15 Undeniable Reasons To Love Garden Plants

Four Seasons of Garden Plants

Choose vegetables and herbs that your family will appreciate. If you have areas of shade, consider cultivating vegetables that thrive in shade such as kale, broccoli and spinach.

Learn about the differences between plants belonging to the same family by learning their botanical names. Knowing their life cycle will aid you in planning and caring for your garden.

Small Ornamental Trees

Trees can bring a sense of size to your garden and can provide visual interest throughout the year with their colorful spring blooms and autumn foliage, berries, or seeds. They can also provide shade and privacy for a patio or entryway. Ornamental trees are great as a focal point. They can also be planted in small groups to create an intimate grove or as part an ornamental flower or shrub border. Smaller ornamental trees can be bought in pre-pruned tree forms at nurseries or be bought bare-root and trained as required. Many large plants can be pruned to small ornamental tree form too such as viburnums, late lilacs and winged Euonymus.

If your garden is in an area of hot, sunny with well-drained soil blooming ornamental trees are a great choice to draw butterflies and other pollinators to the landscape. For instance, the crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica) is a southern favorite with its long-lasting bloom of pinks and purples from the summer months to the fall. The leaves change from yellow to red in autumn, and its bark is attractive in winter. It is hardy from zones 5 to 9.

The heptacodium or the seven-sons tree can withstand full sun and produces tiny white Flowers Garden in the late summer and early fall. It’s a great option for creating height alongside decks that are cramped and is drought-tolerant once established. It is hardy from USDA zones 5 to 9.

In shadier places in shadier areas, the golden Irish yew (Chamaecyparis tricarpa) can add a splash of shades to shady parts of the garden plant thanks to its blue-green to green leaves. It is slow growing, tolerates pruning well, and grows in full shade or partial shadow. This plant is perfect for small spaces due to its compact, fastigiate habit.

Flowering Vines

The flowering vines are either annuals for a single season or perennial plants that add some color to the landscape over many years. Some of these plants require an sturdy trellis that can be climbed. Others are able to lay on the ground. Most quickly, they fill in vertical spaces, adding beauty and interest to a garden. Vines are available in a diverse range of colors and bloom times, and are suitable for every USDA Hardiness Zone. There are many different types, ranging from woody or clinging vines like English Ivy to non-woody and herbaceous vines like morning glory and Nasturtium.

Certain types of flowers provide flowering vines with extra appeal. The Susan with the black eyes Susan produces a large number of flowers in bright yellow, orange or white with dark centers. This fast-growing annual is a good option for a trellis that is sunny and works well in containers too. It’s also a favorite in hanging baskets because it can be twisted around supports.

Try clematis if your looking for something more robust than black-eyed Susan. This perennial is popular and comes in a variety colors, including shades of yellow, pink, white and apricot. Some clematis varieties, such as Duchess of Edinburgh and Josephine are characterized by large, fragrant flowers that appear in early spring; other varieties, like Sweet Autumn, bloom throughout the fall and summer.

Another evergreen, flowering vine is Carolina jessamine (Jasmine wrightii). This native of the southern United States makes a beautiful addition to a container or garden with its golden yellow trumpet-shaped blooms. It will reach towering heights when supported properly and isn’t cut back. This makes it an excellent plant to screen the view or creating an area that is shaded in a yard.

Container Plants

Container plants can add instant colour to your garden without the multi-year commitment of plants grown in ground or raised beds. They can also be a wonderful focal point at the entrance to a house. They’re also a great method to plant flowers, herbs or vegetables at eye-level to make it easy to pick and cook. Containers can be anything: barrels (even wooden half-barrels), baskets, buckets containers, window troughs, boxes and bathtubs or urns.

The key to successful container new gardening is knowing your plants and giving them the proper amount of attention. The need to water plants in containers more frequently is important because they dry out faster than those in the ground. Early morning watering is ideal because it gives them enough moisture to last through the hotter midday hours and keeps leaves dry at night that promotes diseases.

Look for trailing plants with bright flowers or fun foliage to add color to your container garden. Coleus is a fantastic option for pots. It is available in a variety of varieties of colors and leaf shapes, including dark green and variegated. Geraniums with ivy flowers are a attractive option. It’s a classic flowering plant for sunny pots, and it’s self-cleaning which means you don’t need to deadhead.

If you’re looking to grow taller potted plant for your outdoor space, consider Japanese pieris (Pieris japonica and cvs., Zones 6-8). It’s stunning pink, red, salmon-pink or creamy white blooms in spring and summer. A container of this deer-resistant shrub can really transform a space in the shade or sun. Papyrus is also a fantastic filler for large containers, and its tufts with brightly colored leaves look gorgeous when draped over the sides. A similar option is gold creeping Jenny (Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’, Zones 4-8). It’s a fantastic trailing plant for sunnier containers, and its yellow coin-shaped leaves blend well with most other colors.

Mid-Sized Trees

There is room in the garden for flowering plants that do not overly tall. These beauties are great for four seasons and give visual texture and shape to the garden. Their flowers, colors, and scents can also bring a garden alive. These tiny trees can be used to create the front yard or add a touch of color.

Crape myrtles are a classic illustration of this type of flowering tree. Plant breeders have developed various colors, ranging from lilac-purple flowers like Muskogee crape myrtle and terrific hot pinks of Strawberry Dazzle crape myrtle to the rich reds of Dynamite and the beautiful white of Natchez crape myrtles. These trees grow quickly and bloom all summer. They can last up to 40 years if properly cared for.

Serviceberry (Melancholiaxlucida) is another beautiful deciduous tree that has flowers. This native tree features beautiful white flowers in the spring, followed by tasty dark berries and finely-toothed leaves. It also has red and yellow autumn colors and a mild brown winter bark. Serviceberry is easy to grow in full sun, average soil that is well-drained and is drought tolerant once established.

If you’re looking for flowers garden a small evergreen tree, consider swamp white oak. This fast-growing tree is disease-free and can be found in wetlands, where other trees cannot adapt. It can withstand some flooding and is a good option for areas that are wet. It will reach 50-60 feet with a rounded shape and is an excellent choice for clay and moist soils. Once established, it is drought-tolerant and tolerant of air pollution.

Light Requirements

When looking at tags on plants, you will see many references to “full sun,” “partial sun” and even “part shade.” In most cases these terms aren’t clearly defined. Typically plants that require full sun need minimum of six hours of direct sunlight each day. The sun’s rays are at their peak between 10 am and 4 pm, therefore the garden that is full sun should be protected from the brutal afternoon sun.

The majority of vegetable and fruiting vegetables require full sun, however a few will tolerate some shade. Leafy greens are also affected by shade, however they might be slower to mature and produce.

Partial sun describes garden locations which receive between three and six hours of direct sunlight each day, but the remainder of the time, these areas are moderately shaded or receive shaded sunlight dappled by shadows of trees and leaves. The east side of your house is the best location for partial shade/partial sun. This will provide cool morning sun and early afternoon shade for most sun-loving plants, such as azaleas, rhododendrons and macrophylla the hydrangeas.

Full shade describes very dark locations that seldom see any direct sunlight. These areas are often covered by tall evergreens, structures that hang over or simply enclosed passageways or gardens between houses. These areas are difficult to grow in due to the competition between roots of trees for moisture and the general lack of light. If you find a flower gardening or vegetable gardening for beginners that does not thrive in this type of shade, relocate it to a different spot and add water as necessary. Reliable shade performers include Astilbe, golden Hakone grass, goatsbeard and a variety of ferns.