Shade Loving Perennial Garden Flowers

By Michelle Day

Perennial garden flowers can add beautiful elements of color to shady areas of your garden and landscape. Many perennial flowers are shade tolerant, and some even prefer shady areas, but you must be sure that the flower you are planting is appropriate for the amount of shade your garden is receiving.

There are essentially four different shade categories that are suitable for different plants and flowers:

• Light shade (also known as "filtered shade" or "thin shade") generally refers to areas that receive two to three hours of shade daily.
• Medium shade (also called "partial shade," "half shade" or "semi-shade") is an area that has four or five hours a day without direct sunlight.
• Full shade is an area where there is no direct sunlight at all during the day, although there is indirect or reflected sunlight available to plants.
• Deep shade (also known as "heavy shade" and "dense shade") are regions where there is no direct or indirect sunlight during the day.

Once you know what kind of shade you are gardening in, you should be able to select the appropriate shade loving perennial flowers for that area. Here are some suggestions of some of the best shade perennial flowers for light, medium and full shade conditions.

Light Shade Perennial Flowers

Daffodils/Narcissus (Narcissus). From fall planted bulbs you will have beautiful orange, yellow, or white flowers that do well in light shade.

Foxglove (Digitalis). A tall light-shade, perennial flower, the Foxglove blooms in late summer, sending up spires of flowers that can easily reach four feet in height.

Columbine (Aquilegia). Native to the woodlands, columbines can grow up to three feet tall and come in a wide variety of colors. They generally bloom in May and June, and thrive in areas with light shade and moist, well-drained soil.

Medium Shade Perennial Flowers

Hardy Begonia (Begonia grandis). There are many varieties of begonias that grow in tropical climates, but this hardy, medium shade loving variety is an excellent choice for Northern gardeners up to zone six. Their beautiful flowers generally bloom in the fall.

Bleeding Heart (Dicentra) - This beautiful plant has heart shaped flowers that bloom in May and June. Bleeding heart plants range in height from just over a foot to nearly three feet tall and prefer medium shade conditions. The plants are poisonous, however, so care needs to be taken to ensure they are not planted in areas frequented by children or pets.

Daylily (Hemerocallis) - Beautiful bright orange flowers that thrive in medium shade and can be propagated easily. In some areas they are classified as a noxious weed because of their quick, spreading habit.

Full Shade Perennial Flowers

Hosta (Plantain lilies). Although hostas are often grown for their wonderful foliage, most hostas also produce beautiful lilylike white and lavender flowers that bloom in late spring until late summer.

Foam Flower (Tiarella). This wildflower has white flowers that grown up to 12 inches tall and are very tolerant of shady conditions. They can be easily naturalized in shady and moist areas (such as along stream banks) or planted in mass to create a beautiful ground cover.

Michelle Day is an avid gardener currently living in the Pacific Northwest. She has written extensively about perennial flowers and perennial shade gardens. ------------------------------------------------ For more information on Perennial Flowers, see www.bestguidetogardening.com.

Gardening by the Yard

By Tracy Ballisager

You can create your garden according to your yard size. Of course, those with a very small area feel short-changed in this case, but container gardens change all that.

Large Yards

Large yards call for not just large gardens but also large species of plants in the garden and the room for more exotic types of displays. A large yard is the perfect place for a cascading waterfall or clumps of pampas grass. The larger the space you have, the more you'll want perennials. These types of plants eliminate the need for purchase of new plants each year and the effort it takes to put them into the ground.

Large yards have a drawback as well as advantages. Showy displays and large varieties of plants fit more easily into a larger area. You'll find that if you want some of the smaller plants, you'll need to carve out an area to display them properly or have an ample amount of plants to show them off well. Many small flowering plants lose their identity in a large area.

With a large yard, you have the advantage of creating several different types of gardens for both variety and purpose. You can use one section of the yard for a hidden garden and another for a vegetable garden if you choose. If you love flowers everywhere there are some delightful ways to mix the flowers with the vegetables for interesting landscape designs.

You can create a privacy fence from plants if you have a large yard and it doesnï't create any cramping of your space. Three plants that make good privacy hedges are viburnum, holly and Simpson's stopper. Sweet viburnum is a 25 foot tall and 10 to 15 foot wide plant with glossy evergreen leaves. Holy grows as tall as 50 feet and 20 feet wide. Simpson's stopper is a large evergreen that reaches heights of 20 to 30 feet and may grow as wide as 20 feet. These are just a few selections and what you choose depends on your climate and whether you want flowers or simply showy foliage.

Small Yards

With small yards, you don't have the luxury of sprawling plants but you do get to show off the plants that you have to the maximum. You don't have the advantage of creating separate areas like a meditation area found at the end of a winding path, but you don't need nearly as many plants to make a dramatic statement.

Try to stick to just a few plants rather than buying every type you see. You'll end up running out spots in your yard and planting them at night in the neighbors yard with black smudges under your eyes and the proverbial ski cap to protect your identity.

Keep the colors limited and use the plants texture and for the contrast. Just like decorating the house, the less its cut up by changes in color the larger it looks. A selection of cooler colors also makes the area expand in vision.

Make sure that your plants serve more than just one flowering season. If you have a perennial, most of which flower once a year, make sure the foliage is interesting.

No Yard

Containers are the way to go and you can splurge if you have a very limited space. Hang baskets, set pots and use every space to make your non-yard look like a garden. After all, one of the most famous gardens in the world was the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Maybe you won't join the seven wonders but you can have enough Mother Nature close at hand to make the area a country estate in the middle of the city.

Tracy Ballisager is a stay at home mum and provide info on gardening. See her website for tips on tomato growing Gardening-tips-and-trick To read more on gardening tips go to gardening

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Home Vegetable Gardening Rules to Live By

By Michael C Podlesny

Home vegetable gardening is not only fun but rewarding as well. The more effort you put in the greater reward you will get out. The big question is what is more effort? Well that could be having a couple of tomato plants growing in pots on a window sill, or could be a half acre plot of land converted into a mini-farm. That is one part of what makes home vegetable gardening so great! You get to pick and choose exactly what you want, where you want it, and how you want it.

There are though certain rules (if you will), more like guidelines, that you should follow if you want to see a greater chance of success with your home vegetable garden.

Sun
Most, if not all, vegetables (and herbs) that you can grow in your own garden will require at least 6 hours of sun. So when setting up your garden make sure that it will situated in such a way so that the plants will receive ample sunlight.

Location
If you live on property that has a septic tank, make sure you locate your garden so that it is not near it. The last thing you want is your gardens growing in that area and in that environment. If you have a house that is a bit older (built before 1980) then chances are it was painted at some point with lead based paint. Situate your garden away from the house so as not to take any chances.

Your Hometown
Although you might like eating some rare eggplant that you buy at your grocery store, there is not guarantee that you can grow it. Talk to people at your local garden center to find out which plants are indigenous to your area. They will have the greater chance to survive and thrive.

Write it Down
One of the most important items in a gardeners repertoire and often overlooked is a notepad, diary or binder (with loose leaf paper). In there you can write down what you planted, when, how often you watered and so on. This gives you an exact detail of what works and what didn't. As you write everything down, over time you will have a manual on how to grow a great garden at your home. You wouldn't drive from Atlantic City to Los Angeles without a map (or GPS), and you don't want to grow a garden without your trusty manual.

Simplicity
Above all the advice that you will read anywhere on the Internet, in books and watch on TV, you want to keep your home vegetable garden simple. Do not grow more than you need or can handle. So that means that even though you might have three acres of land, don't start a one acre farm and grow everything you see. You may not have the time to nurture it properly and in that case all you are doing is wasting time, effort and resources. Start off small and add on as season go by until you get to a point that feel comfortable for you.

Just remember that home vegetable gardening is meant to be fun and enjoyable. Follow these rules and guidelines above and it you will be rewarded with a bountiful harvest.

About the Author
Mike is the author of the book Vegetable Gardening for the Average Person: A guide to vegetable gardening for the rest of us. He can be reached at his wesbite: AveragePersonGardening.com where you can sign up for his free newsletter and he will send you a pack of vegetable seeds to get your home vegetable garden started.

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Gardening in the Shade - Landscaping is About More Than Just the Sun

By Julie-Ann Amos

Bright and beautiful blooms certainly do add appeal to a property. They add curb appeal and they add a sort of serenity, too. Flowers can attract butterflies, hummingbirds, and fat bumble bees as well as create a natural fragrance that is like nothing you can buy in a scented candle or plug-in room deodorizer. Being able to enjoy the garden is a reason a lot of us purchase homes. If you have a shady piece of property, gardening is something that's going to be a bit more of a science, rather than something you can simply do on the fly. Despite living in the shade, you can still have a beautifully manicured lot with flowers of a wide variety.

A lot of new gardeners who have a fair amount of shade on their property have either spent time and money (and energy and frustration) trying to get flowers (that need more sun) to grow in the shade or just don't bother. Some gorgeous shade flowers also wither and die because inexperienced gardening enthusiasts plant them in direct sunlight.

Here are some things you'll want to learn more about so that you can grow gorgeous gardens, despite the lack of sunshine on your property:

Amount of Sun
Varying amounts of sun will make a difference. Some flowers grow in very shady conditions and some grow in moderately shady areas. Some areas of your property may get more sun than others and knowledge about the type of sun you get can help you choose the right plants for various areas.

Soil
The soil conditions make a big impact on what will grow and how hardily. Knowing about your soil conditions can help you prepare the ground accordingly. There are tests that can help you and products that can improve conditions as well.

Plant Type
Once you begin shade gardening you'll see that there are a lot more shade plants to choose from than you might have expected. You might begin the process expecting to have just a few different plants but once you begin your landscaping project, you'll see that there are actually a lot of options.

Gardening is a wonderful hobby that's good for the body, mind, and soul. There's a lot of satisfaction in planning your garden, shopping for your flowers, and after the hard work is done --- watching your property come alive with colour and fragrance. There are a number of resources that can help you maximise your shady spaces.

Check out Julie-Ann's Shade Gardening information hub and get information about how to prep your garden, how to choose the right flowers, and browse through many photos of the dozens of beautiful shade flower choices.

Julie-Ann Amos is a professional writer and owner of Exquisite Writing, a global professional writing agency

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Gardening & Landscaping - A Lucrative Career Option

By Mahima Kini

Do you love taking care of plants? Are you always busy decorating your garden and making it look more exotic? Now you can develop your hobby into a career and set up your own business. The demand for landscape artists and gardening experts is rising constantly.

More and more people are seeking the services of professionals to plan, maintain and decorate their private, public and business gardens. Gardening and Landscaping are fields which offer stable employment and wonderful financial opportunities.

Nature of Work:

• Landscape gardeners work to develop muddy fields into beautiful gardens full of flowers and plants.
• They work for private gardens, public parks, golf courses, greenhouses, and terrace gardens to create exotic flower beds, lawns, and trees.
• They use their knowledge of botany, landscape installation, plant materials, soil science, and pest and disease identification and treatment, to create wonderful landscapes and gardens.
• They prepare the ground for planting, transplant nursery plants, use fertilizers and pesticides and sow seeds.
• Trim and prune hedges, trees, and shrubs.
• Install rock gardens, ponds, decorate, and maintain drainage systems.
• Retain walls, fences, and planters, and advise clients on plant care.
• They often work with tools ranging from small trowels to large lawn mowers, tractors, loaders etc.

Landscape and Gardening are tough jobs involving a lot of creativity and knowledge of plants. There will always be lucrative job potential for individuals with the interest and proper training in landscaping.

Career Opportunities in Gardening & Landscaping:

Landscaping professionals mostly work outside in nurseries or botanical gardens. They can choose to become Horticulturists, Countryside Rangers, Garden Managers, Landscaping Architects and can start their own business too. Landscape gardeners can find employment in:

- Retail gardening centers
- Landscaping and lawn care agencies
- Indoor gardens and botanical centers
- Tree farms
- Cemeteries
- Greenhouses
- Government departments

Skills Required for Gardening/Landscaping

Though there is no particular academic qualification for being a landscape gardener yet a few qualities can prove beneficial. These include:

- Love for nature
- Good understanding of plants
- Artistic flair
- Good eyesight
- Physically strong
- Hard-working

Landscaping Business

To start any business one needs to make arrangements for the basic assets required. For Gardening & Landscaping, acquire the following -

Gardener: A truck or trailer to carry your equipment and debris. A lawn mower, rake, broom and other small hand tools will also be required.

Landscaper: Basically you need hand tools and a truck or trailer. While starting, try getting most of the equipments on rent. Once your business is well-set, you can consider buying your own tools and machinery.

InteriorScaper: A truck or other heavy vehicle is necessary. Apart from that, you might need watering cans and other assorted small hand tools.

Start small and then slowly move forward. This way you will not be investing too much and the profits can provide for buying tools and other expenditure. Use word-of-mouth, flyers or classified ads to sell your services.

Gardens and Parks are gaining popularity. The top five botanic gardens alone generate over three million visitors per annum. The total number of businesses operating in the landscaping sector is predicted to rise by 45% in the coming years. So get ready to turn your hobby into a full-time employment opportunity that will give you guaranteed returns !

Mahima Kini has written a wide variety of Career-based articles and created content for Educational websites. To learn about various Unique, career-oriented Online Courses, visit http://www.careerchoicewizard.com

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Organize Your Garden With a Garden Shed

By Florin Ciobanu

Garden sheds are typically smaller than storage sheds and designed specifically for your gardening gadgets and tools. With so many different styles available today, it's not hard to find one that's perfect for your taste and gardening needs.

Garden storage sheds are a great addition to any garden or lawn. Not only will they help keep your tools organized, they also add a touch of style. For example, you can add flower boxes at the shed's windows, and add some colorful plants that will attract the eye.

Garden sheds range in size from 4'x 6' all the way up to 10' x 8'. They also come in a variety of shapes to enhance any style garden.

Depending on the size of the shed, you can store all your gardening tools such as mowers, rakes, shovels, wheel barrows, hoes, water hose, pots, soil, seeds and so on. Some gardening sheds come with shelves that help keep the structure nice and tidy. Others come with hanging racks making the ultimate storage space for everything including folding lawn chairs, patio tables and more freeing up room in your garage and home.

Having a garden shed also adds to the beauty of your lawn or garden. Garden buildings aren't just made of metal or plastic anymore. They now come in materials such as cedar and pine adding to the natural beauty of your garden or lawn.

It's time you find a way to organize your gardening tools. And while at that, why not add some style to your backyard with a nice storage building.

All of these garden sheds are easy to put together and can be done in one afternoon.

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Having Your Garden Landscaped is a Long Term Investment That Will Pay and Pay

By David A Robinson

Having your garden landscaped is a long term investment that will definitely pay off. It will add considerable value to your property should you ever consider selling it, and if you don't, you will have years of pleasure living in and around your newly landscaped garden.

Landscaping a garden is not for the faint of heart. This is a job for the experts, so don't skimp and save by trying to do it yourself for it will almost certainly cost you more in the long run. Call in an expert to get your garden landscaped, see your money being wisely spent and have peace of mind throughout it all, knowing that the end result will be as close to perfect as it can be.

This is not a task you will be doing on a regular basis, so it's important that everything is done that needs to be done, and that you want to see done. This is a long term investment, so plan carefully.

The landscape gardener that you hire should be a good listener. He or she should be able to take the time to hear all your hopes, wishes and dreams for how the finished product should look. It may not always be possible to accommodate everything you want, but knowing what you want is important. Then the landscape gardener can do an assessment of the garden and the results of that will more definitely determine what can happen next.

Garden landscaping comes in two basic flavours: hard landscaping and soft landscaping. Hard landscaping is where hands really get dirty. This involves construction or restructuring. It can be the creation of a pond or water feature, or it may be the smoothing out of an awkward ridge or rocky part, or draining and filling in a marshy part. This is where developing and remodelling comes in.

Soft landscaping is less of a hands-on discipline. It involves such things as choosing the kinds and types of plants and flowers to plant in a garden. This can be for their suitability to the area and ground type as well as for their aesthetic appeal. The use of plant and flower colour mixed in pleasing and suitable ways can be described as soft landscaping. Where a large area of lawn is concerned, the types of grass used are also important.

When you plan to have your garden landscaped you should be attempting to enhance and amplify the naturally beautiful and pleasing aspects of the garden. You should also try to conceal and lessen and defects. Straight lines and boundaries should be disguised, hidden or smoothed out to give a better impression of free flowing extent. Everything in the garden should appear to be part of the garden and not incongruous and out of place.

Landscape architecture is essentially an art. Land can be arranged and remodelled to accommodate the spaces and elements within it better. Colour as well as light and dark shade can be applied in pleasing ways that can add a splash of elegance and style to any garden.

David A Robinson
Help and information about garden design in Aberdeen.

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Starting Your Own Community Garden

by Pamela Ravenwood

The concept of the community garden has been around for many years. And now the idea is growing once again. In the U.S. alone, there are an estimated 10,000 community gardens in operation. Why? It seems to be a perfect solution for those who want to grow their own food, organically or otherwise, yet don't have the land to do it.

How do community gardens work? The basic philosophy is that residents share the responsibility of the management and maintenance of one large garden. In cities where people typically don't have the land to garden, it gives them the opportunity to jointly work with others on a common piece of ground.

Sound intriguing? If so, there are many ways to start a community garden in your neighborhood.

First, call together a meeting and work on creating a plan before starting the actual 'gardening.' Laying out the foundation of why you are creating a community garden and the basic tenants to follow for all those involved. This helps make everything clear and clean up front. For example, there are many details to be dealt with in gardening such as who will tend to the costs, the work, the decisions themselves? Who will lead the group? How will money raised if needed? What is your purpose, long and short-term objectives?

Next, you will want to pick a piece of land or a site. Considerations in picking the site should include:

* Light - Six hours of sunlight is almost always necessary for most plants. If your site is receiving a lot of shade from nearby trees or buildings, you may want to search for another site that is getting direct sun. * Drainage - Observe your potential site after a rainstorm to make sure the water isn't standing and that it either drains or seeps into the ground. This is called drainage and there are sites that have terrible drainage due to location or even soil that has too much clay. Many plants cannot tolerate very wet soils for a prolonged amount of time. * Slope - Too much drainage, such as gardening on a steep slope isn't good either. Look for land that is as level as possible. If you have to build on a slope, design beds or terraces that run across the slope. * Surrounding Vegetation - Plants fight for water and sites with too many weeds nearby can cast their seeds constantly into your garden area. Ideally, and I say ideally as it is almost impossible to find a site without surrounding vegetation, you should look for a site without a lot of trees or heavy weeding - and most importantly, a site that may include the clearing of plants such as poison ivy, poison oak, or stinging nettles. Yikes! * Exposure - Okay, so I have told you to pick a site with at least six hours of sunlight and without surrounding trees - this often leaves one with a whole lot of wind and sun, which means, you are then in danger of over-exposure. If you are in an area that receives high winds, which can rob soil of moisture, erode topsoil, and damage delicate plants - just be aware of that and try to meet the conditions the best you can. Don't let your soil get too dried out, water more frequently with a slow deep watering that will penetrate the ground and hopefully this too will keep the dust down. * Water - Speaking of water, yes, you will need to plant near a water source, whether it be a spicket off of a well or some place that has irrigation. You are going to need a lot of water and you certainly don't want to be hauling it from somewhere else. * Wildlife - In Arizona we have javelina and deer that infest our gardens - every state has its wildlife that can present a problem for tasty vegetables. To protect your site from these hungry critters, you will need to build fence and yes that can be expensive. This is why you need to preorganize your community garden beforehand in order to predetermine how these details will be dealt with. * Ownership - No, you can't just plant your garden any ole place - somebody will have ownership of the land and determining whether your organization can buy the land or rent it is of course important. Small detail, but critical.

Don't be intimidated by the amount of work that goes into preplanning your community garden. Once much of the groundwork is laid, the everyday details will flow smoothly. In Part 2 of Starting Your Own Community Garden, I will discuss Preparing Your Garden Site and Organizing It. And finally, in Part 3, Assigning Work and Taking Care of Maintenance of your Community Garden.

About the Author

Pamela Ravenwood is a freelance writer, journalist, and writing coach who lives in the desert. In addition to spending her days writing, she also loves to tend to her organic garden where she grows as much of her own food as possible. In this, she counts on her cord reel to keep her hoses from drying out from the desert heat.

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Garden Designers Are So Much More Than Simple Gardeners

Garden designers are so much more than simple gardeners. Why? Well, let's examine what the average gardener does first, and then we'll compare it to what a designer can do. The difference should be enough to convince you, and anyone else, that hiring a garden designer really does make sense.

A gardener can be likened more to someone who understands plants and flowers well. They can recognise what a soil needs if it should be lacking something. They can tell how to resuscitate a fading lawn, and they probably will have a pretty good idea about how a garden should be laid out for simplicity and good looks, as well as what is best for the things that grow there.

Some gardeners may be much more expert than that, but by and large that's your average gardener. A designer can usually go much further. They take a more holistic view of the garden. The designer will start with a garden assessment taking every aspect of the garden into consideration before moving on to the planning stage. Nothing will be left out and everything will be given full attention.

A designer is someone who fully understands how a garden works. They will know the kind of plants that thrive best in the area they work in. They will also know which plants and flowers don't work well in your area. This alone can save you a lot of time and money.

The planning of a garden will involve using any key landscape elements to their best advantage. It will look at water drainage, overall soil condition, areas of light and shade, any micro-climates that need protecting or changing, and much more. Good garden designers will include everything possible in the assessment and planning stage to ensure the best possible outcome.

There are many skills a designer needs to have that a gardener usually does not need to have. A designer should be an attentive listener. When you hire one you want them to transform your garden into the dream concept that you have. If they can listen to what you want and temper it with what can happen, discussing the best way forward at every stage, then the designer is doing a good job.

The initial assessment of the garden will reveal what is possible and what is best for the garden. If your ideas can be realised without any problems, then the planning stage comes next. Here the designer has to put your ideas on to paper. A plan is drawn up, tweaked and modified, until you, the client, is happy with the result.

The designer then needs to know which kinds of plants and flowers you would like to have and where. This information may have to be changed a bit in accordance with what will work best for your garden. The designer will accommodate your desires as much as possible, but be led by any advice offered.

Buying skills is a good trait for a designer to have. This means that they know where to get the best deals and indeed, the best plants. This can save you a lot of money and ensure that the plants you end up with are the best in every way. This means that you will end up with the garden of your dreams, because garden designers are so much more than simple gardeners.

David A Robinson
Help and information about garden design in Aberdeen.

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Improve Your Gardening Skills and Impress Neighbors With an Understanding of These Plant Parts

To get a better understanding of how a plant works, lets take a look at its individual plant parts and the role they play.

Starting at the bottom, plant roots are essentially its feet. They act as a to securely anchor the plant into the ground. They also are responsible for absorbing important nutrients from the soil. The roots absorb its nutrients through tiny projections call root hair. These roots hairs also take in oxygen from the dirt, release carbon dioxide and absorb water.

The roots can store H20 and other vital nutrients for extended periods of time, in some cases more than a year. The plant parts where these essential nutrients are stored are known as the bulb or tubers. Once stored, the nutrients travel through the stem system to areas where the plant needs them most.

One of the main jobs of the stem is to support the plant as it grows. Most plants are constantly trying to grow upwards where sunlight and airflow is abundant. Without a sturdy stem a plant would fall over under its own weight. Stems also act like veins, bringing key nutrients from the roots to the leaves as needed.

The leaves of a plant can also absorb nutrients. On the underside of a plant leaf are tiny pores known as stomata. This is where carbon dioxide enters, and is combined with water and other nutrients. The chemical reactions of the nutrients combined create carbohydrates that feed the plant.

The by-products of this chemical mixture include water vapor and oxygen. They in turn pass back through the stomata and are release into the air. So, essentially, the more leaves' a plant has the more it can grow. Plants are complex in their basic structure. The plant parts discussed here are only a small part of what's going on behind the scenes of a plants growth cycle.

Steve Habib is a active gardener and researcher on growing and caring for a variety of plants. You can find more insights and free reports how to become a better gardener at the: HOME PAGE: To discover more about PLANT PARTS: visit here.

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