Author: ilexfarms@gmail.com

Perennial plants are flowers or plants that grow back every year. The top part, the flowers and leaves, of the plant dies off, and grows back in the spring. It uses the same route system, and most plants keep their leaves all year. They make attractive borders and ground covers for yards and businesses. They can be purchased in quarts, or gallon containers.

They can be planted in the spring but many come in containers so they can be planted in the summer and fall too. They need organic soil and good drainage. Fertilizer helps to make them grow properly. Some of these plants are bee balm, irises, butterfly weed, cat mint, day lily, and garden flox. They require watering, mulching, weed control, and fertilization.

Some wildflowers are perennials, but when planted, do not show until the next year. They will establish their root systems, but no flowers will show up until the second year. After the first year you will get showy flowers with plenty of foliage. So when you decide to plant perennial wildflowers, the first year is growth, the second is when the flowers and foliage come.

Some of the top ones that grow to become showy flowers are butterfly weed, that produces some showy orange flowers in midsummer. It needs full sun and sandy draining soil to grow well. The best part of wildflower perennials is they come back every year. You don’t have to replant.

Another popular wildflower is Black Eyed Susan, growing on the side of the road and in fields. It is a common hybrid, and readily available for planting. Another one is the milky bell flower, that likes full to partial sun and well drained soil that is moist. Another popular one is wild carrot, with lacy and pink blossoms. It prefers full to partial sun and well drained moist soil.

A Perennial has different a purpose, like attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. Some are resistant to deer. Others make great ground covers or plants for shady sites. They adapt well to different conditions and soils.

Wildflowers take patience and work to grow. They can be started from seed and need little mowing or water when established. They require knowing the specific soil and temperature conditions to grow well. Most require full to partial sun and do not need much fertilization. They should be planted in early spring.

• Gardening Has Helped Queen Elizabeth Stay Active
• When Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain was a girl, her family saw to it that the she and the rest of the nation got involved with the Dig for Victory campaign during World War II. The idea was to help increase the output of food available to those living in England during the war by planting victory gardens to grow fruits and vegetables. Thus soccer fields and the edges of railway yards soon became public places to grow garden plants and perennials.
• As Queen of England, Elizabeth continued to stay involved in gardening issues as the grounds at Buckingham Palace and other palaces are immense, requiring a team of people to maintain them.
• Over the years, at Buckingham Palace, Queen Elizabeth has instituted a long grass policy in several parts of the palace grounds, resulting in wildflowers growing freely throughout the estate. In addition to wildflowers, in 2009, she added an organic garden to encourage the country to continue to grow its own garden plants. Strawberries and beans from the garden have been served to the royal family.
• The active planning of all these activities means that the Queen of England definitely has an interest in the environment and agriculture. On the other hand, it would be fairly unlikely to see her out there working in the garden as Michelle Obama was doing at the White House during the same time frame.
• In fact, two years ago, the Royal Family had a bit of trouble hiring a new royal gardener for Buckingham Palace. The royal gardener supervises the grounds and coordinates the shipment of fertilizer from the other family estates, while ensuring that the lawns and the gardens remain maintained. The salary includes accommodations, but as with many jobs, the salary was not necessarily commensurate with the experience that they were looking for.
• For the queen, staying involved in a multitude of things, probably forebodes a long life. When not prematurely killed accidentally, women in the Royal Family have been noted for their extended reigns. Both Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth have reigned for over 50 years apiece in the last 2 centuries, quite a feat.
• It also may help to take her mind off the latest scandal. During the 1990s and the early parts of the 21st century, the advent of the internet made it that much easier to magnify the numerous scandals that occurred among her children and later, their children.
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Everyone loves trees. Here is a list of the best selling trees we sell in our online nursery.

Oak trees are native to the northern hemisphere and also China. There are both deciduous and evergreen species. They range in natural climates from cool temperate to tropical and are very common. Their leaves are arranged in a spiral pattern, some with serrated edges and some are smooth. The nuts of oak trees are called acorns and each acorn contains only one seed. The seed takes six to eighteen months to mature depending on which species of oak it is from. With over 600 species of oak trees there are a lot of varying looks.

Maple trees can be found almost anywhere in the world. They are the most abundant tree family in the United Kingdom. There are 128 species of maple trees, however only one is found in the southern hemisphere. Most species of maple can be found in Asia. Maples are easily recognizable by their opposite leaf arrangement with two leaves growing away from each other. Most maple trees grow to near 150 feet in height but there are some, such as the bonsai, that are much smaller. There are also shrub varieties of maple.
Poplar trees consist of about thirty species most of which are found in the northern hemisphere. They can grow anywhere between 50 to 165 feet tall depending on the species. Their leaves are arranged in a spiral pattern and can be triangular or circular in shape. The flowers of the poplar trees grow in early spring before the leaves. Leaf size varies on a tree with smaller leaves growing on weak branches and large leaves on stronger branches. The leaves typically turn bright gold or yellow before they fall in autumn.

Empress trees are native to China but can now be found in the United States. They grow between 30 and 80 feet tall. The leaves of empress trees vary between species and can be heart shaped or have multiple lobes. The leaves grow in opposite pairs. The flowers grow in early spring and appear before the leaves. These flowers can be mistaken for foxglove. The fruit is dry and egg shaped and contains a large number of very small seeds. These seeds were commonly used by Chinese porcelain exporters as packing material in the 19th century. This is how empress trees spread to the United States.