Your All Things Plants weekly news

for October 25, 2014

This Week's Gardening Ideas:

By dave October 25, 2014

Announcing the 2014 All Things Plants Photo Contest! Today we begin the first of our annual photography contests, and there are excellent prizes for the winners. The contest is open for entries now. Break out your best photos for this year's contest! Sponsored by American Meadows and High Country Gardens.

By Catmint20906 October 24, 2014

Milkweed and Solidago Native plants possess tremendous value for the backyard gardener. They add beauty, provide important habitat and food for native pollinators and other wildlife, help to preserve our natural heritage, require little maintenance once established, and serve to control soil erosion through well-adapted root systems. Current estimates indicate that, of the 20,000 plant species native to North America, almost 25 percent are at risk of becoming extinct. In this article, I will focus on two native species you might want to help preserve by planting them in your own garden: Milkweeds and Solidagos. (649 words - Read the full article)

By wildflowers October 23, 2014

Mountain Mint There are many wonderful native herbaceous plants and flowers growing in the wild that are all too often overlooked or forgotten. I think this is one of them. (627 words - Read the full article)

By frostweed October 22, 2014

Crossvine, Bignonia capreolata, Bignoniaceae (Trumpet-Creeper Family) This beautiful evergreen vine is disease and insect free, plus the blooms are amazing. (169 words - Read the full article)

By SongofJoy October 22, 2014

The Need for Native Plants and Wildflowers Loss of songbird habitat, fewer Monarch butterflies, mysterious bee deaths … just a few of the reports that seem to be appearing in the news more and more frequently these days. That’s the bad news. The good news is that it’s possible to do something to restore natural habitats for birds, bees, butterflies, and other wildlife in our own landscapes and gardens. (616 words - Read the full article)

By Sharon October 21, 2014

Sunflower Secrets Amazing blooms, those sunflowers have, and behind every huge golden petaled, chocolate-centered face, there hides a world of secrets. Their seeds are filled with nutrition, their young faces follow the sun, and their petals, seeds, and hulls provide both yellow and a dark purple dye. But that's not all: Sunflowers are the globetrotters of the plant world. (1,305 words - Read the full article)

By frostweed October 21, 2014

Milkweed Vine, for Those of Us Who Have Trouble Growing Other Milkweeds I have great hope for this plant to provide the abundant Milkweed we need to raise many Monarchs and Queens. This plant is also a powerful magnet for all kinds of pollinators, including bees and many other butterflies. (259 words - Read the full article)

By flaflwrgrl October 20, 2014

Bidens: Native Wildflower or Weed? "A weed is but an unloved flower.” ~ Ella Wheeler Wilcox, author and poet, 1850 - 1919 (989 words - Read the full article)

By Horntoad October 20, 2014

Hibiscus Section Muenchhusia When a plant genus is large, botanists will sometimes divide the genus into sections, which are smaller groups of similar species. Hibiscus is one genus that has been divided into several sections. One of these sections is the section Muenchhusia. (727 words - Read the full article)

By Horntoad October 19, 2014

Texas Orchids When you think of orchids, you probably think of the tropical variety. They are often found in “big box” store garden centers or used in corsages. But there are 25,000 to 30,000 species of orchids in the world, and at least 10,000 of these grow in the tropics. Orchids have been found on every continent except Antarctica. There are even a few species that grow above the Arctic Circle. (306 words - Read the full article)

The most popular images last week from our plant database:

By jon:

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By KentPfeiffer:

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The most popular Multi-Plant Photos from last week:

Photo by Natalie:

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Photo by foraygardengirl:

Photo by skylark:

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Photo by Paul2032:

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Noteworthy acorn tips given this week:

12 people gave for post #719847 in "Banner for October 20, 2014 by Natalie" by Natalie

11 people gave for the idea "Sunflower Secrets" by Sharon

8 people gave for the idea "The Need for Native Plants and Wildflowers" by SongofJoy

8 people gave for the idea "Hibiscus Section Muenchhusia" by Horntoad

8 people gave for the idea "Milkweed and Solidago" by Catmint20906

8 people gave for the idea "Mountain Mint" by wildflowers

7 people gave for post #719509 in "Announcing the winners!" by evermorelawnless

6 people gave for the idea "Milkweed Vine, for Those of Us Who Have Trouble Growing Other Milkweeds" by frostweed

6 people gave for the idea "Texas Orchids" by Horntoad

The most active threads this week:

Some new reviews from the ATP Green Pages:

We keep growing, because ATP is where all the excitement is these days! Check out these numbers from last week:

• 140 members joined.
• 3,520 posts written.
• 945 images posted to the plant database.
• 1,024 plants added to personal inventory lists.