Plants, Flowers & Herbs

Flowers make a lovely addition to any garden. The trick to flowers is keeping them healthy without allowing them to be choked by weeds, which prohibit flower growth and look terrible. Weeds are...

Primroses make a lovely addition to the shady areas of your garden, but when they haven't received the proper care, it shows. While these flowers are not difficult to grow, they do require certain...

A native of South Africa, Freesia hybrida is quite hardy and can survive in dry environments. Planted as corms (bulbs), they offer your garden trumpet-like blooming flowers that grow in a cyclical...

English Ivy is a member of the Ginseng family. The Latin name is Hedera helix. There are two forms of English Ivy. The juvenile form grows well in the shade, can grow vertically and is identified...

Native to North Africa, the Atlas Blue Cedar (Cedrus atlantica 'Glauca') is a highly prized evergreen ornamental landscape addition that reaches 40 to 60 feet at maturity. The cedars blue gray...

Pines make a wonderful evergreen tree specimen on your property. Extremely hardy, they can endure the harshest winters. They can be cultivated as far north as the Arctic Circle in Canada and...

Gardens produce beautiful flowers and foliage during the warm spring and summer months. However, once fall and winter arrive these same gardens are often dead and unattractive. But it doesn't have...

Tomato plants are extremely popular with home gardeners. They are some of the easiest vegetables when it comes to growing and maintenance, and their fruit is widely versatile. Gardeners and...

Like with any plants, the key to growing healthy tomatoes is proper watering techniques. Tomatoes can suffer from both too much and too little water, and the results can be devastating to the...

With winter around the corner, preparing your perennials for cold weather is a must to ensure a vibrant showing the following spring. Winterizing butterfly bushes (Buddleia davidii) will help...

Daylilies are popular landscape perennials. They range from short and compact to tall mounds of grass-like foliage. Their bloom colors include red, white, yellow, peach, purple, and nearly black...

Gardeners can plant specific vegetables to help control the amount of weeds in their gardens. Companion planting and intercropping are organic methods of pest and weed control. Planting to control...

Dahlias are well-known for their large, many-petaled flowers that come in a stunning array of colors and shapes. Native to the mountains of Mexico, dahlias perform best in areas with warm days and...

Propagating plants from cuttings is a relaxing and fun hobby. Plants created by taking stem cuttings will grow true to their parent plants and usually have a better start on life than those grown...

Drought and wind resistant, Black Walnut trees, also known as the American Walnut or Eastern Walnut, are a favored landscape tree in both rural and urban landscapes. Strong and sturdy, the Black...

Bamboo adds an undeniable level of grace to any area. Originally native of China, these plants are incredibly easy to maintain. They grow quickly, getting as high as 20 feet in one season....

Dwarf burning bushes (euonymus alatus 'compacta') have the same cultural requirements as full-sized burning bushes. The only difference between the two types of burning bush is size. Dwarf burning...

Dwarf holly bushes are slow-growing shrubs that grow between 2 and 5 feet tall. The branches are dense and the evergreen leaves grow thick, forming a low mound that is great for landscaping. Most...

Hostas are herbaceous (leafy stemmed) perennials that spend the cold winter months dormant. Hosta leaves die back to the crown (where new growth emerges) after the first hard frost. Removing the...

"My Monet" is the trademarked name (registered to Spring Meadow Nursery, Inc.) of a relatively new cultivar of the classic flowering shrub Weigela. The first dwarf Weigela, at maturity it reaches...

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...

Oranges are a popular Sunbelt fruit, with a cheerful look, heady scent and bright citrus taste. The trees are also quite attractive, with their glossy, dark green leaves and bright white blossoms....

Anise hyssop is a fragrant flowering herb, with leaves tasting of anise and attractive purple flowers. Gardeners debate whether anise hyssop is a true herb or a wildflower; regardless if the...

Growing a tomato yield worthy of bragging rights is a matter of mastering the basics. The leaves of the tomato plant should not be watered. This means that a long rainy season or a regular...

Mock orange is a large and beautiful perennial shrub. During the spring, it is covered with thousands of blooms that smell like orange blossoms. The flowers feed an entire array of beneficial...

The Fraser fir (Abies fraseri), sometimes also called the southern balsam fir, is an evergreen conifer trees beloved for its soft needles and shape, often used as cut Christmas trees. Care after...

Tulip poplar trees actually belong to the magnolia family and not the poplar family. They feature green leaves and cup-like yellow or white blooms that resemble tulips. One tree in North Carolina...

Lemon trees are a popular home and garden crop. Who can resist a glass of fresh lemonaid, or a bowl of homegrown lemons bringing a fresh scent into the kitchen? The biggest problem with this...

Basil, a commonly grown herb, is often used as a natural insect repellent. However, even this plant has its share of predators and must be protected from the insects that eat up the leaves before...

Few sights are more beautiful than a rose garden in full bloom. Whether you prefer classic rose bushes, old-fashioned climbers, shrub roses or a combination of them all, the most important step in...

It's hard to imagine a kitchen garden without two indispensable culinary ingredients, onions and garlic. Both are easy to grow, and require very little space. For best results, plant garlic cloves...

Fig trees produce sweet, exotic fruit and have a unique leaf that adds texture to any garden. The tree is adaptable to most climates, but will not survive extreme dangers of frost. It is important...

Pansies are a colorful annual. Planted in beds and borders, they prefer cool weather and may not survive in the summer heat. In areas with little winter frost and minimal snowfall, they are...

Homeowners around the world have plants in their yards, gardens, and sitting on their porches. Outdoor landscaping is an integral part of owning a well-rounded property. Many homeowners also grow...

Collecting or saving seeds is a great way to save money and to familiarize yourself with the life cycle of the plants that you grow. Most plants produce seeds that can be easily replanted,...

The cherry laurel is large bush that can grow up to 40 feet high and 25 feet wide in extreme situations, but is most often smaller. It is frequently used as a dense hedge, with its thick, glossy...

The highbush cranberry is actually not a cranberry bush at all, but a member of the honeysuckle family. The edible fruits, called "drupes," highly resemble cranberries and even mature at the same...

The flowering dogwood tree is a popular choice for landscapers because of its beautiful flowers, ornamental fruit and its ability to grow in a variety of climates and soil conditions. Dogwood...

Tulips are available in nearly every color imaginable, including a near black, making them a favorite spring flowering bulb. Tulips are a short-lived perennial bulb when compared to other spring...

Lobelias are annuals that produce purple, white, red and blue flowers. Proper maintenance includes regular fertilization and water, planting them in a soil with a pH range of 4.5 to 7.5 and full...

Cardinal flowers, (lobelia cardinalis L) are a tall perennial wildflower with bold, brilliant, large red blooms. These native herbs grow all over the continental United States except in the...

Vinca provides a decorative ground cover of flowers and waxy leaves, but its hardy growth and trailing vines can choke surrounding vegetation, and it is an invasive plant in some areas. Removing...

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...

Black pine trees are majestic and evergreen, but they are also commonly seen in miniature form as bonsai trees. Black pines are available as seedlings from nurseries, but many people prefer to...

The cast iron plant is a green, leafy plant that can grow up to 2 feet high and is typically used for ornamental purposes. As its name suggests, this botanical is known for its hardiness. It is...

Growing an organic garden is a cost-efficient way to provide your family with organic fruits and vegetables during the summer and even in the winter if you plant your organic vegetables in a...

Stevia is widely used as a natural, calorie-free sugar substitute. The stevia plant is a challenging herb to grow, though it has proven to adapt to a variety of environments. With proper planting...

Poppies are a beautiful and hardy addition to any garden, and they require very little care while they are growing. Poppies will bloom throughout the late spring and summer if you continue to cut...

Lavatera, also known as rose mallow, is an annual plant that re-seeds itself if bare ground is available. The plant is native to Europe and is found now throughout North America. Lavatera requires...

You are thinking of a garden full of flowers. You can see the flowers blooming in your head that will last til Winter. Wrong! First, you start little. Take paper & write down these things....