Funky, Fun Garden Plants

Written by Valerie Garner


I have a love for funky, fun and uniquegarden plants. Here's one to try.It's called Sea Holly, and it's actually in thethistle family. Sea Holly is a perennial garden plant, which means you plant it once and it comes up year after year, somewhat depending on your climate.

This plant never did fail to bring attention andcomments from people seeing my garden. It grows about3-4 feet high, very branchy andrepparttar branches are abrilliant electric blue color. It's stunning!

The only drawback to this lovely plant, inrepparttar 113302 fallyou must cut it torepparttar 113303 ground and burn or compost theplant. Do not let it go longer than that, or it will be casting seeds and you'll soon discover it's family trait ofbeing a thistle, if you know what I mean. The following spring, it'll come back again to it'sbeauty.

It is an easy plant to grow and does best with fullsun, or as much sun as is available to you. I live inthe Pacific Northwest, U.S.A. so we get a lot of rain andfairly mild summers and yet it seems to be enough forthis plant. You can search for Sea Holly seeds in seed catalogs or sometimes you can find it in some nurserys. Aninternet search would surely find you a source forthis lovely plant.

I thought I'd let you know about one ofrepparttar 113304 coolest,funky plants for outdoors I've ever run across. It's calledEvening Scented Stock, it is NOTrepparttar 113305 common stock, however.

This is an annual plant, that needs to be sown early spring, directly intorepparttar 113306 soil where it is to bloom and grow. I recommend planting it nearby windows and doors, porches, etc. This plant really doesn't look like much in and of itself, it's not a pretty plant per se..but when about 5:00 PM rolls around watch it do its stuff! This plant has a VERY powerful fragrance similar to hyacinths or lilacs. Atrepparttar 113307 gentlestbreeze it sends a waft of fragrance to die for. This is why it's so excellent to plant near a window, door or pathway. When you open up your screen inrepparttar 113308 evening, this will scent your entire house.

One place that I have foundrepparttar 113309 seeds for this rare plant is atFragrant Path, PO Box 328, Fort Calhoun, NE 68023

Planning a Water Garden...

Written by Gordon Goh


A water garden isrepparttar area of your landscape that will provide you with relaxing sounds ofrepparttar 113301 water, while adding torepparttar 113302 overall details of your landscape. The water garden is a project that you must 'plan' for continued success. If you are lucky enough to haverepparttar 113303 room in your lawn for a water garden, you are already one step ahead of many gardeners! Let's talk a little about how to plan for your water garden. A few important factors about placement of a water garden that often are forgotten are:

Do you have children inrepparttar 113304 neighborhood? If you have or live near children, you will want to keep your water garden in an area that will be close to your home. You will want to be able to see what is 'going on' byrepparttar 113305 water. Children are curious and they love water! Being able to see your water garden will save you worry later afterrepparttar 113306 creation of your water garden even ifrepparttar 113307 children are inrepparttar 113308 yard.

Do you have a natural spring in your lawn area? When planning a waterfall inrepparttar 113309 water garden,repparttar 113310 use of a natural spring or water source is going to makerepparttar 113311 continued success of your water garden much easier. A water garden is possible with a waterfall even if you do not have a natural spring or water source, but it is a little more 'work' to create that special effect. You can find more information about this in another article on this site.

The lay of your land is important. While we will discuss this in other articles as well, planning your water garden aroundrepparttar 113312 lay of your land is important. If you are lucky enough to have a flat lawn, you can plan your water garden in various areas. The landscape that includes hills and slopes are a little tricky but usingrepparttar 113313 slope in your lawn, you can createrepparttar 113314 water garden that takes care of that little 'wet patch' atrepparttar 113315 bottom ofrepparttar 113316 yard!

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