Lavender is a home garden favorite - an absolute must-have in all gardens. You probably know all the benefits of this evergreen perennial, that’s why you’ve planted it in that beautifully sunny spot in your garden. But what should you plant with it? Luckily, lavender has several companion plants that are just as easy to grow. From flowers to herbs, you can’t go wrong planting these 12 plants with your lavender. There are also a few plants that shouldn’t be planted anywhere near lavender, ...
Foundation plants have many functions. Possibly the most important is their ability to create an enticing, welcoming feeling surrounding a house. They add beauty, soften hard architectural lines, and improve the overall flow of the landscape. The First Step in Making A House, A Home Whether it’s a brand new house or a house that is new to you, the first step to making it feel warm and embracing is to include some foundation plants. Plantings, generally around the foundation of the ...
Choose perennial sunflowers for a perfect fit. They are easy to care for. They also have long lasting, fall blooms. Late in the season, perennial sunflowers are an ode to the beloved summer’s end. Perennial sunflowers lift our spirits, just when the leaves start to change. Usually, the idea of sunflowers in the garden are the tall, single-headed giants. Or the gorgeous, sun-worshiping fields of large golden-headed flowers. These are the annual version of these long-lasting perennial ...
It’s that time of year again – peony season. These delicate blooms are always popular among flower gardeners and non-gardeners alike. Often grown as cut flowers, gardeners wait in anticipation for late spring when they can bring their peonies indoors. While cutting your beautiful flowers, you may find an unwelcomed surprise – ants. They may be a nuisance on your plants and in your home, but there is no cause for alarm. A simple trick will get those pesky ants off your flowers before ...
Drying flowers is the ultimate way to bring summer beauty inside. In this article, we will share the best flowers to choose for drying. Additionally, we will talk about different ways to dry flowers. We will show simple methods to more complex approaches. Calling All Crafters! Dried flowers are a crafters dream! The spectrum of potential projects is limitless. Imagine creating home décor and gifts from beautiful flowers grown in your own backyard. For example, an antique-style dried ...
Create a pink-themed garden with these 21 most beautiful pink perennials. When it comes to flowers, it does not get any prettier than pink! Impressively, pink also brings nature in. A color this attractive to us is also incredibly attractive to important pollinators, beneficial insects, bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds. This extensive list of pink perennials includes plant choices of all shapes and sizes, fit any size garden, soil type, sun/shade exposure, and a wide range of climates. ...
There may not be a better hobby for letting creative juices flow than flower gardening in pots. Style, structure, contrasting and complimentary color combos and foliage textures. The sky is the limit! Here we have gathered an extensive list of the absolute best flowering plants to inspire your next creative flowering pot collection. Non-stop bloomers are available in every imaginable color, shape, and size. Make a structural statement with a mass planting overflowing with your ...
Floral gardens are appreciated for their visuals. Striking colors, delicate blooms, and intricate patterns - it’s not hard to understand why. But the ideal garden should excite all the senses, not just the one. Scent is often the last thought when planning a garden (if it is a thought at all). However, it is one of the best ways to take your garden to the next level. Put fragrance at the forefront of your flower choices this season with any one of these 15 plants. 1. Sweet ...
Lavender (Lavandula) is a lovely evergreen shrub that is well-known for its outstandingly fragrant flowers and foliage. Depending on the variety, the foliage varies from a dark green hue to a silvery gray coloration. Dainty purple flowers adorn each spike. Lavender grows well in containers or you can plant a lavender hedge to outline the landscape. Once planted, the hedge grows about one to two feet tall, and each plant will spread from one to five feet. Consider positioning a ...
This year more than ever I am craving early spring blooming plants. There are still weeks until the first leaves will pop. And I’m just done with brown and gray. I’m really thinking about what I could plant now so that next late winter/early spring, there are blossoms for fragrance and cut flowers to brighten things up. The thought is persisting. Recently I read about how the fragrant blossoms on an early blooming shrub like witch hazel are more precious than a whole blooming border in ...
Annuals might only last for a single season, but the show-stoppers are a must-have for any landscape. They add breathtaking splashes of color in an ongoing parade of blooms or unusual foliage. Best of all, many annuals will grow well in the shady locations where other plants fail to thrive. In this article, we will look at the top 15 annual plants that grow in shade. Top Annual Plants That Grow in Shade 1. Impatients We are putting the best first with the classic ...
Butterflies add that extra special something to the blooming garden. They arrive in waves spring through fall. Not only gorgeous but a symbol of success for the environmentally minded gardener. Butterfly Bloom Time So many butterflies, so little time. For those of us prone to be obsessed with growing spectacular, unique, or rare plants, slipping into a butterfly obsession is an easy fall to make. With over 18,000 known species worldwide, it’s no wonder! From small blue butterflies ...
With hundreds of plant options, thousands of containers to choose from, and endless potential combinations, container gardens are a designer’s dream. They are ideal for novices who may not have much gardening experience or outdoor space, and for experts who want to experiment and explore their creativity in the garden. Container garden design is a matter of personal style and preference. Some like their garden neat, others like them wild. You may prefer foliage, while your neighbor favors ...
The flamboyant dahlia – native to Mexico and the Central Americas – has become a global flower favorite. Whether displayed as cut flowers or grown right in your garden bed, dahlias will always be the star of the show. The many varieties offer choices in shape, size, and color to suit any type of gardener. And they can be grown in containers, making them accessible to anyone, no matter the location. Growing dahlias in containers is not difficult, even for beginner gardeners. But there ...
Growing tall perennials is incredibly fulfilling. Because they grow to such high heights, they grow quickly. Tall perennials are often tough plants that can grow in many conditions. They handle wind and weather and look great doing it. More than just great looks, tall perennials serve many purposes. Use Tall Perennials in the Border to Establish Depth and Textural Interest Put a tight and colorful Garden Phlox among lower growing mounding shaped groundcovers with airy mountains of ...
New gardeners are often shocked to discover just how costly a hobby gardening can be. There are thousands of tools, gadgets, and plants to buy. They may not cost much individually, but the expenses add up remarkably quickly. This problem is compounded in spring – the season of new growth and subsequently, more spending. Fortunately for gardening newbies, there are many ways to start a spring garden that won’t break the bank (and may even end up saving you money!) 1. Start ...
Purple has always been the color of royalty. Many castle gardens boasted the eye-stopping hue in all its grandeur. In nature, purple has always been rare and thought of as exotic or sacred. The Phoenician city of Tyre was famous for its trade in purplish dyes because the color was so favored around the globe. Today, purple perennial flowers continue to reign supreme for landscapes. Show-stopping Purple Perennials Whether you opt to plant a few purple flowers or dedicate an entire ...
For the flower gardener, spring-planted bulbs which bloom in summer and fall are absolutely next level. These amazing plants bring it all to the table, award winning giant blooms, unique styles, forms, and memorable enchanting scents. These are not your everyday annuals that grow, bloom, and die all in one season bringing color and interest to the garden. Nor are they the steadfast, trustworthy perennials that show up year after year, with their timely blooms, forms, and functions. These ...
To help you decide what to grow in your garden, we’ve put together this list of the 40 best plants to grow in alkaline soil. If you have alkaline soil in your backyard, this should form a starting point to help you decide which are the best plants for your garden. Do I Have Alkaline Soil? Before you begin to choose plants for your garden, it is important to make sure that you know what kind of soil you actually have. First of all, before you delve a little deeper to discover the pH of ...
An absolute essential for the better organized garden, plant markers set out in spring will save you so much head-scratching throughout the rest of the season. Garden markers are especially helpful when sowing seeds, digging bulbs, and marking freshly sprouted perennials so you know the exact location of each plant. Use them to help distinguish between weeds and cultivated plants, denote which plants you will allow to flower for seed saving, and to practice good crop rotation from year to ...
It is surprisingly easy to get inspired when designing and planting garden areas in total shade. This is a wonderful list of interesting trees, shrubs, perennials, and tender perennials that will make your total shade garden a wonderful place to visit. You’ll be setting up a seating area or hammock in no time for sipping cool drinks and taking a break from the hotter, sun-exposed areas of the backyard. The inspiration comes when we let go of some of those pretty little plant ideas that ...
The Beautyberry shrub is fairly well known to gardeners in their native range. They are found in the south east of North America, from Texas, through Florida, and north to Oklahoma and Arkansas. In those regions, these stunning light purple berries really live up to their name. They bring bursts of color to rich woodland and thickets, and have found a place in many gardens. Beautyberry is far less well known outside of these regions, but the American Beautyberry is hardy down to ...
Yes, milkweed (Asclepias) does grow wild alongside roadways and in vacant lots but make no mistake, it is not a weed. In fact, it is a coveted garden plant favored by not only flower enthusiasts but also butterfly aficionados. The plant produces an abundance of fragrant flower clusters that act as a magnet for garden pollinators. There are four common types of milkweed grown in landscapes Common Milkweed, Whorled Milkweed, Swamp Milkweeds, and Butterfly Weed. They can thrive in a ...
There are many wonderful benefits in creating a wildflower shade garden. There may be an area of the garden that is tucked away and goes unnoticed but with a little attention, could become a dreamy, misty wildflower oasis buzzing with bees and butterflies. Another great reason might be the desire to brighten a shady, old-growth forested area of the backyard. Whatever the reason, there are a number of bright and beautiful wildflowers to choose that tolerate and even thrive in the most ...
