IN THIS WEEK: left to right: landscaping for a tribute, zinnias have something to say, roses on trial and a savory planting.  

 

  

REMEMBERING LOVED ONES . . . LET FLOWERS SPEAK SENTIMENTS . . . WINNING ROSES AT M. D. ANDERSON . . . SAVORY: 2015 HERB OF THE YEAR

  

BY BRENDA BEUST SMITH

Memorial gardens are a lovely way to remember a departed loved one. These don't have to be large, a corner of your home landscape will do. Or, as in the case of St. Francis de Sales Catholic School, a lovely dedicated waterfall in a very special garden to honor a beloved teacher.

Marilyn Adler Megow, who passed away in 2012, treasured and guided children of St. Francis de Sales for 19 years. The waterfall that will bear her name is one focal point of the school's new Liturgy Garden, which draws its name from three large crosses, the Stations of the Cross and stepping stones depicting a rosary (with engraved donor names). Bench seating amid calming landscaping completes the tranquil plaza, thanks to the creative efforts of designer Joni Broers with expertise from Ben Van der Noort of Tomorrow's Designs. 

 

One key to creating a truly meaningful memorial garden - regardless of size - is to tie it in a visible or emotional way to the honoree. If the person particularly loved roses, for example, a rose garden would create not only an overall ambiance, but an even deeper, widely-shared association, especially if explained by a plaque.

Or, the connection could be a favorite color scheme, such as blues and lavenders. One normally thinks of these for quiet meditations. Perhaps, though, more lively choices would fit your honoree's personality better . . . reds, oranges, hot pinks?

Always poignant: labeled plantings with specific meaning such as, left to right: carnations ("I'll never forget you")
- coreopsis ("Always cheerful") - poppy ("Eternal sleep") - sweet pea ("Goodbye").

Zinnias (in center photo at top of column) translates "Thinking of - or n memory of - an absent friend."

As beautifully demonstrated around Marilyn's waterfall, curved pathways and other flowing lines invite relaxing, soothing, inviting meditation. Straight lines project more energy, formality, a signal to festinate on through.

Appropriate hardscapes are another way to trigger memories of loved ones. I remember a unique walkway made from a beloved grandmother's broken pottery beautifully imbedded in concrete by children in the family. Or create plantings around rocks or other items collected over the years.

My own memorial corner garden niche recalls our Bolivar beachhouse swept away in Ike. A Peggy Martin rose (with its unique Hurricane Katrina ties) climbs an adjacent telephone pole. Tacked to the fence are seemingly meaningless detritus found buried in our sand-covered lot. May look strange to others, but I know what they are.

Comfortable seating invites folks to linger, to treasure memories. Try to position memorial niche gardens where they can be seen from inside, or from a path you take regularly. I see mine from my den window.

To make your memorial site even more special, take another tip from the folks at St. Francis de Sales and plan a dedication ceremony. They will honor Marilyn (wife of my childhood friend Ron Megow) with a special commemoration of her waterfall at 5 pm Saturday at the Catholic school, 8100 Roos. The dedication will be part of the school's 50th Anniversary Birthday Bash. (Click for details.)

  

A TIP O' THE TROWEL TO URBAN HARVEST, one of the winners of an H-E-B Tanglewood grant by virtue of online votes. Just a few of the 2014 stats are so impressive: 3,600+ students received hands-on gardening/nutrition education; 21 outdoor partner school sites, 30+ youth-affiliated gardens supported, 105 Affiliate Gardens served, 104 free organic gardening classes offered. And this doesn't even include the work with Farmers Markets. If you're involved in, or thinking of starting, a community, school, church, etc., garden, you should join Urban Harvest -  www.urbanharvest.org 

  

Left and center, our native wild azalea. Right, the wild azalea hybrid 'Stonewall Jackson' is blooming now at Mercer Botanic Garden.

THE WILD AZALEA CANYON - A "PROSPECT-IMPRESSED" NO MORE  

It has been such a long time since we went to visit that wonderful East Texas treasure, the Wild Azalea Canyon. To check on bloom peak time, I contacted Newton Chamber of Commerce President Gail Odom. Newton's the closest city to this remote East Texas wonder. For years, residents voluntarily protected the canyon for the benefit of the rest of us. We owe them a great debt of gratitude.

Gail responded with the bad news that the canyon is now closed, due to Hurricane Katrina damage. The wild azaleas were totally wiped out and the timber company (which owns the land) has closed the area. 

What a horrible loss. She was such a beautiful canyon, a secret place almost. One couldn't even her true delights  until one descended into her depths. Only then could you share in her incredible beauty. 

A "prospect impressed" no more. 

Wild azaleas (Rhododendron canescens) do grow in home landscapes - more successfully the farther north and east of Houston downtown you live. The further south and west . . . well, you can try, but don't take it personally if they don't make it.

I don't know JB Burrows, but pictures on his blog really show you what we've lost:
https://jbburrows.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/wild-azalea-canyons/

*  Brenda's "LAZY GARDENER'S GUIDE" - a when-to-do-what in Greater Houston area gardens - is now available on CD only (pdf file). $20. Checks payable to Brenda B. Smith and mailed to: Lazy Gardener's Guide on CD, 14011 Greenranch Dr., Houston, TX 77039-2103.

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EXCITING ROSES IN TRIAL 

GARDENS AT M. D. ANDERSON

by Gaye Hammond 

Houston Rose Society Past President 

www.houstonrose.org

The Houston Rose Society has partnered with Texas AgriLife Extension's Harris County Office and the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer to evaluate a collection of modern hybrid tea and floribunda roses under minimal input conditions on the MD Anderson South Campus. In this Earth-Kind Modern Rose Trial, none of the roses will be treated with pesticides or fungicides and will not receive applications of fertilizers over the course of the 4-year study. The trial site will be one of the one of the stops on the Society's spring 2015 garden tours.

Especially exciting roses: Based on our work in the above research program, there are several rose cultivars that bear watching: Beverly (pink hybrid tea - very fragrant), Wedding Bells (hot pink hybrid tea), Winter Sun (golden yellow with apricot tinged hybrid tea), Plum Perfect (mauve floribunda). Unlike other roses to come out of Texas A&M AgriLife Extension and the Houston Rose Society's work on the Earth-Kind Rose Research Program, the roses currently being trialed have true "rose form".

Really unusual roses/new colors: KoKo Loko (what I call the chocolate milk rose) probably leads the pack when it comes to unusual colors. It is a floribunda rose that starts off the color of chocolate milk and fades to a dusky orchid. Fire Opal Kolorscape, is a recent introduction by Kordes & Sohne (photo attached). It is a floribunda rose with blooms that are a blend of cream, coral and pink on a bush that stays a compact 2 - 2 1/2 feet tall and wide.

Unusual sizes of plants/blooms: Many of the roses being trialed in the Earth-Kind Modern Rose Trial produce huge flowers - some up to 5" across. In fact, last fall some of the blooms were so large that they broke the stems upon which they were formed simply from the weight of the blossom. We suspect that this condition will resolve as the diameter of the stems increase with maturity. Cultivars in the "Drift" series of roses continue to be the groundcover roses of choice and these are easily and quickly maintained with and electric hedge-trimmer, are non-invasive and tend to stay true to their stated heights and width.

Questions: The gardening public continues to be interested in roses that can be maintained with minimal care and in absence of the traditional chemical treatments that have been associated with rose care for decades. The Houston Rose Society is elated that it has been a part of the largest environmental rose research project in U.S. history and that our work has resulted in identifying roses that meet the homeowners demands - and which also make beautiful landscape plants. See attached for a photo of one of the roses in a trial recently concluded.

If you can grow weeds....you can grow roses. Let us show you how!

  

(Address questions to Gaye Hammond at gayeh@lpm-triallaw.com)

  

Left: Savory is the 2015 Herb of the Year! Exciting roses from study: left to right, 'Sunrise Sunset' (Gaye Hammond photo), 'Fire Opal Kolorscape'(Chamblee's Rose Nursery photo) and, a new unusual rose color, 'Koko Loko.'

  

Savory Herb Garden Additions 

Lois Sutton 

The Herb Society of America, South Texas Unit

Winter and summer savory are good additions to the late spring garden. They are culinary herbs, providing an oregano-like flavor. Like all herbs give them good drainage and a minimum of six sun-hours.

Winter savory (Satureja montana) is a perennial. It looks a bit like thyme: low growing; small dark-green leathery leaves; woody stems. Winter savory's advantage over thyme is that it is more tolerant of summer heat and rains. Its flavor is more pungent than summer savory. In my garden, plant height is consistently about 12" and none have bloomed. Harvest by tip pinching or taking short cuttings. Consistent harvesting does encourage lateral stem development and a bushier plant, but changes in plant shape seem rather minimal. Buy a plant or take cuttings from a friend. Like other herbal perennials it could be planted at any time but avoid the middle of Houston's summer. Set it out on days you like to work in the garden!

Summer savory (S. hortensis) is an annual. It is a short plant, like winter savory, but with soft stems and lighter green leaves. It may gift you with small insignificant blooms but I celebrate any herbal blooms! Flowers, leaves and soft stems are all edible. Harvesting frequently will keep this plant a bit more 'organized' looking - it grows quickly and even though it is a short plant, it looks leggy. Summer savory may be grown from seed. Sow with only a light soil cover as the seeds require light for germination. Or buy a plant or two - set them out in the garden in late spring or early summer. In my garden this plant is more susceptible to those hot, hot summer days when we get a lot of rain. I haven't found that providing additional drainage helps - it's a soft-stemmed plant that takes up a lot of water. When I've been able to find plants, I have replanted in late-September for the fall/early winter growing season.

Savory, the 2015 Herb of the Year, will be featured at our April 25th Herb Day presented by The Herb Society of America, South Texas Unit." 9am-2pm, Fondren Hall, St. Paul's Methodist Church, 5501 Main St. at Bissonnett. $45 (box lunch). Registration deadline: April 15. Details: www.herbsociety-stu.org