Notes

20 Fun Details About Garden Plants
Four Seasons of Garden Plants

Choose vegetables and herbs that your family will appreciate. Think about growing garden plants that do in shade, such as spinach and kale.

When you know the botanical names of the plants you can tell them from one another. Understanding their life cycle will help you plan and care for your garden.

Small Ornamental Trees

Trees add a sense of dimension to gardens and provide visual interest throughout the year. They are a great source of beautiful spring blooms, vibrant autumn foliage and berries, or seed pods. They also can provide privacy screening and shade for a patio or entrance. Ornamental trees can be grown as a focal point on their own or grouping them together to create a small grove or planted as part of a mixed plant and border of flowers. Smaller ornamental trees are available already pruned to tree form at nurseries or they can be purchased bare-root and trained as required. Many large trees can be cut back to a smaller ornamental tree form also, including viburnums, late lilacs and winged euonymus.

If you have a garden that is in a sunny, hot location with well-drained ground, flowering trees will attract butterflies and other pollinators. For example the crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a popular choice for southerners with its long-lasting bloom of pinks and purples that last from summer to fall. Its leaves turn from yellow to red in the autumn and its bark is attractive in winter. It is robust in zones 5 to 9.

The heptacodium, also known as the seven-sons tree tolerates full sunlight and produces small white flowers from late summer through early autumn. Once established, it's a great way to add height along the deck that is small. The plant is tolerant of USDA zones 5 to 9.

In areas with shade, the golden Irish yew (Chamaecyparis tricarpa) can add a splash of shades to shady parts of the garden with its blue-green and green leaves. It is slow growing, tolerates pruning well, and thrives in full sun or partial shadow. This plant is perfect for tight spaces because of its narrow, fastigiate habit.

Flowering Vines

The flowering vines are either annuals that are only blooming for a short period or perennial plants that offer color in the landscape over many years. Some of these plants require an imposing trellis to climb. Others are able to sprawl on the ground. Most quickly, they fill in vertical spaces creating beauty and a sense of interest to the garden. Vines are available in a broad variety of colors and bloom times, and are suitable for every USDA Hardiness Zone. There are many varieties that range from woody or hanging vines such as English ivy to herbaceous and non-woody vines such as morning glory or the nasturtium.

Certain types of flowers give flowering vines an extra glimmer. The black-eyed Susan vine produces scores of bright yellow, orange or white flowers with dark centers. This fast-growing annual is great as a trellis in the sun, and also in containers. It is also a favorite for hanging baskets where it can wiggle around the supports.

If you're looking for a more durable option than the black-eyed Susan look into clematis. This perennial is available in many colors, including pink, yellow and white. Some clematis, like Duchess Edinburgh and Josephine have large, fragrant blooms that bloom in the early spring. Others, like Sweet Autumn, bloom all summer and autumn.

Another evergreen flowering vine is Carolina jessamine (Jasmine wrightii). This native to the southern United States is a lovely option for a garden or a container with its golden yellow trumpet-shaped flowers. It will grow to towering heights if it is not pruned and given enough support and care, making it an ideal plant for screening a view or shaded corner of an area.

Container Plants

Container plants add instant color to your garden without the multi-year commitment of planting in ground or raised beds. They can also be used as a focal point for the front of a home. And they're a wonderful way to plant flowers, vegetables, or herbs right at eye level to make it easy to pick or cook. Containers come in all shapes and sizes: barrels (even half-barrels made of wood) buckets, baskets, boxes, window panes, urns, bath tubs and more.

The most important thing to succeed in container gardening is knowing your plants and giving them the proper amount of attention. Container plants dry out more quickly than those in the ground, which is why watering them more frequently is needed. The morning watering is ideal as it gives them enough moisture to endure the midday heat, and also prevents any dampness on the leaves at night.

Find trailing plants with bright flowers or fun foliage to fill up a container garden. Coleus is a fantastic option for pots. It comes in a variety of varieties of colors and leaf shapes that include dark green and variegated. Another attractive option is the Ivy-flowered geranium. It's a traditional flowering plant that can be grown in sunny containers and it's self-cleaning which means you don't have to deadhead.

If you're looking for a larger potted plant for your outdoor space, consider Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica and cvs. Zones 6-8). It is a stunning pink, red, salmon-pink or creamy white blooms during the summer and spring. This deer-resistant shrub can make any room look beautiful, whether in the shade or sun. Papyrus also makes a good filler for large containers and its tufts brightly colored foliage look lovely hanging over the sides. Golden creeping Jenny is another option (Lysimachia numularia 'Aurea', Zones 4-8). It's a fantastic trailing plant that's perfect for containers with sunnier conditions and its yellow coin-shaped leaves look pretty with most other colors.

Mid-Sized Trees

There is space in the garden for flowering trees that don't have to be awe-inspiring heights. These beauties are great for four seasons and give visual texture and shape to a garden. They also help bring a garden to life with their colors, flowers and scents. These tiny trees can be used to add a splash of color to small gardens, front yard, or as an as an accent.

Crape myrtles are an iconic illustration of this type of flowering tree. Plant breeders have developed many colors, from lilac-purple blooms like Muskogee crape myrtle and terrific hot pinks of Strawberry Dazzle crape myrtle, to the rich reds of Dynamite and the stunning white of Natchez crape myrtles. These trees grow quickly and bloom all summer. They can last for 40 years if properly cared for.

Serviceberry (Melancholiaxlucida) is a beautiful deciduous tree with flowers. This native tree is adorned with stunning white flowers in spring followed by delicious dark blue berries and finely toothed leaves. It also has a yellow and red autumn colour, and a light brown winter bark. Serviceberry grows easily in full sun, average soil that is well drained and drought-resistant once established.


If you're looking for a small tree that is evergreen try the swamp white oak (Quercus bicolor). garden plants -growing tree is disease-free and grows in wetlands, areas where other trees aren't able to adapt. It is able to withstand some flooding and is an excellent option for areas that are flooded. It will reach 50-60 feet in a rounded shape and is a good choice for clay and wet soils. It is also drought-resistant after it is established and able to withstand air pollution.

Light Requirements

When you look at tags on plants, you will see numerous references to "full sun,"" "partial sun" and even "part shade." In most cases the terms aren't easily defined. Plants that need full sun need a minimum of 6 hours of direct sun each day. The sun's rays are the most intense between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. So, the site of a garden that is full sun is important to shield it from the harsh, drying afternoon sun.

Certain vegetables, including fruit, can withstand light shade, but most need full sunlight. The same applies to leafy green vegetables, however it might take longer to mature and produce if they are in shaded locations.

Partial sun is a term used to describe garden areas that receive between three and six hours of direct sun every day. For the rest of the day, these areas are moderately shady or have diffused light from the trees and leaf shadows. The ideal partial sun/partial shade spot is on the east side of your home. This will provide shade in the early afternoon and cool morning sun for sun-loving plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas.

Full shade is the term used to describe extremely dark areas that are not exposed to direct sunlight. These areas can be covered with tall evergreens or overhanging structures or be enclosed spaces and gardens between houses. These sites are difficult to grow in due to the competition for moisture with tree roots and a general lack of light. If you spot a flower or a vegetable that isn't thriving in this type of shade, move it to a different spot and add water as required. Shade-loving plants include astilbes golden Hakone Grass, goatsbeard, and a range of ferns.

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