Add season long interest to your garden with the 2011 Perennial Plant of the Year.

As the year winds down, it’s time to start thinking about next year’s garden. Consider adding a few of the All-America Selections Winners to your garden.

Mix things up and add a bit of sparkle to your landscape this season.

Don’t let your air conditioner break the family budget or be an eye sore in your backyard. Try one of these affordable solutions to improve the view and keep your air conditioner running smoothly.

You decided to save money or perhaps try something new and ordered bare root plants from a catalog or through the internet. Now you are wondering what to do with them once they arrive.

So what do you do when those bare root perennials, shrubs, roses, or fruit plants you ordered arrive before you and your garden are ready or the weather is suitable for planting? Don’t despair you can preserve your investment with minimal effort.

Celebrate Arbor Day by planting new trees or caring for your established ones in your landscape and community.

Mint, beebalm, and purple coneflower are garden favorites that often get out of hand. Tame these and other garden bullies with a few planting and maintenance strategies.

Reduce maintenance and improve your plants’ health by creating large planting beds around trees and shrubs.

Keep your flowers blooming longer and your garden tidier with a bit of deadheading.

Carrots, lettuce, begonia and other small seeds can be difficult to plant at the proper spacing. Reduce wasting seeds and time spent thinning seedlings.

Avoid dulling your mower blades and more importantly damaging your trees by creatively dealing with the surface roots.

Overcrowded, poor flowering and floppy perennials can be invigorated with a shovel and a bit of your time and energy.

Cooler air and the crackle of burning wood mean fall for many. But don’t destroy the forest by moving firewood. Instead use wood from local sources.

Stop – don’t top that tree. Instead, make sure it is properly pruned for years of health, beauty, and enjoyment in your landscape.

So it seems your perennial garden is filled with more weeds than flowers. Now is a great time to reclaim your garden by getting the weeds under control.

Flopping perennials can ruin the beauty and enjoyment of your garden. Take note and prevent future problems with a bit of proactive care.

Let ‘em stand for winter - perennials that is - for a healthier more floriferous garden next year.

The brilliant fall color in our landscapes is a magical transformation that happens each year. And the science behind it all is just as intriguing.

A forsythia bloom in fall? It’s not as unusual as you think.

Make this the year you finally start and keep a gardening journal. Keeping records of your successes, failures, pest problems and weather will help you grow a healthy, beautiful and productive garden in a more eco-friendly manner.

Mums are the traditional fall flower – but don’t stop there. You can find plenty of plants to add to your landscape’s fall display.

Make the most of this extra day during leap year and do something you enjoy. And for many of us that involves a garden.

So you decided to brighten the winter landscape with a few lights.

Don’t sacrifice beauty for function when you can have both. Select long blooming shrubs that can screen bad views, create barriers and serve as the framework or a focal point in your landscape.

Get the most from every square inch of your landscape by including long blooming perennials.

Take advantage of weekends, holidays and school vacations to get the children in your life involved with vegetable gardening.

Heavy snow and ice can wreak havoc on our landscapes. Proper handling of storm damaged plants can help minimize long-term damage.

X may not mark the spot in the garden – but bulbs, plant markers or standing stems sure can help guide your cleanup efforts next spring.

Balloon flower, butterfly weed and swamp mallow are a few of the plants that emerge late in the spring. This makes it easy to accidently weed them out during spring clean-up.

Tired of looking at the fading foliage of early season bloomers? Mask the ugliness of these declining leaves and increase the beauty of your landscape this season.

Improve the health and longevity of your trees and shrubs with a bit of preventative care.

Don’t let a lack of space keep you from growing trees in your landscape. Consider planting columnar trees in containers and narrow spaces.

The holidays are filled with lots of delicious foods and sweets. But now is the time to resolve to grow your own vegetables and eat healthier in the New Year.

Trees, shrubs and perennials are great for container gardens. But as winter approaches we need to provide a bit of care to help them through the winter.

Whether you are sharing a piece of a favorite plant, a bit of family history, or a shared memory, pass-along plants have long been a part of the gardening tradition.

One of the biggest plant investments you make for your landscape is your trees. Help insure their longevity by planting them right.

Start with a call to 811 at least three days before digging in. This free service will mark the location of all underground wires. This one call can save you money and even your life.

Use shrubs in the landscape for extra color, a bit of privacy and year round beauty.

Procrastination is a good thing when it comes to cleaning up your landscape in fall.

Tame those unruly perennials with a little early season pruning.

Tame those floppy potentilla and spirea and bring other overgrown summer flowering shrubs down to size in late winter through early spring.

Late spring is the time to bring overgrown lilacs, forsythia and other spring blooming shrubs down to size.

Late winter after the coldest weather has passed through early spring before growth begins is a great time to prune trees. Make proper cuts to insure the health and longevity of your plants.

Winter is often the time we break out the pruners and start shaping trees and shrubs. Before making that first cut, be sure you are pruning with a purpose in mind.

Add a bit of season long color to your landscape with purple leafed shrubs.

Beautiful reddish purple buds line the branches and trunks of the picturesque redbud tree. As the temperatures warm the buds burst into rosy pink or magenta blooms. And this is just the beginning of this tree’s beauty.

Add structure and a year round framework to your shady landscape with shrubs.

Birds can add color and motion to your landscape year round. Planting shrubs that provide food and shelter is an easy and affordable way to bring birds into your backyard.

Moving trees and shrubs can be tricky and heavy work. Make the move in spring before growth begins or in fall as the plants go dormant for greatest success.

Walk off some of those holiday calories and gather ideas for your garden. Look for trees and shrubs that provide interesting form, bark and texture in the winter.

Tired of constant pruning or need a change from those green gumdrops, hockey pucks and meatballs? With a bit of time and patience you can convert these back to their natural beauty.

Save energy, care for new trees, and conserve water in one easy step.

Save time, energy, and conserve water while caring for your new trees.

Get your garden off to a winning start by including a few All-America Selections winners in this year’s garden.