PHOTO CREDIT: Novalis Plants that Work. Starting a garden space begins with a list of ways the space will be enjoyed when completed, a list of plants to suit the need, and an action plan for installation.

(ARA) – Setting out to create a garden that is uniquely one’s own is an exciting yet overwhelming process for many homeowners. The goal should be to build a space that is beautiful, comfortable and convenient for personal use and enjoyment. Having a plan is important to aid any project, whether homeowners prefer large garden beds and borders or smaller container gardens.

“Plants are the lifeblood of every garden, with their ability to constantly evolve and surprise with the seasons,” says Linda Guy, new product development director for Novalis Plants that Work. Successfully blending living plants with the inert objects they surround, like decks, fences, walkways, walls and containers, takes persistence but is conversely enjoyable.

With the help of plant consortium Novalis Plants that Work, garden design and maintenance takes on a whole new dimension. Guy travels the world to search for exciting new plants. She and the Novalis grower network have dedicated themselves to helping homeowners become successful gardeners by providing easy-care “plants that work” for diverse conditions.

Build Layers for Depth

A good place to start in creating a plan for large garden beds and borders is to choose trees and shrubs for the foundation. Building a solid basis visually anchors the garden bed with a background, providing substance and maintaining interest with layers of plants in varying heights and sizes. Characteristics for year-round appeal include flowers, fruit, berries, spring foliage, fall foliage, texture and structure.

With a goal of horticulture how-to education for homeowners, Novalis established its Plants that Work line to cultivate ornamental shrubs, perennials, vines, and small trees that offer homeowners options for starting successful foundation gardens. Two such varieties Guy recommends include the fast-growing Diervilla ‘Cool Splash,’ a foliage plant with variegated green and white leaves, and Hydrangea ‘White Diamonds,’ boasting large white flowers.

PHOTO CREDIT: Novalis Plants that Work. Plants like Diervilla "Cool Splash" from Novalis Plants that Work make great additions to the garden for year-round appeal with variegated, colorful foliage throughout spring, summer and fall.

“Consider planting small ornamental trees at each corner to draw the eye outward and add texture and height to the garden,” Guy says. “Tall plantings at the corners help soften the edges and tie the look of the space together.” She suggests Acer ‘Shirazz,’ an upright maple featuring burgundy variegated foliage.

Next, build out the garden with a second layer of varied sizes of shrubs and perennials with different bloom times. The Hypericum Mystical Series offers the appeal of berries for color and texture. Planting specific varieties in a range of foliage, blooms or berries will allocate a distinctive medley of styles all year.

Accent with Color

Homeowners who love colorful gardens will enjoy annuals, like Geranium ‘Angel Eyes Orange’ in the front layers of their flower beds and in containers for bursts of color throughout the landscape. Guy suggests picking plants with diverse shades and tints like ones her horticulture colleges grow for the Plants that Work by Color rich-hue line.

“For attention-grabbing impact, position colorful perennials in descending order of mature height, with the tallest in back, then mid-sized plants, and the shortest plants in front,” Guy advises. “Then, group three of the same perennials, like Phlox ‘Cotton Candy’ or Bletilla ‘Chinese Butterfly’ in triangular arrangements throughout open areas.”

For smaller areas or where gardens need touches of color and appeal, the Novalis team created Plants that Work in Nooks & Crannies. These diverse plants fit in small-scale applications, like containers, the front layer of garden beds, along walkways and on green roofs. “Challenged with bare patches or weeds that grow up in pathway crevices, home gardeners can use succulents and other small-stature Plants that Work in Nooks & Crannies because they grow in the toughest conditions,” Guy advises.

Choose Plants Carefully

Once homeowners have a plan for filling in the different layers of their landscapes, it is important plants are designated for the right areas. “Consider the available space and the sun that space receives each day,” Guy says. “Size and sun are two important considerations when planning a garden,” Guy and her team have developed the Plants that Work in the Shade and Bring on the Heat lines to take the guesswork out of plant selection. For full sun gardens expecting high humidity, homeowners can look to Bring on the Heat varieties like Baptisia ‘Carolina Moonlight’ with high drought tolerance.

Most homeowners want outdoor spaces to be relaxing sanctuaries, and privacy is crucial. Blocking distracting views is an important goal in a landscape plan. Guy suggests Plants that Work’s line of screening bamboo, including Phyllostachys bissetti, a vigorous timber bamboo with dark, emerald-green canes and leaves.

“Homeowners can use bamboo to shield sunlight, as a privacy screen, hedge or windbreak,” Guy says. “Bamboo is sustainable and produces more oxygen, offering a soothing, cooling effect.” Picking plants based on meeting homeowner needs is the start to a logical and enjoyable space.

To learn more about Novalis Plants that Work programs and varieties that will work in each region, visit www.plantsthatwork.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Rabbits wreaking havoc on your prized plants? Natural products use taste and smell aversions to keep critters away.

(ARA) – You love the great outdoors, especially gardening. But sometimes wildlife can be just a bit too wild, with rabbits munching prized plants to the ground, deer devouring petals of roses and azaleas, and cats rolling over seedlings and leaving their “calling cards” throughout your landscaping.

Unfortunately, these critters are a common, perpetual annoyance to home gardeners. Learning a little more about their habits and identifying the culprits is your first step to critter control. First, you’ll need to recognize your four-legged foraging foe. Here are some tips to help you determine the critters you’ll need to thwart: 

Rabbits: Bunnies don’t just dine on clover and grass, they’ll also wreak havoc on your vegetable plants and can even damage woody plants in your landscape. Tell-tale signs that bunnies are bountiful include damage that is usually no higher than 2 1/2 feet above the ground, and sharp cuts at 45-degree angles on plants. 

Deer: A lovely sight almost anywhere other than in your backyard. Deer can, and do, cause major damage to plants, landscapes and vegetable gardens, consuming about 12 pounds of foliage in a single day. To determine if your flowers and vegetables are disappearing due to deer damage, look closely at the half-eaten plants. If you see a jagged, rough edge, you can be sure the damage was done by deer as they have no incisor teeth and tear at the food source, leaving proof of their presence. 

Squirrels: These furry, funny, cute creatures can be quite destructive when it comes to your gardens and landscapes. Squirrels are burrowing animals; they usually feed on bulbs and green leafy material during the spring and summer, switching to seeds and grains during the fall and winter. They love wild bird feeders and have a reputation for driving away the very birds you put the feeder out to attract. You have squirrel damage if you see gnawing marks on tree bark and outside wiring, and signs of digging and burrowing. You’ll also see them in the light of day sitting atop your birdfeeder. 

Cats frolicking in your flowerbeds? All-natural products can control critters in your garden and are safe for children and pets.

Cats: Cats love to dig in soft already-tilled soil, making gardens just perfect for their digging desires. Most cats think the outdoors is their litter box, and a patch of dirt is an invitation to come do their business. It also makes a great place to play or roll. They’ll roll over your plants, breaking new shoots and foliage. A sure sign you have a cantankerous cat frolicking in your flowerbeds is cat droppings. 

These critters don’t have to be the enemy of your gardens, and trapping them won’t solve the problem. The arrival of warm weather means the arrival of new foliage, green grass and pesky critters in our backyards and gardens. As spring is sprung, we’re suddenly faced with long gardening to-do lists and a wide variety of unwanted animals in our garden beds. As a rule of thumb, it’s far better to prevent animal damage than to wait until it occurs and try to combat it. 

There are a number of less-than-ideal approaches for dealing with these frustrating problems. Messy, dangerous chemicals pose unacceptable risks for most homeowners, considering pets and children. Sealing off entire areas of your landscape would be impractical, inconvenient and potentially very costly. Trapping is a lot of effort, and again, it would be a perpetual labor as trapping does nothing to prevent new pests. 

All-natural alternatives can help keep critters out of your gardens and landscape. Look for 100 percent certified organic products like those made by Messina Wildlife Management. Easily applied in ready-to-use spray bottles, these organic products dry clear, smell good and work for 30 days before reapplication is needed, no matter the weather. They’re safe to use on vegetables and none will harm the animals they’re intended to repel. Natural products use taste and smell aversions to keep critters like rabbits, deer, squirrel, cats, groundhogs, moles and even armadillos out of your backyard. 

For most animals scent and taste are the primary senses that attract them to food sources. If you disrupt the animal’s sense of smell and taste, you have won the battle against the constant parade of pesky critters in your landscapes. Visit Messinawildlife.com for more information on natural, safe, effective pest repellents. 

Courtesy of ARAcontent

This I’m I’m featuring some of my very favorite flowers in pictures – Bluebells – I hope you enjoy these fabulous flower photos as much as I do:

photo credit: paul quinn photography

photo credit: C.K.H.

photo credit: wsilver

photo credit: jpockele

photo credit: lepiaf.geo

photo credit: Katherine_Davis

photo credit: ed~it

This week we’re showcasing our favorite Iris photos from flickr – enjoy!

Purple Bearded Iris:

photo credit: amandabhslater

Pink Iris:

photo credit: Donnaphoto

Purple Iris:

photo credit: faeparsons

And finally this gorgeous group of Irises – entitled “mmmm colour” -

photo credit: nicer than air

Welcome to our first in a series of flickr flower photo highlights – check back as we select our favorite flower pictures each week!

photo credit: arvindgrover

photo credit: lissalou66

photo credit: [lauren nelson]

photo credit: elbfoto

Happy Spring!

(ARA) – It’s never too early to get a jumpstart on planning a more beautiful backyard. Maybe you are looking forward to inhaling the perfume of flowers wafting through the air, clipping buds from your prize-winning rose bushes, or simply enjoying the beauty of a lusher, more verdant backyard oasis this year.

Here are some tips to help you to make that dream a reality, in a “greener,” more cost-conscious way:

* Switch over to a push lawn mower or electric mower this year. Overall they’re traditionally lower in price, save you money at the gas pump and also provide you with healthy exercise.

* Use a landscape fabric like Weed-X or Weed Shield to protect your investment in expensive perennial and annual plants. Unlike other landscape fabrics or simple black plastic, these fabrics are the only products proven to prevent weed roots from penetrating the soil from above, and prevent existing weeds from growing up through the fabric. Also, since these landscape fabrics help soil retain its moisture, thereby conserving water, and eliminate the need for toxic or harmful chemical weed killers, you’ll save yourself time, money and help contribute to conserving our Earth’s resources. The fabrics are guaranteed to work for 20 years, reducing the amount of waste you create.

* Decorate your yard with carriage and porch lights, but install them on an “as needed basis” with a motion detector light system. This way you can still enjoy your landscaping after dark, but don’t need to worry about wasted electricity or unnecessarily large utility bills.

* Build or purchase a rain barrel to capture water draining from your gutters and downspouts. These barrels work to provide you with fresh water for your plants in between showers, but also prevent soil runoff from where the spouts dump water in your grass.

* If you are dealing with hungry critters in your yard, avoid using expensive toxic chemical pesticides which can be dangerous for pets and children. Instead install a scarecrow device, like Dalen’s Rotating Head Owl or their Holographic Scaretape. These scarecrows effectively and humanely deter destructive yard pests like rabbits, birds, squirrels and gophers while depending on wind and sun for movement, eliminating the need for electricity or batteries.

Visit www.dalenproducts.com for more ways to save money and keep your garden even “greener” this summer and for years to come.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Plant Knock Out roses against your porch to add eye-popping color to your home.

(ARA) – Stroll your neighborhood and chances are you’ll spot landscape shrub roses decorating someone’s garden or backyard. Take a drive into town, and you’ll see them planted at your favorite shopping center.

If you haven’t noticed, landscape shrub roses have taken the country by storm. In home gardens, in containers and along highways, these low-maintenance roses bloom continuously from spring until frost with little to no effort.

“Anybody can grow these hard-working roses, no matter where they live. If you can grow grass, you can grow landscape shrub roses,” says James A. Baggett, editor of Country Gardens Magazine. He likes Knock Out roses for their drought tolerance and disease resistance, especially against black spot.

When designing with shrub roses, think of them as you would any flowering shrub, only this one will bloom continuously all season and do all the work for you!

Here are some tips on using landscape shrub roses in the garden and throughout the landscape.

1. Problem Solvers in Your Landscape
Whether you live in a city or the ‘burbs, have a small garden plot or large acreage, the gardening and decorating possibilities with shrub roses are endless. Plant them individually among other shrubs, annuals and perennials, in mixed beds and borders.

2. Pot up a Container
Renowned garden designer Jon Carloftis prefers to plant shrub roses in containers. “I like to give them perfect planting conditions such as good drainage, rich soil and the addition of regular fertilizer that won’t be an overdose to neighboring plants,” he says. “The results are outstanding when roses are planted in formal urns or combinations of rustic pots.”

From small apartments to grand homes, containers filled with shrub roses bring an understated sophistication to any sized deck, porch and patio. Pot them up in large and small containers, around a gazebo, poolside, or your entranceway for the perfect plant for all seasons.

3. Close to Home
Nothing says simple elegance like the original Knock Out rose. Try planting them “en masse” against your front porch or home. The large clusters of cherry-red blooms say “welcome” with a generous bloom cycle of every five to six weeks. Against your house, porch or deck, the rich, eye-popping red color is a sure winner.

Group several Knock Out roses together to hide unsightly utility units.

4. Second Look Curbside Appeal
Looking for plants with great curbside appeal that add year-round beauty? Cluster shrub roses around a mailbox or blend with perennials to create visual curb appeal. Plant the award-winning Rainbow Knock Out along with perennials. This lovely coral pink rose complements any color scheme and the blooms almost look hand-painted with rich yellow at the base. The plant adds height and color for maximum curbside appeal.

5. Now You See it – Now You Don’t
Do you have an unsightly utility unit, shed, trash can, or pool pump you want to hide? How about a slope or a hazardous spot to fill? Group hardy and attractive roses for a showy “cover-up.” Try planting Pink Double Knock Out with double flowers in a cheerful bubble gum hue. Unfazed by heat, this hardy shrub rose will cover up those unsightly spots with a pink profusion of color.

6. Borders and More
Want to create a natural privacy fence in your backyard? Shrub roses will keep wandering children, pedestrians or stray dogs out of the landscape with a colorful “living wall” hedge.

7. Create an English Garden
You don’t need to dream anymore about having a showcase formal garden. Stake and trim your favorite shrub roses to grow as small rose trees for the look and feel of an English garden. Mix in old-fashioned favorites such as spiraea and hydrangea to create an enviable cottage garden.

It’s no wonder that these roses are the number one choice for folks looking for a carefree landscape shrub rose that looks great and performs beautifully. For more information visit: TheKnockOutRose.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

Bonsai is in a way like photography – it is possible to buy dozens of expensive ‘add-ons’ to the basic equipment. Some of these are helpful, others merely give you the feeling that ‘Gee, I’m really an artist’. Tools do not make the artist – the artist uses tools.

But there are tools which are essential to creating the work of art that is each individual tree. Shears, cutters, tweezers, rakes and others will help you shape the bonsai tree. They can help you make the difference between a small, scraggly plant and a beautifully sculpted bonsai tree.

The first tools recommended will surprise you: paper and colored pencils, or a good design program. ‘Begin with the end in mind’ is the catchphrase of all thinking artists. You need to envision the final result, which in the case of a bonsai tree may be decades in the making. Your vision needs to be made concrete, in the form of an image that you can refer to over the months and years of shaping.

You don’t have to be rigidly locked into your initial idea – the tree will often resist your efforts. But you should have some specific goal in mind that is consistent with the nature of the individual plant before you.

In order to realize that vision you’ll need a good set of shears. You will use them for cutting, trimming and shaping.

Quality counts. Poor quality tools dull quickly and don’t cut sharply. Spend a little more and get shears specially made for bonsai work. A good pair, well kept, will last many years. A poor quality pair will wear out, rust and be useless within a year or two. In the long run you will spend less by buying quality.

They need to start sharp and to be kept sharp. Ragged edges, which look smooth to your eye but are evident at the tree’s level, will produce poorer results. Have you ever noticed, for example, that a ragged wound heals badly, much more so than one cut cleanly?

Concave cutters are essential to shaping the bonsai tree. They are used to remove branches and produce a concave wound. Paradoxically, that rounded scar heals faster than a straight one. The final result will be one that makes it difficult to see that any branch existed in the first place.

Sooner or later you will want to wire your bonsai to shape the trunk and branches, in order to produce varying styles and variations within a style. Wire is essential for that purpose. But unwinding wire after months or years represents a great risk to the tree. It should be cut off instead.

Cutting wire without damaging the tree requires skill in any case. But without the proper wire cutters it is nearly impossible. Wire is wrapped tightly and often covers a large portion of the tree. It needs to be snipped off in small sections without stabbing or snipping the trained branch.

Obtain a pair that can be kept sharp, that can cut thicker wire easily without shaking or pushing the tree. It will be helpful if they are the sort that can cut wire at the very tip. That will aid the bonsai artist in being precise and avoiding damage to the branch.

Say ‘art’ and most will think of painting or sculpture. There is a kind of sculpture, though, that takes as its raw material not stone or wood but a living tree. That is the art of bonsai.

From the Japanese word for ‘tree in a tray’, Bonsai is the art and product of shaping trees by careful pruning to produce a miniature tree or bush. Not produced from genetic dwarfs, bonsai are the result of years of patient shaping of ordinary species by master artists.

Because they are grown and shaped in a small pot, but are produced from ordinary species – pine, maple and many others – extreme care is required to keep the delicate plants healthy.

Soil type and temperature must be just so – conditions that are only within the artist’s control within a certain range. Pruning techniques take years to master and are only possible to a certain kind of temperament. Potting and re-potting practices must be learned and they are many and varied.

Watering alone is a complex science for these small trees and bushes. Too much and the bonsai will become water-logged and develop fungi and root rot. Too little and the soil quickly becomes dry and leaves wilt and the tree dies.

Soil and potting practices overlap with watering needs since drainage is critical. Pruning habits interact with shaping techniques, which in turn are affected by soil maintenance and watering practices.

Bonsai are among the most difficult products of art to create as all these elements and many more have to be carried out to near perfection merely for the plant to survive. Add to that complexity the goal of creating pleasing shapes, styles and colors for both plant and pot and you have a high art.

On top of the inherent horticultural difficulty of learning and mastering a dozen sub-sciences, there is the need to master the artistic vision and skills to produce any of several basic or advanced styles.

There are five basic styles alone: formal upright, informal upright, slanting, cascade and semi-cascade. From that base branch out a dozen advanced types, including the literati and other difficult forms.

An art of that kind is not mastered in a month.

Craftsmen labor for years to produce a single tree, which may last a hundred years or longer. The trees are then often passed down from generation to generation, each successive artist adding his or her own distinctive style. As the tree is lovingly molded according to the personal aesthetic of each caretaker, past efforts are venerated and learned from.

Years of training and experience are required to become a skilled bonsai grower. Ordinary horticulture is by itself a difficult craft. But to produce a miniature tree from ordinary species takes a lifetime of patience and learning.

The results are widely regarded as well-worth the effort, though. Bonsai are admired the world over for their uniqueness, their longevity, variety and beauty and for the skill that goes to produce them.

In an age when brilliant technology can mass produce global cell phones and self-diagnosing automobiles, these individually designed and hand crafted, miniature works of art continue to inspire awe and admiration.

Though no bonsai is easy to train or care for, pine is among the easier species. More tolerant to drying, they adapt well to a pot and often require only regular trimming and biannual repotting.

In the wild, pine commonly grow to 50 feet or more with trunks that are a foot in diameter and larger. Yet they make excellent bonsai trees and look stellar in miniature form. Because of their naturally straight trunks and symmetrical branch arrangements they are well suited to the formal upright (chokkan) style.

In the chokkan style, the trunk is straight and rises vertically from the base, in contrast to the cascade (kengai) that is both curved and grows horizontally across the surface. The chokkan thus makes a good starter species for budding bonsai artists.

Bonsai trees are not a dwarf variety, but a full-sized species that has been carefully trained to emulate conditions in the wild on a very small scale. White pine bonsai, therefore, will have the same characteristics as the full grown variety.

White pine have blue-green needles that form in bunches of five, growing from a small bud. Branches grow in a circular pattern, looking down at the tree from above, with several levels around the tree at intervals up the trunk.

A healthy tree looks healthy, especially in the spring when new growth appears. Needles will be a brighter green and start lengthening. Full-sized pines can add two feet or more to their height during the season. You’ll want to remove or reduce some of the new shoots during this period every year or two.

Repotting can be carried out during spring but can wait as late as early autumn, after the summer heat has cooled.

During repotting ensure there is good drainage when you’re done. Pines tolerate dryer soil much better than over-watering. A mixture of 50% soil, 10% peat and 40% coarse sand works well for many, but there are many variations on the material and relative amounts.

Repotting is a good time for root trimming, but be conservative. Pines need a deep pot in order to grow a deep root system for stability. No more than 1/3 of the root should be cut off during the procedure.

Branch pruning is best carried out during late autumn.

It’s common for some of the needles to become brown and fall off in the summer. This needn’t be cause for concern unless the tree is diseased.

Check for large hemispheres of very dark growth on the branch that can indicate the presence of a tumor. If there are none, and only a small percentage of the needles are brown, the condition may well be normal.

Aphids and mealy bugs are common pests, but easily controlled by a commercial or home-grown mixture. Often a slight misting with a dilute liquid dishwashing detergent will take care of the problem temporarily. The needles should be misted with plain water the day after.

Pines can be watered daily provided there is very good drainage, but every other day is fine. Feeding should be done every two to four weeks from early to late spring and again at the end of summer to early autumn. This coincides with the pine’s active growing seasons.