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Making a Fall Centerpiece from the Garden The backyard is full of interesting finds that can be combined with fruits, flowers, pumpkins, and gourds for fall décor centerpiece ideas. Add a creative container or carved out pumpkin to show off your bounty. First, visualize a theme. Do you want to emphasize certain colors? Do you want an outdoorsy, dried look or a whimsical, pumpkin filled arrangement? Start collecting the backyard bounty....

Planting a Pollinator Succulent Garden Pollinators include bees, wasps, flies, bats, and beetles along with the beloved butterfly. Not everyone is aware, but flowers commonly rise on stalks of echeveria, aloe, sedum, and many others. Keep a pollinator succulent garden going year-round, when possible, with something always in bloom. Succulents that attract bees and other pollinators should be a big part of the garden as well as water and nesting sites....

Growing Plant Seeds With Kids Fun plants for children are fruits and vegetables, flowers and any uniquely shaped plant. Consider the weather and the zone you are in to ensure you choose good plants to grow from seed. Children will continue their interest in gardening if the first time is a fantastic success. Easy seeds for children are larger for little fingers to handle and germinate fast so there is less waiting time....

Are There Really Annuals That Like Wet Soil? Gardeners generally avoid wet soil and standing water. Most plants will get soggy roots and become susceptible to root rot in too much moisture. This is especially true for many annuals, which often come from dry regions like the Mediterranean or California. While excessive moisture is one of the more difficult issues to find annuals to tolerate, it is possible. There are, in fact, wet tolerant annual flowers that thrive in these conditions....

Phomopsis Gall on Forsythia The bright yellow flowers of the forsythia herald spring, but when your bushes develop unusual swellings on their branches, it’s hardly a cheery start to the season. Galls aren’t uncommon problems for woody plants and trees, but unlike most common galls, forsythia phomopsis gall is caused by an aggressive fungus. The fungus Phomopsis spp. is responsible for the irregular swellings that appear throughout affected forsythia shrubs. These galls are typically 1 to 2 inches (2....

Foxglove flowers are clusters of tubular shaped blooms in colors of white, lavender, yellow, pink, red, and purple. Growing foxgloves thrive in full sun to partial shade to full shade, depending on the summer heat. They are hardy in gardening zones 4 through 10 and in the hottest areas prefer more midday and afternoon shade for optimum performance. The hotter the summers, the more shade the plant needs. How to Grow Foxgloves Foxglove plants grow best in rich, well draining soil....

Finding plants that perform well in all that sun takes patience and sometimes lots of research. When we find flowering plants that can survive these conditions of drought and summer heat, we tend to keep planting them. Sometimes, a change is nice for a new look. Try some of the following alternatives. Perennial Border Full Sun Flowers These are largely drought tolerant and bloom at various times of year. One option for the border is to have blooms consistently....

When to Start Hot Pepper Seeds It’s good to get started about six to 10 weeks before the last average frost date in your area. In most climates, January is a great time for germinating hot pepper seeds, but you may want to start as early as November or as late as February. Keep in mind that super-hot peppers, like habanero or Scotch bonnet, take longer to germinate than milder peppers, and they also require more warmth....

Plants Voles Won’t Eat Salvia (Salvia officinalis) has good things to offer if you’re human or even a hummingbird, but there is apparently something about the aroma that voles don’t appreciate. Salvia (available in perennial and annual forms) is most often blue or red, but you can also find varieties in pink, purple, green, white, yellow, and even brown. Hardiness of perennial salvia depends on the species, but most are suitable for growing in USDA zones 4 through 8....

What are Grainy Blueberries? Grainy-tasting blueberries are distasteful and ruin a handful of fresh-picked, juicy fruit. The condition affects the fruit of the plant and causes the berries to be overly mushy and granular inside instead of juicy. The flavor is still sweet and actually may be overly sweet if the flesh has sugared because it was exposed to excessive heat or was left on the bush too long. Grainy blueberries are sometimes confined to just part of the plant but may affect the entire bush....

How to Grow an Orange Tree If you’ve not planted an orange tree yet, but are thinking of growing one, you may be thinking of starting one from orange tree seeds. Some orange varieties may come true from seeds, but most often commercial growers use trees that are grafted through a process called budding. Seed grown trees often have a short lifespan, as they are susceptible to foot and root rot....

Covering Plants with Plastic Bags Plants under plastic bags retain moisture and even capture what the plants produce by transpiration. Don’t use plastic bags as a greenhouse for succulents, though, as they can definitely tolerate neglect, but won’t tolerate this kind of moisture. Perhaps an unexpected freeze is forecast and you hope to save the buds on potted flowering and/or fruit producing shrubs outside. If the bush is small enough to cover, you can fit a clean plastic garbage bag over or around it and possibly save the buds....

Selecting Orchids for Zone 8 Cold-hardy orchids are terrestrial, which means they grow on the ground. They are generally much tougher and less finicky than epiphytic orchids, which grow in trees. Here are a few examples of zone 8 orchids: Lady Slipper orchids (Cypripedium spp.) are among the most commonly planted terrestrial orchids, probably because they are easy to grow and many can survive extremely frigid temperatures as low as USDA plant hardiness zone 2....

Selecting the Best Drought Tolerant Groundcovers The best drought tolerant groundcovers share several common characteristics. For example, drought-tolerant plants often have small or narrow leaves with a smaller surface area and reduced moisture loss. Similarly, plants with leaves that are waxy, curled, or deeply veined retain moisture. Many drought tolerant plants are covered with fine grey or white hairs, which help the plant reflect heat. Drought Tolerant Groundcovers for Shade Keep in mind that even shade-loving plants need some sun....

Different Kinds of Honeysuckles The different types of honeysuckle include both shrubs and climbing vines. The vines climb by twining themselves around their supporting structure, and can’t cling to solid walls. Most need spring pruning to keep them from growing out of control and becoming a tangled mass of vines. They regrow quickly, so don’t be afraid to give them a severe cut. Honeysuckle Vines Trumpet honeysuckle (L. sempervirens) and Japanese honeysuckle (L....

How Many Watermelons per Plant? Healthy watermelon vines produce 2-4 fruits per plant. The vines produce both male and female flowers. Both are needed to set fruit and there are fewer female flowers compared to male, about one female for every seven males. Watermelons can weigh as much as 200 pounds (90.5 kg.), but to get one that size, thinning watermelon fruit is a necessity. The vine simply does not have enough nutrients to foster more than one fruit of that size....

Read on for information about planting flowers that attract bees and other steps you can take to encourage these important pollinators. Attracting Bees to Gardens There is more than one key to creating a honeybee garden. Putting in flowers that attract bees is an important step, but that’s not the only factor to keep in mind. Bees can be affected by even slight amounts of chemical pesticides, so be sure you don’t use any....

While it’s not a good idea to transplant a mature redbud tree unless absolutely necessary, it is entirely possible to dig up seedlings to transplant into your landscape. Read on for tips for transplanting redbud trees. Redbud Tree Transplant In early spring, redbud trees light up the forest with their magical clusters of purple-pink pea-like flowers. They appear on the naked branches of these deciduous trees in early April before the foliage emerges....

Emerald Ash Borer Characteristics The emerald ash borer is so named for its emerald, green color. The insect is about ½ inch (1 cm.) long and leaves D-shaped holes when exiting the ash trees interior. The pest lays eggs and leaves the larvae to hatch inside the valuable ash trees, where they create serpentine tunnels that interfere with the tree’s ability to move water and nutrients throughout its tissues. Learning how to protect ash trees from ash borer can save your trees....

Planting Horseradish A horseradish plant (Amoracia rusticana) is typically grown from a root cutting. These can be ordered from a reputable nursery or you may be able to find someone locally who is raising horseradish and would be willing to share some of their horseradish plant with you. As soon as you get your root cutting in early spring, plant it in the ground. Dig a hole that is deep enough to stand the root up....