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1). Coneflower or Echinacea - the best thing for your bed There are few things more exciting for gardeners at this time of year than dreaming of new plants. I’ll focus on a few of the better plants in the next few weeks but let’s start with the best example of new breeding. Our old North American native friend Echinacea or purple coneflower is really letting loose this coming spring. The work... 2). Unusual Daffodil Stories Stories about flowers always interest me and those about daffodils are particularly interesting. Did you know that if you keep chickens, you may not want to bring daffodils into the house. An old saying in Herfordshire U.K. tells us that if you bring daffodils inside when the hens are sitting, no chicks will be born alive. The opposite of this in D... 3). New Garden Phlox One of the backbone plants in the perennial garden is the mid to late summer tall Phlox paniculata or tall garden Phlox. One of the newest varieties to get to your local garden centre is ‘Goldmine’. Aptly named because it will bring a rush of visitors to your garden with its bright magenta purple flowers held firmly above green and gold variegated ... 4). 3 Easy Tips for Successful Container Gardening Here are several tips for creating a wonderful hanging basket or container this summer. The first is to use an artificial soil composed mostly of peat moss. Good soils such as Fafard or Pro-Mix use perlite, peat, and other ingredients to produce a soil that will not compact over the summer. Real garden soil compacts and turns into concrete under th... 5). Japanese Beetles in the Roses Adult Japanese beetles are one quarter to one half inch long with copper colored wing covers and a shiny metallic green head. Between the green head and tiny tufts of white hair along their side you’ll recognize them easily as they happily munch on your roses. While they generally don’t eat dogwood, forsythia, holly, lilac, evergreens ... 6). Easy Butterfly Gardening: Three Tips for Success Butterfly gardens require several things to be successful: plants, water, and the right gardening attitude. We can easily create lists of plants that butterflies love. Consider planting Asters, Joe-Pye weed, Black-eyed Susans, Lantana, Butterfly Bush, Butterfly Weed, Liatris, Pentas, Coreopsis and Purple Coneflowers. These are gorgeous... 7). Keeping Water In - Pond Liners Reviewed There are several kinds of pond liners available in pond stores. The first is EPDM rubber – and this is extremely durable, resists punctures and quite flexible. It is normally sold in 40 or 45 mil thickness. If you intend to put a rock bottom on top of your liner, this is the liner for you as it is very flexible and will give and take ... 8). Easy Rose Planting Planting roses is fairly simple gardening stuff. The first thing is to never let the rose roots dry out. If you do, the rose will either perform poorly the first year or simply die. It does help to soak the roots in warm water for an hour before you plant if you’ve purchased the rose as a bareroot plant. Container grown plants do not have to be soa... 9). Put Your Lawn On a Diet Those wonderful green lawns many homeowners care about so much can be made much more healthy if we put them on a diet. Overfeeding causes as many problems with lawns as it does with people. Fat lawns are not healthy lawns. Rather than go on about this problem, let me simply tell you about the research at the University of Guelph. Rese... 10). Kill 'em or Cure 'em: Moving Houseplants Outside One of the happiest moments in a houseplant’s life is when it gets to go back outside for the summer. The increased sunlight and fresh rain act as major growth stimulants for tired houseplants. And, it is very fashionable to incorporate houseplants and foliage plants into garden design. Having said that, every gardener has to follow a few simple ru... 11). The Portable Perennial Garden I currently rent my house and while I’m planning on buying later this year, I can’t refrain from obtaining new and interesting perennial plants right now. After all, it is spring out there and new plants have always been a major part of my spring activities. But, what can you do when you have a rented property and you’re planning on moving. ...