Flower GardeningPerennial Flowers, Bulb Flowers and More…

Perennial

Therion - The Perennial Sophia live (02/17/07)

Fragrant Perennial

Prairie Dropseed - A Fragrant Ornamental Grass

Dong Quai - the Womens Herb for Wellbeing

Dong Quai is considered the ultimate, woman's herb. Women use it as a general blood tonic, but it is mainly held in high regard by women who take it regularly as a tonic for general all round well being.

Here we will look at the herb and its benefits.

The name Dong Quai covers several different strains of Angelica which include:

Angelica sinensis, Angelica polymorpha and Angelica acutiloba and others

Dong Quai & Ginseng

Dong Quai is also known as Tang Kuei, and is held in high regard in Chinese medicine almost as highly as panax ginseng.

Dong Quai has been used in China for around 2,500 years, where it is believed to have Yin qualities, whilst Panax ginseng has the opposite qualities of Yang.

Dong Quai or angelica, is an aromatic herb that grows in China, Korea, and Japan and is used by herbalists as a treatment for a variety of gynecological treatments from regulating the menstrual cycle, to treating menopausal symptoms.

Dong Quai grows at high altitudes in the cold, mountainous regions of China, Korea and Japan.

Dong Quai is a fragrant, perennial plant which has purplish stems and bears clusters of white flowers and winged fruits in July and August.

The yellowish-brown thick-branched roots of the dong Quai plant have a number of medicinal uses.

It takes three years for the plant to reach maturity, after which time the root is harvested and is made into tablets and powder for sale as a tonic.

Nutritional makeup

Dong quai contains vitamins E, A and B12 and rich in tannins.

Researchers have isolated at least six coumarin derivatives that exert antispasmodic and vasodilatory effects.

The essential oil in dong quai contains Ligustilide, butylphthalide, Ferulic acid and various polysaccharides. These elements can help reduce blood clotting and relax peripheral blood vessels.

Medical testing

Dong quai contains compounds that, in laboratory tests, have demonstrated activities that can help with the following:

Reduction of pain, dilation of blood vessels, and stimulation and relaxation of uterine muscles.

Studies on animals seem to indicate that dong quai may treat abnormal heart rhythm, prevent accumulation of platelets in blood vessels, protect the liver, help with urination, act as a laxative, help promote sleep and relaxation and finally, fight infection.

Claims and Common Uses for Dong Quai are:

1. Increases the effects of ovarian and testicular hormones.

2. Can be used in the treatment of liver disorders.

3. High iron content believed to help prevent iron deficiency anemia.

4. Aids in regulating blood sugar levels and lowers blood pressure.

5. Relieves constipation and insomnia.

6. Exhibits anti-tumor, anti-bacterial activity.

7. Used in the treatment of arrhythmia and heartburn.

8. Brings relief from symptoms of PMS, migraine headaches, abdominal pain and arthritis.

9. Believed to help women resume normal menstruation after using birth control pills.

10. Acts as a mild sedative which can help relieve both stress and anxiety.

11.Strengthens internal reproductive organs, helps with endometriosis and internal bleeding or bruising.

12. Relieves menopausal conditions such as vaginal dryness and hot flushes.

Dosage

The powdered root can be used in capsules or tablets. Women normally take 3-4 grams daily in three separate dosages. Alternatively, 3-5 ml of tincture are taken three times per day.

Side effects

Dong Quai may cause fair-skinned people to become more sensitive to light. People using it on a regular basis should limit prolonged exposure to the sun. Dong Quai is not recommended for pregnant or women who are breast-feeding

About the Author

For more on health and nutrition including: Articles, ezines magazines and downloads visit http://www.net-planet.org/health.html

Sun Perennial

Overall Garden Planning and Care : Plans for Perennial Gardens in the Sun

Do You Need Annuals or Perennials for your Garden

 

Find or Submit Gardening Articles and videos

http://www.ultimategreenthumb.com

Browse through 1000's of FREE gardening articles and videos or submit them to our gardening community!

 

The crocus delights us in early spring as it dares to peek through the snow and lift its face to the sun. Soon after follow tulips, narcissus, iris, lilacs… all perennials that welcome spring with vibrant color and fragrance.

Perennial plants bloom at different times during the growing season and delight you with variety in color and size from earliest spring to late autumn. However, many perennials like those mentioned, bloom only for a few short weeks and then disappear from the landscape until the following year.

Annual plants provide a garden with continuous bloom and color throughout the summer. The "mission" of an annual is to produce seed. Seeds sprout, foliage grows, flowers bloom and then the plant goes to seed. When the annual completes its mission, the entire plant— flower, foliage, and root system —dies.

Some annuals have a very short life span and depending upon when they are planted, may reseed and go through two or more growing cycles per season. Other annual plants grow continuously from spring planting until the first frost of autumn.

Since annual plants die completely at season end, they need to be replaced yearly. Depending on the cultivar, annual seeds can be planted directly into a garden or sprouted indoors for transplanting when weather conditions and soil temperatures are right for growth.

Annual transplants are also available each spring at gardening centers and many are sold in inexpensive flats that contain four or more plants. Annual plants can often be closely grouped to fill in barren areas of your landscape whereas perennials often need space to multiply and/or to grow to maturity.

Although some perennial plants are more expensive to purchase than annuals, in the long run you may find them less expensive since they last for longer than a single growing season. You can also purchase groups of assorted perennial bulbs in very inexpensive packs.

Perennial foliage and flowers also die at the end of a growing season, but contrary to annuals, the root systems of perennial plants live over winter and resprout with new growth each spring.

Another advantage of perennial plants is that although flowers and foliage die back, the branches of perennial shrubs offer some visual appeal to a winter landscape.

Perennial plants may take more than one season to reach full maturity. Because perennials propagate from root structures, many types of perennials also need to be divided after three or four seasons to reduce crowding and maintain their vigor.

Although all perennial plants are able to resprout for multiple seasons, perennials are divided into to categories of hardy perennials or tender perennials according to the temperature zone in which they are grown.

Hardy perennials are those that can be left in the ground to return the following season. Except for occasional division and/or pruning, hardy perennial plants need little care once established.

Bulbs like tulips and daffodils are among the easiest plants to grow and excellent choices for a beginning gardener. Tender perennials need your help to survive the winter. Some can over winter when covered with a layer of mulch or otherwise protected from the elements with gardening appurtenances such as rose cones. Some tender perennials need to be lifted and stored indoors over winter.

So the question remains, do you need annual plants or perennials? Each type of plant is ripe with "pros" and short on "cons" if you love flowers. The best solution is to experiment by planting some of each to get a summer full of color, variety, and pure gardening enjoyment!

 

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Perennial Cypress

Spot weeding flower beds with weed spray?

I recently took on a job for an elderly couple, weeding and re-mulching 3000 sq. feet of flower beds at a home that they purchased last fall. The prior owners were in ill health and hadn't maintained the gardens for about one year, I removed 4 pickup truck loads of weeds, and applied a couple of hundred 3 cubic ft. bags of cypress mulch. Well since mother nature has her own way of doing things the weeds are again starting to re-appear, as I knew they would. My question is this....Is there a chemical spray that can be used to spot kill the new weeds that have returned?

The gardens contain perennial flowers, shrubbery, vining flowers, and some ground covers. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Weeding wand, they screw onto the top of the poison bottle and you just swipe the weeds so as not to get the poison on anything you might want. Roundup is the brand name of the company that makes this product.

We did not find any matches for your request.

Indoor Plant Seedlings and Propagation Cuttings Tour

It's going to be hot this week- do I need to bring my plants indoors?

Triple digits all week. I have a fern, a couple succulents (Jade Tree etc.) a cypress tree and a perennial planter. What you do thinK?

Ferns should already be in a shaded spot, if not I would try to shade it with a parasol or something similar. Make sure you water thoroughly morning and night, you could also spray the foiliage at the coolest time of day, never water during the heat of the day and always ensure that the water is penetrating down to the roots. With regard to cypress trees, these have very deep roots so they will be fine.

Poppies Perennial

Which plants will i have to start inside so they can be used in the spring?

I want to have a plant sale, I have tons of perennials around my place and ppl have been asking for some from me. What will I have to start inside?
I have seeds for:
phlox
poppies
bleeding hearts
blue bells
polkadot plants
hostas
hollyhocks

The polka dot plants are the only tender tropicals on the list. The rest can be started in a garden, but depending on your climate zone, all of them are better off started inside in early spring and then transferred to a cold frame if possible (cold frame is a type of outside greenhouse that provides supplemental warmth.) Sometimes glass bottles can be placed intially over some of the plants for protection from early frost if cold frames are unavailable. In New York City, the plants would go into a garden in the first week of May.

Usually the seed packets provide information about correct dates.

I have two articles on associated content that address polka dot plants in one, and in the other is a description of some of the harder to germinate seeds you may eventually want to try for use as houseplants.

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2045781/exotic_ways_plants_assure_the_survival.html?cat=32

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/2027042/fuzzy_funny_stripey_and_spotty_houseplants.html?cat=24

This link will bring you to a complete list of my stories. They include articles on exotic plants, fertilizers and watering:

http://www.associatedcontent.com/user/583548/mary_finn.html

Spring Plant Sale '11: Perennials & more

Experienced gardeners, how to germinate seeds?

I am trying to grow sweet basil, perennial poppies and annual thumbelina zinnias in deep pots indoors. I am not sure how to get the germination process going, and the seed packets mention nothing about it. I have an understanding of what lighting conditions are needed for each seed. From my understanding, all 3 need either sun/partial shade or full sun. Being that it is the last week of May, and last frost has past, can I just put the seedlings in pots full of soil and put them in direct sunlight? I am reading in different online sources that I could put them in the pots with well saturated soil and place plastic bags over them? If the seeds germinate between 5-10 days, do I not water the soil until I see a sprout, or what? And do they need to be in indirect sunlight, or placed in a dark spot in my home to germinate? I have already put them in pots, so hopefully the damage isnt done already. I am clueless. Help!

Contact Herbfresh.com. This man grows and sells herbs and other things and can give you professional advice to your question. Tell him the wormguy sent you.