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PAS Garden Home: Whimsy

In this episode of P. Allen Smith’s Garden Home we’ll visit Garvan Woodland Gardens, investigate beneficial insects and take a look at a fun outdoor bathtub.

Featured Plants
Hemerocallis fulva (Ditch Daylily)
Daffodil 'Ice Follies'
Vitex 'Shoals Creek'

Allen's Collections:  Materials from Nature for Decorating.
In this week's Allen's Collections see the many ways material from the garden can be used to decorate the interior of your home.

Hands on Gardening
Growing Daffodils
When you see daffodils in bloom, you know that spring is not far away. They're a brave little flower, sometimes flowering in the winter, and they can take a lot of cold weather - much cooler temperatures than many flowers. One of my favorite varieties is called 'Ice Follies',  I like it because of its white collar and this slightly flattened corona, or trumpet, in the center. It's a very easy flower to grow.

Often, people who come out to the Garden Home Retreat ask me, "What do I do with my daffodils after they flower?" This is a very good question. What I like to do is allow them to die back naturally. We don't cut them back at all. You want the green foliage of the daffodil to persist, as well as the stem, so that it will recharge and reinvigorate the bulb underneath so it can flower next year.

The Green Component
Planting an Insectary
An insectary is an area of the garden dedicated to growing flowers and plants that support and aid beneficial insects, those that will help combat pests.

The Garden Home Inside and Out
The second story sleeping porch has a view that inevitably draws people out of the cottage, but it's the cozy furnishings including an outdoor bath and shower that makes them want to stay.

Garden Home How To
Ornamental ironworker James Scallion takes us on a tour of Garvan Woodland Gardens to show off some of the whimsical touches he has contributed to the gardens' Christmas light display.  Lighted butterflies, turtles, koi and even a gingerbread house present delightful surprises around every corner.

Pets in the Garden
Khaki Campbell Ducks
Khaki Campbell Ducks are not only comical to watch, but very beautiful with their almost coffee-colored bills and brown plumage. They are great foragers of insects and slugs. In addition, the breed is a very good egg layer – one hen will produce about 200 eggs a year. Can you believe it?

Virtual Makeover
Karen and Thomas have a modern brick home in Madison, Mississippi.  Karen asks for advice on how to replace the front yard's flotilla of dwarf evergreen shrubs with a cottage style garden.