Hostas for that Shady Spot Where Nothing will Grow

Do you have a shady spot in the garden where nothing seems to grow? Most of us have an area under trees, along side of the house or next to a tall fence that gets so little sunlight that we can't get much to grow there. This is a perfect spot to plant the hosta.

Even though the hostas bloom for a short time in the summer, we usually think of them because of their beautiful foliage. There are many varieties of hostas available. Some have heart shaped leaves, some are round and still others have a lance like shape. You can find hostas with quilted leaves, smooth leaves, variegated, blue or green leaves.

Plant several types of hostas in these hard to grow areas for almost maintenance free beauty. They grow in any type of soil and make a wonderful ground cover for those areas that are hard to get at.

Hostas are easy to divide. This makes them a good, inexpensive basis for ground cover. Just dig them up and pull the roots apart and replant them to cover larger areas.

Read more about the beautiful hosta.

Afraid of Pruning your Rose Bush?

A lot of gardeners are afraid of pruning their rose bushes. There is really no reason for it. Letting it get overgrown is a lot worse than if you make a slight mistake when you cut it back. The center of the rose bush has to get sunlight and have proper air circulation for the rosebush to thrive. If you let the bush grow without restraint, you’re doing it more harm than if you snip off a branch at the wrong point.

Some roses bloom on last year’s growth while others bloom on new growth. If you prune the type that blooms on the old growth in the spring, it stands to reason that you won’t get as many blooms during the current blooming season, but don’t worry. Next year they will bloom with vigor and you’ll know that the best time to prune that particular type of rose is in the fall.

Spring pruning is best for the rose bushes that bloom on new growth. It’s also a good time to get out there and check the roses for any damage that the winter months have contributed to.

Before you start grooming your rose bushes, make sure that all of your gardening tools are clean. You can easily move garden diseases from one area of the garden to another with improperly cleaned tools. It’s easy to clean the tools, and if you don’t know how it’s all laid out in How to Clean Your Garden Tools.

Protect your hands when you’re working with roses. Don’t forget how sharp those thorns can be.

A good article to guide you step by step through the pruning process can be found at Pruning the Rose Bush. Follow the directions and you can’t go wrong.

Even though a lot of people think it’s hard to grow roses, it’s really not as long as you know how to take care of them. 

Get the Most out of Your Fresh Cut Roses

I love my rose bushes. No matter what type of rose it is, the blooms from a healthy rose bush seem to brighten the whole garden. Home grown roses also make wonderful cut flowers so they can be enjoyed indoors as well as out. A few simple steps can ensure that you harvest the blooms in a way that they will stay fresh and vibrant for as long as possible.

Make sure that the tools you bring to the garden to cut the roses are clean. There is no sense in contaminating the freshly cut stem that will only serve to make the flowers wilt faster. Bring a bucket of tepid water to the garden so that you can plunge the freshly cut stem immediately.

Cut the roses during the coolest part of the day, early in the morning or at dusk. This will prevent wilting. The rosebuds that are just beginning to unfold will last the longest in the floral arrangement.

Make a 45 degree angled cut above the bottom 2 leaves on the stem with a sharp knife or shears. The top leaf on the portion of the stem should face outward because the new growth will start here. You want it to grow toward the outside, not inward.

Put your freshly cut rose into the bucket of water. Immerse the whole stem, leaving only the blossom above the water.

Keep the roses cool until you’re ready to arrange them. When your cut flowers are not on display, move them to the coolest part of the home to help them last longer.

Cut roses can be beautifully displayed on their own, mixed with other garden flowers or even surrounded by greenery. I personally like a single bud displayed in a tiny vase on the nightstand. 

Garden Insects - Pests or Benefactors

When we’re working in the garden we notice that it seems to attract a lot of insects. Our first instinct can be that we don’t want to share our living space with a bunch of bugs. Before declaring war, though, take the time to identify the perceived enemy. The bug you want to eliminate may be spending it’s short life helping you maintain your beautiful garden.


There are beneficial insects as well as insect pests, and a gardener has to take the time to recognize the difference. Some plants and flowers depend on insects for pollination. Other insects are feeding on the insects that can cause problems later.


When insect pest invade your garden, you can see the damage from a distance. If you have to inspect your flowers at close range to identify tiny holes in the leaves, you probably don’t have a problem. Although early detection is the best defense against an infestation of insect pests that can devastate your garden, acting too soon can cause even more damage.


Protect you plants from stresses that could weaken them and make them more susceptible to damage from insect pests. Make sure that the garden soil provides good drainage. Add organic matter to the soil to make sure that the plants are getting the proper nutrients. Pay special attention to the moisture requirements of the garden plants and water the garden if the plants start to wilt or the soil appears too dry.


Insects in a healthy garden aren’t necessarily a problem. The balance of nature will keep the beneficial insects feeding on those pesty ones and keep the population in check. Be vigilant, but don’t start a war that doesn’t have to be fought.

Problem Areas and Naturescape

Did you ever think that your yard would be perfect if you could only find a plant that would grow in that spot? It seems like every yard has a problem area like that. It could be due to the lack of sun, a slope that can’t be fixed or even plain old bad soil with lots of rocks. It may benefit with a Naturescape.

Soil amendments haven’t worked. New plantings either get washed away during the first rainstorm or get baked by the sun before the growing season is over. It’s enough to make even the most patient gardener toss a tool and start looking for yard ornaments to cover up the spot.

Now might be a good time to fill a water bottle, pack a notebook and camera and hit the back roads. You may find several types of groundcovers or wildflowers that will thrive in that spot.

It stands to reason that if you have an area in your yard that can’t be ‘fixed’ by amendments, there must be other areas in the local area that are ‘blessed’ with the same environmental elements that challenge you. All you have to do is find them as see what grows there. If it can thrive out in the wild, think of what it can do with a little help from you.

Naturescapes are areas planted with wildflowers and native trees and bushes. Native plants evolve to the local environment so they can withstand everything nature has to offer. Native plants have built up a resistance to local insect pests and diseases. They have developed to withstand the extreme changes in temperatures that the local climate offers. The native plant also has adapted to the normal rainfall of the area.

Native plants aren’t necessarily weeds. If it is noninvasive, has an attractive flower, beautiful foliage or if it bears fruit, it would probably be a beautiful addition to your garden and the ideal solution for that spot. An added incentive to go out looking for native plant options is that a naturescape requires very little maintenance once it’s established.

Now, you can enjoy your perfect yard.