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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

Add a little extra color and beauty to your fall landscape.

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.

Frame up a bit of living art to brighten a wall, soften a hard surface or add a focal point to your outdoor living space.

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.

Reduce your grocery bill this summer by growing a few of your favorite vegetables. And the good news, you don’t need much space to produce enough fresh vegetables for you and your family to enjoy.

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.

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.

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.

Mums are often the last flash of color in the garden. But getting them to survive the winter can be difficult.

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.

The soil has finally warmed and it is time to get pumpkins, melons, squash and cucumbers in the ground.

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

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.

Space challenged gardeners can grow tomatoes in containers. A 3 to 5 gallon pot is perfect for a single tomato plant skirted by a few flowers or herbs. Or try mixing a few tomatoes in with your shrubs and flowers.