Zone_Changes

The USDA Hardiness Zone Map has been used by gardeners to determine what plants will survive in their garden climate. The latest revisions by the American Horticulture Society, add zones and
take into consideration more than just annual low temperatures. Other hardiness measures include: length of cold spells in the winter, airflow patterns, the effect of large bodies of water like oceans and lakes and heat factors and how these things effect garden plants.

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Small Garden Design

Garden design for a small space has its pros and cons over grand scale gardening. In small garden design, the gardener can pay attention to detail. You can keep on top of maintenance, while still having time to sit and enjoy your small garden. The principles of good garden design still apply, but you�ll need to tweak them slightly. Virtually any plant or garden style can be worked into a small garden space.


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Choosing Plants for Pots

Container gardening offers immediate gratification. You can experiment with new plants and combinations. If you don�t like the result, start over with minimal trouble. There are no rules for designing a container garden. However, there are certain design principles that can be scaled to container size and make creating effective container gardens an art. Think of them as Rules of Thumb, not Rules per se. Here are some Rules to Guide You and/or Break When Creating Container Gardens.


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Papaver nudicaule, Iceland poppy, Arctic Poppy

Iceland Poppies

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Coreopsis

Coreopsis are sunny flower border work horses. They are great additions to any garden design, blooming most of the summer. Coreopsis make great garden edging as well as nice cut flowers.


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Growing Hardy Mums

Mums are grown in just about every fall garden. Too often mums are an impulse buy at the nursery, when already in bloom late in the season. Chrysanthemums can actually be hardy perennials in most gardening zones, if planted early enough to become established. Mums are easy growing plants that will bloom as other plants fade, if pinched during the growing season. There are many more varieties of mums than you�ve probably seen, all worth taking a look.

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Growing Tomatoes

Despite early worries about tomatoes being poisonous, tomatoes are now one of the most popular vegetables grown in home gardens. Widely adaptable and space efficient, a single tomato plants is able to produce 8 - 10 pounds of fruit. Tomatoes are heat lovers and will continue producing right through to the end of the growing season, if you provide them with these tomato growing basics.

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Storing Tender Bulbs

While gardeners in zones 8 and above can grow tender bulbs, corms, rhizomes and tubers year round, northern gardeners will need to dig and store these plants to overwinter them. The following guidelines will help you to successfully store cannas, caladiums, dahlias, galdiolas and more.


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Ripening Green Tomatoes

There are always green tomatoes left on the vine in the fall. Deciding whether to pick green tomatoes is a tough call. And then there�s the problem of how to get green tomatoes to ripen. Here are some tips to keep your tomato plants healthy into the fall season and for getting those green tomatoes to ripen on the vine or how to salvage the obstinate green tomatoes you actually have to pick while still green.

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Preserving Vegetables

How to preserve fruits and vegetables by drying, canning, pickling and making jams and jellies. Keep the freshness of the harvest by preserving your own garden vegetables at home. There�s a method safe and easy enough for everyone, as well as tips for success and recipe suggestions.


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Growing Spinach

Leafy vegetables always taste better fresh from the garden. Spinach, like lettuce, grows best in the cool weather of spring and fall. Spinach also grows extremely quickly, which means you don�t have to wait long to enjoy it, but you�ll also have to keep planting new spinach to extend the harvest. Getting spinach to grow is easy. Keeping your spinach growing takes some finesse. Tips for growing spinach in the home garden.

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Butternut Squash & Squirrels

So, I increased the amount of space devoted to edibles this year in order to save money. Involved in this was picking new spots that are NOT garden beds to plant things to see if they’ll grow.
I planted some squash on the south side of my house near my raised beds (but not within them) [...]

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[Source: Backyard Gardening Blog]

Growing Sedum

Border Sedum or Showy Stonecrop is a must for every perennial garden. The sturdy stems, succulent leaves and clusters of flower buds are attractive all season and light up a fall garden. Growing Sedum is easy; almost mistake proof. There are Sedum varieties to blend with every color scheme and trailing Sedum to fill container gardens. Here are some tips for growing great Sedum.



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How to Grow Potatoes

Growing potatoes in the home garden can be easy, if you learn to avoid the pest and disease problems. Potatoes are one of those mystery crops that develop out of sight, underground. You never really know how you�re doing until you harvest - and then it�s too late. Here are the basics on how to grow potatoes.

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Soilless Potting Mix

Starting plants from seed is a lot of fun, but it�s not so much fun to watch them wither and die shortly after germination. One way to gain an advantage is to use a sterile potting mix, because you never know what problems come along with soil from the garden. If you�re going with a potting mix anyway, you might want the further advantages a soilless mix brings. Here�s a rundown on what�s in the potting mix if you leave out the soil, and why you�d bother to in the first place.

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Saving Tomato Seeds

Seed saving is the only way to make sure you have seeds of your favorite plants to grow each year. Tomato seeds need special handling to ensure good germination. Here's how to begin saving tomato seeds.


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Peace Lily (Spathiphyllum floribundum)

Peace Lily

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Growing Amaryllis

Most amaryllis will go dormant naturally and re-bloom sometime during winter. However, many people prefer to force their amaryllis into bloom for the holiday season. Many �prepared� bulbs are sold in the fall, ready to pot up and have in time for Christmas. Here are directions for forcing your Amaryllis for holiday display, as well as general care for your amaryllis plant.



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'Chicago Peace' Rose

Photo of 'Chicago Peace' Rose

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Endless Summer Hydrangea Diary

I love my Endless Summer Hydrangeas, I’ve blogged about them before (See related posts below) and I’ve got… about 10 of them I guess. I’ve also given them as gifts.
I love the big bright blue, pink, and purple flowers of big mophead hydrangeas, they really brighten up shady spots, they’re some of my favorites. But [...]

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[Source: Backyard Gardening Blog]

Growing Oregano

Growing, harvesting and using oregano is easy, but sometimes confusing. Plants in the genus Origanum are can be perennial ground covers, tender perennials or even small perennial subshrubs. There is much confusion over what type of oregano to use in cooking, but there is no disputing the flavor when you taste it. This Plant Profile of 'Oregano' will help you make sense of which type of oregano to grow for your needs.


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New Wayside Gardens Coupon

New coupon for Wayside Gardens I got in my email. I get a lot of plants from them, they’re good people.



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Shade Garden Perennials

Shade gardens can be woodland retreats or bursts of color. Many shade garden plants often considered sun lovers actually prefer some shade in hot areas or the peak of summer. Of the many plants that will grow well or even thrive in shade gardens, the following list are top shade garden performers.




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Clivia or Kaffir Lily (Clivia Miniata)

Clivia or Kaffir Lily

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November in the Garden

A gardening calender for November? Gardening in November is a joy for those who've been waiting for cooler weather and almost non-existant for gardeners in Zones 6 on down. Even though the holidays start to demand more time indoors, there are still some garden tasks that need tending in the November garden.


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Choosing a Greenhouse

It�s so tempting. The idea of building a greenhouse means gardening year round. Greenhouses are the ultimate fantasy for gardeners, but they�re also a big responsibility. One night without heat and all of your plants and seedlings could be goners. Your greenhouse will need heat, water, benches, venting, electricity. And that�s just for starters. Here are some key points to ponder before you buy a greenhouse.

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Growing Rhubarb

Is rhubarb a vegetable? A fruit? An ornamental plant? It�s a very ornamental vegetable that is usually prepared and eaten much like a fruit. All that and it�s perennial in many areas. Rhubarb is a cool season crop that is grown for its fibrous leaf stalks, which are a wonderful sweet-tart treat. These tips should help you get your rhubarb started right and growing well.



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Leaf Clean-Up

Fall clean-up of leaves is not a chore most gardeners look forward to. One way or another, you are gong to have to collect the leaves from your lawn, raking or otherwise, and there really aren't that many options. Here's some advice and tips in choosing a leaf blower/vac, shredder or even a humble rake, to make quick work of the leaves in your yard.





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Bromeliads

Bromeliad

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Pruning Raspberries

Brambles like raspberries and blackberries need regular pruning to keep bearing large, healthy crops and to prevent them from taking over your garden. Don�t let this scare you off of growing raspberry or blackberry plants. Pruning rambles is actually a simple procedure, if you follow these steps.

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Winter Bloomers - Hellebores

The Christmas Rose, Hellebore niger, has the frustrating tendency of not blooming until Easter - making it all the more confusing to tell it apart from the Lenten Rose, Hellebore orientalis. Hellebore flowers are often the first signs of spring in the garden and the plants are becoming more widely available and easier to grow.


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The Language of Flowers

Flowers have held meaning for centuries. You know a rose says love, but how about expressing yourself with violets for modesty, peonies for shame or daisies for innocence? The language and meaning of the flowers in you garden or bouquet can be as involved or as fun as you choose to make it.




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Growing Onions

Growing onions takes patience, since all the action takes place under ground. If you can provide a rich soil and a full day of sun, you can grow a good sized harvest of onions for eating fresh and storing for later. And as with most fresh vegetables, onions from the garden will have far more flavor than onions from the produce aisle. Home grown onions can be more pungent too. Here are some tips for choosing and growing the right onions for your home garden.


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Opossum on the Porch, Compost Eating Critter

No picture with this post, this is probably the first post I’ve done ever without a picture, for some reason I didn’t think about it last night.
So, last night I made some skillet apples, and as I do normally I got out a brown paper bag to put all the scraps into for taking out [...]

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[Source: Backyard Gardening Blog]

Interplanting Veggies & Flower

There is no rule that says vegetables and flowers can�t mix. In fact, the vegetable garden will benefit greatly from the addition of some flowers and herbs. It�s not just aesthetics that make flowers and herbs welcome in the vegetable garden. Interplanting flowers and herbs offers several beneficial features that can protect your vegetables from insect pests and even make them more productive.


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Growing Pansies

Pansies are probably the most popularly grown and most recognizable cool season plant. The variety of colors and the cheerfulness of the pansy�s �face� have made them a long standing favorite. And they�re easy and undemanding to grow. Here are some tips to keep your pansies growing and blooming longer.





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Fibrous Rooted Begonias

Begonia Flowering Houseplant

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Make Herb Flavored Vinegars

Herbal vinegars are one of the simplest concoctions to whip up and yet they lend a complex undertone to so many delicious dishes. Don�t confine your vinegar use to just salad dressing. Herbal vinegars will dress up spreads, like mayonnaise, sauces and all types of appetizers.


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Small Garden Focal Points

Focal points are used in garden design to draw and direct the eye. This can be difficult to accomplish in a small garden when every space is immediately visible and no space can be sacrificed. But it�s not impossible and creating a focal point (or 2) in a small space garden can actually make it appear larger.


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Companion Planting

Companion planting is an age old gardening technique of pairing two or more plants to gain some type of benefit,: vigorous growth, higher yield, repelling pests or attracting predators of common pests. Some companion plantings work, others disappoint. But the idea of strength in diversity is never truer than in the garden and that�s what companion planting provides. Here are some tips for attracting beneficial insects and for companion planting with herbs to repel insect pests.

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How to Grow Raspberries

I’ve blogged about raspberries many times before, which you’ll see in the “related posts” links at the bottom of this post. But I don’t know if I ever really went into depth as to how I grow them. In anycase, now is the time.
First, a little bragging. This picture was taken like the second week [...]

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Winter Protection for Plants

Plants are always better off in the ground during winter in freezing climates. If you must leave your plants in containers, you�ll need to provide some extra protection. Here are things to consider before you decide to overwinter your container plants and how to keep potted plants alive through the winter.

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Winter Mulching

In areas that experience freezing temperatures, winter mulching of the garden differs from mulching during the growing season. We mulch our gardens in the spring to suppress weeds, retain moisture and feed and warm the soil. While we may spread a layer of soil conditioning compost or manure in the fall, the primary reason for winter mulching is to protect our plants from the harsh conditions of winter freezes, thaws and winds. There are several ways to do this.

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Harvesting Vegetables

There are no precise guidelines as to when to harvest your vegetables, but there are some rules of thumb to guide you. Most vegetables are harvested just before full maturity, for maximum flavor and the most pleasant texture. The following are vegetable harvesting criteria for judging whether your vegetables are ready for picking.


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Overwintering Geraniums

It�s easy to over winter geraniums, either as plants or dormant. Zonal geraniums are only hardy to USDA Zone 8. Gardeners in other areas basically have 4 choices of how to store their geraniums for winter: let them die off as annuals, bring them indoors as houseplants, take cuttings and make more plants or store the geraniums dormant until next spring.





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Planting Bulbs in a Lawn

Planting bulbs to naturalize in your lawn is an easy way to put on a great display of spring color. However while planting the bulbs is easy, there are a few things to consider when planning and caring for bulbs planted in a lawn.

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Garden Maintenance

Flower gardens require constant maintenance to look their best. Common garden chores like pruning, pinching and
deadheading are easy to master, as show here in this step-by-step photo tutorial.


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Top 10 Fall Bloomers

The trick to designing your garden with perennial flowers is making sure you have something wonderful in bloom all the time. Each season has its stars and fall blooming perennials have some of the best. Fall blooming perennials have all season to grow, so many of them are tall and stately. Fall bloomers also tend to blossom in the jewel tones of the season, deep purples, rusts, scarlet and gold. Here are some top picks for fall blooming perennial stars.



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Perennial Spring Pruning

Four season interest in the garden is nice. Dried flowers hold onto snow like frosting. Seed heads feed the birds. But some perennials don�t handle cold weather well. Plants like Butterfly Weed, Chrysanthemums and Coral Bells benefit from the protection their foliage provides for their crowns and survive best if cleaned up in the spring. The following list is a recommendation of plants that are best pruned in the spring.

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Fall Perennial Pruning

It can be nice to leave some perennials standing for winter interest. But many perennial plants don�t survive rough weather well. Many plants have recurrent problems with pests and diseases, which will over winter in their fallen foliage and surface in the spring. The following list of perennial flowers survive and thrive better if pruned or cut down in the fall.

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Gardening Question of the Week - Why Do I Have to Mulch in the Winter?

Mulching may not be on your list of things to do this time of year, if you live in a cold climate. But you might want to rethink that....

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Indoor Herbs Do Double Duty at Thanksgiving

Using Herb Plants as Your Thanksgiving Centerpiece

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Cabbage & Kale

Cabbage and kale are among the hardiest and most nutritious vegetables a home gardener can grow. They are also very easy to grow, especially for home vegetable gardeners in cooler climates. Beautiful, in shades of pale yellow to wrinkled steel blue and ranging in flavor from sweet and crisp to tangy, cabbage and kale are versatile vegetables and theres a variety suited to almost every garden.

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Making Herbal OIls

Flavored oils are wonderful to cook with, easy to make and they are always welcome as gifts. Use fresh herbs from your garden to create flavored herbal oils.

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Garden Stocking Stuffers

Choosing gifts for gardeners is easy. There's always some garden tool or toy they've been wanting to try. Here's a list of 10 gardening gifts small enough to stuff in a stocking.

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Companion Planting

Herbs work especially well as companion plants. They multitask by attracting beneficial insects and repelling pest insects and their fragrance and foliage make them good companions in both the vegetable garden and the ornamental border. The following list offers some suggestions for using herb plants to repel specific garden pests.

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Container Garden Plants

Container gardens offer the advantage of changing your garden with every season. The choice of plant material is limited only by your climate and your imagination. Keep in mind the scale of the container and how aggressively the plant grows. While you want your container garden to look full, fast growers will quickly outgrow their pots.[p]The following choices should get you thinking.

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Choosing Your Christmas Tree

Does it really matter what type of evergreen you choose for your Christmas tree? Some will hold their needles longer. Some will hold your ornaments better. It depends on what you are looking for in a tree.

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#11 - A Favorite for Both Its Color and Its Popping Nature

Platycodon grandiflorus - Balloon Flower

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Simple is Elegant

A Thanksgiving Centerpiece with Dried Hydrangea and Ornamental Corn

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Outdoor Houseplants

It is possible to pot up some of your favorite garden plants and bring them indoors as houseplants. Many tropical and tender perennials are capable of growing well in the house, if given the right growing conditions. Growing these plants as houseplants requires good light and humidity. If you’re home has what it takes, here’s a list of potential houseplants that may be growing in your garden.

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Prechilling Bulbs

Many spring flowering bulbs can be forced into bloom during the winter, but most will need a period of cold temperatures to stimulate growth and flower production. This period of precooling varies with the type of bulb, as shown on the Prechilling Chart.

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Christmas Cactus (Schlumbergera x buckleyi)

Christmas Cactus

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Naturalizing Bulbs in the Lawn

Do bulbs planted in a lawn have to be allowed to yellow and die on their own, like bulbs planted in the garden? And if so, will mowing...

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Gardening Gifts for Him

Although it's easy to find gifts for gardeners, guys tend to be a bit harder to shop for. Here are 10 gardening gifts most gardeners would love to receive. There's bound to be 1 or 2 even he would like.

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Growing Fruit in Small Gardens

Small Space Gardening - Espalied Fruit Trees

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Flower Gifts for Gardeners

Choosing flowers for someone who gardens can be as intimidating as cooking for a gourmet. Don’t think that because they grow flowers, they don't like receiving them as a gift. Many gardeners hate to cut flowers from their own gardens to bring indoors; they like to see their garden full of splendor. So a gift of cut flowers or a flowering plant is a guilt free pleasure that might just inspire them to garden some more.

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Garden Maintenance

Flower gardens require constant maintenance to look their best. Common garden chores like pruning, pinching and deadheading are easy to master, as show here in this step-by-step photo tutorial.

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Bring Outdoor Accessories In

Cold weather used to mean moving all your delicate flower pots and garden ornaments into the garage for safe keeping. Why just store your garden accessories and have them take up space when you could put them to good use indoors. Here are some creative ideas for using garden items indoors during the winter.

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Dividing Bearded Iris

When re-planting bearded iris rhizomes, create a hole with a soil level mound in the center, as shown.

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Gardening on the Patio

Small Space Gardening - Gardening Around a Patio

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Winter Protection for Plants

Plants are always better off in the ground during winter in freezing climates. If you must leave your plants in containers, youll need to provide some extra protection. Here are things to consider before you decide to overwinter your container plants and how to keep potted plants alive through the winter.

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Two-Tone Rose

Two-Tone Rose

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Edible Flowers

Edible flowers aren't a new phenomenon, but garnishes of fresh flowers tend to intimidate diners. No one is really sure if the flowers are there for decoration or to be eaten. It's hard to find edible flowers to purchase, but quite easy to grow most of them in your garden. Since flowers are best when eaten soon after harvest, growing your own edible flowers makes even more sense. Here are some tips.

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Fall is for Planting Trees & Shrubs

I've never fully bought into the idea that fall is for planting. In my experience, loosening the soil too late in the season just makes it easier for the voles...

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Telling it Like It Is - "The Truth About Organic Gardening"

It used to be just religion and politics we had to avoid discussing. Now lines are drawn everywhere from Casual Friday to Tupperware. Im always amazed how...

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Winterberry Holly

Ilex verticillata, or Winterberry, is a native, wetland holly that loses it leaves each autumn. Winterberry is all the more showy because its lack of leaves makes its berry display all the more showy. After the leaves turn yellow and fall, you are left with a breathtaking view of thousands of brightly colored berries clinging to every stem. There are a good number of named Ilex verticillata cultivars to choose from in the market and a rich abundance of native winterberry hollies too.

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Gardening Question of the Week: How Can I Over-Winter My Container Plants?

This question came up several times this fall. Container gardening has been on the increase, but what do you do with all those plants once you close down the...

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FeaturedHydrangeas

Hydrangeas are experiencing a resurgence of interest by both gardeners and breeders. Here are two recent introductions generating a good deal of interest are Hydrangea paniculata 'Limelight' and H. macrophylla Lady in Red.

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The Language of Flowers

Flowers have held meaning for centuries. You know a rose says love, but how about expressing yourself with violets for modesty, peonies for shame or daisies for innocence? The language and meaning of the flowers in you garden or bouquet can be as involved or as fun as you choose to make it.

Read More...

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What is a Perennial Plant

Perennial gardening is very popular because growing plants that live more than one garden season lets your garden design evolve. But perennials don't live forever and not every perennial flower will survive your winter.

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Bulb Forcing Tips

Spring bulbs can be made to bloom early and indoors. Its called forcing bulbs and its pretty easy to do. Heres how to force spring blooming bulbs and suggestions for which bulbs to force.

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Seed Starting FAQ

Starting plants from seed is a great, inexpensive way to get exactly the plant varieties you want to grow. Seed starting indoors requires the same basic elements as growing plants outdoors. Maintaining seedling indoors will take a bit more diligence though, since you cant rely on rain and sun to do the work for you, and your seedlings will need the right nutrients to get off to a good start. This FAQ covers everything youll need to know to start plants indoors, from seed.

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Container Ornamental Grasses

Growing ornamental grasses in containers is a great way to feature grasses without the worry of them spreading or taking over the garden. The downside is that when growing grasses in containers, their hardiness is raised by about 2 zones. An ornamental grass hardy to Zone 5, when planted in the ground, will only survive to Zone 7 in a pot. However, you can always grow container grasses as annuals. Here are my top ten picks for ornamental grasses grown in containers.

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Its Sweet Potato Season. Growing Sweet Potatoes in the Garden

Some vegetables really need to hire better PR people. The poor sweet potato suffers from being confused with the yam No relation. And the potato. No...

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Asparagus Feature

Asparagus is a sure sign that spring is here and the gardening season has begun. Asparagus,one of the few perennial vegetable crops, is a favorite garden vegetable around the world, in shades of green, white and purple. Here are some things to know for growing great asparagus in your backyard vegetable garden.

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Flowers that Grow More Vegetables

Every year several gardeners write in wondering why they're not getting more squash on their vines, even though they have plenty of flowers. Chances are good the problem is...

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Using Cornmeal as a Fungicide

Researchers at Texs A&M have discovered that cornmeal has powerful fungicidal properties and is effective on all kinds of landscape fungus problems, from turf grass to black spot on roses. Heres how to apply cornmeal to treat fungus problems in your garden.

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Backyard Frog Pond

Backyard Frog Pond

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Making Gifts from the Garden

Gardeners love to share their gardens and there seems no end to the gifts we can create with our bounty. Here are 12 quick and easy gifts made from the garden, like herbal jellies, potpourri, leaf imprinted candles - even flavored vodka. Even your non-gardening friends will love to share this part of your garden with you.

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Brussels Sprouts

Brussels Sprouts are a long season crop that actually tastes better when hit with a slight frost. So although they are a late harvest, they are a relatively long one. Because of their fondness for cool weather, Brussels Sprouts are a fall crop in warmer climates. Here are more tips for growing Brussels sprouts.

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From the Garden of David & Linda McKnight

Winter Garden Photo

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Sambucus Black Lace

black lace nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp nbsp: Phot of Sambucus Black Lace.

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Opossum on the Porch, Compost Eating Critter

No picture with this post, this is probably the first post I’ve done ever without a picture, for some reason I didn’t think about it last night.So, last night I made some skillet apples, and as I do normally I got out a brown paper bag to put all the scraps into for taking out [...]

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[Source: Backyard Gardening Blog]

African Violet (Saintpaulia)

African Violet

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Saving Tomato Seeds

The tomato seeds are enclosed in a gel like sack that contains growth inhibitors, preventing the seeds from sprouting inside the tomato. The best way to remove this gel covering is to allow the fruits to rot and ferment.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Achillea

Achillea often get taken for granted because they are such a dependable, low maintenance perennial plant. There are many varieties of Yarrow and there is sure to be one or two suited to growing in your garden.

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Winterberry Holly

Ilex verticillata, Winterberry Holly, or Winterberry is our native, wetland holly that loses it leaves each autumn. This beautiful shrub is all the more showy because its lack of winter leaves makes its berry display all the more showy. After the leaves have turned yellow and have fallen off, you are left with a breathtaking view of thousands of brightly colored berries clinging to every stem. What a joy to have such color in the middle of winter.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

A Welcome Home Garden

Small Space Gardening - Front Yard Gardens

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Featured Plant: Sage.

What would Thanksgiving turkey be without sage? Sage is one of those wonderful Mediterranean herbs that asks only for sun and warmth and then takes care of itself. ...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Growing Sweet Potatoes

Can you grow sweet potatoes at home? Except for being a long season crop, sweet potatoes are very easy to grow. Even the sweet potato leaves are edible. If you have a small garden, bush sweet potatoes might be a better choice for you. Here are some tips for growing sweet potatoes in any home garden.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Starting Small and Personal

Small Space Gardening - Flower Island

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Growing Rhubarb

Is rhubarb a vegetable? A fruit? An ornamental plant? Its a very ornamental vegetable that is usually prepared and eaten much like a fruit. All that and its perennial in many areas. Rhubarb is a cool season crop that is grown for its fibrous leaf stalks, which are a wonderful sweet-tart treat. These tips should help you get your rhubarb started right and growing well.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

The Wilds of the Butterfly Garden

Panicum virgatum 'Shenandoah' (Switch Grass)

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Fall is for Planting Trees & Shrubs

Ive never fully bought into the idea that fall is for planting. In my experience, loosening the soil too late in the season just makes it easier for the voles...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Pruners

What to look for when choosing a pair of garden pruners. Garden pruner styles, sizes, replacement parts and comfort are the keys.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

A Good Foundation Planting

For many of us, the shrubs in front of our homes are about the only gardens we see throughout winter. While theres a movement to get us thinking...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Yard Trees Gone Bad.

I often talk about how every yard should have at least one long-lived tree planted in it. If we happen to purchase a home without mature trees, a lot...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Dealing with Rose Diseases

Despite a gardeners best efforts, roses can often become infected with fungus diseases. Luckily, few fungus problems will kill your rose bush and most can be handled with low toxicity and minimal effort. Here are the top four rose diseases and how to handle them.

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Growing Tulips

Growing Tulips

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Garden Focal Points

The purpose of a garden focal point is to bring the garden into focus. What may start out as just a grouping of plants is given definition by a focal point. Viewers instantly know where to bring their attention. We'll demonstrate some techniques in the following photos, but placing a focal point, like garden design in general, is largely a matter of trial and error. The more you do it, the better trained your eye will become.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Determinate Tomatoes

Determinate tomato varieties tend to reach a fixed height and ripen all their fruit in a short period of time.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Small Garden Focal Points

Focal points are used in garden design to draw and direct the eye. This can be difficult to accomplish in a small garden when every space is immediately visible and no space can be sacrificed. But its not impossible and creating a focal point (or 2) in a small space garden can actually make it appear larger.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Rose Standard

Photo of a Rose Standard

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Has Gardening Become an Exclusive Club?

While I was over at Garden Rant, I stumbled on Alan Armitages post "So You Want To Dumb Us Down Even More?". He was talking about a debate...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

When to Start Seed

Growing plants from seed is an easy, inexpensive way to get more plants. The hard part is often knowing when to start the seeds. Here are a few easy tips to get you on the right track for seed starting.

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Small Space Gardening - Containers

Small Space Gardening - Containers

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Spring Flowering Bulbs FAQ

Spring flowering bulbs are easy to grow and a most welcome sight after a long winter. With a little care at planting time, spring blooming bulbs will reward you with years of blooms. Here are frequently asked questions about planting, choosing and caring for spring flowering bulbs.

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Garden Design - Color

Color is arguably the most prominent factor in a garden design and often the first one considered. Good garden design involves knowing how to combine colors so that the final product has a cohesive and pleasing effect. Here are some tips to train your eye to see color and for combining color in the garden.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Gardening - QuickTips

An index of QuickTips for the Gardening guide site.

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Asparagus Feature

Asparagus is one of the few perennial vegetable crops for the home garden. Plant it once and it keeps on gorwing. There is some up front work to be done, before you can enjoy the harvest, but a well-established asparagus bed can produce for decades. Heres how to grow great asparagus.

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Plants for a Small Garden

Every plant looks tempting in the nursery center or catalog. How do you know what will do well in your garden? There are some guidelines for what to consider when shopping for plants for your garden. While there are times to indulge yourself with whatever plant catches your fancy, when designing a small garden, every plant matters. Choose wisely.

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Sagina subulata (Irish Moss)

Sagina subulata (Irish Moss)

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Cabbage & Kale

Cabbage and kale are among the hardiest and most nutritious vegetables a home gardener can grow. They are also very easy to grow, especially for home vegetable gardeners in cooler climates. Beautiful, in shades of pale yellow to wrinkled steel blue and ranging in flavor from sweet and crisp to tangy, cabbage and kale are versatile vegetables and theres a variety suited to almost every garden.

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Thanksgiving Centerpieces

Thanksgiving centerpieces can be elaborate creations or as simple as a basket full of colorful leaves and berries. Forage through your own yard and gardens for the making of a holiday display. What nature doesnt supply can be easily found in grocery stores and nurseries, like roses and carnations in shades of orange and gold, russet sunflowers and spider mums and purple spikes of Liatris. Here are some suggestions to get your imagination going.

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Why do tomatoes crack

A common tomato growing problem is fruit that cracks or splits open as the tomato ripens. How can you prevent future tomatoes from cracking and is the cracked fruit still edible?

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Garden Design FAQ

Gardening is often called the only living art form. Like any form of art, designing a garden is subjective. Although gardening successfully requires learning certain skills, in the end, a gardens beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are no fixed rules to garden design. But there are a few elements of composition that will serve the garden designer well, when combining plants. And the only way to get good at garden design is to do it.

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No Fruit on Your Fruit Tree?

There are many reasons fruit trees can take years to begin bearing fruit. Home fruit growers need to make sure their fruit trees are given the right care and growing conditions.gardening fruit apple trees home backyard orchard not setting fruiting gardens

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Cucumber Mosaic Virus

Cucumber Mosaic Virus

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Forcing Bulbs

Many spring blooming bulbs can be forced into bloom in the winter months. Some tropical bloomers,like paperwhites and amaryllis, take little effort at all.

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Growing Alliums

Allium bulbs may resemple onions, but it's the flowers you are after with these ornamental varieties. Alliums are easy to grow and undemanding as this profile shows.

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Raised Bed Gardening

Raised bed gardening refers to gardening in soil that has been mounded or contained higher than the surrounding soil. Raised bed gardening is an old gardening practice, but its currently growing in popularity again because it offers several advantages to simply growing your plants in level ground. Here are some tips on why raised bed gardening should be considered and how to get started with a raised bed.

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Top Heirloom Vegetables

There's only one reason needed to try growing heirloom vegetables - Taste. There are thousands of heirloom vegetable varieties available for the home vegetable garden. Heirlooms vegetables became heirlooms because people prized them enough to save seeds. Here's a top pick list of heirloom vegetable varieties to try in your vegetable garden.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Mint

Plants in the mint family are very hardy perennials with vigorous growth habits. Mint, left to its own devices, will spread quickly and become a nuisance. However, it is very popular as a flavorful herb and the plants can be grown easily. Just try to chose a spot where you wont mind the rampant growth or grow it in a confined space.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Growing Acorns

Maples get all the attention in the fall, but there are plenty of other trees that put on a decent display. Im especially fond of oak trees at any...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Question of the Week: Will Row Covers Protect My Plants from Frost Damage?

Row covers are a quick and easy way to extend your growing season by a couple of weeks. Row Covers, sometimes referred to as Floating Row Covers, are lightweight...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Organic Matter & Garden Soil

Every garden book talks about the importance of adding plenty of organic matter to your garden soil. But what is organic matter and just what does it do that's so wonderful? Is it compost? Manure? Cover crops? Organic matter is all those things and what organic matter can do for your garden soil is nothing short of a miracle.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

New Blue Saliva - Salvia farinacea 'Evolution'

Photo of Salvia farinacea 'Evolution', a new blue salvia introduction that is actually purple.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Lettuce

Salad greens are easy to grow and there are literally hundreds of varieties. That pale green head you see at the grocery store is just the tip of the iceberg. From curly to oak leafed, here's a look at growing and choosing the best lettuce.

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Containers for Gift Baskets

Creating a gardening gift basket starts with a great container. Gardeners are always looking for containers to put something in and baskets will work just fine, but take a look around here and see if something else doesn’t strike your fancy for your unique gardening gift basket.

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Aloe Vera

Aloe vera makes a good starter houseplant. It takes care of itself and thrives on neglect. If youre luck enough to be able to grow aloe vera outdoors, youll be greeted by spiky late spring flowers that grow on tall stalks. But even if your aloe will be housebound, it should be with you for years. Whether youre just starting with houseplants or want an interesting addition to your collection, try growing aloe vera.

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Fungus Gnats

Fungus gnats are more than annoying pests flying around your new plant seedlings and cuttings. Fungus gnats can do serious damage to young plants and should be controlled before their population becomes too large. There are effective biological control measures you can take to detect, deter and control fungus gnats around your growing plants.

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Project FeederWatch Begins

Do you feed the birds in your backyard? If so, you can be a participant in Project FeederWatch, a winter-long survey of visiting birds. FeederWatchers count the numbers...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Growing Violas

Violas and pansies are such stalwarts that gardeners take them for granted . These cool season bloomers are great for spring and fall gardens and for bridging the seasons in warmer areas, where theyll bloom right through the winter. Newer violas have bolder colors and larger flowers that bloom longer. Even better, the new violas and pansies exhibit better heat and cold tolerance than the remarkably hardy varieties where familiar with. Read how to grow the best violas for your garden.

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Keep Fall's Beauty Around a Little LongerPreserving Fall Leaves

Fall foliage is a highlight of the season. Colorful leaves may be even more attractive than flowers. However to make an indoor display of fall foliage, it helps...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Is Your Garden a Bug Magnet?

Scent is such a sneaky sense. One minute Im not the least bit hungry and the next Im getting a whiff of something so tempting I cant resist...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Epsom Salts and Plants

Gardeners have been using Epsom salts as a plant fertilizer for generations. There is little research to prove conclusively that Epsom salts have any effect on plants, but many seasoned gardeners cite their own gardens as proof that Epson salts help certain plants grow stronger and produce better. If youd like to try experimenting on your own, here are some tips for using Epsom salts in your gardens.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

November in the Garden

A gardening calender for November? Gardening in November is a joy for those who've been waiting for cooler weather and almost non-existant for gardeners in Zones 6 on down. Even though the holidays start to demand more time indoors, there are still some garden tasks that need tending in the November garden.

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Growing Sweet Corn

Sweet corn, fresh from the garden, is a treat like no other. Although corn is a long season crop and can take up crucial space in your garden, it is easy to grow and the rewards far out weigh the costs. The real challenge to growing sweet corn is having the patience to wait for it to ripen and beating the critters to the harvest. If you've never tasted just picked sweet corn, you owe it to yourself to try growing it at least once.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Garden Gift Ideas

Finding gifts for gardeners should be easy. There's always a new tool or a gadget they'd like to try. Here are some suggestions for gardening gifts for men, women, kids and even some stocking stuffers.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Cabbages

Cabbage can be grown easily in the home vegetable garden. In fact, two crops a year of cabbage are possible. There are hundreds of varieties to choose from. Cabbages are classified by head shape, round and flat-head being the most commonly seen, and come in white, green and purple.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Ornamental Grasses for Winter

Ornamental grasses accent a garden any time of year, but they might just be at their most imposing in the doldrums of winter. Ornamental grasses provide structure, texture and drama to the gardenscape. Here are 10 of the best ornamental grass and grass-like plants for winter interest. Several are North American natives and all of them are very easy to grow. Many even do double duty by attracting birds to your winter garden, by providing shelter and food.

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[Source: About.com Gardening: Most Popular Articles]

Featured Plant: Aloe Vera - Multi-Purpose Desert Plant, Houseplant or Medicinal Plant.

At some point everyone tries their hand at growing aloe vera. Its not the prettiest of plants, but the medicinal qualities of the sticky gel inside those plump leaves...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

What Organic Slug Control Can I Try, Besides Beer?

This question was posted by a Florida gardener, on the About Gardening Forum. Were never going to be rid of slugs entirely, so this question pops up at least...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Featured Plant: Hakonechloa macra Aureola - Golden Japanese Forest Grass

The Perennial Plant of 2009 has been named and its Hakonechloa macra Aureola. Most gardeners are way ahead of the game in appreciated this golden variegated grass, but I...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Make Herb Flavored Vinegars

Herbal vinegars are one of the simplest concoctions to whip up and yet they lend a complex undertone to so many delicious dishes. Dont confine your vinegar use to just salad dressing. Herbal vinegars will dress up spreads, like mayonnaise, sauces and all types of appetizers.

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Xeriscape Gardening

Xeriscaping doesnt mean deserts and cactus or even a drought plagued, barren landscape. Xeriscaping is a method of gardening that involves choosing plants that are appropriate to their site and creating a landscape that can be maintained with little supplemental watering. Here are the seven steps of xeriscaping, common sense guides to gardening in harmony with your site that can be applied to any type of garden design.

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Winter Mulching

In areas that experience freezing temperatures, winter mulching of the garden differs from mulching during the growing season. We mulch our gardens in the spring to suppress weeds, retain moisture and feed and warm the soil. While we may spread a layer of soil conditioning compost or manure in the fall, the primary reason for winter mulching is to protect our plants from the harsh conditions of winter freezes, thaws and winds. There are several ways to do this.

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Plant Dormancy

Dormancy is often defined as a state of sleep and that's pretty much what your plant is doing when it goes dormant.

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Gardening Gifts

Shopping for gifts for gardeners is easy. Garden tools alone could keep you in gift ideas for years. Then there's garden totes, gardening boots, garden books...

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Consider A Cutting Garden

Cutting gardens or cut flower gardens are a great way to bring your garden indoors. Well planned cutting gardens can grow enough flowers to create bouquets for the entire growing season. Cutting gardens can include long flowering annuals, seasonal perennials and colorful foliage. Here are some plant ideas for your cutting garden.

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Yard Trees Gone Bad.

I often talk about how every yard should have at least one long-lived tree planted in it. If we happen to purchase a home without mature trees, a...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Interplanting Veggies & Flower

There is no rule that says vegetables and flowers cant mix. In fact, the vegetable garden will benefit greatly from the addition of some flowers and herbs. Its not just aesthetics that make flowers and herbs welcome in the vegetable garden. Interplanting flowers and herbs offers several beneficial features that can protect your vegetables from insect pests and even make them more productive.

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Plants for Bees

Every garden needs pollinators and bees are among the best. Without them there would be limited flowers and even fewer fruits and vegetables. To attract bees and other pollinators to your gardens you need to select flowers and plants that are high in nectar and pollen and plant so that they are obvious and available to the insects. Here are some tips for luring bees to your garden and lists of good plant choices for bees.

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#10 - Peach-leaved Bellflower

Campanula persicifolia (Peach-leaved Bellflower) 'Blue Bloomers'

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Holiday Centerpieces

If you find yourself at the last minute, searching for a quick and lovely idea for the center of your Thanksgiving table, look no further than your own plants. Indoor, outdoor, fresh or dried - if they look beautiful in the yard or on a windowsill, they'll look just as good on the table. Here are several fall centerpiece ideas that are certainly turkey worthy.

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Gardening Question of the Week - How Do You Keep Squirrels from Digging in Pots?

Dan needs suggestions. I'm trying container gardening. Whenever I plant something a squirrel comes by and digs it up, even a tiny seed. I've tried moth balls and...

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[Source: About.com Gardening]

Easter Lilies

Easter Lilies are a beautiful, fragrant symbol of the Easter season. A few simple tips will keep your lily plant blooming through the season and maybe even keep it going a few season longer. It is possible to plant your Easter Lily outdoors in the garden and have it rebloom. Success isnt guaranteed, but what do you have to loose by trying. Here are some Easter Lily tips for caring for your lily plant and keeping it going.

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