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Experienced gardeners are well aware of this reality and have even come to enjoy the ephemeral nature of their outdoor spaces.
gardening experts
No matter the fruit color, the fruiting mulberry tree is an easy way to get sweet berries. Red mulberry trees come from America, but there are also white and black mulberries you can grow. Mulberries are the perfect summer treats. It is even better when you can pick out handfuls of these sweet dark fruits right off your own mulberry tree! Fresh mulberries consist of 88% water. A cup of fresh and juicy mulberries (about 140 grams) contains only 60 calories, making it the perfect fruit for casual snacking. Dried mulberries are also popular and can be eaten just like raisins. The dried fruit contains 12% protein, 70% carbs, 14% fiber, and only 3% fats. As compared to most other berries, mulberry has one of the highest protein content levels. They are also loaded with iron, potassium, Vitamin C, E, and K1. Apart from offering sweet, colorful fruit, mulberry trees also provide shade in summer and attract a variety of fruit-loving birds, including bluebirds, tanagers, warblers, and orioles. In the spring, when the mulberry tree is laden with berries, you can also expect bees and butterflies to visit your garden.
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Think all your garden planting has to be done in spring? Not so! Fall is actually an ideal time to plant spring-flowering bulbs, trees, shrubs, and other ornamental and edible perennials, since cooler weather, fewer pests, and warmer soil mean less stress and faster growth for new plants. Spring tends to get all the attention when it comes to new plantings. But after a sweltering summer, I so look forward to planting in fall when the air is cooler (making it easier on my garden and me) but the soil is still warm to encourage roots to grow before the ground freezes. If you’ve been struggling all summer with pests and diseases, the good news is they are much less of an issue in fall. And in my area, we start getting some nice soaking rains as the seasons turn, helping to water in the new garden. One of my favorite “tricks” for filling in a landscape on the cheap is planting perennials in the fall. (Yes, even in my hardiness zone 5 microclimate that gets snow—I live in the high desert of Central Oregon.) All of my local stores start putting their remaining inventory on clearance in late summer, so I can snap up quite a few deals on flower bulbs, trees, shrubs, and other perennials. (Of course, that also means I can’t be as picky with the selection, but what I can’t find locally, I source online—where many of my favorite sites also offer end-of-season sales.) If you get these plants in the ground before your area gets hit with a hard frost, you’ll be treated to beautiful blooms and color in the spring!
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‘Bacon’ avocados are mild and creamy, with excellent cold tolerance. This large avocado tree is a wonderful addition to the cooler climate landscape. Read on as gardening expert Melissa Strauss discusses how to care for this tasty tree. In recent years, avocado toast has taken the world by storm. From coast to coast, American restaurants have caught the avocado craze, and I don’t mind one bit! Amazing avocados are a powerhouse of nutrition. They are an excellent source of healthy fats and are chock full of an incredible number of nutrients. Avocados are not a new discovery, though, and in fact, they have been in cultivation for thousands of years. Central Americans have been enjoying the benefits of this fruit for a very long time. ‘Bacon’ is a hybrid variety that originated on the Buena Park ranch of James E. Bacon. It took about 20 years for Mr. Bacon to get around to registering the tree, but by the 1950s, it had gained popularity along the West Coast. Its excellent cold tolerance made it especially popular among gardeners in cooler climates. Its popularity continued to grow throughout the 1960s. Cold tolerance, in combination with overall attractiveness, were factors in its rise. Unfortunately, with the rise of the thick-skinned and richly flavored Hass, the 1980s saw a severe descent for ‘Bacon.’ In recent years, however, this variety has seen a resurgence. Many farmers and gardeners plant ‘Bacon’ specifically as a pollenizer for the ‘Hass’ avocado. Many home gardeners plant them for the same reason. They are tall, upright trees with attractive foliage and make nice ornamentals in addition to bearing a great quantity of fruit. This hybrid that hails from Buena Vista, California. However, its ancestry has roots in two different species of avocados that are native to Mexico. Avocados go back about 10,000 years, and their initial cultivation was in Tehuacan, Mexico, a Puebla state. ‘Bacon’ avocado has a tall, upright growth habit. It typically reaches about 20 feet tall but has been known to grow taller. It is a type B avocado, meaning that it requires another plant for pollination. A type B avocado has flowers that open as female on the first day and male the second. This trait encourages cross-pollination. This is an attractive avocado tree with deep green, glossy foliage. It often grows in a pyramidal shape, which is unusual for this genus. In terms of fruit, this variety produces a great number of large fruits. They are a thin-skinned type, and the skin does not peel away as easily as a Hass or other thick-skinned variety. The skin is bright green with yellow dots, and it does not darken as it ripens. ‘Bacon’ avocados have large seeds and pale greenish-yellow flesh. The creamy, buttery flesh is the main attraction for this avocado. It has a mild, slightly sweet flavor. Avocados are not difficult to propagate. You can propagate them by seeds, cuttings, layering, and grafting.
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Ready to grow columbine plants? Botanically known as Aquilegia, this genus of around 70 species comes packed with a variety of colorful plants. They look stunning planted in groups and great on their own. The columbine plant (Aquilegia spp.) is the ideal perennial for your flower beds. The tall stems feature delicate flowers in an incredible range of colors and shapes across nearly 70 species. But don’t let its delicate look fool you – Aquilegia is hardy, tolerates a wide range of growing conditions, and is resistant to several pests and diseases. Beyond their appearance, columbine flowers are beloved by many pollinators that flock to the plants in spring and summer. Flower beds filled with Aquilegia attract bees and butterflies en masse. You may even spot a hummingbird or two. These plants are standouts on their own, but look even better when planted in a group. As the flower stalks reach high above the foliage, they are great for mixed planting with other leafy plants. The flowers will emerge from packed beds to tower over the foliage and add a pop of color. No matter where you plant your columbine, you and the pollinators will undoubtedly enjoy their stunning flowers. Aquilegia’s journey to becoming a home garden staple is an incredibly long one, beginning 40,000 years ago when the world looked incredibly different from what it does today. The story begins around Eastern Europe and Central Asia, where the ancestors of these modern plants originate. Just three ancestral species form the makeup of all modern Aquilegia species from these two regions. So how did they end up in North America? Archaeologists believe the area of Beringia, a stretch of ocean between Russia and Alaska/Canada, was once traversable land that connected Asia and North America. This suggestion emerged after Late Pleistocene animal remains were discovered on the islands of the Bering Sea in the 19th century. Further research has suggested the existence of a Bering land bridge that both people and plants crossed between 10 000 and 40 000 years ago. Columbine was one of the many plants that made this journey from continent to continent. Genetic studies show the Asian ancestral species Aquilegia viridiflora made its way to Alaska, spreading from there to other parts of Canada and the United States. As it moved through parts of the continent, the plant evolved into the many variations we see today. The colors and shapes of the flowers modified themselves to attract pollinators and facilitate the spread of the genus. Columbines changed their color to flowering in blue, in order to attract bees and butterflies in particular. Yellow columbines changed shapes to allow hawk moths to reach the nectar. The columbine’s red flowers produce sweeter nectar to favor hummingbirds. Each species adapted to the pollinators in their area in order to spread, allowing them to survive the 10,000-year journey into the modern day. Today, we have around 70 species of columbine across the world, thanks to this long process of evolution. They are largely grown as ornamental perennials in home gardens and are particularly popular in North America where they withstand colder winter temperatures well. Horticulturalists have also developed several hybrids with different shapes and colors to choose from. There are also Aquilegias of varying heights and structures to suit different types of planting. No matter your garden space and design – formal or informal, large or small – you’ll certainly find a columbine flower suitable for you.
Read MoreFind and share everyday cooking inspiration on Allrecipes. Discover recipes, cooks, and how-tos based on the food you love and the friends you follow.
We’re hot and spicy… literally!
"I found this on the frozen salmon package,and made it for my family and they loved it."
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Classic comfort food stew simmered to perfection, filled with andouille sausage + shrimp. So cozy and just so darn good.
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"A Light dish served over White Jasmin Rice. This is also good served cold. Left overs make a great salmon salad. You can 1/2 the liquid with no problem."
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