 I love things that are indescribable, like the taste of an avocado or the smell of a gardenia. Barbra Streisand
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Fall Annuals for the South
Summer can be tough on annual flowers in the South. That's why gardeners replant a fall crop of annual flowers to keep the flowering season going into winter. |  |
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How to Grow and Care for Shasta Daisies
Shasta daisies, with their white petals surrounding yellow centers, are similar to the familiar meadow daisy but have larger flowers and bloom from early summer until fall. |  |
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Ecological Strategies to Prep the Garden for Fall/Winter
Over the next several months across the country, gardens will slowly start to transition into winter dormancy. This period of the year can also be one of the most ornamental, with many late flowering plants like the asters and goldenrods coming into full flower. Other plants will have attractive seed heads and many others will have blazing red, golden, and orange autumnal colors. As the gardens become dormant, there are many approaches the gardener can use to make their garden supportive of a variety of ecological functions. |  |
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Storing the Harvest
You can enjoy many vegetables, including winter squash, pumpkins, carrots, parsnips, beets, and turnips, long into the winter if you can provide them with the storage conditions they need. |  |
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Removing Lawn Thatch
Thatch, the buildup of dead grass between living grass and the soil, causes trouble for your lawn when it exceeds 1/2 inch thick. Cutting through and removing thatch improves your lawn's health. |  |
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Let There Be Light, But Not Too Much
Air and water pollution make headlines, but there's another kind of pollution that has a big impact: light pollution. As I watched the evening's fireflies, I wondered how much brighter they'd be if it weren't for the nearby streetlight. |  |
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Pruning a Hedge
Dense hedges start with the right pruning techniques at planting time and regular maintenance each year thereafter, with vigorous, rapidly growing shrubs needing more frequent shearing than shrubs that grow more slowly. |  |
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Ornamental Onions
You'll know these pretty plants are in the onion family from the mildly pungent odor of their leaves when cut, but they certainly won't bring tears to your eyes! Plant them mid-fall for a show next spring. |  |
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Here are some random selections from our Plants Database, selected for inclusion here based on visitor activity over the past week:
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Pink Knotweed (Persicaria capitata)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 7b -15 °C (5 °F) to -12.2 °C (10 °F)
Plant Height: 2 to 3 inches
Plant Spread: Forms dense carpets 2 to 4 feet or more.
Leaves: Unusual foliage color, Deciduous, Malodorous, Other
Fruit: Other
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Pink
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Summer, Late summer or early fall
Suitable Locations: Houseplant, Xeriscapic
Uses: Groundcover, Medicinal Herb, Will Naturalize, Suitable as Annual
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Resistances: Humidity tolerant, Drought tolerant
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots, Suitable for hanging baskets
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Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Black Fury')
Hybridizer: Stadler
Year of Registration or Introduction: 2008
Foliage type: Dormant
Scape height: 30 inches
Bloom size: 5 inches
Bloom time: Midseason
Plant Traits: Diurnal
Bud Count: 16-20
Branching: 3-way
Bloom Traits: Edged
Bloom Form: Single
Color description: black with red edge above yellow to green red circle throat
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35)
Flowers: Showy
Ploidy: Tetraploid
Parentage: Black Market x (Black Briar Bay x Night Wings)
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Chinese Crown Orchid (Eulophia graminea)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Plant Height: 2 to 3 feet
Plant Spread: 12 to 18 inches
Flowers: Showy
Flower Color: Other, Green
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Uses: Groundcover, Will Naturalize
Resistances: Salt tolerant, Humidity tolerant
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Hogwort (Croton capitatus)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Annual
Sun Requirements: Full Sun
Plant Height: 1-2 feet
Plant Spread: 12 inches
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer, Summer
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic
Uses: Cut Flower, Erosion control
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Horseherb (Calyptocarpus vialis)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade, Partial Shade to Full Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 8a -12.2 °C (10 °F) to -9.4 °C (15 °F)
Plant Height: 6 to 12 inches
Plant Spread: 6 to 12 inches
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: Yellow
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late summer or early fall, Late winter or early spring, Fall
Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic
Uses: Groundcover, Will Naturalize, Erosion control
Wildlife Attractant: Butterflies, Bees
Resistances: Deer Resistant, Humidity tolerant, Drought tolerant, Tolerates foot traffic
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 Photo by Char
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 Photo by HamiltonSquare
"Jensenobotrya lossowiana"
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 Photo by HamiltonSquare
"Crassula marchandii"
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 Photo by Calif_Sue
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 Photo by gwhizz
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 Photo by treehugger
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 Photo by RuuddeBlock
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 Photo by pmpauley
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 Photo by Baja_Costero
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 Photo by Valery33
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
242 members joined.
3,423 posts written in our forums.
557 photos posted to the plant database.
697 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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 The flower that smells the sweetest is shy and lowly. William Wordsworth
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