One of the challenges many gardeners face is how to add texture and interest to the landscape. One of the best ways to do this is by adding ornamental grasses to your garden. They have a natural fountainous growing habit and many produce beautiful flower blooms that will light up any garden.

Ornamental grasses are incredibly low maintenance, grow quickly, and are naturally disease and insect resistant. Add to that, their natural swaying movement in even the slightest of breezes and you have plants that add unparalleled beauty to any garden setting.

Another great feature of ornamental grasses is the fact that they come in a wide variety of shapes, sizes and color. There are many grasses that are perfect for creating borders and others that provide a nice backdrop to other plants or look perfect as individual featured specimens. The colors range from gold, green, silver and blue to shades of purple, burgundy, red and orange.

While most ornamental grasses prefer moist soil conditions, most become quite drought tolerant once established. They require very little fertilization and can get by with a single feeding of plant food per year. Most shorter varieties require no pruning at all (short of removing any spent flowers) and the only maintenance taller varieties require is a crew cut in late winter (down to 4-6" inches above ground level) to encourage new growth in spring.

We have a great selection of ornamental grasses just waiting for an opportunity to add interest and beauty to your garden.

The Chinese lantern (Abutilon hybridum), aka flowering maple, is a beautiful evergreen plant that is found naturally in most of the world's tropical regions. It gets its various names from its maple-shaped leaves and bright colored flowers that resemble little Chinese lanterns.

The foliage is usually a lime green but there are variegated forms with white or yellow mottling. The flowers are produced almost year-round and come in a range of colors including orange, pink, red, white and yellow. Left alone the plant can reach 10 ft. high and wide, but can easily be kept smaller with pruning.

Chinese lanterns can be grown both outdoors and indoors. Outside they prefer a morning sun-afternoon shade location, but indoors they require as much light as possible. Keep the soil around the root ball moist but not wet and feed every couple of months, spring through fall, with Gro-Power Plus to keep your plants growing strong and healthy.

All the crazy weather we have had this summer across the country serves as a great reminder to make sure to address any slope erosion problems before they arise. And fall is a great time of year to plant shrubs and ground covers that can help to prevent a hillside from slipping away.

Consider that the upcoming cool months provide a time when plant roots grow fast and the need for water is less apparent for new plantings. You and your newly planted stock now have an advantage over the hot summer sun or cold winter nights.

To see if you have a potential hillside erosion problem, be alert for these tell-tale signs:

• Bare spots anywhere on your property
• Tree roots exposed above ground
• Small stones or rocks appearing on the ground surface
• Small rills or gullies beginning to form
• Build-up of silt in certain areas
• Soil splashed on windows and outside walls
• Soil washout along driveways

A number of excellent plant and groundcover choices not only thrive with the good drainage conditions of most hillsides but will also go a long way in providing protection from heavy rains. The key is to plant a mixture of plant types and sizes. You want to have layers of vegetation for rainfall to hit, so it will be diffused before it reaches the ground. Generally the larger the plant grows, the deeper its roots, so don't neglect the larger, slower-growing plants.

The popularity of crotons in both indoor and outdoor plantings is increasing at a phenomenal rate. Native to tropical areas of Malaysia and southern Asia, these easy- growing plants have bright-colored foliage, often with many colors in one leaf. The uniqueness of these plants is their colorful glossy foliage in varying shapes and sizes.

Crotons are small shrubs which can reach a height of 2-6 feet. Some crotons can even be used as hedges or specimen plants. They also grow well in containers. The 6"-12" leaves are leathery and start out green, gradually changing color as the plant matures. They come in many shapes and a rainbow of colors including reds, pinks, yellows, rust, orange and even some purples, to name just a few.

Crotons are grown primarily for their brightly colored foliage. For this reason they need a fairly high amount of light to maintain their vibrant colors. Crotons prefer high humidity, full sun and moist, humus-rich but well-drained soil with a generous supply of organic material; we recommend Kellogg Amend.

Crotons require only a moderate amount of watering on a regular basis. Keep them moist but not excessively wet. To maintain good growth, feed crotons regularly throughout the year with a water-soluble fertilizer, such as Gro-Power Liquid All Purpose Fertilizer. We stock a great selection of crotons just waiting to find a place in your home or garden. Stop by today to see what all the fuss is about!

Most home gardeners lament the coming of winter since it usually spells the end of the outdoor growing season. But it doesn't have to be that way. Many herbs can be grown indoors quite successfully in the winter months and then be transplanted into the garden the following spring. There's something about the taste of fresh, home-grown herbs in cooking that is hard to beat. The flavors are so much more flavorful and aromatic than using something dry out of a shaker bottle.

With the right location and care, many herbs can be fooled into thinking that summer is still here. If you're a little nervous or skeptical about growing herbs indoors, use some tried and tested varieties such as chives, coriander, dill, mint, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and thyme. Most of these can be started by seed, while mint and rosemary can be started by seed or cutting.

Most herbs are sun lovers and will require a southern facing window that gets at least six hours of sunlight per day. For less sunny locations, mint, parsley and rosemary will get by with less sunlight. You might also consider hanging a grow light 6-9 inches above your plants to provide light on cloudy days. Make sure to also rotate your containers at least once per week in order to help your plants grow evenly.

Start your plants in seed trays and then transplant them to window boxes or larger containers once the plants become rooted. Use a good quality potting soil, such as Kellogg Patio Plus, and make sure the containers you use have drainage holes. If you use water trays under your pots, make sure that you check them after watering and drain any standing water in them.

The herbs mentioned above will do fine provided temperatures are maintained between 55 and 70 degrees. Feed with a water soluble plant food, such as Gro-Power Liquid All Purpose Fertilizer, every 2-4 weeks just as you would any other indoor plant, and don't water until the soil surface becomes dry. The use of a small fan will also help herbs survive the stuffy air conditions that can occur indoors in winter.

Plant pests are usually less prevalent during the winter months. Nevertheless, visually check your plants at least once per week, and treat your plants with an insecticidal soap before pests actually become a problem.

So don't let the winter doldrums get you down. Spice up your life and your winter meals with the addition of fresh, homegrown indoor herbs!

Summer's blasts of heat can make even the hardiest of shrubs look brown, tired, and just plain ugly.

Now is the time to give your bushes a haircut. Trimming the ends of the plant encourages new lush, green growth. Be certain to remove any brown, dead branches to open up the space and help the plant fill in the voids.

Ground covers like ivy will also benefit from a trimming.

Within weeks, new growth will appear, giving a fresh green look.

Any plant or tree that loses all of its leaves and goes into a state of dormancy (sleep) periodically is considered deciduous.

Most shade trees and many fruit trees fall into this classification, along with plants like forsythia, hydrangeas, potentilla, roses, spirea, weigela and many others.

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