Modern gardeners are getting access to all kinds of interesting crops. Crops from around the world allow us to expand our palettes and give us an opportunity to grow something new. Armenian cucumbers are just one such crop. The melon has many of the characteristics of a cucumber but can also be used in sweet dishes. What are Armenian Cucumber Plants? Armenian cucumber melons look much like a cucumber, only often bent rather than straight....

Likely the focal point of your shady summer flower bed, astilbe flowers can be recognized by their tall, fluffy plumes that tower above frilly, fern-like foliage in the shade garden. These attractive flowers make great companions for other shade tolerant plants, such as hosta and hellebores, with contrasting foliage and coordinating blooms. Astilbe Plant Information Twenty five species of Astilbe exist, with hundreds of hybrids available. Some are borne on arching stems, while others are erect....

Designing an Asymmetrical Garden In simple terms, a garden bed is designed around a central point, which may be an object such as a plant, a front door, a tree, or a container. The central point can also be unseen, or imaginary. You can have either symmetrical or asymmetrical garden design layouts. A symmetrical garden design is equal on both sides of the central point. For example, a large shrub on one side is mirrored by a nearly identical shrub on the other side....

Read on to learn some tips on how to get rid of Bermuda grass but not the plants you want to keep in your garden. Bermuda Grass Control Bermuda grass is native to the harsh climate of Africa. It is widely used in the southwest and southern United States. The plant’s vigor and tolerance of heat, drought and heavy foot traffic make it an ideal choice to colonize difficult to maintain, low nutrient areas....

What is the Best Soil for Houseplants? Potting mix for indoor plants must provide them with excellent drainage, air circulation, nutrients, and water retention. An indoor potting mix should also be free of pests, diseases, and weed seeds. To this end, commercial houseplant potting mix is often sterilized to kill pathogens and weed seeds, and is also comprised of ingredients specific to the needs of container grown houseplants. While ingredients vary, a good soilless potting mix will always contain an organic component such as compost, coir, bark or peat moss, vermiculite, or perlite to aid in moisture retention, sand, nutrients, and limestone....

What are Big Eyed Bugs? The best time to spot these tiny bugs is in the morning or evening when dew still clings to leaves and blades of grass. The insect only gets about 1/16 to ¼ inch long (1.5-6 mm.) and has wide, almost triangular, heads and huge eyes that turn slightly backwards. The big-eyed bug life cycle starts with eggs that overwinter. The nymphs go through several instars before becoming adults....

Blue Wonder Spruce Info The Blue Wonder cultivar of spruce is special in many ways, but mostly because its color persists. Other types of blue spruce will also produce the striking bluish gray needles, but the color tends to revert back to green as they grow. Blue Wonder was developed to maintain that special color as the tree ages. Blue Wonder is a cultivar of Picea glauca, a dwarf spruce that grows slowly and tops out around 6 feet (2 m....

Bluebird Hydrangea Info ‘Bluebird’ hydrangea plant is a lacecap type of hydrangea. Lacecap hydrangea shrubs get their name from their unique flower bloom shape, which appears to open only slightly and forms a circle around a tightly closed center. Though quite different in appearance than more commonly known hydrangea forms, lacecap types are still quite beautiful. The Bluebird hydrangea plant is prized for its moderate size and lovely light blue flower clusters, which may vary in color, depending upon soil pH levels....

Can a Boston Fern be Grown Outside? Although Boston fern is often grown as a houseplant, it thrives outdoors in warm, humid climates in USDA zones 9 to 11. With adequate moisture, the plant may tolerate drier climates. Frost may kill the fern to the ground, but it will rebound in spring. Boston fern in gardens require partial to full shade, or dappled, filtered light. This makes the plant a good choice for shady, damp areas, providing a spark of bright color where few other plants will grow....

Bird Pests of Boysenberry Outside of a handful of boysenberry insect pests, the greatest threat to your berry patch are birds. Birds love boysenberries as much or more than you do and make it their business to get to them before you do. Beat the birds to it by checking the plants daily, preferably in the morning, for any ripe berries. Given that a morning check isn’t always possible, protect the berries with netting, cotton, or a fruit cage....

Although chicory is easy to grow, it is sometimes plagued by certain chicory insects and chicory plant pests. Read on for information about a few of the most common chicory pest problems. Chicory Pest Problems Below are some of the more common pests and bugs that eat chicory plants: Slugs – Slugs are number one when it comes to pests of chicory because they chew raggedy holes in the leaves....

Pests of Quince Trees Quince trees are fairly tough plants, but they’re also tasty, according to a wide range of insect pests. Most of the bugs you’ll encounter in the garden are fairly easy to control, especially if you catch them early. Check your plants often for insects by looking at the backsides of any leaves that look different and if you see any of these guys, break out the bigger guns: Aphids....

Burning Bush Growth The arching stems are decorated with clusters of finely pointed leaves that droop appealingly from the branch. The plant is also called winged Euonymous because of the ridges that arise on young burning bush growth. These disappear after the stems mature. The plant will get tiny flowers in May to June that turn into tiny dangling red berries. Birds eat the berries and inadvertently plant the seeds in your garden....

How Hardy is Butterfly Bush? Although most types of butterfly bush grow in zones 5 through 9, some tender types need milder winter temperatures found in at least zone 7 or 8. These warm climate butterfly bushes won’t survive a zone 4 winter, so read the label carefully to be sure you’re purchasing a cold hardy butterfly bush suitable for a minimum of zone 5. Reportedly, some of the Buddleja Buzz cultivars may be more appropriate butterfly bushes for zone 4 growing....

Cacti and Cotton Root Rot Cotton root rot in cactus generally shows up when the soil is warm between spring and early fall. The disease tends to spread through the soil slowly, but plant death occurs quickly when temperatures are high. Sometimes, even a healthy plant can wilt and die within three days. Cactus cotton root rot symptoms include primarily severe wilt and discoloration. During the rainy season in midsummer, you may also notice a white or pale tan, pancake-like spore mat on the surface of the soil....

Calibrachoa Million Bells Information Calibrachoa, commonly called million bells or trailing petunia, is a tender perennial that produces mounds of foliage, growing only 3 to 9 inches (7.5-23 cm.) tall, along trailing stems and flowers in shades of violet, blue, pink, red, magenta, yellow, bronze and white. Introduced in the early 1990s, all cultivars of Calibrachoa are hybrids with the original species native to South America. They are prolific bloomers from spring to frost....

Can You Split a Sago Palm? Can you split a sago palm? The answer to that question depends on what you mean by “split.” If your sago palm stalk has split, forming two heads, don’t think about dividing them. If you split the tree trunk down the middle or even chop off one of the heads, the tree will never heal from the wounds. In time, it will die. The only way to split sago palms is by separating sago palm pups from the parent plant....

How Can You Use Sawdust as Mulch? Some people who put sawdust down as mulch in their gardens have noticed a decline in their plants’ health, leading them to believe that sawdust is toxic to plants. This is not the case. Sawdust is woody material that needs nitrogen to decompose. This means that as it biodegrades, the process may draw nitrogen out of the soil and away from your plants’ roots, making them weaker....

Flowers of German Bearded Iris The showy flowers have two parts, the upright part of the growing German iris is called a standard and the draping part is a fall, containing the beard. Many are multi-colored, but solid-color German iris plants are the oldest types. Foliage is upright and sword-like. When growing German iris, you’ll find that most varieties are tall, good for a location at the back of the flower bed....

Sweet Alyssum Plants Sweet alyssum flowers (Lobularia maritima syn. Alyssum maritimum) are useful in alpine rock gardens, borders, planters, hanging baskets, and dry zones. They are small plants that may get 3 to 6 inches (7.5 to 15 cm.) tall and produce clusters of tiny flowers in clumps. The blooms come in pink, salmon, purple, white, and yellow. Flowers arise from June to October and can be encouraged to rebloom by cutting back spent flowers....