Hidden Hills Garden

Happy Mother’s Day

Posted on May 13, 2012 by Peggy Hill

Happy Mother’s Day to you and/or your mother. This year for mother’s day, in addition to propagating my ‘Sparkling Burgundy’ pineapple lily, I pissed off two thirds of my children. Of course I didn’t mean to, and I’m very sorry. I really love all you kids. You and your dad are the most precious things in my life. (In my defense it is only the females who have their feelings hurt.)

The foliage is incredible this time of year. It just sparkles with burgundy.

I told you how to propagate this plant last year – click here to read.

These babies are going to be a hell of a lot easier to deal with than the three I birthed.

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Lessons Learned

Posted on May 6, 2012 by Peggy Hill

Grandma June taught me one of life’s great secrets when I was six years old. “Do you want some ice cream?” I replied, “It’s almost dinner time, daddy won’t let me have ice cream now.” She said, “Go sit on his lap, throw your arms around his neck, kiss his check and say, ‘I love you. You are the best daddy in the world. Let’s have some ice cream.’” To my utter amazement, I was soon sitting at a booth in Baskin Robins licking mint chocalte chip from a waffle cone.

I interviewed June Mays for an Alabama Gardener Magazine garden profile article and she told me one of the secrets of being a great gardener, “Visit as many gardens as you can. You’ll learn something from each one.” So last Saturday I toured four fabulous gardens on the Region 24 Iris and Daylily Association’s garden tour, and then I drove Doris home so I could tour her spectacular garden too. It was a great day. I met very nice people and saw thousands of irises. I highly recommend you come along next year. (Watch for the date on the calendar of events page in Alabama Gardener Magazine.) June was right, all gardens teach us. Here are just a few of the many lessons I learned:

When homemade breakfast casseroles are at stake, don’t trust your GPS to get you there.

This coral bells (Heuchera) is very happy in Marlin and Essie Hollingsworth's garden.

The 4th of July rose at Marlin and Essie Hollingsworth's garden.

I should make friends with the Nelsons. They have my absolute favorite iris, ‘Impersonator’. It has an unusual form, flatter than other irises and super cute.

Iris ‘Impersonator’ in Don and Pat Nelson's garden

There are no right or wrong garden styles. All that matters is you like it. Garden tours are a great help in figuring out what your style is. Do you like a more monochromatic color scheme, or a wider color pallet?

A pretty combination in Don and Pat Nelson’s garden that uses a very limited color pallet.

Another pretty combination in Marion & Janice Carroll's garden that uses many more colors.

Next time someone offers me a baby Camellia instead of just saying, “No, thank you. I can’t think of where I’d put it.” I should add, “but could I please get a little piece of that pink salvia you got at Petals From the Past Nursery?” Now I have to make a road trip to Jemison and buy my own.

Marion and Janice Carroll's garden.

Pete and Donnie Douthit's garden

Persian shield has a short life, so there’s no sense trying to over-winter a plant you bought in spring. Instead, use some rooting hormone to start a new plant from a cutting and over-winter that inside.

Pete and Donnie Douthit's garden

I need to plant larkspur and love-in-a-mist this fall. I’ve bought seed before, but never got around to planting them. They were so pretty in Doris’s garden.

Doris Simmon's Garden

Posted in I love this plant, In the Neighborhood, Tips and Stuff, What's Blooming? | 4 Comments

Garden Tours

Posted on May 3, 2012 by Peggy Hill

I saw five great gardens last Saturday on the Iris and Daylily Society’s garden tour, well only four were part of the tour. I got a bonus tour because I drove Doris home. Dale says spending an entire day on tours is, “extreme gardening”. I say it’s a relaxing way to spent the day. What Doris does is extreme gardening.

Doris Simmons's garden

I tried to put three pictures of each garden on my blog, but it starts doing weird stuff when it gets that big, so this is a little preview post with just one picture of each garden. I’ll post the other pictures soon.

Pete and Donnie Douthit's garden

I'm putting this Spiraea 'Mrs. Anthony Waterer' on my wish list. It was in Marion and Janice Carroll's garden.

Don and Pat Nelson's garden

Marlin and Essie Hollingsworth's garden

I almost missed this event, which would have been such a shame because it was wonderful. I tried to find it, gave up, did a little shopping and drove all the way home. Then I remembered my father’s wisdom and thought, “I still have gas in the car. I can get where I need to go.” Words to live by.

Posted in In the Neighborhood | 4 Comments

My Birthday

Posted on May 2, 2012 by Peggy Hill

This shipment from Proven Winners of free, plant ho plants arrived on my birthday. Perfect.

Posted in Plant ho | 2 Comments

Dad and Mountain Laurel

Posted on April 23, 2012 by Peggy Hill

Mother Nature planted mountain laurel all over this property, and it is spectacular right now.

This is the biggest mountain laurel I have. It makes my dad look small, but he's 6 feet.

Dad was visiting, and since he is 92 and still carries a chainsaw in his trunk, just in case he wants to cut something – which he did last time he was here – I asked him to tell me the secret to a long, healthy life. He said diet and exercise help, but the most important thing is to choose the right parents.

Dad's laughing because I told him the blue pen in his pocket made him look like a nerdy engineer, and he should take it out.

More pearls of wisdom from dad, “The highway is faster, but I like winding along the back roads better; it’s more interesting.” and “You are never lost when there’s gas in the tank.” Who knew dad was such a profound philosopher.

Dad really liked this view.

My friend Joe is a photographer, and he came to see the mountain laurel too. He spent a lot of time taking a picture of that last view. Joe knows some crazy camera voodoo, and in his picture the Baptisia ‘Purple Smoke’ in the front, the Clematis ‘Franziska Maria Evipo’ in the middle and the mountain laurel in the back are all in focus. Apparently it involves using a tripod and the mysterious camera settings that don’t have little explanatory pictures next to them. One day I’m going to take a photography class.

Joe took a picture kinda like this, only better. He said he liked the tree trunks.

These last pictures are part of the series ‘Spinning in the backyard’ where I stand in the middle of the backyard and spin around.

Posted in Family, I love this plant, It Just Grew There, Spinning in the Backyard, What's Blooming? | 5 Comments

My New Peony

Posted on April 13, 2012 by Peggy Hill

My friends Ann and June came to visit last week after the native plant sale in Cullman. When I toured them around the garden, I showed them my new $75 peony, and Ann said, “You should put a picture of it on your blog when it blooms.” Ann’s a pretty smart cookie, so here’s a picture of my new peony.

I don’t normally spend so much on a plant, but Plant Delights’ description said “‘Bratzella’ is the Rolls Royce of peonies…with up to 80, 9” wide, fully-double yellow flowers…and their opening is staggered over a 6-week period.” I’m a sucker for a pretty picture and I believe every word that Tony writes in his catalog. I’m sure the only reason my blooms are 6 inches instead of 9 is my Bratzella is so young.

There was an article about peonies in one of my magazines this month, and it said some people spend up to a thousand dollars on collectors peonies. That made me feel better about spending so much, but I didn’t like reading that peonies prefer alkaline soil. Alkaline is a high Ph and acidic is a low Ph. My soil is very acidic so I’m going to sprinkle some lime around them and dig it in a little. Soil Ph is a critical piece of information you should know. Most plants can’t get nutrients out of the soil if it is the wrong Ph. You can get what you need to do a soil test at your local Cooperative Extension Service, or you can buy a test at a garden center, (Make sure you use distilled water.) or you can take a little bag of soil to the Huntsville Botanical Garden’s plant sale next weekend, April 19-22. The master gardeners usually provide free Ph testing. If you tell them what you want to grow, they’ll tell you what Ph it likes and how much lime or sulfur you should mix into your soil to get it right.

And speaking of plant sales, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens’ plant sale is going on right now. I went last night, and brought back a carload, but I don’t have time to show you them now because I need to pull up some ground covers for the Forever Green Mountain garden club garage/plant sale. If you’re in Huntsville, come see me at the Lily Flagg pool on the corner of Lily Flagg and Camille from 7-12 Saturday morning, April 14th.

Posted in I love this plant, Tips and Stuff, What's Blooming? | 2 Comments

The Chicago Flower & Garden Show – Part 2

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Peggy Hill

If you have ever bought one of those travel guides to Disney, you know that after entering the main gate, you should go left because most people go right. Well after the fabulous entry garden, this was the first garden on the right. It had a New Orleans vibe, and Spanish moss hung from the trees. When I travel in the low country, Spanish moss is the epitome of old Southern romance, but here in the naked trees, it was a little creepier, and I loved it. The sponsors for this display were Hort Couture and Cscapes Artisitic Landscaping.

These next three were part of a large garden with many water features. It was sponsored by Aquascape.

Tire planters can be super cute.

I mentioned the theme was ‘Flowers, Fashion & Fun ‘. This was the cutest representation of the theme. It was by the Chicago Park District. I really wanted my picture taken next to the mannequin in the back, the one with her arm held straight out to her side, but the lady I asked was worried I would be a trend setter, and everyone would want their picture taken with a manikin, so she said no.

It’s hard to compare the Nashville and Chicago shows. I loved them both. They both had fabulous gardens with great ideas and wonderful vendors. (Like the guy I bought my EZ hang chair from.) The free tickets category is too close to call. Nashville gave Blue and me tickets for two days, but Chicago also provided big badges that said “PRESS”. (Monica is keeping hers.)

Other than that, the biggest difference between the Chicago and Nashville shows was Nashville had amazing flower arrangements, and Chicago had amazing rooms that featured flower arrangements. The table above makes me want to eat sushi. It was by City Scents.

For this display, by Ramsey Jay Price Designs, they spray painted crapemyrtle or some other smooth wood with silver paint and hung cool stuff on it.

I could have gone on and on about this show, but the garden needs weeding, and I still have a hosta from my spring Plant Delights order that I need to get in the ground.

Posted in Container Gardening, In the Neighborhood | Leave a comment

Native Azaleas and Makin’ Shit Up

Posted on March 28, 2012 by Peggy Hill

The native azaleas are wonderful.

Puff Ball 'Pretty in Pink'

I assume they’re native. We paid earnest money for this property 20+ years ago. Back then, if you wanted to campout with friends, you had to pack in from about a half mile away, or Billy goat up the shore from the lake. (I’ve done both.) My point is I’m fairly certian I’m the first to garden this land, so if I didn’t plant it, it’s most likely native or invasive.

Since I didn’t buy these azaleas, I have no idea what their names are, so now I’ll begin making shit up.

These first two are my favorite; they’re part of the puff ball series. The shrubs are about 8 – 10 feet tall, and very leggy with all the flowers are at the top.

Puff Ball 'White Cloud"

These next azaleas are part of the slutty eyelash series. They’re shorter, about 3 – 4 feet.

Slutty in Pink

This last one is in-between a puff ball and a slutty eyelash. What’s exciting about it, besides the fact that it is stunning, is it has low lying branches, so I can propagate it the easiest way, layering. I’m going to take a knife and peel one side of the bark, then I’ll bury it ½ inch in the dirt and cover it with a heavy rock. Next spring I’ll pot it up for the season and plant in the garden in fall.

Before I finish this post, I have to show you one of my plant ho plants (that means it was free). This spectacular plant is one of the Southgate series of Rhododendron from Southern Living Plants. They are advertised as heat tolerant and grow in Zones 6-9.

Southgate Radiance Rhododendron

Posted in I love this plant, It Just Grew There, Plant ho, What's Blooming? | Leave a comment

Dogwoods and Unanswered Questions

Posted on March 26, 2012 by Peggy Hill

I’ve not quite caught up with myself yet. I still need to post two part 2s, but the dogwoods are in full, glorious bloom, and spring is so wonderful, and I just had to show you.

The man Dale met said, “If the dogwoods bloom pure white, winter’s over, but if they are a little yellow, we’re in for another frost.” They’re pure white this year, but I’ve never heard this bit of country wisdom before, and I’m not sure I believe it. Anyway, don’t they always start out a little yellow and then age to pure white?

You may be wondering about the swan. Well, so am I.Here’s my list of unanswered questions:

What the hell is it anyway?

Is it a plant stand?

Is it the base to a glass top table?

Could I sit on it and pretend to be gliding on a placid lake, or would it crumble under my weight?

Why did mom have it in the basement?

Why did my grade school friend Lorie insist I take it, “You’re going to regret it, if you don’t take this Maggie. I’ll just put it in the back of the U-Haul.”?

What the hell am I going to do with it?

Why does Leandra want me to bury it?

Why is it starting to grow on me?

Posted in I love this plant, It Just Grew There, What's Blooming? | 2 Comments

The Chicago Flower & Garden Show – Part 1

Posted on March 23, 2012 by Peggy Hill

That was the longest I’ve ever gone between blogs, and I don’t like it. I’ve been super busy. I still need to tell you part 2 of Blue and Peggy’s big adventure at the Nashville Lawn and Garden Show, but that deserves a little extra time, so instead I’ll tell you about what I’ve been doing these last few weeks. My lovely and witty daughter Monica and I went to the Chicago Flower & Garden Show.

My favorite thing was this 14 feet tall, glass Agapanthus from last year’s Chelsey flower show. It was placed at the entrance to the show.

Monica took pictures for me, and I bought her this pretty pot of mixed succulents as a thank you.

The smiling lady who sold it to me worked for City Scents, and she gave me a great tip: use cactus soil when repotting succulents.

One of Monica’s favorite displays was this huge container tipping over and spilling succulents onto the ground. She took several pictures.

Watch out. The worlds of fashion and horticulture are colliding.

The theme of the show was ‘Flowers, fashion & fun: where the world of fashion and horticulture collide’. There were some spectacular table settings and home decorating ideas in addition to elaborate gardens. There is no way to show you everything in one blog, so I’ll focus on some things I thought were cool ideas in this blog, and show more pictures very soon. (I really need to post a little more frequently so I can get you caught up.)

Jesse would say, "Bangin!"

I love this combination of fragrant, blue hyacinths with spiky sweet flag.

Cool mirror

I'm excited about getting chickens in 2013.

I already have a water lily, but I think I need another. Mike at Keystone Hatcheries told me this is Nymphaea ‘Evelyn Randig’.

Mr. Fantastic

Another thing I’ve been doing these last two weeks was writing an article on herbs for Alabama Gardener Magazine. Luckily for me, while I was at the Chicago show I stopped by the booth of Ted’s Greenhouse, and spoke to Ted’s friend Mr. Fantastic. (Some people call him Mel Zaloudek, but I prefer what was written on his name tag.) Mr. Fantastic helped me with my article and gave me his list of underused herbs: parsley, scented geraniums, the many flavors of mint, cilantro, yarrow, lemon grass and bay.

The day after getting back from Chicago, I left for the first of four 2012 girls’ weekends.

When people ask us, “What do you do on girls’ weekend?” we don’t know how to answer.

I hope you had a nice St. Patty’s day.

Posted in I love this plant, In the Neighborhood, Tips and Stuff | 4 Comments

Happy Mother’s Day

Lessons Learned

Garden Tours

My Birthday

Dad and Mountain Laurel

My New Peony

The Chicago Flower & Garden Show – Part 2

Native Azaleas and Makin’ Shit Up

Dogwoods and Unanswered Questions

The Chicago Flower & Garden Show – Part 1

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