Orange Perennials For Your Flower Garden

By Lee Dobbins

Perennials are wonderful because, they bloom year after year. Sometimes, I forget that I even have them planted and then they spring up to my surprise and delight! I like to add some zip to my garden with flowers that are orange in color. They add a vibrant touch and the brilliant colors attract birds and insects.

Here’s some of my favorite orange perennials:

Butterfly Weed – This flowers in summer and can get as high as three feet. It has compact clusters of flowers and as the name implies, it does attract butterflies!

Day Lily – I see this beautiful flower growing wild all over the place here in New Hampshire. It blooms in summer and sits on 30” tall stalks. These perennials are virtually care free and will grow in most locations. Since 1 stalk can have over fourty flowers, you can have a bed of these that blooms for a month or more in the summer.

Gaillardia – This comes in a regular size that has 4” daisy like flowers and a dwarf size. The plant is short growing to about 2 feet and blooms in summer. These like to be planted in the full sun but are quite hardy and you can extend the bloom time if you cut off the fading flowers. And the best thing is that they also attract butterflies!

Helianthemum - Blooms This is a good ground cover that blooms in summer It is easy to grow on rocky slopes and creates a border of color. If you are lucky it will bloom twice, once in early summer and then again in late summer.

Oriental Poppy – Beautiful orange flowers that bloom in spring and grow to 24”. These beautiful perennials like a sunny spot with well drained soil.

Torch lily - This interesting perennial blooms in summer and produces spikes of orange cone shaped flowers that can grow to 6 feet. It likes to be planted in a sunny location and is great for zones 5 – 10. This plant attracts hummingbirds!

Trumpet Creeper – I had one of these beautiful vines growing wild up my chimney. It blooms in mid to late summer and has trumpet shaped flowers that hang from it’s lush vines. It will cling to anything and can grow up to 30 feet. It can also grow as a shrub when it has nothing to cling to. It grows quickly and also attracts hummingbirds.

About the Author

Lee Dobbins is owner and editor of Backyard Garden And Patio where you can learn how to turn your backyard into an oasis and find out more about garden flowers.

Instant Roll Out Flower Gardens

Question: We recently purchased a home and for the first time in our lives my husband and I will have to create and maintain a garden. We want our garden to be as maintance free as possible. A friend told me about a product she'd seen on TV called the Instant Roll Out Flower Garden. Have you heard of this product? If so, would you suggest this for novice gardeners?

Answer: The instant flower mat you describe is a quick and easy way to fill a garden bed because the seeds are already "planted" and all you have to do is roll it out and keep it watered.

The material in which the seeds are encased will act as a mulch once the plants begin to grow and it will help suppress weeds and hold in soil moisture. But, as the organic mat decomposes, weeds will sprout in bare areas. So, it won't be maintenance free, but it will be quick.

You'll still need to prepare the planting bed prior to rolling out your garden, so the new plants will have rich, loose soil. Dig the bed to a depth of 8"-10", add some organic matter in the form of aged compost or aged manure, rake the area smooth, then roll out the mat. Keep the area moist until the seedlings appear, then apply water as the top of the soil begins to dry out. Once the plants are established they can probably get by on one thorough soaking per week. Enjoy your new landscape!

How to Transplant Lilacs

by LeAnn R. Ralph

Lilacs are exceptionally easy to transplant. I have transplanted many lilac bushes from the original bushes that my
grandmother planted on our Wisconsin dairy farm 70 years ago.

Early spring until late spring, from when the lilacs
develop buds until they actually have small leaves, is the best time to transplant. If you have lilacs growing in
your yard -- or if you have a friend who has lilacs -- and you would like to start some new lilac bushes, here's how:

. Decide where you want to transplant the lilac bush or bushes.

. Dig a hole that's about one foot deep by one foot across for
each bush you want to transplant.

. Dig up a lilac shoot from somewhere around the main bush.
Lilacs spread by runners.

Use a shovel to dig up the shoot because you are going to have to cut off the runner, and a trowel will not be tough enough to do the job. Choose a shoot that is approximately 8 to 14 inches high. Smaller shoots that are only a few inches high will take a very long time to mature to the point where they will have flowers.

Larger shoots seem to take a longer time to recover from being transplanted before they start to grow well. Do not worry about how much root you are getting with the shoot. You will not be able to take all of the root since the roots are all connected.

. Put the shoot in a bucket of water if you are not going to
transplant it immediately so that it will not dry out. If you are
going to transplant it immediately, carry it to the hole you have
dug and set it in the hole.

. Center the shoot in the hole and fill in with dirt. Leave a three
or four inch depression around the shoot so you will have a reservoir for water.

. Water your new lilac bush with a couple of gallons of water. Continue
watering the bush several times a week for the rest of the season to ensure
that it has a good start. From what I have observed, lilacs seem to be quite
drought resistant, although like any plant, tree or bush, they will grow
more if they have plenty of water. In subsequent years, water your new lilac
bush from time to time, especially if rain is in short supply.

Note: I have noticed that it takes 4 or 5 years for the new bushes to grow
enough to start producing flowers, although bushes that I transplanted from
small shoots only a few inches high are taking longer than that.

---

About the Author
LeAnn R. Ralph is the author of the books "Christmas in Dairyland
(True Stories from a Wisconsin Farm" (trade paperback 2003); "Give Me a Home Where the Dairy Cows Roam" (trade paperback 2004); "Preserve Your Family History" (e-book 2004). Sign up for the free monthly newsletter, Rural Route 2 News --
http://ruralroute2.com

The Hosta – A Shade Loving Perennial

The Hosta – A Shade Loving Perennial written by Bonnie Carrier

Another way to use Hostas is by mixing them with other shade plants, which can include Perennials such as Astilbe, Bleeding Heart and Japanese Painted Ferns also, Shrubs like Azalea, Hydrangea or Sweet Pepperbush. You’re not limited to using shade plants just within wooded areas or around trees. For instance, a partly shaded walk way along side your home would make a perfect candidate for this combination, plant the shrubs or tall perennials along the back next to the house with the Hostas placed in front can look quite stunning.

A large shade tree in our front yard looked like a good candidate for dressing up and because of the success of the birdbath Hostas of course I decided to try more around the tree. Using a tiller we formed a circle around the base and mixed good topsoil into the existing dirt, edged the circle with bricks, all that was need now were the plants.

I spent several days’ scouring local nurseries looking for Hostas in different colors and leaf textures. Armed with six new plants of moderate size – I’m one of those impatient gardeners – I staggered them around the tree, put down a thick layer of cedar mulch then for decorative accent added several groups of unusual looking rocks found in the woods, a family of resin squirrels also found a home sitting around the plants.

It really looked great and I just knew by the following year with regular watering and feeding those six plants would be larger, fuller and gorgeous.

Several days later while doing my daily walk around to look for anything new, I noticed something strange around the tree in the front yard. Getting closer things really looked funny.

It took a moment to realize there were no longer leafy plants growing there, just a bunch of green stems. This was how I learned that Hostas happen to be a favorite before dinner snack for deer.

Therefore my advice is if you live in an area populated with those brown eyed beauties and your going to give Hosta growing a go make sure to spray them with a safe repellant periodically from their emergence in the spring until the first frost in the fall.

So for those shady areas think about planting Hostas, after all they are a whole lot more than scraggly looking lettuce.

Copyright © 2005 bonnie carrier http://www.savvy-home-decorating.com +http://www.savvyoutdoordecorating.com

Bare Root Roses...

Scents from the rose garden filling the air as you walk by... it's a lovely summer scent that you can enjoy every year. Many gardeners know that the rose is referred to as the queen of all flowers, and you can see the history in the rose by traveling back in time to Europe. The rose is a plant whose scent predominates the historical gardens all over the world. Historical gardens in Europe include the use of Roses, Peonies, Honeysuckle, and a few other strongly scented plants. The rose creates the feeling of royalty, color, and elegance all in the same instant.

The rose bush is a perennial that will fill your garden space without much added work.

In planning a rose garden, you might have the option to plant roses that are bare root. What are bare root roses? Bare root roses are plants that you will dig up from your family or friend's house and bring back to your own garden. The plant that you dig up without bringing the soil that the plant lived in to your garden is a bare root plant. Here, we are going to discuss more about bare root roses, and how to plant them for your rose garden success.

Bringing the bare root plant back from the store, your friends or from your supplier, you should soak your bare root plants in a bucket of water overnight before planting. In planning your rose garden, you can dig your hole for your new plant, loosing the soil where you will place your new rose bush. Using the soil that you loosen in the hole, pile or mound it in the middle of the hole to support the plant during and after planting.

Placing your bare root plant in the hole, center it on the mound of dirt and back fill around the plant. Do not pack in the soil, but loosely back fill the soil around the plant to an inch above where planted in the soil before. You can tell how far the plant was in the soil earlier by the green on the stalk of the plant. Water the rose bush once again with ample amounts of water.

After watering your rose bush well, cover the soil with mulch to hold moisture. The mulch around the rose should not actually touch the thick stalk of the plant, but instead be a half-inch to an inch from the stalk. Watering your rose bush at least once a week, for the first month after planting, will bring the first breath of success in your new rose garden.

Annual Flowers for full sun

Annuals are the work horse of the flower garden. They bloom from Spring through Fall. Here are some annuals for full sun.

Growing Marigolds Pure color for your flower beds:

The Marigold Inca II Orange, 'Tagetes erecta', is an African Marigold that grows to 12 to 14 inches in height. It can bloom up to 7 days earlier than other types with large 4 to 5 inch blooms on strong stems. The Inca II marigolds are sure to stand out and be a major attraction of your flower beds. This Marigold produces enormous double flowers in vibrant shades of gold and orange. They begin to bloom early and continue all summer long until frost. Marigold flowers are abslutely great for massing in sunny beds and borders.

Lantana flowers are an excellent choice for beds or containers. The "Petticoats Lantana" has attractive foliage and the foliage is topped with vividly colored flowers. The brightly colored flowers of Lantana are excellent for attracting hummingbirds and butterflies.

Plant Lantanas in full sun and well drained soil in either beds or containers. Lantana prefers moist soil, but is drought tolerant. Pinch off spent flowers to promote new flower growth. All Lantana plants contain a toxin that if ingested may cause stomach discomfort. Some contact with foliage may irritate sensitive skin. The Lantana is also commonly called a Shrub Verbena. All Lantana's are tough, resilient plants that thrive in hot weather and bloom profusely from spring until frost.

Snapdragons are hardy plants, branched stalks with flowers on spikes in very showy bright colors. These sweet smelling old-fashioned favorites make excellent cut flowers. Growing snapdragons is an easy task. Snapdragon(Antirrhinum majus) flowers are growing best in full sun or light shade and should be planted in rich well drained soil.

More annuals for sunny locations:

. Geranium


. Petunias


. Zinnias


. Verbena


. Daisy


. Cosmos

In Assocciation with NatureHills.com

Preplanned Gardens - In the Shade

Is most of your property in shade? Are you frustrated because you can't get anything else to grow? Are your beautiful big shade trees that look so wonderful in the summer starting to feel like a curse? You want a solution, right? Your answer is to discover which plants and flowers will thrive in the environment referred to as "shade gardens". Finding the right flowers for shade gardens is easier than you might think. Look at these preplanned gardens for shade:

For this pre-planned shade garden, Spring Hill has combined 39 special plants which can transform any shady area of approx. 60 sq. ft. into an island of serene beauty - a blend of textures with inspiring touches of color.

Included in this preplanned garden are three different varieties of hosta, which are delightful in combination with the arching fronds of hardy Ostrich Plume Fern. And for color, there are shade-loving plants which will be in bloom from spring well into late summer. All are easy to plant, and like a true naturalized garden, require only a minimum of care to provide years of charm and beauty. These coordinated plants can be arranged as a border, bed or to bring beauty to a north-facing corner or foundation - a place where you thought nothing except weeds would ever grow!

With this preplanned shade garden you will receive:

3 Ostrich Plume Ferns

1 Pink Bleeding Heart

10 Mixed Great American Lilies

3 Mixed Daylilies

3 Mixed Monarda

1 Blue Hosta

1 Green and White Hosta

1 Royal Standard Hosta

1 Pink Dwarf Bleeding Heart

3 Chantreyland Violas

6 Lily-of-the-Valley

3 Forget-Me-Nots

3 Red Coral Bells

Bring color and charm to a shady area! This Pre-Planned Shade Garden for Beginners includes three each of the following:

. Poker Primrose


. Mixed Hardy Primrose


. Lady's Mantle


. Forget-Me-Nots


. Yellow Perfection Viola

Always Happy Gardening!

Give your garden a lift with trellises

Trellises and arbours give the garden a lift, and give the gardener a beautiful structure on which to nurture roses, clematis or even Jack's beanstalk.

Clematis, Double Multi Blue

A thing of beauty should be cherished forever. Like the timeless beauty of the double clematis - some say this breathtaking perennial has been around since the days of Michelangelo and da Vinci! It's easy to see why - they like to climb on trellies or arbours and produce dark, enchanting blue-violet 2-1/2" blooms midsummer through fall.

Gardeners are always running out of space, and trellises and arbours (or pergolas) artfully add extra square feet for climbing and clambering plants. Flowering vines put a new dimension in a garden by bringing it up to eye level.

Various forms and interpretations of trellises have been at home in gardens for centuries. Elaborate trelliage, or trellis work, was a gardener's art by the 16th century when material like willow canes and sturdy shoots from nut trees were used. The same material can be used today to make trelliage of nearly any size or style.

In Renaissance gardens, trelliage was often inspired by classic architecture, and was built with great attention to detail. These grand structures still suggest ideas appropriate for modern gardens, but trellises need not be overbearing or formal. Depending on your style, rustic twig trellises, arbours made with cedar posts, and perfectly modern plant supports of gleaming copper or steel may be appropriate for your garden.

A GATEWAY OF FLOWERS

Trellises and other such supports for climbing plants can be used to define boundaries, to screen private seating areas, or to cast shade. An arbour, like a gateway of flowers and foliage, may mark a garden entrance, or frame a view across an expanse of lawn. Free-standing pergolas are usually large enough to shelter a table and chairs in the dappled light under a roof of greenery. The style you choose could echo details of your home's design, extending the architecture visually into the garden, or it might be something completely different, sending a subtle signal that the garden is a place apart.

The material you choose should suit the plants you intend to grow. For permanent plantings, such as wisteria, climbing hydrangea, grapes or trumpet vine, a sturdy structure with substantial posts and crosspieces is necessary. More delicate climbers can make their way up lightweight trellises, but remember that a trellis covered with plants must also withstand wind, so anchor it securely in the ground. One way to do this is to bolt the legs of a trellis or arbour to wooden posts sunk several feet into the ground.Source

Rose Garden | Flower Gardening

Give Your Roses a Springtime Boost

Every spring people get a boost of energy. It is like the very air in the spring time is rejuvenating in itself. Natural passions and new loves are often born in the spring, and old loves get a nice spark between them. Spring is definitely the best time of year. The same goes for roses. It is in the spring that people begin planting or replenishing their rose gardens. For those bushes that are already established, spring is the time to see new buds and blooms trying to be born.

If you are interested in helping your roses get an even bigger boost in the spring, you may want to try this special tonic that is used to give your roses a strong boost of all of the nutrients that your roses need in order for them to grow strong, healthy and produce a lot of buds.

Try this recipe for the greatest spring start to your roses.

Be certain to apply in the early spring after you have removed any of the necessary winter protection that you put up.
Here is a list of the ingredients that you will need to make this mixture. You should mix them in a 5 gallon tub or bucket.

• 2 cups of alfalfa meal

• 2 cups of Epsom salt

• 2 cups of fish meal

• 2 cups of gypsum

• 2 cups of greensand

• l cup of bone meal

. You will first have to pull back the mulch that has been placed around your rose bush.

. You will next, want to work one cup of this tonic into the top inch of soil if you have a smaller bush.

. You will do best to use a trowel or a hand cultivator for larger bushes. (that would be bushes that are 6 feet or taller) For these sizes, you will need to use three or four cups.

. Now you will have to replace the mulch and water your roses very well.

Tip #1: You can do this again in the middle of June if you want to keep your roses blooming. Just scratch 2 cups of the mixture into the soll.
Tip #2: You should wear a dust mask while you are mixing your ingredients for the tonic.

Nothing can compare with a professional Rose Garden to provide your home with the ultimate in floral beauty. Buy a
preplanned Rose Garden from SpringHillNursery.com

The Magic of Cut Flowers

As a result of the mounting global market and technological advances, an abundance of flower arrangement varieties are available throughout the year. Some of the most
beautiful and diverse arrangements contain a mixture of fresh cut and other types of flowers or plants. Contained within this section are some of the more common varieties that are available through most local florists.

One of the more classic flowers – the rose – is available in a variety of genres, including the tea rose, the sweetheart rose and the spray rose. The nearly 120 arrays of roses that retailers commonly carry contain all shades of the spectrum, such as those of the red, pink, purple, orange, coral, peach and white families. The style of growth, as well as color, may differ from type to type. For example, tea roses will open from three to four inches, with stems spanning 12 to 30 inches in length; whereas the stems of spray roses may contain several flowers each.

The variety and type of rose will determine its life span, but most will typically live between four and seven days after cutting. Due to their delicate nature, stems should be placed in the vase very gingerly. In order to reduce the build-up of bacteria, any foliage that is apparent immediately above the water line should be removed. For maximum life expectancy, stems should be re-cut every two to three days.

Lilies may also be referred to by variety, such as in the case of the Asiatic Lily or Oriental Lily. These flower types can be recognized by their trumpet-shaped petals and can reach six inches in diameter. The height of their stems can reach up to three feet and may sport four to eight blossoms. Their color varieties include white, yellow, pink, red and orange.

Tulips – known by no specific variety names – grow as single blossoms, containing six petals each. Variations include those of the lily-flowering, double flowering,
fringe-petaled and ruffled parrot genres. The color array includes white, yellow, pink, peach, orange, red, lavender and purple, as well as a bi-color variety.

The orchid, also known as cymbidium, dendrobium, oncidium, cattleya and phalaenopsis, are available in a variety of shapes and sizes – the largest of these being cymbidiums. Including all varieties, there are currently over 17,000
species which span the globe.

Personal preference will dictate which flower, color and/or flower bouquet is most suitable for that special someone in your life, as well as which room of the house in which to display the flower arrangement.

Ornamental Grasses in Garden Design

Landscaping Ideas - Ornamental Grasses

Among the big pluses of ornamental grasses in the home garden is that they bend rather than break, which is certainly an important consideration in windy environments--such as along a coastline or in the Great Plain states. And if your garden is geared as much to attracting songbirds as it is to color and fragrance, grasses play an important role in providing diversity of texture.

Ornamental grasses do well as a backdrop to the brightly colored blooms--such as red Columbine, butterfly bush, and hollyhocks, for example--that attract hummingbirds and others. Arranged with hosta in a shady rock garden, they serve admirably as points of interest, and as hedges and screens. Lower species such as yellow sedge do well as groundcover, as does ribbon grass, sometimes in poor soil, or in places where even Japanese yew refuses to grow.

Maiden grass, which clumps and grows to about five feet in ideal conditions, does well in a number of circumstances. A warm season grass, it does especially well around ponds or swimming pools. For fall color, Korean feather reed grass (also known as achy heart grass) is a medium clump-growth plant with refined pink plumes that gives way to bronze. Golden oats (Stipa gigantea), which grows in full sun and can reach eight feet, adds a lovely shimmer and softness to a fence line with its bristly spikes that turn gold when ripe in high summer.

Zen Gardens - Landscaping Ideas

When you hear the term "Zen Garden" the picture conjured up is of a dry landscape with rocks surrounded by carefully raked gravel which invites you to withdraw from the noise of the world outside and to enter into silent meditation. Some say that zen priests adopted the dry landscape style in the eleventh century as an aid to create a deeper understanding of the zen concepts, but others hold that the Japanese Zen Garden is a myth. They claim that it is a late 20th Century western creation that has nothing to do with the Japanese Garden Tradition and that the dry garden style is not unique to zen temples but can be found associated with many other buildings.

Whatever your view it is undeniable that there is something rather special about this dry landscape style which is generally known as a Zen garden. The main elements consist of rocks representing mountains or islands surrounded by flowing water in the form of sand or gravel.

Recently scientists used computer analysis to study one of the most famous Zen gardens in the world, at the Ryoanji Temple in Kyoto, to discover why it has a calming effect on the hundreds of thousands of visitors who come every year. The researchers found that the seemingly random collection of rocks and moss on this simple gravel rectangle, when viewed from the right position, created the image of a tree in the subconscious mind.

Not all Zen gardens are restricted to dry stones and gravel, but often include plants and mosses as well as shrine lanterns, bridges and water features. A Zen garden should be equally attractive and inviting throughout the year, which is why evergreens play such an important role in their design. Black pines and bamboo, moss and other evergreen ground covers provide seasonal continuity which is always green and alive.

Construction of a Zen garden starts with the selection of suitable rocks. It is important that you find rocks in shapes that appeal to you since these will form the backbone of the design. It may take some time for you to find the right stones and gravels to blend together to form a harmonious picture, but taking time and making careful choices is an important part of transforming simple gardening into an act of "meditation". Zen gardening means that design, construction, planting and cultivation is all part of the garden itself. A Zen garden is a continuing process in which the creation and maintenance of the design is as much a part of the meditation as contemplation of the completed garden. Read more...
Article Source

Garden Flowers - Annual Asters

Do you agree that annual asters are one of the prettiest summer flowers we can plant? On the other hand they take a while to bloom when planted from seed, and that turns a good many gardeners off. But there is still time to plant from seed this month if you get started right away.

There are both tall asters and dwarf asters, the latter being best for containers and borders. The tall asters are more spectacular, with big three to four inch flowers on plants that get anywhere from 2 feet to 3 feet tall. And the color range of asters is broad from shades and tints of pink through purple, blue, white, lavender and scarlet.

Alma Potschke Aster The Aster ‘Alma Potschke’, Aster novae-angliae, displays a beautiful bright neon rose pink daisy-like flower that are about quarter-sized. The flowers blooms in early fall to frost. ‘Alma Potschke’ is very attractive with a plant width of 34-40” and a height of 18-24”. It is a major attractor to butterflies and bees. ‘Alma Potschke’ is best planted in masses, borders and natural areas. Aster ‘Alma Potschke’ makes an excellent container plant or front of the garden feature and looks great with ornamental grasses.

Professer Kippenburg Aster The Aster ‘Professor Kippenburg’, Aster novae-angliae, has beautiful vivid purple daisy-like flowers that cover the plant. The flowers are 1-2” wide with a plant width of 12-18” and a height of 18-20”. Aster ‘Professor Kippenburg’ does require full sun, but can take some afternoon shade, in a moderate soil range with good drainage that does not become extremely dry during the summer. Aster ‘Professor Kippenburgs’ make an excellent container plant or front of the garden feature and looks great with ornamental grasses.

Purple Dome Aster The Aster ‘Purple Dome’, Aster novae-angliae, has beautiful vivid purple daisy-like flowers that cover the plant. The flowers are 1-2” wide with a plant width of 18-24” and a height of 18”. Aster ‘Purple Dome’ does require full sun, but can take some afternoon shade, in a moderate soil range with good drainage that does not become extremely dry during the summer. Aster ‘Purple Dome’ makes an excellent container plant or front of the garden feature and looks great with ornamental grasses.

Tall aster seed takes a couple of weeks to germinate, more quickly in warm weather, and then needs another six weeks to eight weeks or so to come into bloom. Once in bloom, they'll continue to flower profusely until late fall, providing color in the garden and plenty of flowers for cutting. And it does help to cut flowers often, since that will make them continue to bloom, and spent and faded blooms should be removed.

Asters do well in full sun, best with a little afternoon shade in the high and low desert, and need good soil and an application of fertilizer once or twice during the growing season before they bloom. They need adequate water, especially when first starting out, and in hot weather. Insects aren't too much of a problem, although they sometimes attract aphids, but disease, a type of wilt, can be a problem. Most present day varieties of annual asters say they are wilt tolerant or resistant, but you shouldn't plant asters in the same place two years in a row.

Garden Flowers ~ spring-flowering bleeding heart!

Heart-shaped flowers brighten your flower garden!

The spring-flowering bleeding heart, Dicentra spectabilis, is an old- fashioned garden favorite. It is noted for its beautiful heart-shaped flowers that hang from flowering stalks like pendants.

The flowers also resemble a double winged lyre. Thus, another common name is the lyre flower. The bleeding heart has been referred to as "the living valentine." There are white varieties, which are not as vigorous as the pink. The plants are 18 to 24 inches high.

The bleeding heart belongs in a shade garden with rich, well-drained soil that has lots of humus. Partial shade is ideal. Typically, when the weather turns hot in early summer, this plant goes dormant unless adequate water is provided. Usually bleeding hearts are gone by the middle of July.

The wild bleeding heart, Dicentra eximia, also known as fern-leaf bleeding heart and fringed bleeding heart, will hang around throughout the growing season. It has smaller heart-shaped flowers than the common bleeding heart. The compact 12- to 18-inch bushy plants continue to bloom off and on all summer. This plant self-seeds freely.

In comparison, the bleeding heart has much larger flowers than the wild bleeding heart. The foliage of the wild bleeding heart is fine-textured and more attractive than the bleeding heart.

The bleeding heart goes dormant in early summer, while the wild bleeding heart continues to grow until fall.

The bleeding heart probably grows best in a shady, wildflower garden. The wild bleeding heart will do well in a shady perennial border. Just looking at the names, it would seem like the bleeding heart would be more at home in the perennial border and the wild bleeding heart more suited for the wildflower garden.

Plant a butterfly garden in a container...

You'll need a good-size pot that you can put in a sunny spot protected from wind. Butterflies are attracted to nectar-producing flowers, but each kind of butterfly has its own preference, so plant a variety of nectar-rich plants to increase your chances of attracting many butterfly species.

Here are a few good choices:

• Scabiosa pincushion flower


• Echinacea cone flower


• Rudbeckia black-eyed Susan


• Coreopsis tickseed


• Hibiscus


• Lavender


• Rosemary


• Verbena

Butterflies also like to drink out of puddles. Bury a cup up to its rim in the planter, fill it with sand and then keep it full of liquids. Butterfly favorites include stale beer, fruit juice and water. Now and then, stick a chunk of overripe fruit among the plants as a special treat. A potted butterfly garden would make a great Mother's Day gift. For an extra surprise, give Mom a butterfly identification guide.

Kids love container gardening too

Make gardening fun for kids by giving them their own container to plant. Container gardening is a great way to teach kids to garden because they can achieve a fabulous composition in a limited space without having to weed or do lots of maintenance.

Get the kids started with a little lesson in planting and caring for the plants, then let them loose at your favorite nursery. At first you'll probably have to help the little ones pick out the plants, but before long you can give them a budget and let them have at it Kids love designing and caring for their own container gardens, and they learn fast. The only problem is that it's a bit embarrassing when the kids' containers look way better than yours!

Herb garden...

a tasteful gift for a practical mom!

The ephemeral beauty of a bunch of cut flowers is a traditional Mother's Day gift, but to an ever-practical mom, it may smack of wastefulness. Always frugal, she culls out shriveling flowers one by one, day after day, making the bouquet last as long as possible. Finally, all that's left is a vase and a bare spot on the table.

This year, create a gift with better symbolism and lasting value. A potted herb garden improves over summer, offering flavor, convenience and beauty.

A sunny start: Most homes don't have a handy garden site directly outside the kitchen. Container gardens, on the other hand, can be placed almost anywhere, as long as there are at least six hours of full sun. Plus, potting mix is easier to work in than native soils, and containers can be more accessible to moms in wheelchairs or walkers. At the end of the season, containers can be brought into a sheltered space, so non-hardy herbs like rosemary and scented geraniums can survive winter. Set in full sun during spring, herbs grow quickly. As hot summer begins, move containers to a site with afternoon shade, so herbs stay productive.

Picking a planter: First, find a fairly large container and buy good quality potting mix. Be sure the pot will drain. Newer plastic pots are lightweight but sturdy with hollow or foam-filled walls that help insulate roots. Unglazed ceramic pots will keep root systems cool as water evaporates through the porous walls, but the potting mix will dry quickly. Glazed ceramics and thin-walled plastic pots should be light in color to prevent roots from overheating on the sunny side of the pot.

How to plant: Most herbs grow well in containers, as long as there is enough potting media in the pot.

Generally, each herb plant requires 1 gallon of potting media. A typical 12-inch diameter pot holds about 3 1/2 gallons of potting mix, so it can carry three or four herb plants. A 16-inch pot holds about 5 1/2 gallons mix, so you can plant five or six herbs in it. Cool-season annuals like lettuce or pansies may be included in the initial planting, but they should be removed or harvested as summer heat builds and the herbs' root systems grow larger.

What to plant: Choose herbs that will fit nicely in containers. Many varieties of thyme, basil, oregano, chives, lemon grass, and mints look nice together. Edible flowers such as nasturtium and calendula can add color accent. Avoid toxic plants in edible gardens.

Prepare for winter: At the end of the season, make sure no pests are in the pot or on the plants and then put the container in the basement near a south- facing window. Keep the temperature low so growth is slow. Water infrequently but don't let the plants dry up.