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No matter where you live, you can select easy care plants for your garden. Even if you think you don't have what it takes to grow a beautiful garden, you'll be surprised how easy care plants thrive with very little attention. In fact, once established, there are selections which almost ensure your success.

In order to qualify as an "easy care" plant, the plant must be one that grows well in the environment you are able to easily offer. This means that a garden which will be in deep shade must utilize only shade-loving plants while plantings in direct sunlight must be able to withstand the intense sunshine and associated heat. Of course, most gardens offer areas of sun, partial shade, and possible some deeper shade, allowing you to choose from a wide spectrum of plants; however, even if this is not the case in your garden, you can still have a great garden that will be the envy of your friends and neighbors. You can avoid the time, effort and expense associated with frequent supplemental watering, by selecting plants which thrive in the local environment rather than specimens which demand only conditions you must artificially provide.

To make your easy care garden be truly impressive, you'll want to determine what areas of the garden will have the most impact and which will have the least impact. The high impact areas are those which are visible from the street, in landscape areas closest to outdoor seating areas and those areas viewed from your home's windows. Your garden may have other high impact areas, but using the guideline of "what is seen most frequently", you can easily identify which areas should be highlighted. The remaining garden area can be considered lower impact.

Let's look at some easy care plants which fit great in each of the high impact areas.

Street-Visible Areas

For street-visible areas, choose plants which create a defined border or specimens placed in groupings. Pampas grass offers feathery pale plumes towering over tall groups of thin, hardy leaves is impressive yet very easy care. Colorful, hardy crotons are foliage plants used to create shrubs and require almost no pruning; they become even more colorful when exposed to full sun. Well-shaped, low-growing evergreen shrubs make great plantings for bordering the street, driveway, porch, front steps, or under front windows. Add impact to trees by planting shade-loving groundcover around the base. Ivy, wild ginger, creeping buttercup or bunchberry, as well as ferns work well for this purpose and help keep weeds from becoming established under your trees; you'll also rarely have to edge around the tree trunk once these plants are established.

Outdoor Seating Areas

You'll want to enjoy your garden from your patio, deck, back porch or other areas where friends and family gather to enjoy the outdoors. Here, you may want to focus on adding color and flowers when choosing easy care plants for your garden. Visible fences can become high impact beauties when flowering climbing vines such as clematis or mandeville are added. Cypress vine can be planted along fences and you'll have plenty of hummingbirds come to visit and dine. If you do not like the idea of climbing vines, then consider creating a border of Ajuna "Caitlin's Giant" with its lush burgundy leaves and eight inch tall blue flower spikes.

Around the outdoor seating, flowering shrubs prove to be easy care choices yet offer color and focus. Spanish bluebells love shade while freesias love sunlight. Crotons provide colorful impact anywhere full sun is available. When shopping for plants for high impact areas, be sure to read the instruction spike inserts in the pot or ask the expert at your garden center for the exact requirements for that species.

Petunias make lovely blooming plants that area truly easy care and offer lots of color. "Supertunia Vista Bubblegum", a heat-hardy yet cold-tolerant hybrid pink variety, works great in containers or ground plantings, growing to heights of 20 inches and creating an easy care choice which requires no deadheading or pruning.

Hydrangeas are great choices for high impact areas viewed from windows. Available in periwinkle blue or pink, the large bunches of small blooms area truly impressive. With only a single fall pruning and spring fertilization, these shrubs will thrive in almost any condition. You can purchase varieties which grow to large heights or dwarf varieties which remain les than three feet tall.

Geraniums, marigolds, zinnias, four o'clocks, touch-me-nots, bachelor buttons, gerber daisies, and an endless variety of other beautiful flowering plants for garden areas near your outdoor family spots provide lots of variety. Hanging baskets of ivy, asparagus fern, and succulents also provide focus for high impact spots near seating.

Window-Viewed Areas: Garden areas which can be seen from windows which are located in areas that are frequently used, such as the living room, family room, kitchen, or dining area, also need to be high impact yet easy care. Choose from the easy care flowers and flowering shrubs for these areas. The taller flowering shrubs can be placed toward the back of these garden areas with shorter flowers planted in front. Then you can enjoy the easy care plants for your garden from indoors as well as outdoor.

 

easy care flowers easy care plants garden design geraniums hydrangeas marigolds petunias zinnias

Succulents and sedums are members of a group of plants that can thrive in almost any condition. They love sun, tolerate drought, and offer a variety of colors, shapes, textures to add drama to a garden or in pots. Few people would consider these as plants to use to create unique topiary projects.

Topiary is, by definition, simply locating or trimming plants in such a way that a specific shape is suggested. You may think of these creations as traditional ivy growing over a wire frame or carefully trimmed shrubs. Why limit topiaries to these restrictions when you can explore all sorts of unique ideas?

First, we need to understand what succulents and sedums require to thrive. They are so easy to care for; even a person who says they have a brown thumb can enjoy success with these species of hardy plants. Burrows tail, stone plant, giant rose, pork and beans plant, string of pearls are only a few of the common names of sedums and succulents that you may recognize.

Sedums are also known as stonecrops, in part because they are often found in the wild growing in outcroppings of stone or rock where little soil is available or growing in a niche in a cliff or rock wall where a bit of soil as collected. By their very name suggests, they are perfect for rock gardens.

Both sedums and succulents share the ability to store moisture in their leaves and stems. This gives their leaves the fleshy appearance. Many species are structured in a fountain or circular growth pattern to trap trace moisture during droughts.

While succulents and sedums include huge plants and small and some have attractive blooms, a topiary project should focus on the smaller, delicate species of sedums and succulents. Beautiful plantings in creative containers can be designed using the wide range to textures, leaf shapes, and colors found in these easy-to-grow plants

The Key To Sucess .

The key to success in designing a gorgeous topiary design with succulents and sedums is the container selected. Frequently, these [plants] are grouped into desert-like miniature landscapes in large, round, terra cotta pot saucers. If you think outside the box a bit, you have many other options.

One idea for a unique topiary project of sedums and succulents is to choose a basket with a handle. Place some sphagnum moss in the bottom and on the inner sides of the basket. Add cactus potting mix and place your collection of plants into the basket.

Take this idea one step further and cover the exterior of a rough-edged vine basket by attaching the moss with florists pins strategically placed. You’ll want a thick covering of moss to create this type of topiary. Tuck pockets of cactus potting mix into pockets formed in the sphagnum moss and place your selected sedums and succulents into these pockets. Add more moss as needed and additional florist pins.

You’ll become the envy of all your friends when they see your unique topiary ideas. Unlike topiary specimens that require continual trimming, topiary projects like the basket above require very little maintenance except watering once or twice per week and fertilizer annually.

You can create bold tapestries in larger pots by mixing various sedums and succulents whose leaf sizes and colors provide pleasing contrasts. Simple combinations are often the most effective.
For a finished look, choose a pot that echoes the succulents' colors. A pink or yellow pot, for example, provides a softly elegant setting for an aeonium with green-and-cream striped leaves edged in rose (such as A. decorum 'Sunburst'). White-glazed pots add a light, summery look to white-variegated agaves, such as striped A. americana 'Striata', which stays much smaller than its pot-breaking cousins; A. parviflora, which has curly white threads; or short-leafed A. victoriae-reginae. Set potted succulents in entryways and sitting areas where their tidy geometry can be enjoyed up close.
Caring for succulents
Certain stonecrops and sempervivums tolerate bitter cold, but most succulents need frost protection. In cold climates, grow them in pots and move them to a greenhouse or other protected spot during winter. Full sun is fine for most agaves and aloes, but aeoniums and echeverias prefer partial shade, especially in hot inland areas.
If temperatures in your area seldom dip below 30° or exceed 100°, you can grow succulents effortlessly on a bright patio or in dappled sun, in soil that drains well. Indoors, set them near a sunny window and provide good air circulation.
Once established, succulents seldom need pruning or thinning. Fertilize them lightly in spring, clip spent blooms, and give them just enough water to keep their leaves plump.

garden design rock gardens sedums and succulents shrubs topiary projects trimming plants

Growing heirloom tomatoes is all the rage in the gardening world today. Not only do the tomatoes great taste, but they keep the genetic line going from special plants that are great example of the tomatoes almost everyone loves.

What are HeirLoom Tomatoes?

The question of an exact definition of heirloom tomatoes is a controversial subject. One train of thought is that the definition should be based on the age of the cultivars. For example, these people define heirloom tomatoes as a line that is over 100 years old, or 50 years old, while others say that any tomato line which began by 1945, the end of World War II qualifies as an heirloom tomato.

Others define heirloom tomatoes as a cultivar that has been nurtured, carefully chosen, and handed down from family member to family member for generations. Still others define these tomatoes as cultivars introduced generations ago which have such great qualities that the line has been saved and maintained over the years.

No matter which definition of heirloom tomatoes you agree with, the common point is that their heirlooms must be open-pollinated and not hybridized in any way. No genetically modified specimens can qualify as heirloom tomatoes.

Pricing of HeirLoom Tomatoes

When you shop for heirloom tomatoes, you will notice that the price of these specimens is greater than for hybrid of non [heirloom tomatoes] . Why is this true? Well, the heirloom tomatoes where selected for handing down from generation to generation for specific qualities.

Tenderness and taste are major reasons for continuing a line of tomatoes. Some of the specimens can grow to huge sizes and others produce unique colors and shapes. The main driver for growing the pure-bred heirloom produce is flavor. Nothing is quite like a perfect, beautiful heirloom tomato served sliced with a tiny bit of salt as an accompaniment to fresh vegetables.

These attributes mean that the prices are higher than for modern tomatoes. After all, these heirloom fruits are “antiques” and, whether you buy furniture, cars, clothing, or anything else that is an antique, you will pay more than you would for a modern version. However, those who grow these tomatoes attest that the additional investment is well worth the price.

Attributes of HeirLoom Tomatoes - Unique, Colorful, and Shapely

We think of tomatoes as green fruits which turn red when ripe. With heirloom tomatoes, this is not always the case. Heirloom specimens of various varieties ripen to purple, green, pink, gold, orange, striped, even white. Huge old-fashioned beefsteaks that are large enough to stuff are an example, and some heirlooms are even shaped like an accordion.

HeirLoom Tomatoes Varieties

Examples of some of the available heir-loom tomatoes include:

Aunt Ruby’s German Green: Ripes to a bright green and is very flavorful and large — up to one pound..

Brandywine: An Amish heirloom from 1995 which produces large fruit, up to 1.5 pounds, and has a wonderful flavor. It ripens to shades from pink to blackish purple.
Cherokee Purple: This tomato from the 1890s ripens to a flavorful, large fruit which is deep pink-purple.

Galinas: This heirloom hails from Siberia and produces small, golden yellow tomatoes which are sweet yet tangy.

English Rose: Dated from pre-World War II, this tomato has been passed down through a single family. It is noted for a large size and pink fruit and has leaves shaped like potato leaves.

Break-O-Day: This heir-loom dates from 1931 and provides red fruit that is great for canning. The fruit are uniform in shape and have rich red color. The flavor is considered tangy.

Marmande: This ribbed red tomato comes from France and is richly flavored. The tomatoes are medium to large size and the plants produce well even in cooler climates.
Old German: The Mennonites developed this exquisitely flavored tomato with large, yellow-skinned fruits streaked with red. There may be marbling of red both on the skin and inside the tomato.

Orange Banana: This heirloom is great for making paste, drying or canning. It is orange and sweet when ripened properly. They also taste great fresh when included in a meal as a side dish.

Pink Accordion: This tomato is mild in flavor and heavily ribbed, reminding one of an accordion. They are semi-hollow inside, making great choices for stuffing. The ribbed shape also makes an impressive display on a place when simply sliced for serving.

Principe Borghese: This heirloom hails from Italy and has fruits shaped like grapes with few seeds. The flavor is relished but the fruit is small — only one or two ounces.
Plum Lemon: Hailing from Moscow, these heirlooms are canary yellow when ripe and measure about three inches in length, looking very much like a lemon. They are sweet in taste.

Thai Pink Egg: This heir-loom tomato from Thailand produces crisp, sweet, pink tomatoes which are full of flavor and uniform in color. Each tomato may be only one ounce and is shaped like a grape.

Tigerella Orange: These red-orange tomatoes are small to medium in size and have a tangy flavor. They are prized due to their productive vines and disease resistance. This is a great choice for slicing and eating along with vegetables.

White Currant: This wild-type heirloom produces clusters of cherry tomatoes that ripen to a creamy color with a slight yellow tint to the skin. They are very sweet and much loved by fans of heirloom tomatoes.

Preserving the HeirLoom Tomato Lines

When you grow heirloom tomatoes, it is important to keep the line pure and preserved for future generations. To do this, simply prevent cross-pollination with other tomatoes by growing other tomatoes in another area of the garden or in a different part of the property (i.e. grow one type in the front garden and the other in the back garden). Save some seed from the heirloom specimens to plant again the next year. Do this each year, and your initial investment, even though it is more than buying hybrid tomatoes, will pay off for you in flavor, beauty, and enjoyment of growing something that has been around for generations.

Growing heirloom tomatoes heirloom tomatoes planting tomatoes spring gardening Vegetable gardening