 No matter how chaotic it is, wildflowers will still spring up in the middle of nowhere. -Sheryl Crow
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The Lilies of Summer
When the maroon and mauve blooms of my stargazer lilies open, the house is filled with their intoxicating fragrance. To keep them company, I grow many other kinds of lilies, adding bold splashes everywhere just as many of my spring-blooming perennial flowers are tired and faded. |  |
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How to Grow and Care for Milkweeds
The exclusive host plants for caterpillars of the monarch butterfly, milkweeds play a critical role in their life cycle. There are many species to choose from; select the best one based on your region and garden conditions. |  |
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Growing Cukes in Containers
In many ways, containers and cucumbers are a perfect match. Cucumbers love the warm soil a container provides, it's easier to keep an eye on their water needs, and the new, space-efficient varieties are fast-maturing and high-yielding. |  |
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Making a Water Garden
Bring an exotic touch to your patio, deck, or yard by making a small water garden in a tub. Use a plastic or glazed ceramic container or a plastic-lined, wooden half-barrel as the container, and add aquatic and marsh plants, and perhaps goldfish, for color and drama. |  |
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Looking in the Windows: A Few Haworthias
The Haworthias are a group of small succulents, close relatives of the aloes, from South Africa. In cultivation, they are almost always container plants, due to their size and lack of cold tolerance. They make excellent house plants given strong light. |  |
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Growing "Up" in the Garden
Growing plants vertically, on trellises, arbors, or fences, is the perfect marriage of practicality and aesthetics. They maximize garden space, minimize disease problems, and put beautiful plants in full view. |  |
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Marigolds Send Nematodes Packing
Gardeners have long known of the reported nematode-fighting qualities of some garden plants. French marigolds, in particular, are showing promise at reducing nematode damage to susceptible plants. |  |
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Together with AgroThrive "I always have a big garden but this year I decided to grow all cut flowers! I have 60 varieties of dahlias and very poor conditions but because of AgroThrive my garden is extraordinary. I see differences instantly." - Natalie C. from California, AgroThrive user submission.
Click here to shop.
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Pinnate Boronia (Boronia pinnata)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic, Dry Mesic, Dry
Plant Height: 2-5 feet
Plant Spread: 2-5 feet
Leaves: Fragrant, Evergreen
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Pink
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late winter or early spring, Late fall or early winter, Fall, Winter
Uses: Cut Flower
Wildlife Attractant: Butterflies, Bees
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Tree Philodendron (Thaumatophyllum bipinnatifidum)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb, Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
Plant Height: 10-15 feet
Plant Spread: 10-15 feet
Leaves: Evergreen, Broadleaf
Fruit: Showy, Edible to birds, Other
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: 6"-12", Over 12"
Flower Time: Year Round
Suitable Locations: Houseplant, Bog gardening
Uses: Medicinal Herb, Provides winter interest
Edible Parts: Fruit
Eating Methods: Cooked
Resistances: Tolerates dry shade, Humidity tolerant
Toxicity: Leaves are poisonous, Roots are poisonous, Fruit is poisonous, Other
Pollinators: Beetles
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots, Suitable for hanging baskets
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Rose (Rosa 'Red Cascade')
Bloom size: Small: under 2"
Petal count: double: 16-25 petals
Rose bloom color: Dark red
Extra Bloom Info: In clusters
Rebloom: Good
Class: Miniature
Growth Habit: Very short, 1-2 feet, very bushy; true groundcover rose. Can also be grown as climbing miniature, 6-8 feet tall.
Fragrance: Mild
Hybridizer & year: Ralph S. Moore, 1976
Optimal growing zones: USDA zone 5 and warmer
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Plant Height: 1-2 feet
Plant Spread: 6-8 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant
Flower Color: Red
Flower Time: Spring, Summer, Fall
Uses: Groundcover, Cut Flower
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs repotting every 2 to 3 years, Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Pokeweed (Phytolacca americana)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 5a -28.9 °C (-20 °F) to -26.1 °C (-15 °F)
Plant Height: 6 to 8 feet, possibly 10 to 12 feet
Plant Spread: 4 to 6 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Fruit: Showy, Edible to birds, Other
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: White, Other, Green
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Summer, Late summer or early fall
Uses: Cooked greens
Edible Parts: Leaves
Eating Methods: Cooked
Wildlife Attractant: Birds
Resistances: Humidity tolerant, Drought tolerant
Toxicity: Leaves are poisonous, Roots are poisonous, Fruit is poisonous, Other
Conservation status: Least Concern (LC)
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Natal Plum (Carissa macrocarpa)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9a -6.7 °C (20 °F) to -3.9 °C (25 °F)
Plant Height: 6 feet to 15 feet
Leaves: Evergreen
Fruit: Showy, Edible to birds, Other
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant, Other
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Summer, Late summer or early fall, Fall
Uses: Windbreak or Hedge
Edible Parts: Fruit
Resistances: Salt tolerant, Humidity tolerant
Toxicity: Other
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
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 Photo by gregnc
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 Photo by dirtdorphins
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 Photo by Neela
"After 6 pm there is a narrow window when you can capture the bloom colors at their optimal saturation/ density. Although pretty during the day, blooms come alive and make you dance and sing at sunset!"
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 Photo by Valery33
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 Photo by GigiPlumeria
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 Photo by janelp_lee
"Siberian Squill (Scilla siberica)."
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 Photo by kkaymci55
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 Photo by floota
"SULTRY GIRLS"
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 Photo by Mieko2
"Apricot Whisper - slight rose fragrance"
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 Photo by Drdaninkc
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Together with Victory Seed Company Clyde's Garden Planner is a handy, easy to use, vegetable garden planning tool. This unique slide chart comes with local frost dates and presents gardening events in a "time phased" format. This makes it possible to see the entire vegetable planting, growing and harvesting period at a glance. The chart shows indoor and outdoor planting times relative to spring and fall frost dates for twenty two common garden vegetables. It will save you hours of research and greatly increase your chances of having a successful garden. In addition, the slide portion of the chart gives critical planting information for various vegetable seeds. A very cool and useful tool for only $5. Check it out at VictorySeeds.com.
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
322 members joined.
4,119 posts written in our forums.
1,287 photos posted to the plant database.
657 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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 I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose I would always greet it in a garden. — Ruth Stout
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