Flowering shrubs
Azaleas steal the show across the South during the spring, but don’t forget that there are other flowering shrubs for the season. Sweet mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius), shown at left, is a favorite passalong whose fragrance and beautiful blooms will make you smile. Use it near or behind a white wooden fence to show off its blooms. The bright yellow blossoms of double-flowering Japanese kerria (Kerria japonica ‘Pleniflora’) look like sunshine in the shade and deserve a spot in every garden. Echo the warmth of their flowers by placing them near low stone or brick walls. The bigger-than-softball-size blooms of Chinese snowballs (Viburnum macrocephalum) start green and then turn white. Give this one some room, and place it in the back of a shrub border as a backdrop for your other plants.

Summer Color
Purchase bags of bulbs and tubers now. Set out gladiolus, crinums, cannas, dahlias, caladiums, and elephant’s ears after the last frost. These plants add bright flowers and bold foliage to your yard.

Lawns
It is important to water newly planted lawns regularly to help them establish healthy root systems. Infrequent, deep watering is better than frequent, shallow watering as it promotes deeper root growth. Once established, most lawns need about an inch of water a week.

Japanese Maples
It’s hard to resist the lacy foliage of these graceful trees. Buy now for the best selection. Use as a specimen in your yard or in a large container on your patio. They prefer filtered light and moist, well-drained soil. Good choices with a weeping form include ‘Crimson Queen,’ ‘Tamukeyama,’ ‘Inaba Shidare,’ and ‘Garnet’ (all with reddish-purple leaves) and ‘Waterfall’ with green leaves.

Gift Hydrangeas
You can enjoy the blossoms of potted French hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla) inside easily for three to four weeks. Care is simple. Place in a cool room with bright, indirect light. Water plants regularly (check every other day), allowing the soil to dry slightly between watering. Do not let plants sit in saucers of water. You will have the best luck adding them to your garden in the Lower and Coastal South.

FLORIDA

Flowering Shrubs
Use these plants to add colorful height to your landscape. Shrubs that flower almost nonstop include tropicals such as firebush (Hamelia patens), shown at left; peregrina (Jatropha integerrima); orange cestrum (Cestrum aurantiacum); red powder puff (Calliandra haematocephala); angel’s trumpet (Brugmansia sp.); yellow bells (Tecoma stans); Turk’s cap (Malvaviscus arboreus drummondii); and thryallis (Galphimia glauca). Though winter cold will stop the blooms in North and upper Central Florida, these shrubs will still flower from late spring until winter. Full sun is needed for best flowering.

Central and South
Ground Covers--Save water by planting a low-maintenance ground cover in areas where you don’t want to mow. Powderpuff (Mimosa strigillosa) forms a thick mat of plants, only 2 to 3 inches tall, with pinkish-purple blooms. Perennial peanut (Arachis glabrata) selections ‘Ecoturf’ and ‘Arblick’ grow 4 to 6 inches tall and have bright yellow flowers. Water the new plantings three times a week. Then gradually taper off the waterings as the plants become established.
Vines--Add some interest and shade to your garden by using flowering vines on fences, trellises, or arbors. For sunny areas plant allamanda, bougainvillea, mandevilla, garlic vine (Cydista aequinoctialis), or queen’s wreath (Petrea volubilis).
Trees--Plant trees for shade and relief from the summer sun. For patios and other areas where a small tree is needed, consider farkleberry (Vaccinium arboreum) or crepe myrtles such as ‘Red Rocket’ or ‘Pink Velour.’ Bluejack oak (Quercus incana) is a medium-size, drought-tolerant oak. Southern magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora) and live oak (Q. virginiana)--large evergreen trees--should be planted only where there is space for a mature tree of 80 to 100 feet tall.

North and Central
Lawns--If you didn’t feed the lawn in March, do it now with a fertilizer such as Pennington Centipede & St. Augustine Lawn Food 8-0-18 or Vigoro Centipede Turf Fertilizer 15-0-15. After applying the fertilizer, water it in by applying 1/4 inch of water.
Pruning--As soon as azaleas finish blooming, prune as needed. In the early summer, azaleas will be setting flower buds for next spring’s blooms. Cut long, leggy branches back to a point well inside the plant.
Blooms--Plant for summer color. Good choices for areas that receive at least half a day of sun include trailing torenias, pentas, sun coleus such as ‘Indian Summer,’ crossandra, fanflower (Scaevola aemula), Wave Series petunias, and African marigold. For areas with more shade, plant impatiens or use plants with colorful foliage, such as coleus, caladiums, or Stromanthe sanguinea ‘Tricolor.’

TEXAS

Long Season of Color
Hydrangeas grow best when protected from the hot sun and work best when planted on north or east exposures. They thrive in moist soil that is enriched with organic material such as peat or composted pine bark. Showy blooms in blue, pink, white, and even green are one of the main reasons they are so beloved throughout the South. The most popular are French hydrangeas (Hydrangea macrophylla). ‘Endless Summer’ is a selection that blooms from spring through fall. Southeastern native oakleaf hydrangeas (H. quercifolia), with white flowers, are also popular. They are available in single- and double-flowering types. ‘Snowflake’ and ‘Snow Queen’ are great selections. Try ‘Limelight’ hydrangeas (H. paniculata ‘Limelight’) for a late show of color. All are stunning in the garden and dry beautifully for arrangements. Simply cut the stems, and hang them upside down in a dry, well-ventilated place for a couple of weeks before using.

Entire State
Ornamental grasses--Native grasses offer exciting color, texture, and movement in the garden. Pink muhly (Muhlenbergia capillaris), shown at left, is spectacular with its plumes of pinkish flowers in the fall. Little bluestem (Andropogon scoparius) has steely-blue foliage and stems in late summer and early fall. Lindheimer’s muhly (M. lindheimeri) is another good choice with bluish-green foliage that forms 2- to 3-foot tall clumps and thrives under a wide variety of garden conditions.

Panhandle
Pruning--Trim everblooming shrub roses, such as ‘Knock Out,’ to stimulate more blooms. Start by removing dead or weak canes, and then cut back the healthy ones to 12 to 18 inches. Arrange shrub roses en masse or in groups of at least three to five plants for a big impact of color till frost.

Central, East, And South
Vegetables--Set out transplants of tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants for summer harvest. Select a sunny location, and prepare the soil by working in several inches of organic material such as peat or composted pine bark.

South
Small Trees--Texas olive develops a beautiful trunk as it matures and has continuing crops of white, petunia-like flowers throughout the growing season. Texas mountain laurel is a pretty, shiny-leafed evergreen that has fragrant purple flowers in early spring. A third choice is Texas ebony, which is an evergreen with white flowers in summer. All three of these trees thrive with little or no supplemental irrigation once established.

Central, West, and South
Color--Warm-weather annuals can add masses of color to the garden while providing a source for cut flowers inside the home. Zinnias are a traditional favorite with giant, intermediate, and dwarf forms available in a wide variety of colors. Marigolds, cosmos, celosias, and Mexican sunflowers are also great choices that produce during our long warm season.

"Around Your Garden" is from the April 2008 issue of Southern Living.