Cleome gets its nickname "Spider Flower" from the exotic spidery-like flowers with long, waving stamens held on tall, strong leafy stems. It is one of the few annuals that look perfectly at home among shrubs and perennials. This South American native blooms in summer through fall.

Planted in mass or intermingled in your perennial garden, cleome can become quite tall in a good season. Give cleome full sun and regular water.

Oh, and get ready for attention from passersby. Everyone is amazed by this beautiful flower!

One other quick note: Butterflies also like puddles. Provide a small water source in your garden with a shallow birdbath or buried bucket filled with stones and then filled with water.

By the way, did you know that the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles has a Butterfly Pavilion?

For more information, go to: http://www.nhm.org/exhibitions/butterflies/

Spring has sprung, and with this warmer weather comes our first selection of water plants. If you have a water feature with plants, you have probably been waiting for our plants to arrive! Join us at our pond plant oasis.

For those who have been dreaming of installing a water feature, large or small, here are a few tips to follow. There are three main categories of water plants, and each category of plants fulfills a very particular role in your water garden.

A water garden can be as simple as one pot filled with water and a few water plants, or a small bubbling fountain with room for a few floating plants placed in a quiet corner of your garden next to your favorite chair. It can be as elaborate as a large pond with koi, frogs, and other of nature’s creatures. What do they all have in common? Peaceful serenity and quiet beauty.

Once you have decided upon the scale of your water feature and the area of your garden that it will inhabit, the next step is learning about all of the different water plants and their functions--including beauty, of course.

When you choose plants, apply the same rules that you might to any other area of your garden. Consider color, profile, and the eventual size of the plants. Remember to take into account that some water plants are deciduous, just like some trees and shrubs in your garden. You will want to have a good mixture of evergreen and deciduous (dormant in winter). Don't over-fill your water pond with plants, making it too full and crowding out your favorite plants.

Water plants are categorized or grouped into their "home" locations in and around the pond.

The main types are listed here:

Floating plants: These are divided into two types, those with their roots in the soil and leaves floating, and those that truly just float, leaves and roots both. Examples of the latter are water hyacinth and water lettuce.

Oxygenating plants: These plants are submerged beneath the water surface. Many bloom with small flowers above the water. They are much needed, as they take in the carbon dioxide and release oxygen, necessary for the other plants or for pond life such as fish. Pondweeds and eelgrass are two examples.

Marginal/bog plants: These live at the pond's margins, with their "feet" in the shallow water and their "heads" up out of the water. They prefer water that is 2-6 inches deep. Bog plants are marginal plants, too. They prefer to grow in wet, wet soil rather than in the standing water. Among many examples of marginal plants, here are just a few: canna, sedges, cyperus, Houttuynia cordata, irises, juncus and many more.

Don't be confused by all those letters and numbers! The N-P-K letters stand for Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium. (The “K” is the chemical initial for potassium.) On each fertilizer label, you will see the percentage of each of these primary nutrients in that fertilizer product. For example, a 10-20-20 fertilizer contains 10% nitrogen, 20% phosphorus, and 20% potassium.

These nutrients, called macronutrients, certainly aren't the only ones plants need, but plants use them in the greatest quantities. You'll sometimes hear the term "fertilizer ratios." This is simply the ratio of each to the other. Divide the numbers by the lowest number in the group of 3 and you will have the ratio. For instance, 10-20-20 would have a 1-2-2 ratio, and 15-15-15 would be 1-1-1.

Nitrogen is the nutrient most often in short supply in soils. It stimulates vegetative growth such as leaves and stems, and gives a lush green color to leaves. Phosphorus stimulates root growth, hastens flowering, and promotes increased disease-resistance, whereas potassium increases the size and quality of fruit and flowers, among other benefits.

The balance of these nutrients can be as important as how much you apply. For instance, a tomato may respond with lots of vegetative growth and few fruits if you give it too much nitrogen. If you give it too much phosphorus and potassium, and no nitrogen, the result can be a small plant that produces only a few tomatoes.

Other necessary secondary nutrients include magnesium (Mg), calcium (Ca) and sulfur (S). Magnesium is the core chemical of chlorophyll in green leaves. Calcium is needed for strong cell wall formation and root growth. Sulfur acts together with nitrogen in plant cells.

And, not to confuse you, micronutrients are necessary as well. These are trace elements, present in very tiny amounts. Examples are zinc (Zn), manganese (Mn) and iron (Fe). Iron is also necessary for chlorophyll production.

If a plant has yellowing leaves, or chlorosis, the pattern of that yellowing is important for you to note.
• Yellow leaves that are smaller than normal – needs nitrogen
• Yellowing between the green veins – needs iron
• Veins lighter in color than the tissue between them – needs sulfur

Be sure to use a fertilizer that is specialized for the type of plant you are feeding and the right time of year for the application. If you are not sure, just ask one of us and we'll help you sort it out!