annuals

This year the National Garden Bureau is featuring summer snapdragon, Angelonia spp., as their annual plant of the year. The genus Angelonia encompasses about 30 species, native to tropical and subtropical regions from Mexico to Argentina. In the wild, they are often found in damp areas but once established, they can be quite drought tolerant.  

We've had our first touch of cold weather, with night temps falling to the upper 30s on October 6^thand 7^th, but no hard freezes yet. Of course, we're at the end of the gardening season. But if you have tender plants, and you want to keep them growing a while longer, it's important to pay attention to weather forecasts and provide protection if freezing temperatures threaten.

Scented geraniums provide heavenly aromas when grown either outdoors in your garden or indoors on your windowsill.

Even a summer with normal rainfall has plenty of hot, dry weather. For flowers that thrive under these conditions, pick some from the following list:

Yarrow (Achillea filipendulina). The domesticated version of the perennial wildflower is drought tolerant and produces quantities of 3- to 5-inch golden-yellow flowers that are excellent for fresh or dried arrangements. Recently introduced cultivars offer flowers in a range of colors from dark pink, coral and red to yellow and cream. Plants bloom from June through August.

Each year the National Garden Bureau, selects a flower, perennial and vegetable to showcase, with plants being chosen for their popularity, variety, ease of growth, wide adaptability and versatility. This year the flower being featured is the much-loved, and very versatile geranium, botanically known as Pelargonium spp. In this instance, we're talking about beautiful, showy annual bedding plants, not the hardy perennial geraniums, although both Pelargonium and Geranium are in the same family.

Home gardeners are itching to get outside and will soon be buying bedding plants – both annual flowers and vegetables - from local garden centers and greenhouses. Selecting strong, healthy plants, along with proper care and planting, will help insure a successful start to the gardening season.

All-America Selections (AAS) announces four national flower award winners this year. National awards are given to plants with consistently great performance across the United States. To see pictures of these and other great plants visit the All-America Selections.

Coleus ‘Coral Candy’ is a new release from PanAmerican Seed’s Premium Sun coleus series and the first seed-propagated coleus to become an AAS winner. The leaves are narrow and serrated, displaying multicolors of pink, burgundy and green.

Many gardeners struggle with their property’s shaded areas. True, turfgrass won’t grow in heavy shade (anywhere with less than 6 hours of direct, full sun), but there are many plants which prefer either partial or even full shade. All it takes is a shift in your landscape vision for shaded areas to go from thin, unthrifty turf to the healthy restful gems of your landscape.

Each winter, many gardeners eagerly look forward to getting back out into the vegetable garden. Most gardeners realize that the average last spring frost date in eastern Nebraska is May 10th. Meaning until that date, some vegetable transplants or new seedlings planted outside may need extra protection in the event of a frost.

Growing grass is almost impossible in the heavy shade created by mature trees and many gardeners struggle with the best method for managing this difficult area of their landscape, but it is possible to have attractive plantings in these shaded locations, while still preserving the tree's health. Here are a few tips for creating a beautiful shade garden underneath your trees.