Home And Garden

Lighting is an important part of any landscape  project. The lighting and highlighting of walls, shrubs, trees, building facades, etc. can make a huge difference in the nighttime aesthetics throughout a project and create an atmosphere that is pleasing and beautiful as well as give people a sense of being safe and secure. There are many different types of landscape lighting available.   Here are the choices we have to choose from: Bollards - These lights are typically no more than 42" tall and are used mostly for lighting walkways and sidewalks. They are available in spun aluminum, cast aluminum, cast iron, concrete, and fiberglass. In-Ground Lights - These lights are mounted flush in the ground and are used in areas where you don't want anything to protrude above ground level. They can be mounted in soil or on concrete. Bullet Lights - Floodlights can be used to light walls, trees, statues, etc. These bullet shaped floodlights usually have an integral 1/2" thread...

Description: This delightful little palm is a favorite landscape item in areas where it is hardy. It is just as likely to be encountered as a popular indoor container plant often used in shopping mallscapes and other commercial plantings. Pygmy date palm grow slowly reaching heights of 8-10 ft (2.4-3.1 m). The stem is covered with old leaf bases and is topped with a dense head of bright green pinnate leaves that grow to about 4 ft (1.2 m) in length. Delicate leaflets, arranged neatly along the upper length of the gently arched leaf stem lend the plant a very graceful aspect. Lower leaflets are modified into sharp pointed 2-3 in (5-8 cm) spines. Cream colored flowers are held on short, 1 ft (0.3 m) inflorescences and are followed by small black dates on the female plants (male flowers are borne on a separate plant). Although this palm is single stemmed most nurseries offer it in containers planted with 3 to 5 specimens. When grouped like this, the stems tend to curve gracefully away...

Adenium obesum  is actually a succulent member of the Oleander family. It originates in East Africa, from regions where it rains frequently in the summer, but is very dry in winter. Blooming time:  Spring, and a second time in September. Culture:  Desert Rose needs to have a soil mix of sand or brick chips mixed into regular soil, or a cactus mix. The soil should dry completely between waterings. For this reason clay pots are better suited for growing Desert Rose than plastic pots. Water sparingly during winter months. Propagation:  Desert Rose can be grown from seed or cuttings. The best time for either method is in the spring. Seed:  Scatter seed into a mixture of sand/soil. Seeds germinate easily, and seedlings grow without any special attention. Cuttings:  Propagation by cutting is easy. Cut end shoots and let dry for a day or two. Be careful of the toxic sap. Stick shoots into a pot of moist soil, and provide bottom heat. Keep soil moist.

Geraniums are one of the most reliable plants in the home garden. They can be obtained in flower in late spring and will add color to the garden until frost. The new cultivars offer almost shatter-proof flowers that withstand wind and rain. Geraniums can be obtained as seedlings or established plants. Planting: Set out plants in the spring after danger of frost is past. Geraniums that have been injured by cold temperatures will produce little growth and the foliage will often be red. Planting in late May is preferable for the most productive plants. Plant geraniums where they will receive sunlight for best flower production. Select a site where water drainage is good. Geraniums will grow in almost any type of soil if well-aerated and porous. Heavy clay soils should be improved by adding organic matter each year. An inch of coarse sphagnum peat moss, partially-rotted manure, or compost spaded in when preparing the beds is ideal. Geranium plants are generally available as roote...

The Traveler’s Palm is one of the most distinctive and notable plants from Madagascar.   Though not a  true palm, the traveler's palm gets its name from the  fact that thirsty travelers could find stores of water in  many parts of the plant including the leaf folds, flower  bracts and inside each of the hollow leaf bases, of  which may hold up to one quart of water! Its long leaf stems and deep vivid green leaves  resemble those of the banana and extend out from  the trunk like slats of a giant hand fan.  The leaves  range up to 10 feet long and from 12-20 inches in  width. Young plants have a subterranean trunk, whereas the  adult crown elevates itself above grown in symmetrical  beauty.  The green palm-like trunk grows up to 1ft in  diameter and displays unique trunk leaf scar rings. It's not to be confused with it's cousin the Giant Bird of  Paradise (Strelitzia nicolai).  The Traveler's ...

Description Coral tree is a picturesque, broad and spreading, deciduous tree that can get 60-80 ft (18.3-24.4 m) tall and spread 20-40 ft (6.1-12.2 m). It has many stout branches that are armed with black tiger's claw spines. There are curved spines (really more like prickles) on the long leaf stalks too. The leaves are compound, with three diamond shaped leaflets, each about 6 in (15.2 cm) long. Before the leaves come out in late winter or early spring, coral tree puts on a spectacular show with bright crimson flowers 2-3 in (5.1-7.6 cm) long in dense terminal clusters. It may flower a little during the summer, too. The beanlike pods that follow the flowers are cylindrical, about 15 in (38.1 cm) long, and constricted between the reddish brown seeds. The naturally occurring variety  orientalis  has the veins of its leaflets highlighted with yellow or pale green. 'Parcellii', with yellow variegated leaves, may be just another name for the same variety. 'Alba' has w...

Blue passionflower is a twining vine that can grow to 30 ft (9.1 m). The shiny leaves are usually palmately lobed with five parts, but they can have as few as three lobes or as many as nine. They are evergreen in tropical climates, but deciduous where winters are cool. The white and purple-blue flowers which appear in summer may be as large as 4 in (10.2 cm) across. They are followed by egg-size deep orange fruits from late summer through fall. Of the many cultivars of P. caerulea, the most widely known is 'Constance Elliott', which has fragrant white flowers and bright orange fruits. 'Regnellii' has exceptionally long corona filaments. 'Grandiflora' produces 8 in (20.3 cm) flowers. 'Chinensis' has pale blue flowers. Numerous crosses have been made between P. caerulea and P. racemosa, P. alata, and P. 'Amethyst'. Location Blue passionflower is native to southern Brazil and Argentina. Culture Blue passionflower likes loose sandy or gravelly...