Four Seasons of Garden Plants
Pick the herbs and vegetables your family members enjoy eating. Think about growing vegetables that do well in shade, such as spinach and kale.
If you know the botanical names of the plants you can tell them apart. Knowing their life cycles can help you plan your garden and maintain it.
Small Ornamental Trees
Trees can bring a sense of size to your garden and provide visual interest all year round with their vibrant spring blooms leaves, autumn foliage, berries, or seeds. They also can create privacy and shade for an entryway or patio. Ornamental trees can be cultivated as a focal point on their own, grouped together to make small groves or as part of a mixed-planting and border of flowers. Smaller ornamental trees can be bought pre-pruned to tree form at nurseries or be bought bare-root and trained as required. Many large trees can be pruned to small ornamental tree shape as well such as viburnums and late lilacs and winged Euonymus.
If you have an outdoor garden in an area that is sunny and hot with a well-drained soil flowers, they will attract butterflies and other pollinators. Crape myrtle, as an example (Lagerstroemia Indica) is a southern favorite due to its long blooming time in pinks and violets from the summer through to the autumn. Its leaves change from yellow to red in autumn and it is a beautiful, exfoliating bark in winter. It is resistant to cold in zones 5 through 9.
The heptacodium or the seven-sons tree is tolerant of full sunlight and produces small white flowers from late summer through early autumn. Once established, it's a great way to add height along the deck that is small. It is hardy from USDA zones 5 to 9.
The golden Irish yew is a great choice to add shade to the shadier areas of your garden, thanks to its green and blue-green leaves. It grows slowly, tolerates pruning well, and thrives in full sun or in partial shadow. This plant is perfect for tight spaces because of its compact, fastigiate habit.
Flowering Vines
Flowering vines can be annuals for a single season or perennial plants that offer some color to the landscape over many years. Many of these plants need an erect trellis or some other support to climb. However, a few can simply sprawl out on the ground. They are able to quickly fill in the vertical spaces of a garden which adds interest and beauty to what may otherwise be a blank space. Vines are available in a broad variety of colors and bloom times, with plants suitable for every USDA Hardiness Zone. There are a variety of varieties, ranging from woody or hanging vines such as English Ivy, to herbaceous and non-woody vines such as morning glory or Nasturtium.
Flowering vines are complemented by a variety of flowers. The Susan with the black eyes Susan produces a wide variety of flowers that are bright orange, yellow or white with dark centers. This fast-growing annual is great as a trellis in the sun, and also in containers. It is also a popular choice for hanging baskets, as it can be twisted around supports.
If you're looking for a sturdier option than the black-eyed Susan Try clematis. This perennial is popular and comes in a variety of colors that include shades of pink, yellow, white and apricot. Some clematis, like Duchess Edinburgh and Josephine have large, fragrant blooms that appear in the early spring. Others, such as Sweet Autumn, bloom all summer and fall.
Carolina jessamine is a different evergreen flowering vine. This native to the southern United States makes a beautiful addition to a container or garden with its golden yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. It can grow to astonish heights if unpruned and given adequate support and care, making it an ideal plant to screen an area of view or a the shaded area of an area.
Container Plants
Container plantings can add instant the color of your garden without the burden of growing plants in raised beds or on the ground. They also make a great focal point at the entrance to a home. They're also a great way to grow herbs, veggies or flowers at eye level to make it easy to pick or cook. Containers can be almost anything such as barrels (even half-barrels made of wood), baskets, buckets, boxes, window troughs and even bath tubs or Urns.
Understanding your plants and giving the appropriate amount of attention is essential to the success of your container garden. Plants in containers dry out more quickly than those in the ground, which is why watering them more frequently is needed. Watering in the morning is best, as this gives them enough moisture to last through the hotter midday hours. It also keeps leaves dry at night that promotes diseases.
Find trailing plants with bright flowers or fun foliage to add color to your container garden. Coleus thrives in pots, and comes in a broad variety of colors as well as dark green and leaf shapes with variegated leaves. Geraniums with ivy blooms are another attractive option. It's a classic plant to use in sunny containers, and it will self-clean so you don't have to deadhead it.
If you want a taller potted plant for your outdoor space, consider the Japanese pieris. It's stunning pink, red salmon-pink, or creamy white blooms in the spring and summer. A container of this deer-resistant shrub will make a statement in the sun or shade. Papyrus is also a great filler for large containers and its tufts of brightly colored leaves look lovely draped over the sides. A similar option is golden creeping Jenny (Lysimachia Numularia 'Aurea' Zones 4-8). It's a brilliant trailing plant suitable for sunny containers and its golden coin-shaped leaves blend well when paired with other colors.
Mid-Sized Trees
There is room in the garden for flowers that don't reach towering heights. These beautiful trees add visual texture and form and add an interest throughout the year. They also help bring your garden to life by their vibrant colors, flowers and scents. These small trees are perfect to add a splash of color to a smaller garden, or in the front yard, or as an accent.
Crape myrtles are a species of flowering tree are an old-fashioned. Plant breeders have created many different colors from the lilac purple blooms of Muskogee crapemyrtle, to the hot pinks and deep reds in Dynamite crapemyrtles, and the elegant whites of Natchez crapemyrtles. These trees grow quickly and flower all summer. raised garden beds can last for 40 years if they are properly cared for.
Serviceberry (Melancholiaxlucida) is a beautiful deciduous tree with flowers. This native tree has gorgeous white flowers in spring. They are followed by tasty dark blue berries and finely toothed leaves. It also offers red and yellow autumn colors and a lighter brown winter bark. Serviceberry is easy to grow in full sun and average soil that is well drained and is drought tolerant once established.
If you are looking for a small tree that is evergreen, try the swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor). This fast-growing, disease-free plant is able to thrive in wetlands where other trees aren't as adaptable. It can tolerate some flooding, and is a good option for areas that are flooded. It will eventually reach 50-60 feet with a rounded head and is a good choice for clay and soils that are wet. Once established, it is drought-resistant and resistant to air pollution.
Light Requirements
There are mentions of "full shade,"" "partial shade" and even "part sun" on plant tags. These terms aren't always defined clearly. Typically plants that require full sun must have a minimum of six hours of direct sunlight per day. The sun's rays reach their peak between 10 am and 4 pm, so plants that are full sun should be protected from harsh afternoon sun.
Some vegetables and fruit can withstand light shade, but most need full sun. Leafy greens can also be affected by shade, however they may be slower to mature and produce.
Partial sun is a term used to describe garden locations that get three to six hours of direct sunlight per day, but the remainder of the time, these areas are moderately shaded or receive diffused sunlight from shadows of trees and leaves. The ideal partial sun or partial shade location is on the east side of your house. This will provide cool morning sunlight and early afternoon shade for many sun-loving plants, such as azaleas, rhododendrons and macrophylla the hydrangeas.
Full shade is a term used to describe very dark areas that rarely receive direct sunlight. These areas can be covered by tall evergreens, or overhanging structures or be enclosed gardens and passageways in between houses. These areas are difficult to establish because of the competition between roots of trees for water and the general lack of light. If you notice that a flower or vegetable does not thrive in this type of shade, try moving it to a different spot and provide supplemental water as required. Shade-loving plants include astilbe, golden Hakone grass, goatsbeard and a variety of ferns.