Living in a sub-tropical climate is a definite plus if you love to spend a lot of time in your garden or yard. Despite the fact that it is November, there are still blooming flowers throughout my West Bank garden.
However, the periwinkles are starting to get leggy, the coneflowers are gone and the basil has started to flower and is done for the year. Before the holiday madness starts, I need to find time to get outside in the gorgeous weather we’ve been having and start the winter garden.
I stopped in to visit my favorite Algiers nursery this week – New Orleans Garden Center and Landscape on Huntlee Drive, just off of General Meyer. The fall and winter plants have arrived and wherever you decide to buy them (although I hope it’s from someone local) there is a profusion of color that can quickly take your garden from the end of summer blahs to the winter aaaaahhhhhs.
What I’m Planting This Winter
Pansies are probably the most traditional of the winter flowers, although we have to be careful not to plant them too early in New Orleans. They will survive the coldest of winters with ease, but our climate can be a little more challenging for them. The lovely ladies at the garden center shared this tip with me: if you want show stopping pansies, they love blood meal as a soil additive.
Most people think of petunias as a spring time flower, but in the south they are a perfect addition to your garden after the long hot days of summer have ended. Cool days and nights allow them to flourish and they can provide blankets of color for the next few months that will make all of the neighbors jealous :)
Snapdragons are one of my favorite winter flowers. A few years ago, I replanted my entire front garden in white – white petunias, white snapdragons and white pansies. I threw in a few sparkly Christmas lights and voila! A winter paradise, right in my own front yard.
I plan to finish off my winter garden with ornamental cabbage. The colors range from almost white to deep green to purple and the texture they bring to the space is fantastic.
Some other winter gardening tips from New Orleans Garden Center and Landscape
- Roses need to be pruned in January, but how much depends on the type of rose. If you are a novice rose grower (like me), check with a professional before you start chopping off branches!
- It’s time to winterize your lawn whether you have St. Augustine sod, centipede grass or even if you’ve seeded with winter rye
- Mulch is just as important in the winter as in the summer and can help protect the roots of your plants during those rare freezes on the south shore
- Once you’ve watered your plants in well, there is no need to water as much as in the summer. Of course, common sense rules and if they are looking a little droopy, give them a drink!
Hopefully, I can get all of this work done before the Thanksgiving holiday, because after that it will be time for a return visit to pick up poinsettias in every color for Christmas. Whew…I better get to work. Happy gardening!
New Orleans Garden Center and Landscape is located at 210 Huntlee Drive in Algiers. Call (504) 366-2017 for winter operating hours or more information and tell Blair HELLO for us!
Lisa, With night time temps now in the 30's, there's not a flower in sight :( I seem to forget if you live in the right place you can have them all year long. Enjoy them and please keep sharing!!
Hi Lisa! Your garden is absolutely stunning! I've GOT to go pick up my pansies but, have just not had a moment to put them in the ground anyway!
Have a wonderful Sunday...
Wonderful photos. Wonderful Localism. Thanks.
Nothing left in my landscaping but a few hardy mums. It froze here night before last, the first of the year.
BUT WAIT!!! I haven't given up on my quest for blossoms. I just planted 40 tulip bulbs for forcing. They're in pots in my garage.
If things turn out as planned, I'll have blossoms in January.
My fingers are crossed.
But, wait. I still have about 50 bulbs left to plan outside. Got to get that done too.
Very impressive Lisa !!!
And terrific tips for winterizing your garden !
Lisa, I love your photos. and winter tips. I have one stella dora daylilly, and impatience still blooming. I just planted pansies and ornamental cabbage and have 30 tulip bulbs that need to be planted. I love the garden and enjoy seeing how others plant their beds. Thanks for sharing Barbara
Gotta get out there and work on the beds.....
Super post Lisa!!!! Helpful and informational.
The photos are amazing. Thanks for the tips too. What kind of camera do you use?
Beautiful photos illustrating your tips and plans for your garden.
Very lovely photos. Isn't it nice to have warm weather all year round?
Very lovely photos. Isn't it nice to have warm weather all year round?
Very lovely photos. Isn't it nice to have warm weather all year round?
Hi Lisa -- NO is such a unique place and I always admire the regional differences that allows one various options that cannot be done in other climates. It sounds like you will have a visual treat this winter. I hope to see more of your wintertime photos.
Lisa, so nice to see such a great Localism post featured. I have enjoyed following you on Facebook and Go Drew Brees (and the rest of the Saints too)
Lisa:
Those are fabulous photos. You must have quite a green thumb. I would love to have a garden in the winter, but, here that would only be possible with a green house.
Gorgeous garden and flowers. Great photos of them as well, butterfly and all. Curious to know how you got the shadow backdrop for the photos. Love the post and great information.
Lisa, Beautiful garden! I wish we could have flowers like that year round.
Just another reason I love N'Awlins. (As if there weren't enough already.)
it is 76 today in Oklahoma City so maybe another mild winter. We have our Pansies out along with the cabbage. We passed on Mums this year. Love your flowers, and I will be in Baton Rouge in December so I will check out the gardens in your world then.
rub it in...
It is going to be warm today but snow is weeks away... some mums are still blooming...
Beautiful flowers and photos Lisa! Thanks for sharing. We have warm temps today, mid 60's so me and the family are heading out to get some great shots!
Carole, I can't imagine not having something blooming all year round. Guess that's why I stay in the south! If you want to see winter gardens, come on down :)
Debbie, I was really late getting stuff planted this year because of a lack of time, so I feel your pain. But, it's so satisfying once it's done!
Lenn, I've never done tulips before, but I love them. Please share pictures when they blossom!!
Sheldon, thank you :)
Barbara, share your tulips too, please! I adore them, but never plan ahead enough for bulbs.
Steve, make hay while the sun shines, right?
Kat, :)
Angelica, thank you. I love to take pics of flowers - I'm used a Canon Rebel XS with the lens that came with it and the landscape setting.
Laxson, thanks.
Richard, it will get cold, but certainly not like in the north!
Chris, hopefully I won't kill everything and can share more later. I really love getting to see photos of flowers around the country, because it's too hot here in the summer to grow many of them that I see in other locations. I guess all gardeners are a little envious of whatever they can't grow in their region!
Russell, WHO DAT?!? Hope Drew makes it 8-0 today!!
Claudette, my thumb is not that green, my camera is just that good.Tee hee!
Mike, thanks! I write all of my posts in Windows Live Writer, so I create the shadow backdrop there. It's a free download from MicroSoft.
Michael, yeah, I kinda like it here too :)
Joe, it's a little cooler here today with a front coming through. What colors did you use in your garden?
Maureen, hee hee :) I'm sure there are winter flowers for OH, right?
Tamara, can't wait to see them!
Colorful post Lisa! Believe it or not we get too cold (at night) for year round annuals here.
Renee, I'm thinking that temperature aside, it's gotta be pretty tough to grow stuff in the desert!
Lisa, I cannot believe this blog. My husband and I were out walking earlier and I was asking what we could plant in the little garden right out front for the winter. You must have heard me.
I'm in North Carolina so your Lousiana ideas may have to be revised a little but I'm heading to the garden center tomorrow with your blog in hand. I hope I can plant snapdragons. I just don't know if it gets too cold for them here but I will find out.
Thanks. BTW....your pictures are beautiful.
Lisa Your garden is just lovely and your reminders on the care of lawn and flower bed iare so timely.
Great photos and ideas. I have done nothing new in the garden in the last month. I did notice a couple of leaves falling from somewhere. Great Blog. Did get to Banting's last month to buy a couple of trumpet plants. They are really growing now. Will have to make some cutting. Hope they will be like small trees next year. See Ya.
Beautiful, Lisa! We're a little too far north to put this to good use, but according to ERC, there are some compelling reasons to move south... so maybe we'll file it away just in case. :)
Lisa With the exception of a few mums our color is gone for he next 6 months - I envy you
Marian, what a nice comment! I hope that your winter garden turns out beautifully.
Eric, those trumpet plants are gorgeous - my neighbor behind me has one growing on our fence, so I get to enjoy it without having to take care of it :)
Jesse, she makes a pretty good case for migration, yes?
Karen, no color for the entire winter? That would make me crazy!
Loved the post as always, Lisa. We're transitioning to winter, too. We're trying holly this year in addition to blooms, as we plan to do some serious decorating for the holidays this year. I love decorating with natural stuff like holly and evergreen boughs.
We're just gathering up the last of the fruit this season, too...bananas and citrus are ripening as I write this. Figs were amazing this year and HOT serrano peppers are still coming. Gathering herbs to start drying for winter use as well. Can't wait to see pics of your new winter stuff!
Troy, you need to give me tips for herbs, then. I rescued some basil, oregano and thyme from certain death at the big orange home improvement store, but now I don't know what to do with them. The basil is flowering, the thyme has been so-so, but the oregano looks fantastic. What do you do to dry them?
Hello,
Thanks for sharing such useful tips, as i am also
in this real estate so
these tips are very useful for me
Thanks for the tips. I just planted some pansies, mums and jumping jacks in LSU colors this past weekend. Maybe it will help them get back on their winning streak!
I love the idea of white flower beds with white christmas lights. It reminds me that my mother-in-law in Pennsylvania used to put a layer of white lights outside under a tree with white lights. When the ground was covered with a thin layer of snow, the "faux" reflection was beautiful. Thanks for your beautiful photos. Have a great weekend.