Plants, Flowers & Herbs

Okra is a great crop for the beginning gardener. They grow well in hot dry areas of the country. A beautiful 3-6 foot tall plant with creamy mallow type flowers. Okra could be grown just for...

When you need something for a plant or vine to climb on, there are many things you can use. You just need to use some creativity to find a captivating place for it to mature. So many, many ideas...

Celery (Apium graveolens) grows a head of long stocks topped with light green foliage (also edible). It loves composted soil rich in potassium.

Carrots (Daucus carota) are a cool weather crop that need deep, loose, rock free, well drained, soil to grow their long, orange, tasty roots. During the dry season, prolonged hot weather may...

Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata)is a leafy vegetable that produces a head of tightly packed, highly curled leaves. It is best grown in cool climates with weekly rain.

Broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica)is a member of the lettuce family. It grows a “head” of edible flower buds. Generally it likes cool days and cooler nights. It requires a fair amount of...

Beets (Beta vulgaris) are a garden all star. They have a lovely color, are fast growing, are little fuss and you can eat the leafy green tops and the beet root.

Cultivating and raising blueberry plants can be an exciting gardening project. Luscious and juicy blueberries result when blueberry plants are around four years of age. Blueberry plants can grow...

Tomato plants are extremely popular with home gardeners. They are easy to grow and maintain, and their fruit is versatile. Many gardeners love to present their home-grown tomatoes to friends and...

Salvia Divinorum is an ornamental plant of the mint genus. This plant can grow up to eight feet in height when properly propagated and cared for on a regular basis. Salvia Divinorum is typically...

Native to just about every continent in the world---Antarctica excluded---poppies symbolize several concepts, especially those related to life and death. The showy flower belongs to the family,...

Blackberries are delicious soft fruits that grow in a tangled mass of shrubbery on thorny canes in fields and thickets in the wild, and are commonly called "brambles" or "caneberries". In the...

Saving your own cucumber seeds may not be necessary, but it is a great way to teach your children about the life cycle of plants while offering the benefit of free seeds for next year's garden as...

Flowers have been used for magical purposes for centuries. The red rose symbolizes deep love, while the daisy invokes feelings of happiness and cheer. Some flowers are used as protective...

Zantedeschia elliottiana, also known as calla lilies, are beautiful flowers from the Araceae genera. Available in white, yellow or pink, calla lily blossoms look like small funnels and are popular...

Croton anisatum is an essential oil extracted from a tree of the same name. Croton anisatum oil is used in aromatherapy, the practice of using plant oils in massages, steam inhalations or baths...

The Knockout rose is easy to grow, drought-resistant and hardy to USDA Zone 4. The plant grows as a compact shrub, presenting clusters of 3-inch blooms. The color of Knockout roses ranges from...

The degree of acidity or alkalinity of soil is rated on a pH scale of 0 to 14. Acidic soils are in the range of 0-7 while alkaline (basic) soils range from 7-14. A neutral pH is 7, although the pH...

Avocados are a prominent ingredient in Hispanic cuisine. There are three different types of avocados. There are Mexican, Guatemalan, and West Indian varieties. All three types need the same...

Roma tomatoes are a variety of plum tomato. These fruits are oblong with a grainy inside texture and contain few seeds. The skin of a Roma tomato is very firm when it is ripe. Unlike other...

A hydrangea is a versatile plant that looks beautiful in any garden. Hydrangeas provide beautiful blooms that are perfect for bouquets and floral arrangements, both fresh and dried. The 'Glowing...

Japanese honeysuckle is an invasive vine that was imported to the Eastern United States from Asia in the early 19th Century. It spread rapidly and proved a tough plant to get rid of, no matter how...

Many people are unaware that the word avocado not only refers to the fruit but also the tree which bares it, scientifically known as Persea americana. The avocado can fall prey to fungal, viral,...

Harvesting seeds from your plants is quite easy and will save you money by allowing your plants to continue to produce its own offspring. There are many different types of plants out there that...

Growing grass in a fully shady area of your property can be difficult. If the soil also has a little sand mixed into it, growing grass there may be even more of a challenge. The secret to lush...

Sometimes fields need to be cleared of crops, yet the most efficient ways to kill crops is using herbicides or other chemicals. This is bad for a variety of reasons, perhaps the most glaring being...

A lot of people confuse the flower of the Heliconia with Bird-of-Paradise since they look very similar. Heliconia, although equally as tropical as its look-alike, is the sole member of its plant...

A fruit tree is a great addition to any yard and an excellent choice for an edible landscape. Fruit trees are not particular about the type of soil they need and are easy to maintain as long as...

This easy perennial has many varieties. The National Arboretum grows about 1,000 types and reports there are about 60,000 different types. The plant is so popular that gardeners nationwide have...

Hydroponic gardening is very timely as the growing medium, the technical term for what anchors the plants, is reusable and recyclable. The growing medium in hydroponics consists of some form of...

There are a number of causes for brown spots to appear on green leaf plants. These may include disease, insects, dehydration or a combination of the three. You can better the appearance of your...

If you want a healthy citrus tree that produces and remains healthy and strong, it is important to stop suckers from taking over. Suckers can overtake the original plant, and sap its strength;...

Whether you plant a pecan tree from a nut or purchase a seedling, you will need to top work the tree with a graft of the cultivar you want in order to get a tree that produces properly. The...

Bananas are herbaceous plants native to tropical Southeast Asia. Banana plants produce the seedless banana fruit, valued worldwide for its sweet taste, sticky texture and high vitamin content....

Although they are not difficult to keep, an indoor lily does require a little bit of extra attention in order to thrive. A place with just enough light, proper moisture and regular fertilizing are...

Geraniums are well-loved flowering annuals--plants that live for only one bloom season. Many gardeners start the seeds indoors and then transfer the plants outside when the weather is warmer....

The Lime Light hydrangea is a paniculata hydrangea. It blooms on new wood, that is, stems produced in the current year. The plant can be pruned any time, except in the spring before it blooms....

You can start magnolias from seed, from stem cuttings, by several methods of grafting or by air layering. All methods of propagating magnolias have advantages and disadvantages, but the process...

Vinca minor, also called periwinkle and creeping myrtle, is a creeping ground cover used to prevent erosion on slopes and to cover bare areas under trees and shrubs and around flowerbeds. Vinca...

The spruce tree is a needled evergreen that is appreciated for its beauty and ability to adapt to a number of different soil conditions. Usually found in the colder states in the U.S. and in...

The bottle brush plant, or Callistemon, is a type of flowering shrub. Native to Australia, the shrub is now grown throughout Canada and the United States as both an indoor or outdoor plant. The...

Dahlias are prized in many home gardens for their large, intricate blossoms. Available in a large range of colors and in giant and dwarf varieties, dahlias grace summer gardens with their many...

Making essential oil from flower petals is a process one can accomplish at home with some basic materials. While the process known as enfleurage does not produce highly concentrated essential...

Growing plants indoors is often the only way city dwellers can garden. Even people who have outdoor gardens plant seeds indoors, however, moving the plants outside when spring arrives. A key...

Flowerpots help garden enthusiasts express their preference in flowers, color and form. Outdoor flowerpots provide stunning decorative additions, and basic designs exist for planting flowerpots...

Cucumbers (Cucumis sativus) belong to the family of gourds (Cucurbitaceae). They are indigenous plants to Asia and Africa. Cucumbers are grown all over the United States, but have been grown in...

The Canary Island date palm is a massive palm tree, reaching a height of up to 60 feet with a huge crown at the top that can be up to 25 feet wide. It has a heavy trunk, bearing leaf scars. The...

A trellis is a structure used to support heavy or climbing vines and encourage them to grow upward. While trellises enhance the appeal of your garden, they also serve as a privacy screen, creating...

A panorama of colors and varieties and subvarieties of poppies exist all over the world, from Mexico to Alaska to China and the Himalayas. Their beauty and medicinal properties make poppies one of...

Passiflora Edulis, also known as passion fruit, is a flowering vine from tropical Brazil. Under the right growing conditions the passion fruit vine can grow up to 20 feet in a single year. Besides...