 Wherever you go, no matter what the weather, always bring your own sunshine. -- Anthony J. D'Angelo
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Spectacular Desert Plants
Noah Webster was wrong. In his dictionary, he defined desert as a desolate or forbidding area. Clearly, the famed lexicographer had never traveled through this country's Southwest. If he had, he'd have been amazed by the vast palette of colorful, vibrant perennials, shrubs and trees that are native to our Sonoran, Chihuahuan and Mojave deserts |  |
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How and Why to Prune Clematis
If you’ve ever seen a clematis that is one big mountain of tangled up stems, it’s almost enough to scare you away from growing them. But let’s take a look at why, when, and how these remarkable vines should be pruned and you’ll find it’s not as difficult as it seems. |  |
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How to Make Homemade Stock
Homemade stock is an invaluable ingredient in a creative kitchen. Keep these two nutritious versions on hand to serve as bases for all sorts of soups and sauces. These recipes |  |
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Cutting Down on Lawn Care
For years our lawns have been on a binge-and-purge program. At the first sign of spring, we rush to the garden center, load up on fertilizer, and blanket the lawn with it. Sure, the lawn greens up, but the more we feed, the more we mow. |  |
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Creating More Garden Space
If you're like me, you spend weeks poring over seed catalogs, envisioning a summer garden bursting with color and fragrance. It's no mistake that those catalogs arrive during the gray and drizzly days of winter! When gardening space is more limited than the imagination, you'll have a list, like mine, that contains more varieties than you can possibly cram into the existing beds and borders of the landscape. Rather than paring your plant list, why not think about growing things in containers as well as in beds and borders? |  |
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Fertilizing Potatoes
For a rewarding potato crop, the plants must make a rapid, healthy start.
There are a couple of good ways to add the extra nutrients at planting time to supplement the natural fertility of your soil. Choose a balanced commercial fertilizer, such as 5-10-10 or 10-10-10, or use compost or organic fertilizer. |  |
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Together with Victory Seed Company Garden Seed Packs for Your Region
Do you want to grow a vegetable garden, but you're not sure what to get? We've done the hard part for you and hand-selected all the best varieties for a full and complete vegetable garden. We have identified the various regions of the country and made a special seed pack for each one. We also have convenient packs for many kinds of gardens, such as pet-friendly, kid-friendly, pollinators, victory gardens, medicinal herbs, culinary herbs, and urban gardening (which contains a big collection of different kinds of vegetables that are great in containers). Check out our full collection of seed packs.
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Swallowtail Plant (Christia obcordata)
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 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F)
Plant Height: 12 inches to 36 inches
Plant Spread: 24 inches to 36 inches
Leaves: Unusual foliage color
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late summer or early fall, Fall
Suitable Locations: Houseplant
Dynamic Accumulator: Nitrogen fixer
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots, Suitable for hanging baskets
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Stephanotis (Marsdenia floribunda)
Plant Habit: Vine
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F)
Plant Height: 15 to 20 feet or more
Plant Spread: 3 to 6 feet
Leaves: Evergreen
Fruit: Other
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant
Flower Color: White, Other
Bloom Size: 1"-2"
Flower Time: Summer, Late summer or early fall, Other
Suitable Locations: Houseplant
Uses: Cut Flower
Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds, Butterflies, Bees
Resistances: Humidity tolerant
Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots, Prefers to be under-potted, Suitable for hanging baskets
Awards and Recognitions: RHS AGM
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Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata)
Plant Habit: Tree, Cactus/Succulent
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun, Full Sun to Partial Shade
Water Preferences: Dry Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9a -6.7 °C (20 °F) to -3.9 °C (25 °F)
Plant Height: To 30 feet when planted in the ground but about 8 feet when grown as a container/house plant.
Leaves: Evergreen, Other
Flowers: Showy, Fragrant, Other
Flower Color: White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Late spring or early summer
Suitable Locations: Street Tree, Houseplant, Xeriscapic, Patio/Ornamental/Small Tree
Uses: Flowering Tree
Wildlife Attractant: Bees
Resistances: Drought tolerant
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots
Awards and Recognitions: RHS AGM
Conservation status: Critically Endangered (CR)
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Asparagus Fern (Asparagus densiflorus 'Sprengeri')
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 8b -9.4 °C (15 °F) to -6.7 °C (20 °F)
Plant Height: 36 inches
Plant Spread: 48 inches
Leaves: Evergreen
Fruit: Edible to birds
Flowers: Inconspicuous
Flower Color: White
Flower Time: Summer
Uses: Groundcover
Wildlife Attractant: Birds, Butterflies, Bees
Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger
Awards and Recognitions: RHS AGM
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Daylily (Hemerocallis 'Rose F. Kennedy')
Hybridizer: Doorakian
Year of Registration or Introduction: 2007
Foliage type: Dormant
Scape height: 29 inches
Bloom size: 7.5 inches
Bloom time: Midseason
Plant Traits: Diurnal
Bud Count: 21-25
Branching: 4-way
Fertility: Pod Fertile, Pollen Fertile
Bloom Traits: Edged
Bloom Form: Single
Color description: green with wide purple red picotee edge above green throat
AHS Awards: Stout Silver Medal, Award of Merit, Honorable Mention, RWM
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: Diploid
Parentage: Emerald Starburst x sdlg
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 Photo by Gretchenlasater
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 Photo by drirastucker
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 Photo by Calif_Sue
"In full bloom and popular with the bees"
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 Photo by OGPurpleThumb
"Amaryllis (Hippeastrum 'Glee')"
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 Photo by Msfarmbo
"MINOLTA DIGITAL STILL CAMERA"
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 Photo by drirastucker
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 Photo by spgroup
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 Photo by Serjio
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 Photo by Mollie670
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 Photo by Calif_Sue
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
343 members joined.
3,026 posts written in our forums.
1,970 photos posted to the plant database.
553 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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 In winter, I plot and plan. In spring, I move. -- Henry Rollins
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