Inside Out: Relating Garden to
House," "Dogs in Their Gardens" and "Cats in Their
Gardens." She has contributed to "House Beautiful,"
"House and Garden" and "Horticulture." She serves
on the board of the Garden Conservancy and is one of the founders of the
Conservancy's Open Day program. Dickey lives and gardens with her
husband in the company of assorted dogs, cats and chickens in North
Salem, New York.
Mark Your
Calendar
May
April through May
(daylight hours) UT Gardens
Event: Dogwood Arts Festival Open Gardens
Celebrate the Dogwood Arts Festival with a visit to the UT Gardens.
Free
Friday,
May 8 (2 p.m.-5 p.m.) UT Gardens
Volunteer
Opportunity: Plant Sale Set-up
Join the gardens staff as we prepare for the spring plant sale. Volunteers
needed to receive, inventory, price and arrange plant materials and
other sale items.
Free
Saturday, May 9 (9 a.m.-2 p.m.) UT Gardens
Event: UT Gardens Spring Plant Sale
Visit
one of the largest fundraising events for the UT Gardens. The sale
features everything from trees and shrubs to blueberries, annuals,
herbs and perennials. Roses are the featured plant of the sale. More
than 100 cultivars of roses will be available for purchase, including
UT's no-spray roses; the best of Bailey Nursery's Easy Elegance Series;
and the 2009 introductions for Jackson and Perkins, Weeks, and Star
Roses.
Saturday, May 9 - Sunday, May 10 and Saturday, May 16 -
Sunday, May 17
Event: The Dogwood Arts Open Rose Gardens
Several gardens of Tennessee Rose Society members will
be open from noon to 5 p.m. These gardens feature both formal design as
well as cottage design. A special treat for Mother's Day, this garden
tour is not one to be missed. For more information, visit www.tennesseerosesociety.org.
Free
Thursday,
May 21 (10:30 a.m.) UT Gardens
Family Fun: Books and Blooms
Bring the kids to this popular
summertime event! Join area storytellers for readings and stories with
an environmental theme. After story time, the kids can enjoy crafts or
even time under the sprinkler in warmer weather. To join an e-mail list
to receive notices about Books and Blooms, contact Beth Willis at ewillis2@utk.edu. Held at 10:30 a.m. every Thursday
through July.
Free
Saturday,
May 23 (12 p.m.-5 p.m.) UT Plant Bio-Tech Building (Ag Campus)
Event:
The East Tennessee Festival of Roses Rose Show
This
rose show is a great opportunity for the public to see new and choice
selections of roses, as well as seek out area rose growers and get
answers to their rose-growing questions.
Free
Thursday,
May 28 (10:30 a.m.) UT Gardens
Family
Fun: Books and Blooms
Bring
the kids to this popular summertime event! Join area storytellers for
readings and stories with an environmental theme. After story time, the
kids can enjoy crafts or even time under the sprinkler in warmer
weather. To join an e-mail list to receive notices about Books and
Blooms, contact Beth Willis at ewillis2@utk.edu. Held at 10:30 a.m. every Thursday
through July.
Free
Saturday, May 30 (11 a.m.-noon or 1-2 p.m.) UT Gardens
Family
Fun: Bugtussle USA
Many children are curious about the
creeping, crawling and colorful insects that inhabit our world. Join
Lady Bugtussle, the Mayor of Bugtussle, from the UT Entomology Department
(the bug scientists) for this fun exploration of insects, their
habitats and how they contribute to the wider environment. Space is
limited for these small hands-on sessions. Visit the UT Gardens Web
site at utgardens.tennessee.edu for
registration and admission fee details.
June
Thursday, June 4 (10:30 a.m.) UT Gardens
Family Fun: Books and Blooms
Bring the kids to this popular
summertime event! Join area storytellers for readings and stories with
an environmental theme. After story time, the kids can enjoy crafts or
even time under the sprinkler in warmer weather. To join an e-mail list
to receive notices about Books and Blooms, contact Beth Willis at ewillis2@utk.edu. Held at 10:30 a.m. every Thursday
through July.
Free
Thursday,
June 4 - Sunday, June 7, UT Arboretum Society Bus Tour
Bus
Tour: Georgia Garden Adventure
Join the UT Arboretum Society for a four-day garden bus
tour into the heart of Georgia. Participants in the Georgia Garden
Adventure Tour will visit Athens, Atlanta and Calloway Gardens. The
tour includes three nights' hotel accommodations; bus transportation
from Oak Ridge, Tennessee; admission to all attractions and gardens;
breakfast; two garden luncheons; and two dinners at Calloway Gardens.
Limited to 45 participants. To learn more or to reserve space, visit utgardens.tennessee.edu.
Saturday, June 6 (10 a.m.-2 p.m.) UT Gardens
Family Fun: Tree Climbing
Don't
just climb a tree the old-fashioned way, do it like the experts - with
a rope and a harness! Join Sam Adams from Cortese Tree Specialists for
this safe and fun activity for the whole family. Appropriate for ages
10 and up.
Members: $15, Nonmembers: $20
Easter Egg
Hunt
The first annual Easter Egg Hunt took
place from 9 a.m. to noon on April 11. The UT Gardens were thrilled to
host 250 children and their parents for egg hunts (complete with candy
and prizes), craft activities, and an "eggs-tra" special
visit from the Easter Bunny. Graduate students Jennifer Roper and Sarah
Kleihauer, who undertook the project to fulfill a service learning
requirement for a class in leadership development, were instrumental in
planning and carrying out the event alongside garden staff. Thank you
to our volunteers who donated supplies, prizes, money and their time to
help make this event a success, as well as the area Wal-Mart and Food
City locations that donated supplies. Check back early next year for
information on how to join in the fun at this annual event!
Left: The Easter Bunny was on hand
all morning to greet children and pose for pictures. Middle: My
goodness, James, what big ears you have! Garden Curator James Newburn
lent a hand at the egg decorating craft table. Right: Children loved
petting these two adorable bottle-fed lambs!
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Diascia
'Flirtation Orange' from Proven Winners should be a hit with any proud
Tennessee Vol fan. It will be trialed in the UT Gardens this year.
An
interesting and unusual 2009 introduction, Benary's Ptilotus
'Joey' will make an appearance in the UT Gardens this year.
This
vertical gardening display by Euro American is representative of many
displays that utilized water-wise plants and eco-friendly design.
FloraNova's
new Vegetalis line of patio edibles reflects the growing interest in
home vegetable gardening this year.
