You Can Learn Series -- You Can Learn Plants and Gardening Series

How to Buy a Plant from the Internet

Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:27:02 GMT

Have you ever bought a plant for your yard or garden over the internet or even by mail order? Does it scare you to try? It is actually very easy and if you follow these simple steps you will be very happy with the beautiful bouquet of sweet smelling flowers each summer. Here are some things to watch for to make sure your transaction is a happy and successful one.

Flowering Crabapple | Beautiful Spring Flowers

Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:27:02 GMT

Are you looking for some color and fragrance in early spring? Then the Flowering Crabapple tree may be right for you. This tree makes an excellent specimen plant. You can get cultivars that produce small fruit that won't mess up your yard. Today's crabapple trees come with more disease resistance. This plant is cherished for the abundant flowers produced in spring time.

Holly is an Evergreen Plant with Red Berries

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Are you looking for a partial shade plant? Try out the Holly in your partial sun or partial shade portion of your yard. The Holly adds interest to your yard in many different ways. It is an evergreen plant and thus will show green leaves throughout the year. This makes it interesting in winter as a backdrop to snow covered lawns and landscapes. The female plant will produce little red berries that show off a little color during the winter months and makes for food for winter birds and small mammals.

Landscape Design for Holly, Coral Bells and Yews

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 09:27:02 GMT

This Holly, Coral Bells and Yew Landscape Design can work wonders on the eastern side of your home. This design is simple yet really adds flavor to your yard. It can handle a shady area or partial shade. The plants work together without a lot of flash and magic. The muted greens and maroons send a subtle message of warmth throughout the year.

Landscape Design for Specimen Trees and Bushes

Wed, 28 May 2008 09:27:02 GMT

This Landscape Design for a Specimen Bush or Tree is designed to highlight that tree or bush in your backyard that you love. It can be a Star Magnolia, a Crimson King Maple, a slow growing spruce, a Crabapple Tree or even a Burning Bush.

Landscape Design for Full Sun Perennials

Sat, 3 May 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Are you looking to fill a hot, sunny area of your yard? This little Landscape Design for Full Sun Perennials may be the perfect design you need for that hot spot in your backyard. This is a full sun specialist that requires very little watering. It is easy to set up and will provide color from spring to fall and interest into the winter. You can look out your back window and watch birds and butterflies as it contains a wonderful bird bath.

Landscape Design for Sidewalks | Landscaping Designs for Home Gardens

Sat, 26 Apr 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Do you have a sidewalk that runs up to the house from the driveway? Does the sidewalk look bare or is there exposed foundation walls? This little landscape Design for Sidewalks may be the perfect design you need to beautify your home. It can handle full shade, partial shade or even full sun. You can choose from a couple of different colors to complement the color of your home. Your friends, family and neighbors will compliment you on the beauty these easy to care perennials provide for your home.

Landscape Design for Side of House | Do It Yourself Landscape Designs

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 09:27:02 GMT

What do you do with that hard section on the side of the house? The Side Yard Landscape Design can help you solve that part of the yard that gets some sunshine part of the day and then it is in shade the rest of the day. You want some plants that will bring out beauty and fragrance, but you don't want to spend a lot of time on the side of the house. This landscape design will be perfect for this portion of your yard.

Beautiful Bouquet of Fragrant Flowers

Sat, 29 Mar 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Are you looking to add some fragrant flowers to your backyard landscape? Would you like to walk around a corner of your home and smell the sweet fragrance of lilac bush? What perennials are known for their fragrance? Here is a list that I have accumulated of fragrant perennials.

What is the first thing most people do when they see a beautiful flower? They will bend over to smell the fragrance from the flower. We all love the fragrances that are emitted from flowers. Perfume manufacturers capture the fragrance and allow the beautiful women in our lives to entice us even more with this sweet perfume. Do fragrant perennials work in our yards? What plants should we place in our backyard garden so we can enjoy the fragrance as we drift softly to sleep with a slight breeze coming through an open summer window?

Hydrangea Blooms with Large Summer Flowers - Snowball Hydrangeas, Endless Summer Hydrangea, Hydrangea Panicles

Wed, 26 Mar 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Do you like huge blooms of flowers? You can plant the Hydrangea in your flower garden. The Hydrangea is also known as the Snowball Bush.

The Hydrangea flowers in the summer after a lot of other plant's flowers are spent. There are different varieties of Hydrangeas. The variety, Panicle Hydrangea, produces pyramid shaped flowers. The Endless Summer Hydrangea, known as Hydrangea macrophylla 'E.S.', has bluish, purple or pink balled shaped flowers. Another popular variety is the Annabelle or Hydrangea arborescens. This version produces large balls of flowers up to 10 inches in diameter.

Resources for Southeastern Landscapers and Gardeners

Sun, 23 Mar 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Do you know some of the concerns and things to watch for as you do landscaping in the Southeast? The Southeastern United States has a challenging climate with five different growing zones. What zone is your city in and what perennials grow best there?

What are some of the concerns that gardeners and landscapers living in the Southeast encounter? Every part of the country has special needs based on weather, soils, and pests. The southeast has a long growing season that extends almost the entire year. What plants are available to gardeners in the southeast?

Ten Shade Loving Perennials for Your Shade Garden

Fri, 14 Mar 2008 12:27:02 GMT

Do you have a section in your garden that gets little to no direct sun all summer long? Then check out these popular shade garden favorites to see if your landscape could use any or all of these perennials.

Landscape Design for Shade Gardens

Mon, 10 Mar 2008 09:27:02 GMT

This is an interesting little design for a shady area in your garden. It has two varieties of Euonymus with different variegation and a visual interest. Sometimes it is difficult to find the right mix of plants for the shade garden. This design may give you ideas you hadn't considered before and it is a visual delight for the entire year.

Resources for Midwestern Landscapers and Gardeners

Tue, 04 Mar 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Do you know some of the concerns and things to watch for as you do landscaping in the Midwest? The Midwestern United States has a harsh but beautiful climate. In the spring you can get day time highs in the 70s. But, at night it may dip to below freezing.

The summer in the midwest presents it's challenges to the Midwest Landscape designer. Hot and humid air sweeps across the plains and batters the normal home owners landscapes of perennials with hot rain, brutally dry conditions and Midwest tornados. It is tough to landscape in the Midwest.

Landscape Design for Foundation Walls

Fri, 29 Feb 2008 09:27:02 GMT

The Landscape Design to Hide Your Foundation Wall is a wonderful design to hide your ugly foundation walls. It uses only two plants but it is a real beauty. It uses two perennials, the burning bush and the globe blue spruce. The globe blue spruce stays the same color all year long showing off it's bluish-green beauty. This makes a wonderful offset for the burning bush which is green in spring and summer and then explodes in bright red in fall.

Globe Blue Spruce - Compact Evergreen Shrub

Sat, 23 Feb 2008 09:27:02 GMT

Great short blue needles make this compact evergreen shrub a real eye pleaser.

Burning Bush or Winged Euonymus

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 09:27:02 GMT

The Burning Bush is also known as the Winged Euonymus. It is a member of the Euonymus family and it's name is Euonymus Alatus. You can plant these in the shade, but you will find the fall color is more attractive and brilliant if you plant in full sun.

Four Season Extravaganza To Hide Fence Landscape Design

Thu, 27 Dec 2007 09:27:02 GMT

This Four Season Extravaganza Landscape Design is great for hiding that fence at the back of the yard. It is really a very simple design with many opportunities for you to add your own ideas. It uses 5 different plants to liven up your yard during the 4 seasons.

In the spring your senses will be greeted with daffodils popping up at the first sign of warmth. Then they will be quickly followed with a rush of purple as the Salvias begin to cherish the sunshine. The Salias will have a nice green backdrop with Spireas and burning bushes in the background. But then as summer turns to fall the Spireas and the Burning Bushes will start their own colorful shows. The year ends on a high note as the tall ornamental grasses strut their seeds all winter.

SemiCircle Landscape Design Shows Flowering Love

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:27:02 GMT

This Semi-Circle Landscape Design will thrill you with many hours of enjoyment. It has tall flowers and small flowers and will enhance a garden wall, a fence or along a sidewalk or driveway. It is easy to maintain and will work with full sun or partial sun.

This plan has a nice contrast of a tall plant, the Viburnum with smaller flowering plants in front. The green leaves background of the Viburnum will make the flowering plants look lovely. This landscape design will also allow you to hide the old fence the neighbor's wheel barrow or other unsightly views.

Corner Hot Spot Landscape Design

Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:27:02 GMT

Do you have a corner of your yard that gets a lot of sun? Do you see it as a dry area of your yard and you would like to place something there that can handle heat without a lot of care and watering?

Here is a plan I call the Corner Hot Spot Landscape Design. All the flowers in the plan can handle hot, dry conditions. You may need to water them infrequently, but they will provide you with a summer of beauty with minimal care. All the plants in this plan are sun loving specialists that will be happy to smile with their flowering charm.

Praying Mantis and Butterflies on Butterfly Bushes

Sun, 21 Oct 2007 09:27:02 GMT

Do butterflies really land on Butterfly Bushes? I answer the question with a photo taken in my backyard. Plus, a photo of a Praying Mantis.

Late Fall Garden Tips

Wed, 24 Oct 2007 09:27:02 GMT

Here are ten things you can do to prepare your garden for winter. I looked at the weather report and saw that we are expecting frost in the near future. That is normally a red flag that some things need to occur in the garden. At this time of the year what should you be concentrating your attention on for the best results to occur next summer?

Aster

Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:27:02 GMT

The Aster is a prolific late summer bloomer showing its flowers at a time when other plants and flowers are going to seed. There are many different varieties of this native North American perennial.

Russian Sage or Perovskia

Sat, 16 Feb 2007 12:27:02 GMT

The Russian Sage or Perovskia produces lavendar or blue spike flowers and is a perennial that requires full sun.

Ten Sun Loving Perennials

Sat, 20 Jan 2007 12:27:02 GMT

Here is a great list of 10 sun loving perennials you can place in those hot dry areas of your garden. These perennials will provide a rich color and interest from Spring to late fall. The birds and butterflies will love being in your yard.

Spirea

Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:27:02 GMT

The spirea comes in many varieties from the tall Vanhouttei to the dwarf varieties like the Goldflame and Little Princess. Depending on the variety you choose you can find colors of white, pink or golden orange.

Bearded Iris

Sat, 29 Oct 2005 12:27:02 GMT

The Bearded Iris is a spring bloomer, that grows up to four feet tall with a spread of as much as two feet. Though the iris blooms in early spring like bulb plants, most grow from rhizome systems. There are some that grow from bulbs. You can get a wide variety of colors: blue, violet, yellow, purple, red, white and pink.

Time to Plant Tulips

Fri, 28 Oct 2005 12:27:02 GMT

Late fall before the first frost it is time to plant the tulips and other bulb plants like crocus. This simple article will discuss the proper way to plant bulb plants like the tulip and when to plant them.