Sweet Pepperbush

This shrub adapts easily to most soil conditions, making it one of the best choices for a variety of soils. The sweet pepperbush prefers moist soil, but tolerates wet soils with poor drainage. It grows in both sunny and slightly shady areas, and produces fragrant blossoms in the middle of the summer. The foliage turns golden yellow in the autumn. It reaches a mature height between of between 3 and 8 feet.

Common Pearlbush

The common pearlbush grows to a height and width of between 6 and 10 feet. It produces upright, arching branches. Once established, this shrub tolerates droughts and arid conditions. This tough shrub adapts to a variety of soil conditions and thrives in a shrub border. The common pearlbush produces white blossoms in late April, adding floral beauty to a spring landscape.

Northern Bayberry

This shrub produces suckers and forms colonies, making it one of the best selections for mass plantings in many yards and parks. This semi-evergreen produces clusters of gray berries in the fall and thrives in poor soils. At a mature height and width of 5 to 12 feet, the northern bayberry forms a bushy, rounded shape in areas with full sun or light shade. This shrub tolerates soil compositions high in salt, and withstands periods of drought.

Flameleaf Sumac

The flameleaf sumac requires little care and thrives in neglected areas. It reaches a height and width of between 20 and 30 feet at maturity. Although it prefers well-drained soils, it tolerates infertile, dry and rocky soil compositions, making it an excellent choice for areas resistant to other types of plant growth.

Keep in mind, if you don’t trim your shrubs, they will turn into trees.

Garden Guides

What is composting? Put simply it is decomposed organic material. This material can range from banana peels, food, manure, lawn clippings, and the like.

You can create your own compost mound or purchase kits that they sell at various hardware, home improvement, and garden stores.

Composting does take time to occur, so it’s recommended that you select a site that is not too close to your living environment, but not too far away from where you plan to use it. Anything organic can be placed into your compost pile. the result of the compost is a rich, healthy soil, that will will make anything growing in your garden look and grow stronger, faster, giving you great results.

If you decide to compost yourself, you’ll be happy to know that it is much better for the environment than those fertilizers you’ve been buying in stores. Composting is natural and you are simply replicating what happens in nature for your own advantage.

Bricks make a beautiful addition to patios and paths, both for the yard and garden. People have been using bricks to add beauty, promote artistic skill, and add value to their property and personal space since they began making them.

If you’re planning on covering up or decorating that old patio or adding a path on your property this summer, you’ll find that there are tons of bricks, designs, styles, and sizes. So much so, that it might be overwhelming.

To keep things in perspective and simple, we’ve added tons of photos for you to view as you come closer to your final idea.

Running Bond Simple, versatile, and ever popular, the running bond pattern is commonly used for both patios and paths. Pavers can be laid straight for a clean and orderly look, or set at slight angles to create a curve. Because of its simple design, running bond is well suited to covering small areas.

Basket Weave For casual, cottagelike design, try the basket-weave pattern. Instead of creating a “field,” as with running bond, the bricks are laid horizontally and vertically in pairs, with each pair creating a “tile.” Basket weave can be used by itself, or if space permits, easily incorporated into another pattern.

Herringbone Of the various brick patterns, herringbone is one of the most formal and has been a staple in traditional paths and patios for centuries. Unlike basket weave, the herringbone pattern, with its zigs and zags, works well when it’s used to cover irregular areas.

Stacked Bond Sometimes called Jack-on-Jack, the stacked bond pattern features bricks stacked in even rows and columns. Its simple straight lines can make a smaller space seem more expansive. It also works well for contemporary designs.

Long Soldier Course Rows of bricks can lure the eye forward, so long soldier courses work well for narrow paths. The courses can be bent into circles, angled, or set inside another pattern to create a narrow path within a wider one.

BHG

The Corner Fountain

Water Fountains make great additions to the beauty, peace, and serenity of almost any garden. While they tend to be expensive; depending on the materials they’re made out of, they will last for a long, long time.

You can add a fountain to almost any garden and space fairly easily; and there are all kinds to chose from. We have hand picked a few for you to look at here, and you can follow the link below to get more ideas.

Garden Fountains

Bird Element - $475.00

Most people don’t know it, but Lemon Grass (Cymbopogon citratus), is a natural and effective mosquito repellent.

You can either plant it in the ground or leave it in the pot you bought it in. The plant itself, will grow to about 15 inches around at the base, very thick, and about 2 feet tall in height.

Some people consider the citronella that it natural produces to be better and more effective than that current candles they sell on the market. If you want to use the lemon grass as a repellent, by wearing it on your skin, you’ll want to cut one of the stocks, peel back the leaves until you expose the core, and gently squeeze and rub the oils that are secreted on your body. Make sure you cover all exposed skin with the oil.

If you simply want to repel mosquitoes and other insects from your garden or around a patio, you can simply place the lemon grass plants around the outside perimeter.