 A garden is always a series of losses set against a few triumphs, like life itself. ~May Sarton
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Time for Color!
With so many flowers getting ready to burst forth, we are reminded of how important color is in our lives and gardens. This is a great time to start observing flower color and learn how to incorporate it effectively into your garden. |  |
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How to Grow and Care for Butterfly Bushes
It is a delight to watch all types of butterflies sip nectar from these shrubs' abundant flowers, which bloom in shades of blue, pink, red, violet, yellow, and white from midsummer to fall. |  |
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Watermelon -- Slices of Summer!
If there's one fruit whose taste says "summer," it's watermelon. Biting into a crisp, sweet, juicy slice of this delectable fruit instantly evokes those hot, late summer days when you were a kid and school vacation still seemed endless. |  |
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Planting a Window Box
Combine flowering plants and those with attractive foliage in window boxes to add color to decks, window sashes, and porch rails, including those trailing, spiky, and shrubby growth habits. |  |
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Gourds in the Garden
Gourds have been cultivated for ages. Today they're still used for containers and birdhouses, as well as for seasonal decorations. And some types of gourds can even be eaten. |  |
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Create a Garden Retreat
If you spend more time working in your garden than relaxing and enjoying it, maybe it's time to create a garden retreat. After all, a successful landscape isn't just attractive, it's also inviting and livable. |  |
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Home Brewed Compost Tea
Compost can be heavy and bulky to transport and spread. Compost tea offers the benefits of compost in a lighter-weight package. It's a liquid version of compost. |  |
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Together with Victory Seed Company This is a picture of the tomato 'Rosy Finch' - it's a "micro tomato" and what you see in the picture above is the maximum size it gets. We grew this fine specimen on our back porch and we were delighted by how well it did. The fruit are a bit smaller than golf balls, quite prolific, and stunningly beautiful. Best of all, they give the same homegrown tomato flavor that we're always looking for. It can easily be grown in small containers on your patio, just make sure it gets enough sunlight. Grab a container and some potting soil, and take a look at our micro tomatoes collection.
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Rose (Rosa 'Friendship')
Bloom size: Very large: 6" or more
Petal count: full: 26-40 petals
Rose bloom color: Medium pink
Rebloom: Good
Class: Hybrid tea
Growth Habit: Tall, 5-7 feet, upright
Fragrance: Strong
Hybridizer & year: Robert V. Lindquist, 1978
Optimal growing zones: USDA zone 7 and warmer
Awards: AARS
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Plant Height: 5-7 feet
Plant Spread: 2-3 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant
Flower Color: Pink
Flower Time: Spring, Summer, Fall
Uses: Cut Flower
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Parentage: Fragrant Cloud x Miss All-American Beauty
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Pony's Foot (Dichondra carolinensis)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Wet Mesic, Mesic
Plant Height: 1 to 2 inches
Plant Spread: Forms large mats to 36 inches
Fruit: Other, Indehiscent
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: White, Other
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late summer or early fall
Uses: Groundcover, Culinary Herb, Will Naturalize, Cooked greens
Edible Parts: Leaves
Eating Methods: Culinary Herb/Spice, Cooked
Resistances: Humidity tolerant, Tolerates foot traffic
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Chinese Tallow Tree (Triadica sebifera)
Plant Habit: Tree
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 8a -12.2 °C (10 °F) to -9.4 °C (15 °F)
Plant Height: 30-40 feet
Plant Spread: 15-20 feet
Leaves: Good fall color, Deciduous
Flower Color: Other, Green
Flower Time: Summer
Uses: Shade Tree
Resistances: Salt tolerant
Toxicity: Other
Pollinators: Various insects, Bees
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Clematis 'The First Lady'
Typical Plant Size: Typically 6 to 8 feet
Pruning Group: Group 1 - Spring flowering, no pruning
Bloom Diameter: Medium - between 4 to 6 inches, Medium/Large - typically 6 inches
Bloom Color (Tepals): Lilac/Lavender hue
Center Color (Anthers): Purple anthers
Bloom Shape: Single
Preferred Light: Prefers partial shade
Moisture Requirements: Average moisture requirements
Disease Resistance: Susceptible to clematis wilt
Plant Habit: Vine
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Plant Height: 6-8 feet
Leaves: Deciduous
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Mauve
Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
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Dalmatian Bellflower (Campanula portenschlagiana Get Mee® Purple)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Plant Height: 6-12 inches
Plant Spread: 12-36 inches
Leaves: Other
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Blue, Other, Purple, Lavender
Flower Time: Late summer or early fall
Suitable Locations: Alpine Gardening
Uses: Groundcover, Cut Flower, Will Naturalize
Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds, Butterflies, Bees
Pollinators: Self, Bees, Flies, Moths and Butterflies, Beetles
Containers: Suitable in 1 gallon, Suitable in 3 gallon or larger
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 Photo by robertduval14
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 Photo by Valery33
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 Photo by AnnKNCalif
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 Photo by Mieko2
"Bess Bockstoce"
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 Photo by floota
"UP AGAINST THE SUN"
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 Photo by Sscape
"Mid Morning Image"
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 Photo by Bloombuddie
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 Photo by purpleinopp
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 Photo by bumplbea
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 Photo by scvirginia
"photo by Cornell Plantations via Cornell University Library's eCommons: https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/1100"
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
327 members joined.
4,638 posts written in our forums.
1,649 photos posted to the plant database.
934 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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 From the end spring new beginnings. Pliny the Elder
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