Hosta plants? They're those green plants, right? Well yes; however, hosta are so much more than just those "green plants."
From spring until frost, in various shades of green and blue and gold, hosta can provide a remarkable display in your garden. Let's take a look at a few of the hosta varieties available.

Among those to be considered, you'll want to be sure to check out 'Great Expectations'. This hosta features extremely wide leaves with irregular margins of blue and green surrounding light yellowish cream centers. The leaves of 'Great Expectations' are round and puckered. This plant should be placed close by so you gather the most viewing pleasure available from its beauty.

Suppose you'd like even a bluer-green yet? Then quite possibly 'Halcyon' has what you're looking for. A medium-sized mound of slug-resistant, oval-shaped foliage in a good blue color. An attractive show of pale bluish lavender flowers from late July to mid-August make 'Halcyon' truly a good blue-green choice of foliage for your garden.

Speaking of flowers...if it's fragrant flowers you seek on your hosta, be sure to consider 'Fragrant Bouquet'. A large white pleasantly fragrant flower combines with the bright apple-green foliage and irregular yellow margins to make for a truly remarkable plant. Add to this that 'Fragrant Bouquet' is a highly pest resistant, rapid grower that can prosper in consderable sun and you're sure to tuck in one or two of these hosta among the flowers in your garden.

But you want even more than green, blue-green, and fragrant flowers from the hosta?

Well, how about a touch of bright red?

That's right. 'Cherry Berry' a small rather non-descript mound of white-centered foliage exhibits a spectacular display when in flower. From late July to late August, the light purple flowers on 'Cherry Berry' can be seen growing on bright red scapes. The bright red scapes immediately catch the eye of even the most casual observer. The beautiful color contrast of the flowers, foliage, and scapes of 'Cherry Berry' make it a most interesting plant among the hosta varieties.

So, yes, while it is true that some hosta plants are green...it is also true that hosta are oh so much more than "just green plants!"

By: Robin Monarch
http://www.Gardening-Quick-n-Easy.com
Are you looking to get your gardening areas set up quickly 'n easily? Be sure to check out this site for some useful flower gardening tips, resources, gardening forum, gifts, and other gardening fun. Also you can download a free PDF copy of the GQnE Color Wheel complete with easy to remember color combining tips.

Submitted by:
Sara Burns
Lifestyle Resources Information

With nearly 300 species, the iris plant is an extremely popular perennial plant. They are easy to grow, and spread quickly. Irises come in all sorts of colors and several groups can be grown in the same garden. They come in bearded and non-bearded varieties. Dwarf versions grow up to about eight inches tall. Irises are an excellent choice for your garden. Here are some key points to remember when planting iris bulbs:

Plant your iris bulbs in July, August or September. This will give your new plants the best chance of establishing themselves in your garden.

Plant irises in full sunlight. They can also handle partial shade.

Do not plant them in soggy areas of your garden. Irises need to be planted in a good draining area so they do not get root rot. You can raise the soil bed level if needed.

Do not over fertilize your irises. They do not need the most fertile ground in your garden either. If you plant them in clayish soil, you can use sand and compost to prepare for the iris bulbs.

Plant them in a spot where they will have room to grow and spread. They will need to be divided or thinned at regular intervals to prevent them from taking over your garden or adjacent plants.

Irises are an easy flower to work with, and will give your garden a simple to care for splash of color. Iris bulbs are easy to plant, and they will return year after year to brighten your garden.

By: Nicholas Scoville
Wish you could garden like the pros? Do you think to yourself that there has to be a better way? Get the Guide to Gardening full of Amazing Gardening Secrets the pros don't want you to know, available at http://www.usfreeads.com/1037206-cls.html.

Submitted by:
Barry Arcant
Legal Resources Services

There are dozens of myths and beliefs surrounding the lives of butterflies. From legends to mythology, many mystical qualities are attributed to the common butterfly. However it is their radiant and colorful beauty that has brought butterfly gardening to the forefront of hobbies for people from all walks of life.

There are a myriad of reasons for wanting these flittering creatures to be a part of your gardens. Butterflies have inspired humankind since antiquity, not just for their decorative value but also as spiritual beings, symbolic of metamorphosis, rebirth, love, hope, and freedom.

The life cycle of butterflies and moths has been used in many cultures to represent many things. The hatching from the egg is the equivalent of human birth. The caterpillar represents the stage of life; the lowly "worm" waiting for a transformation, just as we await our reward in an afterlife.

For Christians, the butterfly's three steps of metamorphosis -- as caterpillar, pupa and then winged insect -- are reminiscent of spiritual transformation.

If you are one of the millions of people who have cultivated butterfly gardening into their busy lives, here are some tips to guide you along the way.

Basically, butterflies have a tendency to find plants that appeal to them. However, a true butterfly garden should not just be designed to attract adult butterflies, but also to afford a place for them to hibernate and lay eggs and for the larva, or caterpillars, to feed.

To attract the greatest number of butterflies and have them as residents in your yard you will need to have plants that serve the needs of all life stages of the butterfly. They need a place to lay eggs, food plants for the larva (caterpillar), a place to form a chrysalis, and nectar sources for the adult. Most adult butterflies live 10-20 days. Some, however, are believed to live no longer than three or four days, while others, such as over wintering monarchs, may live six months.

By providing plants that the caterpillars can feed on, you will surely have butterflies come and stay. Please remember that caterpillars will eat the foliage of these plants; therefore, you must accept the damage and forgo the insecticides.

Adults searching for nectar are attracted to:

1. Red, yellow, orange, pink, or purple blossoms
2. Flat-topped or clustered flowers
3. Short flower tubes

Short flower tubes allow the butterflies to reach the nectar with their proboscis. Nectar-producing plants should be grown in open, sunny areas, as adults of most species rarely feed on plants in the shade.

Many caterpillars are picky eaters. They rely on only one or two species of plants. The caterpillar of the giant swallowtail butterfly in the northeast and Mid-Atlantic States feed on just two native plant foods - Northern prickly ash and hop tree. Others, such as the red-spotted purple, will feed on a variety of deciduous trees.

Food for adult butterflies usually consists of sweet liquids, such as nectar from flowers that provide energy. Some flowers contain more nectar, and are more attractive to butterflies. Often, specific types of flowers and flower colors also are more attractive. Some species feed on honeydew (produced by aphids), plant sap, rotting fruit and even bird dung. To attract butterflies to your garden, you need the flowers that produce the nectar that butterflies drink. Nectar is the butterfly's main source of food. To raise butterflies in your garden you need to grow the plants that caterpillars eat.

There are certain plants that will attract caterpillars. If you want to observe the caterpillar's transformation into a butterfly, the following plants will be of great help:

1 Milkweed
2 Passion Vine
3 Hollyhocks
4 Wild Senna
5 Pipevines
6 Carrots
7 Fennels
8 Parsley
9 Dill
10 Wild Lilacs
11 Wild Plums and Cherries
12 Buckthorns
13 Ashes
14 Hop-tree
15 Aspens and Willows
16 Poplars
17 Sage
18 Poplar
19 Wild Lime
20 Citrus

As far as adult butterflies, they will stay in your garden for longer periods of time if you have plants for them to lay their eggs on.

By: Patrick Carpen
Patrick Carpen is the designer, writer and owner of the website http://butterfly.infobay.ws/. He is an internet entrepreneur who helps the average user better understand the workings of the internet in addition to providing high quality content on selected topics. This website was created to help visitors understand how to attract butterflies to their gardens.

Submitted by:
George Snedrow
Reverse Address Directories

Hydroponic gardening is not a new invention, but its popularity is currently increasing drastically. People are now using this process of growing plants, flowers, and vegetables without soil in their homes, where previously it was mostly used just by professional gardeners.

Because of the 'hydro' in the name, it is a common misconception that the plants are being grown in water instead of soil. They are in fact grown in liquid, but it is a mineral nutrient solution, not water. It is also possible to use clay, sand, gravel, or vermiculite in hydroponics.

In hydroponic gardening, plants have a constant access to water and the nutrients that they need. You can give them exactly what they need when they need it. You don't have to worry about watering too much or too little, or not giving enough nutrients, since the plants absorb everything that they need at the right time.

The following information will explain other advantages to hydroponic gardening. First of all, you don't have to worry about what type or quality of soil to use, since you use no soil.

If you have poor local soil, there is no longer a need to worry about how you can grow healthy vegetables. Since the fruits and vegetables will be receiving more nutrients, you will also receive more nutrients by eating them.

Also, you won't have to worry about weeds or infestations that arise from planting in soil.

If you live in a dry, desert, or rocky area, you would normally have to bring in soil to plant a garden. Hydroponic gardening eliminates this problem. NASA even works with hydroponics in case anything needs to be planted on the moon in the future, where there is no soil or nutrients for the plants.

When plants grown hydroponically are removed from their growth system, they continue to live and grow. This is great for fruits and vegetables that are being shipped off to stores to be sold and eaten. Plants that grow in soil die when they are removed. Produce is therefore more fresh when it is grown hydroponically.

There are a few negative aspects of hydroponic gardening as well, however. It is much more technically involved to be successful in growing. You will need special tanks, lights, pumps, and other expensive equipment - but you can also use sub irrigation planters for houseplants making the process easy. There are a lot of aspects that are important in the success of the plant's growth. If one part of it fails, it is likely that the plant will die.

If any of the advantages of hydroponic gardening would greatly help you, you should research it further to see how feasible it is for you to begin growing in this unique way.

By: Kent Higgins
Surprisingly enough sub irrigation planters let you enjoy the benefits without much expense. In fact, I make planters by recycling. Visit http://www.plant-care.com/subirrigation ... lants.html to learn more on self watering planters.