SUN Ideas, Tips & Guides

Annual plants are a garden designer’s secret weapon. Endlessly versatile and extremely showy, annuals add nonstop color without a high price or a lot of work. They are perfect for gardeners who crave change—from year to year or from one season to the next. And they offer instant impact for filling in bare spots between slower-growing shrubs and perennials. Summer annuals brighten gardens with flowers and foliage, while cool-season annuals bring interest to the winter landscape.

Potentillas are hardy garden plants that are divided into two groups: shrubby potentillas and perennial potentillas. Both types are commonly known as cinquefoil. Shrubby cinquefoil (Potentilla fruticosa) has twiggy arching branches and finely divided, deciduous green leaves, from which long-lasting displays of five-petalled, saucer shaped flowers are borne in summer. Perennial potentillas are clump-forming and make a handsome summer display of saucer-shaped flowers on slender stems. Both types make excellent plants for garden borders and are easy to grow, requiring very little maintenance.

Golden pothos (Epipremnum or Scindapsus) not only has pretty, heart-shaped foliage that trails or climbs, but it’s also one of the easiest house plants to grow. It’s tolerant of all kinds of conditions and neglect – it’s thought it gets one of its common names, devil’s ivy, because it can grow in low light levels and is virtually impossible to kill. Golden pothos can be trained up a pole or along wires on a wall, and also looks brilliant hanging from a shelf or hanging basket.

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Growing sage at home is a great way to add evergreen foliage to your garden, and have fragrant herbs on hand for cooking.

Choosing a container for any plant might not seem a big deal, but it plays a crucial role in its health. While choosing a pot for spider plant, you need to take into account the spread of its roots and watering requirements. If you’re sure which one to go for, well, no worries, mate! We have got your back!

You don’t necessarily need a green thumb to have thriving houseplants. There are plenty of low-maintenance varieties to choose from. However, if you still find yourself in a situation where your houseplants could be doing better, it may be because you’re making common houseplant mistakes.

It’s April, that most magical of months, when nature’s life force quickens day by day and every tiny seed sown is a powerful spell racing to transform itself. With that in mind, below are 10 fast-growing, ultra-productive annuals that I wouldn’t be without, all of which can be raised from seed sown in the next couple of weeks.

What if I told you about some delicious vegetables that produce many from one plant? Fresh harvest for all the family members right from a single container!

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11 Common Reasons Why Irises Fail to Bloom

Blooming in spring, woodland phlox (Phlox divaricata), a native wildflower, attracts pollinators to the shade garden. Butterflies, bees, and moths visit it for nectar and pollen. It blooms as other shade perennials like hostas, astilbe, and ferns are starting to grow.

There are many beautiful indicators of spring: light rain showers, the sun beginning to rise earlier and set later, allergies, and, of course, the blooming tulips. With their soft and elegant blooms and vibrant color variations, tulips instantly brighten up any space.

Creating a garden with a backbone of colorful, interesting foliage ensures interest even when nothing is in bloom or if inquisitive deer decide to taste-test the flower buds. Varying the texture and height of plants also disguises any indiscriminate munching that would be very obvious in a monoculture. This garden exhibits those principles while also utilizing a selection of deer-resistant plants to keep the space looking good year-round despite pest pressure. Here are some of the key plants that tie this design together. 1. Wine & Roses® weigela

No matter how large or small a garden is, there’s nothing like a few new plants to make the gardener’s heart sing. We’ve looked over the introductions for 2024 and found some we think you’ll love as much as we do. From jaw-dropping flowers to fabulous foliage and a few tasty edibles, there’s sure to be a plant (or several) that will have friends asking, “Where did you get that?” The challenge with new introductions is that numbers are often limited the first year, so it can be a bit of a challenge to find them at garden centers or online nurseries. So shop early and don’t give up; these gorgeous new plants are sure to be around next year too.

No matter how large or small a garden is, there’s nothing like a few new plants to make the gardener’s heart sing. We’ve looked over the introductions for 2024 and found some we think you’ll love as much as we do. From jaw-dropping flowers to fabulous foliage and a few tasty edibles, there’s sure to be a plant (or several) that will have friends asking, “Where did you get that?” The challenge with new introductions is that numbers are often limited the first year, so it can be a bit of a challenge to find them at garden centers or online nurseries. So shop early and don’t give up; these gorgeous new plants are sure to be around next year too.

If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.

If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.

If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.

If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.

If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.

If you’ve run into a garden rut, we’ve got you covered. It’s time to start planning for your first trip to the local nursery or garden center. What plants will you need for a new garden area? Are you noticing a lack of excitement or color outside (we call this the midspring slump)? Just itching for an exciting new addition to a well-established bed? Now is the time to make a list of the perennials, shrubs, and/or trees that will fill those needs.

Well, that's the way it started… In the last year we renovated our house and there are too many things that are still waiting in our backyard to be reused (good luck with that… ).

Oxalis triangularis, also known as false shamrock, is an eye-catching bulbous perennial that makes an excellent and long-lived house plant. Bold, dramatic foliage in shades of dark purple to wine-red creates a striking contrast to blush-white flowers borne in summer. The leaves are three-lobed, hence the name of shamrock which it resembles, though is not actually related to. Oxalis triangularis is native to from Brazil. Its leaves have extra fascination because they open during the day and close at night.

Vines are a great way to add vertical interest to your ornamental flower beds, and native vines have the added benefit of supporting native insects. It sounds like a win-win, but vines can also be troublesome if planted in the wrong spot. The following four vining plants are native to the Southeast and thrive in a garden setting; plant them responsibly so they can be enjoyed for years to come.

Here are some amazing specimens, popular for their dark, almost black foliage. You may provide a stunning contrast to other plants and flowers by growing these Best Black Grasses.

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Honeybees and butterflies may be the poster children for pollinator awareness, but these charismatic garden visitors actually make up a very small portion of the species that move pollen from plant to plant. Commonly overlooked creatures like wasps, flies, moths, beetles, birds, bats, and even lizards can all serve as plant pollinators. Another misconception is that most pollinator activity occurs from the height of summer and into early fall, but in fact pollination occurs during most months of the year when temperatures are within an acceptable range for insect activity and there is a pollen or nectar source available. In this article I will talk about an array of plants that feed and support pollinators at specific points throughout the growing season. As you plan your wildlife-friendly plantings, use these suggestions as a springboard for creating your own unique, multiseason plant combinations.

Parrotia persica, also known as Persian ironwood, is a deciduous tree mainly grown for its spectacular autumn display when its leaves turn shades of yellow, orange, red and purple. It’s a wide-spreading, slow-growing tree with bark that flakes away, creating an interesting texture and revealing younger bark below. Dense heads of red flowers will appear in late-winter and early-spring. The flowers of Parrotia persica do not have petals; instead, buds open to reveal attractive red stamen.

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February in our region was a month of waiting for the weather to get better. Warm winds and longer days have finally arrived, and most of us are desperate to get outside and do something. What better place to start than with a patio garden. A simple patio garden doesn’t take much planning, and the plants you want are in the nursery right now.

Before you plant anything in a shady garden, you need to know what kind of shade you have.

Common beech (Fagus sylvatica) is one of the most majestic of European native trees, yet also makes an excellent formal hedge as it tolerates regular clipping. Although deciduous, beech is still good to use as a screening hedge as growth is dense, twiggy, and the dead leaves usually remain on the branches for much of the winter, often until the new leaves appear in spring. There are both green and purple-leaved varieties of common beech which are suitable for hedging. The purple-leaved form (Fagus sylvatica ‘Purpurea’ is commonly known as copper beech. To grow as individual trees, the common beech species becomes too big for all but the largest gardens, but there are columnar (fastigiate) and weeping forms of beech that are much more compact in size.

Being the third largest state of the United States in size, it has diverse climate, this is why this list includes drought tolerant, sun loving, cold hardy, tropical, and temperate trees for the “Golden State.”

If purple is your favorite color and you love growing annuals–this list is perfect for you.