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Invite Butterflies to Your Garden. Author: Mary HannaWith the huge growth that many cities and towns are experiencing we see the dwindling of Natural Meadows. With the absence of natural meadows, the habitat for butterflies, birds and other wildlife are dwindling too. Luckily butterflies are easily enticed back if you plant a garden where the caterpillar (pupa stage) has plants to eat and the butterfly has flowers to sip nectar. Butterfly gardens are easy to plant and will give you and your family a chance to see butterflies in their natural habitat.The basics are an open space with tons of sunshine and a shield from wind. Pick a site with lots of sunlight with a few rocks or stones that can heat up on which the butterflies can bask in the afternoon sun. Try to place your garden near hedges or shrubs that will help shield them from the strong winds. If it is too windy, the butterflies won’t stay around for long. The hedge or shrub could become food for the caterpillar. You can find out what the caterpillar likes best from your Nursery Garden Center. Butterflies love mud puddles where they can drink the water and soak up minerals. A patch of damp soil will make them happy. Most important of all is that the garden be pesticide free. Many people like to use pesticides to chase away unwanted pests, unfortunately it will chase away your butterflies too. Put your butterfly garden in a corner where there will be no chemical pesticides used. Better still, ask your Garden Center about organic gardening.Flowers with nectar are a must for a butterfly garden. When planting these nectar sources try to put in plants that will provide flowers throughout the growing season since these are the source of food for the butterflies. Don’t forget shrubs and wildflowers. Roses, geraniums and lilies have no nectar so plant them somewhere else. Keep your garden diversified to attract the most number of butterflies. Another  component for the garden is a source for larva food. The caterpillar needs food to grow into a butterfly. If there is no food supply they will die. Plant some herbs for both of you. They like dill, fennel, and parsley on the menu. What they don’t eat you can harvest for cooking with fresh herbs.You could also plant a butterfly site in garden containers. Buy some pretty pots and plant them with flowers that have a wonderful scent as well as bright beautiful colors (available at your Garden Center). Petunias, daylilies or sweet alyssum will do the trick. Of course the butterfly bushes are a natural, or plant some hanging baskets with Impatients (you’ll need some shade here).Some gardeners like to make there own feeder and solution. And it is simple to do. Put 4 parts water to 1 part sugar in a pot and boil it until the sugar dissolves. Let it cool. Get a shallow garden container, saturate a paper towel with the solution and place it the garden container. Put a stone in the garden container so the butterflies have a place to perch while they are feeding.Get the kids interested. Have them keep a journal of each of the different species that visit your butterfly garden. Let them look up the butterflies on the computer to learn all about each particular butterfly and it becomes not only fun, but a learning experience also.Since there are so many growing zones in the United States you will want to talk with your Nursery Center for suggestions of what plants to use for attracting butterflies in your particular zone.There is an old American Indian Legend about butterflies: “To have a wish come true you must capture a butterfly. Whisper to the butterfly what your wish is and then set it free. This little messenger will take your wish to the Great Spirit and it will come true.” What a great legend. Parks, Gardens and Zoos in Sacramento Author: Kris Koonar Sacramento is a beautiful city in California, situated at the juncture of the American and Sacramento rivers. The serene and beautiful boulevards lined by classy Victorian homes, shaded by leafy old trees, charming neighborhoods, and river parks, mask a commercial city and political hotbed that flourishes below the surface. This capital city of California, which is the third largest state by area, Sacramento is like a pleasant, elegantly dressed matriarch of undisclosed power and wealth.This beautiful city is special whether you are a tourist or a local, as it offers a wide range of exciting, historic and educational attractions. Now, let us check out its parks, zoos and gardens.Capitol Park: A walk through the 40-acre Capitol Park is a memorable one as you can enjoy the sweet fragrance of rose gardens and over 400 exotic plants and trees from all over the world. You can also see two intriguing 20th century war memorials. The Vietnam War Memorial has many sculptures of men in battle. Then, from there you can go on to experience the beauty of the McKinley Park.McKinley Park Rose Garden: This is a popular setting for a dream wedding, and also for day trips. It houses around 1,200 varieties of roses. This exotic garden is free to the public during the day. After a visit to this rose garden, you can take the kids through a fairyland tour by visiting Fairyland Town. Fairytale Town: This two-acre of enchantment and fun filled park is a Fairytale land, just as its name suggests. Its not only thrilling for the tiny tots, but also takes the older kids to a different land. This non-profit park has around twenty child sized three-dimensional play sets, which are based on favorite fairytales and nursery rhymes. Your kids can also see a family of friendly animals and childrens gardens in this colorful place. The mission of Fairytale Town is to promote the imagination, creativity and education of children. This enchanting town is open on all the days of the week and there is always something going on here. Now, to experience something on the wild side, you can visit the Sacramento Zoo.Sacramento Zoo: This zoo has a varied collection of endangered and rare species of animals. This zoo is the largest accredited zoological park in the demographically diverse Central Valley. It is a beautiful place to spend an afternoon. Here you can see magnificent cats such as the Jaguar, Lion, Margay, Snow Leopard and Sumatran tiger. In the Reptile House you can see the West African dwarf crocodile, and a variety of exotic snakes like the Ball python, California mountain king snake, Carpet python, Colombian red-tailed boa, Eyelash viper, Green tree python and many more. The zoo also houses lizards, turtles and tortoises, amphibians, birds, hoof stock and primates. After a visit here, you can go on to the William Land Park to  relax with your family, or play a round of golf at the Golf Course.William Land Park and Golf Course: There are wading pools to plunge into in the summer, fishing for children under 16, picnic facilities, playgrounds, and ballfields. The amusement area near the zoo has pony and amusement rides for kids in the summer. Those interested in golf can truly enjoy a memorable experience by visiting the 9-hole course, which is nicknamed The Cradle of Gold.To visit all these exotic places you must plan a visit to Sacramento. The tour guide websites or the various Sacramento tour websites that are available on the Internet are a great resource to plan out your itinerary. Rare And Exotic Garden Perennials For Landscape Planting Author: Pat MalcolmThe term, ‘perennial plant’, means simply that the plant returns following severe freezes, to grow again the next year. Trees are cold hardy tested perennials by nature, some trees that are evergreens and do not  go dormant, but merely slow down during various seasons, and other shade trees enter dormancy and shed the leaves. Tree growth of shade trees may stop altogether in extremely cold climates, but in the spring, will surge with buds that open to flower and leaf out.Great difficulties arise in assigning a plant, ‘perennial’, mainly because the primary determining factor, temperature range varies from year to year; and every century extreme cold temperatures may erase certain plant populations that have survived in areas before for decades or sometimes even centuries. A perennial plant may be a survivor, thus a “perennial” for a given growing area, then suddenly may become extinct in that growing area. The USDA has constructed a zone map that reveals averages of temperatures reached by the location in your State. This map is a nursery tool used to predict whether a perennial will live (cold hardy) in your area.Agaves are a diverse genus of over 200 species of rosette, spear-like, leafed evergreen perennials. Agave typically grows as low shrub-like plants in dry or well-drained soils of the Southern part of the U.S. from New Jersey down to Florida, and then West to California. Many Agave species, such as Agave americana or Agave tequilana, have sharp recurved, protective teeth running along both sides of the blade of its semi-curved, lance-shaped leaves, with a sharp needle-tip lance at the end. There are Agave species, like Agave attenuata, and Agave stricta, that do not have sharp-teeth at all, but are smooth. The color variations of Agave plants range from shades of green, to silvery-grey, bluish-green, top yellow or white stripes, such is the case with Agave americana ‘media-picta’. The bloom of mother Agave plants are a beautiful array of pendulent bell-shaped, creamy-white flowers soaring high above the mother plant on a flower stem that may reach 20 feet or more for some agave species. The bloom period of a mother Agave plant is during the summer and the flower stalk is magnificent to behold, however, this event means the cycle of life ends for mother Agave and begins again for her Agave offspring. Agave plants are an excellent choice for rock gardens or well drained soils that lend themselves well to terracotta or cement planters. Agaves are fairly slow glowers so expect higher prices on these sunloving garden jewels at retail garden centers. Huge specimen agaves can be quickly delivered by semi-trucks. Recommended Agave cultivar plants are: Agave ‘Victoria-Reginae’; Agave americana; Agave americana ‘Marginata’; Agave americana ‘Media-Picta’; Agave angustifolia ‘Marginata’; Agave attenuata ‘Boutin Blue’; Agave bovicomuta; Agave celsii ‘Nova’; Agave colorata; Agave desmettiana ‘Variegata’; Agave desmettiana ‘Zebra Stripe’; Agave ‘Felipe Otero’; Agave franzosini; Agave geminiflora; Agave lechguilla; Agave parryii; Agave parryii ‘Compacta Variegata’; Agave potatorum ‘Verschaffeltii’; Agave pygmaea; Agave salmiana; Agave stricta ‘Pueblensis’; Agave ‘Shark Skin’; Agave sisalana ‘Variegata’; Agave toumeyana; and Agave tequilana ‘Weberi Blue.’The ancient Egyptians in 1500 BC grew the Aloe for healing, and while the Pharaoh held all the Jews in captivity, aloes were used as cosmetics and for the sacred healing power of this mysterious perennial. The Book of John, in the New Testament Bible, John 19-39, records that Jesus’ body was wrapped in linen cloths and aloes after the corpse was removed from the crucifiction cross before burial. Aloes are  evergreen perennial plants that grow as shub-like, climbing or tree-like plants. The aloe plant leaves are fleshly, succulent, long tongue-shaped groups of rosettes, or as star-patterned limbs. Most forms of the aloe, 300 species genus, have toothed leaf blades with soft to piercing hard teeth. Aloe saponaria and Aloe vera are the two most commonly found containerized aloes in homes and gardens. Aloe vera plant extracts have long been used by mothers on their children for fast relief for minor cuts and burns. Aloe saponaria is cold hardy down to freezing temperatures and is widely grown in Southern gardens for the beautiful, coral-colored, tubular blossoms and for the making of medicated soap. Most aloe plants are small, 1-3 foot tall and width, however, a few tropical aloe species, such as Aloe marlothii grow into large, 120 foot succulent trees. Aloe plant varieties may vary enormously in color from yellow, red to blue-greens, or to spotted or striped with random variegation. Recommended cultivars of Aloes are: Orange Aloe.(Aloe acutissima ‘antaramorensis’) ,Blue Aloe (Aloe acutissima) ,Aloe aristata ‘Montana’ Tree Aloe (Aloe bainsii) Aloe brevifolia Red Aloe (Aloe camronii) Climbing Aloe (Aloe ciliaris) Kokoerbom(Aloe dichotoma) Aloe distans ‘Yellow Teeth’Aloe ‘Dorian Black’ Aloe ellenbeckii White Aloe (Aloe glauca) Aloe kedongensis Bergaalwyn (Aloe marlothii) Gold Tooth Aloe (Aloe nobilis) Tiger Aloe (Aloe nobilis ‘Variegata’) Aloe petricola Spiral Aloe (Aloe polyphylla) Coral Aloe (Aloe strata) SoapAloe (Aloe saponaria) Aloe traskii Medicinal Aloe (Aloe vera) Partridge Breast (Aloe ‘Variegata’) Aloe verdoorniae Aloe ‘White Teeth’.Fern plants are a beautiful landscape choice or a container perennial, because of the delicate graceful foliage. Fern plants are native to the U.S., and found growing on every continent on the Earth. Some ferns grow well as cold hardy plarts in some areas bordering arctic conditions. A gardener can find a fern perennial to buy in practically any nursery or mail order operation.Florida tropical perennials are restricted for growing in many States, because of the lack of cold hardy resistance. Some gardeners prefer to plant Florida perennials in greenhouses, or to grow as an annual. Many recommended plants are: Desert Rose, Adenium obesum; Allamanda cathartica; Giant Yellow Shrimp, Barleria micans; Hallmark, Bulbine fruiticasa; Clerodendrum ugandense; Bleeding Hearts, Clerodendrum thomsoniae; Bat Faced Heather, Cupha ilvea; Sapphire Showers, Duranta erecta; Euryops; Bolivian Sunset, Gloxina sylvatica; Iochroma cyaneum; Jatropha integerrima; Ixora; Lantana camara; Orthosiphon stamineus; Pentas; Russelia equisetiformis; Russelia equisetiformis aureus; Stachytarpheta urticifolia; Stachytarpheta mutabilis.Flowering Vine perennials grow fast to cover fences, lattices, walls, and not only offer rewards of flowers, but many interesting flowers in colors of red, blue, white, pink, and yellow. If planted and grown in the sun, the flowering vines require little care of vine maintenance. Recommended flowering vines to plant are Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus; White Coral Vine, Antigonon leptopus ‘Alba’; Jekyll Island Vine, Bignonia capreolata; Tangering Beauty, Bignonia capreolata; Night Blooming Jasmine, Cestrum Nocturnum; Bleeding Hearts, Clerodendron thomsoniae; Lavender Trumpet Vine, Clytostoma callistegoides; Carolina Jasmine, Gelsemium sempervirens; Heart Vine, Ipomoea batatas; Chinese Jasmine, Jasminum polyanthum; Brazilian Firecracker Vine, Manettia inflata; Mailbox Plant, Mandevilla x Amblilis; Red Mandevilla, Mandevilla sanderi; Peaches and Cream, Mandevilla ‘Peaches and Cream’; Pink Mandevilla, Mandevilla splendens; White Passion Vine, Passiflora; Blue Passion Vine, Passiflora x Alato-Caerulea; Red Passion Flower, Passiflora coccinea; Lady Banks Rose, Rosa banksiae; Blue Glory Vine, Thunbergia battiscombei; White Sky Vine; Thunbergia grandiflora; Confederate Jasmine, Trachelospermum jasminoides; Blue Wisteria, Wisteria sinensis; White Wisteria, Wisteria sinensis ‘Alba’;Groundcover perennial plants are beautifully colored and fast growing, to keep soil erosion under control. Recommended groundcover plants are: Ajuga reptans ‘Burgundy Glow’, Burgundy Glow; Allium tuberosum, Society Garlic; Arachis glabrata, Perennial Peanut; Ardisia japonica ‘Variegata’, Ardisia japonica ‘Variegata’; Aspidistra elatior, Cast Iron Plant; Aspidistra elatior ‘Variegata’, Aspidistra elatior ‘Variegata’; Apsidistra lurida ‘Milky Way’, Apsidistra lurida ‘Milky Way’; Asystasia gangetica, Ganges Primrose; Curculigo capitulata, Palm Grass; Ficus repens ‘Variegata’, Creeping Fig Vine; Ficus repens ‘Variegata’, Ficus repens  ‘Variegata’; Houttuynia cordata ‘Chameleon’, Chameleon; Liriope; Liriope muscari ‘Big Blue’, Border Grass; Liriope muscari ‘Royal Purple’, Liriope muscari ‘Royal Purple’; Liriope muscari ‘Super Green Giant’; Liriope muscari ‘Variegata’; Liriope muscari ‘Silver Dragon’; Lysimachia congestiflora ‘Eco Dark Satin’, Golden Globes; Ophiopogon intermedius ‘Aztec’; Ophiopogon japonicus nana, Dwarf Mondo Grass; Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Ebony Knight’, Black Mondo; Persicaria capitatum, Jump Seed; Persicaria microcephala, Red Dragon; Setcreasea pallida, Purple Heart; Setcreasea pallida, Pale Puma; Pseuderanthemum alatum, Chocolate Soldiers; Rubus calycinoides, Emerald Carpet; Scuttelaria longifolia, Red Fountain Sage; Spilanthese oleracea, Eyeball Plant / Toothpaste Plant; Trachelospermum asiaticum, Asiatic Jasmine; Tulbaghia fragrans, White Fragrant Garlic; Tulbaghia violacea, Society Garlic; Tulbaghia violacea ‘Tricolor’, Tricolor, Society Garlic; Vinca major ‘Maculata’, Periwinkle; Vinca major ‘Variegata’, Periwinkle; Vinca major ‘Wojo’s Gem’.Herbacious perennial plants freeze during the winter, but return in the following spring to produce flowers of many colors and rare forms. Recommended cultivars are: Bee Balm, Monarda didyma ‘Jacob Cline’; Blue Butterfly Flower, Clerodendrum ugandense; Blue Woodland Phlox, Phlox divaricata; Brunfelsia Pauciflora; Buckeye, Red, Aesculus pavia; Butterfly Bush, Buddleia lindleyana; Cestrum aurantiacum; Cigarette Plant, Cuphea micropetala; Clerodendrum bungeii; Cone Flower, Echinacea paradoxa; Cuphea ‘Allyson’; Devil Star Lily, Clerodendrum puniculatum; Echinacea ‘White Swan’; Echinacea purpurea; Firebush, Hamelia patens; Flowering Maple, Abutilion x hybridrum; Gaillardia ‘Pin Wheel’; Lestrum fasciculatum ‘Newellii’; Liatris spicata ‘Blazing Stars’; Liatris spicata ‘Floristan’; Lions Head, Leonitus leonarus; Obediant Plant, Physostegia virginiana; Orange Shrimp Plant, Justicia ovata; Orange Tongue Plant, Justicia leonardii; Phlox maculata ‘Alpha’; Pink Tongues, Justicia carnea; Platycodon grandiflora; Plumbago auriculata ‘Monott’ PP7822; Princess Flower, Tibouchina urvillenana; Purple Butterfly Bush, Buddleia davidii ‘Lochinch’; Red Cigar Plant, Sinningia sellovii;Red Prince, Weigela florida; Red Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeana ‘Red’; Mouth of Hollywood, Rehmannia Elata; Rudbeckia hirta ‘Becky Mix’; Ruellia brittoniana ‘Katie’; Ruellia elegans; Scarlet Butterfly Lily, Odontonema cuspidatum; Shasta Daisy, Leucanthemum x superbum ‘Alaska’; Shower of Gold Shrub, Galphimia glauca; Tecoma stans ‘Yellow Bells’; Turks Cap, Malvaviscus drummondi; White Tongues, Justicia carnea; Yellow Creeping Jenny, Lysimachia nummularia ‘Aurea’; Yellow Shrimp Plant, Justicia brandegeana ‘Yellow’; Yellow Tongue Plant, Justicia aura.Yucca is a genus of evergreen plants, with approximately 40 species that grow in dry, desert-like areas. However, this is a common misconception, because members of the Yucca family can be found growing in 30 of the States in America, from New Jersey, down to Florida, and west to California. Yuccas can be grown as small shrubs or yucca trees, up to 30 feet tall, depending upon the yucca species. Yucca has lance-shaped leaves growing in a rosette pattern, on a woody stem or trunk-like frame. Yucca plants may vary dramatically in color from shades of green, to white or yellow stripes, to blue-green hues, as with Yucca rostrata, a jewel for any garden. Most yucca plants are stiff and sharp pointed, like the Spanish Bayonet (Yucca aloifolia), while some yuccas have flexable soft leaves, such as Golden Garland Yucca (Yucca flaccida). The flower blooms of yucca grow in summer, and develop into a beautiful, creamy-white pendulum of bell-shaped flowers that tower 8 feet above the mother plant. Yuccas are very adaptable and are among the oldest living trees in the world. The Joshua Tree (Yucca brevifolia), Yucca filimentosa (Bear Grass or Adam’s Needle) is among the most cold-hardy and widely grown varieties. The strong, stringy filament (fiber), that run a course from the needle tip, down the margin of the leaf, was used by native Americans for making into garments and possibly the treating of war wounds. The roots of Yucca were also used to make soap. The primary use for yucca plants in todays landscapes are for their ornamental beauty, like we find in Yucca flaccida ‘Golden Sword’, in terracotta pots or in ground landscape plantings. Some people use Yucca aloifolia ‘Spanish Bayonet’, Yucca treculeana ‘Spanish Dagger’, or even Yucca brevifolia ‘Joshua Tree’, as security hedges for their beautiful and exotically bazaar, stiff leaves, hence the nickname, “Burlars’ Nightmare.” Yucca plants are typicall sunlovers, growing in well drained soils, but are adaptive and often grow faster in moderately moist areas, such as the Southeastern U.S.. Recommended yucca cultivar plants are: Yucca aloifolia; Yucca brevifolia; Bear Grass, Yucca filamentos; Bright Edge, Yucca filamentosa; Golden Garland, Yucca flaccida; Golden Sword, Yucca flaccida; Ivory Tower, Yucca flaccida; Variegata, Yucca flaccida; Silverstar, Yucca elephantippes; Soft Leaf Yucca, Yucca recurvifolia; Spanish Dagger, Yucca treculeana; Rigida, Yucca rostrata; Linearis, Yucca rostrata; HesperYucca paviflora; Cordyline ‘Baueri.’ Gift Certificates Are A Delight To A Dedicated Gardener Author: Pat MalcolmGift certificates can be sent by email instantly, by immediate fax or by mail on the date that you wish. A gift certificate is important for two very important reasons. First, the person who receives the gift certificate will cherish the thoughtfulness of your remembering and honoring an important occasion or holiday. Second, you can easily solve the problem of what to give, because a gift certificate will enable your loved ones to pick out exactly what they want to receive and plant, whether or not the gift is a flowers bulb, a tree or a shrub. Your loved one can choose exactly the plants that they want from the vast inventory listed on the The TyTy Nursery website. The person who receives your gift will think of you, the giver, when the amaryllis bulb flowers appear on the flower stalk, or as the peach harvest is gathered from the fruit tree, or as the giant oak tree shade spreads to cool their home or landscape garden. The pleasure and fun of growing plants increases as the trees grow older, or at a time when the fruit tree production feeds their family appetites, and their memory of you will grow as their garden experience matures, as they savor the delicious flavor of the freshest of peaches.Many people are surprised, when they realize that a nursery tree can be shipped long distances. TyTy can ship any plant, even as mature as a 40 foot shade tree, at distances anywhere in the United States and have any plant delivered right up to the doorstep. Shipment is fast when plants are in season. Sometimes during our busy season a delivery can be received the next day after shipment. TyTy nursery can ship some plants all during the year, and on some other items such as dormant trees, the shipments begin in November or December and continue until mid-April.A gift certificate for trees is popular and fruit trees, nut trees, shade trees and flowering trees are common trees for Holiday gifts such as Christmas. Shade Trees and Flowering Trees are important and appropriate plants to give and are shipped directly to your location, whether that is a church gardener or in some cases to the attention of a city parks director where many friends and relatives of the receiver can enjoy the continuing benefits of flowering trees, instead of the customary giving of flowers at the Cemetery of the funeral location. Memorial Garden plantings shade seating areas for the loved ones who may wish to recall their memories near the grave-stone garden and to meditate on the past. Pine trees are fast growing plants and the pine straw is valuable to use for weed control near the tomb stones.Early Rural American cemetery plots were often located on farm land, where a family would establish eventually a sacred space to dig a grave at the woods edge. The family deceased members would be kept together and surrounded by the cooling breezes from the shade trees. As towns and church communities grew, a spot near the church would be carefully selected, and specific burial plots would be assigned to a family belonging to the church. A small fee for the plots would be paid to the church, and customarily the family members would take the responsibility for the future upkeep and planting of the trees and shrubs. Grass became fashionable in the Cemetery growing as lawns during the second world war. Eventually many of the church cemeteries ran out of space, and cities and private investors developed large Cemetery plots on the outskirts of towns. The National government developed Memorial cemeteries, where soldiers and nationally prominent citizens were laid to rest.The development of a private cemetery meant that the owners must generate a profit by adding desirable landscape planting, colorful shrubs and trees, expansive green-mowed lawns, ponds, interesting roads, borders and flower beds. The offerings of these life-giving trees and plants were attractive to the families of those already buried, and the attractive green landscapes were pleasing to the sight of visitors and to those who might be looking to buy a plot of land for a grave.Marble monuments often sit at the top of a grave with meaningful inscriptions chiseled into the stone, as an historical reminder that the body and spirit planted beneath that earth is a memory to be honored at that spot. A tree has no graven inscription like that on the stone marker which might suggest a long term endurance of the gravestone, but the tree offers a living and growing contrast to the symbolism message carved upon the head stone. The tree will continue to grow as it progresses through natural history to be recycled along with all other living things, such as the blades of grass beneath the trees, and the birds that sing their songs in the branches of the trees.The tree has been tied closely since man’s history intersected with the development of the natural history of the tree. According to the Hebrew Bible the beginning of man evolved in the Garden of Eden, where it was recorded “The Lord God planted all sorts of beautiful trees there in the garden, trees producing the choicest of fruit.” Genesis 2.9 Trees have become important religious symbols for Jews, Christians and Muslims. Trees were an appropriate connector “in the beginning”-at the Garden of Eden, and certainly a tree gift for planting in a cemetery is a proper and appreciated gift that honors as a tribute to a loved one or a friend and to grow beside the graves-stone. The gift of a tree can grow and survive through several  lifetimes and generations and can honor that person and his ancestors for hundreds of years.A gift of a flowering tree or shrub can play center stage the landscape garden. The flowers, of course, highlight the plant and choosing a flowering tree with fragrant flowers presents another dimension to add a wonderful enjoyment and pleasure for the gardener and his friends. The leaves of a plant will release a wonderful penetrating fragrance into the air, when the tree is planted closely to a pathway to brush against as you pass by and to enjoy the pleasant aroma. The Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden Author: David Winter Park, Florida’s Albin Polasek Museum and Sculpture Garden is one of the most elegant and respected venues for the art in the American southeast. It is home to impressive collections of all kinds and beautiful, peaceful grounds. The museum is on the National Register of Historic Places.Albin Polasek (1879-1965) is widely considered one of the most important American sculptors most of the 20th century. Celebrated in his own lifetime, Polasek strove to show the beauty of “movement,” the flow of one mass into another. Polasek’s ability to capture the spirit of his subject was a major influence on a generation of sculptors like Richmond Barthe and Ruth Sherwood. Upon his death in 1965, Polasek was buried alongside first wife Ruth Sherwood in Winter Park’s Palms Cemetery, where the 12th Station of the Cross (1939) is his monument. Albin Polasek was granted posthumously the honor of Great Floridian and inducted into the Florida Artists Hall of Fame in 2004.Born in 1879 in what is now the Czech Republic, Polasek apprenticed as a wood carver in Vienna before emigrating to the United States at the age of 22 and eventually became an American citizen. Polasek began his formal art training at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. He produced Man Carving His Own Destiny (1907) and Eternal Moment (1909), two of his earliest well-known sculptures. In 1961, the Albin Polasek Foundation was founded by Polasek and his wife. Polasek had a deep appreciation for an uncomplicated aesthetic, and as a result the gardens are quiet and subdued, utilizing gardening art in classic form. The Foundation has added to the culture of Winter Park and Central Florida by donating sculptures like Forest Idyl and Emily Fountain to the City of Winter Park, Florida and loaning Man Carving His Own Destiny to the Winter Park Public Library long term. The Museum also provides art scholarships to the University of Central Florida, Rollins College and Crealde School of Art. Add A Rock Garden To Your Landscape Author: Mr.Andrew CaxtonPractically every home owner has the same type of landscape design - lots of grass, flowers and trees. For a truly unique design, try adding a rock garden. Green grass. Trees and shrubs. Flowers. That’s what the typical landscaped lawn consists of. And properly designed, such landscapes can be quite pretty, of course. But there’s many different ways to landscape your yard - and you should consider them all before making your final decision. Let your imagination run riot.Why not try a rock garden?If there’s a section of your grounds where the grass just won’t grow, why not replace it with a rock garden? Of course, you don’t want to place such a garden in an area which gets a lot of water run-off. If that’s the reason why your grass won’t grow, consider fixing the drainage! But if it’s a question of bad soil, or of too much shade in the area, a rock garden is the perfect solution.Once you create a rock garden there will be little or no maintenance for it. But that’s contingent on you building the rock garden correctly to begin with. The last thing you want is for the rocks to shift during a rainstorm, or for grasses to constantly crop up through the gaps in the stone and have to be weeded away.There’s a dearth of sources on the web for rock garden design, but there are plenty of books on the subject, from Rock Garden Design and Construction by the North American Rock Garden Society , to Stonescaping: A Guide to Using Stone in Your Garden by Jan Kowalczewski Whitner, from Stonework: Building Rock Gardens, Walks, Walls, and Ornaments by Alan Bridgewater and Gill to The Rock & Water Garden Expert by D.G. Hessayon.Apart from a rock garden - not to be concerned with a Japanese garden - there are plenty of other ways to use decorative stone to enhance your landscaping.Warm, welcoming stoneA concrete sidewalk up to your front door is so prosaic! Why not change it into a rock pathway? And add a rock pathway leading to the back of the house as well. For those types of designs you’ll have to check the building codes in your area - many housing developments restrict the kinds of things you can do to your own yard. As with a rock garden, the ground needs to be properly prepared first, so that water will run-off properly during even the most ferocious downpours, and the rocks themselves don’t tilt or slide when walked on…or settle and heave during a winter frost. Always consult a professional if you’re going to be working with slabs of stone or rock in an area that gets a great deal of cold weather.Properly designed and executed, a rock garden can bring you joy for years to come. Garden Tips On Buying The Best, Cold Hardy Flower Bulbs For Outdoor Planting Author: Pat MalcolmBuying flower bulbs to plant and grow is an exciting experience that begins in the fall and continues through the spring. Dutch flowering bulbs are usually delivered to American ports by the month of September for fall planting. Major Dutch bulbs offerings include Dutch Amaryllis and African Amaryllis; daffodil bulbs and the famous, Tulip bulbs. Amaryllis flower bulbs grow the showiest blooms and are pre-cooled to force fast flowering in 3 weeks after containerizing. Dutch bulb importers of Amaryllis offer a larger variety of selections and more bulbs to tempt the buyers. The African growers of Amaryllis bulbs appear to be enslaved to the Dutch Amaryllis importers distribution network, however, the African flowers that emerge on the Amaryllis stems are superior in many respects to the Dutch Amaryllis. The African Amaryllis blooms appear to offer clearer colors, more compact flower stalks, leaves that grow as the flowers appear, and more numerous flower stalks and grow from smaller bulbs. The large array of bloom colors from amaryllis includes red, pink, lavender, orange, yellow, white, green, maroon, red stripe, white stripe, pink stripe, and bi-color. Double numbers of petals on Amaryllis flowers are fast growing to be very popular choices to buy, since the petal count is increased to 12, instead of 6 that grow on most Amaryllis bulb flower stems, looking very similar to a huge carnation flower.Daffodil flower bulbs are important Dutch bulbs for fall planting, because of their reasonable market cost, the ease of planting, and the growing of flower stalks in the Spring in various colors of yellow, white, orange, and the rare pink daffodil. Daffodil bulbs are easy to naturalize to bloom again every year.Tulip bulbs are a native flowering plant of Turkey, but long ago tulips were hybridized on a large commercial scale by Dutch bulb growers. The cost of Dutch tulips has not always been inexpensive to buy, but tulip buyers today still love the spring flower colors of red, pink, orange, yellow, blue, purple, white, and bi-color. Cities and government organizations anxiously buy tulip bulbs in huge numbers during winter seasons to grow in beautiful landscape displays for the Spring.Agapanthus bulbs are often called ‘Lily of the Nile’, and Agapanthus grows profusely along the Nile River in Egypt, and the blooms captivated the ancient African plant explorers who dug the bulbs for shipping back to European gardens. Blue and white colors of Agapanthus rhizomes have been hybridized in recent years to intensify colors, and some Agapanthus plants are cold hardy down to zero degrees F., whereas, the older clones of native Agapanthus were considered to be tropical in nature and not very cold hardy, so they were not introduced for planting in more Northern locations until recently, when gardeners from more Northern States experimented with new Agapanthus hybrids and determined their cold hardy tolerance.The Canna lily rhizome has been long considered to be tropical in nature, with very little cold hardy resistance. The early American botanist and explorer, William Bartram, wrote in his book, Travels, in 1773, the discovery of Canna indica in Alabama near Mobile, “Canna indica is surprising in luxuriance, presenting a glorious show, the stem rises six, seven, and nine feet high, terminating upwards with spikes of scarlet flowers.” Bartram also discovered the native Canna flaccida, growing near Fort Frederica, Georgia, located on the Island of St Simon’s. Canna lily colors are broad, red, white, pink, lavender,  orange, yellow, speckled, bi-color and others. Some Canna flower growers plant cannas with variegated leaf forms that are striped with red, green, yellow, white, and pink. Dutch distributors of canna rhizomes still flood retail box store, garden centers with “Victorian-age” canna bulbs of poor quality; varieties that had declined, “run out”, 50 years ago, and they should have been discontinued and not presented to buyers at a garden center nursery.Ginger lily rhizomes grow flowers with fragile, delicate blossoms - many looking like miniature orchid flowers. The foliage of Ginger lilies is interestingly variable, growing in colors of green, yellow, maroon, and stripes of yellow or white. Interest in planting ginger lilies has surged in 20 years, because of the realization that many ginger lilies are cold hardy, surviving temperatures as cold as zero degrees F. The foliage and the flowers are pleasantly aromatic.Daylilies are actually not bulbs but rhizomes, but are sold extensively as daylily bulbs. Thousands of named varieties of Daylily bulbs have been easily hybridized by legions of backyard gardeners and the selection improvement and flower quality is absolutely astonishing. The improvement has resulted in growing double flower daylily, miniature daylily, cold hardy daylilies, and compact clumping or large clumping daylily plants. It is staggering to realize all these many colors - red, white, yellow, orange, purple, pink, and bi-color originated from an original native plant -a seedy, yellow daylily growing wild on the forest edge.Elephant Ear bulbs are very variable, some growing into bulbs and others into rhizomes. Gardeners have always been fascinated that the Elephant Ear plants grow large in the landscape into huge clumps with that unforgetable tropical appearance. Great interest in Elephant Ear bulbs has resulted in recent years by a nationally tested demonstration that Elephant Ear bulbs are cold hardy enough to survive temperatures of zero degrees. Curious leaf patterns appear on hybrid Elephant Ear plants, and the extensive variegated patterns that appear on the leaves add a stunning, mysterious attraction from their random markings and splashes of yellow, white, and maroon on the surfaces of various leaf sizes, some large enough to hide the body of a mature man or small enough leaf to place in the palm of the hand. Elephant Ear bulbs can grow as large as the human head or the size of a quarter. Offset bulbs are abundant from Elephant Ear bulbs in the fall as the plants grow dormant to regrow when replanted in the spring. In the wholesale trade of Elephant Ear bulbs, it is a common practice to divide them into two major commercial categories, the Alocasia, and the Colocasia, based on many taxonomical growth characteristics.Crinum Lily bulbs offer to an adventurous hobbiest or gardener an antique garden bulb selection that has been reintroduced as improved crinum clones by the brilliant inductiveness of chemist, Lester Hannibal of Fair Oaks, California. Lester Hannibal back crossed and intercrossed many native crinum lily species to offer the gardener an excellent, cold hardy crinum, an “interspecific hybrid”, that can be grown as far North as Philadelphia, PA, zone 6, and to survive intense freezes of below zero temperatures. Many of Lester Hannibal’s crinum flower hybrids were a re-creation of obsolete but popular commercial crosses that were made by Cecil Houdyshel in the 1930’s, but largely improved upon from the original “Powellii”  forms with clear, white and pink colors, an increase in the number of flowers in the umbel, extended flowering periods, an eliminatio of drooping flowers, an intensification of fragrance and early flowering after sprouting from the germination of the seed. The “milk and wine” crinum lilies were named, because the flowers were white (milk) and wine striped colors. Crinum colors are burgundy, red, pink, white, greenish-yellow, and orange. Crinum bulbs increase by growing into clumps of multiple offsets from the central mother bulb, or by planting the seed of some cultivars or species.-Rare, Hard-To-Find Flower Bulbs of Merit-Many rare minor flower bulbs are unavailable to buy anywhere, except by possibly exchanging plants with collectors and hobbiest. The Amazon lily, Encharist grandiflora, blooms with six white, daffodil like petals, and a green or glowing yellow cup radiating from the center. This delicate flower can be remembered from days past for its wonderful charming fragrance. The Bird of Paradise is known for the two tropical forms, the Strelizia reginae, the most common: brilliantly colored flowers with orange, red, and blue glaring blossoms; and the Strelizia nicholae that grows large, showy, white flowers. The Blood Lily, Scadoxus mutliflorus, forms baby-head sized globular flowers with red filamented petals and radiate fragile threads of red that are affixed to the to the center of the bloom, great for container culture. The Red Butterfly lily, Odontonema strictum, won the perennial plant award of the year in Florida in the year 2000, and butterflies and hummingbirds flock to visit the fiery red spikes, beginning in mid-August and continuing until the first hard freeze. The Calla lily, Calla palustrus, has been hybridized with many other Calla lily species to grow into many splendid colors, but the new hybrids are not as popular as the white, fragrant, winter-blooming, Calla aethiopica; and the yellow calla, Calla aethiopica. Clivia lilies, Clivia minata, are choice heavy shade-requiring plants that produce gigantic clusters of orange flowers, cup shaped, with a yellow throat, and often will re-bloom two or three times from large bulbs. The Gloriosa lilies, Gloriosa rothschildiana, a climbing vine that clothes itself with recurved, star-like flowers that are favored and admired by florists and flower arrangers, because the blooms last so well. The Inca Lily, Alstomeria aurantiaca, has become naturalized in America, as an escaped bulb from the tropical jungles of Peru. The Alstromeria flowers last well as a cut-flower, and waxy, greenish-red funnels begin blooming vigorously in the spring. Lycoris are a charming group of flower bulbs that called “Spider Lily”, and they bloom in floral colors of pink, yellow, white, and red, Lycoris radiata, which is the most widely grown. The Pineapple Lily, Eucomis bicolor, grows into flowers that are shaped like miniature pineapple fruits in colors of white and rusty-red. Scilla flower bulbs are grown in large numbers as bedding plants, many Dutch varieties are small and make good cut flowers, but the best cold hardy Scilla is the Scilla peruviana that forms and grows into glowing, purplish-blue flowers that either grow as well as bedding plants, or containerized plants. Voodoo lilies, Amorphophallus bulbifer, are strange and bazaar leafy bulbous plants, both in leaf and flower, with a suggestive look of snakes, cobras, and other vermin that may be lurking beneath the leopard-spotted menacing leaves. Zephyranthes are called “rain lilies”, and softly bloom in colors of pink, Zephyranthes grandiflora; yellow, Zephyranthes citrina; white, Zephyranthes atamasco; and a mind-numbing number of Zephyranthes bulb mongrels that are distributed by a retired breeder in San Antonia, Texas, who apparently has nothing better to do, than paralyze all the worlds earnest taxonomists into the task of assembling the records of his Mexican-American bulb-children lineage into a staggering Encyclopedia publication. The Impact Of Famous Americans On The American Native Nut Tree, The Pecan, Carya Illinoinensis Author: Pat MalcolmHistorically, the native American pecan nut tree was one of the most significant plant discoveries that positively influenced U.S. agriculture and commercial food production to provide a nut product, highly  nutritious, inexpensive to produce, and with a delicate distinctive flavor, unrivaled by any other nut. The pecan nut was well known by the early American Indian tribes as a food source for the American Indian families, and the Indian hunters knew that during the fall and winter, when the pecan nuts fell to the ground, this collectible food source also attracted hungry wildlife, such as duck, deer, squirrels, and a host of other animals that were hunted and eaten by the Indians. Although the pecan nut tree is native to the flood plains along the Mississippi River, and normally did not occur as a native tree in the Eastern United States, the American Indians soon learned that seedling (wild) pecan nuts would sprout and form bearing trees, when they explored and visited tribes further East. There are gigantic notable seedling trees of pecan that presumably were planted by the American Indians that today are hundreds of years old, predating the arrival of the early American pioneers. Archaeological excavations from Baker’s Cave, near Val Verde County, Texas, reveal that pecan nuts and pecan leaves were discovered in association with human relics that date to at least 3000 B.C., and perhaps as old as 6000 B.C. This American archaeological evidence strongly suggests that the pecan nut was one of nature’s earliest sources of recorded food use by Native Americans Indians. – that may even predate recorded food use by Europe, Asia, or even at the ancient Egyptian pyramids.Early American historical records show that pecan nut trees were offered for sale at America’s first nursery that was established in Flushing, New York, in 1737, by the founder, Robert Prince. It is well known that General George Washington visited this nursery, and that the famous explorers, Lewis and Clark, brought back seed and collected plants from their Western explorations, to supply future shrubs and trees to the Prince Nursery in New York.John Bartram, an associate of Benjamin Franklin, both from Philadelphia, Penn., collected pecan nut trees for their personal nut and fruit tree orchards. The famous American explorer and botanist, William Bartram, son of John Bartram, set out in 1773, financed by English noblemen, to collect plants and to write a book, Travels, concerning the native trees and plants, and to research the habitat of the American Indians in the abandoned territories of the Spaniards, after Spain was defeated by the English warships. In William Bartram’s book, Travels, he noted, page 437, that two large pecan nut trees were observed by him to be growing in a garden at Mobile, Alabama. Bartram in his Travels book also wrote prolifically about various other nuts and nut trees such as chestnut trees native to America. Castanea, “Hiccory” (Hickory Trees), “Juglans exaltata” (Hazelnut American), Corylus, also called the American filbert, “Juglans hickory” (Black Walnut), “Juglans nigra.”President Thomas Jefferson was an important promoter and planter of agricultural crops, plants, shrubs, and trees. When Thomas Jefferson was appointed as the chief American representative in France, he understood that to become a great nation, the young American republic must research and develop colonial agriculture. Thomas Jefferson introduced many at the time unknown crops in the United States, such as grains, vegetables, fruit trees, berry bushes, nut trees, grapevines, and a host of perennial bushes, trees, and flower bulbs. Not only did President Thomas Jefferson develop his personal garden and orchard, but he arranged for shipments to be received by colonists and planters along the Eastern Seaboard. President Jefferson created much good will in European capitals by supplying them with exports of tobacco seed, citrus trees, American native nut trees, and native grapevines such as the muscadine and scuppernong grape vines.Jefferson left extensive records in writings of his from the State of Virginia: “Note on the State of Virginia,  Thomas Jefferson 1787, #VI, A notice of the mines and other subterranean riches; its trees, plants, fruit, etc.” Thomas Jefferson noted that in his orchard he had planted pecan trees, Carya illinoinensis.It is very interesting that Thomas Jefferson referred to the pecan, Carya illinoinensis, as “Paccan, or Illinois nut. Not described by Linnaeus Millar or Clayton. Were I to venture to describe this speaking of the fruit from memory, and of the leaf from plants of two years growth, I should specify it as the Juglans alba, foliolis lanceolatis, acuminatis, serratis, tomentosis, fructu minore, ovato, compresso, vix insculpto, dulci, putamine, tenerrimo. It grows on the on the Illinois, Wabash, Ohio, and Mississippi. It is spoken of by Don Ulloa under the name of Pacanos, in his Noticias Americanas. Entret. 6.”Jefferson referenced Dr. Clayton of Virginia as “our great botanist whose published book, Flora Virginiea, by Gronovius press at Leyden in the year 1762.” Thomas Jefferson praised Dr. Clayton as spending his life describing and exploring plants. “Dr Clayton enlarged the botanical catalog almost as much as any man that had lived, including Linaeus.”Thomas Jefferson had a great interest in other nuts and nut trees besides the pecan nut trees, Carya illinoinensis, that he recorded.“Black walnut, Juglans nigra, White walnut, Juglans alba, Chestnut, Fagus cestaneas, Chinquapin, Fagus pumila, Hazlenut, Corylus avellana, almonds.”“Scaly bark hiccory, Juglans alba cortice squamose, Clayton, common hiccory, Juglans alba, fructu minore rancido, Clayton.”A few great American forefathers had a permanent influence on the development of nut tree commerce enriching the farmers and the world of agriculture. The names of Robert Prince, Benjamin Franklin, Lewis and Clark, George Washington, John and William Bartram, and Thomas Jefferson, reside in the annals of agricultural fame of the United States. Azalea Hybrid Bushes And Native American Fiery (flame) Azaleas Author: Pat Malcolm Buying the best azalea shrub offers a gardener many choices for various landscapes. The Southern indica azalea hybrids are the most popular flowering shrubs for warm climates that includes the Formosa azaleas of white, pink, red, purple, magenta, violet, and lavender. Other outstanding Formosa azaleas are Duc DeRohan, Dutchess of Cypress, G.G. Gerbing, George L. Tabor, Madonna White, and South.Kurume azaleas are evergreen azaleas with considerable cold hardiness and were introduced into the United States around 1915 from Japan. Japan has a climate much like mid-Atlantic and Southern States, and Kurume azalea plants thrive in these similar climates. Kurume azalea shrubs grow small waxy leaves and are considered to be dwarf azalea plants, growing 4 feet tall, but rarely some cultivars reach 6 feet in height. The flowers of Kurume azaleas bloom in colors of pink, purple, white, red, orange, and lavender, and some produce double flowers (double rows of petals). Coral bells is important as a pink azalea to plant underneath windows, and the intense flowering habit is also notable in the pink ruffles azalea and the red ruffles highlights any garden landscape planting. Snow is a pure white Kurume flowering azalea cultivar.Satsuki azalea plants were developed in Japan as a bonsai specimen (dwarf), however, some cultivars can grow 6 feet tall. The flowers can exceed 5 inches, the size of a coffeecup saucer, and the late blooming characteristic of Satsuka azaleas offers the landscape gardener a flower that blooms after May 15 and continues flowering through June.Compact azaleas are generally preferred for small gardens like the Satsuki hybrid cultivars that includes the Gumpo pink, Gumpo white, Gumpo red, Higasa rose-pink, and Wakebishu dark pink azalea. Satsuki azalea shrubs will flower abundantly.The USDA began a hybridization program of azalea shrubs at Glenn Dale, Maryland to introduce landscape, cold hardy plants of flowering azalea cultivars that would extend the season for azalea bloom and offer Northern landscape gardeners new colorful cultivars of flowering azaleas. Many of these Glenn Dale azalea shrubs grow flowers similar to the Formosa hybrids. Glenn Dale azaleas bloom with the diversity of Japanese hybrids. Glenn Dale flowering azalea cultivars introduced by the USDA hybridizers have produced over 400 kinds of azalea shrubs, many available to buy through an internet nursery site. Two sensational Glenn Dale azalea hybrids are the salmon-pink Fashion azalea. The Fashion azalea can grow 6 feet tall and is covered with medium sized flowers. A pure white azalea, the H.H. Hume, is an excellent Glenn Dale azalea shrub that blooms in late April. Many Glenn Dale azalea landscape shrubs flower in May and June.Not all azalea shrubs are evergreen, but American native azalea shrubs drop the leaves during winter and are called deciduous azaleas. In the South, these native azaleas are called fragrant bush honeysuckle or the Florida azalea (Rhododendrun austrinum) with colors of yellow, red, pink, white, yellow-orange, purple, and bicolor light up the forests or garden landscape when domesticated. The wild bush honeysuckle (Rhododendrun austrinum) is an early blooming native azalea shrub, with fragrant flowers appearing before the leaves.The Oconee azalea (Rhododendron speciosum) flower is considered to be one of the most beautiful flowering plants in America, and the pleasant fragrance wafting through the garden landscape demands an equal appreciation as the captivating beauty of the azalea flower clusters. The Oconee azalea flowering shrub is easy to transplant from the forest, but it also is available from internet nurseries. The flower color of the Oconee azalea ranges from red to yellow-orange.Many other species of wild, native azalea shrubs can be found growing as a native plant in America, and  many of these species have been domesticated as a shrub that you can buy from internet nurseries. Some of the important native azalea species are the Pinxter-bloom azalea, Rhododendron nudiflorum; Swamp azalea, Rhododendron viscosum; Sweet azalea, Rhododendron arbrescens; Florida Pinxter-bloom azalea, Rhododendron canescens; and the red flowering plum leaf azalea, Rhododendron prunifolium.An important native flowering azalea is called the flame azalea, however, this common name overlaps the descriptions of many specific species of wild azaleas. The name, flame azalea, was originally used to describe clusters of flowers on the azalea shrub (bush) that glowed in the spring with colors of yellow, orange, and red. These various species of flame azaleas occur and grow in forests from Ohio to Georgia, and are cold hardy in zones 5-8. One particular species of flame azalea is Rhododendron calendulaceum, and was first noticed in American forests in 1765 by the great botanists and explorers John Bartram and his son, William Bartram, author of the classic book, Travels. The Bartram family members were English loyalists to the English King George III during the American Revolutionary period. English noble plant collectors who were searching to buy interesting plant specimens, roots, and seed of unique American native plants sponsored and financed the expeditions of the Bartram family. John Bartram was appointed by King George III as the official royal botanist to the American English colonies. Even though William Bartram sent specimens of the flame azaleas back to England after he wrote extensively about them in his botanical classic, Travels in 1773, he was not given credit for the present naming of the flame azalea, which he called the “Fiery Azalea.” It was the French botanist Andre Michaux, sent to the colonies in 1795 to collect plants for France, who received credit for the name “Flame Azalea,” Rhododendron calendulaceum, for this particular American spectacular flowering azalea instead of William Bartram, who actually had seen and identified several species that he called “Fiery Azalea,” twenty-two years earlier than Michaux. Bartram described the Flame (Fiery Azalea) with a glowing spectrum of colors of orange, finest red lead, yellow, bright gold, and cream. All of these colors were observed to appear on a single plant by William Bartram. In his book, Travels, William Bartram observed that giant clusters of flowers covered the azalea bushes with incredible profusion along the sides of the hills. Bartram was affected with a mystical apprehension that the hills were “set on fire” (page 321), and he described the “Fiery Azalea” as the “most brilliant flowering shrub,” known up to that date—no plant or shrub exhibiting such a great “show of splendor.”Native flame azaleas can grow 10 feet tall and 15 feet wide and can be grown into a flowering tree as a specimen in the landscape garden. The size of most other flowering landscape azalea bushes is quite variable, some dwarf azaleas grow one foot tall and others up to 15 feet with age. Some azaleas in Japan are reported to be several hundred years old and grow into small trees with trunks up to one foot in diameter.Most gardeners prefer to buy azalea shrubs at a nursery in the spring while the bush blooms. Some azalea experts suggest planting azalea shrubs in the winter or fall by buying containerized nursery bushes, so that the root system can support beautiful flowering in the spring. Most azalea shrubs are slow growing in the landscape, and many gardeners prefer to buy large established azalea clumps that will flower on a grandiose scale in the spring.Azalea bushes thrive under the partial, filtered shade of pine trees, along with companion dogwood trees and camellia shrubs. Azalea plants are better grown in partial shade, and when planted next to buildings, the north side offers protection from cold damage. The flowers of the azalea plant last longer in filtered pine tree shade because of the cooling effect. Pine tree straw, pine cones, and pine tree bark make excellent mulch under azalea bushes by conserving soil moisture and preventing weeds. When planting azalea bushes, the shrub should be put into a landscaped hole that contains half soil and half organic matter, such as pine tree bark or peat moss. Azalea plants are very shallow rooted and must be grown in an organic soil mixture.The azalea plant is acid loving, and a pH of 4.5 to 5.5 is ideal for vigorous growing. Watering may be necessary if rain does not happen for a two week period and fertilizing is usually avoided. Fertilizer can burn the tender fibrous root system. If yellowing occurs in the leaves or leaf veins, Iron or Magnesium (Epsom salts) will usually correct the condition. Leaves and humus are the best organic fertilizers for azaleas and generally fertilizer is not recommended, because the plant may be damaged or killed by gardeners who wish to be “too kind” to their plants. Azaleas flourish in an acid soil (low pH), and lime should never be used, since it can be fatal to your azalea plants.If leaves of azalea shrubs show a dull, dark green leaf color with reddening beneath, this means that there are deficiencies of phosphorus in the soil that can easily be corrected by applying phosphorous in water-soluble fertilizer, such as miracle grow. Bright green, shiny azalea leaves generally means that the  azalea plant is in a healthy state of growth.If azalea bushes are pruned after flowering, during the summer, there may be only few azalea flowers formed the following season, therefore the sooner you prune after flowering, the better your chances are of ensuring beautiful flowering next year.Azalea shrubs are easily propagated and increased by taking a cutting about 8 inches long and placing the cut end about 2 inches deep in sand. Roots on azalea plants can form within a week during June and July, and the plant may grow another foot tall before it is ready to be planted permanently in your yard.There are thousands of different cultivars of azaleas. An excellent reference book, Azaleas, by Fred Galle, describes 6000 flowering varieties, and is published by Timber Press. Very few of these azalea cultivars are available commercially, because most nursery garden centers do not wish to stock shrub perennials, unless they are in bloom, and the blooming period of azalea is restricted to a month or less. Azalea plants don’t sell well unless they are in full flower – except from year round shipping by internet companies that can ship them at any season. Santa Barbara – the American Riviera Author: DhirajWelcome atop Santa Barbara which is often referred to as the American Riviera, a land full of majestic sites which will take your breath away. Santa Barbara is known for its beautiful beaches, majestic mountains, colorful culture and warm hearted welcome to their visitor which makes it a wonderful choice when it comes to spending your holidays.If that’s not all for you to chalk this destination for your holidays at Santa Barbara, hold yourselves back, this amazing land still has many aspects to unfold. Take for example the wine country just a few minutes away from the city, its botanical gardens, the gorgeous Santa Ynez Valley, with its stunning vistas which is also a home to such notable attractions as Solvang and the Chumash Reservation.The crucial part while holidaying to any location is the connectivity to other regions. This is also a part where Santa Barbara can score the points. It is well and conveniently connected with all the means of transports. You can take a flight to Santa Barbara from any place or go for a little more than an hours drive from Los Angeles. The Santa Barbara’s harbor is a home to the world famous Stearns Wharf; a great destination for the entire family. The facilities provided by these hotels are up-to-date with features like car rentals, pubs, restaurants, AC rooms, health clubs, swimming pools etc. A quite number of budget hotels can be located in the heart of the city which can make your stay convenient. The bookings should be made well in advance as Santa Barbara experiences loads of tourists all year round. Some of the regular facilities offered by the hotels in Santa Barbara include air conditioned rooms, car rentals, airport pick and drop facilities, swimming pools, health clubs, spas, restaurants etc. The restaurants here offer several delicacies including continental food which you will find relishing and admired by your taste buds. Above all, there are a great deal of good hotels, resorts, motels and many other exciting places where you can not only stay but enjoy the beautiful nature which surrounds you. The hotels in Santa Barbara serve the delicacies which at sometimes you may find more tempting than the site seeing. Most of the hotels offer good deals wherein you can stick to your budget while surrendering yourselves to the temptations. The after effect of such surrender is a wonderful experience of lifetime which surely prepares you for the hectic schedules back home. So what are you waiting for? It’s your call, pack your bags and book the tickets for Santa Barbara is waiting for you. The land full of exciting promises is waiting for your arrival to embrace you in its cozy surroundings. Don’t miss the bus of a lifetime experience.
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