Archive for the ‘Annuals’ Category

Best Annuals Of 2017

Each year Greenhouse Grower* magazine compiles a listing of the best annuals selected by field garden  staff and garden visitors to 19 public and seed company trial gardens across the U.S. Talleying the resuts, thirty-five (35) varieties appeared more than once, with Salvia ‘Mystic Spires Improved’ and Alternanthera ‘Purple Prince’ appearing five times. Before proceeding further, keep in mind […]

Steps To Making Gardening Easier

  Take an inventory of your gardening time, talley up of costs, and develop a plan how to make your garden space more beautiful with less work and cost to you. Plant Smarter Simplify! For example, in my zone 6 garden, bigleaf hydrangeas disappoint  tow out of three years and they’re water hogs in the summer. Smooth (AG) hydrangeas (like […]

Geraniums Enjoy The Cool Autumn Season

  Annual geraniums (Pelargonium x hortorum) are popular bedding plants in the garden or in all kinds of containers including window boxes or hanging baskets. Color choices include red, pink, rose, salmon, orange, lavender, violet, or white. High summer heat is challenging for all geraniums. Some types of geraniums stop blooming completely and perk up […]

Tis The Season For Ornamental Kales and Cabbages

Ornamental cabbage and kale (Brassica oleracea) are very close related to the same vegetables that we eat at our kitchen table. They are edible, just not as tasty. Plants are biennials, e.g. they produce leaves one year and flower the following spring. Ornamental kales have deeply cut serrated or ruffled leaves while leaves of ornamental cabbage […]

Seeds One Year…Weeds For Eight Years

Most weed invasions happen when you let the weeds get past you. If you don’t let them flower, they won’t reproduce (seed-in). Frequent mowing or a sharp machete may delay their ability to flower and seed. This is only a temporary solution. Some weeds flower and seed below the mower’s cut. Examples are common lawn […]