Top Ten Lists Articles
Tired of growing the same few plants every year in your shade garden? Here are shade-loving plants to help you brighten up your space with showy flowers and fantastic foliage.
Summer sun can be brutally strong in some climates, and it’s not for the faint of heart. These heat-tolerant annuals not only survive in the heat, they thrive in it. They produce more flowers on larger plants as the temperatures rise, making them ideal for growing in warm climates and places with hot summers.
Flowers come in many colors and many forms. One often overlooked type are flowers that feature more than one color. Bicolor blooms come in a myriad of types and in almost every color under the rainbow. They can sport an eye that contrasts to the petal edges, stripes, one color grading into another or a petal edge that contrasts with the main flower color, just to name a few. These bicolored blooms can be a great addition to any garden. Bicolor flowers have become ever more popular over the past few years. I suppose that really shouldn’t be surprising, after all what’s not to love!
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.
