The Lenten rose--helleborus (also known as Christmas rose)--is one of the easiest and most rewarding plants to grow. It has the ability to bloom in the colder months of the year when other plants are sleeping, making it the star of any late winter/early spring garden.

This sturdy little evergreen plant originally hails from southern Europe and parts of western Asia. It grows 12-18" high and wide, with shiny, blue-green, leathery leaves and finely-toothed edges. It produces flowers from as early as late fall in warmer regions all the way to late spring in colder climates.

The Lenten rose gets its name from its flowers, that tend to be the most prolific around the period of Lent. Each plant produces many flower stalks that bear a single 2 to 4 inch single or double bloom. Thanks to an increase in hybridizing, the flower colors range from slate grey, near-black, deep purple and plum, through rich red and pinks, to yellow, white and green.

The outer surface of the sepals is often green-tinged, and as the flower ages it usually becomes greener inside and out, with individual flowers often remaining on the plant for a month or more. The inner surface of each sepal may be marked with veins, or dotted or blotched with pink, red or purple. Some even have a "picotee" effect.

Nearly every garden has a spot for hellebores, and the plants will thrive in many different environments. They are excellent for bringing color to garden borders, under deciduous trees, or between other shrubs. They can handle shady locations, but perform best if given morning sun. They are stout little plants and once established, become reasonably drought-tolerant.

Lenten roses like rich, well-draining soil. Treat them just like any acid-loving plant and amend the soil with peat moss or an acid planting mix. Remove any old, tattered foliage each spring after blooming and feed them with an acid fertilizer. Then sit back and wait for them to put on another show of color the next year.

Turn to ‘M’ in Trees and Shrubs (an illustrated a-z of 8500 plants) and before any other listing you will see a two-page full color enlarged photograph of one gorgeous, creamy white Southern Magnolia flower cupped gently and safely above thick dark green glossy foliage. Beholding this picture says it all for the magnolia and demonstrates how this one in particular boldly represents the genus.

There are many, many species and cultivars of Magnolia (hundreds). This tree (and sometimes shrub) originated both in North America and also throughout Asia. Having said that, it is obvious that there will be a species or cultivar available for your climate zone. There are both deciduous species – lose their foliage for a short time during the dormant season - and evergreen species, which as the word implies, never lose their foliage.

The Southern Magnolia, which is evergreen and highly fragrant, bears a voluptuous flower. The Southern Magnolia probably exemplifies the best of the evergreen magnolias. This tree is also one of the largest growing of the magnolias, reaching broadly to 80 feet or more. Lucky for those of us with smaller gardens, there is a dwarf variety called 'Little Gem' that is considerably smaller and even can be espaliered on a fence or wall.

There are also deciduous species of magnolia, which are quite well represented. The Saucer Magnolia or Tulip Magnolia (M. soulangeana) comes to mind. The flowers are borne on the branches in spring first, before the foliage. There are several cultivars available offering a variety of flower colors from white to pink-purple petals to rosy pink. Another favorite among the deciduous magnolias is the Star Magnolia. Clusters of fragrant white star-shaped flowers will abundantly bloom before the foliage reemerges each spring.

Fall or spring are both good times for planting a magnolia. Remember to consider the ultimate size of the variety that you select when deciding where to place this newcomer in your garden. Magnolias need full sun. If placed into too much shade, the tree may grow to be too leggy, while lack of sun might limit the degree of flowering. Dig a hole at least twice the size of the ball of the new tree, and mix your native soil at least 50-50 with planting mix. Water regularly, but do not over-water. Once established, the water can be reduced. In the spring, feed with Dr. Earth Bud and Bloom Booster.

No garden should be without this wonderful tree. Standing alone, boldly displaying its flowers or tucked in with the camellia, azalea, Chinese fringe (Loropetalum), and rhododendrons, the Magnificent Magnolia is a must-have for everyone! Fall or spring are both good times for planting a magnolia. THEY ARE IN BUD AND BLOOM RIGHT NOW, MAKING THIS THE PERFECT TIME TO CHOOSE A TREE WHEN YOU CAN SEE THE COLORS OF THESE MAGNIFICENT FLOWERS.

There are few pleasures greater than that of standing amidst your flowers and finding yourself joined by the little Harrier jets of the garden, the hummingbirds. The smallest birds in the world, these acrobats will dart and delight as they pollinate a vast array of flowers, trees and shrubs. They are attracted to the color red, and may even be enticed to visit your feeder if you tie a red ribbon around it.

This writer prefers to plant flowers and shrubs such as Buddleia (the butterfly bush), Campsis radicans that creates a wall of brightly colored trumpet-shaped flowers, perennial bee balm, Russian sage, and surprisingly, dinner plate dahlias.

In fact, having fallen in love with the dahlias last year, I planted all of my window boxes surrounding the perimeter of my rocking chair porch with container-type dahlias. So, whether I was working amidst the 5' high blooms in my English cottage garden, or resting with a book on the porch, I was constantly visited by these miniature marvels, the hummingbirds. For you to enjoy the same pleasures, plant bell-shaped, trumpet-shaped and tubular flowers such as petunias, honeysuckle, gaura, and a variety of sages; gladiolus surrounding a deck is also a popular draw.

Plant your flowers in large blocks of color, and don't shy away from plants of height. Delphiniums and hollyhocks will provide an excellent back row in a tiered perennial bed, and are a strong attractant for the hummingbird.

Include a bird bath or shallow trough for your hummingbird garden; this is also important for butterfly gardens. Provide small trees and shrubs for shelter, and a place where the birds may build nests if you're favored with long-term residents.

And then sit back and watch the show!

For a more complete list of hummingbird attracting plants, come into the nursery and Ask for a copy of ADRIA'S TOP PICKS FOR HUMMINGBIRDS, BUTTERFLIES AND BIRDS.

If you grow vegetables year-round in an established garden you'll need to make space for summer crops. When you plant winter vegetables in fall you can usually pull up just about everything and start out fresh. But in spring when you plant summer vegetables it's not quite that easy, because the seasons for many crops overlap.

It's often necessary to plant among some winter vegetables that are still going strong and to pull out others--even if they aren't quite finished--in order to make enough room for summer vegetables.

The smaller the space, the more important it is to schedule your fall planting so that most cole crops--such as cabbage, broccoli, and cauliflower--are finished by the time you are planting. If they're still going strong, plant them earlier next year. Peas are often getting ratty looking and mildewy by summer planting time, so pull them out and replace them with tomatoes and corn.

Onions and garlic stay in the ground to mature as the days lengthen. Be sure to weed your onions often; their small root systems can't compete with the roots of weeds. Replace parsley now or next month. A good place for it is east of a row of trellised cucumbers, where it will get some shade on hot afternoons.

By cleaning out most winter crops, and cultivating and amending the soil with Gardner & Bloome Harvest Supreme or Soil Building Compost before summer planting, you help prevent a carryover of pests and diseases.

For Early Bird Gardeners, we will begin getting a few varieties of vegetables sometime in early March (depending on the weather). A bigger selection of varieties will be available towards the end of March. START PLANNING NOW FOR THOSE CRISP GREEN PEPPERS AND JUICY RED TOMATOES OF SUMMER!

Seed potatoes are now in stock at the Greenery Nursery. Varieties include Yukon Gold, Red LaSoda, Cal White and Russet. NOW IS THE TIME TO GET THEM STARTED!!

If the seed potatoes are small- to medium-sized, plant the whole potato. If they are larger--say, bigger than your fist--you can cut them into pieces, ensuring each section has two or three "eyes" or growth bumps. After cutting, let the potatoes cure for a day or two, so the cut surface calluses over. You can also let them start to sprout in a warm indoor area to give them a head start before planting.

A fun and easy way to grow potatoes is in an above-ground bin, a method that has been popular with Scandinavians for hundreds of years. This a great growing alternative for those of us with small backyards.

The container can be almost anything, from a garbage bag, wire cage, or trash can to a stack of clean tires. Whatever container you choose should be at least 2' in diameter and 4' feet tall. Garden or potting soil is placed in the bottom. Bury the seeds, cut side down, about two inches deep and one foot apart and cover with a thick (12") layer of chopped leaves, pine needles or straw. Water thoroughly and make sure that whatever container you use has adequate drainage; for example, a garbage bag will need to have holes punched in the bottom.

As the potatoes sprout and the foliage begins to emerge above the soil, add more chopped leaves or straw and water weekly. Continue to add material as the foliage gets taller, always leaving about 2 inches of the plant showing. Potatoes generally take about 100 days to mature, but you can harvest them as soon as the spuds are big enough to eat. However, a good gauge of knowing when your potatoes are close to mature (when they must be harvested) is when the plants turn brown and die. At that point, you should let everything sit for two weeks as the potatoes complete their final bit of curing. Then harvest your spuds gently, and enjoy!

One of the plants that we always look forward to after a long winter is the forsythia. This early blooming plant is a focal point of early spring, heralding the warming months with a brilliant display of golden yellow blooms. Forsythias bloom before they leaf out, and during full bloom the bare stems are completely covered from base to tips. In early spring, they become the focal point of the landscape, then blend in well with other plants when the rich green foliage emerges after blooming.

These deciduous shrubs are native to eastern Asia, where they have been used in Chinese medicine for their antiseptic effect in treating wounds. They are fast growing, with dwarf varieties reaching 4-5 ft high and almost as wide, while taller growing varieties can reach 8-10 ft high and half as wide. The plants have great structure with an upright arching growth habit that has a somewhat fountain-like effect.

Forsythias not only look great in the landscape, but their branches also are perfect for flower arrangements, thanks to the uniformity of blooms on the branches. They are frost-hardy and easy to grow in well-drained fertile soil. They grow best in a full sun location, so are often used as a living privacy fence after they have fully leafed out. The taller varieties make great individual specimens in the landscape, and can also be used for erosion control on slopes.

Most people prefer the somewhat wild natural look of forsythias, but they can be shaped with regular pruning. This is best done after they have finished blooming, because they flower on the prior year's growth (pruning either too late or too early interrupts the growth/blooming cycle). But no matter how you shape this hardy plant, it will reward you with years and years of spectacular color every spring!

Spray peach and apricot trees against peach leaf curl, an airborne fungus disease that impairs fruiting and can eventually kill a tree. This disease thickens and stunts new shoots, and it puckers, thickens, and curls fresh leaves from the time they first emerge in spring. Affected leaves are red or orange when they first emerge, and later they turn pale green or yellow. Later still, a grayish white powder appears on them, and finally the leaves drop prematurely from the tree. Affected trees bear poorly, and the fruit that survives is usually deformed by wrinkles, raised areas, and irregular lesions.

Be sure to spray all your peach and nectarine trees--even dwarf ones growing in containers--against this dread disease, even if they've never shown symptoms. Since peach leaf curl is caused by an airborne fungus, it's carried everywhere, though it's at its worst in wet years. Virtually all unsprayed peaches and nectarines fall prey to it eventually, and once the leaves have emerged there's no cure for the problem.

Before spraying your peach and apricot trees, clean them up by removing any loose leaves or mummified fruits and by raking up and destroying all debris in, under, and around each tree. Spray the entire tree, carefully going over the trunk, the branches, and the twigs; also lightly spray the ground under the tree. Spray three times during winter while the trees are dormant, once the leaves have fallen, then about 6 weeks apart. An easy way to remember when to spray is around Thanksgiving, New Year's and Valentine's Day. You should have time to get one last spray in now. Make sure to use only copper at this time without a sticker oil. Come by the nursery and we'll help you find the right product.

Anyone Can Have a Garden; Anyone Can Be a Gardener - WE ARE HERE TO HELP!

What's an annual, a perennial, a biennial? What about pH? Soil structure, deciduous vs. evergreen, how do I prune, why do I prune?

With the stressful lives we lead, sharing the joys of gardening has become even more important to us. Whether planting a tree as a memorial or just relieving daily stresses by getting in touch with nature--a little dirt under the fingernails can be very healing.

So you want to have a garden? The most basic beginning should be to understand how plants grow; we will go into more detail with each category in future articles. For now the basics to remember are that plants need:

Proper light--sun or shade
Food--is supplementing fertilizer necessary?
Water--how much depends on your soil and the plant type

Plant selection is important. Try to find out the name of the flower or plant that you like - Or come to the Greenery to look for it. If you can bring us a sample, it will be much easier to identify it for you. Once you know the name of a plant, you can find out just about anything about it that you need to know. Pay attention to the three needs above and you'll be well on your way to a successful garden. If you don't have a special plant in mind, we will be happy to make suggestions of plants that
will meet the requirements of your space.

So try planting something - get started! Try something a close neighbor is growing that you like - it will be likely to do well in your yard, too. Those of you who claim to have a "black thumb"--we are here to help you! Bring us your questions and let us help you find the answers.

Getting to Know Garden Terms:

Annual: a plant that completes its life cycle in one season (one year or less)--it grows, blooms, makes seeds, then dies. (ex: Marigold)

Perennial: a non-woody plant that grows for more than 2 years. (ex: Shasta daisy, Agapanthus)

Biennial: a plant that completes its life cycle in 2 years. It grows the first year, goes dormant in winter, and then blooms the next year. (ex: Foxglove)

pH: a measure of the acidity and alkalinity of the soil using a scale from 1 to 14, where 7 is neutral, less than 7 is acid and greater than 7 is alkaline. Distilled water is neutral (with a pH of 7), lemon juice is very acid (with a pH of 2.6) and baking soda is very alkaline (with a pH of 8.5).

For more information on basic gardening as it pertains to owning a home, check out our Homeowner Yard Revival Series of Seminars.

There are so many reasons to grow your own herbs. Even the simplest of dishes differs in taste when fresh herbs are used instead of dried, packaged supermarket varieties. Oregano blooms with purple blossoms from July through October. A member of the mint family, this species is a hardy perennial in warmer climates, is easily grown from either seeds or cuttings, and may be divided. (If you are growing from seeds, sow them in rows 18" apart, early in the season; cover lightly with soil, and thin the young plants to 12" apart.)

Oregano is not only a useful and usual addition to any herb garden, it also makes a wonderfully easy-to-grow houseplant! While it is still small, place it in a sunny window in well-drained soil and watch it grow! After a winter's enjoyment of the plant, when Jack Frost is no longer a danger, transplant it outdoors. Not a fussy plant, oregano does fine in average soil, and will tolerate dry soil conditions. In fact, it is a native of the Mediterranean region and is perfectly capable of withstanding droughts.

Withholding fertilizer actually causes oregano to produce a stronger flavor. Harvest after the plants have produced several dozen leaves; the young tender leaves produce the best flavor when picked early in the morning when the oils are strongest. To ensure that the leaves do not turn bitter, pick the flower buds upon first appearance; blooming leads to bitter leaves.

The name oregano comes from the Greek oros, meaning "mountain" and ganos meaning "joy." The plant grows joyously wild in the mountains of Greece.

During the Roman-Greco era, marrying couples were crowned with it, as it is a symbol of honor, good luck, and good health. If you weren't already affianced, you could anoint yourself with oregano prior to sleep, and you would dream of your future spouse.

Mix the dried leaves with honey, and you have a balm that is said to aid in fading bruises. Brew oregano tea by steeping 3 tablespoons of fresh crushed oregano leaves in 8 ounces of boiling water for 10 minutes; drinking this mixture is said to ease coughs and indigestion, and to aid in achieving a restful sleep. And we all know it's an excellent spice!

We hope you'll enjoy this aromatic, medicinal and culinary gem: oregano.

What’s the difference between leafy veggies, flower veggies, root veggies, and fruit veggies?

Answer:

Leafy vegetables include "leaf-type" vegetables such as cabbage, chard, kale, lettuce and spinach, whose leaves are edible.

"Flower-type" vegetables are ones such as broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cauliflower, whose "flower" is eaten instead of leaves.

"Root-type" vegetables are those such as beets, carrots, radishes and turnips, whose roots are the edible part of the plant.

"Fruit vegetables" are botanically fruits but treated as vegetables in a culinary sense. These include tomatos, peppers, and squashes.

Now you are fully equipped to "enlighten" friends with this incredible information when you find yourself at a loss for subject matter at the next dinner party you attend.