This weekend, the New Orleans Botanic Gardens in City Park will host the Fall Garden Festival and I'm so excited.
Every year, thousands of horticulturists attend educational exhibitions created by nurseries, landscapers, plant companies, horticultural service companies, and government agencies. Many of them are decorated with flowering plants, fountains, works of art and gardens.
Pansies, a cold season plant native to Louisiana, prefer full sun to partial sun.
Sales are also an important part of the event. Plants, tools, gardening tools, flowers, accessories and works of art are part of the goods. Plants for sale include roses, garden plants, bromeliads, orchids, tropical foliage, herbs, perennials, butterflies, native plants and more. The Botanical Garden propagates many of the plants in its collection and offers many of the plants for sale.
There are also activities for kids, music, arts and crafts, food and more.
Education is an important part of the festival. There are many experts at various booths and exhibitions where you can talk and learn about ornamental plants, gardens and plant growing in our area.
Violas, like other cold season plants, grow best with at least six hours of sunlight.
The Gardening Center will host a series of free lectures.
As always, LSU AgCenter experts will be available at the Plant Health Clinic to answer questions about bark pest control. You can bring plants or specimens with crops, insects, or diseases and weeds for identification. LSU AgCenter experts diagnose problems and make recommendations to fix them.
It will be a great weekend to spend time outdoors.
Snapdragon is the star of the garden in the cool season.
He will inspire, educate and entertain you with his displays, plant and garden products for sale and friendly demonstrations.
While you're at it, it's time to think about bedding for the cold season. Here's what you need to know.
Review of the beds: the warm season is the time to reconsider the beds. Wash out the old, unattractive ones (they make a great addition to the compost heap).
Some plants for warm seasons may still be there, but early December is good to get cool colors.
As a result, we sometimes remove plants that are still in bloom to prepare the ground for new plantings. For some gardeners, this is difficult. But think about it: tender garden plants look very weak and terrible in frost and often die in the first hard frost. Seasonal houseplants provide color from fall to spring.
Seeds or Propagators: In addition to garden shows , nurseries and garden centers offer a wide variety of cold hardy plants, and you can choose between planting or seeding. Most gardeners like to use transplant because it's quick, easy, and gives quick results.
However, some cold hardy plants are easy to grow from seed and can be transplanted directly into garden beds, such as alyssum, johnny jump, bluebonnet, calendula, annual phlox, and nasturtium. Sweet peas, delphiniums and poppies do not like transplants, so they prefer to sow right where they grow. The seeds of these plants are sown until November.
Plant the seedlings in a well-prepared sunny bed, taking care to plant them at the same depth as they grew in the cell group or pot. Divide correctly. It is recommended to water the planted seedlings with a soluble fertilizer to give them a good start.
Shapes and colors. Cold season flowers come in all shapes and sizes, from squat alyssums and lobelias to showy mallows and delphiniums. When choosing and placing flower beds in the garden, the height of the plants should be taken into account.
Choose cold season plants for harmonious flowers. Colors should be grouped or floated, and try not to use too many different colors in one bed.
Cold season plants grow best in locations that receive six or more hours of direct sunlight. Pansies, violets, forget-me-nots, lobelia and nicotiana are perhaps the best choices for partial shade. They don't do well in deep shade.
Remember that winter cold does not bother these plants. Cold season plants can be sown as early as February or March, but plants planted in autumn are still showy in spring.
Great plants for the cool season
Now in the garden you can plant a lot of fresh seasonal flowers. Search your local nurseries and gardens for the following plants or seeds:
- Alyssum, annual gypsophila, annual lollipop, annual phlox
- high school button
- calendula
- Diasha, Larkspur, Carnation, Dusty Miller, English Chamomile
- Digital you don't forget me
- geranium
- hollyhock
- larkspur
- nasturtium, nemesia, nicotiana
- Cabbage and cabbage dressings
- Pansy, petunia, poppy
- Snapdragon, statice, sauce, sweet pea
- poison flax
- Varvan and Viola
Living room in the autumn garden
What: A garden fair where vendors sell flowers and plants, tools, furniture, flowers, accessories, and art, and a fair that includes educational talks.
Where : New Orleans Botanical Garden in City Park
When: Saturday and Sunday from 9:00 to 16:00.
Entrance: $12 for adults; $6 for children aged 5-12. Free for children under 4 and friends of the municipal park
October is the perfect time to plant fresh seasonal vegetables in your garden. Beans, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, kale, carrots, kale...
Gardening columnist Dan Gill answers readers' questions every week. To apply, email Gil Gil at gnogardening@agcenter.lsu.edu.
Good September fronts don't happen every year, but I enjoyed the mild morning warmth and low humidity provided by a front.
