Top Ten Lists Articles
Purple is the new neutral in the gardening world. It goes with just about any other color you pair it with, from contrasting oranges to complementary pinks and greens. The descriptors “blue” and “purple” are used loosely when it comes to flowers and plants; they describe a whole range of these cool tones. Check out this list of thirteen purple landscape plants you’ll love in your garden.
While lots of people are talking about it these days, gardening for pollinators – insects, birds, and even bats that feed on the nectar, pollen, and leaves for plants - isn’t just a trend. It’s central to plants’ roles in our ecosystem. If you don’t get the appeal of attracting pollinators to your landscape, planting one of these ten shrubs will make you a convert. Each one is beautiful, easy to grow, and the pollinators they bring in will add another layer of excitement to the floral display. Or better yet, try more than one, layering in plants for all seasons, to invite nature’s visitors to your home for months each year.
Clay soil—for many it presents a real challenge in the garden. Though there are lots of ways to improve its texture and drainage, make it easy on yourself and choose to grow plants that naturally thrive in clay soils. Here’s a closer look at ten perennials for clay, shown in order of their bloom times.
Blue is beautiful! It’s also not quite as rare in the garden as some people might think, especially when it comes to shrubs. You’ll find fabulous flowers, foliage, and even fruit in blue hues that add a touch of cool and refreshing color to your garden or landscape. Blue goes with just about any exterior color, including red and orange brick, and plays nicely with other plants as well. When in doubt about how to accentuate your landscape, just go blue!
Everyone always raves about the perfect little black dress. When it comes to gardens I think white is just as important and packs more impact than black. White stands out against green foliage and contrasts with every other color under the rainbow. If you’re ever stuck on what color to add to your planting, it’s hard to go wrong with white. Let’s look at ten awesome annuals with white flowers.
Summer is the time to enjoy the fruits of your spring labor and have fun in the garden. While you’re at it, keep up on these ten basic tasks and your plants will reward you by growing and blooming strong all the way through fall.
The search for the elusive true red flower is over! We know the color red is widely interpreted to mean everything from dark pink to wine purple when it comes to plants. As you plan your spring and summer containers or design your landscape, use this list as a guide to finding the perfect shade of red.
Clay soil is much maligned by gardeners and homeowners everywhere, and no wonder: it’s heavy, sticky, and difficult to work in. But the simple fact is that clay soil gets its bad rap because it’s hard on people - from a plant’s point of view, clay soil is usually not problematic at all. In fact, clay soils offer plants two major advantages over other soil types: they hold water well, minimizing drought stress, and are abundant in nutrients essential for plant growth. So, if you’ve been struggling to achieve your dream garden or landscape in clay soil, cheer up! Here are ten beautiful annuals that will thrive in clay.
Butterflies, hummingbirds, songbirds and bees add wonderful movement and great interest to our gardens. Attracting these winged friends to your garden is a fairly simple matter. Provide them with food, water and shelter and they are happy to come and stay a while. There is a wide palette of plants that will work for both your garden and pollinators.
Flowers may come and go, but fabulous foliage is hard at work every single day bringing beauty and color to shady garden spaces. Some plants with fun foliage act as a backdrop for flashier flowering plants while others steal the show all on their own. Here are twenty of our best shade-tolerant annuals, perennials and shrubs that offer season-long color in containers and landscapes.