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

Bring in the hummingbirds and brighten your landscape with colorful plants.

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.

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.

The grass is up and growing and the roar of lawn mowers can be heard throughout the neighborhood. Minimize the negative impact of your gas mower on the environment with a few easy tricks.

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.

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

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.

Don’t panic when you find your zinnias, lilac, bee balm or phlox leaves are covered with a white powdery substance. This fungal disease, known as powdery mildew, is often a yearly problem on a variety of plants.

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.

As you pack it in for the winter, don’t forget about your garden tools.

Improve your garden’s beauty, increase your enjoyment, and reduce stress five minutes at a time.

Creating a beautiful flower garden can be overwhelming, but understanding a few key concepts can make it much easier.

Don’t end up with a driveway full of excess topsoil and mulch waiting for friends and family to haul away the surplus for their gardens. Do a bit of math in advance and order just the amount needed.

Replace your plant stakes with pruners to keep some of your floppy flowers full of blooms and standing tall.

Picture this - Your guest reaches over and plucks a sprig of mint from a planter to add to their iced tea or Mojito. Nothing beats the fresh-from-the-garden flavor or fun of ingredients right from your own garden.

Make your holiday meals just a bit more special, decorative, fun, and nutritional with homegrown garnishes.

Hostas are great for shade and low maintenance gardens. But with hundreds of choices it can be a bit overwhelming. So the American Hosta Growers Association has stepped in to help.

Be a weather watcher and grow a better garden. Weather events like spring floods, summer droughts, temperature extremes and unseasonable weather episodes can have long term impact on our plants.

Give your garbage disposal and wallet a rest. Convert kitchen scraps into a nutritious soil additive for your garden while raising bait for your next fishing trip. All you need is a container with drainage holes, shredded paper, red worms and of course kitchen scraps.

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.

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

So you want to grow roses, but don’t want to fuss? Don’t worry - you can have beautiful roses with minimal care.

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.

Summers are filled with barbeques, vacations, and caring for our landscapes. Mulching is one way to save time and effort over a season or two, giving you more time for fun.

Add a little zip to your garden and meals by planting herbs.

If your hybrid tea rose has stopped blooming or changed colors, a dead graft union may be the problem.

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.

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

Prepare your lawn mower now for the grass cutting season ahead. You will minimize breakdowns, frustration, and improve the health and beauty of your lawn.

Keep your plants looking good and be kind to the environment despite the risk of disease problems.

Tame those unruly perennials with a little early season pruning.

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

Your mailbox and dining room table are overflowing with catalogs filled with pictures of beautiful flowers and scrumptious vegetables. With so many choices it can be a bit overwhelming – I can help.