Many gardeners with shady, low-light landscapes mistakenly believe they can’t enjoy beautiful gardens and flowerbeds because of the lack of sunlight. In reality, however, many stunning perennials thrive in shady spots and can bring elegance, color and beauty to what was formerly a drab corner of the yard.
“Ice plants” refer to several types of plants, usually having fleshy thick leaves. However, after an introduction to Delosperma, you’ll know it as the real-deal. As a group of tough groundcovers, they flourish in full sun in well draining soils with little water, after becoming established. Plus, they’re colorful!
Viburnums are one of the most outstanding groups of shrubs for use in landscape planting. Varying in height from 2-30 feet, viburnums can be found to suit most any planting location. Their varied growth habits, excellent foliage, striking and fragrant flowers, showy fruit and interesting winter appearance make them an…
Beautiful, showy clematis are not as difficult to grow as you might think. Learning when to prune your clematis and giving a little attention to their few requirements will reward you with a magnificent show of colorful blooms. Planting Clematis A beautiful clematis starts with proper planting. Clematis prefer to…
Amsonia hubrichtii, commonly known as Arkansas blue star, Arkansas amsonia or threadleaf bluestar, grows 36 inches tall and 36 inches wide in a mounded form. This hardy perennial grows in hardiness zones 4-9 and is a versatile North American native ideal for many landscaping uses in all types of yards…
Lousy soil? Not to worry! Try growing in a raised bed. Popular in colonial times, this style of gardening is making a tremendous resurgence and is ideal for many types of gardening ambitions. Why Raised Beds There are many benefits to gardening above the grade, including… Better Soil Conditions Growing…
Rejoice! You no longer need hedgerows, trellises or complicated stakes to grow raspberries. You won’t need armor-like gloves either. Now you may grow thornless raspberries in your garden or in containers on your patio, deck or front porch.
Many of us love mint. With many different flavors of mint available at garden centers, it is easy to want to plant one of each. Planning ahead makes this possible to do, but lack of planning may have you tearing them all out.
The durability of some plants is absolutely amazing. A number of them are so robust that they may even be tread on! These are the plants to choose when filling in the space between pavers, walkways, patios and steps. Placing plants in the gaps of your hardscape will soften its…
Espalier is the process of training trees or shrubs, by pruning and trellising, to create a vertical, two-dimensional, formal pattern. The purpose of espalier is to artfully train a tree to grow in limited space, to provide pattern and texture on a solid wall, to grow fruit in a limited…
Tomatoes and peppers are two crops you can never have too much of. They freeze well without the difficulty of blanching, and although the texture of tomatoes disintegrates, the flavor remains good. Both tomatoes and peppers offer brilliantly colored fruit that can be particularly attractive in the garden or in…
It is an awesome sight to capture a glimpse of a ruby-throated hummingbird hovering over the flower garden on a sunny summer morning. One or two a year may be seen seeking food in the landscape, sampling everything in their path. Unfortunately, they leave as rapidly as they arrive. This…
Root crops are among the easiest vegetables to grow, and often the first and last vegetables in the garden to mature. Your garden may produce enough vegetables to take you through the entire year and, if kept correctly, root crops will last a long time in storage. These vegetables are…
Begonias are a beautiful and diverse group of plants, with more than 1,500 species. Some are suitable for use as bedding plants or in container gardens, some for hanging baskets and others for indoor cultivation. Begonias are treasured not only for their colorful flowers but also for their unique foliage,…
We just love incorporating natives into the home landscape! Including native plants is an important part of sustaining local pollinators and wildlife. They are all low maintenance and, wow, are they beautiful!