ARTICLES TO READ

The July 2018 Not-A-Raffle-Raffle! A total of 13 prizes lined up - lots of great ones again! Come check it out, get some tickets and try your luck in this month's contest! National Garden Bureau Announces Four Classes for 2019 "Year of the" Program National Garden Bureau, the non-profit organization promoting gardening in North America on behalf of the horticulture industry and its members, is pleased to announce the four plant classes that will be featured in the 2019 "Year of the" program. Patio Gardens Patio gardens soften the transition between indoors and outdoors by bringing plants into outdoor living areas. This might involve something as simple as setting up a few window boxes on an apartment balcony, or as elaborate as enclosing an entire porch with trellised vines, potted trees and shrubs, hanging baskets, and containers filled with annual and perennial flowers. Edible Landscaping - Edible of the Month: Figs Fresh figs are soft, sweet and creamy. They can be used in baking, to sweeten meats or in desserts. The fruits are high in iron, fiber, potassium and calcium. They can also be used as a laxative, so don't go overboard when munching on these fruits. The trees can be grown outdoors in warm climates or in containers in colder climates. Either way a few trees will produce more figs than you'll ever be able to eat. Herbal Tea Recipe Once you've harvesting your herbs for tea, here's how to blend and brew up a healthy pot of tea. Edible Landscaping - How to: Start a Culinary Herb Garden If you love to cook, especially with fresh herbs, then you must have a culinary herb garden. Nothing beats the flavor of freshly picked herbs in soups, stews, sauces, casseroles, pastas, salads and many other dishes. Establishing a Wildflower Meadow A meadow of mixed flowers and native grasses can replace your lawn, cover a slope, or enhance a roadside. Most meadows require much less water and fertilizer than lawns do, and they rarely need mowing. For best results, prepare the soil thoroughly before planting.

AWESOME NEW PHOTOS FROM THIS WEEK

Gazania (Gazania rigens Big Kiss™ Yellow Flame), by Njiris: Blue Passion Flower (Passiflora caerulea), by dawiz1753: Santa Cruz Water Lily (Victoria cruziana), by csandt: Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Trivial Pursuit'), by ARUBA1334: Intermediate Bearded Iris (Iris 'Black Comedy'), by TBGDN: Medusa's Head (Euphorbia flanaganii), by Baja_Costero: Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum 'Mitchell's Gold'), by valleylynn: Landscape view by SCPharmacist: Landscape view by Yorkshirelass: Landscape view by SCPharmacist: Landscape view by Jillz:

NOTABLE DISCUSSIONS FROM OUR FORUMS

Subject	Area	Replies
July 2018 Blooms	Daylilies forum	132
July 2018 Seedlings	Daylilies forum	58
Our Orchid Blooms in July 2018	Orchids forum	54
2018 ........i got a box!!!😁😍	Irises forum	52
July 2018 -- photos and chat	Roses forum	38
I have my acorns!	The June Not-A-Raffle-Raffle!	36
New to lilies	Daylilies forum	32
Bird Photos--July 2018	Gardening for Butterflies, Birds and Bees forum	30
NALS :Something to celebrate	Lilies forum	30

THE NUMBERS FROM LAST WEEK:

921 members joined. 5,627 posts written in our forums. 1,496 photos posted to the plant database. 937 plants added to personal inventory lists.