Middle South
May, 2011
Regional Report
Shows & Events
Garden Jubilee Festival
Head to Hendersonville, North Carolina, May 28 and 29 for the annual Memorial Day weekend Garden Jubilee street festival. This year's event offers more than 100 vendors selling merchandise and plants for the lawn and garden, as well as handmade arts and crafts, good food, hands-on projects for children and more. For more information, call Henderson County Travel & Tourism at (828) 693-9708.
Favorite or New Plant
'Miss Kim' Lilac
If there is one plant that transplanted Northerners wish they could grow in the Middle South, it is lilac. Unfortunately, common lilac (Syringa vulgaris) and its vast number of French hybrids need a longer and more severe period of cold in winter than our climate provides, and without that deep chill they're unlikely to thrive.
A better choice for the Middle South is 'Miss Kim' (Syringa patula), a selection from China and Korea with a lovely, rounded form. 'Miss Kim' is the shrub I see most often in my neck of the woods, and unless we suffer a late freeze, it reliably produces abundant clusters of fragrant, pale lavender flowers in April.
'Miss Kim' is also a good fit for most landscapes, growing just 6 feet tall and wide. And though its ultimate size may be slightly larger, the shrub will stay small for many years.
