Perennials for Garden Borders

A border should house a combination of herbaceous, biennials and other herbaceous that wont die during winter, to avoid having an empty garden bed during those months. Some good herbaceous specimens to enjoy year round are; Brunnera, Helleborus, Heuchera, Nepeta, among others.

Combinations of plants should be well thought out to avoid having not matching compositions, and to enjoy the seasonal changes. Another aspect to consider is that an herbaceous border requires a large space to grow in, the answer for an average size garden is the mixed gardens. A good idea is to choose annuals with colour during the summer to share the herbaceous garden space, have some plants that don't die out during winter, and add other biennials and bulbs to the collection for a year round effect.

The size of the perennials are as important as the looks of it, a few examples of good border perennials to mix and match with other plants in a successful garden border are; tall frame plants, Acanthus, bear's breeches, the leaf motif of this plant is what is found on the Ancient Greece columns, with purple and white flowers, it could also be grown as an specimen plant in another garden location use for just specimen plantings. It's height is about 4 feet tall and should be spaced about 2 and half feet from each other at the time of planting. The seeds can be sown under glass in spring to be divided later when the overpopulation is obvious.

Agapanthus, some what shorter plant more like a bush, it will need mulching during winter, and it bears blue colored blooms. The higher reaches to 2 and half feet tall and can be an excellent plant to succeed a tall plant like Acanthus in a border. Alchemila is an even shorter little bush, excellent to use in continuation in a garden border, it bear little tiny yellow flowers and has a beautifully shaped leaf formation, one and half foot long can be raise from seed in spring, the flower stems are widely use in flower arrangements.

As you go along planting your garden border, remember to plant some of the herbaceous plants that wont die during winter for a longer border display, as mentioned before, Brunnera is one of those plants that have long-lived seasons, it reaches about a foot long, and displays little blue flowers with speckled green/white leafs.

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White Wedding Flowers

What could be more timeless than the image of a bride gliding down the aisle clutching a gorgeous bouquet of white flowers? It is one of the enduring images of weddings throughout the ages, and while styles may come and go, white wedding flowers will always be a favorite. Here is a guide to some of the most lovely white wedding flowers for brides.

Certainly there is no wedding flower more popular than the white rose. They are available all year round, in several shapes and sizes, and are just the epitome of bridal elegance. Fluffy white garden roses are magnificent flowing over the edges of tall garden urns at the reception or on the altar. A classic round white rose nosegay is a lovely accent for brides who love traditional white silk bridal gowns worn with sets of pearl bridal jewelry. And sprays of miniature roses are a wonderful addition to bouquets featuring larger blossoms.

Orchids are another favorite bridal flower. These exotic beauties are the height of elegance and sophisticated style. Delicate in appearance, orchids are actually very hardy flowers, making them as versatile as they are stunning. Try a soft and fluttery bouquet of butterfly orchids mixed with ruffly sweetpeas, or go for all out drama with a massive waterfall bouquet of impressive phalaenopsis orchids. Orchids are also extremely popular for submerged flower centerpieces.

If clean and classic is your taste, you will adore a bouquet of white tulips. A large bunch of white tulips handtied with a wide satin ribbon is as simple as a bouquet can get, yet it is also incredibly beautiful. For centerpieces, place large bunches of white tulips in blue and white Chinoiserie patterned vases. They are the perfect addition to a spring time wedding, and will look as good in your wedding photos twenty years from now as they do in person.

When large showy blooms are your thing, look into white lilies for your wedding. These flowers are quite large, which means that a small number of lilies can make a big impact. They are wonderful for tropical theme weddings, and work very well to add dimension and flair to all white centerpieces featuring mixed flowers. There are a couple of things that one should know when considering white lilies for wedding flowers. Certain varieties have a very strong fragrance that can be overpowering, so be sure to discuss the scent of the flowers that interest you with your florist. Lilies also have stamen with an orange pollen that can get all over everything; a good florist will always strip this part out of the flower before crafting lilies into arrangements, but it is wise to give the florist explicit instructions about it just to be safe.

There are numerous other white flowers that are wonderful for weddings. Preppy brides will find that bunches of hydrangeas are the perfect accent to their classic white gowns and pearl bridal jewelry sets. Spring brides will adore the old fashioned charm of tiny lily-of-the-valley flowers. And then there are white ranunculus, lisianthius, gardenias, daisies, and much much more. Whatever your style, you will be able to find a white flower that is the perfect decoration for your wedding.

Laura helps brides with their wedding plans by offering advice on selecting bridesmaids gifts,reception ideas and other aspects of planning a wedding. Sets of pearl bridal jewelry are beautiful with any style of wedding gown.

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Send Flowers After the Date

Flowers have a special language of their own. It can express sentiments like "thank you", or "I'm sorry" or "I'm happy to be with you" or "I've a crush on you" and of course the timeless "I love you." But let's not go into that and talk about your first date instead. After all that has been said and done during your first date, you ask yourself if it would be proper to send flowers after the date.

Flowers after a Date

To send flowers after the date is not a very usual occurrence as flowers are usually given on the date itself. Well, that what makes giving flowers after a date more special. The element of surprise is there! The totally unexpected flowers would definitely be a nice touch to impress your date.

Why Send flowers after the Date

There are reasons why you should send flowers after the date. The first is, you did not bring flowers the first time and you just want to make up for that. It might be that you were quite wary or skeptical about the outcome of the date that you opted not to give your date flowers. The date turned out alright though and you just want to show some appreciation. Send your date a nice bouquet then. The second reason is, you were really smitten by your date and to show how wonderful you think she is, you want to give your date the most beautiful bunch you can buy.

The third reason is, the date went sour and you just want to say "how sorry you are and that you'd never see her again" or "how sorry you are but could you try again?" Whatever your reason is, the recipient would be highly appreciative of your thoughtful gesture.

What Flowers to Send

"Say it with flowers" - said the much-used idiom. Send her flowers after the date but don't overdo it. If you just want to say thank you for a wonderful time, you can send a nice bunch of daisies. The flowers are colorful and cheerful and would convey a message of thanks quite aptly. If your date turned a disaster, send your date some lilies or chrysanthemums to appease.

If after the first date you were totally awe-struck and love-struck by your date, please play it cool. Send her flowers but don't show over eagerness by giving her the priciest flowers available at your neighborhood florist! Don't! As in don't let your date think that you've fallen hard for her. Send her some pink carnations or peach-colored roses. The pink carnation says "I cannot forget you" while the peach-colored roses would say "I'd like to get to know you." That is granting your date knows what the flowers mean. Better if you send a card with a note that explicitly says what you feel.

There are those who say that the art of flower-giving has lost its meaning. Not so if you give flowers with real special feelings behind the act.

D. Damore, a 30 year veteran in the retail floral industry, shares his experience on the different aspects of fresh cut flowers, green and flowering plants for all occasions.

Whenever in need to for a top notch florist at reasonable prices you might want want to pay a short-online-visit to: http://HeatherFloral.com

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Inexpensive Ideas For Wedding Flowers

Everyone wants ways to save money on their wedding. One area that can get very expensive is the flowers. By the time you have the arrangements for the ceremony, the bouquets, the centerpieces, and flowers for the rest of the reception site, your bill can run into many thousands of dollars. There are some ways, though, that you can have beautiful flowers for your wedding without spending a small fortune.

The first thing that most brides will think about to save money on flowers is to do them herself instead of hiring a florist. You can certainly save money that way, but you can save even more if you not only arrange the flowers yourself, but also find a bargain source for the blossoms. If you buy the flowers from a florist, you will save on their service, but you will still spend a considerable sum on the flowers themselves.

Many large cities have open air flower marts. That is definitely the best place to find a great selection of the freshest flowers available. If you are fortunate enough to have one in your town, start making visits well before your wedding. This way, you can get acquainted with the different vendors, and find out what types of flowers they expect to have at the time of your wedding.

Another great source for flowers is the internet. When one of my friends got married, she ordered hundreds of deep red roses online. They arrived right on time, and they looked great. If you are thinking about ordering your flowers over the internet, do a trial run. Place an order for the type of flowers you plan to use for your wedding a couple of months in advance. That way, you can see the quality of their product firsthand, and if you are not pleased, you will still have enough time to locate another source.

Did you know that you can special order flowers through the florist at most grocery stores? They may not have the huge selection of a fancier floral shop, but you can certainly get a great deal on many of the classic wedding flowers, like roses, tulips, and lilies. You will usually have the option of having them create the centerpieces or just providing you the loose flowers.

For some brides, the issue with spending a lot on wedding flowers is that they do not last. Unlike something with enduring beauty, like your pearl bridal jewelry, wedding flowers are only enjoyed for one day. There are several ways that you can save money and address the impermanence of wedding flowers. (With all the money you save, you will be able to afford to give pearl bridal jewelry to all of your attendants!)

One idea is to use potted plants instead of cut flowers for centerpieces. Think about it: a really attractive potted mum costs about $10 - $20, and makes a full, lush display for the reception tables. Imagine what it would cost to have the equivalent amount of cut flowers: well over $100 per table, and often much, much more. The nice thing about a potted plant is that you or your guests can take them home to enjoy after the wedding.

Another option is to create displays from dried or silk flowers. Not many brides go this route, but if you look around, you can find some lovely alternatives to fresh cut flowers. Some of the silk flowers that are available these days look as good as real ones, and you will end up with beautiful lasting arrangements for your new home.

Wedding flowers often cost a fortune, but they do not have to. If you look around, you will often find reasonably priced alternatives. With all the money you save on your flowers, maybe you can treat yourselves to a really terrific honeymoon!

Laura is interested in wedding planning and wedding trends including jewelry,receptions and gifts. Pearl bridal jewelry is an elegant choice that you will enjoy for many years after the wedding.

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Choosing Porch Columns

Columns are a nice addition to any porch. In fact, porches are the most popular places on a building to put them. Sometimes they stand alone and sometimes they are incorporated into the porch railing. While they used to be pretty basic, now they come in a variety of designs that are all used to help define the entry way to a person's house or a business's building. They can also be made from both synthetic materials as well as wood.

If you were thinking about adding them to your porch, here are some of the different types you can choose from: The Doric, the Ionic, the Corinthian, the Egyptian and the Romanesque.

The Doric is the oldest and is the simplest of the Greek-styled ones. You'll recognize these as the type used for the Parthenon. It has a smooth and rounded top and fluted side. It does not have a separate base.

The Ionic column is recognized most easily by the ornaments that are at the top. These ornaments are scroll shaped. This one, unlike the Doric column, has a rounded base.

The Corinthian is the most modern of the three basic styles of Greek designs. It also has some Egyptian influences to it at the top. This Egyptian influence is personified in the use of the inverted bell-shaped decorations at the top. These are often decorated with laurel, acanthus or olive leaves if they are available. Its base is similar to the ionic one in that it, too, is rounded.

Some historians believe that the Egyptian designs are modeled on the shape of the lotus flower. The lotus flower is indigenous to the Nile River, so this theory makes sense. They typically taper out at their tops and look very pretty when decorated with palm leaves.

The Romanesque columns were made extra famous by Henry Hobson Richardson who used them to support the arches in the Romanesque revival homes he built. These are square and squat. They usually rest on bases that are massive and shaped like trapezoids, though sometimes they rest on piers. Their tops are sometimes decorated with flowers. The pier columns, which are simpler than the Romanesque ones are very popular with Craftsman and Mission styled homes.

Columns for porches can come in many shapes and sizes, this article was merely a primer to help you get started on your quest to perfectly augment your home or business building's porch. Regardless of the style you choose, they often add great character touches to a home and to the fronts of business buildings. They do not have to be expensive and can be installed with your own hands.

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Bridal Hair Flowers

Bridal hair flowers are the final compliment to a perfect wedding dress. They can range from a simple fresh flower to ornate hair pieces with feathers, beads, and lace. Deciding that you want a wedding hair flower is easy, but finding the perfect craftswoman to make it is much trickier. I'll show you what to look for and who I recommend in this article.

When choosing your bridal hair flower you have to figure out a theme first. Many brides make the mistake of having their hair pieces crafted to match the colors of their wedding. This is a great plan for your bridesmaids, but not for you! As the bride, you're the center of the show and having your hair piece match the rest of wedding is going to cause you to blend in (bad news!). Only start thinking about your hair flower after you've purchased your dress and have decided on the final alterations. Your hair piece should compliment your dress, not the rest of the wedding venue!

If you spend time and money on a custom hair flower, you should have the hair style to match. This is a case of the chicken and the egg. Do you design a hair style around the hair flower, or the flower to match the hair. That's totally up to you, but you have to know how one affects the other when making your decision.

After you've made it that far, it's time to decide how ornate you want your hair piece. This is a matter of budget and personal preference. The most exquisite hair pieces can cost hundreds or thousands of dollars, while you can go for free by picking one out of the garden. If you want an ornate piece, have a feel for what you want before you start contacting the flower companies. Knowing what you want ahead of time is going to help you get exactly what you want when it's complete.

Lucy House is an expert at finding off the wall fashions that fit any occasion and recommends Lucy's Blooms (nope, different Lucy!) hair flowers. Lucy's Blooms specializes in realistic hair flowers and custom bridal hair flowers.

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Shades of Summer

Low light is not the only problem facing the gardener with mature shade trees. Tree roots take up space in the top soil and they rob the surrounding earth of water and nutrients, creating a gardener's nightmare of dry, infertile shade.

By choosing the right plants, you can still grow a garden in dry shade. Mulches of straw, bark, or leaf litter are not the only option above the roots. By choosing mixes of shade-loving perennials and under-story trees, you can fashion a free-form flowerbed.

One such under-story tree, which enjoys partial shady conditions, is the Carolina Silverbell, Halesia Carolina. It is an uncommon tree, native to much of the Eastern and Southern states. It is rare to see it in garden landscapes. Why such a beautiful tree has escaped attention is a mystery.

Maybe in our rush for instant landscapes, we don't find the Silverbell showy enough. Silverbell flowers are delicate. They dangle from the branches of the previous year's growth. A flowering dogwood growing nearby a young silverbell tree can overshadow the delicate flowers of the Silverbell. However, wait until the Silverbell grows up.

Dogwoods, with their large flat bracts of white or pink, are much showier in the landscape and open their blossoms at about the same time and in the same conditions as the Silverbell. Dogwoods are for the public side of your garden. They show off from a distance.

The Silverbell should be near a patio or deck, wherever you can get up close and personal to enjoy the glorious show. Its mature height is between 20 and 40 feet. It will take some sun, but prefers at least part shade and needs moist, acid soil.

Plant your Silverbell near, but not under, a tree. It is a quick developer and swings blossoms when it is very young. The flowers become pale green seed capsules in fall. It even has beautiful bark for the winter landscape. As it matures, it will wake up springtime with a magnificent cloud of white. There is really nothing to rival it when it is well grown and in its glory.

There are several striking shade plants that are shallow rooted and will settle into a dry, shady area. Plant hostas, variegated Solomon's seal, heucheras, tiarellas, and hellebores in drifts, spreading the flowerbed from under the Silverbell tree to the next tree in your landscape. The foliage of autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora), and bear's breeches (Acanthus) contrast with each other nicely in the shade.

Japanese painted fern, Athyrium niponicum, has to be the easiest fern to grow in any garden, zone 5 or warmer. Try it in all colors. It hybridizes easily. You might come up with a brand new foliage color like the South Carolina gardener who found 'Ursula's Red.' You would be hard-pressed to rival those on the market, like the Japanese Painted Ferns 'Burgundy Lace,' 'Silver Falls,' and 'Apple Court.' They all thrive on the shady side.

Less common but worth finding are epimediums, daphne, sweet box (Sarcococca), sweet shrub (Clethra), and cinnamon fern. Use shades of green under trees in your garden to create a cool and inviting landscape, even in the heat of summer.

Lamium 'White Nancy' will travel through beds of bold, white and green leaved caladiums. Swaths of annual impatiens can provide color. A hellebore community grows larger each year from seedlings self-sown in the patch. Wild gingers (Asarum) grow low to the ground, multiplying by rhizomes. Even the large leaves of elephant ears can adapt to the dry shade. A shade garden will cover up the brown mulch with tints of foliage in green, white, or red and pale or bright flowers. Fall is the perfect time to plant trees, shrubs, and perennials. Watering them their first year will relieve transplant stress and help them settle into their new home. A garden can grow in the shade, gloriously.

by Anne K Moore

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