Privet is Hashing My Mellow

Chinese privet in full bloom
Photo courtesy: James H. Miller,
USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Chinese privet ligustrum sinese is a category one pest plant in Georgia according to the Georgia Exotic Pest Plant Council. Also known as common privet, it is an “exotic plant that is a serious problem in Georgia natural areas by extensively invading native plant communities and displacing native species.” In fact, it has been on the exotic pest plant lists for Florida and Tennessee Councils and the Council that covers the whole Southeast for more than ten years.

Yet we see it everywhere forming neatly trimmed hedges and privacy screens for homeowners and eagerly sold in nurseries. What then is so terrible about this evergreen shrub or small tree with small leaves and insignificant flowers? It seems like it would be a useful tool for a landscape architect’s inventory, right?

Looks pretty innocent when it sprouts
Photo courtesy: James H. Miller,
USDA Forest Service, Bugwood.org

Here is the problem. First Chinese privet is a prolific bloomer. In late spring each plant produces a few hundred thousand flowers. All of those little flowers turn into viable seeds which are spread by wind, birds and insects. To further compound the problem, these seeds don’t need any special conditions to germinate, so most of them sprout. Before you know it you have privet volunteering everywhere – not just in tended gardens, but it parks and forest preserves. Because it is evergreen, the privet persists year round so the acorn that falls next to the mighty Oak tree Quercus L. can’t get enough sun to sprout. That means when the oak finally dies of old age, there won’t be a sapling ready to leap into the sun and take its place. Neither will there be wonderful understory trees like Dogwoods Cornus L. and Redbuds Cersis L., or delightful spring ephemerals like trillium Trillium L. and bloodroot Sanguinaria L. Chinese privet, originally introduced to this country as an ornamental in the 1850s will inherit the earth.

Now I’ve known about privet for years. In fact, when we bought this home this aggressive pest had nearly overtaken my back garden. I invested too many hours to count chopping it down and digging it out. I’ve also volunteered at local parks and natural areas for “privet pulls” to yank out seedlings before they could get a good start. So why am I in such a twit about it today? No real reason except that I apparently have a neighbor who didn’t get the memo. As a result, I haven’t walked out into the garden once this spring and summer without finding another little privet sprig that has popped up since yesterday. What is the message? Next time you are tempted to plant some privet, think again and go for a Florida hobblebush Agarista populifolia instead. It's prettier, and it's native.

Also known as Leucothoe, Agarista populifolia in bloom
Photo courtesy: Joseph LaForest,
University of Georgia, Bugwood.org

Gone with the Lawn

At my house we have been in the process of renovating the exterior for many months. This work required that we move many plants both to make way for change (a new patio) and to keep them out of harm’s way. Sadly, because the renovation took so much longer than expected, some of the plants in the nursery didn’t survive Georgia’s drought and watering restrictions. However, now that the worst of work on the house is complete, I’m finally able to get into the yard and work on the landscaping in earnest.

For the front yard we have decided that growing grass is a losing proposition. There is too little sun. And without the ability to irrigate (due to the drought) there is too much competition from large maple and crepe myrtle trees.

Instead we are going to create a combination woodland and cottage style garden. The entire front yard will become one big garden (see the mulch) with paths running through. As I mentioned in my Inkslinger Chronicles blog post this week, we are creating rustic paths with leftover brick and pavers made of concrete and pea gravel.

In the shady areas we will plant fern, hosta, cardinal flower and other shade loving herbaceous plants, along with some native shrubs such as azaleas, hydrangeas, and sweet shrub. In the tiny corner of the yard that receives several hours of sun each day, I have already planted a rose bush, a couple of peonies, several varieties of flocks, some Route 66 day lilies, and one of my favorites, bee balm. I’m also thinking about a short wrought iron fence across the front – probably just knee high – to give the space more definition.

After the 9/11 tragedy many people were talking about the increase of American flags flying on front porches – ours included. I decided to take that a step further and create a color garden (red, white and blue). Now I have a chance to do that on a larger scale.

As with all gardens, this will be more of an evolution than a revolution, but at least I have some of the bones in place (paths and some shrubs). I’ll wait for cooler weather and the hope of fall and winter rains to plant more.

Some of the bones are in place for the back yard landscape as well. The patio is finally complete, and I have started to lay new edging and paths. Many of the plants are in position, but the whole is lacking in fullness and a couple of tons of mulch. Hopefully by spring both the front and back yards will be lush and worthy of photographs.

If Only You Could Smell the Jasmine

I wandered out into the garden this morning intending to get one quick picture. Here is my photo essay of what happened next…

For several years I’ve been trying to convert the front yard into a red, white and blue color garden with mostly native plants. Problem was, I couldn’t get native plants with all three colors to bloom at the same time. Well happy day! This morning I realized that my



















Indian pinks (Spigelia marilandica),


Foxglove beardtongue (penstemon digitalis),






















and Ohio spiderwort (Tradescantia ohiensis) were all blooming in the little corner bed by the driveway.






Don’t I have a cute dog?

Here she is stalking a squirrel.

Oh look, the first daylily bloom of the season. This one is Stella doro (Hemerocallis ‘Stella de Oro’)

It’s a shame how the rain knocked down the False indigo (baptisia australis). They were really looking great last week.

Oh. What’s that over there? Have the clematis started to bloom?

Is this the sweetest plant? Viticella alba luxurians is one of my favorite clematis.

The purple center and lime green edges to the petals are really striking.

Oops. You caught me. Just a quick peak through the fence to see if the neighbor is doing anything with his garden yet.

Looks like the Virginia sweetspire (Itea virginica) is really going to town. I can’t wait to see what this will look like in a couple of years!

Finally! I’ve been waiting for this native Oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia) to bloom for three years. I almost lost it in a late frost last year, but this year I covered it.
















It’s about time this Climbing hydrangea (decumaria barbara) finally decided to climb. It’s been wandering around on the ground for ages.




















Don’t you love American wisteria (Wisteria frutescens). It’s so much better behaved than its Chinese cousin. That stuff will eat your house!





















Through all my wandering, Lady strikes a peaceful pose and looks on.

Most of all, I wish I could let you smell the jasmine. This Confederate jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) isn’t native. It was introduced and has escaped gardens to grow wild in a few spots in Florida. I probably should rip it out of the pots (it’s growning up the posts of the carport). But, I just can’t do it. The scent is too sweet.