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Recognized in 2013 as the official botanical gardens of the state of Tennessee, the University of Tennessee Gardens located in Knoxville, Jackson and Crossville are part of the UT Institute of Agriculture. Some 4,000 annuals, perennials, herbs, tropical plants, trees, shrubs, vegetables and ornamental grasses are evaluated each year. Both the Knoxville and Jackson gardens are TN Certified Arboreta. The gardens are open during all seasons and are free to the public.

 

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  • May #1
    Plant butterfly weed (Asclepias), parsley, dill, rue and pipevine to encourage butterflies in your garden. The foliage of these plants provides food for the caterpillars. Aristolochia fimbriata is a lovely ground-cover-type of pipevine that is covered each year by the pipevine swallowtail caterpillar at the UT Gardens, Jackson. It may be al little hard to find for sale, but worth seeking out.
  • May #2
    Caladiums and vinca need warm soil. Caladium tubers will rot in cool soil, and vinca will be disease-prone, or exhibit stunted growth. Night temperatures should regularly be above 60 degrees F before planting.
  • May #3
    Old flower stems can be removed from lungwort so not to distract from the lovely foliage.
  • May #4
    Remove the flowering stalks on yucca as they begin to form if you dislike the look of the bloom. Cut them off down in the foliage at the source, and you won't even know they were there.
  • May #5
    Early May is a good time to cut back any woody perennials that need it, such as rosemary, rue, lavender, Santolina and Artemisia. If done before the danger of frost has passed, new growth may appear, and a freeze can kill that new growth and sometimes the entire plant.
  • May #6
    Prune spring-flowering shrubs (azaleas, flowering quince, Forsythia and Loropetalum) soon after they finish flowering, but only if they need it. To keep them from looking like a meatball, follow the taller branches down into the shrub and cut just above a joint.
  • May #7
    A good option for Loropetalums that have outgrown their space is to prune them into a tree-form. They easily can be limbed up by removing lower branches.

 View gardening tips for the entire year.

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