There are many ways to add life to a dull garden. One is to add plants with different foliage textures; another is to add plants with unique colors or bold-shaped foliage. Sometimes all it takes is a few well-placed plants that have completely different foliage from the rest of your garden to make a dramatic impact on the look of your garden.

If your have a morning sun, afternoon shade or full shade location, consider plants such as acanthus with its large oak-shaped leaves and spikes of lilac flowers or alchemilla (lady's mantle) with its wavy foliage and yellow flowers. You might try the glossy-leafed bergenia with pink-red flowers or caladium, which comes in a multitude of different foliage patterns, or ligularia with its large-toothed foliage and spikes of lemony yellow flowers. If you are looking for something really different, consider the eye-catching marbled foliage of brunnera and hosta or the unique shiny fan-shaped leaves of fatsia (Japanese aralia).

For sunny locations consider plants like the smoke bush (cotinus) with its burgundy purple foliage and wispy white blooms, 'Gilt Edged' elaeagnus with silvery gold and green foliage, the burgundy foliage of physocarpus (ninebark) or the unusual black foliage of 'Black Lace' sambucus. For something even more dramatic try a few burgundy or variegated foliage canna lilies, New Zealand flax or variegated weigela. For more height you can always plant a Southern magnolia (soulangeana).

Gardeners who love spring-blooming azaleas can now enjoy an explosion of blooms from spring through fall with the new Encore Azaleas. These patented new varieties begin their show in the spring and follow that up with an encore of blooms in summer and again in fall before the curtains drop to close the show with the onset of cold weather. And the best part of all is that this blooming process is repeated every year.

This new line of evergreen azaleas was developed by a breeder in Louisiana. These plants are the product of breeding traditional spring-blooming varieties with a rare Taiwanese summer-blooming azalea. The plants are similar to traditional azaleas and grow 3-5' high and wide. Giving them proper planting, watering and care will help them thrive in their new home. Simply follow a few guidelines and your plants will reward you with buckets of blooms.

Encore Azaleas perform well in full sun in most locations but prefer a little filtered afternoon shade in hot areas. A minimum of four to six hours of direct sunlight per day is required for proper blooms. The soil around the plants should be kept consistently moist but not wet, especially those planted in full sun exposures.

Make sure to amend the soil with peat moss or an acid-based planting mix like Nurseryman Camellia/Azalea Food mixed 50/50 with the native soil. A 2" layer of mulch around the base of the plant will help hold in moisture, and protect the roots from sun. As with all azaleas, we recommend feeding every two months with cottonseed meal or an acid fertilizer such as Master Nursery Camellia/Azalea Mix. Do not fertilize from September until spring blooms are finished.

Encore Azaleas require very little pruning to maintain their shape. The spent flowers will "clean off" naturally and don't require dead-heading. If you need to prune for size control, do so immediately after the spring blooms have finished. Light pruning of more established plants will stimulate growth and flowering.

There are many great color flavors in this exciting new line of azaleas. Stop by and pick up a few of these beautiful plants today!

Planting
Bedding plants/annuals are now available to replace any cool-season annuals that are just about done. Zinnia, ageratum, coleus, dahlia, marigold, nicotiana, phlox, petunia, salvia are in season. Also, try some taller annuals such as cosmos, cleome, sunflowers, and foxgloves to add height and interest to the garden beds.

There's still time to plant roses. They are full of buds and blooms right now--and they are simply gorgeous

If you are a beneficial insect lover, flat-topped flowers like Shasta daisies, scabiosa, strawflowers, and yarrow are perfect additions to your garden for feeding them. Beneficial insects such as the almost microscopic parasitic wasps, ladybugs, etc. keep other insect pests away from your vegetable gardens by eating aphids, scale, and other annoying intruders. You can use beautiful flowers to tempt these garden friends into your garden. Try putting some of these flowers near to your rose garden for aphid control!

Time to plant dahlias, begonias--and get in the gladiolus bulbs. Add some bone meal to the planting hole.

The narcissus and daffodils are blooming, as well as other spring blooming bulbs. As soon as the blooms are spent, you can deadhead--but don't remove the foliage! The bulb needs that green foliage to add nutrients back to the bulb for next year's flowers. Hide the clippers for a little while longer. Try an old-fashioned technique of braiding the leaves. If you must cut, leave at least half of the leaf length for the bulb. It will thank you with next year's bloom!

It's time to start warm season crops. Coastal areas can continue planting cool season crops like the leaf lettuces, radishes, and spinach for a while. Inland zones (not the high desert, though) can start the warm season vegetables such as beans, corn, squashes, cucumber, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers. We have them all and more.

Maintenance
Continue with fertilizing those areas of the garden you haven't gotten to yet. Once your azaleas and camellias have stopped blooming their hearts out, they will thank you if you feed them. This is a good time to prune back these two spring bloomers. Once the flowering has ended and before the new growth begins, prune and shape to your desired shape and size.

You may see some chlorosis on your acid-loving plants like the azalea or camellia, and possibly on your citrus. This yellowing of the leaves between the veins is a sign of iron deficiency for the plant. Feed with a good iron supplement.

Especially near the coast, this is the time we begin to see powdery mildew on our rose foliage (and other plants too). There are several different foliar fungicidal sprays to that can help.

Aphids will be back. Remember that you can first wash them off with water. Really, it does help. For more severe infestations, ask us to recommend something suitable for your particular plants.

Continue to replenish your mulch and maintain a 2-4" blanket over your soil.

Answer:

It can if you have bad drainage or have plants close to a downspout. Most neighborhood properties are designed to allow water to drain away from the home, and if you have any type of slope at all your plants should be okay barring a 30 day torrent of water. However, plants next to downspouts can suffer, so it is wise to add a downspout extension to steer water away from prized plants in areas where water might collect.

If you still face a bad drainage situation, consider re-landscaping that area with bog-loving plants. If you hate bog-loving plants, you could always sell your home. After all, what good is a home if you can't plant your favorite plants around it?