Your Home, Garden and Travel

A Bright Morning: Encore® Azaleas, Persian Shield and Mums

Simple mums (chrysanthemum morifolium) with repeat blooming azaleas and annual Persian shield (strobilanthes diyeranus).

It all started with one hardy garden mum that I divided and divided and divided...

This is the east wall inside the cottage garden that receives afternoon shade so most plants want to lean away from the wall toward the sunshine.

The mums were transplanted in the spring. I rounded up all the offspring and planted them together for this mass. I was surprised that all the little plants matured in unison for the fall bloom.

During the summer, the mum foliage stayed green and pretty with minimal water in this rich soil location. I shaped the mounds until July 4th and will be a bit more severe with the trim next year to prevent the falling over from so many heavy blooms.

Here in zone7b, the mum foliage will be evergreen through the winter. In case you're wondering, I've not had a problem with deer or rabbit munching the mums. I have additional mums growing in the deer resistant garden. I even have a four foot mum about to bloom.

No grumblings here!

Words and photos by Freda Cameron, Defining Your Home, Garden and Travel. Deer and rabbit resistance varies based upon the animal population and availability of food. All company or product or patented names mentioned are registered trademarks, copyrights, or patents owned by those respective companies or persons.