Starting to Plant the Beds

The following day my husband stopped on the way home to pick up a flat of flowers and herb.  I was not specific in my instructions other than marigolds, petunias and herbs.  I figure he has been helping me around the gardens long enough to have a good idea what I like.  He brought an assortment of marigolds, deep purple petunias, thai basil, purple basil and lemon basil.  Apparently my comment

The First of the Tulips in Bloom

Tulipa tardaApril 19, 2010
I was quite pleased to see the first of the tulips in bloom.  Last year it took a bit of effort to identify Tulipa tarda pictured.  The Tulipa tarda are thriving and spreading (naturalizing).  These pretty little tulips were hiding in with the lilies so at first appeared to be a lily.  What I did find out is the former owner planted these tulips amongst the lilies to

Controlling Garden Insects Effectively

Yesterday I wrote about the reasons why electronic bug zappers should not be used in the yard or garden for insect control. One of the biggest problems with these devices is the do not distinguish between harmful and beneficial insects. In one evening they can easily kill 10,000 insects effectively destroying the balance in your yard. Less insects mean less insect predators giving other more

Petunias

Common Garden Petunia(Petunia x hybrida)Very few gardeners are unaware of the common garden petunia (petunia x hybrida) with their beautiful showy, cascading trumpet shaped flowers. These plants are members of the family Solanaceae (nightshade plant) that originated in South America and are thought to be a hybridization between P. axillaris and P. integrifolia. There is a wide variety of