Perennial Flower Garden Blog
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In answer to the question, "What have you done for me lately?" :-) Here it is.
All the new articles fit to print.
Nov 5, 2009, cuttings and rooting perennial hibiscus
My outdoor cat, broke off some branches of a hibiscus that was given as a present. I started the cuttings in my bathroom with a 15 watt plant light,
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Nov 4, 2009, perennial designs
Perennial designs - or more appropriatelydesigning perennialgardens - are easily learned. To be sure, there is an art to designinga great garden but there are also a few simple rules that, if followed,will give you an instantly better looking garden..
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Nov 4, 2009, niche gardens
When we talk about niche gardens, there are asmany options as there are gardeners. And let us be honest here, some ofthese garden design options
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Nov 2, 2009, Non Blooming Lavendar
1st I bought 36 plants thru the mail, they all died. So then I bought 2 plants at my local nursery. They looked AWESOME in the summer. Full sun all
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Oct 30, 2009, pruning perennial hibiscus
Hello, I would like to know if I can cut back my perennial hibiscus in the fall. The stems are very thick and they seem to be woody, I was wondering
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Oct 30, 2009, Perennials that grow well in pots
I live in an apartment in Villa Park Illinois and I love Perennials can you please give me a list of Perennials that I can grow in pots on the patio
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Oct 22, 2009, butterfly bush not growing well
I have a blutterfly bush that is not doing well at all. We live in York, SC. Can I cut the bush back, in the fall, in the hopes more nutrients go to
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Oct 22, 2009, Dividing Black Eyed Susans
How and when is the best way and time to divide Black Eyed Susans? Doug says he likes to dig and divide his mature clumps in the early spring. They
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Oct 16, 2009, Ornamental Grasses for Minneapoils, MN
Good morning, We are attempting to add green to our courtyards at our loft complex in Minneapolis, MN. The couryards receive partial sunlight, and
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Oct 16, 2009, Cutting Back Ornamental Grass
I live in Gatinea Quebec Canada. What winter month am I supposed to cut foliage back to the ground? It is a perennial and purchased at Loblaws. We
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Oct 13, 2009, when to transplant coreopsis
should I transplant coreopsis and rudbeckia from pots to ground in the fall or spring? In NC you can transplant either in spring or fall and should
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Oct 13, 2009, survival of hardy mums
my mums did not come back this year, planted in the ground or in the pot. After growing season should mums
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Oct 9, 2009, How do you remove Jacob's Ladder
I planted this spreading plant in the garden several years ago and am now trying to remove it but it is so pervasive. Any suggestions you have would
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Oct 9, 2009, reblooming hardy mums quickly
how do I force my mum plants to rebloom quickly? I've already cut them back and used miracle-gro I NEED them to look fantastic again by this Sunday
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Oct 5, 2009, Bright colored daylilies
I can't choose one. I stumbled on to daylilies and I cannot seem to get enough of them. I have tried (but I have not succeeded) to have as little lawn
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Oct 5, 2009, End of Season
Do I cut the Blackeyed Susan back for winter or let is die completely and pull out of the ground? Doug says that if this is a perennial plant - cut
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Oct 5, 2009, overwintering lavendar in the house
I have two large lavendar plants in pots that I would love to overwinter in the house, is this possible and can you tell me the best way to care for
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Sep 19, 2009, when is best time to transplant
When is the best time to transplant - fall or spring? Doug says the best time to transplant is in the early spring - the earlier the better assuming
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Sep 14, 2009, problem with lime coneflower
My lime and peach colored coneflowers have NO petals!. . . just heads. The purple coneflowers are fine. Why? Doug says that it sounds like aster
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Sep 10, 2009, Growing French Lavender indoors.
Can you grow French Lavendar successfully in a pot indoors ? I live in Quebec and I am wondering if it will be too cold to leave it in the garden over
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Sep 8, 2009, New Perennials Dying
I live in Western Saskatchewan and planted new perennials this spring. The one flower bed faces south and the other is on the west this all near the
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Sep 8, 2009, Pinch back mums one more time?
I've pinched back my mums a few times this year, but still they are very large and I am afraid they will flop over when they bloom. There are a few
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Sep 8, 2009, trimming after blooming
When may I cut off the bloomed flower and stem? Doug says you prune off spent flowers and their stems when the flower start to fade. We call this
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Sep 8, 2009, lavender dying
We planted lavendar a few months ago and it is now dying out. It is planted in clay soil but we added alot of bags of soil to it and tilled it in.
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Sep 3, 2009, Ajuga or Bugleweed
Ajuga is one of the most common of perennial ground covers and with good reason.It is hardy – surviving nicely in USDA 3 to 9
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Aug 31, 2009, Ground cover with blue/purple spikes in May
My gardnere just destroyed a bed full of ground cover we have had for 18 years. It is hardy with dark green leaves close to the ground and in May it
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Aug 31, 2009, Blackeyed Susan yellow pastel
I am assuming that this is a variety of blackeyed susan. I saw this growing in Maine and took a photo for identification. It has a yellow center,
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Aug 31, 2009, Lavender
Read & learn from all your posts. I have a lavender that had done well for 3 years. It had many blooms this year. However, the center is now dead. Is
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Aug 24, 2009, Russian Sage overgrown
I cut my Russian Sage back every year and it gets overgrown to the point that the purple flower stems are laying on the ground. Any suggestions?
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Aug 24, 2009, foxgloves stopped blooming
My foxgloves were beautifully bloomed when I planted them about a month ago and now they have all brown buds on them and no flowers. What went wrong?
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Aug 24, 2009, perennial hibiscus summer pruning?
My perennial hibiscus is beautiful with lots of 10 inch blooms. However, it is in the front of our house and grows 7-8 feet tall with a weed-like look
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Aug 24, 2009, help for a sick garden hibscus
My hardy Hibscus has very pale yellow leaves even slightly curled leaves and no flower buds. I am in zone5 on July 23rd. Can you make any
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Aug 21, 2009, No blooms
My lavendar is in full hot sun. I don't water it. It was doing great but now in August, no more blooms. Just green bush and dead blooms. No new
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Aug 17, 2009, Big Sky coneflowers
My Big Sky Sunset coneflower bloomed in the expected color the first year. In subsequent years it seems to have reverted to the old standard purple
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Aug 17, 2009, extending blooming time
Can you extend blooming time by cutting off the tops during bloom? We are planning a garden party Labor Day weekend, but fear the susans will no
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Aug 14, 2009, Too much nitrogen in soil
How do I compensate for too much nitrogen in my soil? Everything I have grows so tall and flops over. I've had my soil tested, and this is what I've
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Aug 14, 2009, Can Shasta Daisy deadheads be saved for seed?
Each year I save the deadheads from my marigolds, let them dry, then get the seed for next years' flower beds. I was wondering if I can do this with
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Aug 14, 2009, are they wild flowers
I pulled a bunch out last night thinking they were just weeds as they overgrowing. I doubt if I got all of the roots - will they grow back and if so
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Aug 11, 2009, annual and perennial
Let’s look at the differences between annual andperennial flowers in the garden because there are some majordifferences you should be aware of
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Aug 10, 2009, Blue & Gold Spiderwort Browning
I have blue and gold spiderworts in the front of my home (facing west). It gets some shade in the morning, but otherwise it is in a sunny location.
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Aug 10, 2009, lavender pruning
I pruned backed a lavender bush in front of my house by 2/3 it was choked with grass and weed and died out my wife says I shoudn't have trimmed it
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Aug 10, 2009, My Black-Eyed Susan plant has not bloomed yet
I put my new black-eyed susan transplant in this spring and in August it hasn't bloomed yet. It has lots of nice green leaves and looks very healthy
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Aug 5, 2009, pathway plants in shade
I wanted to plant woolly thyme between the flat bricks in a shady spot at the garden shed entry but I understand thyme likes lots of sun. What could
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Aug 4, 2009, Allium
It seems that every year my list of favourites keep growing. Some of them also look quite interesting. This allium blooms later than most of the
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Aug 4, 2009, Blue Iris with White Stripes
Iris are one of my favourite spring bulbs. This one is new for me this year and I really enjoy its stripes and the awesome
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Jul 29, 2009, Division of plant and looking sick
Whenever I have tried to divide a black eyed susan they look terrible for quite sometime and sometimes perk back up, somtimes not until the following
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Jul 29, 2009, Blackeyed susans did not grow this year.
This would be the 5th summer for our blackeyed susans since being planted. We mulched the flower bed in May and everything else in the bed grew very
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Jul 28, 2009, does full shade mean full shade?
Hello, and thank you very much for your website. I am into Permaculture and try to get in Montreal people's lawn changed for something more useful.
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Jul 28, 2009, Staking Perennials
I think I need some help with staking my perennials. My Shasta Daisies were planted last fall and now are so tall that they are falling over on to my
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Jul 28, 2009, Baptisia pods
Each year my baptisia blooms and then large seed pods grow, dry, and eventually fall off. Will it work if I collect these pods now, allow them to dry
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