The garden is a love song, a duet between a human being and Mother Nature. -Jeff Cox
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Fall Annuals for the South
Summer can be tough on annual flowers in the South. Heat, insects, and diseases cause flowers to burn out before summer's end. That's why gardeners in USDA Hardiness Zones 7 and 8 may want to replant a fall crop of annual flowers to keep the flowering season going into winter. | |
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The Mighty Lingonberry
If you live in the North and are searching for a new and unusual crop or landscape plant, consider lingonberries. These plants thrive in moist, acidic soils from Massachusetts to Alaska, producing an abundance of healthful, cranberry-like fruits. | |
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Seaweed for Plants
Long ago, gardeners who lived near the ocean learned that seaweed was good for their plants. Exactly how it works is difficult to pin down, but scientists have found in seaweeds a veritable soup of plant-growth stimulants, vitamins, chelating agents, trace minerals, enzymes, and amino acids, all of which influence the growth of plants in different ways. | |
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Cultivating Caterpillar Cuisine
We usually think first of flowers when we plan ways to attract butterflies to our landscapes. And they are indeed key to attracting adult butterflies. But it's just as important to provide food for that less glamorous stage of a butterfly's life cycle, the caterpillar. For without this larval stage, of course, there would be no lovely adults flitting from blossom to blossom. | |
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Gardeners are Changing the Planet!
Thank you to the many NGA members who are part of the growing number of people who plant with a purpose to better our yards and communities for both people and wildlife! | |
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Tall Bearded Iris (Iris 'Midnight Fire')
Hybridizer: O. D. Niswonger Year Of Registration: 1982 Year Of Introduction (May Differ From Registry): 1983 Seedling Number: 12-81 Classification: Tall Bearded (TB) Registered Height: 34 inches (86 cm) Bloom Season: Mid Bloom Color Classification: Orchid Bloom Color Description: Deep blue Beard Color: Bright red Awards: Honorable Mention Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35) Flowers: Showy Ploidy: Tetraploid Parentage: 21-76: ((((Happy Birthday x Glittering Amber) x Lilac Treat) x Lilac Treat) x Harbor Fire) X Red Tie
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Money Tree (Pachira aquatica)
Plant Habit: Tree Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade, Partial Shade to Full Shade Water Preferences: Wet, Wet Mesic, Mesic Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 10a -1.1 °C (30 °F) to +1.7 °C (35 °F) Plant Height: To 60 feet in its native habitat. Leaves: Evergreen, Broadleaf Fruit: Edible to birds, Other Flowers: Showy, Fragrant, Other Flower Color: Other Bloom Size: 3"-4" Flower Time: Year Round Suitable Locations: Street Tree, Houseplant Uses: Shade Tree, Flowering Tree Edible Parts: Fruit, Flowers, Leaves Eating Methods: Raw, Cooked Resistances: Humidity tolerant Containers: Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Chinese Evergreen (Aglaonema 'Red Gold')
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Partial or Dappled Shade Plant Height: 24 inches Plant Spread: 12 - 18 inches Leaves: Evergreen, Variegated Flowers: Inconspicuous Flower Color: White, Other, Green Flower Time: Summer, Late summer or early fall, Other Uses: Houseplant Resistances: Humidity tolerant Toxicity: Other Containers: Suitable in 1 gallon, Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Basket Plant (Callisia fragrans)
Plant Habit: Herb/Forb Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun to Partial Shade, Partial or Dappled Shade Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F) Plant Height: 12 inches Leaves: Evergreen Flowers: Showy, Fragrant Flower Color: White Bloom Size: Under 1" Flower Time: Spring, Late spring or early summer, Summer, Late winter or early spring Suitable Locations: Houseplant Uses: Groundcover Resistances: Humidity tolerant Containers: Suitable in 1 gallon, Suitable in 3 gallon or larger, Needs excellent drainage in pots, Suitable for hanging baskets
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Climbing Aloe (Aloiampelos ciliaris)
Plant Habit: Cactus/Succulent Life cycle: Perennial Sun Requirements: Full Sun Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 9b -3.9 °C (25 °F) to -1.1 °C (30 °F) Plant Height: 8 to 12 feet Leaves: Evergreen Fruit: Dehiscent Flowers: Showy Flower Color: Red, Other Flower Time: Summer, Late summer or early fall, Late fall or early winter, Fall Suitable Locations: Xeriscapic Uses: Will Naturalize Wildlife Attractant: Hummingbirds Containers: Needs excellent drainage in pots
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Photo by KGFerg
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Photo by jathton "Growing along a stream in NW Oklahoma City"
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Photo by kniphofia
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Photo by Baja_Costero
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Photo by csandt
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Photo by DAVIDRETALLICK
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Photo by floota "Crimson bull’s-eye"
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Photo by purpleinopp
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Photo by Baja_Costero "Branching dichotomously"
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Photo by RuuddeBlock
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Active threads from our forums:
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The numbers from this week:
236 members joined.
2,769 posts written in our forums.
817 photos posted to the plant database.
497 plants added to personal inventory lists.
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A garden is a grand teacher. It teaches patience and careful watchfulness; it teaches industry and thrift; above all it teaches entire trust. — Gertrude Jekyll
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