Have you looked into a garden and seen beautiful, delicate bell-shaped flowers dancing with their heads high above the foliage and other surrounding plants? Heuchera, Alumroot, or coral bells--a fabulous plant for any garden bed of just about any style and theme.

Blooms begin in the spring and continue into the summer. There are so many different varieties of Heuchera, and the choices are wonderful. Flower colors range from scarlet, coral or pink to white or buff.

The foliage colors and textures vary, too. Foliage colors range from different shades of green, bronze, burgundy, or gold. The evergreen heart-shaped leaves can even have ruffles! You may choose your Heuchera variety to complement another dominant foliage color in your garden.

For example, if you have predominantly silver green foliage, try planting the contrasting burgundy-foliaged Heuchera. Not only will your silver green foliage plants "pop," so will the burgundy colors. If you have an abundance of dark green foliage, try adding in Heuchera with the apple green foliage color or the bronze or gold. Remember that you can add color interest to your gardens through not only the flower colors, but also foliage color contrasts.

Heuchera likes well-drained soils, so if your soils are clay-like, be careful not to overwater. Although this plant prefers part shade in warmer zones, it can tolerate full sun in cooler climates. When planting, use a 50/50 ratio of planting mix to your native soil and a good starter fertilizer.

How to use this wonderful perennial in your garden, you ask. The evergreen foliage grows into a neat 1-2 foot mound and the flowers are borne on long stalks above the foliage. Individual Heuchera plants can complement a rock garden, form a lovely border along a garden walkway, or co-mingle with other perennials in an English garden or woodland garden. This is quite the versatile flowering perennial. With Heuchera you add texture, color, height. What more could you ask for?

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* Free landscape design assistance... bring in photos and measurements of your yard and we will help you create a beautiful landscape you will love!

Shrub roses include all roses that just do not seem to fit into the major rose categories. They're not a hybrid tea, a floribunda, miniature, climbing, Romantica, English. You get the picture. These roses are excellent as a hedge or beautiful enough as a specimen. Many shrub roses resulted from crossing old-rose types with modern roses and therefore combine the best traits of each: repeat flowering, a great range of colors, and fragrance. Shrub roses also have a wide range of flower styles, growth habits, and also the delicate colors that come from the Old Garden Roses. Virtually all shrub rose bushes are repeat blooming. What more could you ask for?

Knockout roses are the most disease resistant and winter hardy shrub roses on the market today. We have a large selection available for your gardens:

Knockout (The Original of the Knockout roses)--Bears fluorescent cherry red blossoms completely covering the shrub all summer long. Just when you think a rose might be done, its foliage offers deep purple fall foliage coloring your garden. Don't waste time removing old flowers from this fabulous bloomer--this one is self-cleaning. Hardy and drought tolerant upon establishment, this rose is a carefree, show-stopper.

Pink Knockout--Pow! Pink! Another "easy as can be" shrub rose. Not sure about pink? This shade of pink will complement any color scheme. This rose thrives in humid climates where most other plants require spray and maintenance. It is self-cleaning and offers non-stop blooms, the perfect companion to other flowering shrubs, roses and perennials.

Rainbow Knockout--Coral pink blooms painted with rich yellow at the base. This one is a more compact grower, and has a petal count of only 5-7. Never you mind that--it is more flowering than other Knockout roses!

Now that we have introduced you to our favorite roses, are you ready for spring rose planting? If not, we would like to help you!

Rose Planting Guide:
Once you have chosen a location, plant your rose carefully to ensure a healthy start. Use a quality soil mix like Gardner & Bloome Soil Building Compost to blend 50/50 with your existing soil. Dig a hole 1.5 times as big as the container size you are planting. Use your soil blend in the bottom and handle the root ball carefully, using two hands to place it inside the hole. Next, using your soil blend, fill in around the sides of the root ball. Water the root ball thoroughly and let the soil settle naturally. Begin fertilizing in 2-3 weeks using Bayer 3-in-1 Rose and Flower Care.

Have a wonderful time selecting a few fabulous roses for your 2007 gardens. And please, do us a favor: take pictures and bring them so that we might enjoy your gardens, too!

Plant Transvaal daisies (aka Gerbera daisies) now through June. New varieties are freer blooming and have a wider range of colors than older types. Gerberas are easy to grow in pots or the ground but need good drainage; place in sun to partial shade.

When planting in the garden, take care to bury all the roots but not the crown (the place where the roots join the leaves). They will rot if planted too deeply. Allow gerberas to dry out slightly between waterings.

Be sure to protect them from snails and feed often with a complete fertilizer.