The days are getting longer and life will be moving outdoors.

Now is the time to plant scented shrubs and vines or even a complete scented garden in your outdoor room. The supply of scented plants is excellent this time of year and if you plant now, there is a good chance of plentiful fragrant blooms all summer. Almost all scented plants can also be grown in containers so they make a great addition to patios and balconies.

Most of them require good drainage and acidic soil.

Here is a list of the best summer scents:

Hydrangeas are one of the most popular plants in America. They can be grown indoors or outside in the garden, allowing their blooms to be enjoyed at any time of the year. Florist-grown hydrangeas can provide double the enjoyment since their flowers can be enjoyed indoors first, and then be pruned back and transplanted outdoors for a second bloom later in the season.

The two most popular types of hydrangea are mophead and lacecap. Mopheads have large, rounded heads, while lacecaps have a smaller cluster of flowers surrounded by a halo of larger flowers around their edge.

Most hydrangeas grown today come in shades of pink, blue or white. In many varieties, the color can be altered with the addition of lime or aluminum sulfate.

In the garden, hydrangeas do best in a morning sun, afternoon shade location and look great when planted under trees or other larger shrubs. Keep your plants watered regularly so the soil is moist but not wet. Most hydrangeas perform best when fed a couple of times during the growing season with an acid food such as Master Nursery Azalea, Camellia, Gardenia Food.

We have a great selection of hydrangeas available and invite you to stop by and see them in their full-blooming glory!

Click to print this article.

In the summertime, when the weather is hot, heat-loving annuals will dazzle your gardens with vibrant colors. They are the sun-bathing beauties of any garden. With so many different flower forms, colors, sizes and foliage shapes, every gardener will have a dozen or two favorite annuals blooming in the garden to brag about.

Versatility is their name; garden pizzazz is your gain. Annuals make themselves at home in your garden beds, intermingled with your trees and shrubs, patio containers, window boxes and/or hanging baskets Some annuals are groundcovers, some are perfect for the "middle and marvelous" group, and of course some will stand "tall and sassy" in the rear of the garden bed.

For a huge colorful impact, plant in swaths or waves. For example, many people planted their gardens in red, white and blue for July 4th. Perhaps they used 6 packs of blue lobelia in the front row, zinnias (red of course) in the next row, and in the back, lots and lots of white cosmos. The same concept applies to other color schemes.

Plant your annuals using planting mix. Most of these annuals need regular water. Fertilize to encourage continuous blooms. Also, to keep your annuals blooming all summer long, deadhead (which means pluck off the spent flowers). This will keep the plant from thinking that it is time to spend all of its energy developing seeds for the next season. Remember that annuals are plants that grow and bloom within one season.

Whatever your garden style or colors, we have annuals for you! Hurry in and pick your favorites. Get them in your gardens for a spectacular summer flower color show!

Click here to view sample pictures of annuals.

1. Continue to plant melons.
2. Plant tropical and subtropical plants.
3. Plant bougainvilleas.
4. Plant perennial morning glories.
5. Purchase fuchsias.
6. Continue to purchase epiphyllums.
7. Plant seeds of heat-loving annuals.
8. Use bedding plants for quick color.
9. Continue to plant summer vegetables.
10. Plant zoysia grass.
11. Plant exotic vegetables.
12. Purchase, plant and transplant succulents--including cacti and euphorbias.
13. Purchase alstroemerias throughout summer while they are in bloom.
14. Plant papayas and bananas.
15. Plant and transplant palms.
16. Continue to pick and deadhead roses.
17. Pinch back chrysanthemums to make them bushy.
18. Divide and repot cymbidiums that have outgrown their containers.
19. Remove berries (seed pods) from fuchsias after flowers fall.
20. Prune epiphyllums.
21. Thin out deciduous fruit trees after June drop.
22. Give marguerites a "butch" haircut.
23. Cut back gamolepis and euryops.
24. Deadhead and pick summer flowers to keep them going.
25. Mow cool-season lawns longer.
26. Mow warm-season grasses shorter.
27. Clip runners off strawberries.
28. Prune climbing roses that bloom once a year in spring, but wait until flowers fade.
29. Divide English primroses after bloom or wait until September.
30. Continue to prune and train espaliers.
31. Continue to remove spent bloom stems from daylilies and to propagate the types that make proliferates.
32. Deadhead alstroemerias often by pulling off the stalks with a sharp tug.
33. Look for yellow leaves and green veins indicating chlorosis in citrus, gardenias, azaleas, and others; treat it with chelated iron.
34. Feed citrus and avocado trees.
35. Feed bamboo with a slow-release fertilizer.
36. Feed water lilies.
37. Fertilize cymbidiums with high nitrogen for growth.
38. Give camellias their second feeding for the year.
39. Feed container-grown annuals and perennials with a complete fertilizer.
40. Side-dress vegetable rows if you didn't do it last month.
41. Give strawberries a shot of 0-10-10 to prolong the harvest.
42. If peppers look yellow despite adequate nitrogen, spray them with Epsom salts.

Click to print this article.

Homegrown peppers are fun to grow, healthful for you, and packed with flavor. They taste great whether eaten fresh, roasted or sautéed. Many people start with one variety and quickly discover it's even more fun to experiment and grow multiple varieties that produce a medley of flavors.

The biggest mistake gardeners make is planting their pepper plants too early. You can start them from seed indoors early in spring, but it's best not to transplant starter plants until the soil has warmed and night temperatures stay above 55-60 degrees.

Peppers do best in well-amended soil, so make sure to amend your vegetable bed with Bumper Crop before planting. They prefer a long, moderate growing season. If it is too cool, peppers might not quite ripen fully, and the fruit won't set well when daytime temperatures stay above 90 degrees (shading them some can help during a string of hot days).

It's very important to keep the soil consistently moist; otherwise the peppers can crack or get sun scald. Unless your soil is naturally high in calcium, make sure to apply a rich organic plant food high in calcium, such as E.B. Stone All-Purpose Fertilizer, at the time of planting and every two months during the growing season. This helps prevent blossom-end rot.

Once your peppers change to their mature color, it's time for harvesting. Then sit back and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Click to print this article.

Few plants can match the tropical appeal and intense color of canna lilies. Their regal beauty can add a spectacular presence to any garden.

Native to South America and the West Indies, these blooming beauties offer color from May until late fall, with a color range that includes all your favorite reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, corals and salmon. New hybridizing efforts have also produced a number of varieties that also feature attractive striped, variegated, bronze and burgundy foliage.

Canna lilies grow from 2-6, tall, depending on the variety, and are amazingly trouble-free when it comes to insects and disease. They are incredibly versatile and can be successfully mixed in borders, massed in garden beds by themselves or tucked between other small-to-medium shrubs. They also tolerate wet soils better than most plants. For those of you with limited space, they make a great addition to a container garden.

Canna lilies do go dormant each season and simply need to be pruned back to the ground once the foliage starts to fade. They do best in moist soils and show their colors more intensely when fed every two months during the growing season. Whether you choose them for their vibrant blooms or bold patterned leaves, make room for some easy-to-please cannas in your garden this year.

Just click on this gallery link to get an idea of the some of the lovely varieties available.

How much sun can shade plants tolerate and how much shade can sun plants tolerate?

Answer:

This question is a bit more complex than it looks, since it depends partly on location. In Alaska, a full-shade plant might do best in dappled shade. In Florida a full-sun plant may well need some afternoon shade. The specific location can make a difference too; full-sun plants near light colored walls and patios may be able to take more shade because they get reflected light.

In general, most sun plants need at least five hours of full sun per day during the growing season. It doesn't matter when they get shade as long as they receive at least five hours of sunlight. Any less, and plants will most likely show little growth or vigor, fewer or no blooms and have a thin, spindly appearance.

Most shade plants can handle morning sun (before 10 a.m.) and late afternoon sun (after 5 p.m.)--but no direct sunlight between those hours. Shade plants that are exposed to direct sunlight for more than 20-30 minutes during these midday hours will generally burn, with the leaves exhibiting leaf scorch spots or burning completely brown.

If you have a plant that you discover is in the wrong location, wait until the early evening hours to transplant to a more appropriate spot. (If it's a shade plant in too much sun, try to shade it with something until you can get it moved.)

Click to print this article.

Get ready, get set, it's almost Father's Day. Fathers work hard all year long. Today is dad's day to relax and have fun. And don't forget, grandfathers are dads too!

Now...let's think up some things to do for the day.

If your Dad is a patio barbeque Daddy-o, plant a big patio container or two with a few veggies that he can cook up on the grill later this year: peppers, tomatoes, onions, and maybe some cilantro or basil.

Or how about that shade tree that he needs in the backyard? You know...the tree that will shade him while he is in dreamland in his hammock or chaise lounge? Come into the garden center and we'll help you pick the best one for him. Bring Dad along, he might have a special one in mind already. You can plant it together with him and watch it grow over the years, while you are growing too.

Most of all make sure all the dads are given "Royal Treatment." Fix him breakfast. Have a Father's Day BBQ or picnic in your garden. Do things that will let him know he's king for the day.

And you know what else is fun? Getting dads to tell you about themselves growing up. Here are a few things you can ask him about: his favorite color, the best movie he ever saw, his most memorable moment with you, his best friend, his hobby, favorite food, animals he likes, or even his most embarrassing moment and happiest moment.

San Gabriel Nursery & Florist Gift certificates also make a perfect Father's Day gift!

• Cube London broil--2" or larger--use enough meat to feed all guests!

• Season the meat with olive oil, minced garlic, and Old Bay seasoning (seafood, poultry, meats, and salads); salt and pepper to taste.

• Skewer all meat together. Cook time is 15-20 minutes for medium rare.

• Cut up large pieces of sweet onion or red onion, yellow pepper, red pepper, orange pepper, thick slices of zucchini and yellow squash, whole baby bella mushrooms, and whole grape tomatoes.

• Season the veggies with olive oil, Old Bay seasoning (seafood, poultry, meats and salads), and minced garlic. Add a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes.

• Skewer all veggies together.

• Cook for about 15-20 minutes, along with the meat.