Angela England's Blog
Posted by Angela England
Here are some fun tips for putting together a Halloween or Autumn themed garden container or planter.
- Select plants named for Halloween ghouls, ghosts or goblins. A fun way to create a themed container or garden is to use plants with interesting names. Some of my favorite Halloween named plants include 'Flying Dragon' Japanese Orange Tree, 'Ghost Hills' Heath and 'Witches Broom' Elderberry. By using one or more of these Halloween related plants you can bring some of the trick or treat fun right into the garden.
- Create a colorful fall container using plants that are attractive during this season. One of my favorite container plant combinations this year is Autumn Sage, Pansies and Trailing Moss Verbena for a multi-layered container. Add some small pumpkins or colorful Indian corn to dress the planted decoration up even more.
- Sometimes the best decoration for a garden room or outdoor table is a simple cut flower arrangement. Try using some of these plants that make good autumn cut flower arrangements. You can use a plastic jack-o-lantern for a vase, or tie Halloween ribbon around a plain vase to keep with a Halloween garden decor theme.
Posted by Angela England
My recent article about the reborn baby popularity craze has brought out some strong emotions, and opinions from my readers.
The whole subject fascinates me. As an artist I find the craftsmanship and artistry astounding. The realism of some of these dolls is truly amazing.
I feel that as a collectible, these dolls are great. After all - how many of us have something we enjoy collecting? I have spent more on books than one of these dolls is worth so I can't exactly speak negatively about even the cost.
As a memorial or remembrance keepsake, I think they might be nice. One mother shared with me she had a doll made after the losing her daughter, and the doll sits on the shelf with her daughters ashes as a memorial. That was sweet to me, like having a painting commissioned to remember family members who have gone on before.
But what has caught the attention of the Today show, BBC, and documentaries like "My Fake Baby", is the few women who give these lifeless dolls a level of affection that seems unhealthy. The YouTube video clip at the bottom of the Reborn Babies article shows a couple of these women - ones who seem to develop maternal feelings towards the dolls. For these women, I feel a sense of sadness.
Would love to hear your thoughts and opinions - click "Add Your Comment" below.
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Posted by Angela England
In 1927 the goldenrod was named as Alabama's official state flower but that honor didn't last because in 1999 Camellia japonica was named Alabama's official state flower.
Camellias are popular evergreen shrubs, especially in the southern states, where their large, colorful blooms enhance the fall and winter months. I have a gorgeous Camellia growing beside my front porch where the shade would prevent many other flowering shrubs from growing well. When I see the large, fragrant blooms there is no question why Alabama selected the camellia for it's official state flower.
I've provided a couple resources for you to learn how to grow camellia plants in your own garden, including a review of the camellia encyclopedia.
Camellias are popular landscape shrubs for many reasons; their shade-loving nature, their beautiful blooms, their evergreen foliage and four-season interest. Why not add the Alabama state flower to your garden this year?
Posted by Angela England
Yellow is a bright and energetic color that adds warmth and pizzaz to any garden space. Yellow flowers combine well with other colors, and gardeners can use yellow blooms to contrast with purple and blue, or to spice things up with orange or red flowers. Yellow foliage serves as a dramatic backdrop for other plants as well and can be an eye-catching accent.
Here are recent articles about selecting yellow flowering and foliage plants for your yellow themed garden:
- Yellow Flowering Spring Bulbs- A great way to tuck unexpected spots of color into the early landscape garden.
- Golden Summer and Fall Blooming Bulbs- These bulb and rhizomatic plants can be planted in the spring to fill in any last-minute gaps in your yellow themed garden.
- Modern Yellow Roses- Different in growth habit and bloom pattern than old-fashioned garden roses, these modern roses are some of the prettiest and most popular yellow flowering varieties.
- Trailing Yellow Flowering Plants- Use these in your containers, planter edges, rock gardens and hanging baskets to make your yellow themed garden a three-dimensional one.
- Shrubs with Yellow Flowers - Ornamental shrubs form the backdrop for many garden landscape spaces so consider these for your yellow garden area.
- Yellow Ornamental Grasses - Add movement and foliage color to your yellow themed garden with these golden grass and grass-like plants.
- Biennial Plants with Golden Blooms - Sometimes these charming plants are too-often ignored, but I personally love the cottage garden type of flowers available in biennial plants. Try these in your yellow garden.
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Posted by Angela England
Last week I mentioned all the wonderful tomatoes my garden has produced. Well, tomatoes are hardly the only vegetable and fruit being produced in our garden this year. We also planted a few yellow crookneck squash and zucchini plants that are producing well for us.
Despite being slightly overcrowded in the small space we were able to dig up for them this spring, these plants have been producing very well for the past month or so.
I have grown up enjoying fried zucchini, but you can only make that for your family so many times before it is time to get a bit more creative with your culinary choices. Thankfully, my mother-in-law had a few vegetable recipes to share with me so we could expand our summer garden menu.
Oven-Baked Squash
This was a nice way to use the tender, yellow summer squash. Split the squash in two and score lightly with a fork. Spread a layer of butter on the top and add seasonings as desired. We chose parmesan cheese, garlic powder and a bit of parsley or basil. Then I baked them in the oven at 350 degrees until they were soft. Then just cut and eat the squash - such a fresh taste!
Tune in to the next blog post for a recipe using tender, green zucchini in a cool, summer pasta salad!
Posted by Angela England
We love tomatoes at our house. My husband will sit and eat an entire plate of tomatoes topped with cottage cheese as a meal, or in-between-meals snack. We also enjoy them raw in salads, sliced on sandwiches, etc.
By the end of July, however, we are more than halfway through our tomato harvest and I'm getting a bit tired of them in the usual ways and fashions. So I've done a little bit of creative searching for ways to use the harvest we are being blessed with, without making myself sick on raw tomatoes.
One thing I did was make a giant pot of spaghetti sauce. I was afraid it would be tricky to make the spaghetti sauce but it really was much easier than I anticipated and it also allowed me to use both the garlic, and onions, I had harvested earlier in the spring.
I had to skin the cored tomatoes which is easy when you lightly score the skin (just barely cut the skin only with a knife) and then plunge the tomato into boiling water. The skin will begin to peel back off the flesh of the tomatoes. From there it is easy to follow whatever your favorite spaghetti sauce recipe is.
Freeze the main bulk of the sauce for winter use and try freezing the sauce in small bags so you can thaw one meal's worth at a time. Just don't forget to treat yourself to a nice, homemade spaghetti dinner that night in reward for your hard work!
See more information about growing heirloom tomatoes to find which tomato varieties work best for sauce, salsa, canning or eating fresh.
Posted by Angela England
Grasses are fast becoming a staple of the mixed garden border and there is good reason why this gardening trend is picking up speed. There are many benefits to using ornamental grasses in the garden landscape.
Remember the days of endless bedding plants? Impatiens as far as the eye can see? No longer! Now entire gardens, or containers can be made of prairie grasses, ornamental grasses or other foliage-spectacular plants.
Fountain grass is now an often-used centerpiece for many container combinations. With such a wide variety of grass colors and sizes available it's no wonder gardeners are using them more and more.
A recent article that is part of the yellow themed garden series talks about ornamental grasses with gold colored foliage. There are also grasses with variegated foliage and grasses with ornamental seed-heads as well. What stunning selections for any garden situation!
Posted by Angela England
As a gardener, I'm always looking for ways to extend the growing season, create more color and interest in my garden or add a high-impact accent plant. Ornamental foliage allows me to do that with ease.
Bright foliage colors, variegated designs and long-lasting foliage color is taking center stage in many gardens. As more gardeners begin using plants with high-impact foliage, plant breeders are responding with additional plants that feature ornamental leaves. Evergreen plants with colored or variegated foliage help keep a garden looking attractive throughout the entire year!
Whether in a mixed border, container planting or other garden area plants with attractive foliage are becoming a more important consideration than in past years. Here are some articles featuring plants with attractive foliage to help get you started.
Posted by Angela England
I love the look of terra cotta pottery. Perhaps it's my Italian heritage, or maybe the Old World look tugs at my heart with sentimental thoughts. But let's be honest, shall we? As the mother of two young children, there is no garden container less practical for our home's landscape than terra cotta. Especially as my son has developed an avid fascination for hammers and other tools!
Thankfully, one of the recent developments in gardening and landscaping is a dramatic increase in the availability of polyethylene or resin containers. These gardening pots are beautiful, often resembling terra cotta or cast stone containers, yet they are much lighter (ie. easier to move!), weather resistant, durable and can't be easily destroyed by a four-year-old on a mission.
With the increasing interest in container gardening, the attractive, replica containers are a great way to enhance your plant's beauty. And protect your container investment from toddler curiosity.
Posted by Angela England
In the spirit of "going green", container gardening is becoming more widely used by both master gardeners and first-timers with not-so-green-thumbs. Urban gardens, that used to be concrete jungles are springing up everywhere and growing fresh produce at home is more vogue for gardeners than ever before.
New container-gardening products make it easier for even beginner gardeners to container garden with success - self waterers, inexpensive but beautiful containers, pot watchers, lightweight pots, etc.
So why are container gardens becoming so popular? Here are a few of my thoughts on the subject:
- A container allows plants and bulbs to be grown in otherwise impossible places and brings some of the "fresh outdoors" to even small apartments or crowded urban areas.
- Container gardens give gardeners the ability to quickly create a mass of color. Want to add a splash of yellow and orange near the pool for a party? Gather your containers together and create an instant focal point.
- Which brings me to my next point - container mobility. Beginning gardeners will learn the art of combining plants more easily when they have the ability to move their flowers around. Don't like how those two plants look sitting next to eachother? Put another pot in-between them!
- There is a greater ease of three dimensional planting - hanging baskets, climbing vines in containers with trellis or raising the container itself onto a pedistal.
- Containers themselves add to the beauty of the garden landscape. Gorgeous terra-cotta look is available inexpensive with resin replica containers and unique containers can be found at any flea market or garage sale.
Posted by Angela England
Perhaps I'm easily amused but I love the funny names given to specific plant cultivars. Some names are very descriptive, some are scary, and some are downright silly. These are musical and I think they are beautiful.
- Daylilly (Hemerocallis) - Golden Chimes, Lark Song, Fire Music, Symphony Hall and Country Melody
- Daffodils (Narcissus) - Bell Song, Pipe Major, Silver Chimes, Fortissimo (means "loudly" in musical notation)
- Roses (Rosa) - Music Maker, Tchaikovsky (a composer best known for his ballets), Johann Strauss (another composer)
- Tulips (Tulipa) - Golden Melody, Chopin (a famous composer), Concerto (a type of instrumental song)
One of my favorite things to do is create themed container plantings or garden areas using plant names to categorize them and group them together. Here are some other plant lists to help you create uniquely themed gardens.
Memorial Themed Garden Plants - Great for creating a special memory garden or remembrance garden.
Patriotic Garden Plants - Americana themed containers and garden plants!
Camelot or King Arthor Themed Plants - Fun for a "chivalry" themed plant container!
Winter, Christmas or Holiday Themed Plants - Why wait until the winter to celebrate?
Harvest or Autumn Named Plants - One of my favorite times of the year in the Fall.
Halloween Themed Plants - Scary, creepy and ghoulish plants!
Spring Themed Plants - Plants with names that reflect the new life of the year.
Posted by Angela England
My kids love gardening with me and we've been planting seeds like crazy lately. One of the latest fun things to do is to grow or plant things from our own garden. Recently we were successful sprouting our own little orange seedlings after planting them in fine seedling mix, keeping them covered and warm until they sprouted.
Most citrus trees and shrubs that are grown from seed will not come true to the variety, but it is still possible to produce fruit, even in a cool climate. Citrus trees are evergreen so the hardest part will be providing a warm winter environment that will have enough light for the plant to continue growing.
If you are blessed enough to live in a temperate climate you won't need to house the plant in a special place. Cooler climates with harsh winters will need to provide a greenhouse or a warm, sunny screened in room.
Here is a list of citrus fruit that will come true from seed:
- Lime (Citrus aurantiifolia)
- Seville Orange (Citrus aurantium)
- Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis)
- Lemon (Citrus limon)
- Grapefruit (Citrus paradisi)
Posted by Angela England
I got miniature roses, a popular rose type that many landscapers and gardeners use for flowering bed edgings, container plants or other landscape uses. Many other women got live, potted plants from loved ones this weekend and may be wondering what to do with them now to keep their keepsake flowers alive.
Hydrangea Plants
One plant that is increasingly popular as a gift are the perennial shrubs, Hydrangeas. These beautiful garden shrubs have ornamental flowers that are popular for long-lasting color, attractive foliage and winter seedheads that often stay ornamental throughout the winter months. Here are tips for maintaining hydrangea plants in the garden.
Miniature Roses
If you were given miniature roses like I did try planting them in an area of the garden with fertile, well-draining soil where they will get at least 6-8 hours of full sun. Water the roses well to help them get established and snip off any dead flowers after the blooming ends (this is called deadheading). If your roses are hardy over the winter in your gardening zone they will come back the next year, otherwise consider planting them in a container so you can bring them in to house over the winter.
Braided Azalea Trees or Reblooming Azaleas
Specially trained azaleas are a popular gift plant item since they are braided, or twined to create a unique type of plant standard. Here is an archived discussion about how to plant and keep braided azalea plants.
Lilies
Several types of lilies are commonly given for Mother's Day and other holiday occasions but most will do well grown in garden conditions similar to growing Easter Lilies.
One of the best things when we recieve a live plant as a gift is being able to continue enjoying the beautiful flowers year after year.
Posted by Angela England
Writing my most recent plant profile about perennial Penstemons I started thinking about how these beautiful native wildflowers are now more readily available for average gardeners. Plant hybridizers are producing new and useful cultivars to provide more choices for home gardeners to add to their container plantings, mixed flower borders and foundation planters around the house to increase curb appeal.
There are several new introductions available recently from gardening companies and catalogs that feature plants who were once outcasts and not so readily available or widely used. Other native wildflowers that are increasing in popularity are Columbines, Echinaceas (no long just purple coneflowers), Penstemon as I mentioned, and Coreopsis. As more gardeners are increasingly looking for water-wise flower choices or non-invasive native plants I expect to see this trend continue.
Posted by Angela England
Yesterday, Sidney and I purchased several vegetable and herb plant starts from a local gardening nursery and today I spent the entire morning cleaning out my containers in preparation for planting a few of the herbs out.
I already knew one of my containers had reseeded pansies in it because they bloomed out several weeks ago. Last year it was a mixed planter with asparagus fern, vinca and pansies but this year in late winter it was filled to overflowing with creamy yellow pansies edged in violet! What unexpected charm!
When I cleaned out the old asparagus fern stems this morning I noticed that several of the pansies had already gone to seed ensuring another lovely crop of flowers this fall and early next spring since pansies are cool weather flowers.
My chocolate mint and peppermint survived another winter so I cleaned the weeds out of their container and added an extra layer of mulch and organic soil ammendment since this will be their third year in that pot.
The burgundy dianthus is coming back again, as is my trailing rosemary and lavender plants so I should have plenty of summer flowers and aromatic herbs to get my container garden off to a good start this year.
Posted by Angela England
After starting several tomato seedlings we had several plants ready for planting before the danger of frost (and thunder storms!) had past in our area. So what to do - what to do? My husband and I had seen pictures of the tomatoes you can plant in the hanging bags so we decided to try our own hanging tomatoes with recycled bottle containers. One is a large 3-liter pop bottle, the other container we recycled was a large Sunny Delight juice blend bottle! Here's how we built them:
- Sidney cut the bottom off the bottles so they were open. When we turned the bottles upside-down to hang them, these largest openings would be on top.
- I placed the seedling and dirt ball into the bottle with the leaves and stem DOWN so the tomato plant came through the neck of the bottle, while the root ball stayed in the bulk of the main bottle itself.
- We filled the jug container full of organic potting soil mix, leaving enough room at the top to create a hanger.
- Sidney drilled some holes in the sides of the bottle and we used old coat hangers to create the hanger.
- We watered the entire tomato plant slowly to keep the soil from coming out and hung them in the shelter of our sunny patio spot.
Even with all the storms and windy days we've had both of the heirloom cherry tomato plants are doing really well already. One has roots that have grown almost completely up to the top of the sprite bottle. What a fun way to recycle what would otherwise be trash in celebration of Earth Day!
Posted by Angela England
Last year I enjoyed my first layered bulb garden which has returned this year bigger than ever. The tulips especially put on quite a show! Their orange red color looked beautiful with the yellow daffodils and deep purple grape hyacinth flowers.
In the fall I planted not only a lovely redbud tree, but also layered some crocus and iris bulbs around the yard where I planted the ornamental, spring blooming tree. This spring the tree is leafing out well and should have a strong root system to survive the sometimes harsh summer in this area. That is one of the benefits of planting shrubs and trees in the fall.
The extra tulips I planted this past fall were gift-with-purchase specials so I wasn't sure what I would end up with. My husband and I were pleasantly surprised to find large red tulips and dwarf yellow tulips that lit up the yard by the mailbox with a cheerful splash of color. Even with all the mud and rain we've been dealing with recently those bright flowers look great and give me a reason to smile.
Posted by Angela England
One of the Plants & Bulbs departments Contributing Writers, Melissa Howard has recently begun writing a series of articles about the flowers of each month. I love historical folklore about herbs and flowers and thought my readers might enjoy seeing her series as well.
Planting the flower that coincides with the birth of a child, special event or wedding anniversary can be the perfect way to begin Creating a Memory Garden.
In order of January through December the plants of the months are:
Posted by Angela England
Have you seen the signs of spring around you yet? We have - despite several inches of snow just a few days ago. My tulips are about to burst open and the crocus bulbs I planted last fall are blooming a bright, cheery yellow that I so enjoy seeing in the spring.
Here are a collection of articles about spring blooms and flowers for your gardening delight - including one about bulbs you can plant now in the spring for blooms to enjoy later this year!
- Spring Blooming Trees
- Favorite Spring Flowering Perennial Plants
- Spring Blooming Deciduous Shrubs
- Spring Flowering Annual Plants
And of course - a quick tip for planting bulbs in the spring:
Posted by Angela England
I recently visited a friends house and was struck by the quiet beauty of her entry way courtyard - simple raked sand, attractive Japanese maple and carefully placed rocks caught the eye. Her Japanese garden invited you to sit and soak it all in with a rock bench and wall-hanging water fountain to delight your senses.
While her Japanese garden had been professionally designed, it isn't necessary to spend a lot of money to have professional results when planning your Japanese inspired, meditation garden. Here are some design tips to help you get started:
I think the trickiest thing for me in designing my Japanese inspired garden will be the simplicity of the style. Each plant is given room to grow and be enjoyed individually for it's own unique beauty rather than crammed in right beside another plant. My tendancy leans more towards a Cottage Garden feel in that I usually want to try so many different plants at the same time!
Here are some stunning plants that are perfect for a Japanese Garden. Even collectors and cottage gardeners like me can find some amazing accent pieces from these plant lists:
Posted by Angela England
What do you do when your garden area, like mine, is a less than ideal situation? I battle sand, clay and shade so my trial and error with perennials that stick it out in tough situations is your benefit. Take a look at some of these solutions for tough garden areas.
Perennials for Sandy Soil: Plants for Poor Garden Landscapes with Fast Drainage - Sandy soil can be difficult to deal with in the landscape. These perennials all thrive in sandy soil that drains water quickly and work well for tough garden areas.
Flowering Shrubs for Shade: Large Ornamental Plants for Shady Garden Areas - Ornamental and flowering shrubs are usually thought of as sun-loving plants but these large, blooming plants all do well in part shade or full shade areas.
Wind Tolerant Perennial Plants: Perennials for Windy, Unsheltered Garden Spots - Gardens located in exposed areas, near the ocean shore or on the plains, are subject to lots of wind that can damage some garden plants.
Perennial Plants for Cold Climates: Perennials for Northern Zones 3 and 4 - A frequent frustration of gardeners in cold northern zone climates is hearing about perennial plants that their Southern neighbors enjoy. What plants will survive the short growing season of zone 3?
Perennial Plants for Dry Shade: Plants for Gardening in Dry Shaded Soil - The soil under trees can be dry even with regular watering because the roots use the moisture quickly. See seven perennials that thrive in difficult shady conditions.
Posted by Angela England
Have you ever noticed how many romantic love scenes in plays and stories take place in a garden? And often by the light of the moon? A scented arbor......secluded sitting spot.....
A moonlight garden is a great garden space to create for a romantic spot to sit and talk and enjoy the beauty of a night time garden paradise.
Here are some tips for creating a moonlight garden with ideas for plant selection.
Scented flowers and fragrance garden plants are great choices for plants in a nightime garden since the fragrance can be enjoyed even when the flowers can't be seen. Fragrant plants can be used as ground covers or ornamentals and include perennials, bulbs and annual plants.
Another of my favorite tricks for a moonlight garden is using silvery foliage or foliage that is fun to touch, fuzzy or bold and spiky.
I would love to hear any tips or ideas you might have for creating a moonlight garden. Stop by the discussion forum and share how you create your romantic garden spot.
Posted by Angela England
Here are a few of the gardening books I've been reading lately. Perhaps some would be beneficial to you and your next gardening project.
Heirloom Country Gardens by Sarah Wolfgang Heffner A must-read for anyone who is interesting in historically based garden ideas or heirloom, cottage garden plants. I love the old-fashioned artwork in the book and the full color photos.
Autumn Bulbs by Rod Leeds A treasury and encyclopedia of the hidden gems in the late-season garden this book details and pictures several varieties of flowering bulbs to plant in the spring and enjoy flowers in the fall.
Creating Beds and Borders by Fine Gardening Magazine A compilation of some of the most popular articles from the Fine Gardening Magazine writers about plants, designing, preparing, filling and maintaining creative and beautiful landscape beds and borders.
Camellias: The Gardener's Encyclopedia by Jennifer Trehane One of the most popular articles here in the Plants & Bulbs section has been theCamellia Growing Guide and so it's no wonder that one of my favorite gardening books is this Camellia Encyclopedia by an expert Camellia gardener, Jennifer Trehane. Worth the price of the book for the stunning camellia photos alone.
The English Roses by David Austin Another gardening book with stunning plant photography is this tome about English Roses detailing their history and development as well as the categorization of the roses.
The Curious Gardener's Almanacby Niall Edworthy - Learn about the whimsical gardening tips in this Niall Edworthy book such as: "The more one gardens, the more one learns" ~ Vita Sackville-West
Complete Idiot's Guide to Trees and Shrubsby Joshua Plunkett and Jeanne Hanson - Large ornamental plants create the backdrop for garden landscapes and set off other plants and bulbs. Learn how to grow and care for flowering and garden shrubs.
Do you have a favorite gardening book you would like to see reviewed? Use the Comment button below to leave me a message detailing the book's information and I'll add it to my reading list.
Posted by Angela England
An in-depth profile of a favorite herb plant, Lavender. Learn why the lavender plant is prized in the garden and how to select and care for one in your own landscape.Not all evergreen plants have green leaves. Here is a selection of broadleaf evergreen shrubs with red, purple, silver or other colored foliage.
Another plant growing guide highlighting the foxglove, a stately plant that has been featured in gardens for centuries. This growing guide will help you care for, maintain and select the best foxglove.
See how to care for, maintain, and use camellias in the garden. More than beautiful winter flowers and evergreen foliage the camellia has a lot to offer gardeners.
And the number one most viewed Plants and Bulbs article of 2007:
Broadleaf evergreen shrubs provide color year round. These evergreen shrubs are all broadleaf shrubs with green foliage even in the winter.
Posted by Angela England
My purse collection is woefully last season - my shoes deperately need updating - but my garden boasts the new and latest plants available.
I love to try out some of the new plant forms and colors each year. Last year I planted a few Autumn Encore reblooming azaleas and two varieties of Knock-Out Roses.
This year I haven't decided yet what new plants to try but I sure have had fun putting together these articles for you. With so many amazing plants to choose from the only real trouble will be figuring out how to fit them all in the garden.
2008 Plant Introductions: