Must-see Plateau Discovery Gardens exhibits

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Now is the perfect time to see the colorful blooms of the crape myrtles exhibit at the Plateau Discovery Gardens in Crossville.
Good planning led to a lush but balanced looking Shrub and Small Tree Garden.

August 30, 2010

By C. Rae Hozer Chronicle contributor The Crossville Chronicle Mon Aug 30, 2010, 02:37 PM CDT

When visiting Plateau Discovery Gardens at the University of Tennessee Plateau AgResearch and Education Center (UTPAEC) in Crossville I usually head back to the Shrub and Small Tree Garden first. In 2005 many annual and perennial plants were needed to fill in around the newly planted shrubs and trees. After five years, each specimen is at mature size (or nearly so). Good planning led to a lush but balanced looking landscape because enough space was set aside for growth. When I asked, Master Gardener (MG) Nancy Christopherson shared information on which exhibits other visitors like best.

Currently, the 2009 turf plot is getting a lot of foot traffic. Autumn is the best time (that’s right, even better than spring) to put in or renovate a lawn using cool season turf varieties like fescues or Kentucky bluegrass. That makes this a great time to assess whether the grass now growing in your yard meets expectations. If you are considering a change, stop by the Turf Garden for a side by side look at Kentucky bluegrass, tall fescue, perennial rye, Bermuda grass, and Zoyzia. Compare color, texture and density of these turf varieties. Perhaps the type of grass you have is right but fertilizer, lime, or weed control should be applied. Tom Samples, the leading UT turf specialist, will be talking Turf Grasses in the Turf Garden area at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. during the Fall Gardeners’ Festival (FGF) on Tuesday, August 31. FGF registration starts at 9:30 a.m. There is no charge for admission or parking. Festivities end at 4 p.m.

Other popular exhibits include the Rose Garden (MG class of 2009 project), crape myrtles (see colorful blooms on both bush and tree forms right now), UT ornamental grass trials (the size and texture of these grasses really grab spectator attention), the UT hydrangea full sun trial (some of these beauties have proven they can take the hot sun and 2010’s summer temperatures have certainly been sizzling) and the UT redbud trials. While strolling through the redbuds, seek out those whose beauty goes beyond spring flowers. Among redbud cultivars remarkable for unusual growth patterns that provide year-round interest is the Hearts of Gold redbud, Cercis canadensis ‘Hearts of Gold’ which has big, distinctive, heart shaped, golden leaves and grows 20 feet in height, the umbrella shaped Lavender Twist redbud, Cercis canadensis ‘Covey’ has contorted, weeping branches and tops out at 8 to 10 feet, the shortest of the atypical redbuds in the trial display grows more horizontally than vertically.

More speakers, times and events scheduled for August 31 include Roses, An Explosion of Color (11 a.m. and 3 p.m.) by research specialist Jimmy Mynes who can help you select a carefree, disease resistant rose cultivar that’s right for your home garden and Better Ornamental Grasses and Hydrangeas for Colorful Landscapes (10 a.m. and 2 p.m.) where Mark Windham will showcase ornamental grasses and hydrangeas currently growing within Discovery Gardens.

Pat Lanza, author of the Lasagna Gardening books who can be seen on TV and heard on the radio, will be speaking at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. She will also sign books in the Master Gardener tent at 11 a.m. and 3 p.m. An interactive DVD showing plants suitable to Tennessee’s Cumberland Plateau will be sold in the MG tent throughout the Festival ($10). Sample DVD content may be viewed online at the Cumberland County MG website, www.CCMGA.org.

•••

Plateau Gardening is written by Master Gardeners for those tending home landscapes and gardens in Tennessee’s Upper Cumberland Region. UT Extension Cumberland County at P.O. Box 483, Crossville, TN 38557 (484-6743) has answers for horticulture questions, free publications and details on how to become a Master Gardener. Send email comments or yard and garden inquiries to Master Gardener Rae, mgardenerrae@frontiernet.net.

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