Savvy Gardening: Garden Ideas, Tips, Pictures, and More » Annuals

Eight Awesome Annuals that Add Instant Impact

Jennifer — Sun, 05 Aug 2007 05:03:56 +0000

It’s all about annuals. If you want to make a dramatic difference in your garden this spring, you gotta get annuals.

Flowering annuals have long been the gardener’s favorite. They are affordable and produce a bounty of brightly colored blooms from spring to frost. Large or little, formal or festive, bold or blah — whatever your landscape style, adding annuals is almost effortless and enormously effective.

Annuals are flowers that you must plant every year. Seems like a lot of work? Not when you see the payoff. Annuals can magically transform a bare patch of soil into a glorious garden. And they constantly color your landscape all summer long. No matter your soil or sunshine, annuals are the answer for beautiful blooms that keep the garden alive with a dazzling display of color. Here are eight awesome annual choices, all new this spring!

BabyWing White Begonia
This pretty little hot shot is a brand new, pure white, easy-care variety that performs all season long with an endless show of color. These upright, mounding marvels have a controlled habit ideal for landscapes and containers. This baby isn’t fussy at all — it’s extremely heat tolerant and stands up to stressful conditions. Plant them in partial shade. Grows 12- to 15- inches-tall spreads 10 to 12 inches. Also available in BabyWing Pink.

Pacifica Burgundy Halo Vinca
This garden “angel” features a heavenly burgundy halo that surrounds a large white center of the flower. A trouble-free delight in the garden, this hearty vinca begins blooming extra-early with big flower faces, then keeps on giving through almost any heat and humidity! Pacifica Burgundy Halo received the All-America Selections Award for 2007, a testament to its great garden performance! Plant in full sun in the garden or patio pots. Grows 10- to 14-inches tall, spreads six to eight inches. 22 additional colors available.

Fiesta Salmon Double Impatiens
Plant a pretty petal party in your garden! If you like miniature roses, you’ll love this double-flowering impatiens. The bloom sits high above the foliage showing off eye catching color bursts galore. This flawless flower shines in the shade and is known for its big, bold, brightly colored blossoms. Grows 10- to 16-inches tall, spreads 12 inches. Plant in partial sun to shade. Also available in 14 additional colors.

Landmark Rose Glow Improved Lantana
This trouble-free, drought tolerant, blossoming beauty will add a glorious glow to your garden. There are tons of bi-colored blooms all over this lush, vigorous plant. Bred specifically for use in the landscape, plant Landmark in full sun for an easy way to get loads of long lasting color with little effort. Grows 15- to 20-inches tall, spreads up to two feet. Also available in Landmark Peach Sunrise Improved, Gold, Yellow, Flame Improved, Pink Dawn and White.

AngelMist Basket Pink Angelonia
Sometimes called “angel flower” or “summer snapdragon,” this garden sweetie loves full sun and thrives in well-drained soil. The frothy blooms of AngelMist set amidst spike-like leaves are heavenly in pots and gardens offering a bountiful “mist” of color all summer long. Plant in full sun. Grows six- to 10-inches tall, spreads 16 to 20 inches. Also available in AngelMist Basket Purple, Basket White and 12 upright AngelMist varieties.

Live Wire Isolepis
One of the hottest grasses available this spring is the new Live Wire Fiber Optic grass. This groovy grass is the perfect complement to any mixed container — inside or out! As a young plant, Live Wire grows upright and then drapes as it matures. Each blade of grass looks like a fiber optic strand — that’s where the plant gets its name. Live Wire will surely electrify your landscape and spark your interest! Plant in a sunny to partly sunny location, performs well in wet conditions. Grows six- to eight- inches tall, spreads 18 to 20 inches.

Maracas Brazilian Fireworks
Whether you use this tropical temptress in containers or in a shady garden spot, Brazilian Fireworks is fantastic! With its long, angular leaves of green and silver striping and its center cluster of spiky purple and pink blooms, it explodes with bursting rich color and fascinating foliage. This trendy tropical blooms all summer, likes it hot and humid and prefers the shade. It is sure to be the talk of the town! Grows six- to eight-inches tall, spreads eight to 10 inches.

Fusion Glow Improved Impatiens
Get your garden glowing in the shade with this unique impatiens. What would a shade garden be without impatiens? No other flower delivers color throughout the entire growing season and is so undemanding. Gardeners take impatiens for granted, but they truly are amazing little flowers — and now they’ve gone exotic! Fusion Glow Improved shows off a bright yellow color with an orange center, giving an orchid-like effect. This one’s a real show stopper! Plant in partial sun (morning sun and afternoon shade is best). Grows 10- to 16-inches tall and wide.

As you can see, this summer it’s all about awesome annuals! Try something new in your garden this summer that’ll keep the sizzle throughout the season.

The Simply Beautiful collection from Ball Horticultural Company is available exclusively at independent garden centers. Developed from superior plant genetics, the collection provides great gardening results with minimum fuss. Find local retailers, plant information and gardening tips at www.simplybeautifulgardens.com

Courtesy of ARAcontent

All About Annuals

Jennifer — Fri, 25 May 2007 03:45:58 +0000

Memorial Day weekend typically serves as the kick-off to summer, and with the holiday quickly approaching, millions of us are getting ready to fire up the grill and start our summer lawn and gardening projects. In fact, the holiday weekend is usually one of the busiest times for home improvement stores and nurseries across the country.

If you’re planning to tackle some lawn and garden activities, more than likely, you’ll be planting. If you want plants that come to flower quickly, provide a long season of blooms and require little more than sunlight and water, annuals are the way to go.

To help lawn and gardening enthusiasts get the most out of their annuals with minimal work, Ames True Temper, a leading manufacturer of non-powered garden tools, offers the following guidelines:

Choosing Between Annuals and Perennials
Perennial plants grow and spread for years, whereas annuals live for only one year. Because they’re a permanent addition to a garden, the initial cost of perennials is greater than annuals. Annuals, on the other hand, serve as a one-season splash of color, bloom almost immediately and continue to do so until the first frost. So, in the long run annuals are more costly because they must be replaced each year. However, the benefit of annuals is that they provide you with the freedom of easily changing the color scheme of your landscape and garden from year-to-year.

Selecting Healthy Annuals
Once you’ve decided to proceed with planting annuals, it’s important to select healthy plants. You can grow annuals from seed, but if you plan to buy plants that are already set to bloom (green-house raised seedlings), be certain to choose them carefully. Most garden centers offer information with each plant regarding specific soil, sunlight and wind conditions needed, as well as watering requirements.

Look for deep green plants and avoid those that are spindly and housed in cell-packs, as this usually means they’ve been in the packs too long. Also, check the leaves and stems for signs of disease and take the plants out of the pot to check the roots. Roots should be firm and white, without spirals or kinks.

Preparing the Soil
Improper soil nutrients and conditions can stunt or kill annual flowers. Avoid planting them in poorly drained areas where water pools after heavy rains. Most annuals also do best in soil that has a pH range of 6.0 to 7.4. So, before working in your gardening beds use a home soil test kit to check the pH levels then enrich the soil as necessary by adding lime sulfur. Once the pH levels are addressed, spread a 2- to 3-inch layer of compost and cultivate it at least 8 to 12 inches deep.

Planting
Before you plant your seedlings be sure that the plants have been hardened off, or gradually transitioned from their relatively sheltered life in the green house to the outside elements. This can be done by moving them outside for longer periods of time each day until they can remain safely outdoors. If you don’t, your plants could die from the sudden changes in temperatures and elements.

Before you plant, be certain to weed the area, loosen the soil where you will be planting and dig a hole large enough to accommodate the root system. Here’s a great planting trick that professional landscapers use to save time and effort — rather than using a scooping motion to remove soil they typically “stab and separate” the ground in one quick motion. This technique is easier and faster than digging the traditional way by scooping out the dirt.

A new tool that’s ideal for this task is the 7-in-1 Planter’s Buddy from True Temper. Its large stainless steel blade offers a curved design that allows home gardeners to utilize the tool much like professional landscapers do. It’s also a multi-tasking tool and features combination straight and serrated edges, so you can use it for splitting open soil or mulch bags, weeding, cutting twine or even sod without ever needing to reach for another tool. On the front and side are 12-inch measurement markings for easy measuring of distance when planting. And a poly tamper on the end makes it easy to tamp down wood stakes, markers, or even fertilizer spikes.

Maintaining Annuals
Although annuals bring unique and colorful beauty to a garden, they do require a significant amount of maintenance. To continue blooming throughout the season, they must receive careful attention. Most annuals need plenty of water so keep watch on the soil. If it dries out, thoroughly soak it when watering, don’t just wet the surface. Also try to keep the foliage dry since too much moisture on the blooms or leaves can contribute to disease.

Another important task is deadheading, or removing flowers once they begin to fade. Walking through the garden on a weekly basis and removing spent blooms will help annuals flower longer.

By following these tips you’ll ensure your garden will be bursting with color for the entire summer. But most importantly, once the work is complete be sure to sit back, relax and soak up the beauty of your efforts.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

EDITOR’S NOTE:

The Planter’s Buddy is available at Lowe’s, Home Depot and True Value at a possible retail price of $14.99. To learn more, call (800) 393-1846, or visit www.amestruetemper.com