Plants, Flowers & Herbs

Composting waste and scraps from your kitchen allows these items to become a rich addition to your garden soil instead of wasting away at a landfill. Vegetable scraps are often composted, but many...

Reforesting a shady area can be a tricky matter. Where trees are already growing, it is difficult to work compost into the ground, as one has to be careful not to disturb the roots of trees...

Whether you transplant flowers into the ground outdoors, you always run the risk of sending your flowers into shock. This is especially true if they have come from a sheltered environment like a...

Black mondo grass is native to Asia. It is a decorative plant, typically used as an accent in a garden or border. This variety of grass can tolerate intense heat and little moisture, but it does...

Using cow manure on your garden is a great way to add nutrients to your soil. According to USA Gardener, the best time to apply cow manure is in the early spring. Make sure that you properly age...

Nellie Stevens holly trees are a wonderful ornamental evergreen shrub, perfect for growing naturally as windbreaks, snowbreaks, privacy fencing and shelter belts. The trees are often pruned and...

There are many varieties of dogwood trees planted in both urban landscapes and country gardens. They are a hardy, vigorous tree, drought tolerant, disease resistant and adaptable to small spaces....

Stevia plants are native to South America, particularly the country of Paraguay. They have the additional names of sweet leaf, sugar leaf or Stevia rebaudiana. This tender perennial is a member of...

Irish moss, also known as Scotch Moss or Sagina subulata, is not a true moss but rather a low-growing groundcover that forms dense, bright green mats of foliage. Irish moss is especially popular...

Many people give up on their gardens in the summer, especially in areas with very hot temperatures, where gardens suffer excessive dryness and rot from excess humidity or simply shrivel up from...

The Aspen tree or, Populus Tremula, is a member of the Poplar family of deciduous trees. These pale skin trees usually grow near running water and among moist, irrigated soil. The seed production...

Consider preserving your geraniums before the frost and cold weather take over your garden. Geraniums are often cultivated for their exotic scent. The plants grow in a variety of colors, which...

White licorice plants have long, green leaves, grow to 1 to 2 feet tall and wide and do not produce flowers. They are most often used to offset other plants and for edging around gardens. The...

Pecan trees are native to Texas and other warm climates, growing large, soft and sweet-tasting nuts. They prefer warm weather year-round and do not grow well in containers because their root...

An increased awareness of the multitude of dangers present in chemicals used in many commercial herbicides, fertilizers and pesticides has encouraged home gardeners to use only organic products...

Many people associate hollies with winter holidays. While it is true that holly branches are useful for creating winter decorating arrangements indoors, holly also is a useful and attractive...

Hydroponic gardening is simply growing plants without any soil. This doesn't mean the plants are not planted; they are often placed in a nutrient mixture or gravel. However, the one thing that...

Foliar feeding of plants provides a quick boost of nutrients. It is useful in aiding plants during times when they are unable to pull adequate nutrients from the soil, such as when the soil is...

Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are popular perennial landscape plants. They provide their growers with near endless color combinations, stately landscape filler for bare spots and, for some types,...

Good soil leads to a good vegetable crop. Plants require the right amount of moisture and nutrients in the soil in order to flourish. Most gardens require some work in order to develop adequate...

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), yard trimmings and food waste make up 26 percent of municipal solid waste in the U.S. Yet composting is an easy way to effectively...

There are many varieties of lavender, some of which are hardier than others, but for the most part, all lavender plants require very little maintenance in order to thrive. If a lavender plant...

With little space, we make a little garden. But when space is your problem, where do you put your compost pile? Compost is an essential plant nutrient-rich food to help your trees, shrubs and...

Hosta (plantain lily) is one of the world's most popular plants. At least one type can be found in just about every garden throughout the world. They are easy to care for and very hardy. Hostas...

Oak leaf hydrangeas are a stately perennial shrub. They have large leaves shaped like their namesake, the mighty oak. Their massive white bloom heads hang down from stout branches covering the...

If you love flavorful, fresh tomatoes and are tired of the tasteless fruit often offered in supermarkets, it is fun and easy to raise your own bountiful harvest. Black Kirn tomatoes are a Heirloom...

Jacobinia (technically, Justicia carnea) is also called Flamingo Plant or the Brazilian Plume Flower. A rapid-growing, shade-loving evergreen perennial, it originates from South America, but can...

Hydrangea macrophylla "Shooting Star" is properly Hydrangea macrophylla "Hanabi." Nurseries that grow it for sale as an indoor flowering plant have renamed it. It can also be seen on hydrangea...

If you're an avid gardener--or just want great organic vegetables without going to the farmer's market--you probably already know you need to compost. Compost is the process in which organic...

Many gardeners build compost bins to store organic waste during the winter months. As the compost is stored, it rots to create nutrient-rich mulch placed on flower and vegetable gardens during the...

Most variegated hydrangeas, like 'Mariesii Variegata', are of the lacecap variety. Their small, fertile flowers, which look like tiny unopened buds, are carried inside a ring of larger, sterile...

Basil is one of the most popular and easy-to-grow culinary herbs for home gardeners and gourmet cooks. All plants required basic nutrients to thrive, including nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P) and...

A vegetable garden involves a lot more care than just sowing the seeds and waiting for a tomato to start growing. Vegetable gardening requires planning and preparing the soil. The soil condition...

Good soil is the most basic necessity for a successful vegetable garden. The best soil is rich in organic matter and drains well while still holding on enough moisture and nutrients to feed plant...

Vegetable gardens are an easy project as long as you follow a few rules. Like running a small business, location should be your first concern. The quality of the soil is also important. If care is...

Hardy, drought-tolerant daylilies are among the world's most popular perennial garden flowers. They offer a wide array of bloom color and shapes as well as different scents. Some are tiny with...

Hydroponic gardens are popular with people who live in apartments or don't have large backyards. Without the use of soil or potentially toxic chemicals, you can inexpensively create and maintain...

The castor-oil plant is a fast-growing tropical evergreen. It can grow up to 20 feet tall in the right climate and produces five-lobed spiky foliage. The castor-oil bean has a tendency to...

Roses are some of the most classic, elegant flowers around. They are favorites in the garden and in floral arrangements, and can grow on bushes or climbing vines. Bleu magenta roses grow on...

Grubs are becoming popular for speeding up the break down of waste. Their excrement contains healthy bacteria for lawns and plants. Compost bins should have a dip pan underneath to collect...

The tree peony is a prized, woody shrub that produces fantastically large, fluffy flowers up to 10 inches in diameter. After starting a tree peony, it may take up to three years before it produces...

The Hawaii State flower, the yellow hibiscus (also called Ma'o Hau Hele, or Hibiscus brackenridgei) and the Noni (Morinda citrifolia) are two of the best-known of the many hundreds of plants...

Mamey plants are tropical trees that produce large brown fruits with sweet, orange flesh. These trees produce broad white flowers during pollination, needing male and female or hermaphrodite...

Evergreens add year-round interest and beauty to both country and urban landscapes. Drought tolerant, disease resistant and adaptable to many soil conditions, evergreens flourish in United States...

Many flower gardens will survive with little or no added fertilizers. An added supplement of nutrients will help the garden thrive, increasing the quality and quantity of the flowers and plants....

Growing container gardens is a fun way to pass the time for many people. For those that have little or no land to plant standard gardens, pots are the only way they can enjoy the plants they so...

Variegated grasses make an attractive addition to any landscape and are sometimes arranged in gardens containing only decorative grasses. Many variegated grasses produce tall seed plumes later in...

Many species of japonica shrubs fill the gardening market, each more beautiful than the last. Distant cousins to holly bushes, with dark, glossy evergreen foliage and showers of winter blossoms,...

Date palm trees (Phoenix dactylifera) are the oldest fruit trees cultivated by man. Grown in warm and sunny climates around the world, date palm trees are hardy to 18 degrees F; date trees prefer...

According to the Texas Almanac, West Texas is a combination of high, rolling plains and arid desert, with temperatures ranging from below zero in winter to well over 100 degrees in the summer....