Men’s Cooking Night! Last night I had a great lesson in biscuit making from my friend and mentor, the epitome of a Southern Gentleman, Bennett Baxley. Bennet keeps a great garden from which he shares tons of plants. But last night, he set up a lesson, in his kitchen, to teach me his favorite biscuit making technique. Before that we had a few beers and walked through his summer garden.

It’s not too late to plant

You know, you still can plant lots of veggies. And you can plant lots of flowers from seed. And you can plant lots of sub tropicals. Such a myth that you cannot plant in the summer! In fact, as long as you can water, lots of plants are better off planted now than in the fall. They have time to make lots of roots, to make lots of bulk and get stronger for winter protection.

Here are some things you can still do before fall:

– Seed in Cosmos, Amaranth, Marigolds, Cleome
– Plant burgundy crinum, yellow datura, white lantana and blue plumbago
– Prune and shear to keep hedges and accents in shape
– Scout for Japanese Beetles on roses, hibiscus, muscadine
– Liquid feed your summer annuals with MiracleGro
– Prune all the little side shoots of bamboo plantings. This reveals the canes and height of bamboo. We did this with a tall step ladder so we could about 20 up giant bamboo.
– Take notes and pictures!

Here’s what looks great in the Summer garden right now:

– Casterbeans
– Phlox. There are great new cultivars out now, but you can’t beat the old, tall garden phlox with fragrance!
– Abelia chinensis does beat the old fashioned one! Just coming into flower.
– Hibiscus Blue River II and Fireball are my favorites
– Crinum, of course. Just about finished with current flush, Cecil Houdyshel but just starting are Bradley and Ellen and Rose Parade
– Hymenocalls—River Lily, Fourth of July Lily, Spider Lily—whatever you call it!
– Beauty Berry