The term evergreen is a catch-all word for a plant, tree, shrub, groundcover, vine or perennial that retains its foliage year around. Most often evergreen is used to label a tree or a shrub. The term semi-evergreen is also used to describe a plant that looses their leaves in the winter in cold areas and keeps their leaves all year in warmer climates.

Evergreen trees come in 2 general types. There are the thin leafed or needle leafed evergreen trees such as a fir or spruce trees. Most of the needle type are usually very cold hardy. The other type are frond or wide leafed trees such as the palm or magnolia trees. Most of the wider leaved evergreen trees are not cold hardy so they are found in warmer climates.

I do have a little info on edible flowers due to what my wife told me after attending a luncheon at a friends house. She was served nasturtium flowers atop of her salad and she commented that they were tasty and they made quite an attractive presentation. Not knowing that flowers were edible, I went looking for information. I will preface my comments with the statement that not all flowers are edible. Check with a poison control center before sampling any plant.

I found that flowers from bee balm, chives, daylilies, dianthus, hollyhocks, nasturtiums, pansies, roses, sunflowers, tulips and violets can be eaten and they provide an array of interesting tastes. Many food flower affection-ados prefer to grow their own tasty flowers so that they can be sure they are raised organically and do not contain any pesticide residue. Wouldn't the flowers in the picture make for an attractive dish?

Pruning a young azalea plant after the plant is through blooming will promote lateral branching and a more compact form. Prune lightly at the very tip of the branches for best results. Older azaleas should be pruned by removing larger branches from the interior of the plant. Removing the larger branches will allow more light in and the sunlight will inhibit disease. Cut away all dead or diseased wood below the infected area.

Older azaleas can be rejuvenated by cutting back the entire plant to 6 to 8 inches above the ground. If this method seems too severe, cut back the older plant over a 3 year period by pruning a third of the branches each year. Prune your azaleas in early spring before new growth begins.

A very simple and effective way to clean pots is to use a solution of 2 tablespoons of bleach in 1 quart of water. Wash and scrub the pots in the bleach solution. Leave the pots soak for an hour or more, then rinse and let them dry. Use this same bleach and water combination to clean garden pails and your pruning shears. Pruning shears can easily spread virus and fungus diseases as you move from plant to plant. If you are pruning obviously diseased plant material, it is advised that you use the bleach solution after each pruning cut so as to keep from spreading the virus or fungus.

Hardy bulbs can be described as bulbs that can be left in the ground safely all year around. Heavy frost and freezing of the soil around the bulbs will not harm a hardy bulb. Many fall planted bulbs are hardy bulbs. The most familiar of these bulbs would be tulips, crocus, daffodils and hyacinths. All of these bulbs are planted in the fall and produce beautiful spring color.

Tender bulbs are bulbs that cannot survive freezing temperatures or frozen soil. Tender bulbs can be left in the ground in warm climates but will die if left in the ground in colder climates. These bulbs must be dug up each fall and placed and wintered indoors and replanted in the spring. A very well recognized tender bulb would be the amaryllis. In fact most amaryllis are grown indoors in northern climates.

The term bulb is commonly used for corms, rhizomes, and tubers. The true bulb can be described as a sphere like structure that has dry, scale type leaves around the structure. The scales are attached at the base of the bulb. Roots arise from this base. Tulips and Lilies are examples of true bulbs.

Corms are very much like bulbs, except that corms have a swollen base where the food is stored. Buds are generally found on the surface of the corm. Crocus and gladiolus are good examples of corms.

Both bulbs and corms contain all the elements needed for growth. The bulb contains the nutrients needed to sustain growth for the first growing season.

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 year before you see a blossom.

Annabelle hydrangeas can be pruned back to about 3 inches above the  ground in the winter. In fact, many growers cut them back to get a more uniform look instead of having unattractive branches to look at during the winter. Annabelle's will bloom every year, no matter how they are pruned or not pruned.

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 these plants reach maturity they will provide excellent ground cover. The Chocolate Chip Ajuga produces a very attractive dark leaf and provides fast cover. Other plants that can be used for ground covers that deer are not particularly attracted to are ferns, Lilly of the Valley, pachysandra, Snow-in-Summer, and vinca minor.

Deer are not fond of mosses such as Scotch moss or Irish moss. If you are looking for a larger plant for ground cover you might consider juniper. There are some low growing junipers that provide excellent ground cover and are deer resistant.

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 water. A plants roots need to be able to extract water from the soil. The plant cannot do that if the soil is over saturated or the soil is too dense and water logged for water extraction. The ideal soil contains about a 50-50 mix of water and air. The 50-50 mix allows for good water movement as the plant roots attract moisture from the soil. The right mix of water and air will provide the most 'available water' for your plants.

Clay soils can hold the most water but many times they hold the moisture very tightly and thus it is not as available as other soils. Sandy soils are much more coarse and moisture tends to drain away quickly because of gravity, so the same amount of rain may cause a plant in sandy soil to moisture stress much faster because the moisture becomes unavailable to the root area. Medium textured soils offer the most water availability. Moisture is more 'available' for a longer period of time because the plant roots have more 'space' to access the moisture..

Sure, here are a few easy to grow and care for perennials. Except for giving them regular moisture, you can plant them and forget them. One of the first perennials to come to mind is the hosta. There is a reason you see a of of hostas in gardens and landscapes. They are tough and they also thrive in shady areas. Hostas come in many sizes and colors. They even come in blue such as the Halcyon. Another dependable shade performer is the Astilbe. They are easy to grow and they will brighten a shady corner with their plumes of color.

The Rudbeckia family produces plants that stand up well to summer heat and sun. The Black Eyed Susan produces stunning flowers. Black-Eyed Susans’ need to be grown in full sun in somewhat moist soil conditions in a well-drained area. Another favorite is the Daylily. They are tough and beautiful. The grassy foliage of the daylily surrounds large flowers. The final suggestion for easy to grow perennials is the Coneflower. Coneflowers provide summer color and are a great food source for birds.

Yes, I think the October Glory would be an excellent choice. The October Glory will do better in warmer temperatures than the native red maple, Acer rubrum, and that would be a plus in your states climate. The color of the brilliant red autumn leaves of the October Glory will also be more consistent and the leaves will be retained longer that the native red maple. The October Glory is an excellent street or lawn tree and the dense foliage is great for shading your property. Place this tree in a well drained location for best results.

Watering in the morning is usually the preferred time. But sometimes work schedules preclude watering in the mornings. Watering any time of the day can be done, especially if you are using soaker hoses or watering with a wand. Applying the water below the foliage is the goal. When watering is done late in the day, the foliage may remain wet overnight and thus the plants will be more likely to get fungal diseases.

Morning watering is also more efficient because there will be less evaporation and the plants will be prepared for a hot day in the sun.

I guess I do not have the answer to your question. Would lots, or many, or over 300 be helpful? The colors and types of coleus may be a little mind-boggling but every year more color combinations are created and all of them complement other foliage or are just plain gorgeous when planted in you garden or container.

Coleus are easy to grow and they are just fun to nuture. Coleus can be selected by leaf size, sun and shade tolerance, short or tall and funky color combinations such as the coleus Splash. Use coleus for containers, borders, groupings and pizazz.

Recently, I was able to observe a neighbor who had an identical problem. Their basement wall evidently had a leak and the dirt had to be dug up around the foundation in the front. The many years of amending the soil was replaced with the heavy yellow clay soil when the dirt was filled back in around the foundation. They did amend the clay as much as they could for the first year but the soil still was far from being optimal for planting. 

The neighbors began by planting some clay tolerant plants such as barberries, spireas, and a tree lilac. They stopped fighting the clay soils by using containers full of plants. The containers helped make a newly planted area around the foundation appear years older with all the flush container vegetation. They used a gravel or pebble mulch for the containers to sit on. By August, the container plants filled in vacant areas and complemented the spireas and the front of their house no longer looked freshly planted.

Containers can help you win the long battle of amending heavy clay soils.

I have seen many different materials used to tie plants to stakes, even thick wire. Using the wrong material to tie a plant can cause serious plant injury. I have seen fast growing trees tied tightly to a tree with wire. As the trunk grows, the wire will cut into the bark and eventually cause a serious wound.

As a general rule, use a material that will expand or stretch. For larger plants,rubber or elastic straps, or even cloth strips will work great. Smaller plants can be tied to to supports using wide rubber bands, cloth, or pipe cleaners. Pipe cleaners are excellent because they can be tied firmly but the soft surface will help protect against plant injury. There are tree staking kits that can purchased for larger trees. These kits contain the soft ties that guard against tree injury.