In the Topic Section of Saturday's,
The Vicksburg Post, there was a great article of our classmate, Louis "Sonny" Logue (SAHS) and his lovely wife, Wanda, at their beautiful home and garden in Lake Forest Subdivision. A lot of hard work and sweat went into making their home what it is today. I'm sure they are enjoying the fruits of their labor with family and friends. Happy Gardening you two!
Wanda and Louis Logue sit on a swing in the backyard of their home in Lake Forest Subdivision.
Thoughtful landscaping can add to a home's value ~
Creating an attractive and functional landscape takes vision, a workable plan and the energy to do the job. The lakeside lot on which Wanda and Louis Logue built their house on Lake Forest Drive was fairly shallow with a steep decline to the water.
They designed and built the house with lots of windows to enjoy a view of the lake and added a large tri-level deck around the back of the house. They also hauled in loads of dirt to gentle the slope of the lot and create a relatively level backyard for gardening.
The Logues have three primary garden areas: indoors, on the deck and in flower beds all around their house.
The angle of their house and several large trees in the backyard provide dappled shade for the house and the deck during much of the day.
Enough morning sun penetrates the tees to allow various plants to thrive indoors and on the deck. A huge pot of variegated sanseveria, orchids and tiny bromeliads thrive in the den overlooking the deck.
Several asparagus ferns, which live inside during the colder months, have already been moved onto the deck for the summer. They join pots of colorful inpatients, geraniums, Shasta daisies and lavender in a sunny spot on the deck.
The fragrant Confederate jasmine vines climb up metal trellises secured in other pots on the deck.
Wanda Logue said she will have to move some of these pots to a shady area on the deck later in the season when it gets too hot, but for now the plants are very happy and healthy.
The backyard is occupied by raised beds with gravel pathways between. Louis Logue said he initially removed a significant amount of the dirt from the beds and created his own soil mixture using 25 percent sand and 75 percent shredded pine bark and peat moss. He adds a pound of lime to every 50 square feet of garden area.
He got the mixture from Earl Watts, a successful day lily hybridizer in Hattiesburg. Watts uses the mixture for all of his day lilies and ornamental beds that don't include acid-loving plants such as azaleas, gardenias and camellias.
Louis Logue talks about gardening techniques while his wife, Wanda, watches.
Five of Logue's raised beds are devoted to day lilies. He bought several from Watts and is trying his hand at hybridizing. The seedlings from his efforts occupy the beds in addition to more mature plants.
He anxiously waits to see the blooms on those he cross pollinated. Another bed contains amaryllis and peonies. Three other beds are planted with bearded and Louisiana irises. Stargazer lilies are interplanted with some of the irises.
Other beds contain various plants including lantana hybrids, Mexican petunias, chrysanthemums, Trinity plants (they resemble bright fuchsia spider warts), Naked Lady lycoris, Dutch iris, paper whites and two lovely clematis vines, which are growing on trellises along the edge of the water.
Tomatoes and peppers are interplanted in one of the beds that gets a good bit of sun. Hostas, mophead and lacecap hydrangeas, camellias, liriope, lire sage and holly fern grow in the shaded beds near the deck and side yard.
Pots of bright geraniums in various colors hang on shepherd hooks alongside several bird feeders, throughout the garden.
To deter yellow jackets from nesting in the area, the Logues use a trap constructed with a shallow plastic container of water infused with liquid dish detergent and a stick with a small piece of meat attached.
The stick is angled very close to water level. Louis Logue said the yellow jacket queens try to eat the meat and get caught in the soapy water.
Yellow jackets queens are preparing to lay eggs at this time of year and are attracted to the meat. Most queens lay 200 eggs and even one nest in a garden presents a problem for gardeners because they are quick to sting.
This is the only time of the year that you can use this type of trap.
Large rosemary bushes flourish near the gravel pathways as well as in tall urns at the front door.
Wanda Logue said she clipped off several small branches of a rosemary plant to add some greenery inside during the winter. She stripped off the bottom leaves so they would not decay underwater and kept refreshing the water for several months.
She said they remained green and fresh the entire time, and she was surprised to see they had rooted when she took them out of the vase. They planted them outside and they have done well.
Storage often is an issue for gardeners, so the Logues built an attractive wooden storage building that blends in well with their property. It sits near the lower raised garden beds.
One side of the storage building has a screen porch which they use as a potting shed.
There is room inside to store the lawn mower, tools and other items. Last winter Louis Logue added plastic sheeting over the screened porch area and used it as a small greenhouse.
The Logues' lot might have been a challenge to most of us, but their efforts have paid off.
Wanda Logue said they live in New Orleans before moving here. They gardened there and their Realtor commented that their house sold quickly due to their landscaping.
Attractive, well-planned landscapes add value to any home, plus, they bring significant enjoyment to those who like to garden.
Miriam Jaboour, a Master Gardner and Master Flower Show Judge, has been active in the Openwood Plantation Garden Club for over 35 years. Write to her at 1114 Windy Lake Drive, Vicksburg, MS 39183
