ARTICLES TO READ

Basil Varieties Common basil (Ocimum basilicum) includes a number of different basils most commonly used for cooking. Sweet basil Your basic basil, with large leaves and white flowers. The Genovese variety (names include Sweet Genovese and Genovese or Genova Profumitissima) is particularly nice, with a very pleasing flavor preferred for pestos. I've also found it a vigorous, luxuriant grower, slow to bolt. Guidelines for Successful Tree Planting Planting a tree is a long-term investment. Your tree will do the best if you take the time to get it off to the best start by planting and caring for it correctly. Gardening Tips for Attracting Birds The National Wildlife Federation has designated the entire month of May as Garden for Wildlife Month. Next up in our weekly series about creating wildlife habitat gardens are some tips on attracting birds from the Federation's Naturalist David Mizejewski. Planning for Peaches Few gastronomical treats come close to the season's first bite into a peach: the faint tingle of fuzz on your lips, the flesh, softer and sweeter than you remembered, and the trickle of juice down your chin, warm, sticky, and wonderful. Harvesting Onions There's never a time when onions aren't ready for harvesting. They can be picked and eaten at any stage. No matter how many onions you use during the season, though, it's nice to have a crop of big onions mature at the end of summer to store for the fall and winter months. Hibiscus: Plant Care and Varieties Hibiscus are deciduous shrubs with dark green leaves; the plants can grow to 15 feet tall in frost-free areas. Flowers may be up to 6 inches diameter, with colors ranging from yellow to peach to red. Hibiscus can be planted singly or grown as a hedge plant; they can also be pruned into a single-stemmed small tree. The flowers are attractive to butterflies and hummingbirds. Rose of Sharon: Plant Care and Varieties An erect, deciduous shrub, Rose of Sharon produces colorful, cup-shaped flowers in summer and fall. Other common names include shrub althea and Chinese hibiscus

AWESOME NEW PHOTOS FROM THIS WEEK

Ornamental Onion (Allium 'Millennium'), by csandt: Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Little Big Ears'), by Char: Hen and Chicks (Sempervivum 'Jet'), by valleylynn: Suzanne's Spurge (Euphorbia susannae), by Baja_Costero: Plumeria (Plumeria rubra 'Mary Helen Eggenberger'), by Dutchlady1: Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Online Shopper'), by floota: Rose (Rosa 'Good as Gold'), by csandt: Landscape view by JLWilliams: Landscape view by Fleur569: Landscape view by Fleur569: Landscape view by kniphofia:

NOTABLE DISCUSSIONS FROM OUR FORUMS

Subject	Area	Replies
Why are roses so stressful?	Roses forum	38
Sempervivum 'Plum Pretty'	Sempervivum and Jovibarba forum	29
Tully Herror	Irises forum	23
Plant ID	Houseplants forum	17
My potted roses	Roses forum	16
Is there a crop I can plant over the fall/winter to fix soil?	Ask a Question forum	16
Mister Lincoln - Am I overreacting?	Roses forum	16
unknown weed?	Plant ID forum	16
Vine identification	Plant ID forum	15

THE NUMBERS FROM LAST WEEK:

909 members joined. 5,329 posts written in our forums. 884 photos posted to the plant database. 1,008 plants added to personal inventory lists.