African Daisy
African Daisey Color Combinations Daisy-like flowers burst from the plant every morning. The blooms all consist of a ring of showy outer petals in bright colors and a compact “eye” in the center. The eye of the African Daisy bloom can be several different colors, typically brown, gold, pink, or green. While the majority of the African Daisies come in solid colors, some fade into another color toward the center of the bloom for an almost tie-dye effect. With so many colors to choose from, there’s no reason not to try out an African daisy. As if the flower color palette wasn’t enough, these South African natives have silvery gray foliage that lends even more visual appeal to the overall plant. When paired with the bright jewel-toned blooms, the silver foliage really sets off the vibrant blossoms. African Daisy Care Must-Knows Because these plants hail from sandy and rocky areas in…
Lavender
This popular herb is most loved for its refreshing scent and long-lasting flowers that attract pollinators. Lavender Overview DESCRIPTION Lavender fills the early-summer garden with sensory delights: beautiful purple-tone blooms atop foliage that emanates its fresh scent on a sunny afternoon. Every part of the plant is infused with aromatic oil, making this a choice herb to place along pathways or near outdoor seating areas so you can experience the pleasant fragrance. Lavender varieties abound: The darker the flower, the more intense the aroma as well as the flavor in cooking. GENUS NAME Lavandula spp. COMMON NAME Lavender PLANT TYPE Herb, Perennial, Shrub LIGHT Sun HEIGHT 1 to 3 feet WIDTH 1 to 3 feet FLOWER COLOR Blue FOLIAGE COLOR Gray/Silver SEASON FEATURES Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Attracts Birds, Cut Flowers, Fragrance, Good for Containers ZONES 10, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 PROPAGATION Seed, Stem Cuttings PROBLEM SOLVERS Deer Resistant,…
Black-Eyed Susan
The perennial black-eyed Susan has bright yellow flowers that light up the midsummer garden and keep on going until frost. Black-Eyed Susan Overview GENUS NAME Rudbeckia COMMON NAME Black-Eyed Susan PLANT TYPE Annual, Perennial LIGHT Sun HEIGHT 1 to 3 feet WIDTH 1 to 3 feet FLOWER COLOR Orange, Red, Yellow FOLIAGE COLOR Blue/Green SEASON FEATURES Fall Bloom, Summer Bloom SPECIAL FEATURES Attracts Birds, Cut Flowers, Good for Containers, Low Maintenance ZONES 10, 11, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 PROPAGATION Division, Seed, Stem Cuttings PROBLEM SOLVERS Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant Black-Eyed Susan Color Combinations Because black-eyed Susan blooms when other summer perennials begin to fade, this plant is a sign that fall is around the corner. The blooms last for weeks and form large masses of color. The most common black-eyed Susan flowers have a single row of gold petals surrounding a black or brown center. Thanks to…
How to Plant and Grow Calibrachoa
PHOTO: BHG / EVGENIYA VLASOVA With flowers that look like tiny petunias, calibrachoa (also called Million Bells) grows and blooms at an amazing rate. Though they only get about four inches tall, the plants can spread out enough to cover about 2 square feet of space in a season. These extremely vigorous plants make for colorful, cascading accents in containers or hanging baskets, along walkways, and on garden walls. Calibrachoa has only been available in the retail plant world since the early 1990s. That’s not long in plant years, especially with how far the plant has come since then. What started out as a simple, single-color bloom has transformed into a whole new class of plant that comes in a riot of colors. These include yellow stars, speckles, veined and segmented petals, and sometimes combinations of all of the above. Calibrachoa Overview GENUS NAME Calibrachoa COMMON NAME Calibrachoa PLANT TYPE Annual LIGHT…
Garden Gold
Adding compost to your garden is one of the best things you can do for your plants. If compost ingredients are carefully mixed you can create compost in a matter of weeks not months. This article explains how. The original Garden Gold article talked about the slow and simple way to compost. For many of you slow and simple will be sufficient. However, some of you may want to make compost in a matter of weeks rather than months. This is possible but will take a more intensely managed compost pile to pull it off. Consider this article the advanced way to create your garden gold. Garden Gold talks about setting up your compost pile, including where to put it and how to build it. It also covers the material you should put in your compost pile and what you shouldn’t include. If you haven’t already read it I suggest you do so now. …
Clay Soil – The Dirt on Dirt
Clay soil is often cursed by gardeners but clay can be a wonderful thing. The Dirt on Dirt – Clay will teach you about clay soils, why you should love them, and how to make them even better. Soil comes in a whole array of types. The basic categories are clay, silt, loam and sand with constant variation within each of these classes. If you have silt or loam soils you are sitting pretty, gardening will be easy and you will love your soil. If you have clay or sandy soils it will take a bit more input from you before you love your soil. Trust me, you can love your clay or sandy soil, it just takes a bit of knowledge and a bit of elbow grease. How, exactly do you learn to love clay soil? Read on to learn more about what clay soil is, why you should…
Sandy Soil – The Dirt on Dirt
How to garden in sandy soil. Sandy soil is often cursed by gardeners but sand can be a wonderful thing. The Dirt on Dirt – Sand will teach you about sandy soils, why you should love them, and how to make them even better. Soil comes in a whole array of types. The basic categories are clay, silt, loam and sand with constant variation within each of these classes. If you have silt or loam soils you are sitting pretty, gardening will be easy and you will love your soil. If you have clay or sandy soils it will take a bit more input from you before you love your soil. Trust me, you can love your clay or sandy soil, it just takes a bit of knowledge and a bit of elbow grease. So the question is: how, exactly do you learn to love sandy soil? Read on to…
Best Potting Soil – The Dirt on Dirt
Using good potting soil is a simple way to get your outdoor container gardens off to a great start. WHAT MAKES A GOOD POTTING SOIL FOR OUTDOOR PLANTS? Almost any article on plants ends with “and make sure you use a good potting mix” – great advice, but what does it mean? Let’s go over some of the basics and see if we can answer that question. To know what a good potting mix is you kind of need to know what the purpose of a potting mix is, so let’s discuss that first. The main functions of a potting mix are: To retain moisture and nutrients around your plants’ roots.Soil acts as a reservoir for these critical elements of life in your container garden. To provide enough air for growing roots. Roots must be able to breathe and not rot once you plant your container. Most people don’t think about this, but it…
The Dirt on Dirt – Basics
Basics of soil explained and definitions of common terms. We get a lot of questions about soil and how a gardener can make it better or deal with problems that we all face when we get out and into the dirt. Soil scientists will tell you there is no such thing as ‘dirt’ there is only soil, and in pots it is called media. So just keep that in mind since you won’t be hearing a lot more about ‘dirt’ in this article… Soil science 101: What do all these terms mean? One of the first things that throws most of us off of learning more about how to manage garden soil or container media is the list of terms. It makes the whole thing seem SO complicated when in fact it is really fairly simple. The easiest way for me to picture it is that good soil has a recipe,…
To Pot or Not to Pot: Grow Pot vs Planter
New to Plant Parenthood? So your plant arrived in its nursery grow pot—now what? When you bring your new plant home in its nursery grow pot, you might be tempted to pot it from grow pot into a planter right away. However, you’ll be more successful if you let your new plant acclimate to its new environment first. Why? It might sound strange to say about a plant but given the potential stress of acclimating to a new environment—adjusting to different light, levels of humidity, and temperature—you don’t want to unroot your plant at the same exact time. Think of its grow pot as allowing it to staying safe in its original home for a while. So first, place your plant in the spot you plan to keep it and let it acclimate for about 2-3 weeks. (If it’s the the spring–summer growing season, you can shave off a few…