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Evergreen Iris Plants Dietes evergreen iris looks like a clump forming, flowering, ornamental grass and is frequently used in the landscape as one. However, it is actually a member of the iris family. Its blooms, which appear sporadically from May through September and sometimes throughout winter in the hottest zones, look similar to bearded iris flowers in shape and size. Evergreen iris blooms, though, are generally yellow, cream, or white in color and variegated with black, brown, or orange....

Types of Fan Palms Chinese fan palms (Livistona chinensis) are very popular in the Florida landscape but also make an excellent indoor plant for a sunny room. This neat palm is slow growing and has a single, upright trunk and large leaves that can reach up to 6 feet (2 m.) in length. The European fan palm (Chamaerops humilis) is an attractive, multi-stemmed palm for indoor use. Fronds are fan shaped and sit atop a 4 foot (1 m....

Best Flower Seeds to Start With When beginning to garden, planning a new growing season can feel quite exciting. With so many available options, it can be easy to overestimate your own abilities. It is for this reason that many gardeners suggest starting small, with only a few different varieties of easy to grow flowers seeds. Flower seeds for beginners most frequently refer to those which are easy to handle, germinate readily with little attention, and those that do not require frequent care from the grower after planting....

What are Cloches and Bell Jars? Garden cloches are the fancy term for a glass dome that you place over plants sensitive to cold. The word actually means “bell” in French. The glass enhances the light and heat for the plant and protects it from direct contact with snow or ice. These are most useful for small plants and starts. A bell jar is basically the same item, but fans out slightly wider at the base and has a handle at the top....

More senior home garden activities are being offered to elderly residents of retirement homes and nursing homes, and even to patients with dementia or Alzheimer’s. Read on to learn more about gardening activities for the elderly. Gardening Activities for the Elderly Gardening is recognized as an excellent way for older people to exercise. A large percentage of those over the age of 55 actually do some gardening. The lifting and bending can be difficult for older bodies....

Growing Plants for Healthy Skin Part of having healthy skin is keeping your skin both hydrated and free of toxins. Growing houseplants can achieve both of these. Our skin is the largest organ of our body. Not only that, it is also a major detoxification organ. Many houseplants have been proven to detoxify the air, thus lessening the burden on our skin and body in detoxifying. A famous NASA study has documented the ability of various plants in being able to remove many VOCs (volatile organic compounds) that many materials inside of our homes emit....

If you’re wondering about choosing flowers that guys like, the following suggestions for “manly” types of flowers may help. Tips on Giving Flowers to Men Men enjoy receiving flowers, but stereotypical ideas about certain colors are still prevalent in today’s culture. Your guy friend may not be crazy about pastel shades such as pink, lavender, minty green, or pale yellow. As a general rule, it’s better to send “manly” types of flowers in purple, maroon, deep blue, or other rich, bold colors....

What is a Green Curtain? A green curtain is simply a curtain made of plants. These green curtain gardens can be grown in a wide range of locations: indoors, outdoors, and on small apartment balconies. Plantings of vining plants or vegetables can be made directly into the ground outdoors or in containers. Large trellises are used vertically to create an area of shade as the vines grow. In turn, the living plant curtain adds additional enjoyment to the space and can be quite useful for cooling in regions which receive especially hot weather....

Unusual berry plants add interest and exoticism to a backyard berry patch. When space is limited, berries are perfect container plants. Here are some tips to get you started with non-traditional container berries. Growing Berries in Containers Berry container gardening is an excellent option if you don’t have a lot of garden area. You’ll have to pick containers that are sufficiently roomy for the plants at mature size. One other essential to berry container gardening is good drainage....

Calla Lily as a Houseplant First of all, calla lilies actually prefer to grow as a marginal aquatic plant and frequently are found growing on the edges of streams or ponds. This is a wonderful benefit for people that tend to water a lot! Keep your indoor calla lilies continually moist and never allow them to dry out. You can even keep a little water in the saucer that it sits in but be sure that it doesn’t sit in standing water for too long....

About Planting Catnip for Cats It wasn’t until relatively recently that folks began growing catnip, Nepeta cataria, strictly for their cats. It used to be more commonly used to treat medicinal ailments, or grown for tea or even as a culinary herb. Someone, somewhere, soon discovered its psychotropic effects on cats and, today, most people grow catnip for cat uses. There probably isn’t a cat lover out there who hasn’t tried catnip out on their fur baby....

Parrot Tulip Information Parrot tulips, which first appeared in France, found their way to the Netherlands in the Eighteenth century, where they were highly prized and extremely expensive. The tulips are hardy in USDA planting zones 4 through 7. Parrot tulips are cup-shaped, fringed, twisted and ruffled tulips decorated with vivid, flame-like splashes, stripes or feathery markings. Parrot tulip flowers are available in a range of bright colors, including red, violet, yellow, orange, pink, green and near black....

Growing Peppers in Containers Container garden peppers need two important things: water and light. These two things will determine where you will grow pepper plants in a container. First, your peppers will need five or more hours of direct sunlight. The more light they can get, the better they will grow. Second, your pepper plant is entirely dependent on you for water, so make sure that your container growing pepper plant is located somewhere that you will be able to easily get water to it on a daily basis....

When Do You Harvest Garlic? The easiest way to know when to harvest garlic is simply to look at the leaves. When the leaves are one-third brown, you’ll need to start testing the bulbs to see if they are the proper size. This is easy to do. Simply loosen the dirt above one or two garlic bulbs and get an idea of their size while still keeping them in the ground....

What is Fish Emulsion? Using fish for fertilizer isn’t a new concept. Native Americans taught the settlers at Jamestown how to catch and bury fish to use as fertilizer. Organic farmers across the globe use fish emulsion in place of toxic chemical fertilizers. Fish emulsion is an organic garden fertilizer that is made from whole fish or parts of fish. It provides an NPK ratio of 4-1-1 and is most often used as foliar feed to provide a quick nitrogen boost....

What’s Wrong with My Horse Chestnut? Horse chestnut trees, also called conker trees, are imposing. They can rise to 50 feet (15 meters) or more, with an equal spread. Their wide branches and lovely palmate leaves make them excellent shade trees. So, what’s wrong with my horse chestnut tree, you ask? When you see your horse chestnut tree failing, you’ll want to try to figure out the problem as soon as possible....

What is Bohemian Patio Décor all About? Modern boho style dates back to the 1960s era of free-spirited hippie culture. The term bohemian comes from the Bohemia region of the Czech Republic. As a style and culture, bohemian actually dates back more than 200 years. It was used in Europe to describe exotic and artistic individuals, including the Romani people. Today, boho is an updated style taking elements from this long history....

How to Grow an Urban Jungle Growing an urban jungle is essentially just picking the right plants for indoor containers and providing the best conditions so they can grow and thrive. Here are some indoor jungle ideas and tips to get your creativity flowing: Use what you already have to arrange plants. Bookshelves and windowsills, for instance, are great staging points for jungle plants. Use hooks in the ceiling for hanging plants and to create more vertical plant space....

Recycling Grass Clippings One obvious option is to simply leave the clippings on your lawn. Many people go this route simply because it is easier, but there are other good reasons to do it. Mulched up grass clippings will decompose pretty quickly, providing nutrients for the soil and helping the grass continue to grow well. Grass cuttings are particularly useful in adding nitrogen to the soil. You can practice this simple type of recycling just by using a typical lawn mower with sharp blades and cutting the grass regularly....

Imperial Star Artichoke Info Since Imperial Star artichokes were specifically bred for cultivation as a cold-climate annual, this variety is well adapted for home gardeners who are unable to grow artichokes as perennials. The key to producing buds on annuals is exposing the Imperial Star artichoke plant to nighttime temperatures in the 50- to 60-degree F. (10 to 16 C.) range for a minimum of two weeks. Imperial Star artichoke plants typically produce one to two primary buds up to 4 ½ inches (11....