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Daylilies (Hemerocallis) are wonderful plants and there are hundreds of different varieties on the market. I like daylilies best when they are massed or at least used in clumps of three or five. Fortunately for those of us who must watch our pennies,...
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Sometimes answers come to you out of the blue. Today was one of those times for me. I have some empty space under a maple tree in the strip between the sidewalk and the street. Hostas will work well there, but I wanted some spring color as well. While...
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Anyone who has ever spent time in the garden is aware of calming affects gardening has on even the most stressful life. However, all gardening benefits go straight out the window when one comes face to face with a large unknown insect. While many of these...
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Everyone talks about blue hydrangeas, but very few people speak of blue mist shrub (Caryopteris x clandonensis) . I am not sure why. Granted, hydrangea are generally bigger shrubs than caryopteris, which tops out at about three feet. Standard hydrangea...
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Sure you can prune your Annabelle hydrangeas. Except, do not prune in the spring or early summer. Annabelle hydrangeas bloom on new wood on stems that have begun growing in the spring, so if you prune the new growth before they bloom, it will be the following...
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Now that it's nearly mid summer, those of us who garden in containers may have noticed that our potted plants look a little care-worn. A few easy steps can fix this First, if you haven't mulched your pots with fine bark mulch, pebbles, beach glass...
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Coneflowers (Echinacea) are everywhere these days--in catalogs, online and in nurseries. And they aren't just purple any more. Breeding advances have brought us coneflowers in an array of colors and sizes. Some varieties are even scented, which adds...
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Well, hungry deer will eat almost anything, but there are several ground covers that show Resistance to deer. Ajuga is the first plant that comes to mind. Most ajuga is quite tolerant to multi-zoned planting conditions. Ajuga is also colorful and when...
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Or how about tough turnips? If you plant turnips in the spring approximately 3 weeks before the last frost or 2 months before the first frost in the fall, you won't have turnips that will fight back when chewing them. Turnips are a cool weather vegetable...
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Butterfly bushes (Buddleia) are lovely decorative plants that attract scores of butterflies, plus the occasional hummingbird. Most bloom in early to mid-July, hence the nickname "summer lilac". With proper care your butterfly bush can be persuaded...
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Of course you should have started tomatoes from seed in April, sown lettuce seed while the breezes were still cool and planted basil in May. But you didn't, and now you regret it. Luckily for you there is hope, even in deepest, stickiest July. A trip...
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There are certain words that strike fear in gardeners' hearts--"deer", "drought" and, especially, "pruning". The thought of pruning has been known to make strong men weak and transform no-nonsense women into indecisive...
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Available water is an important term in the world of plants and gardening. Having a pond 10 feet from a garden would seem to define the term 'available water', but it does not. Wilting plant leaves can be caused by too little or too much available...
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The soil that supports my home garden is heavy clay, which is constantly in need of lightening. The garden at my summer cottage, however, is planted on a shale beach. Shale, which is composed mostly of fine gravel and small stones, is as free-draining...
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It is so important to keep uniform moisture to your fruit trees and tomato plants. If you don't, you will probably experience the dreaded fruit cracking or splitting right about harvest time. It is so disappointing when that happens as most people...