What can you plant in your landscape that will bloom beautifully from spring through fall? Hands down, the longest blooming period goes to the Knockout Roses! Here in zone 7, they start blooming around early April and continue on to late fall. This past fall, my double reds continued with blooms until Thanksgiving which was many weeks beyond hard frosts and remained in leaf through early December. Plant these gorgeous specimens in well drained, fertile soil in full sun. With little attention, they will put on a spectacular show for months on end. The Knockout Roses are smaller shrub plants...

Butterfly Gardens are grown to provide protected habitats, protect gardens, and work to preserve our plant heritage. Several times a week, I am asked what one thing I might suggest another person do to help the environment , conserve gardens, and/or improve the general landscape of our community. Time and again, my suggestion is that the singular best and simplest way to make a positive impact on the environment is to cultivate a butterfly garden. More often than not, though, that suggestion is met with this response: “I don’t have the foggiest idea how to start butterfly gardening -- you’ll...

Growing a Rose of Sharon hedge in Your Garden is an excellent way of creating a private garden area during the summer season. Changing the appearance of your garden can be easily done. Regardless of the size of your garden, you don’t have to spend more time, money, and effort in improving its appearance. With your knowledge about Rose of Sharon shrubs , your problem can be easily solved. Like other homeowners, you shouldn’t miss to ignore the benefits of Rose of Sharon bushes . These are the common names of the different species of flowering plants, hardy hibiscus , hibiscus...

Are you ready to start a compost program ? Anyone who has a garden should be composting. It is very easy to do and the benefits are numerous when it comes to enhancing the soil and producing quality fruits, flowers and vegetables. Compost bins in the garden. By definition, compost is the humus like material that results from the decomposition of organic matter. When we grow and remove healthy crops in our gardens, we also remove many of the nutrients in the soil. For sustainable agriculture to thrive, even in a small backyard garden, we must replace what we have taken out of the soil. Good...

You can create unique garden patterns with common flowering shrubs! Your garden sends a message about who you are and what you care about. Have you ever seen those well-manicured hedges at famous locations like Versailles? These send a message of nobility, royalty and attention-to-detail. Do you want to create unique patterns with common flowering shrubs to make a good first impression? Geometric Shapes Words or Animal Landscaping Designs Before a neighbor or business client enters your home, he or she will see the designs of your...

A quick scan of “housing authority community garden success” returns dozens of articles about devoted individuals who have grown community as well as food to sustain citizens in towns and cities nationwide. Many of these gardens first took root over twenty years ago, some are only in their second season, and others are in the concept stage. Crucial to the success of each of these gardens, though, is the feeling of investment and ownership the residents’ feel and rightly claim in regards to their tiny farm plots, the big work they do to cultivate them, and the fruits, vegetables, and...

A lot of attention is paid to beds, borders, foundations, and focal points when it comes to home and commercial gardening, but just about any landscape might benefit from well-placed ground cover plants. A wide variety of ground cover plants are available, but a few choices deliver vivid greens, alluring colors, and hard-to-match benefits to gardens with special needs. Among the ground covers that benefit just about every garden are: Sedums Vincas Ajuga Pachysandra Virginia Creeper Purple Wintercreeper Thymes The most easily recognized...

In The Secret Garden , author Frances Hodgson Burnett surmises, “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden.” Growing up as I have among the plants and flowers that so many of you have taken home of the years, eventually rearing my own children in nature’s nursery, I would have to say that I agree. Everywhere I look, I imagine something better with the right landscaping and an aesthetic understanding of the role plants play in beautifying our lives. My family and I have literally grown like garden components. So it doesn’t surprise me to be asked, “ How might I...

Simply put, xeriscape is landscaping designed toward water conservation, resourcefulness for drought conditions, and use of native plants that have adapted to accept lower moisture levels. Derived from “xeros,” the Greek word for “dry,” successful xeriscaping far surpasses the desert garden look so often associated with it. Before acting on your own xeriscape ideas, consider these elements: Setting Exposures Slopes Soil Irrigation potential With such crucial elements at the center of your garden planning, design is your number one starting place. While many wonderful gardens grow from whimsy...