Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
What varieties of flowers and landscape bushes grow well in North GA? If you have grass in N. GA what variety of grass does better? Also, what type of birds frequent the area-we want to build birdhouses but not sure what varieties to build the birdhouses for. Are their butterflies in N. GA? I want to plant flowers that will attract them as well. Do you know if Japanese Maple trees will grow in N. GA? Thank you
Almost ANYTHING will grow in our beautiful climate, with the exception of tropicals (it does always get below freezing here) and even those can be transplanted and grown as annuals until the first frost (typically anywhere from mid October to early November depending upon how far "north" in North Georgia and how high the elevation is).
Birds are everywhere, all types. My personal favorites are the wrens that often nest in the hanging ferns on my front porch and the humming birds that stalk the petunias hanging beside them.
Butterflies are plentiful: I always plant a stand of milkweed at the rear of my front flower bed. These bloom beautifully in golden spender in early autumn and attract monarchs ;0). Day lilies also attract many types of butterflies (I prefer the re-blooming varieties that bloom ALL summer long such as "happy returns" or "when my sweetheart returns")
As far as plants that do well, there is an endless variety: Pansies brighten even the coldest months. jonquils (daffodils) are the first sign of spring, azaleas are amazing around here in April in every hue, by late May roses are in full bloom and bloom until the first frost, and oh the hydrangeas in June! My aforementioned re-blooming day lilies bloom from early June until the frost every year I get TWO blooms out of my chrysanthemums, early June and after I cut off the spent blossoms in July, again in October!
I have a Japanese maple here in Lake Spivey in south suburban Atlanta. It was a VERY small seedling gift from a local gardening club and has grown EXCRUCIATINGLY slow. If it is color that you are wanting, just wait. I think we have EXTREMELY lovely and underrated fall color around here. I think you will LOVE it here in North Georgia, from Metro Atlanta to the mountains!
Thanks so much for all your suggestions! I am so excited to start planting my garden! Have you ever grown peonies? I love all the flowers you mentioned and noticed in the fall they have a lot of mums that grow in mounds-have you ever planted these? My friend wanted to give me a plumeria but I thought the N. GA climate may be too cold for the Plumeria. Have you planted lavender at all? I heard the smell of the lavender the mosquitoes do not like it and goodness knows we have so many mosquitoes outside right now. Is there a particular variety of grass that does well in N. GA? The suggestion was to not plant grass until fall but I am not sure what type of grass to plant for the front yard. We sadly had to remove some of our big oaks due to the tree having structural issues with rot so we have a large area without trees and would like to plant grass there.
I have planted peonies. Here in the South, you have to plant it part sun (full sun would burn it up at our latitude) Find a place where it can get morning sun, but afternoon shade.
My lavender grows like wildfire! Truly, it could be called semi-invasive, but I love it! ;0)
The chrysanthemums that I mentioned are the fall "mums" you asked about. They do not naturally "mound". Left to their own devices the actually grow kind of "leggy". I literally bought small 99 cent mums for my fall hanging baskets and transplanted them to my flower bed when I took them down after Thanksgiving to decorate my porch for Christmas. They practically disappear in cold weather, but are among the first plants to show green in the spring with green sprouts by mid- March. Like I said before, I allow mine to have an initial bloom in June, and then cut them back by about a third around the Fourth of July. This helps them achieve the "mound effect" you described AND bloom thickly and beautifully "right on time" in early October. FYI: Oakland Cemetery (a historic cemetery just east of Downtown Atlanta, if you were to go east down Memorial Drive from the "Gold Dome" of the Georgia State Capital Building) has a fantastic fall plant event sometime in September where you are able to purchase some of their "heirloom" chrysanthemums. I never have done this personally (my frugal wife would pitch a conniption fit) but have known some "master gardeners" that swear by them.
When to plant grass is based upon what type of grass you desire: cool weather grasses, like fescue that you plant in September, and warm weather grasses like Bermuda, that you would plant anywhere from early May through the summer.
I prefer fescue for MANY reasons: first, I have one of those classic southern yards with a towering tree canopy, and warm weather grasses simply don't get enough sun, and fescue is simply more forgiving of part sun, second it stays green ALL winter, and most importantly, my Daddy always was partial to fescue! ;0) That said, Bermuda grass THRIVES is sunny, treeless spaces like you described, grows into a a thick carpet in our hot and humid southern summers, and really doesn't require all of the "babying" (watering during hot, dry spells and yearly over-seeding to keep it healthy and thick) On the downside, Bermuda turns brown when the weather cools off (usually by Halloween here in Atlanta's southside suburbs) and it seems to stay that way FOREVER! No, truly Bermuda doesn't seem to green up until the days routinely are in the 80's around mid-May. Also, as I mentioned before, Bermuda really needs full sun (which it sounds ideal for your now treeless frontyard).
Not certain how cold hardy your plumeria would be. You could try to "winter it" under mountains of mulch to protect it and planting it with southern sun exposure, but more than likely you will just have to treat it as an annual like my much beloved inpatients.
The fescue grass sounds exactly what I was wanting I don't mind watering as I love gardening and thank you so much for the suggestion about the heirloom mums! Right now I am working on a plot plan for my front garden and I think the hydrangeas would look lovely against the lattice-trying to cover up the lattice with something pretty. I need to really work on the soil though before I plant. I can tell its very clay due to the orange wash up on the siding from the rains. Do you have any suggestions on soil amendments for the flowers? From what I read the hydrangeas need a more acidic soil for certain colors. If I planted a few of the Japanese Maples do they need shade? We sadly had to remove so many of the oak in the front that we get more full sun now but there is still a few of the oak on the side of the yard that provide partial shade. If you have any suggestions for any other type of trees that wouldn't be quite as tall as the oaks but are more of a landscape type tree I am open to advice for that Thanks again for all your assistance!
Have you had any issues with black spot on your knock out roses? I was thinking of planting the limelight hydrangea in the front of the house to hide the lattice. They also have the little limelight that grows about 3-5 feet but the full size can be cut back as well. I just love hydrangeas they remind me of a beautiful bridal bouquet I will keep the knock out roses in mind as well, I had never heard of them but they do look beautiful! I really like the heirloom roses but it sounds like the knock outs would do the best. I have a lot of soil prep to do first and working on the garden plot plan
I will keep the plumeria in mind. My friend has 15 different varieties in her yard they are all in rolling pots so she can bring them inside although where she lives near the west coast about 40 miles inland her winters are very mild but she said the plumeria are very sensitive to cold weather and too much moisture. The plumeria are so beautiful though she has so many color varieties and the scent is just wonderful. I saw the peonies on a P Allen Smith episode and I just fell in love with them - I would like to try a few just to see if I have any luck
Quote:
Originally Posted by Clayton white guy
I have planted peonies. Here in the South, you have to plant it part sun (full sun would burn it up at our latitude) Find a place where it can get morning sun, but afternoon shade.
My lavender grows like wildfire! Truly, it could be called semi-invasive, but I love it! ;0)
The chrysanthemums that I mentioned are the fall "mums" you asked about. They do not naturally "mound". Left to their own devices the actually grow kind of "leggy". I literally bought small 99 cent mums for my fall hanging baskets and transplanted them to my flower bed when I took them down after Thanksgiving to decorate my porch for Christmas. They practically disappear in cold weather, but are among the first plants to show green in the spring with green sprouts by mid- March. Like I said before, I allow mine to have an initial bloom in June, and then cut them back by about a third around the Fourth of July. This helps them achieve the "mound effect" you described AND bloom thickly and beautifully "right on time" in early October. FYI: Oakland Cemetery (a historic cemetery just east of Downtown Atlanta, if you were to go east down Memorial Drive from the "Gold Dome" of the Georgia State Capital Building) has a fantastic fall plant event sometime in September where you are able to purchase some of their "heirloom" chrysanthemums. I never have done this personally (my frugal wife would pitch a conniption fit) but have known some "master gardeners" that swear by them.
When to plant grass is based upon what type of grass you desire: cool weather grasses, like fescue that you plant in September, and warm weather grasses like Bermuda, that you would plant anywhere from early May through the summer.
I prefer fescue for MANY reasons: first, I have one of those classic southern yards with a towering tree canopy, and warm weather grasses simply don't get enough sun, and fescue is simply more forgiving of part sun, second it stays green ALL winter, and most importantly, my Daddy always was partial to fescue! ;0) That said, Bermuda grass THRIVES is sunny, treeless spaces like you described, grows into a a thick carpet in our hot and humid southern summers, and really doesn't require all of the "babying" (watering during hot, dry spells and yearly over-seeding to keep it healthy and thick) On the downside, Bermuda turns brown when the weather cools off (usually by Halloween here in Atlanta's southside suburbs) and it seems to stay that way FOREVER! No, truly Bermuda doesn't seem to green up until the days routinely are in the 80's around mid-May. Also, as I mentioned before, Bermuda really needs full sun (which it sounds ideal for your now treeless frontyard).
Not certain how cold hardy your plumeria would be. You could try to "winter it" under mountains of mulch to protect it and planting it with southern sun exposure, but more than likely you will just have to treat it as an annual like my much beloved inpatients.
I have had to replace a few of my knock outs over the years, but no biggie and never more than one a year, and I have scores of those lovely roses! They work very well on the edges of my flower beds in my rather wooded yard. Really the ONLY type of roses that will bloom well in part shade; my hydrangeas are further back under the trees in the same bed where they only get morning sun. This far south, most hydrangeas wilt, burn and die in all day sun. Your idea about the limelight hydrangea variety is a good one, they are the only hydrangeas that do well in full sun. In my only full sun bed is devoted to hybrid tea roses, day lilies, zinnas (this time of year) and the chrysanthemums we discussed earlier. Ironically, my front porch is ALSO surrounded by lattice work. I have mine painted a dark emerald green which really contrasts with my stone foundation pillars and classic white posted and railing farm house style wrap around porch. Like you, I did this for the purpose of making my front flower beds really pop!
As far as ornamental trees: stay away from bradford pears! These horrible trees split once they reach ANY size at all, have blossoms that smell like dead fish, and will send sprout-lings all over your yard.
Crepe myrtles could be nice. If you get the right variety, they actually grow into quite nice medium sized trees that have a lovely gold/ orange foliage in the fall and of course loads of lovely flowers ranging from white to pink to fusha in late summer (mine are in full bloom now!)
Another nice tree that I enjoy which gets nice size without getting huge is the red bud (strange name since its blooms are deep purple in early spring) This actually also gets gorgeous golden leaves in the fall.
Finally, the tree that I miss most from my former residence in Morrow is a weeping cherry tree! Glorious in mid-March with its blossoms of the palest pink, when the wind blows, the blossoms "snow shower" down to the greening grass. Admittedly, since cherry trees seem to lose their leaves early in the season, they don't really have an "autumn show".
Last edited by Clayton white guy; 08-07-2019 at 07:38 PM..
Location: Just transplanted to FL from the N GA mountains
3,997 posts, read 4,140,525 times
Reputation: 2677
Quote:
Originally Posted by ClassicCarFamily
I need to really work on the soil though before I plant. I can tell its very clay due to the orange wash up on the siding from the rains. Do you have any suggestions on soil amendments for the flowers?
Others here are much more helpful than I can be.... but a small piece of advice. Your family from where ever you may be from will laugh at you when you tell them you had to buy soil. My father said, "You actually paid for dirt?" LOLOL. (I grew up in farm country where all you had to do was turn over a spade full of ground, throw in a seed and next thing you knew you had a 1/2 acre of whatever it was).... But to answer you question.... YES... you really have to work on this soil. But when you get it right... it's a joy gardening here.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
My father said, "You actually paid for dirt?" LOLOL. (I grew up in farm country where all you had to do was turn over a spade full of ground, throw in a seed and next thing you knew you had a 1/2 acre of whatever it was).... But to answer you question.... YES... you really have to work on this soil. But when you get it right... it's a joy gardening here. 
