… plants that are pollinator friendly and play well with the rest of your blooms. Terracotta is a fantastic companion, so basic pottery can look luxurious next to Peach Fuzz. If you’re a … combining multiple kinds of plants per pot, thoughtfully playing with color and texture. Gray is stylish with Peach Fuzz, so silver-leaved plants make wonderful companions, maybe with white … ‘Firefly Peach Sky’ Yarrow With flat flower heads, yarrow is the perfect perennial for spiky or globe-shaped companions. It’s a taller perennial, 32 to 36 …
Type: Blog
… make for happier and healthier plants all year long. Another important benefit of composting is having less landscape debris transported to landfills, making composting an easy way to green your gardening practices. Dig and Divide Late summer into early fall is a good time to dig up and divide perennials that have outgrown their space in your landscape … daylily underperforming in shade or a hosta with leaves that scorch in summer sun? Now is also a great time to move perennials that are not growing in ideal conditions, or to install …
Type: Plant Info
… should first take care of their "dirty" business. Starting with and maintaining healthy soil is fundamental to good gardening, but too often it is overlooked in the frenzy to get those plants in the ground. Since many plant problems can be traced to poor soil, compacted soil, depleted soil, or even the wrong type of soil, it is well worth the gardener's time to learn a few facts about soil science. Fall is an ideal time …
Type: Plant Info
… offered in a bag of mixed seed, you'll see many different birds gathering at the feeder. This is the seed of choice for many because it's reasonably priced and does the job, but unfortunately … rarely eaten and lie scattered under the feeder. To keep things neater, a pricey alternative is a "no-waste" mix, which offers hulled peanuts, sunflower seeds, white millet, and corn pieces, … from yews are loved by many birds, and a thick yew hedge is an example of a good nesting site. Oaks attract about 300 different species of insects, and their nuts are favored by blue …
Type: Plant Info
… of migrating birds as they search for seeds on coneflowers and coreopsis. The Dixon Prairie is a wonderful 15-acre re-creation of six distinct prairie ecosystems that once spanned thousands … other midwestern states. If you haven’t strolled through this part of the Garden, late summer is a good time to do so. There are more than 250 species of native plants on this open, rolling … in the home garden. Swamp Milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) By late July, swamp milkweed is in its glory and the cinnamon-scented pink flowers last a month or more. The flowers attract …
Type: Plant Info
… are equally good for you. They have astringent and decongestant qualities, and their tea is recommended for colds, flu, tonsillitis and fevers. Add 1 to 1½ ounces of raspberry leaves to … several minutes and…voila! Ginger ( Zingiber officinalis ) This has many uses, one of which is a digestive aid. Ginger ale is often used to settle stomachs. The plant's rhizome, or its underground stem, is its useful …
Type: Plant Info
… are the features most gardeners request. And yet the gradual, long-lasting autumn leaf change is one of the most beautiful displays in the plant world. It lasts longer than any spring flower show; it’s different each year; and it occurs in fall, a quiet time when riotous color is least expected. While most of us are familiar with showy sugar maples and majestic red oaks, … in more intimate garden settings. Part of the pleasure in leaf peeping at this time of year is seeing how plants play off each other; how color combinations shift from year to year; how …
Type: Plant Info
… essence," and "the poet's flower." These descriptions alone explain why this flowering vine is cultivated as an indoor plant. Most species of jasmine grown today were originally native to … Jasminum polyanthum The winter-blooming jasmine (sometimes called Chinese jasmine) is one of the easiest to cultivate and is a favorite among growers. A vigorous climber, it usually blooms around Valentine's Day with …
Type: Plant Info
… use as a landscape garden plant. However, the black chokeberry, Aronia melanocarpa , which is more user-friendly, certainly deserves its rising popularity — and serious consideration for … pleasing form than its red-fruiting relative, the aesthetically pleasing Aronia melanocarpa is being heralded throughout the Midwest for its year-round interest. An extremely hardy … of the United States Department of Agriculture, collected plants in Russia to test at an Iowa site. The plants there suckered freely — a trait that may be desirable, depending on the …
Type: Plant Info
… time indoors with some of the most exotic-looking flowers in the plant kingdom. This cactus is a very popular plant, but most people are not aware of its special needs. Not all cacti are … conditions, and homes are often dry. One way to raise the humidity — just for your cactus — is to place the pot with its drip pan on top of a small container filled with pebbles. Pour water … day length provide crucial bloom triggers for the Christmas cactus. The term for this response is "thermo-photoperiodic." Flower buds will form if one of the following conditions is met: a …
Type: Plant Info
