One out of every three bites of food we eat is provided through the work of animal and insect pollinators.  The mysterious colony collapse disorder among commercial honeybees, disease and loss of habitat have severely affected pollinators that sustain our food crops and quality of life.

      Other insects besides bees act as important pollinators.  These include butterflies, beetles, moths, wasps, flies and even mosquitoes.  Hummingbirds are also significant pollinators.

      It is important to encourage pollinators in our yards and ensure their health so they are able to continue their important work.  To do this, we need to make our yards and gardens hospitable to pollinators and their larvae.  They need food, shelter and water, just as we do.

      Butterflies generally are attracted to bright flowering plants in full sun, protected from the wind.  Some good shrubs for butterflies are spicebush, eastern ninebark and aromatic sumac.  Perennial flowers include milkweed, daisy fleabane, tickseed, joe-pye-weed, sunflowers, sneezeweed, blazing star, beebalm, phlox, coneflower, heath aster and wake robin.  Wet muddy areas provide butterflies with moisture and minerals they need to stay healthy. 

      Bees, wasps, beetles and flies are not as exciting or as pretty as butterflies.  Nevertheless, it is increasingly important to make them welcome in our yards as the commercial bee population continues its decline.

      Good trees and shrubs to invite these pollinators are maple, service berry, pin cherry, black willow and linden.  Helpful flowers are black cohosh, red columbine, yellow trout lily, gentian, alum root, cardinal flower, Virginia bluebells, foamflower and spiderwort.  Herbs like mint, garlic, chives, oregano, parsley and lavender and annual flowers including zinnias, cosmos and single sunflowers also provide food for pollinators.

      Plant flowers in groups for more efficient pollination.  The pollinators learn where to find pollen in each type of flower and with several of the same species nearby they won’t have to explore each new flower to try to locate it, in the process wasting valuable pollen as it falls off their bodies.

      A little planning and attention to bloom season will provide your yard with beauty and food for insects from early spring to late fall.  Plant a diversity of plants to provide food for different pollinators.  Vary colors, fragrances and heights to attract different pollinator species.

      To further encourage these insects, allow things to become a little messy – leaf litter, weeds and dead branches all provide shelter.  Provide a pool, pond or even small containers of water for drinking.  Sloping sides or stones for them to stand on will prevent them from drowning.

      If you must use pesticides – which are extremely toxic to pollinators – use great caution, use as little as possible, and make sure you are using the proper pesticide for the problem you have.

      There is a website you can visit to find more information on making your yard a haven for pollinators.  Visit www.pollinators.org and enter your ZIP code for specific plant recommendations.

Annual flowers bloom, set seed and die in one growing season. Perennial flowers live three, five or even thirty years. At first glance, it would seem that perennial plants are the way to go to save both the time of replanting each year and the money spent every year to purchase annuals.

      There is more of a financial investment in a perennial plant than in an annual plant.  Annuals can be purchased in 4- or 6-packs for about 25¢ a plant, or grown from seed for only pennies.  Perennial plants may cost from a few dollars for something like an astilbe to $70 for a yellow Bartzella peony.

      Besides their lifespan, there is one other important difference between annuals and perennials.  While most annuals blossom all summer long, perennials have a shorter bloom period.  Some flower for only a week or so, while others like yarrow, coreopsis, and catmint may bloom for a month or even more.  But some of those perennials are so beautiful that the one week of breathtaking bloom is worth the spot they occupy in the garden.

      After planting, annuals basically need watering and sometimes deadheading of spent flowers to keep turning out blooms all season.  Some perennials need deadheading after bloom and then division every three years or so, and cutting back in fall or spring. 

      Ideally your garden would have something in bloom at all times.  Here’s how it works in the garden I have around my pond.   In spring, daffodils bloom first.  Red tulips overlap the daffodil bloom.  Pink and white bleeding hearts come next, along with white and purple violets.  At the pond’s edge, yellow irises bloom.  Next comes dark red and light pink peonies.  As soon as those finish, the roses come into bloom along with comfrey, spiderwort, creeping bellflower, speedwell, yellow yarrow, lemon lilies and coreopsis.  In the pond, pink waterlilies look so perfect you’d think they were fake.

      On the slope in back of the pond, creeping baby’s breath has small pink and white flowers, snow-in-summer shows pure white blooms, lemon thyme has purple blossoms and creeping sedum displays bright yellow starry flowers. 

      Soon red yarrow, white campanula, orange dayliles and purple Russian sage will bloom.  Behind the pond, another creeping sedum will bloom in dusty rose and germander will show its pink blooms.  The snow-in-summer and creeping baby’s breath that I cut back after first bloom will produce a few more flowers. 

      In late summer and fall when all the other plants have finished their bloom, ‘Summer Glory’ and ‘Autumn Joy’ sedums will bloom in light and dark rose.

      It took many years to get this garden blooming in succession the way I wanted it.  Still, there are times when it looks drab.  That’s why I let white alyssum, pretty johnny-jump-ups and airy cosmos self-seed, and I move containers of petunias and geraniums among the perennial plants wherever needed.

      Annual flowers bloom, set seed and die in one growing season.  Perennial flowers live three, five or even thirty years.  At first glance, it would seem that perennial plants are the way to go to save both the time of replanting each year and the money spent every year to purchase annuals.

      There is more of a financial investment in a perennial plant than in an annual plant.  Annuals can be purchased in 4- or 6-packs for about 25¢ a plant, or grown from seed for only pennies.  Perennial plants may cost from a few dollars for something like an astilbe to $70 for a yellow Bartzella peony.

      Besides their lifespan, there is one other important difference between annuals and perennials.  While most annuals blossom all summer long, perennials have a shorter bloom period.  Some flower for only a week or so, while others like yarrow, coreopsis, and catmint may bloom for a month or even more.  But some of those perennials are so beautiful that the one week of breathtaking bloom is worth the spot they occupy in the garden.

      After planting, annuals basically need watering and sometimes deadheading of spent flowers to keep turning out blooms all season.  Some perennials need deadheading after bloom and then division every three years or so, and cutting back in fall or spring. 

      Ideally your garden would have something in bloom at all times.  Here’s how it works in the garden I have around my pond.   In spring, daffodils bloom first.  Red tulips overlap the daffodil bloom.  Pink and white bleeding hearts come next, along with white and purple violets.  At the pond’s edge, yellow irises bloom.  Next comes dark red and light pink peonies.  As soon as those finish, the roses come into bloom along with comfrey, spiderwort, creeping bellflower, speedwell, yellow yarrow, lemon lilies and coreopsis.  In the pond, pink waterlilies look so perfect you’d think they were fake.

      On the slope in back of the pond, creeping baby’s breath has small pink and white flowers, snow-in-summer shows pure white blooms, lemon thyme has purple blossoms and creeping sedum displays bright yellow starry flowers. 

      Soon red yarrow, white campanula, orange dayliles and purple Russian sage will bloom.  Behind the pond, another creeping sedum will bloom in dusty rose and germander will show its pink blooms.  The snow-in-summer and creeping baby’s breath that I cut back after first bloom will produce a few more flowers. 

      In late summer and fall when all the other plants have finished their bloom, ‘Summer Glory’ and ‘Autumn Joy’ sedums will bloom in light and dark rose.

      It took many years to get this garden blooming in succession the way I wanted it.  Still, there are times when it looks drab.  That’s why I let white alyssum, pretty johnny-jump-ups and airy cosmos self-seed, and I move containers of petunias and geraniums among the perennial plants wherever needed.

      Every year brings new and exciting plants for gardeners and this year is no exception.  Here are some of the latest offerings for 2007.

      One of the flashiest new flowering shrubs is ‘Pinky Winky’ hydrangea.  Despite its rather silly name, it is a gorgeous plant with large two-toned light to dark pink flowerheads.    The flowers emerge white in mid-summer and turn pink.  New white flowers continue to emerge from the tip of the panicle until they reach a length of 12-16 inches.  Strong stems hold the flowers upright, unlike the old-fashioned hyrdrangeas whose heavy white flowerheads are too heavy for their stems.  Also different from the old-fashioned type, there is no need to try to adjust the pH of your soil to get pink blooms.  The plant reaches 6-8 feet tall and makes a good focal point in the yard, or works as a hedge.  Planted in sun or part shade, ‘Pinky Winky’ blooms well regardless of climate, pH, soil condition, or pruning. 

      If you are a hosta lover but don’t have room for big spreading plants, ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ hosta is ideal for small beds and even containers.  It has thick, rounded, blue to gray-green velvety leaves that curve slightly inward like little mouse ears.  The plants grow in diminutive mounds only 8 inches high and 12 inches wide.  Like most hostas, clusters of lavender bell-shaped flowers emerge on taller stems in mid-summer.  ‘Blue Mouse Ears’ should be planted in part to full shade.

      A few years ago, gardeners discovered Wave petunias, and some people were overwhelmed by the prolific growth of the plants.  For those who like the idea of the Wave, but want something a bit more restrained, there is Easy Wave.  It has a more compact mounding habit and spreads three feet or less, but increases in height to 8-10 inches, making it perfect for containers and smaller gardens.  This year Easy Wave comes in three new colors, ‘Coral Reef’, a perfect coral pink, ‘Tropicana Mix’ with flowers ranging from white to dark pink, and ‘Beachcomber Mix’ whose colors are light and dark pink and dark violet.

      Each year brings innovative colors for those who love impatiens.  This year’s offerings include three new mixes.  ‘Salsa’ is a blend of red, salmon and coral, ‘Sweetheart’ is a mingling of rose, pink and white, and ‘Tropical’ is a jumble of coral, rose and salmon.  The 10-12 inch plants are a mass of color all summer and are good in hanging baskets or planted in drifts in a flowerbed.  Impatiens do best in part to full shade.

      Vegetable gardeners might want to try the new ‘Red Meat’ radish.  These radishes have a creamy white to light green skin, but inside are bright pink, like miniature watermelons.  They have a sweet mild flavor and the roots grow to 2-4 inch diameters.  They hold a long time without becoming woody.  ‘Red Meat’ does best when planted in late summer or early fall rather than in early spring.

The last two summers have been much drier than usual.  Other parts of the country have been dealing with lack of rain for years, but in the Midwest, with a few exceptions, we’ve had ample rain for the past several decades.

      Xeriscaping is the term coined to describe a method of water conservation through creative landscaping.  It comes from the Greek “xeros” meaning “dry,” and of course, landscaping.  It does not mean a landscape of gravel and cactuses.  Beauty is not sacrificed when a xeriscape landscape is in place.  It does mean reducing water waste, improving the soil, using mulch to keep soil cool and moist, and choosing plants that don’t need pampering in the form of excess watering.        

      The xeriscape concept encourages grouping of plants with similar water needs together in beds so that they can be watered as needed with little water wasted.  The use of beds also allows for installation of a drip irrigation system or use of a soaker hose.  Both these methods result in water applied directly to the soil, reducing water consumption by up to 60% over sprinkler irrigation.

      Mulching around plants plays an important role in the xeriscape garden.  Mulch can reduce water demand by as much as 40% by keeping the soil cooler, eliminating weed competition and reducing evaporation from the soil surface.

      Plants that tolerate dry conditions should be chosen.  However, a plant labeled “drought tolerant” cannot just be stuck in the ground and left to its own devices.  Such plants are drought tolerant only after they have become established.  An annual flower may become established in a couple weeks, while a perennial takes a month or more depending on the soil conditions.  Shrubs need extra water for the first season and trees should be well-watered for their first two years.

      Even if you can’t embrace the xeriscape concept for your entire landscape, moving things around a bit or just making smart choices for new plantings can help conserve water.

      Many of the plants you already have in your yard are appropriate for a xeriscape garden.  Some common annuals that can do with little water include cosmos, moss rose, gomphrena or globe amaranth, salvia, nasturtium, dusty miller, alyssum, marigolds, calendula, cleome or spider plant, flowering tobacco and zinnia.  Perennials include yarrow, asters, butterfly weed, harebells, gallardia, daylilies, irises, liatris, flax, evening primrose, Russian sage, Virginia creeper, penstemon, sage, columbine, wild indigo, coreopsis and purple coneflower.  The list of drought tolerant trees and shrubs includes Amur maple, serviceberry, spirea, catalpa, hackberry, cotoneaster, green ash, Kentucky coffee tree, potentilla, chokecherry, burr oak, staghorn sumac and lilacs.  In addition, most native prairie plants are drought tolerant and adapted to our area.

            The list above is long, but nowhere near complete.  A little research on the internet or at the library over the winter will have you well-prepared if 2007 is as dry as 2006

      You’ve made the plans for your new flower bed and have just returned from the nursery with your trunk full of plants.  You unload the car and wonder why you ever thought making a new flower bed was a good idea.  How do you do this right and make it look good?

      Ideally, before you went to the nursery you researched which plants would do well in the new bed’s conditions.  Is it hot and dry, cool and moist, dry and shady?  You should also have determined how tall and wide each plant will spread.  You don’t want to put a tall plant in the front that will hide the shorter ones.  And it’s a waste of money to plant them too closely together if they will easily fill the space in no time.  If you didn’t do your research ahead of time, there should be id tags in the pots describing the best growing conditions for each plant and their height and spread at maturity.  At the least, measure the bed before you shop so you can divide that measurement by the expected size of the plants and buy accordingly.

      So, you’re home with the plants and ready to go.  Try to stay out of the bed while planting.  Stepping in it will compact the soil, making it harder to dig planting holes.  If you cannot reach the middle from the outside of the bed, lay short boards or plywood scraps on the soil to more evenly distribute your weight. 

      If you find that the bed is too wide to reach a plant that is going to need attention during the growing season, mark off where you will lay a stepping stone or two to reach the plant. 

      Before planting, place the plants in their pots around on the bed.  If you have a mix of perennials and annuals, place the perennials first since they will stay in place for several years.  Then place the largest annuals and finally the smaller ones.  Place the largest plants at the back of the bed or in the center in the case of an island bed, and the smaller plants in the front or on the outside.  Planting should happen in the same order – perennials first, then large plants, lastly the smaller ones.  If the plants are all approximately the same size, start in the back and work forward or in the middle and work outward. 

      Before you dig the first hole but after the plants are placed in their pots around the bed, step back and see how they look from several different angles.  If you can see the bed from the house, go inside and look out the window.  If it is in the front yard, go to the end of the driveway and see how it looks from there.  Now is the time to move plants to the left or right, backward or forward, a little closer together or further apart. 

      If you can work around them, leave the plants in place until you plant them.  Otherwise, mark each spot with a stake or stone and remove the plants from the bed before you start.  If you have a big mix of plants or a complicated design, a Polaroid or digital camera comes in handy here.

      Over the past decade, gardening has become the most popular leisure-time activity in the United States.  There are so many benefits – physical, spiritual, the production of healthy fresh food, the satisfaction in saying “I grew it myself,” and the connection to nature.  Then there is the reason most people start gardening – to add beauty to their landscapes.

      That’s why I am confused as to some of the offerings in the garden catalogs I have recently received.  There are some really ugly plants!  In my opinion gardening offers enough challenges without having to try to make an unattractive plant look presentable.

      I hope I don’t offend anyone by naming your favorite plant, but here are a few of the uglies I found in just one catalog, which shall remain nameless.

      The Hulk Aster, named after the Incredible Hulk (does that tell you anything?) has big green flower petals surrounding yellow-gold centers.  These flowers are held on 22-inch stems and they are described as “one of the year’s most fashionable choices for bouquets and floral arrangements.” 

      Next is the ‘Jamboree’ hybrid pumpkin-squash.  It is advertised to taste like buttercup squash, freeze well and have good disease resistance.  But it is greenish-bluish-grayish in color.  It looks like something that overwintered in my compost pile.

      The new ‘Citrus Twist’ sedum has chartreuse flowers.  Chartreuse is green.  The Autumn Joy sedum that I grow has beautiful dusty rose flowers in August but until then the flowers are green and the plant is quite unattractive.  I wouldn’t consider growing the plant if it didn’t get past the green stage to the much prettier purple pinks.

      Another flower that starts out lime green and then, unfortunately, stays that way is ‘Limelight’ hydrangea.  The plant is advertised to be easy to grow and the flowers, like all hydrangeas, make good long-lasting floral arrangements.  A flower that stays green just seems unfinished to me.

      A new pumpkin is called ‘One Too Many.’  It looks like a blood-shot eyeball, with red midribs and stippling on a white background.  Why would you want to make a jack-o-lantern out of that?  Well, okay, maybe you would.

      Then there are the black flowers.  I can make all my flowers look black by withholding water.  But apparently some people aspire to grow a black iris called ‘Before the Storm’ or a ‘Black Beauty’ rudbeckia.  My pretty golden and yellow rudbeckias look just like the magazine photo after the first hard frost in the fall.

      There are quite a few hostas and heucheras (coral bells) with leaves of pale green or washed-out pink.  They really look like they could use a good dose of high nitrogen fertilizer.

      There may be a place in some strange kind of theme garden for some of these uglies, but I’ll be sticking to the more traditional plants this year.

      Remember the Gilligan’s Island episode where the crate of radioactive seeds floated into the lagoon?  When the castaways planted them they got beets the size of Mary Ann’s head and beans as long as Gilligan’s arm.

      A perusal of seed catalogs I recently received convinced me that I can grow vegetables and flowers that huge, but without the dangers of radiation.

      Everyone is looking for big tomatoes that taste good and the Mortgage Lifter fits the bill.  These drought tolerant low-acid tomatoes can reach four pounds! 

      Another plant where gardeners go for the biggest they can find is pumpkins.  Dill’s Atlantic Giant grows 200-300 pounds!  What a jack-o-lantern that would make!  If that’s a little too heavy for you, Big Max grows just 100 pounds. 

      Kohlrabi can actually grow to 10-inch diameter bulbs without cracking if you plant Kossak Hybrid seeds.  The white flesh maintains its sweet delicate flavor without becoming woody well into the autumn.

      If you like cabbage for coleslaw, sauerkraut or in your salad, try planting Show-Off Hybrid Cabbage.  The dense, firm heads grow to 12-16 pounds.  If you prefer red cabbage, Mammoth Red Rock cabbage produces tightly packed 8-pound heads that hold their high quality during storage.  You won’t have to plant too many of either of these!

      Hot pepper aficionados should try growing the Big Chili II Hybrid.  They taste just like canned peppers for flavor, but grow up to 10 inches long and 2 ½ inches wide.  They are ideal for roasting.

      For sweet pepper lovers, the ultimate stuffer is Gurney’s Giant Hybrid, which grows up to eight inches long.

      Cantaloupe growers may want to try Gurney Giant Hybrid Cantaloupe.  Compact vines produce 18-pound fruits that ripen in early August.  The deep orange flesh is extra sweet.

      There are several ornamental plants that grow fast and huge.  The castor bean produces beans, but most people grow them for foliage.  They grow 10-12 feet tall with gigantic veined leaves and are a good choice for privacy screens.  They grow best in full sun.

      For shade, there are several types of caladiums.  They grow 3-6 feet tall and the leaves grow 2-5 feet long depending on the variety.  Leaves of the different varieties come in deep purple, bright green, or a mix of emerald green, crimson and white.  Caladiums are a dramatic way to fill a large shady space.  They grow best in cool, moist soil, from bulbs which must be lifted in the fall and replanted the following spring.

      Cannas grow in full sun, also from bulbs.  They have showy foliage plus stunning flower spikes from June through frost in a wide range of colors.  They can grow five to eight feet tall.

      Dinner Plate Dahlias and a wide variety of sunflowers are good choices for those who like to show off huge blooms.

Two types of plants are commonly referred to as geraniums.  One, which is the true geranium, is really the cranesbill, a bushy long-lived perennial plant. The other is the red, pink or white-flowered plant seen everywhere in flower boxes and pots which is correctly called Pelargonium. 

      There are five types of pelargonium:  zonal, dwarf and miniature zonal, regal, ivy-leaved, and scented-leaved. 

      Zonal pelargoniums have rounded leaves, usually marked with a distinct dark zone and single, semi-double or double flowers.  Some cultivars do not have a zone and others have golden, white-variegated or tri-colored leaves.

      Dwarf and miniature zonal pelargoniums are 5-8 inches tall, bushy and free-flowering.  They come in a wide range of colors and have green to greenish-black leaves.

      Regal pelargoniums, also called Martha Washington pelargoniums, are small shrubby plants with rounded, deeply cut leaves and wide, trumpet-shaped flowers, often in exotic colors.

      Trailing or ivy-leaved pelargoniums have rounded, lobed, ivy-like leaves and flowers similar to the zonals.  They are used mainly in hanging baskets or are planted so that they spill over the edge of a raised bed or wall.

      Scented-leaved pelargoniums have small, delicate flowers with five leaves and fragrant foliage which may smell like lemon, pine, nutmeg, rose, lime, apple, apricot, chocolate or peppermint.

      All types of pelargonium grow best in full sun with well-drained soil.  They should left to dry out between waterings.  Cut back to encourage branching if they grow too tall and produce flowers only at the top. 

      Now, the answer to the question I have been asked more than any other since I became a Master Gardener:  How do you overwinter geraniums (pelargoniums)? 

      Pelargoniums should be brought indoors when nighttime temperatures get down to 40 degrees.  If there isn’t space to treat your pelargoniums as houseplants over winter, remove the plants from their pots and shake the soil from the roots.  Cut off flower heads and place the plants in brown paper bags or cardboard boxes, closing the tops so light doesn’t reach them.  Store the bags or boxes in a cool, dark area of the basement.  The plants will go dormant and the leaves will turn brown and fall off, but about mid-February they will start to grow new yellowish leaves.  At that time, plant them in the pots in which they will spend the summer, or in a temporary container, until all danger of frost is past in spring when they can once again be moved outdoors.