Happy Thursday, Everyone! It’s been nearly three weeks since we moved into our new house and believe it or not, we are still unpacking! Slowly but surely we are making headway. In between unpacking and putting things away we are becoming acquainted with our new yard. There are so many beautiful plantings but I think one of my favorites are the Confederate Jasmine plants!
I am a huge fan of beautiful flowers. And if something is a perennial, so much the better. Continuous pleasure year after year! So, this year when we moved into our new house, there were these two huge climbers on the exterior stone columns below the terrace. They were not in bloom when we first moved in so I wasn’t sure what they were. But my Mother-in-law said it looked like Jasmine. If it has white flowers, it’s called a Confederate Jasmine ( Confederate Jasmine ) . If the blooms are yellow, then it’s called Carolina Jasmine or Yellow Jessamine ( Yellow Jasmine ). You can see from the picture below how the Jasmine beautifully frames the opening from the Veranda to the golf course.
Jasmine plants are fast growers. They can grow between three to six feet per year and can reach an incredible 40 feet high if given the proper climbing structure. The white flowers are also called Star Jasmine and have starry white clusters of delicate flowers and are well known for their sweet fragrance. The foliage is evergreen which is nice too. I read that jasmine is slightly toxic if ingested so be cautious of planting them where children play.
I love how the Jasmine is wrapped around the stone columns of our house. However, our inspector warned against allowing climbing plants on the stone and mortar as it can cause damage over time with the dampness, etc. Our original plan was to cut them down completely, but now I’m sort of smitten. Worst case scenario, we will trim them back and transplant them to a wooden structure somewhere else in the yard in late summer or early fall. Best case, we will prune them and watch closely to avoid damage to the columns.
You can see from the back of the house how large the Jasmine plants have become over the years. I love the fact the plants create a secret garden effect from the course. So far I haven’t seen any evidence of critters or bugs (or worse- snakes) in or around the jasmine. That would be a deal breaker. Another advantage to buying an existing home is the landscape is mature.
This is yellow Jasmine or Jessamine. I heard these are toxic to bees. I will do a bit more research but if that is the case, I will not be planting any yellow ones, no matter how pretty they are. We need our bees!
Our Jasmine vines are planted in decorative pots ( Decorative Planting Pots ) but you can easily plant them in the ground. Just make sure you have a sturdy and safe climbing structure.
What is blooming in your yard? I can’t believe anything is surviving this heat, right? Thanks for stopping by today. I hope you have a great day! xo Dell
4 comments
Dell, thanks so much for the post.Really thank you! Keep writing.
Thank you so much!
Dell, thanks! And thanks for sharing your great posts every week!
Thank you for following along! I appreciate it so much! <3