Few plants can equal the stunning blooms of a rhododendron. Like jewels on a royal crown, these queens of the shade garden are regal beauties whose stately forms add excitement to any woodland setting. New varieties are continuously sought after--and today number more than 800 varieties from around the world.

Rhododendrons are fairly hardy evergreen plants that can withstand temperatures from as low as -10 degrees to over 100 degrees in the summer. The plants can range in shape from dwarfs that grow only 18" tall, to mounding forms and upright varieties that take on a tree-like quality.

But what sets them apart from the rest of the plant world is their incredible display of spring blooms. The ornamental flowers appear in large clusters called trusses, with each individual flower containing protruding stamens that produce a somewhat spidery effect.

The flowers come in a myriad of colors including shades of blue, purple, lavender, red, pink, coral, white, and yellow. Some varieties produce flowers in a combination of colors. Most bloom from as early as March to as late as June, depending on climate and location. Some varieties are also fragrant.

Rhododendrons prefer a morning sun location with afternoon shade. They are an acid-loving plant that responds well when an acid soil amendment such as peat moss or Whitney Farms Azalea Mix is incorporated into the soil before planting. They prefer a consistently moist (but not wet) soil environment and enjoy being fed with cottonseed meal or an acid food such as Whitney Farms Azalea & Rhododendron every two months--from after the blooming season has ended until early fall.

So if your shade garden is lacking pizzazz, add a few rhododendrons to the area and watch it come alive with color in the spring. With so many endearing colors to choose from, there's a color that is bound to please even the most discriminating gardener.

Just click on this gallery link to get an idea of the some of the lovely varieties available.

The 'Green Fountain' smoke bush is a new deciduous shrub with dramatic, long-lasting, brownish-pink, smoke-like airy seed clusters smothered in deep green foliage from late spring to early summer, creating a prized accent shrub or specimen. The dense, compact habit provides a neat shrub with low maintenance. It has a compact habit, growing 4-6' tall and 6-8' wide.

The 'Green Fountain' smoke bush thrives in full sun locations. This easy-to-grow plant does exceptionally well with regular watering the first year to help it get established. Once fully rooted it becomes a fairly drought tolerant plant. We recommend the 'Green Fountain' anywhere a bold and unique accent plant is needed in the garden.

Squirrels are a very common nuisance animal and as cute as they appear can cause a number of different conflicts with homeowners. Grey squirrels and tree squirrels will steal fruit from fruit trees and food from bird feeders while ground squirrels will eat all of your flowers, damage vegetables and dig up lawns looking for food. Worse yet, squirrels have a unique desire to live inside of buildings where they can create fire hazards from chewing up wiring and bringing in nesting items.

There are two ways to deal with squirrels. You can either repel them out of your yard by making your garden undesirable as a food source or by trapping and removing them. NOTE: you cannot use poison to control squirrels. There is no registered effective legal (or humane) poison that will eliminate squirrels.

The first method involves using a non-toxic, bad tasting/scent repellent, such as Shake Away. The squirrels will associate your plants with a foul taste/smell and eventually leave.

The second method is to trap the squirrels with a humane trap like Havahart Cage Trap. These traps have spring loaded doors with sensitive triggers to make safe, secure and sensitive catches. The easiest way to trap squirrels is to place unshelled peanuts, sunflower seeds or pieces of fruit inside the trap.

One or more of these traps should be set and placed in areas frequented by the squirrels you wish to catch, or along paths they commonly use. If you opt for live release, captured squirrels should be released far away, some say as far away as seven miles, in order to ensure they do not return. For the sake of your fellow gardeners, please try to release them in the wild, not next to someone else's home.

Remember that there's no point trapping squirrels in any place where there is a consistent food source such as bird feeders or vegetable gardens because replacements will soon arrive attracted by the source of food. Squirrels re-produce rapidly so don't delay, embark on a squirrel control strategy today!

Chris Moreno
Green Thumb Garden Pro

If the idea of having a beautiful flowering vine cover your fence with blooms for only a few months of the year leaves you somewhat empty, consider planting two different vines together. Yes, you read that right, two vines planted in the same hole. The key to this simple trick is to pair vines that have two completely different flowering seasons and/or compatible foliage.

Imagine having the bright yellow spring blooms of a cat's claw vine (Macfadyena unguis-cati) followed by the magnificent summer flowers of honeysuckle vine (Lonicera). Or combine the spring blooms of clematis with the summer blooms of a passion flower vine. For a really interesting combination consider pairing a spring blooming wisteria with its long hanging clusters of blooms with a grape vine. Both fruit and flower look very similar!

If you're not sure what combinations might work, here's a few just to whet your appetite: two colors of bougainvillea, lavender trumpet vine (Clytosoma) with royal or scarlet trumpet vine (Distictus), Carolina jessamine (Gelsimium) with white potato vine (Solanum) or happy wanderer (Hardenbergia), bower vine (Pandorea) with bougainvillea, 'Madame Galen' trumpet vine (Campsis) with wisteria--just to name a few.

The possibilities are almost endless. Your only limitation is your creativity! So what are you waiting for? Come in and visit us and one of nursery professionals will be happy to help you create a fence or wall that comes alive with color for more than one season.