Most foxgloves are biennials, which means they spend their first year growing foliage, their second year flowering and then they die. This may sound troublesome, but the plants usually reseed and sort things out so you wind up having flowers every year. I find Digitalis grandiflora the easiest and most reliable of the bunch.
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Gardening
Astilbe
Known best for their colorful flower plumes, many of the newer astilbe varieties also have showy foliage that may be bronze, pale green, blue green, dark green or wine red. If you choose varieties with different foliage colors, bloom times and heights, they can add lots of interesting color and texture throughout the season.
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Pulmonaria (Lungwort)
Another plant with beautiful silvery foliage. Leaves are typically long and narrow, and may be entirely silver, spotted with silver or randomly splashed with silver. Lungwort flowers in spring and its blossoms are quite showy, ranging in color from white through pink and blue—with different colors often appearing on the same plant.
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Tiarella cordifolia (Foamflower)
Similar to heuchera in leaf and form, tiarella has matte rather than shiny leaves, which gives it a slightly more “natural” look. The bottle-brush flowers are white or pale pink and I find them showier than those of most heucheras. New varieties often feature flashy burgundy-red leaf veins.
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Lamium maculatum (Dead nettle)
A low, spreading plant with silvery foliage and purple, pink, red or white blooms in early summer. In shady locations, I find this plant spreads happily—not invasively. If you wind up with too much of it, just give it a tug, lift out a whole section and pass it on to a friend.
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Heuchera (Coral bells)
Plant breeders have had a field day with the genus heuchera. There seems to be no end to the variations in leaf color: silvery, burgundy, purple-black, chartreuse, salmon and rusty orange. With heuchera, it’s the foliage that provides the visual excitement, though some varieties also have showy flowers on tall, slender stems.
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How do you take care of rhubarb in the off season?
Rhubarb grows in cool weather — spring and fall — and goes nearly dormant in the summer, especially in hot weather. General care: fertilize in early spring, remove all flower stalks as they appear, pick off yellowing leaves as the plants go dormant in summer. After fall frost, remove and compost the mushy leaves, […]
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Can peonies be divided?
Yes. Unlike most perennials, peonies rarely need to be divided. The only reason to do it is to get more plants — or share them with friends. It’s best done in the fall. Dig up the clump and use a sharp tool to divide it into sections, keeping three to five eyes in each […]
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Should I plant onion sets, or start from seed?
Sets are a good choice if you want scallions (green onions), but you’re not likely to get large onions. Though it might sound unlikely, you’ll get bigger onions if you start from seeds and seedlings
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Bury a portion of the stem when planting tomatoes
I was told to bury a portion of the stem when planting tomatoes. Is that right? Yes. It’s a good idea to bury about 6″ of stem. Just remove the leaves from the portion to be buried and plant it deep. When buried, tomato stems will sprout roots, resulting in a healthier, sturdier plant.
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