A truly beautiful lily, a customer favorite, Lilium 'Blackbird' puts on a spectacular show, adding depth and dynamic quality to any garden. The deep red, three to six inch blooms make a great companion for roses, cone flowers, and other lilies.

The striking deep red of these blooms is satin shaded and speckled in black, reminiscent of a blackbird's feathers in the sunlight, a very interesting effect. They are also very easy to care for, resistant to cold, heat, disease, and pests.

Care Tips
This lily requires moist, well-drained, nutrient rich soil. It may be necessary to use an all-purpose fertilizer with every other watering, especially if you are growing in a container. This plant also requires full sunlight, and may not respond well to being indoors. A grow light or bright window might be necessary to grow Blackbird as a houseplant.

Use Mulch and Ground Covers

Planting ground-covers and using mulch to fill in your fall beds will make it more difficult for unwanted weeds to establish themselves, helping you to naturally maintain your garden. The ground-cover both smothers potential weeds, blocking out the light,
and helps your current plants by holding in moisture and maintaining a
constant temperature.

You will be working in your garden to remove all of your weeds before planting anything this fall anyway, why not plant something to take up space to help keep them from coming back.

Clean Up the Summers Growth Before Planting for Fall

Removing all of the excess plant material before planting new crops is essential for the success of your fall bulbs, flowers, and vegetables. Annual weeds can be removed with a hoe or by hand. Perennial weeds must be completely dug out to prevent future growth.

Acer Palmatum 'Ariadne'

If you own one of those beautiful lacy Acer japonicums or Acer
palmatums with the delicate red leaves, you have probably witnessed the
effects of wind, drought, and the hot sun. Many of the new species are
being bred more and more resilient, but overall, Laceleaf Japanese
Maples have a tendency to scorch in hot, dry, or windy conditions.

Take Preventative Actions

If you are planting a new Japanese Maple, think about your climate and
exposure to wind and sun. If you plant them out in the open with no
wind screen, they will be more likely to dry out.

Water your
Japanese Maple deeply once a week, and more often if conditions are
severe. Keep an eye on your plant daily, so you will know if it needs
more water. The leaves will start to droop a few hours before they dry
out and scorch.

Don't Worry

Japanese Maples
are very resilient. If they are damaged, losing a few leaves is not
going to kill them – they will usually bounce back and fill in with
proper treatment, as long as the limbs aren't dead. Our big tree here
at Wayside Gardens got scorched by a frost last year. It was ugly for a
whole growing season, but this year, you couldn't tell it had ever been
harmed.

Whether it's brand new terra cotta pots, antique ceramic planters, dixie cups, or even an old pair of rain boots with holes poked in the bottom, if it will hold dirt, someone will think to plant in it. Why? What's wrong with the ground? Nothing really, but there are notable benefits to planting in containers.

Plants in containers are easier to control.

Container gardening gives you complete control over everything that your plants are exposed to. Soil, moisture, nutrients, pesticides, and to some extent, pests and disease are all easier to control when you plant in containers. You can also control exposure to the elements, bringing in your tropicals during the cold months.

Choosing a commercial planting soil mix or creating your own planting medium recipe will greatly reduce the chances of exposing your plant to fungus and soil-borne parasites.

It's just another excuse for gardeners to be creative (as if we needed an excuse).

You can use just about anything as a planter, and most gardeners will. I read a story a few days ago about a lady who got in trouble with her HOA for planting in toilets in her front yard. Personally, I've seen old boats, cars, and bath tubs, but of course, this is the south.

Click here to enter the Wayside Gardens Photo Contest!
If you've got a container garden that you are proud of, send us a nice photo and you could win a $50 gift certificate.

Summer is the time to enjoy your garden – everything is growing, blooming, and ripening to that a point where everything will be out of your hands, downhill to autumn and winter. Make it last as long as you can by trimming and deadheading your flowering shrubs, trees, and perennials in the summer to stimulate new growth and blooms, keeping your garden looking fresh right up to the first bite of frost.

Keeping hedges and shrubs trimmed promotes fuller growth and keeps your plants looking neat and healthy. Removing unsightly old growth allows the young new growth underneath to reap the full benifit of the sunlight. Removing spent blossoms from flowering plants throughout the summer allows the plant to focus on new growth a keep blooming. Don't be afraid to prune and trim throughout the summer — trimming is not only good for the plant, but keeps your garden looking nice and clean.

Tulips are generally impressive, the varieties available from Wayside Gardens this fall are no exception. These new tulips offer an exciting new perspective on an old garden classic. Breeders have definitely taken a few liberties with the traditional tulip blooms and foliage, often looking more like some impressionist rendering of a tulip than a simple flower.

Tulipa 'Doll's Minuet' is a perfect example of these dynamic tulip varieties. The deep rosy petals twist and dance out of the bud like a slowly growing fire. This is one flower that will have your garden guests doing double-takes.

Another beautiful new tulip, Tulipa 'Black Jewel', has deep maroon, frilled petals with tiny sparkles of gold flecks on their tips. It is a very classy and intriguing flower with long sturdy stems perfect for cut-flower arrangements.

Bulbs will ship in the fall for fall planting. Remember, fall is the best time of the year for planting!

After many years of being relegated to accent plantings, white-flowered plants are experiencing a resurgence of popularity.  Using white not just as accent, but as a primary part of your gardening palate, can create a very strong impression. 

In group plantings, white flowers create a pure, bright sea which can make any colored flowers you use absolutely jump out at you.  White flowers also create amazing contrast with green foliage, especially very dark greens or even blacks and reds.  White flowers are especially striking in spring. Try clematis or astilbe for bright white summer blooms. Hostas, though typically known for their foliage, often produce wonderfully bright silver or white blooms.

Asters are full sun perennials that can provide a good bit of late-season color. The playful, daisy-like blooms in bright springy colors start popping up in late summer, keeping your garden bright right up to the first frost of winter. Asters are very easy to care for, making them a real asset in the garden.

Aster 'Alert'  is a bright pink flowering New York Aster that blooms from summer to winter. It's resistant to deer, and super easy to care for. This plant blooms very densely, creating a low blanket of beautiful bright blooms.

Aster 'October Skies' is a medium-height Aster that will form a thick ground cover for your perennial sun garden. It gets it's name from the deep color of the blooms that resembles the New England sky. 'October Skies' blooms through the mid fall.