About Whorled Milkweed Whorled milkweed (Asclepias verticillata) is a perennial wildflower that grows to one to two feet (30 to 60 cm) tall on a single, unbranched stem. Whorled milkweed leaves give the plant its common and specific name. The narrow, needle-like leaves are arranged in whorls around the stem. Each whorl contains three to six leaves. Whorled milkweed flowers are small, greenish white and multiple. They grow in clusters of 20 or more on terminal axils....

Try These 10 Easy Butterfly Garden Ideas A butterfly-friendly garden should include a habitat for shelter and nesting, flowers for feeding on nectar, and water sources. There are many ways to add these elements to your yard or garden. Use these backyard butterfly garden ideas to create a dream landscape for your winged friends. 1. Plant a Variety of Pretty Flowers Butterfly garden designs must include an abundance and variety of flowers....

But get it right, and you will cultivate the most nutrient-rich substance that will transform your soil and ensure plants thrive. It truly is black gold. Unfortunately there are several critical mistakes that can quickly render your compost useless. Read on to discover how to avoid them – and how to fix your supply if it’s already out of balance. 1. Adding the wrong types of kitchen waste Kitchen scraps are an essential component of any compost heap, but you cannot add everything....

When the weather is cold and wet, all that moisture can create serious issues for your shed and its contents – especially if you are storing items that shouldn’t be kept in the shed. It can also create the ideal conditions for pests to set up home. Yet, just a bit of time spent sprucing up your shed each week will help to keep it in optimum condition, enabling you to put your growing plans into action as soon as possible....

Can Houseplants Help the Winter Blues? The winter blues is not an uncommon phenomenon. Many people struggle more with a low mood in winter for several reasons: less daylight, colder temperatures, and fewer opportunities to get outdoors. Some people also have a difficult time with the holidays. A smaller group of people experience a more serious type of mental health issue in winter. Seasonal affective disorder, or SAD, is a diagnosable form of depression....

“Superfoods” are ingredients that are particularly dense in nutrients. To be worthy of this elevated status, an ingredient must deliver several health benefits – such as containing high levels of antioxidants, contributing to improved gut or heart health, and even potentially reducing the risk of certain cancers. So often superfoods are considered exotic ingredients that are expensive to buy at the grocery store. However, many can be grown in your home or yard....

Unique Ornamental Trees There are more than a few unique trees that make a real statement in the landscape. We’ve selected a handful of decorative tree options that are especially appealing for specimen trees. They range from a soaring deciduous redwood to a white-flowering small tree perfect for smaller gardens. 1. Dawn Redwood Botanical name: Metasequoia glyptostroboidesUSDA zones: 4-8Height: to 80 feet (28 m) This redwood “came back from the dead” in an amazing part of botanical history....

Shrubs can be divided into two groups – deciduous and evergreen. Deciduous plants drop their leaves at the same time each year and remain without foliage for a while (dormancy). Evergreen plants drop a few leaves during the year but are never barren for any length of time. The list below includes flowering deciduous shrubs as well as evergreen shrubs. Southern bushes can be exposed to many environmental challenges such as heat, drought, and humidity....

Can hydrangeas grow in shade? Most species of hydrangea are happiest in partial shade, and a few can even be called full shade hydrangeas. Read on to learn more about the best hydrangeas for shade. Hydrangea Flowers It’s rare to find a type of shrub that can offer flowers from May through the end of autumn, but hydrangeas can do this and more. Some even offer winter interest as well....

About Guerrilla Gardening The guerrilla gardening movement plants on abandoned properties as a way of taking back their community spaces. Technically, this practice is often illegal, as the guerrilla gardeners don’t own the spaces. However, it has become a popular and widespread activity that, far from causing harm, only beautifies abandoned spaces. A famous early guerrilla gardener is the American folk hero John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. He planted acres of apple orchards along the western frontier during the early 1800s....

Benefits of Planting Grass Seed in Fall Fall is the best time for planting grass seed. Why? The combination of the as-yet warm soil and cooler air allow plenty of time for the new grass roots to develop before winter is upon us. Establishment is the key to a successful lawn installation. The roots must be vigorous enough to survive the upcoming frigid temperatures, withstand harsh freezing and thawing, and also tolerate a lack of moisture....

When Is Harvest Time? Most veggies are planted in the spring to early summer and are ready by the end of the summer. Some fruits and veggies can be picked for weeks while others are picked just once. When the crop went into the ground, what the crop is, when it was started from seed, your location, the variety of crop and the weather can all affect harvest timing. There’s really a lot in play when it comes to knowing when to harvest produce....

While many people use mums as annuals, how long do mums last really? As long as you get the right type, you can grow fall-flowering mums as perennials in many areas. It just takes a little extra care to winter mums and get them flowering again next fall. Even if you don’t want to keep them over winter, you can still take some simple steps to ensure your fall mums last longer this year…...

The Origin of the Outdoor Vertical Garden Outdoor living walls are fairly common today, but the first modern incarnation didn’t appear until the 1930s. Stanley Hart White, a University of Illinois professor of landscape architecture invented and patented what he called botanical bricks used to create vertical gardens. The idea of a vertical garden is popular today because of climate change. A green wall allows people to grow more carbon-storing, air-filtering plants in smaller, urban spaces....

Proper Mowing is Key to Success Cutting the grass at the right time and correct height is the first step toward a beautiful lawn, and it’s something many homeowners overlook. The temptation to cut the grass on a schedule or clip it too short can damage the turf. It may help to view the lawn as a garden composed of thousands of grass plants. Just like the prize roses in the flower bed, proper “pruning” results in healthier plants....

Meanings Behind Tree Markings – What Paint On Trees Means You may get an eerie feeling when walking through a forest when you see strange paint markings on trees. Never fear, it’s not evidence of outer space invasion but tree-marking symbols. They can indicate property lines, timber harvesting boundaries, which trees to cut, and even “no trespassing.” Trees marked with paint are a form of communication used by landowners, loggers, foresters, and the U....

The Secret of Flower Coloring The science behind color involves both physics and chemistry, light and chemical compounds. Light is energy, an electromagnetic wave made up of particles called photons. Each photon carries a certain amount of energy. Molecules, chemical compounds made up of atoms, also have varying amounts of energy. When light strikes an object, the photons are either absorbed by or bounce off it depending on the energy levels of the photons and the object’s molecules....

Meet the Flowering Maple Flowering maple plants are utterly enchanting, and I am surely not the only one who fell immediately in love. I first planted one in the backyard in San Francisco where it thrived, growing bigger and spreading over the next few years. I would run out to see it every morning, take my breakfast outside to eat where I could see it, and take photos of it at least once a week....

No Brussels Sprouts on my Plants When faced with a gardening problem, sometimes it’s best to start by assessing the health of the plants. Brussels sprouts are prone to many of the same issues as other cabbage family members. Here are the most common pests and diseases that could affect the thriftiness and productivity of your plants: Fusarium wilt: The first sign of this fungal disease is a yellowing or browning of the lower leaves....

When we talk about pollution, it’s rarely light pollution, but it’s out there and it’s a problem. Light pollution takes many forms but one of the most prevalent is over-illumination in an urban area that makes it tough to see the stars. It takes away the “star light, star bright” of the childhood rhyme, costs us billions of dollars, and confuses wildlife. It’s time to stop this harmful practice by finding ways to reduce or prevent light pollution....