Garden Ornamental Plants, Shrubs, Bulbs, Bromeliads And Ground Covers

Tips to Grow A Beautiful Spring Flower Garden

Springtime has finally arrived and for many us who have been waiting with anticipation can get started working outdoors to freshen up our outdoor living space or to install a flower garden painting our landscapes with an array of beautiful colors and fragrances that are so inviting. What I love about creating a spring garden are the many benefits this type of garden offers, from beautification to helping to bring balance to our ecosystem attracting wildlife ( butterflies, birds & bees) to inviting the many beneficial insects that help to protect our garden plants from garden insect pests.

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Flowering Plants for South Florida

The warm weather of South Florida makes it ideal for growing (tropical) a range of flowering plants, one such plant that has made its mark is the evolvulus flowering plant commonly called the blue daze. This evergreen is a member of the morning glory family, blue daze is a perennial beauty that produces bright blue flowers with gray leaves that are fuzzy.

Blue daze can reach heights of 12 inches with a width of 2-3 ft. This garden beauty grows best in zones 8-11 and blooms from mid-summer through mid-fall.

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How to Care for Persian Shield Plant

Persian Shield plants are native to Myanmar (formerly Burma) this garden beauty attracts butterflies and bees, Persian Shield is an evergreen sub-shrub in the acanthus family (Acanthaceae) and is known to have been cultivated from the Victorian times for its beautiful Foliage (leaves).  its natural habitat is the edges of tropical forest clearing.

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How to Companion Plant with Hameln Plants

Gardening is considered an art that requires the basic know-how of how to group plants together that complement each other creating a pleasing effect. I have seen garden designs that were far from what they should be simply because the designer either did not know or took into consideration that a beautifully designed landscape or garden is not thrown together but is a well-thought-out plan.

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Quick Tips For Planting Dwarf Bougainvilleas

What I love about bougainvilleas is their ability to transform an outdoor living space or a garden area into a tropical paradise with their many colors, these hardy perennials are highly prized and are known as low-maintenance plants. Over the years I’ve had the pleasure of working with these garden beauties on many projects as well as maintaining them.

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Rose Bush Pruning Guide

Roses are popular flowering plants that are cultivated on a wide scale, from being grown to entering plant shows to the homeowners that grow and groom these plants as a part of their landscape or garden designs. Roses are popular for being used on special occasions or just to say get well soon, it’s believed that roses were cultivated in China about 5,000 years ago.

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Tips on How to Hedge Golden Dewdrop

Golden dewdrop or Duranta erecta thrives best in tropical to warm sub-tropical regions, this perennial is native to Tropical America and ranges from the Florida Keys through Mexico and South America. The golden dewdrop is a species of flowering shrub in the verbena family Verbenaceas, this fast-growing evergreen produces yellow, green, or variegated leaves with small purple flowers that are showy.

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5 Steps to Pruning your Dwarf Bougainvillea Plants

The bougainvillea plant is a tropical-subtropical perennial that is native to Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chubut, and Peru, this garden beauty will produce an abundance of flower blooms during the spring and summer months. The dwarf bougainvillea once established is drought and salt tolerant making the bougainvillea a low-maintenance plant that can also be planted in coastal areas.

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Successfully Growing Blue Daze Indoors

With spring just ahead of us, we can get into our gardens once again working the soil as we work with some of our favorite garden plants not to mention planting those fruit trees or installing a herb or vegetable garden. Springtime is the time of the year when our garden plants are bursting with beautiful colorful flower blooms. This time of the year is greatly anticipated by the weekend warriors as we leave the colder months behind and look forward as the warmer months approaches.

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Propagating Mandevilla Cutting Successfully

Mandevillas are beautiful plants that make a bold statement by their amazing flower bloom which is so stunning, I love the way Mandevilla grows which makes them a stopper and worth mentioning.

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How to Grow an Autumn Cherry Tree

The autumn-blooming cherry tree is a hardy deciduous garden beauty that thrives best in Hardiness Zones 5-8 and produces an abundance of flowers ranging from light pink to white. There are other cherry trees however that produce flowers with dark pink, yellow or green blossoms. The autumn cherry tree has broad upright branches that are delicate, and the serrated, oblong-ovate leaves transition from a green color in the spring to gold, bronze, and red color during autumn.

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Tips to Grow Pentas in Pots

Pentas or the Egyptian star is native to tropical southern Africa, Madagascar, Comoros, and the Arabian Peninsula. This garden beauty belongs to the family Rubiaceae and attracts pollinators. Pentas are commonly installed in garden and landscaping designs such as border plants, in hanging baskets, around the trunks of trees, along a garden path walkway,  throughout a garden plant bed, etc…

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Tips to Propagate Pentas Plant

Bring lots of colors into your spring and summer gardens with Pentas, these tropical perennial beauties also go by the common name the Egyptian star. Pentas are native to tropical regions of Africa and southern Asia, thriving best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9 through 11. If you are planning on installing a wildlife garden then Pentas are the perfect fit, these plants will attract butterflies and hummingbirds to your garden area.

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Why Your Blue Daze is Not Blooming

The blue daze evolvulus is a beautiful flowering plant, that grows and thrives in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 9-13. This garden beauty is native to Paraguay and Brazil, blue daze is a perennial evergreen in the morning glory family. What I find so amazing about this tropical evergreen is the fuzzy grayish leaves it produces along with the abundance of flower bloom.

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Keeping Cut Flowers Fresh Longer

There is just something about fresh cut flowers that make our day, whether growing them in our home garden with the intention to brighten up our indoor living space or may have gotten them as a gift the beauty and presence of cut flowers can change the atmosphere and one’s attitude or mindset.

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 Properly Deadhead Pentas

Pentas are beautiful flowering heat-loving plants that are native to central and eastern Africa, Saudi Arabian Peninsula, and Madagascar. Pentas is a flowering plant in the family Rubiaceae and is commonly known as the Egyptian star cluster. These garden beauties produce many flowers that come in an array of colors from purple, white, red, dark pink, etc… what also makes Pentas so unique is the small star-shaped flowers that grow in clusters.

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Bougainvillea Indoor Care

The bougainvillea plant is a tropical to sub-tropical beauty that is native to South America, this shrub is widely used in outdoor gardens as a hedge. Because bougainvilleas are known as climbers or spreaders they can be planted alongside lattices, fenced areas, arbors, carports, gazebos, etc.

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Tips For Hibiscus Summer Pruning

In our last article, we discussed how to prune hibiscus in the spring, if you have not read it yet then you can find out how by clicking the link that has been provided. But what we will now be turning our attention to is how to prune hibiscus in the summer, although you prepared your hibiscus for the summer by giving them a spring cleaning or pruning these garden beauties can and should also be pruned in the summer to continue to perform

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How To Prune Hibiscus

Preparing your hibiscus to produce an abundance of flowers requires some know-how. As the summer months approach what you want is to get a jump start so when summer finally reaches your hibiscus will become fluffy or fuller (leaves) with an abundance of flower blooms. The ideal time to prune hibiscus is during the spring months or when the weather starts to warm up.

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 Dwarf Bougainvillea Plant Care

Bougainvilleas can provide an abundance of beautiful colorful flower blooms to your garden area, this hardy tropical plant can either be grown as a vine, shrub, or tree.  What I also love about the bougainvillea plant is that once mature or established becomes drought-tolerant, the ideal place to grow bougainvilleas are USDA zones 9 to 11

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 Spacing Hameln Dwarf  Fountain Grass

Hameln dwarf fountain grass or Pennisetum alopecuroides is believed to have originated from “Germany”, and is indigenous to open woods, grasslands, wetlands, and wastelands of Eastern Asia and possibly Western Australia. This garden beauty looks stunning and compliments rock gardens, planned near a pond and a stream, as a backdrop in a plant bed, along a garden walking pathway, large open areas, mass planting, container gardening, etc…

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Blue My Mind Flower Care

The blue my mind dwarf morning glory is native to Brazil, this garden beauty can be used as a ground cover, container gardening, grow in a basket, massing planting, or plant edging. The plant’s genus name comes from the Latin word  ‘evolvo’,  which means twisted or unraveled, this perennial beauty grows best in USDA growing zones 9, 10, and 11.

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How to Prune Red Hot Hibiscus

The hibiscus plant rosa-Sinensis origin is unknown, but experts believe that these garden beauties were first cultivated in China, the pacific islands, and India. There are said to be more than 200 species of hibiscus worldwide, Each hibiscus plant varies in shape, size, and color. These tropical to sub-tropical perennial plants can be grown as a tree, shrubs, and even a hedge.

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How to Propagate Silver Buttonwood

A great way to grow your garden or to increase the number of plants is by propagation, this method of growing your garden is so simple but gives great results. The art of propagation will not only increase the number of plants but will also help to save your hard-earned dollars.

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How to Trim Red Fountain Grass

The red fountain grass is my favorite out of fountain grasses, this garden beauty is also viewed by some as purple fountain grass. The red fountain grass is widely used on many landscape and garden projects for its showy flowers and red foliage, this ornamental plant is native to the middle East, Africa, and southeast Asia.

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 Hameln Dwarf Fountain Grass Care

There are said to be 31 species of ornamental grasses, I have worked with many of them on garden projects and have never been disappointed. What I love about ornamental grasses is once they reach maturity they are drought-tolerant, these low-maintenance plants are easy to care for and will go to work for you.

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How to Grow Mandevilla from Seed

The Mandevilla is a genus of tropical and subtropical flowering vines in the family Apocynaceae, these plant species are native to South America, Central America, West Indies, and the Southwestern United States.  Many species are said to also originate from the forest in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Mandevilla plant grows as a vine producing an abundance of flowers.

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Getting your Magnolia Tree to Bloom

The beautiful flower blooms of magnolias are so stunning, these trees will bring that much need flavor to your gardens and landscapes brightening your day. Magnolia Grandiflora also known as bull bay or Southern magnolia belongs to the family Magnoliaceae and is native to Southeastern North Carolina to Central Florida and West to East Texas. There are 12 common species of Magnolia trees and Shrubs.

However, the magnolia trees that are broadleaf evergreens can reach heights of 20-25 ft, others can grow as tall as 80 ft, magnolia trees are showy and can be used as a stand-alone or specimen plant. The magnolia is not fussy at all meaning that it’s a low maintenance tree, each species has its preferred zone so before purchasing and installing ensure that the choice of your magnolia can thrive in your zone.

As beautiful as the flower bloom what do you do if your magnolia tree fails to bloom? this has been the issue and challenge of many persons, in this article however we will be addressing these issues so that your magnolia tree will produce elegant flowers in abundance.

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Tips on Caring for Orchids in the Winter

As the chilly months set in with temperatures moving towards freezing it’s an indication that wintertime is not far away. Preparing for this time of the year means we must do all we can to ensure that our garden plants are well maintained as they go through those harsh winter months.

One plant in particular which needs our help during these freezing conditions is orchids, these tropical beauties with their beautiful rainbow color flower blooms create a tropical setting in a garden paradise that’s so inviting.

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Caring for the Christmas Cactus Plants

The Christmas cactus (Schlumbergera bridgessii) is a must-have. This garden beauty has flat roundish segmented stems that produce tubular flower blooms of white, purple, red, yellow, orange, and pink. There are about 6-9 species of Christmas cactus that belong to the family Cactaceae.

Christmas cactus is native to Brazil and can be found growing in tropical to sub-tropical climates in coastal mountains and the rain forest hanging from tree branches and rocks. This garden beauty also goes by the names crab cactus, holiday cactus, and thanksgiving cactus.

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How to Grow and Care for Yuccas

Yuccas are native to the southwestern United States and arid deserts growing in coastal sandy dunes of the east, rocky badlands, and grasslands. Yuccas belong to the family Asparagaceae which comprises some 40-50 species. The common name for yuccas is Adams needle. Most yuccas have thick waxy skins to avoid water loss.

Yuccas can reach heights of 4-8 ft growing in zones 5 to 10, this evergreen produces leaves that are tough with a sword-like shape. Yuccas produce beautiful white flowers that are a show stopper, what I love about yuccas is their low maintenance drought-tolerant plants that can grow both out and indoors. For more on yucca plant care let’s take a closer look.

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How to Plant and Care for Butterfly Bush

Create a natural habitat for pollinators by introducing the butterfly bush in your home garden, this popular perennial thrives in zones 5-9 and belongs to a species of flowering plant in the family Scrophulariaceae.

This garden beauty is also called Buddleja davidii and is native to Sichuan and Hubei provinces of central China and Japan. The butterfly bush is also called orange eye or summer lilac. This perennial bush grows best in tropical and sub-tropical climates.

Most species have hairy leaves with flower bloom colors that range from orange, purple, white, yellow, or pink. The butterfly bush can be grown as a tree or a shrub, if you’re desire is to attract pollinators to your home garden then installing this garden beauty is the right choice. For more on the butterfly bush let’s take a closer look.

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12 Best Flowers that Attract Hummingbirds

Having a beautiful garden that’s buzzing with activity can provide hours of enjoyment both for kids and adults alike. What better way to construct such gardens than to install plants that will attract hummingbirds.

Creating a wildlife garden is a great way to watch hummingbirds in their natural habitat along with providing them with a food source while helping to bring balance to our ecosystem. This type of gardening is a win-win both for us and our hummingbird friends.

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My bromeliads flowers turning brown, what should I do

Bromeliads are amazing plants that produce beautiful flower bloom as well as variegated leaves that are so stunning. These garden beauties have made a name of themselves and are used in many landscapes and gardening designs including the interior.

What I love about bromeliads is their hardiness, they can grow just about anywhere including on the Turks of trees. Garden insect pests of bromeliads are little to nothing once plants are growing healthy. These plants can survive on very little water but what I also find amazing about bromeliads is there are about 2,700 species which makes this family large giving you so many to choose from.

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Learn how to Garden like a Pro

The summer months are here this is the time of year when the weather gets pretty warm and in some cases sizzling hot, as we head out into our gardens let’s do all that we can to protect ourselves by wearing the proper protective gear along with staying hydrated.

Summertime can be really exciting as our landscapes and gardens are painted with a variety of flower bloom that brings that much-needed flavor causing our garden oasis to come to life with an array of different shades of colors that complement each other creating a garden-like paradise setting that makes home so inviting.

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Straw Bale Gardening Beginner’s Guide

Strawbale gardening or hay bale gardening is not new this method of growing plants has gained popularity over the years and has proven to be beneficial in so many ways. Below we will be discussing how to install a straw bale garden along with the advantages and disadvantages of these garden types.?

How to construct a straw bale gardening?

What you will need.

•  Straw Bale
•  Seeds
• Seedlings
•  Potting mix
•  Fertilizers
•  Trowel
• Compost

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How to Grow and Care for Daffodils

Daffodils are a hardy perennial plant that will not only brighten your garden but is a popular plant that will let you know that spring is here. These garden beauties can last for years with little care which I think is a great investment especially if you don’t have much time to work in your garden.

You can also brighten up your interior by growing and caring for daffodils on the inside, there are more than 50 species of these garden beauties giving you a whole range to choose from. For more on the growth and care of daffodils, let’s take a closer look.

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Growing and Caring for Bluebell Flowers

I thought to write an article on the bluebell flowers not only because of their beauty and ease of care but because I once lived in an area where the street was named after the bluebell flowering plant that was called bluebell avenue. In fact, the name of the subdivision was garden hills and every street name was given the name of a garden plant which I think is so unique.

The bluebell flowers is a perennial bulbous plant that can be found growing in woodlands, glades, rocky hillsides, meadows, and in a more controlled environment like our home gardens. These garden beauties belong to the family Asparagaceae there are 11 species of bluebells, the name of this flowering plant is derived not only for its color although they can be found in colors of white, deep purple, and pink but because the flowers are bell-shaped and grow in clusters.

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Tips on how to Grow and Care for Dandelions

A plant that I have heard so much about over the years is dandelions in fact from a very young age the name of this plant was one that I was all too familiar with. There is a preschool that is named after this plant (dandelion preschool) that two of my sons attended at one time. The dandelion is a popular plant among gardeners and has been hailed as being a weed that will take over your lawn if not properly managed but what I have discovered is dandelions are a good source of nutrients that will help greatly in promoting our health.

The dandelion plant can be eaten entirely from the leaves to the stems, flowers, and even the roots. This plant can be viewed as a wonder plant that has so many benefits.

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Save Time and Money with These Proven Tips

Creating a well-designed garden can really spruce up your surroundings while adding value to your property and though this may be good news thought should go into the desired end. When seeking to install a garden there are many ways to go about this because there are so many garden types in which to choose.

But from the start what we want is a garden that we are pleased with and easy to maintain, many homeowners have installed gardens, though beautiful is considered to be high maintenance where a lot of time is spent along with monies just to maintain those gardens that have been a strain on their wallets.

I believe even though we may seek to beautify our surroundings we must also take into account the cause of maintaining those gardens. If we have the time to do it ourselves then that may help even though we may spend quite a bit of time keeping it well-manicured. On the other hand, if we don’t have the time and must hire professional service then expect to dig deep which can be pretty costly.

However, we will be discussing how to garden smartly from the beginning along with how to turn that high maintenance garden into a garden that is much easier to manage to save a few extra bucks.

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How to Grow and Care for Dumb Cane

The dieffenbachia or dumb cane by which it’s called is cultivated mostly for indoor use even though it can be grown outdoors there are more than 30 species of dieffenbachia. The leaves of the dumb cane are large and showy, this plant is native to the West Indies, and Mexico. The dumb which is a tropical plant belongs to the Araceae family and is known for its great tolerance of growing in shaded areas.

It’s said that the dumb cane gets its name from” temporary speechlessness that occurs after chewing a piece of the stem which produces a juice that contains oxalates along with other properties that irritate the mucous membranes causing inflammation and swelling of the throat and tongue”  the chemical that the dumb cane contains will sting and burn the mouth for weeks. The sap can also cause irritation of the skin.

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Peperomia Care and Growing Guide

The peperomia plant can be grown both out and indoors, when first introduced to this plant many years ago the name alone was quite interesting. Because I would have to work with this plant I had to associate it with something to remember it so the words pepperoni pizza came to mind which for me made this garden plant easy to remember and that was many years ago and to this day I still associate peperomia with the name of this pizza but I know you did not come here to discuss pizza but to gain insight on how to grow and care for the peperomia plant.

The peperomia plant is a native of Africa, South, and Central America. This tropical-subtropical beauty does not only produces straight green leaves but leaves that are variegated, the variegated variety is so beautiful. It is recorded that there are more than 1500species, I have work with the peperomia plant on so many interior projects creating amazing designs. With that said let’s have a closer look at the care and the growth of this plant that is so popular which is used in many garden and interior plantscape projects.

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Neoregelia Plant Care Tips

It’s estimated that there are some 2,700 bromeliads which I find to be so amazing, these garden beauties come in many shapes, colors, and sizes some of them even having thorny edges. Bromeliads are popular plants that are used both outdoors as well as indoor gardens, what I love about these plants is the bright color pop that can make a garden design so amazing.

Bromeliads are so easy to care for, so for those of you who are always on the go but want a plant where little attention is given then bromeliads are the plants for you. I have worked with bromeliads on many gardens and especially interior plantscape projects and have seen what these plants can do, bromeliads are simply amazing and will work wonders for you.

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Complete Guide to Growing the Peace Lily

The peace lily is a beautiful plant that has large glossy green leaves and elegant milk-white flowers that is showy. This tropical evergreen is in a genus of about 40 species. The peace lily or spathiphyllum is a monocotyledon that belongs to the Araceae family and is native to southeastern Asia and the Americas.

Peace lilies as history records were introduced to Europe in 1870, the peace lily is a common house plant and is used on the interior not only for beautification but also to purify the air making it clean for us. I have worked with the peace lily over the years on so many interior plantscape projects and have seen what they can do. These garden plants are amazing and can bring enhancement to just about any area, for more on the growth and the care of the peace lily plant continue reading.

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How to Grow and Care for Chrysanthemums

A popular garden flowering plant that is so easy to grow and care for our chrysanthemums, chrysanthemums are sometimes called mums. There are hundreds of varieties of these garden beauties which you can find in many shapes and sizes. Native to northeastern Europe and Asia chrysanthemums will give color blooms that make both your outdoor gardens and interior inviting.

History records that chrysanthemums were first cultivated in China as far back as the 15th century BC as a flowering herb. It’s said that “the yellow and white species of chrysanthemums are used in parts of Asia to produce a tea, used as a garnish and also added to some dishes. What is also amazing about chrysanthemums is that the flowers are crushed and the compounds are used as an active ingredient known as pyrethrins that attack the nervous system of insects causing death. Chrysanthemums have a rich history and there is much more than can be said about this garden beauty but let’s take a closer look at the growth and care of chrysanthemums.

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How to Plant and Grow Daisy Flowers Outdoors

Brighten up your gardens and landscapes with daisy flowers, these garden beauties are native to North and Central Europe. There are many varieties of daisies that belong to the Asteraceae family, in fact, this number is said to be as high as 23,000 individual species. Daisies are large flowers with star-shaped heads, it’s believed that daisies were first cultivated as far back as 2,200 BC.

Some variety of daisies is considered to be annuals in colder regions while in warmer climates they are viewed as perennials. It’s said that “daisies are used in herbal medicine and can be eaten in salads” daisies can also be found growing in the wild and attracts pollinators such as bees. Install daisies in your garden and landscape and take advantage of these garden beauties that have so many benefits.

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Tips for Growing and Caring for Dahlias

Bring more flavor into your garden by installing dahlias these garden beauties produces beautiful flower bloom and will go to work for you by blooming from midsummer through autumn. Dahlias are not bulbs as some believe but are tubers that resemble or look somewhat like carrots. There are some 42 species from which to choose.

Dahlias belong to the aster family and are bushy herbaceous perennial which is native to Central America and Mexico. Its believe that these garden beauties have been in cultivation since the 1700 hundreds which is a long time ago. Because of their varieties, the flowers of dahlias come in many sizes so for more on how to grow and successfully care for dahlias continue reading and fill your gardens with an array of colorful flower blooms that are so amazing.

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Growing Amaryllis both Out and Indoors

The amaryllis plant can brighten up both your garden area and the interior plantscape, the flower of amaryllis is shaped like a bell and blooms in an array of colors. These garden beauties are native to the tropical and sub-tropical regions of the Caribbean and South America. There is believed to be 75 genre and 1600 species in the Amaryllidaceae family.

Amaryllis is popular for being used in flower arrangements apart from the landscapes and gardens so let’s take a closer look at the growth and care of amaryllis.

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How to Successfully Grow and Care for Aster Flowers

Extend the season of a colorful garden and landscape with the aster flowering plants, these garden beauties will bloom from late summer through fall helping you to keep your garden filled with colors as the winter months approaches.

What I love about asters is the many varieties and species which are available, aster will not only fill your garden with colorful blooms but is also a food source for wildlife such as bees, and butterflies, and also provides a home for small animals and birds during the winter months. Plants such as the white wood variety should be sown outdoors in late fall or early winter.

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