Flower Carpet White Rose

PEG TILLERY | Stress-free plants for Northwest gardens

Stress-free plants for Northwest gardens

It would take a whole "Sunset Western Garden Book" to capture all the must-have and fail-proof plants for our area. Here are a few you may want to incorporate into your own gardens. Remember to water new plants regularly their first year until established.

Shrub and flower carpet rose varieties abound, in a wide array of colors, blooming continuously for nearly eight months. These roses are easy-care, rarely or never get black spot and can either be used to fill in areas in a garden or will grow well in containers; they also tolerate yearly, infrequent or no pruning. If they become too leggy just whack them to within six inches of the ground. Spring is the best time to prune.

Try hydrangeas with choices ranging from quite small (H. macrophylla "Pia") to nearly tree-like (H. aspera varieties) climbing to at least 6 feet in height. Hydrangeas provide interest nearly nine months of the year. Local nurseries have many in bloom right now. Hydrangeas also look great nestled in with rhododendrons and azaleas, which I've mentioned in several columns this year.

For gardens with shade, a wonderful selection of ferns and hostas satisfies nearly any taste and color palette. Hostas range in size from tiny to gigantic. Flowers are in shades of white, pink and purple. Leaves are pleated, smooth, variegated, striped and solid. Ferns pair well with hostas and they too come in a wide array of colors and textures. Both evergreen and deciduous ferns ranging from diminutive and miniature to 3 to 4 feet tall add to the myriad choices available.

For gardeners who feel they can't grow anything successfully, herbs offer complete no-fail opportunities, plus herbs can be eaten. Any mint plant (try chocolate, spearmint, variegated) will bring success. It is very wise to grow mint in containers, unless filling in an area with abandon is the goal. For sunny gardens sage, rosemary and lavender are excellent choices and very easy to grow but once established these three herb plants do need yearly pruning. Avoid pruning back to bare wood without any foliage.

Shrubs and trees

Here are a few larger plants to round out the stress-free plant selection. Once they're established, gardeners can sit back and enjoy them for years and years without pruning or tending; just watering during the dry summer months and while establishing. Pruning involves taking out dead twiglets now and then.

Meaning Of Love | Why Women Love Flowers

Try giving a woman a bouquet of red roses and at the very least, you’ll see her crack a grin, even if she’s not the type to gush over the beauty of flowers. Each woman has her own unique personality and there is no universal reason as to why flowers evoke such positive reactions from them. It can be said that it is not so much the flowers themselves but the meaning and thought behind it that makes women giggle like high school teenagers.

Imagine this scene in your mind: you’re in your office doing regular boring chores when out of the nowhere, a friend that you haven’t seen or heard from in a while has a bouquet of one dozen roses delivered to you. In almost all certainty, this is going to make a positive difference in your day. Everything that seemed so important five minutes ago no longer seems so, at least for a few ecstatic moments. Why? Because someone you respect took the time and the effort to let you know that he or she is thinking of you, even if you no longer spend as much time together as you used to. In one flower delivery, so much was said about your friendship and enduring love for each other even of no words where exchanged. This is a magical feeling that very few gifs can evoke.

It’s the meaning of flowers that draws positive responses from people. Every single color and type of flower comes with its own traditional meaning and sentiment – symbolisms that have been developed through time. In fact, roses in particular have their own language. Traditionally speaking, a rosebud means young love or youth, whereas a mature rose symbolizes lasting love or gratitude. White roses can mean that you view the recipient as innocent-and childlike, where a pink rose shows that you are happy and content. We all know that red roses signify true love, but a red rose bud symbolizes a deeper, purer, more passionate love. Many people combine red roses with white roses to give the message of unbreakable unity. These meanings are not often talked about or memorized but for some reason, people understand them perfectly.

To a lot of women, it does not really matter what each color means or what bloom stage a flower stands for. Most of the time people don’t know about the traditional meaning of flowers. Despite this, a lot of women have felt giddy with happiness whenever they receive flowers from their boyfriends, especially if comes delivered as a surprise. It doesn’t matter if one receives a red rose bud or a pink rose in full bloom. The fact that someone took the trouble to send roses as a reminder of his love and affection is enough to keep ladies smiling like a love-struck teenager for the rest of the day.

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