Smart Garden

 Best shrubs for shade  The best shrubs for shade grow in places in your yard that don't get much sunlight. It is even better if the shrub has beautiful and fragrant flowers or colorful foliage or sometimes both at the same time. This list of shade-loving shrubs includes plenty of flowering, native, evergreen, or low-maintenance options that will brighten up difficult areas with limited sun. 1. Abelia Abelia is an easy-to-grow flowering shrub suitable for foundation beds and mixed shrub borders. Fragrant, bell-shaped flowers appear in late spring and continue to bloom into fall. The small, glossy green leaves turn purple-bronze or orange in fall. 2. Aucuba Akuba, also known as gold dust plant, thrives in low-maintenance shady borders. This slow-growing, evergreen shrub has yellow-speckled foliage year-round, providing color and texture when other plants go dormant in winter. Gold dust plant is grown for its foliage. It has berries and flowers, but they are small a...

 Shade garden design ideas  Use these design tips to enjoy bold, beautiful colors in a shade garden that gets less sunlight in your yard. Mix and match shade-tolerant annuals, perennials and shrubs to make every inch of your yard look stunning. 1. Add a shade garden path A surefire way to improve any shady backyard is to divide and conquer. Here, a paver walkway creates a sense of purpose and destination amid an abundance of hostas and other evergreens. 2. Plant low grass, especially in shady areas Every lawn struggles if it doesn't get enough light. So instead of fighting fading grass in your yard, keep just a small patch of lawn and turn it into a landscape feature by surrounding it with a shade garden. Or leave the grass behind and use shade-loving ground covers like heechara and ajuka. 3. Make your shade garden a retreat Turn an unused, shady spot in your yard into a cool and stylish summer oasis by adding a bench and some flowers. Creating a shady retreat giv...

Front Garden Design Tips to Make  A beautiful front garden is a delight to look at and will increase the anticipation of coming home no matter which gate or entrance you pass on your way. Pausing to soak under an arch of greenery or brush up against deliciously scented shrubs is part of the charm, and they can be easily incorporated to add both character and charm. It is important to make the path clear through the garden, but this can be signaled in subtle ways - for example by symmetrically placing box balls to mark the path or by placing focal points towards the goal. A fair proportion of evergreens will ensure year-round structure and reduce maintenance. A relatively limited color palette of both plants and paint colors will help keep the overall look harmonious, but don't forget the element of surprise. Front gardens are sociable spaces that encourage interaction with neighbors and passers-by, so make the most of that too. Country Living Gardening Editor Paula McW...

 5 Easy Ways to Test Your Soil  Most people know that soil pH is how acidic or alkaline your soil is. Soils naturally have a wide range of pH values, with most ranging from 3.5, which is very acidic, to 10, which is very alkaline. Most garden plants prefer neutral to slightly acidic soil, with a pH value of 6.5 to 7. The main reason most plants thrive in the neutral zone is that most plant nutrients are readily accessible within this range. For example, nitrogen is less available below 5.5 and above 8. When the soil pH drops outside of those numbers, it becomes more difficult for plant roots to access that essential nutrient. Of course, there are acid-loving plants like magnolias (Magnolia spp. and cvs., zones 3-9) and forsythia (Forsythia spp. and cvs., zones 4-9) that prefer alkaline soils. . It's best to grow plants that thrive in your area's native pH if possible, but if your soil is too acidic or basic for the plants you want to grow, they won't be able to...

Medicinal flowers Gardening Here are 7 medicinal flowers that you can grow in your own garden at home. There are many medicinal flowers and their uses are different, but they all add color and beauty to the garden. We value beauty for its own sake, but many colorful flowers offer much more than just their beauty. Some can be used medicinally, others are good to eat and provide food and habitat for many beneficial insects. Some flowers are threatened by habitat destruction, as are birds and other wild things, so growing flowers is a good idea. Give some space in your garden to multi-purpose flowers and prepare to be amazed at what medicinal flowers can do for your health, your palate and your spirit. Medicinal flowers: wonderful annuals Annual flowers bloom from seed and produce seeds in one growing season. Annuals often bloom longer than winter-hardy perennials and do well in fresh soil that is dug up and amended with organic matter. The seeds of these plants can be sown d...

Container garden plants When the hot days of summer hit, many container garden plants slow down to produce flowers and new foliage, even if you're watering regularly. Beat the heat by filling your containers with these colorful plants that thrive as temperatures rise. Most come from warm places around the world, so they are often grown as annuals in cooler areas. However, you can spend many of them indoors and bring them back outside when the warmer weather returns. 1. Angel's Trumpet In full bloom, a good-sized angel's trumpet will stop you in your tracks. The drooping flowers are actually trumpet-shaped and can reach over 1 foot in length depending on the variety. The flowers emit a sweet, sweet fragrance after sunset. If you have pets or children, be sure to keep these plants out of reach, as all parts are poisonous if ingested. 2. Agave Although it is not grown for flowers, agave is a wonderful plant that provides an architectural flair to any container. Th...

Indoor Plants to Brighten Your Home If you don't get sunlight through large windows, low-light indoor plants are the way to go when choosing greenery for your home. All plants need some light to grow, but a variety of vines, ferns and evergreens do well in dim areas of a room. Brighten up a sun-drenched space in your living room or office with these beautiful houseplants that thrive in low-light spots. 1. Cast iron plant Here's a houseplant that truly lives up to its name. Cast iron plant (Aspidistra elatior) is a low-light indoor houseplant that thrives in neglect. Lives happily in dark rooms with only occasional watering. Plus, this rugged plant spreads slowly, so it rarely needs replanting. Cast iron plant produces dark green narrow leaves; There is also a colorful pattern, but it is difficult to find. 2. Prayer plant Brighten the darkest corners of your home with the cheery foliage of the praying mantis (Maranda leuconera). This easy-care charmer has colorful ...

Choose one of these top performers from rigorous plant testing The Chicago Botanic Garden's evaluation program has looked at nearly 10,000 different plants over the past 30 years, most of which have been included in one of the more than a hundred comparative tests we've ever done,  large and small. If you've read my articles over the years, you know that comparative tests are a great way to measure the merits of a plant against other similar plants. But not every plant ends up in comparative testing; Individual plants have become more common in our experiments due to plant introduction programs and generous support from independent nurseries. Sometimes these single plants whet my appetite, leading to a great deal of exploration. This is true for gentians (Gentiana spp., zones 3–9) and mountain hydrangeas (Hydrangea serrata cvs., zones 6–9). Whether they're stand-alone plants or from an unreported comparative trial, consider the following plants my "bes...