Jeff Halper offers the following royalty-free article for you to publish online or in print. Feel free to use this article in your newsletter, website, ezine, blog, or forum. ----------- PUBLICATION GUIDELINES - You have permission to publish this article for free providing the "About the Author" box is included in its entirety. - Do not post/reprint this article in any site or publication that contains hate, violence, porn, warez, or supports illegal activity. - Do not use this article in violation of the US CAN-SPAM Act. If sent by email, this article must be delivered to opt-in subscribers only. - If you publish this article in a format that supports linking, please ensure that all URLs and email addresses are active links. - Please send a copy of the publication, or an email indicating the URL to [email protected] - Article Marketer (www.ArticleMarketer.com) has distributed this article on behalf of the author. Article Marketer does not own this article, please respect the author's copyright and publication guidelines. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use this article. ----------- Article Title: What Annual Flower are There to Choose From? Author: Jeff Halper Category: Word Count: 573 Keywords: Annual Flowers, Landscape design Author's Email Address: [email protected] Article Source: http://www.articlemarketer.com ------------------ ARTICLE START ------------------
Flower gardens can bring beauty and mark the change of seasons in both the residential and commercial landscape. Seasonal color can bring a positive image to a commercial building that can indicate attention to detail and class. Annual flowers bring to life the front entry of a home, create light and excitement to shrub boarders or can accent a water feature or restful area in the yard. Whatever the function annual flowers bring beauty and classiness to a home or business. What annual flower are there to choose from? It's imperative that annual flowers be chosen to make a bold impact. Residential and commercial flowers planted as a combination of all colors often times come across as a riot of different colors. We approach annual flowers the same as a landscape design; we center our attention on their layouts, unique patterning as well as simplify design. Complimentary colors, simple contrasts of textures and flowers make a great statement. Sometimes just varying two different types of flowers is enough. There is a big difference between mediocre mixed annual flower borders and annual color combinations that are bold, dominant and simple. What are good annual flowers for Houston landscaping? In Houston, annuals and perennial flower combinations can be chosen that last from early winter through spring and then from summer through the hot fall. Even though, with unpredictable heat and drought, it's more the case that annual and perennial flower combinations are changed out quarterly. Some examples are as follows and also take into consideration sun conditions: Spring-petunias, geraniums, dianthus, begonias, caladiums, impatiens, Summer- lantana, plumbago, moss rose, salvia, caladiums, salvias and shrub rose varieties, Fall/Winter-cyclamen, pansies, violas, alyssum, cabbage and kale How can you be successful planting of seasonal color plants? Bed preparation, good drainage and water coverage are all important to being successful with annual and perennial flowers in Houston. Be sure to have the correct drainage system so the planting bed doesn't hold water. Be sure that the ground is not solid clay, amend with compost and soil. Also, make certain that there is good irrigation system that covers the area. During times of drought especially, if your irrigation system is not getting the proper coverage it will show. Fertilization and chemical treatments are the next important step in being successful with annual color and should also be a part of the landscape maintenance program providing a boost to healthy plants and preventing disease or infestations common to the Houston area. Fertilization is the next important issue to attend to. For continual blooms, flowers should be fertilized every six weeks or so in the Houston landscape. Also, dead heading which is simply pinching off the flowers that have died should also be done to encourage profuse blooming. Regular landscape maintenance ensure that the flower beds are weeded weekly. It is also a good idea to turn the mulch every two weeks so that you keep the exchange of air and water flowing into and out of the soil. To optimize the growth and bloom cycles of seasonal flowers, they also should be regularly pruned. Being successful with annual flowers takes knowledge and experience of color combinations, sun conditions, seasonal color plant section, proper amending of the soil as well as maintenance to be successful in our difficult Gulf Coast Climate. Jeff Halper has a passion for landscaping and landscape design, for more information about landscaping and gardening visit http://www.exteriorworlds.com ------------------ ARTICLE END ------------------ [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
