Plant Basics

Every plant has different requirements and preferences as to soil type, moisture, sunlight and temperatures. Some plants are easier to grow and cultivate in sandy soil.

The color, shape and fragrance of a flower is important and even vital to its survival. This is because in order for the plant to make seeds and reproduce, male pollen has to be transferred in...

You can preserve the harvest of your garden by drying items like fruits and flowers. Fruits are an ideal food to preserve because you can choose edibles that are not always in season and dehydrate...

For many people, gardening is one of the most relaxing and beautiful experiences in their lives. Every garden is an individual statement about who its owner is as a person and what her tastes are....

Buying plants by the flat can be a convenient and affordable way to purchase annuals for your garden.

Tiger lilies, calla lilies, blue bead lilies---there are hundreds of variations to the plant family known as liliaceae. There are four main categories for lily plants, and each has distinguishing...

Cut flower arrangements are beautiful additions to any home. However, cut flowers do not last long before they die and must be thrown away. One popular way to preserve flowers is to dry them....

The bird of paradise is an exotic houseplant that is a native of South Africa. Known for its vibrantly beautifully, spiky flowers, is also poisonous if it is ingested. One of the most important...

Magnolias are majestic flowering trees, growing anywhere from 15 to 40 feet depending in which region it resides. The flowers are large, white and fragrant and bloom from May through June and...

Daylilies are strong flowers known for blooms that last one day, hence the name. They have developed a strong ability to adapt to their growth environment. These flowers thrive in an area where...

Mixing herbs, vegetables and flowers is common in the kitchen, where herbs add flavor to foods and flowers add both flavor and visual appeal. The technique of planting flowers and herbs among...

Butterfly bushes attract a lot of attention due to their lush leaves and richly colored flowers. The flowers attract hummingbirds and butterflies to drink their sweet nectar and further decorate...

Verbena is a flowering herbaceous shrub grown as an annual or perennial depending on location and climate. It is grown as an ornamental plant and attracts bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds in...

Paying just a little extra attention to your flowerpot garden will promote successful blooms on your plants. Any flowers grown in a garden can also be planted in a pot. Potted flowers are great...

Originally from Southeast Asia, the kiwi has gained popularity in the last 25 years. In the United States, commercial farmers grow kiwi plants in the South and along the West Coast. The sweet...

Rhododendron is a genus that has more than 1,000 species of shrubs and trees. Popular rhododendrons include azaleas, blueberries, mountain laurels and heathers. These types of plants generally...

Annual flowers are flowers that finish their life cycle in one growing season. Annuals are usually classified into three groups: hardy, half-hardy and tender.

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...

Several kinds of flowers look like artichokes, but the one that most resembles them is the cardoon, a mostly decorative thistle species that sometimes features in Italian cooking.

Louisiana is a humid, subtropical state with a rich array of native plants and flowers that love heat and moisture. As Louisiana's second largest city, Baton Rouge is not particularly green with...

Cucumbers are a tropical vegetable that thrives when the weather is hot and water is plentiful. They can dazzle a salad or be pickled to enjoy later, but a gardener must ensure proper pollination,...

Astilbes are long wispy flowers that come in shades like pink, red and white. These perennial flowers bloom in the spring and summer months. Their fern-like foliage adds a whimsical element to...

The Lenten rose (scientific name Helleborus orientalis) is a flowering perennial known for its dark green leaves and stunning flowers in multiple colors. It is most prominent at the crossroads of...

The water hyacinth is a floating plant that's found in freshwater habitats around the world. It's known for its striking stalks of lavender flowers and masses of waxy, rounded green leaves. From...

To the non gardener potato plants are associated more with digging and dirt than flowers. However, those who grow potatoes know that each year they produce beautiful summer blossoms.

The most widespread and most decorative kind of Weigela is the Weigela florida, a shrub that characteristically grows to 6 to 8 feet tall. This type and its hybrids account for nearly all of the...

The yarrow is a flowering plant with a sage aroma, well suited to meadows and field edges. It is widely thought to be too weedy for garden use, although many varieties with different colored...

Identifying plants and seeds can come in handy for gardeners and plant enthusiasts. It can also be of extreme importance in the case of identifying a plant or seed that a child or beloved pet has...

Texan is a large state with 267,399 square miles of growing area that includes mountains, prairies, piney woods and deserts. There are thousands of different plants growing wild; plants imported...

The bottlebrush tree (Callistemon) is a low-growing tropical tree that blooms with bright red, bottlebrush-shaped flowers. The bottlebrush tree is closely related to the melaleuca tree. Bees,...

Daises are among the most liked flowers in the world, coming in fifth behind roses, carnations, chrysanthemums and tulips. Among the daisy family, gerbera daisies stand out as the clear favorite....

Japanese knotweed is a hardy plant that grows quickly, spreads rapidly and thrives in all types of environments. Outside of its native Japan, it is considered to be an invasive plant due to its...

By early May, gardeners' fingers are itching to get into the dirt. And those folks who have gone through a long, cold winter are eager to add some color to their landscape. A trip to the nursery...

Living in an apartment or a house with a small yard should not prevent you from growing plants. Many varieties of plants, flowers, herbs and vegetables can be grown in containers. Container plants...

Hawaii's tropical weather permits various kinds of plants to grow throughout its islands. The most beautiful flowers can be seen near forests while other plants grow near rocks and water. There is...

Flowers come in many different shapes and sizes, but they all contain a combination of the same basic parts. The parts of a flower are designed to allow the plant to reproduce effectively.

Plants add color and life to any pond. They provide oxygen, food and shelter for the creatures that live in a pond, and can transform a boring body of water into a tranquil sanctuary instantly....

Michigan has a large variety of flowers that can be found near roads to inside forests to near lakes and river banks. The most common colors of flowers in Michigan are purple, pink and white. They...

Flowering plants do more than make us smile or help us mourn our departed. Their benefits reach far beyond a pleasant scent. Flowers and their products provide food and habitat for humans and...

Complete flowers are those that have all four basic parts of a flower. Starting from the bottom-outside of a complete flower and moving inward to the center, you find the sepals, the petals, the...

A landscape has two parts: the hardscape and softscape. The hardscape is made of all the non-living components like the pavement, lighting and outdoor furniture. The softscape is all the the...

The sheer variety of plants and flowers on the African continent is immense. The number of these that are capable of being eaten, however, represents a more manageable list. From the flowers of...

Hawaii does not have any poisonous snakes or insects, but there are few poisonous plants found in Hawaii. As a precaution, never eat or taste any fruits, seeds, flowers, leaves or roots of a plant...

Fruits and vegetables are not the only parts of plants that humans can eat. Leaves are commonly consumed in the form of lettuce, Swiss chard, spinach and other leafy greens. Edible roots are...

You would like to grow plants and flowers in your yard, but some of the beds are located under pine trees. Not only do these evergreens provide continual shade, the pine needles they drop...

Every plant is made up of four essential parts that scientifically classify it as a plant. Each of these four parts plays an important role in helping the plant to grow and thrive. While you may...

If your yard is covered with pine needles from several mature pine trees, use the needles as mulch rather than bagging and discarding them. According to the Ohio State University Extension...

Viewed by some people as a weed and others as a beneficial herb, dandelions are a ubiquitous garden presence no matter how you see them. Learning the facts about this flower will help you know...

Make money selling plants and flowers if you are in a financial crunch, or even if you just have an abundance of greenery. Selling anything is helpful to get some fast money, but many people do...

Salvia, commonly known as sage, is the largest genus in the mint family, with more than 900 species. These species range from annual plants grown as herbs to perennial shrubs grown for ornamental...