A Little Houskeeping Goes a Long Way

Deadheading a Hydrangea Shrub with Pruners.

Everyone, including plants, needs a little spiffing up from time to time. In addition to basic light, water, and nutrition, a few snips of the pruners is all it takes to keep annuals and tropicals attractive and productive. Removing spent flowers, severely blemished leaves, and damaged shoots will instantly give plants a healthier appearance. Because it is a plant's mission in life to set seed and reproduce, deadheading most plants will also encourage mor blooms. With true annuals, deadheading is imperative. If you let the set seed, they are done for. The good news: many of the plants we call annuals are not true annuals. They are tropicals that can not survice cold winters, and they keep right on trucking for the summer whether you remove the spent flowers or not.

Although it is not necessary, pinching plants with branching habits like coleus, lantana, castor bean or tomatoes will encourage bushier, fuller growth. When you remove a tip of a stem it triggers side shoots to start sprouting. This technique will reduce the plant's overall size, keeping it more compact, but with the payoff of a lush appearance. Many times pinching can be handy when you are trying to keep enthusiastic growers from overpowering a planting and its bedfellows. Once you get the hang of it, you will be amazed at how easy it is to manipulate a plant's growth and keep it in scale with smaller or slower-growing neighbors. All it takers is a simple snip of the stem.

Edibles, Offering More than Food

Chives in Bloom.

Ornamental vegetables and herbs are the ultimate multifunctional plants, offering food and beauty. Even though many of these gems have been historically grown in crop rows or individual plots, they are right at home in the mixed border, rubbing elbows with your favorite annuals, perennials, bulbs, trees and shrubs.

While some ornamental edibles are perennial, many are not hardy and are grown as annuals. The key to success is to pair them with other plants that have similar light, water, and soil requirements. Many of these veggies and herbs also make great container plants. Placing them right up on your deck or patio, where they are easy to harvest.

Caution: Brushing up against these plants or handling their leaves might make your stomach grumble. Many aromatic edibles are the herbs we enjoy in our favorite dishes. They are useful beyond taste, however, providing striking foliage and flowers. Species with gray-green or purple tinted foliage are especially useful when creating captivating combinations. These tones provide a pleasing backdrop for more colorful plants and can be used as a common thread to visually sew plantings together.

Annuals and Tropicals, Worth Their Weight in Gold

Although they only last one season, annuals and tropicals are worth their weight in gold in the garden. They rarely take a breather from the time you set them out until the first hard autumn frost zaps them. Their fabulous foliage and abundant blooms seamlessly thread plantings together with rich colors and textures. Because most annuals and tropicals are fast growers and flowering machines, they need good, fertile soil (or regular feedings) and occasional pinching and deadheading--a small prices to pay for such big rewards.

Once you get the hang of it, choosing the right tender gems for your garden is easy. Begin by selecting flower and leaf colors that echo those already present in your woody plants and perennials. As you become more comfortable and adventurous, experiment with bold, contrasting color combinations. Likewise, pick plants that will provide a mix of distinct coarse, medium , and fine textures.

As with the term perennial, the word annual defines a plant's life cycle. True annuals sprout, grow, form flowers, produce seed, and die all in one year. Over time, plants that are not cold hardy to an area (and must be planted every year to be enjoyed) have been lumped into this category-even though they are truly perennial in their native habitat. As a result, exotic plants that just do not like the cold are sometimes called tropicals and tender perennials as well as annuals. If it dies in the winter in your area, go ahead and call it an annual.

Large tropicals are the ultimate botanical eye candy. Their exaggerated features get lots of head turns, making them the perfect seasonal specimen plants. Most of the big guns want full sun, regular moisture, and of course plenty of nutrients. If you are planting these beauties directly in the ground, start them out in good loam that has been fortified with compost and perhaps a slow-release fertilizer. If you are growing them in containers, start them with a granular slow-release fertilizer and give them a light feeding of diluted water-soluble fertilizer every few weeks during the growing season. Most soil-less container mixes contain very few nutrients. Growing these plants in containers is often the preferred method. In pots, they can be easily moved around, slipped into borders and brought inside to overwinter.    

Battling Bugs

Lady Bug: A Gardener's Best Friend

Unless we count those made-of-plastic, no plants live insect free. Creepy-crawly bugs are an important part of gardening. They are key members of our gardening crew: building soil; pollinating flowers and wiping out bad guys. If you see one you do not like, don't be like my children and run away screaming or attempt to squash it. Figure out which insect you have and its role in the garden (and beyond) before you go hosing everything down with pesticide. Even if it is causing damage, you could be annihilating the larvae or a precious butterfly or predatory benefices like praying mantis and lady bugs. Also weigh whether the damage the insect is doing really warrants action. Is it life threatening to the plant's health or just making the plant look bad for awhile? Is it worth the risk of exposing toxins to you, your family, your pets or beneficial insects? Learning to tolerate some damage is good for the health of your garden and the environment. If you are not sure what you have, your local Cooperative Extension office can help you figure it out.

If you do decide to take action, consider using more environmentally friendly methods instead of reaching for toxic chemicals like those containing carbaryl (brand name: Sevin). With each passing year, more and more earth-friendly options are available at garden centers, and entire online stores are devoted to low-impact pest management. You can purchase and release predatory beneficial insects, too! Many biologically based products are available, which are less hazardous to humans and wildlife. Neem oil, for example, is derived from neem tree seed. The active ingredients azadirachtin and clarified hydrophobic extract effectively control a number of insect pests and help with the management of some fungal diseases, respectively. Likewise, insecticidal soap puts fatty acid salts into action to control insects like aphids and mealy bugs. Before using any pest control product, always read the label to make sure your target is appropriate and that you understand how to safely apply it.

Of course, taking steps to prevent damaging insect infestations is always the most earth-friendly tactic. Plants are most susceptible when under stress. Be sure they are receiving optimum light, water, and nutrients as well as adequate drainage. Choosing pest-resistant varieties minimizes occurrences. You can also experiments with companion planting. Some research has found that aromatic plants like chives, basil, lemon thyme and nasturtium repel insects. Similarly, strategically placing a mix of flowering and native plants will attract beneficial insects and give them a reason to stick around after they have reduced the number of bad guys.

Perennials, The Core Crew

Mixed Border of Perennials

Along with trees and shrubs, perennials are part of the core crew of reliable plants for the ever growing garden. Perennials are great because they come back year after year, but some are more trouble than they are worth--with brief showmanship, high care requirements, or lots of pest and disease issues.

The best perennials have a long season of bloom, great foliage, few pests and diseases and are fairly self-sustaining. The good news is that lots of plants offer these attributes. As with all things gardening, however, choices are largely regionally dependent. What works best in Georgia, Unites States will not always be the right choice for gardeners in Alberta, Canada, and vice versa. Looking at a plant's hardiness zone range gives us a good jump-off point.

Of course, light exposure is another important consideration. Most mixed borders, depending on the size of the trees and shrubs, have both sunny and shady spots. That mix, of sun and shade, is ideal for it gives us lots of plants to choose from. Keep in mind: full sun is considered six hours of direct sunlight. When it comes to perennials, we can often get away with a little light or partial shade. Afternoon sun is quite strong, however, so three to four hours of afternoon sun may give full-sun plants a sufficient "tan". Conversely, shade plants can handle--and often welcome--morning sun, but afternoon sun is a big NO. With that in mind, have fun exploring your options!

Trees and Shrubs, Bones of the Garden

Japanese Maple

The majestic trees found in our native landscapes have made more than a few jaws drop in their day. It is hard not to be impressed by towering canopies several stories high and enormous trunks that you cannot wrap your arms around.

While most of us do not have the space (or time!) to enjoy cultivating these huge botanical wonders, we can grow some of the more appropriately sized trees and shrubs, which provide significant impact in the nonstop, ever growing garden. Trees and shrubs are the ultimate structural plants. They create the framework, or the bones, of the the garden. They offer architectural stems, branches, and forms that are present in spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Trees and shrubs can even wow us with beautiful blooms, attractive leaves, interesting fruit, and handsome bark.

Because woody plants require more space and can take longer to mature than herbaceous plants, it is a good idea to pick and plant your trees and shrubs before planting anything else. It is much easier to place them in beds and borders when you do not have to worry about stepping on or disturbing existing annuals, perennials, bulbs or tropicals.

There is no shortage of trees and shrubs out there to choose form. Look for options that offer long-lasting or multiple-seasonal attributes. When it comes to woody plants, deciduous selections provide the most "bling". Do not forget to throw a few evergreens in to the mix, however, which will settle in as a reliable, year round back-bone to the garden.

Garden Steps

A change in level in a garden adds interest and provides the opportunity for another garden design feature: a set of steps. The nature of those steps will depend on the physical situation as well as the aesthetics of your overall garden design. Remember that steps in the garden are different from steps indoors. Instead of designing outdoor steps to climb in as little space as possible, make the climb gradual (experts recommend a slight rise of 4- 5 inches with a comfortable deep tread of 12 inches), with landings or change of direction every 12 or more steps, In addition to making the steps less taxing to climb, a shallow rise makes it possible to run a wheelbarrow up and down the stairs; a ramp will help if you need to make frequent trips with a wheelbarrow.

STEPS ALTER THE PACE

Use steps to help regulate how people move through the garden space. People tend to walk faster on steps with low risers and wide treads than they do on steps with high risers. Curved steps naturally slows people down. If possible, make the steps wide enough for two people to walk side-by-side (minimum 4.5 feet wide). Broad stairs look more inviting and elegant than narrow set of steps.

BALANCE THE COST AND LOOK

Cost will surely be a factor in choosing the design and materials for your garden steps, but while considering budget, also keep in mind the look of the final result. Railroad ties or landscape timbers are relatively less expensive, but used incorrectly, they can make a space look less formal. Steps near the house should complement the architecture and style of the building and style of the garden, Farther away from the house, especially if the garden becomes more informal, choosing steps made out of less expensive or more natural materials, such as beach pebbles or logs.

CONSIDER SAFETY

Regardless of the style of the steps, keep safety  and function in the forefront of the mind. As a general rule, the steps should be as wide as the path leading up to them. Uneven steps with risers that vary in hight and treads of different depths are dangerous to negotiate.

A safety rail or a handrail should be considered even if the steps are not as steep as those built indoors. As an added safety and comfort feature, slope the tread ever so slightly so that water does not collect and pool on the steps themselves. If possible, choose a nonslip or porous material to make the steps. A final suggestion, though more expensive, is consider outdoor lighting. There are MANY options to create backdrop and forefront light allowing guests to stroll through the garden and on the steps in the twilight hours of an evening.