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

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.

Turn your attention indoors and give those tender annuals overwintering a bit of TLC.

Don’t discard those left over seeds from last season. When properly stored, many seeds can last for years, saving you money when you plan and plant this year’s garden.

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.

Don’t let past problems starting plants from seeds prevent you from partaking in this fun and budget-wise garden activity. A clean start and proper care can be the difference between success and failure.

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.

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

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.

Give egg shells and empty egg cartons a second life in your garden. Use them for starting plants from seeds.

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.

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

Help small children handle the anticipation and adults deal with the stress of the holidays while creating a few homegrown gifts.

Don’t throw those peach pits, avocado and grapefruits seeds into the compost pile. Have a little family fun and try growing these into a memory.

Make homegrown onions part of your diet. Their flavor is guaranteed to add zest to your meals and their health benefits include lowering the risk of many cancers.

Give garden transplants a helping hand as they move from the warm humid greenhouse or inside your home to the harsh outdoors.

It’s not too early to start planting - indoors that is. Start cannas, dahlias or other non-hardy bulbs indoors for bigger transplants and earlier bloom in the garden.

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.

Have a bit of fun and stretch your gardening muscles with kitchen scrap gardening.

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.

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.

As you thumb through catalogues or peruse online seed sources your wish list may be growing. Check your seed inventory before placing your final order.

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.

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.

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.

Do you have trouble properly spacing the small seeds of carrots, radishes or lettuce? It's easy to end up with half the package in one short row. This is a waste of seed and time spent thinning.

Expand your indoor and outdoor garden by taking cuttings from your favorite plants.

Extend the gardening fun and save money by starting your plants from seed.

Some of your impatiens, geraniums and other annuals overwintering indoors may be looking a bit unkempt. Break out the pruners and get busy with a little grooming.