Smart Garden

Accessing a porch, patio or deck Accessing a porch, patio or deck with a beautiful hanging basket of flowers is a great way to maximize your outdoor space. Combine plants with upright, mounding or trailing habits for a "thriller, spiller, filler" effect. Mix and match varieties with flowers and leaves in different shapes and colors. Move baskets around the yard or replace with new plants for a fresh look all summer long. 1. Petunia Showy pink and white striped flowers bloom continuously from planting to frost on sturdy stems up to 24" long. This vigorous grower with a full mounding habit can serve as a filler or sprinkler element in a hanging plant or container. Use by itself or in combination with other trailing annuals. 2. Calibrachoa Bring the tropics to your yard with the warm sunset hues of this prolific bloomer. Nonstop color occurs from planting to frost, with self-cleaning flowers on branches up to 18" long. Give plants an occasional cut for bet...

 How to Turn Your Backyard  Creating a backyard wildlife habitat is very simple. Planting native plants and nectar-rich flowers, providing food and water sources, and avoiding pesticides are some of the cornerstones of attracting attractive species such as birds and butterflies to your garden. Get started on creating a wildlife park with the tips and ideas in this guide. 1. Mix floral patterns Different pollinators prefer different flower shapes. Some prefer flat clusters of small flowers, while others plant trumpet-shaped flowers. In the garden shown here, native plants such as coneflower, New England aster, and butterfly weed provide a variety of floral patterns to attract a variety of wildlife. 2. Create a layered look With multi-tiered, densely packed deciduous and evergreen trees, understory fruiting shrubs and vines, and ground-level grasses and perennials, you'll attract a huge variety of wildlife. The garden shown here has a wildlife-pleasing mix of perenn...

 Small trees with non-penetrating roots With a few changes, your front yard can be inviting and charming. One way to transform your front yard and enhance its beauty is by planting trees, which not only provide shade and improve air quality, but also add curb appeal to your property. 1. Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum) The intricately patterned leaves of the Japanese maple, which come in a variety of colors and patterns, transform front yards into beautiful spaces. The plant stands out for its brilliant fall foliage, which can vary in color from red, orange, yellow or purple depending on the plant variety. So, depending on the Japanese maple you plant, you can create a breathtaking fall display. 2. Dogwood (Cornus florida) Are you looking for a plant that looks good all year round and doesn't have invasive roots? Dogwood is a great choice. This plant brings timeless beauty and elegance to front yards with its breathtaking blooms in spring, attractive foliage in summer, a...

Perennials for Continuous Summer Blooms If there's one thing most busy gardens have in common, it's that something beautiful is always happening. That "something" usually refers to something in the flower. 1. 'Orange Vanilla Popsicle' Red-hot poker is a deer treasure Clusters of dull orange spears rise from this plant's grassy leaves throughout summer and into fall, turning cream when they open. A delightful anti-deer treat, the 'Orange Vanilla Popsicle' is much duller in height than the variety. Red-hot poker appreciates the sun and takes drought with great pleasure. Well-drained soil is important in areas with high humidity, especially in the northern parts of its growing range, where winter wetness can lead to rot. 2. Knautia macedonica 'Thunder and Lightning' It's pronounced "naughty-uh," but don't let the name deter you. 'Thunder and Lightning' makes up for its smaller stature than its peers with ...

Bring your potted plants to life It's summer and your container garden is looking good, not great. An expert reveals how to renew (and keep growing) potted plants. If you look out the window during the dog days of summer and the potted plants you're growing are looking a little dull, you're not alone. It's very common, says bird and flower horticulturist Melinda Myers. Don't worry. Here are some reasons why your potted plants need attention. We have some easy ways to put a little life back into your small space garden. Problem: Too much vegetation "In mid-season, some plants fade and are crowded out by more vigorous plants. The bigger ones take off," says Melinda. Part of this is the instinct to pack as many plants as possible into a container when planting in the spring. Sure, doing so gives instant gratification, but you don't take into account that these potted plants keep growing big, developing huge roots in their pots and taking up a...

first sight anyone will see of your home You only get one chance to make a first impression, so put your best foot forward, you can't take back a first impression, and the entryway is the first sight anyone will see of your home. Container gardens, when used correctly, are an easy way to enhance the area and make a lasting impression on your guests. Front entrances often take priority, but don't neglect entrances to key areas of the garden and secondary entrances that you and your family use regularly. 1. A monochromatic theme makes an impact Golden Italian cypress (Cupressus sempervirens ‘Swane’s Gold’, USDA Hardiness Zones 7–9) ‘Mystic Illusion’ dahlia (Dahlia ‘Mystic Illusion’, Zones 9–11) Festival Grass™ cordyline (Cordyline ‘Jurred’, Zones 9–11) Purple heart (Tradescantia pallida ‘Purpurea’, Zones 8–11) Dinosaur kale (Brassica oleracea ‘Nero di Toscana’, annual) Conditions: Full sun Yellow may not be the most popular color in the rainbow, but I like how it sho...

Your Summer Garden  Singing Summer is the time to enjoy the fruits of your spring labor and have fun in the garden. While you're at it, follow these ten basic tasks and your plants will reward you with strong growth and blooms throughout the fall. 1. Give me water, please! As the summer heat settles in, the soil in your containers and garden beds will begin to dry out more quickly than it did in the spring. Keep a close eye on your plants to make sure they don't wilt between waterings. Plants growing in full sun need to be watered more often than those in shade. To determine if your container plants need water, press your finger deep into the soil. If it's dry on your fingertips, it's time to water. Be sure to direct the stream of water into the soil, not over the plants, so the roots can soak it up properly. While you're at it, clean and fill the bird bath. Birds need consistent clean water too! 2. Don't let the weeds win. There is no mistake that ...

 Colorful outdoor plants  Not all plants need direct sunlight. In fact, many annuals, perennials, and tropicals thrive in shade. Whether you're looking to brighten up those dim corners of your yard or elevate a spot in the shade of a large tree, these shade-loving flowering plants will happily grow where their full-sun counterparts don't. 1. Bleeding heart Brighten up the dark corners of your landscape with a generous helping of bleeding heart (Lamprocapnos spectabilis). These hardy shade perennials produce beautiful, arching branches of heart-shaped flowers that have a small tear drop at the base of each flower. In addition to its beautiful flowers, bleeding heart produces beautiful, ferny, blue-green leaves. This fuss-free plant goes dormant in mid to late summer and reappears the following spring. 2. Fuchsia Cool, shady locations are ideal for fuchsias, which do not tolerate extreme heat (they may not be a good choice for hot climates). Many fuchsia species for...

Small backyard gardens A small garden space doesn't mean you can't have the garden you want. Here are our favorite ideas for small garden ideas, including small patio garden ideas to help maximize your space! 1. Create an outdoor room Turn a small patio into a beautiful outdoor room by adding a freestanding pergola. Here, a small wooden pergola is built over a gravel patio and enhanced with a teak seating arrangement. A pergola creates a sense of enclosure and makes the patio appear larger than it is. 2. Gravel cell Crushed brick or gravel is a beautiful, low-maintenance paving option for small gardens. It is easy to use and less expensive than brick or flagstone. Be sure to spread a layer of landscape fabric under the gravel to keep weeds out. On this California hillside, gravel allows rainfall to soak into the soil instead of running down the slope. 3. Capitalize on trees If you have large trees and bare spots under them, why not make use of the wasteland by crea...

These tough little floor coverings can withstand occasional trampling Mulching the 3 acres of display and test gardens in my perennial nursery turned out to be expensive and time-consuming, so I decided to investigate ground covers that eliminated the need for mulch. As I experimented with several ground covers to complement my perennials and shrubs, I was struck by the plants that were strong enough to withstand the foot traffic of people strolling through my gardens and trampling pets. It was clear which ones were hardy enough to withstand the heat and humidity we experience each summer, stay evergreen, and display beautiful flowers for months. Here are my favorites. 1. Green carpet rupturewort: The toughest of the tough I often refer to Green Carpet Rapturewort as my "tractor-trailer" plant because even though stray vehicles sometimes make deep impacts in my garden, the rapture never turns yellow. Creeping stems of small, bright green leaves form a dense green...