Gardening

Drive Away Those Hurricane Blues With Great Blossoms

by Alcestis ‘Cooky’ Oberg
Galveston County Master Gardener

October 5, 2005

Magic Lantern Photo by Laura Bellmore.

When I pulled into my driveway after evacuating for Hurricane Rita, the first thing that greeted me were my cheery hibiscus bushes, blooming grandly as if to say, "Welcome home, Girlfriend."

Butterflies fluttered around the lunch-plate sized blossoms of my "Mellow Yellow" Hibiscus (Hibiscus calyphullus), its showy lemon yellow flowers with a dark crimson center calling to them. My Skyflower Vine, blanketing an archway with a cascade of ethereal blue blossoms, soothed my soul as I picked up the little twigs and sticks that had blown into my yard.

Ornamental & Perennial Seminar & Sale Set For October 8 Area gardeners are also reminded that the Ornamental & Perennial Seminar & Sale, sponsored by the Galveston County Master Gardeners, will be conducted on Saturday, October 8. More than 200 types of perennials, vines, ornamental grasses and flowering shrubs will be available including many hard-to-find varieties. Featured plants will include Mexican Oleander, Cape Honeysuckle, Red Cestrum, Yellow Trumpet Ginger, Dwarf Orange Jasmine, Candy Corn Abutilon, Purple Prince Ginger, and Mellow Yellow Hibiscus, and Blue Skyflower Vine. The activities will begin on October 8, at 8:00 a.m. when Heidi Sheesley of TreeSearch Farms Nursery will present a slide seminar entitled Perennials & Ornamentals for Gulf Coast Landscapes. She will discuss proven perennials and ornamentals for this area and guidelines for growing them. The Plant Sale will be held from 9:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m. All activities will be conducted at the Wayne Johnson Community Center in Carbide Park at 4102 FM 519 in La Marque.

Mellow Yellow Hibiscus, Skyflower Vine, and many other magnificent, hardy, care-free plants and shrubs will be available at the ever-popular Galveston County Master Gardeners’ Ornamental and Perennial Seminar and Sale. It will be held on Saturday, October 8, 2005, at the Wayne Johnson Community Center in Carbide Park at 4102 FM 519 in La Marque.

The plant sale will start at 9:00 a.m. and continue until 2:00 p.m. Prior to the opening of the sale yard, Heidi Sheesley of TreeSearch Farms will provide a seminar from 8:00-9:00 a.m. in the Community Center auditorium. She will provide an overview of the special, hard-to-find plants in the sale, which include a wide variety of native and adapted plants, perfect for our area. Seating is limited and is on a first come, first serve basis.

Directions to Carbide Park and additional information are available at the Galveston County Extension Office (281 534 3413, Ext. 6) and at our Web site provided at the end of this article.

More than 150 types of perennials, vines, ornamental grasses and flowering shrubs will be available including many hard-to-find varieties. Featured plants include:

- The ABUTILON COLLECTION: These shrubby nonstop bloomers fill yards with color from spring through fall, and respond beautifully to pruning and shaping in a sunny or light shade home landscape. Varieties featured include the bright orange "Magic Lantern" , the red and yellow "Candy Corn," and "Marilyn’s Choice"–a very special heirloom variety found at an old church site in Lafayette, Louisiana.

If you don’t have room in your yard but want to decorate a patio, abutilon plants make beautiful hanging baskets, work well in a pot or trained as climbers on supports. The blossoms will beckon many of our native hummingbirds and butterflies.

- THE CAPE HONEYSUCKLE COLLECTION: Cape Honeysuckle shrubs are butterfly and hummingbird favorites, and bring long-lasting color to every landscape. Evergreen in winter and heavy bloomers during summer, they grow to 3-to-6 feet, and can be trained as climbers. Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) features beautiful, rich 2-inch tubular bright-orange flowers with showy flared openings.

‘Aurea’ or Yellow Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis) is covered with clusters of 2-inch tubular lemon-yellow blossoms while a new variety, Apricot Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis), features luscious 2-inch apricot blooms. Another brand-new variety, Red Cape Honeysuckle (Tecomaria capensis ‘Rojo’) highlights tubular bright red flowers.

- THE GINGER COLLECTION: Yellow Trumpet Ginger (Siphonochilus decora) produces bright canary-yellow, funnel-shaped flowers which bloom in clusters during the summer, and is a great choice for partially shady locations. Purple Prince Ginger (Curcuma ‘Purple Prince’) is a magnificent new variety of ginger with an unusual blue cast to the 2-to-3 feet foliage and stunning 10-to-12 inch flower stalks with glossy burgundy and yellow flowers in late summer. Like all gingers, these prefer light shade and moist, well-drained soil.

- DWARF ORANGE JASMINE (Murraya paniculata ‘Min-A-Min’): A heavenly orange-blossom fragrance emits from the beautiful clusters of white flowers on this adorable shrub. This dwarf variety, with its glossy, rich green, miniature citrus-like foliage blooms in heavy flushes from spring to fall. It forms a compact, rounded 2-to3 feet bush that’s very hardy in the Houston area. Dwarf Jasmine grows in full sun or light shade and also makes a spectacular fragrant container plant for the patio.

- MEXICAN OLEANDER (Thevetia peruviana): This luxuriant evergreen small tree or large shrub is a terrific accent in the landscape with its glossy dark green lance-shaped leaves and, during the summer, long-lasting 2-inch fragrant saffron yellow flowers. Normally 6-to-8 feet tall, the Mexican Oleander is gorgeous in a sunny place when trained as a multi-trunk tree up to at least 10 feet.

There are dozens of other hardy and wonderful ornamentals, perennials and vines available at this wildly popular once-a-year sale. A selection of citrus will also be available. Dozens of Galveston County Master Gardeners will be on hand to help you with your selections and purchases.

Proceeds from the sale will be used toward development and maintenance of the Extension Horticulture Demonstration Garden at the County Extension Office at 5115 Highway 3 in Dickinson. The garden is open daily to the general public.

Alcestis "Cooky" Oberg is a Certified Texas Master Gardener and Extension Volunteer with the Galveston County Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit the Master Gardener web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

Dr. Johnson is a horticulturist with the Galveston County
Extension Office of Texas Cooperative Extension, Texas A&M University. Visit his web site at http://aggie-horticulture.tamu.edu/galveston/index.htm

Gardening: Scale insects and pampas grass - July 17, 2004 article

Gardening: Bananas - August 1, 2004 article

Gardening: August Gardening Calendar - August 16, 2004 article

Gardening: Trio Of Extension Programs Includes Pear Tasting, Master Naturalist Class & Rose Seminar - August 20, 2004 article

Gardening: Prepare Now For Fall Gardens - August 26, 2004 article

Gardening: September's Garden Calendar Includes Fall Pecan Field Day - September 2, 2004 article

Gardening: Ornamental Grasses - September 8, 2004 article

Gardening: Don't Let Landscape Become A High-Maintenance Nightmare - September 22, 2004 article

Gardening: Oct. 10 Plant Sale & Seminar To Feature Butterfly Gardening - Butterflies Bring Color, Motion to Garden - October 2, 2004 article

Gardening: Plant It And They Will Come: Getting the Butterflies of Galveston County to Grace Your Yard - October 2, 2004 article

Gardening: Rose Propagation & Seasonal Decorating Workshops To Be Held - October 13, 2004 article

Gardening: Extension Office To Sponsor Open House On October 29, Seasonal Decorations and Onion and Garlic Workshops - October 20, 2004 article

Gardening: Extension Office To Sponsor Open House On October 29 and County Pecan Show - October 27, 2004 article

Gardening: November Is Pansy Time - November 6, 2004 article

Gardening: County Pecan Growers Display Their Successes - November 11, 2004 article

Gardening: Gardeners' Questions On Fall Crops - November 17, 2004 article

Gardening: Gardeners' Q&As For November - November 28, 2004 article

Gardening: Gardeners' December Checklist Includes Citrus Show On Dec. 9 - December 3, 2004 article

Gardening: Citrus Show A Huge Success With 185 Entries - December 19, 2004 article

Gardening: Trees and Shrubs - December 23, 2004 article

Gardening: Cold Weather Impact - January 4, 2005 article

Gardening: Gardeners' Checklist For January Includes Several Educational Programs - January 7, 2005 article

Gardening:Announcing the 2005 Galveston County Master Gardener Training - January 13, 2005 article

Gardening:Peach & Plum Growers' Workshop To Be Held Saturday, January 29 - January 19, 2005 article

Gardening: Gardening for Texas Wildlife - January 28, 2005 article

Gardening: Wide Variety of Citrus to Be Available at February 5 Fruit Tree Sale and Home Citrus Production - January 31, 2005 article

Gardening: Fruit Trees Of The Gods Featured In February 5 Master Gardener Plant Sale - February 2, 2005 article

Gardening: "If I Were A Tomato, I Would Want To Be Grown In Texas . . . Galveston County, That Is!" Workshop to be held February 12 - February 9, 2005 article

Gardening: February Is Rose Pruning Time...Attend Rose Care Seminar to Learn How - February 16, 2005 article

Gardening: Extension Activities At The Home & Garden Show On Feb. 26-27 - February 23, 2005 article

Gardening: March Gardening Calendar Includes Seminar On Butterfly Gardening - March 2, 2005 article

Gardening: Gardeners' Q&As From The Galveston Home & Garden Show - March 10, 2005 article

Gardening: Extension Offers Program On "Living To Be 100 . . . A Commonsense Approach." - March 16, 2005 article

Gardening: Program On Plumeria Offered On March 26- March 29, 2005 article

Gardening: Garden Checklist For April Includes Pecan Field Day - April 6, 2005 article

Gardening: Hints On Harvesting Vegetables For Peak Flavor - April 15, 2005 article

Gardening: Fresh Blueberries From Your Home Garden Seminar On Saturday, April 23 - April 22, 2005 article

Gardening: Learn About Weed Control - April 27, 2005 article

Gardening: Home Gardening Chores and
May 14 Home Fruit Growers’ Tour - May 5, 2005 article