The most popular herb for U.S. gardeners to grow is basil. I've got some sweet basil in my small herb garden and also one of the new lime flavored plants.

I've always stuck with the basics -- basils to use in salads, sauces and other savories -- but after attending Summer Celebration in Jackson, I might branch out a bit.

Basil -- 44 varieties of it -- was the featured plant at the day-long gathering of gardeners at the UT Research and Education Center.

Jason Reeves, a horticulturist and landscaper at the center, planted the basils on one of the bermed beds where many plants are tested every year. Some of the more decorative varieties were planted where they could contribute to the landscaping around the office building and grounds.

One that drew a lot of interest is Magical Michael, an ornamental but edible sweet basil with a mounded form covered with purple flowers supported by stems bearing lush green leaves.

Because the plants are reliably 15 inches tall and 16 to 17 inches wide, they are easy to use in landscaping situations.

Magical Michael caught the eyes of Chris Conley and Kyle McLane of the Memphis Botanic Garden.

The Memphis Herb Society has booked Reeves to do a program on the basils at 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Check the events calendar on this site for more information.

This year I'm growing an unusual lime basil that smells and tastes like the tangy citrus fruit. It's great with fish and chicken, as is the lemon basil many of us have been growing for years.

Basil doesn't need much except lots of sun, occasional fertilizer and unlike other herbs from the Mediterranean that like dry conditions, adequate water.

Pinch off the flowers as they form to promote the growth of foliage and side shoots. The flowers will grow so long eventually the plant becomes more flower than foliage.

Basil was a popular plant indoors as well where extension home economists Tennille Blakemore (Haywood County); Amy Elizer (Madison County); Gwen Joyner (Carroll County) and Sarah Poole;
demonstrated how to use fresh basil in a number of tasty dishes.

Q - Since Memphis has had little rain, our maple trees (3-4 years old) are starting to show signs of stress with yellowing leaves. I've watered them (via slow trickle) but the yellowing continues and some of the leaves are falling off. Help!

Lou Ann

I would like to find someone who rakes and bags their pine needles. Would like to buy them or trade for them.
Diane Meucci
Contact Diane at diane@gardensoyvey.com

Q - My Big Boy tomatoes have wonderful foliage and blossoms but they don't seem to set fruit. What do I need to do to get some tomatoes to pick?

Mrs. Burns

Midsouthgardens.com is less than a month old but it is already getting kudos from gardeners. The site will be changing so check back often and send your suggestions and information about events to chris@midsouthgardens.com

Diane Meucci and Wolfgang Marquardt of Gardens Oy Vey

Your site is buzzin! Best wishes.

Andy Williams, manager Lichterman Nature Center

Wonderful site, Chris! It is easy to navigate and filled with useful gardening information.

From Carol Reese, ornamental specialist at the University of Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson.

I have looked at your web site and think it's great, and obviously will get even better. I love the upcoming events, links, etc. and just know that it will be a valuable resource for gardeners. I will be happy to promote it, confident in its ethics and genuine expertise.

From Carl Wayne Hardeman:

The web site is well done, and very comprehensive with links to everywhere andeverything happening in gardening in this area. (I like that) everyone is invited to contribute.

From Larry Tucker, past president and founder of the Mid-South Hosta Society:

Outstanding web site! Thanks for the listing of plant societies, garden clubs, etc.

From Jeanne Arthur, Memphis Garden Club:

Good luck in your new venture. Your website looks great.

From Pat Skaggs, master gardener and vice president Memphis Herb Society:

What a fantastic website. We gardeners will truly enjoy this. Very well done. Thanks Chris

From Michael McPeak, new owner Digger O'Dell Nursery:

Your site is great. I'm looking forward to advertising with you.

Barbara Taylor, landscaper:

(Your web site is a ) great way to enjoy what you love to do and are so good at. I've passed it along to others. Best wishes and hope to see you soon.

Mary Helen Butler, director of education, Memphis Botanic Garden

I checked out the website—what a great resource for our community. I’m going to do an e-mail now to our whole staff letting them know about it. We’ll start helping to spread the word!

Rita Randolph, owner Randolph's Greenhouses in Jackson, Tn.

Congratulations on a great new site. It has so much potential, everyone is talking about it.
Every "Plant Nerd" is going to want a link- including me!!

Most people have gardens that are visually appealing some of the time.

Fewer achieve excitement by the way they select and place their plants.

But Cecilia Clanton settles for nothing less than exuberance in her 3.5 acre garden in DeSoto County, Mississippi, just outside of Memphis.

She does it with sweeps of color created by mass plantings in beds that outline and define various areas of the garden.

Rudbeckias now have the stage, nudging out the fiery red crocasmias that bloomed just before them.

The crocasmias stole the show from daylilies, baptisias and late blooming Asiatic lilies.

After the rudbeckias, Clanton is counting on zinnias to take her into fall and pansy planting

"I plant zinnia seeds late in May so they will come in at the end of summer and bloom until frost," Clanton said. "You cannot believe the butterflies that come to the garden."

In other areas she plants masses of Knock-Out roses, carpet roses, peonies and a few climbing roses, including her favorite Cecile Brunner.

In shady areas hundreds of hydrangeas, both mopheads and oakleafs, take the spotlight.

Numerous miscanthus plants along with a mass of a smaller ornamental grass with solid green foliage form fountains of billowy foliage in another area.

"The grasses are not unsual," she said. "There are just a lot of them."

In the fall she will divide the grasses and other perennials.

"That's another reason for mass planting -- you get lots of newplant material from dividing," she said.

When she started the garden about 12 years ago, Clanton wrote down some goals.

"The first word that came to mind was exuberance," she said. "I wanted a distinct lack of formality that would make people feel comfortable and get them to thinking of their grandmother's favorite plants. I want people to walk in the garden and be filled with joy, not awe."

Formal gardens are beautiful but most people can never duplicate the look.

"Anyone could go to a large garden center and copy what is here with no problem," she said.

Before buying dozens of plants, Clanton tests them three at a time in a small area. If she thinks it's worthy of a mass planting, she made buy 100 more.

The varieties she chooses are typically readily available in garden centers or through mail-order sources.

She doesn't record the cultivars she plants although she thinks it's a good idea. She does take lots of photos, including those she shared with midsouthgardens.com, and dates them. She also makes notes on whatp plants need to be moved, failures and where to place plants for next year.

Watering well and often is a necessity with so many plants crowded into a bed. She fertilizes with Nursery Special slow release fertilizer in early spring and again in July.

Planting in masses cuts down on weeding.

"Weeding could be overwhelming in a garden this size but the foliages of the plants either hide or shade out most of the weeds," she said

Every spring she has 120 yards --- that's right 120 yards --- of mulch spread thickly into the beds

An additional 3.5 acres on the property have been turned into a wildflower meadow that blooms exuberantly in early spring.

Clanton is the owner of the DeSoto Art Academy where she teaches children after-school and during the summer. She teaches art to adults through Northwest Community College.

She also imports bulbs for a wholesale business and helps her friends with their gardens.

Everyone, she said, can add exuberance with a mass planting somewhere in their garden.

"Even if a plant is not your absolute favorite, if you put in a large sweep of it, it can become your favorite," she said.






See You At Summer Celebration!

More than 500 fans promoting midsouthgardens.com were distributed at Summer Celebration July 13 at the University of Tennessee Research and Education Center in Jackson.

It was HOT! But the tours and indoor programs were extremely informative. I saw a lot of Memphis gardeners and also a group of the pros from the Memphis Botanic Garden. Kyle McLane, Chris Conley, Laurie Williams and Mary Helen Butler were there gathering ideas for future improvements at the botanic garden. Rick Pudwell, director of horticulture at the Memphis Botanic Garden, wowed his audiences with his floral design skills using flowers and foliage from the garden.

Rick makes flower arranging seem like it's the easiest thing in the world.

Bones are on my mind. Not the ones in our body or those we give the dog, but the bones that add form to our gardens in all seasons.

In landscaping lingo, bones are structures such as walls, arbors and benches as well as evergreen shrubs and trees that remain the same no matter what the season. Bones are as attractive under a blanket of snow as they are as a backdrop for colorful perennials and annuals.

About 30 to 40 percent of the much-admired landscape at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens is planted with evergreens, said Diane Reed, manager of horticulture at the Dixon.

"If you took away the evergreens, the winter landscape would be bland," Reed told about 20 people joining her recently for a "winter beauty" tour of the gardens.

P. Allen Smith, a landscaper, television personality, author and artist who lives in Little Rock, talked about color in the garden on a visit to Memphis.

"Color is magical but frightening at the same time," he said as he went about simplifying its use.

Allen finds the traditional color wheel confusing and prefers dividing color schemes into warm (reds, oranges and yellows) and cool colors (blues, pinks, purples). Neutrals in the garden include white, brown, gray and even green.

"I'm a cool color person," he said. "It's so hot in our climate, we need cool colors. . . . except in the fall when I like warm colors."

Q -A Carolina jasmine planted on the east side of a 6' wood fence has half green leaves and half brown leaves. New growth is green. Two other jasmines planted on the north side of the perpendicular fence look fine. All plants are 5 years old and this is the first time to have brown leaves. What is the problem?

Thank you.
Peggy Kissell

There are many theories about planting during various phases of the moon.

In a very small nutshell here are the common recommendations:

Plant annuals, trees and above ground vegetables such as tomatoes, cabbage and squash during the waxing phase of the moon. That's the time from the new moon to the full moon phase. Also fertilize and graft fruit trees.

Plant perennials, bulbs and below-ground vegetables such as carrots, onions and beets, during the waning phase from the full moon to new moon. Pull weeds and prune shrubs during this phase.

For more details go to http://www.plantea.com/planting-moon-phases.htm

For information, comments or questions contact Chris Gang at chris@midsouthgardens.com

For inquiries about advertising rates: info@midsouthgardens.com

Link to Chris's Green Thumb column in The Commercial Appeal: http://www.commercialappeal.com/mca/green_thumb/0,1426,MCA_525,00.html

University of Arkansas Extension http://www.arhomeandgarden.org/

University of Tennessee Extension http://utgardens.tennessee.edu

Mississippi State University Extension http://msucares.com/

Link to all university extension services http://www.victoryseeds.com/information/extension.html

Fun and informative site: http://www.yougrowgirl.com/

For more wisdom from Sharon Lovejoy: sharonlovejoy.com

Identify the insects that are bugging you: whatsthatbug.com

The one and only Felder Rushing felderrushing.net

For answers to your tropical plant questions: http://www.TropicalFlowersForums.com
For answers to your tropical plant questions: http://www.TropicalFlowersForums.com

The Weather Channel's great online resource for gardeners. http://www.weather.com/outlook/homeandgarden/garden/local/38104?

A neat crossword puzzle with flower theme http://www.infoplease.com/xwords/flowers.html

Plant taxonomy crossword puzzle:http://waynesword.palomar.edu/termino2.htm

A website that talks to you so you learn how to pronounce the scientific names of plants is taunton.com/finegardening/ Click on the pronunciation guide under resources.

Here's another neat web site: www.pahlavani.net

When author Sharon Lovejoy came to speak in Memphis, many gardeners left with lots of inspiration and information for turning small spaces into pockets of gardening pleasure.
That pleasure continues when you pick up "Trowell and Error:Over 700 Shortcuts, Tips & Remedies for the Gardener," one of Lovejoy's books.

This dandy handkerchief-sized tome is filled with useful tidbits from bug repelling recipes such as Maggot Martinis, Garlic Soup and Herbal Brew to easy ways to solve storage problems for our gardening paraphernalia.

Here are a couple of gleanings:

* Outfit a terra-cotta pot with an electrical wire and socket and use it as a hanging lamp for a potting shed, garden room, porch or greenhouse.

* Jump start your new compost pile but adding a scoop of finished compost to it. The hungry microbes in the old compost will stimulat the new, sluggish pile and speed up the process of decomposition. Other compost activiators include alfalfa meal, pelletized rabbits food or dry dog food, which are rich in nitrogen.

* If you are bitten by an insect or stung by a bee, press a crushed garlic love or slice of onion directly onto the insect bite. Leave on at least 20 mnutes. These kitchen favorites have anti-inflammatory, counter-irritant and antibacterial properties.

Sharon's other books include "Sunflower Houses: Inspiration from the Garden," and "Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children."

Q - I have some crape myrtle trees planted in containers on my pool deck. Last year the trees bloomed well but this year none have flowers. Do I need to fertilize or put them into bigger containers?

P.K.

If you've visited public gardens in Memphis or within a day's drive, please let Chris know, (e-mail address) so she can post them.

Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry Rd. in Audubon Park, 901-685-1566, is open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday and from 11 am. to 6 p.m. Sunday. Winter hours, effective from Nov. 1 to April 2, are 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Sunday.

Admission is $5 for adults; $4 for seniors 62 and over; $4 for children 3 to 12; free for children under 2 and members of the Memphis Botanic Garden.

Areas of interest include the Municipal Rose Garden, Tennessee Bicentennial Iris Garden, Little Garden Club Sensory Garden, the Japanese Garden of Tranquility, herb garden, daylily garden, hydrangea and hosta trail, woodland and native plant garden and Daffodil Hill. The botanic garden is home to many plant societies and garden clubs.

Its annual "Spring's Best Plant Sale" is just that - the biggest and best plant sale in the city featuring plants grown in its volunteer greenhouse as well as many provided by local nurseries. For more information go to MemphisBotanicGarden.com

Dixon Gallery and Gardens, 4339 Park, (901-761-5250) is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and on Sunday from 1 to 5 p.m. It is closed on Monday.

Admission is $5 for adults; $4 for seniors over 60; students and children are free. Members of the Dixon Gallery and Garden are also admitted free.

Formal and informal gardens are included in the 17-acre site once occupied by Hugo and Margaret Dixon. Mature oak and hickory trees offer shade for the extensive collection of azaleas, dogwoods, boxwoods, hydrangeas and woodland wildflowers.

The Memphis Garden Club Cutting Garden is the source of flowers used in the arrangements in the gallery. Members of the garden club change the arrangements twice a week all year long. Diane Reed, manager of horticulture, and her staff organize a wildflower sale every spring and present gardening programs all year. For more information go to Dixon.org

Lichterman Nature Center 5992 Quince Road, Memphis, TN 38119, 901-767-7322

The first accredited nature center in the United States, is an urban nature center set amid 65 acres of lake, meadows and forest and is home to a wide variety of plants. Its annual spring native plant sale features plants, some of them rarely available commercially, propagated by volunteers. It is a certified arboretum.

Admission: $6, adults; $5.50 for seniors 60 and up; $4.50 for children 3 to 12; children under 3 are free. Go to memphismuseums.org/nature.htm

Outside the Memphis area:

Garvan Woodland Gardens in Hot Springs, Ark. garvangardens.org

Memphis Area Clubs

Arawata Garden Club, Mrs. Tanner Davis, (901) 683-5907
Arlington Garden Club, Tina Eastburn, (901) 874-2121
Arts and Garden Club, Minna Glenn, (901) 683-3939
Budding Green Thumb Plant Club, Ms. Frankie Williams, (901) 744-7994
Central Gardener's Club, Shelly Rainwater (901) 725-5720
Evergreen Garden Club, Madelyn Conrad, (901) 278-9559
Hedgemoor Garden Club, Jan Boucek, (901) 761-3402
Junior League Garden Club, Lisa Wilder, (901) 327-6700
Kimbrough Woods Home & Garden Club, Gena Morrow, (901) 753-5689
LeBonheur Garden Club, Mary Lawrence Flinn, (901) 683-1346
New Neighbors Garden Group, Kathy Russo , (901) 757-0006
Oak Grove Home & Garden Club, Frances James, (901) 683-1053
Our Home & Garden Club, Ed Bennett, (901) 685-7312
Pleasant Acres Garden Club, Jeannese Fincher, (901) 683-6183
River Oaks Garden Club, Janice Akins, (901) 683-0247
Wood Grove Park Garden Club, Verna Turner, (901) 682-4418

Mississippi Garden Clubs

Batesville Garden Club, Laurie Monteith, (662) 563-5264
Desoto Civic Garden Club, Amye Kelly, (662) 349-0921
Hernando Civic Garden Club, Libby Ballard, (662) 429-6445
Senatobia Home and Garden Club, Kim Inglish, (662) 562-6621

Garden Clubs affiliated with Garden Clubs of America

Memphis Garden Club, about 130 members, organizes the Memphis Flower Show biennally at the Dixon Gallery and Gardens. A revised edition of its book, The Mid-South Garden Guide will be released in 2006. Its web site is memphisgardenclub.org

The Little Garden Club of Memphis, 65 members,supports the sensory garden at the Memphis Botanic Garden and is renewing the allee of yoshino cherry trees along Cherry Road in Audubon Park. Contact Lisa Snowden at 682-2845

For information on joining or forming a garden club affiliated with the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs contact Ann McCormick at 353-5427 or Vicki Duggins at 751-2667.

Garden club leaders who want to include contacts, web site addresses, projects or additional information about their clubs in this listing should contact Chris at chris@midsouthgardens.com

Gardens clubs in north Mississippi and eastern Arkansas can also be included in this list.

Memphis Area Clubs in the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs:

Bartlett Garden Club, 23 members

Blossom View Garden Club, 9 members

City View Garden Club, 18 members

Collierville Garden Club, 19 members

Cordova Garden Club, 21 members

Cultivating Friends Garden Club, 9 members

Designing Women, a study group with about 15 members, meets at 1:30 p.m. on the first Thursday at Memphis Botanic Garden. Members take turns presenting floral designs in a workshop-style meeting. Contact Emelia Miekicki at emiekicki@earthlink.net

Faxon 4000 Garden Club, 7 members

Garden Club of Rosemark, 21 members

Germantown Garden Club, 44 members

Greenlawn Garden Club, 18 members

Kennedy View Garden Club, 15 members

Lakewood Hills Home & Garden Club, 26 members

Les Bons Amis Garden Club, 14 members

Oak & Elm Garden Club, 12 members

Parkdale Garden Club, 30 members

Pearl Hooper Garden Club, 18 members, is the third oldest garden club in Memphis. It meets at 10:30 a.m. on the first Tusday at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Programs include a 15 minute study session devoted to a plant or group of plants and a 15-minute demonstration of a floral design style. Members typically share a pot of soup after their meeting.The club recently adopted a bed in the Tennessee Bicentennial Iris Garden at the botanic garden. New members are welcome. Call Caroline Nave at 452-2468.

Poplar Estates Garden Club, 13 members

Red Acres Garden Club, 74 members

Scenic Hills Garden Club, 15 members

Shelby County East, 24 members

Southwind Garden Club, 47 members

Suburban Garden Club, 95 members

Town & Country Garden Club of Memphis, 37 members

Twentieth Century Garden Club, 30 members

Weeders & Seeders Garden Club, 19 members

Whtehaven Iris Garden Club, 12 members

Wooddale Estates Garden Club, 14 members

Garden Clubs in West Tennessee in the Tennessee Federation of Garden Clubs:

Bells Garden Club, 25 members

Blossomway Garden Club, Buchanan, 22 members

Covington Garden Club, 27 members

Dyersburg Garden Club, 24 members

Jackson Evergreen Garden Club, 27 members

La Grange Horticulture Society, 19 members

Morning Glory Garden Club, McKenzie, 22 members

Paris Garden Club, 31 members

Town & Coutnry Garden Club of Brownsville, 43 members

Town & Country Garden Club of Covington, 16 members

Trenton Garden Club, 16 members

• NFGCA
• GCAA
• Independent

Unless otherwise noted, the plant societies in Memphis and the MidSouth meet at the Memphis Botanic Garden, 750 Cherry Rd. in Audubon Park.

Memphis

Dixie Rose Club meets at 7 p.m. on the second Friday. From May through September meetings are held in the homes and gardens of members. dixieroseclub.org

Memphis African Violet Society meets at 1 p.m. on the third Saturday of the month at Central Christian Church, 631 S. McLean. Membership is open. The society puts on an annual spring show and sale. Contact Kathy Hildrebrand at (901) 386-0210 or Iona Pair at 385-1148

Memphis Bonsai Society typically meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday at Memphis Botanic Garden. Learn more about the society at its web site memphisbonsai.com
Or contact it by e-mail at mphsbonsai@aol.com

Memphis African Violet Society meets at 1 p.m. the third Saturday at Central Christian Church, 631 S. McLean. It hosts an annual show and sale every spring. Contact: Kathy Hildebrand, 386-0210, or Iona Pair, 385-1148.

Memphis Cactus Society's regular meetings are at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday. Contact Don Klotwog (901) 681-0700 or by e-mail at dklotwog@juno.com

Memphis Fern Society meets at 7 p.m. the second Monday September through May, excluding December, at Germantown Community Library, 1925 Exeter Rd.

Memphis Hemerocallis (Daylily) Society meets at 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of February, May, July, August and October. It holds its annual show and sale in June. Other event includes a picnic in September and Christmas party in December. Libby Varner, 583-2205 or liz0110@msn.com

Memphis Herb Society, which has about 80 members, meets at 7 p.m. on the fourth Thursday. Meeting day changes during Novembers and December. Contact Gail Banks, president, (662) 393-0188.

Memphis Horticultural Society, which has more than 200 members, meets at 7 p.m. the first Tuesday. Paul Little, (901) 382-7959
memphishorticulture.org

Mid-South Hosta Society, which has about 300 members, meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday in Feburary, March, April, September and October. Its annual plant sale and show is held on the second Saturday in May. Contact Larry Tucker at (901) 489-9146. www.mshosta.com

Mid-South Hydrangea Society, which has more than 200 members, meets at 7 p.m. on 2nd Monday in Febrary, April and October. A garden tour for members is held in June. hydrangea@midsouth.rr.com

Memphis Area Iris Society meets at 7 p.m. on the third Thursday of September, October, November, February, March and April. It's annual show is the last weekend in April at the Memphis Botanic Garden.
Call Caroline Nave at 452-2468.

Memphis Orchid Society, which has about 60 households as members, meets at 2 p.m. on the 4th Sunday from June through October at the Memphis Botanic Garden.
It sponsors an annual show and sale in May. Memphisorchids.org

Memphis Rose Society, which was founded in 1946, meets at 7 p.m. on the 4th Monday at the Memphis Botanic Garden. Every year it puts on the Mother’s Day Rose Show. rosesocieties.com/memphisrosesociety/

West Tennessee Iris Society meets at 7 p.m. the third Tuesday at the Pickering Center, 7771 Poplar Pike in Germantown. The society hosts an iris show in April and an iris sale in August. It created and maintains a public iris garden at the corner of West and Poplar Pike in Germantown. Caroline Winter, (901) 757-0652.

Wildflower Society of Memphis typically meets at 2 p.m. on the first Sunday of February, April, June, August, October and December. Contact Theresa Dixon at 754-8982 or jdixon@midsouth.rr.com

Arkansas -- send information on plant societies to chris@midsouthgardens.com

Mississippi -- send information about plant societies to chris@midsouthgardens.com

This area is being updated.

June

June 28

Memphis Herb Society, 6 p.m. plant exchange in the herb garden at the Memphis Botanic. Members will swap plants and enjoy food from Fratelli's at the Garden.

Memphis Cactus and Succulent Society, 7 p.m., Memphis Botanic Garden. Heather Godwin presents a slide show from Big Bend National Park. Call 681-0700.

It is Chris's goal to make this gardening events calendar the most comprehensive available. So send information about your public events to chris@midsouthgardens.com

Events up to six months from now will be posted. Be sure to include date, time, address and a contact's telephone number and/or e-mail address.

Click on "This Month" for this week's events.

It is Chris's goal to make this gardening events calendar the most comprehensive available. So send information about your public events to chris@midsouthgardens.com

Events up to six months from now will be posted. Be sure to include date, time, address and a contact's telephone number and/or e-mail address.