Southern Gardening

08/26/2026

Mark your calendars!!

🍂Our Fall Gardening Workshop is coming up! Let us know if you want to come. 🍁

Please register by calling 🤳 662-469-8480 or message us here on Facebook.

08/26/2026

Having a campfire may be the last thing on a gardener’s mind during the heat of August, but you may reconsider once you’ve seen the Campfire series of bidens.

Bidens are annual plants native to the southwestern United States that bloom for weeks. They tolerate heat, humidity and periods of drought once established, and selections with a spreading or trailing form are ideal anywhere a spiller plant is needed.

Bidens have become one of my favorite warm-season annuals because they ask for very little and give so much in return. The texture of their finely divided, fern-like foliage perfectly complements their cheerful blooms.

The Campfire series of bidens put on an incredible display of color, blooming continuously through the hottest days of summer.

Campfire Red Ember bidens are a stunning selection that produces masses of daisy-like flowers in rich shades of fiery red, orange and golden yellow.

Each bloom’s warm color combination looks as though it has been kissed by the glowing embers of a crackling campfire. The flowers blanket the plant from late spring until frost, providing months of nonstop color.

Campfire Red Ember has a naturally mounding and gently spreading habit, making it ideal for spilling over the edges of containers or softening the front of garden beds.

If your garden calls for a softer, more elegant look, Campfire Marshmallow bidens has a completely different color palette while delivering the same outstanding performance.

Creamy white petals are delicately brushed with soft blush-pink tones that become even more noticeable during cool mornings and evenings. The flowers appear fresh and airy against the rich green foliage.

Campfire Marshmallow blends beautifully with nearly any color scheme. Try it planted alone in decorative containers or mix it with other heat-loving annuals. I especially like contrasting its blooms with lavender, blue or deep purple flowers.

One of the best features of the Campfire bidens is how easy they are to grow. Plant them where they receive at least six hours of direct sunlight each day for the heaviest flowering.

While they appreciate consistently moist, well-drained soil during establishment, mature plants tolerate short periods of dry weather surprisingly well. A slow-release fertilizer at planting followed by applications of a water-soluble fertilizer every few weeks helps keep blooms coming.

Unlike some flowering annuals that require constant maintenance, bidens are largely self-cleaning. Spent blooms naturally drop away as new flowers develop, eliminating much of the need for deadheading that many gardeners dread.

Give them a light trimming at midsummer if they get leggy and to encourage fresh growth and another flush of blooms.

Consider having a Campfire in your garden next summer using either the bold, fiery colors of Campfire Red Ember or the soft, romantic blooms of Campfire Marshmallow.

08/24/2026

Reminder: The 2026 Muscadine Field Day will be held Aug. 27 at the Mississippi State University McNeill Research Unit in Carriere, located at 7 Ben Gill Road, across from Jack’s Fish House. The field day begins at 8:30 a.m. with registration. The program begins at 9 a.m. and ends at 11 a.m.

08/21/2026

Let’s get counting!

08/20/2026

Any of these Luscious Lantanas is sure to bring summer-long beauty to your garden!

08/18/2026

Since it’s much too late to plant for this summer’s landscape, gardeners can take notes on what they see elsewhere and make plans for their own garden next year.

Walking through the trial garden at the Mississippi State University Truck Crops Branch Experiment Station in Crystal Springs, I noticed that few plants celebrate summer quite like lantana.

The brilliant blooms of these heat-loving plants light up the landscape. Three varieties from the Luscious Lantana series captured my attention with their dazzling colors and nonstop flowering. They might make good additions to the sunny areas of your landscape next spring.

The first variety I spotted was Luscious Vanilla Breeze lantana.

This selection brings a soft, graceful elegance to the garden with rounded clusters of delicate, creamy white flowers that are gently brushed with buttery yellow at their centers. Each tiny floret forms part of a larger bloom head, creating a full, lace-like cluster that glows in the sunlight.

As new flowers open, the subtle yellow highlights gradually fade to creamy white, giving each flower cluster a beautiful depth and dimension. Set against rich green foliage, the blooms create a refreshing, cooling effect that brightens borders, containers and mixed landscape beds.

Luscious Citrus Blend II radiates the warmth of summer and is the next lantana I noticed.

The large flower clusters resemble miniature sunsets, combining brilliant shades of fiery red, glowing orange, golden yellow and soft peach. Individual florets open in different colors and gradually change as they mature, so every bloom head is a living mosaic of warm hues.

The colorful clusters shimmer in the sunshine, creating a cheerful display that you notice from across the garden. The rich blend of citrus colors gives the impression that several different lantanas are blooming together on one plant.

For gardeners who appreciate soft yet strong colors, consider Luscious Pinkberry Blend lantana.

This variety has dense flower clusters in a beautiful blend of rosy pink, yellow and cream tones on dark foliage. Newly opened florets display bright yellow centers, and each bloom cluster has remarkable texture and color variation.

As the plant produces fresh blooms throughout the season, it develops into a colorful mound covered with blossoms that sparkle in the summer sun.

Lantanas thrive in full sun and perform best in well-drained soil. Once established, they tolerate intense heat and periods of drought while continuing to bloom with very little maintenance. Even during the hottest weeks, the plants remain covered in flower clusters that attract butterflies, bees and other pollinators from morning until evening.

After seeing these beautiful lantanas flourish in the trial garden, I can confidently recommend them for almost any sunny landscape.

Whether you prefer the refined elegance of Vanilla Breeze, the bold tropical colors of Citrus Blend II or the rich, berry-inspired blooms of Pinkberry Blend, each variety offers months of nonstop color, exceptional heat tolerance and reliable garden performance.

08/17/2026

Great opportunity!!🦋

08/14/2026

Helianthus Suncredible Yellow II

Fun Plant Friday has arrived at last!

We love sunflowers, and Helianthus Suncredible Yellow II from Proven Winners is one of our absolute favorites. It blooms continuously on a well-branched plant. The yellow rays are longer and showier than those of the previous version we trialed, and the habit is more uniform and compact. While you can deadhead it, doing so is absolutely unnecessary—new buds and fresh flowers will continue to form regardless.

Not only do bees and butterflies love it, but the blooms are also fantastic for cut flower arrangements.

If your landscape needs something carefree, cheerful, always blooming, and able to withstand the brutal summer weather, this plant is well worth adding.

08/13/2026

Today on Southern Gardening, we’re taking a look at three eye-catching coleus selections that prove flowers aren’t the only way to add color to your landscape!