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When grown indoors, majesty palm will add about one foot of growth per year until it reaches four to six feet, then slows down dramatically. It is faster-growing as an outdoor plant where its roots are free to roam—it is occasionally used as a landscape tree in California, South Florida, and other tropical regions. Majesty palm has a reputation for being somewhat of a temperamental plant. Kentia palm, bamboo palm, or parlor palm (Chamaedorea elegans) plants are generally better choices for beginner indoor gardeners....

Take pains to make sure that pets and children have no access to this plant, and even cutting flowers for floral arrangements should be done carefully. Wear gloves and long sleeves when working with monkshood. Light Monkshood can handle both full sun and partial shade. Typically, the sunnier the spot, the better for the bloom—however, if you live in an especially warm area, you’re better off opting for a partially-shaded spot so you don’t burn the delicate petals....

Growing slowly, Agave Parryi has a clump-forming habit. While it rarely flowers, when blooms do arise, they do so majestically 10 to 15 years after planting upon six to 20-foot tall stalks. Summer buds are typically red and open to blooms ranging from gold to light yellow to green. One flower stalk comes from each rosette. Mature plants can produce 20 to 30 side branches, each with hundreds of flowers....

Its huge, early spring blooms appear before its broad, dark green leaves. Saucer magnolia flowers may continue to bloom after the leaves emerge, usually blooming for one to two weeks. Saucer magnolias are messy, but since it has a short bloom time, it’s not a prolonged clean-up period. The spectacular, refreshing display makes the clean-up worth it. The native saucer magnolia species has pinkish-white flowers, but many cultivars are available with pure white, pure pink, magenta, and purple flowers....

Native to the American prairie, this delicate, nodding, spring wildflower once was found growing abundantly throughout open, moist woods and rocky slopes. Although it has suffered declines in its natural habitats, the native plant gardening trend means that the shooting star is now widely available in cultivation, ready to grace your garden with a piece of living history. Light A site with partial sun is ideal for shooting star plants....

For gardeners living in warmer regions, these plants can become invasive with the right conditions, so proper maintenance and consideration of where they are being planted will be important. Light Sugar cane does best in a full sun position. If you have a shady garden, the plant won’t thrive. Soil Sugar cane does well in most soil types as long as they are well-draining. The plant’s favorite type of soil, however, is deep and friable (crumbly)....

Light The loblolly pine should be in full sun for four to six hours of direct sunlight each day. The tree can still grow in partial shade, but full sun is ideal. Soil The loblolly pine grows best in well-drained, acidic, loamy, moist, sandy, and clay soil. Because of this, they are often found in the Southern United States. Water The watering regimen of the loblolly pine is somewhat dependent on rainfall....

Lilac Bushes Failing to Bloom: What’s Up With That? What is the reason, exactly, why these classic plants fail to bloom? Well, rather than zeroing in on a single explanation, look at several possible reasons behind this problem, which include (in addition to diseases and pests): Notice that, while numbers one and three speak to the gardener’s having done something wrong, reasons number two and four are nobody’s fault. Why does the precise time that you prune matter?...

However, even if you have an electrician make the final hookups at the service panel and connect the outlets and light fixtures in your garage, you can save a lot of money on the most labor-intensive part of the project—laying the underground cable from the house to the garage or outbuilding. By providing the sweat equity yourself, you’ll limit the expense of this part of the project to the cost of materials....

Why Use Mulch? Mulch helps to keep soil and roots cool, which is especially important for young plants struggling to become established in hot weather. Part of the way it does this is by retaining soil moisture. Mulch can prevent weeds, both by denying the sunlight that triggers germination of seeds, and by acting as a physical barrier between seeds and the soil. And, unlike artificial landscape fabric, it fertilizes the soil (in the case of organic mulches like compost, manure, grass clippings, and aged wood chips)....