Review

“100 recipes for perennial plant combinations with succinct descriptions.” (Library Journal )”100 recipes for perennial plant combinations with succinct descriptions.” (Library Journal )

Review

“This little gem…takes a new approach to guiding gardeners toward success.” (Muskogee Phoenix Daily Online )“Other books have presented companion-plant suggestions, but Fischer’s seasonal approach is particularly handy—added insurance that a carefully c (more…)

The best-laid perennial garden designs result in gorgeous beds that bring color and texture to home landscapes. But no matter how perfect the garden, how glorious the color, how eye-catching the combinations, no perennial garden stays beautiful by itself. The plants need tender care – watering, pruning, deadheading, and dividing. With Nancy Ondra’s detailed plant-by-plant guide to tending perennials, maintenance is a breeze. Ondra has grown hundreds of today’s most popular peren (more…)

This book combines in-depth information on using, selecting, and growing perennials with inspiring photographs in one easy-to-navigate package. From start to finish, this is the handbook on creating beautiful perennial beds• Design inspiration• Colorful garden plans • In-depth care instructionsAt-a-glance charts simplify buying decisions• Plants by size and shape• Flower color and bloom season• Materials for mulchingAn all-new edition written for gardeners from novice to e (more…)

Amazon.com

Inspired by her home’s perennial garden, resurrected each spring with little maintenance, Twila Paris embarked on recording both old and new hymns that reflect such necessary and comforting cycles. The companion to her daily devotional book, Perennial: Meditations for the Seasons of Life, Songs for the Seasons of Life is the second volume of her Sanctuary series, specifically made with church use in mind. While not her most powerful work, Paris’s original hymns blend n (more…)

From Booklist

Part of the allure of perennial gardening is the fact that a gardener can plant something once and enjoy it for several years, a benefit that has rarely been extended to vegetable gardeners. Save for such stalwarts as asparagus and rhubarb, most edible crops can be used only annually. Thanks to Toensmeier, gardeners need no longer be frustrated by such limitations. From air potatoes to water celery, Turkish rocket to Malabar gourd, there are more than 100 new specie (more…)

From Publishers Weekly

Just in time for planting season, two sources arrive from Firefly that include more than 1,000 photographs identifying and cataloguing almost all flowering plants. Annuals are “plants that germinate, flower, set seed and die all within a single year while biennials germinate one year and usually flower the next after spending a dormant winter.” Perennials produce seed for future generations and bloom year after year. The nature photographers and hort (more…)

Review

“Perennials for Every Purpose is the next best thing to having a friendly expert whispering in your ear as you plan, plant, and perfect your perennial garden. This book is a treasure!”– Susan McClure, author of Easy-Care Perennial Gardens and The Free-Spirited Garden “This book is packed with lots of useful information for the beginning gardener, and it’s a great refresher for the experienced gardener as well. Perennials for Every Purpose is certainly a welcome addition t (more…)

Landscaping programs can change the way that you feel about your home and your yard. These programs can give your home that professional look without ever being visited by a landscaping contractor. Just remember that there are some terrible landscaping programs on the market today. It is important that you take the time to learn about a few of them so that you can choose the one that is right for your yard.

Some of the programs I have come across will not help you to do anything but waste your precious time. Some have awful graphics that do nothing but annoy you while others are perfect in their rendering of yards and plants and trees. It is vital that you compare landscaping programs before you make a purchase. You work hard for your money and you do not want to throw it away.

A landscaping program is not a replacement for a landscaper, not really because it is not going to do all the work for you. What this program is going to do is be the tool that you need to get the job done right. You supply the ideas and the program will show you how it is gong to work, or if it will at all. If you choose a good one, it is gong to show you what the finished product is going to look like. Begin able to see things like this is powerful because many time things seem like they would be good in your head, but once you actually see them laid out they are not so hot. Without the landscaping programs you would have to guess and only find out you didn’t like it after the job was completed. That is mighty costly to fix, let me tell you! It is far better to iron out the kinks before you start digging and planting and spending all of your savings.

Most of the good landscaping programs out there have demos that you can download for free. This allows you to see what kinds of graphics these programs work with and how easy they really are to use. You will not ever have to worry about throwing your money away if you have tried the program and liked it first. Don’t just try one program, try several to get a feel for the differences. This is the best way to find the right landscaping program for you and your project.

Always comparison shop, you do not want to spend more than you have to for your landscaping program. Check out eBay, they get cheap prices on all kinds of different software.

About the Author
Local Plumber

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Get To Know Landscaping Programs

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Amazon.com Review

Jeff Cox provides the information new gardeners want in Perennial All-Stars: how to produce a garden full of healthy, attractive, low-maintenance plants. Cox, the enthusiastic host of HGTV’s &Grow It!, has selected 150 perennials, both flowers and grasses, that grow well in North American climates. Each double-page plant entry tells how and where to grow the plant, how to propagate it, and a list of ideal planting partners. In addition, each entry displa (more…)

Did you know it is estimated that there are over 100,000 different species of insects that live in North America? If you don’t think you have bugs in your garden – guess again. In a typical backyard there are probably 1,000 little critters setting up house.

Remember, not all insects are bad. Less than three percent of all insects are classified as pests. Different plants attract different insects. You will not find a corn worm on a tomato plant, because it’s digestive system simply cannot handle it.

It is helpful to know the insects that live in your area. This will enable you to avoid insect infestation by planting plants that these insects do not eat. This is the safest, most environmentally friendly way to de-bug your garden.

Unfortunately, this will probably not be enough to keep all destructive insects out of your garden. For many gardeners, it is necessary to use insecticides. When using insecticides, you will have maximum results if you know what kind of insects you have. Always read the label on the insecticide and follow all directions. Make sure that it is labeled for use on your plants and insects. Whenever possible, use organic insecticides that are nontoxic. This will allow you to effectively rid your garden of harmful insects, while minimizing harm to the environment.

Here are some indicators that you need to de-bug your garden:

Do your leaves have holes in them?

This is an indication of a chewing insect. To control chewing insects you have to find out what kind of insect it is. It could be a caterpillar, grasshopper, or beetle, or one of many others. Look under the leaves in the morning, or just after dark. That is when they like to eat. Most people do not realize that they have bugs, because they hide during the heat of the day.

Is your plant discolored, drooping, wilting or generally lacks vigor?

Often times, sucking insects cause this type of damage. These critters do not eat outer surfaces of the plants, so some insecticides will not affect them. It is necessary to use a contact insecticide to eliminate sucking insects. Contact insecticides come in direct contact with the insect’s body and kill by burning, asphyxiation, or paralysis. The insecticide must actually “contact” the pests to kill them.

Is your tree full of holes, dripping sap, or do you have a pile of sawdust-like matter around the base of the tree?

Boring insects, (and we do not mean ones without a social life either) can do quite a bit of damage to trees before they emerge into their adult form. Borers may be directly attacked. When their tunnels are open, they may be impaled on a piece of wire. If they cannot be reached that way, they can be smothered by Bon-Neem Insecticidal Soap Concentrate or killed by Bonide Rotenone-Pyrethrins Concentrate, made with naturally occurring pyrethrin. These concentrates are available through Spray-N-Grow.

These are just a few ways you can de-bug your garden. The bottom line is…if you have healthy plants to begin with, you will probably be doing a lot less de-bugging in your garden!