The Inside Dirt at iloveplants.com - May 2004

In This Issue:
* Top Website Choices for Fabulous Foliage & Good "Garden Bones"
* 2004 All-America Selections, Garden Clubs, May Day Celebration
* The Gardener's Bookshelf
* Garden Bargains for May

Greetings fellow gardeners and a warm welcome to all of our new subscribers!

Since everyone is most likely out in the garden this month, I will keep things short so that you can continue to enjoy your time outdoors. This month we are featuring our most highly rated websites on fabulous foliage and on good form in the garden, or as they say, "great bones." Both of these featured websites are loaded with terrific information. I hope you enjoy them and reap some good ideas for your own garden.

We have also included a couple of NEW spring garden bargains this month to save you dollars in the garden!

Have fun in your garden and don't forget to stay tuned for future special offers on plants and garden supplies.

Susan Myers

FABULOUS FOLIAGE

Plants with colorful foliage add year round color and interest to a garden, and are a wonderful compliment to flowering plants.

Our viewers have given this website a top rating of 10!

Fantastic Foliageby University of Illinois Extension is an outstanding collection of information on plants with colorful foliage. The article contains information on the three guiding principles of creating an inviting landscape by using form, texture and color. They have included a directory of 23 plants with beautiful photos, plus lists of hardy perennials, annuals, hardy trees, shrubs and tender plants with colorful foliage, and guidelines for using various shades together. Lots of GREAT information!

See our Colorful Foliage page for more great articles on how to include colorful foliage plants in your garden and 5 mail-order sources to purchase plants from.

Our Top Website Picks for Garden Information

A favorite website listed in our Garden Information Directory that viewers have rated a 10 is:

Form in the Garden by Marge Talt. Her article provides information on how to establish the �bones of a garden� so that it looks great in all seasons. Lots of valuable information on establishing a solid foundation of plantings on which to begin with.

Our Top Pick for Garden Products

Gardener�s Supply Co. is a leading internet supplier of everything for the garden. Their selection includes items from birding to yard clean-up. We are featuring them this month because they have some great special offers for gardeners going on right now.

The first is a chance to win a $1,000 shopping spree by signing up for their newsletter (Contest ends July 1st). Secondly, they have a Spring clearance sale with products at great prices.

Some of the products on clearance are: compost aerator for $14.99 ($7 savings), vented garden clogs for $9.99 ($10 savings), Sun-Gro light bulbs for 1.99 ($7 savings) and unique items like a butterfly puddle rock for only $12.77.

One of the most interesting and clever items is the Barley Ball for natural pond cleaning. The Barley Ball contains barley straw, which is an effective solution for keeping ponds clean. It is safe for fish, pets and plants and is refillable. Read more about this product and check out their Spring clearance items at Gardener�s Supply Co.

GARDEN BARGAINS

Visit our new GARDEN BARGAINS directory where you will find 10 special offers from nurseries and garden product companies.

All-America Selections

Visit the All-America Selections website to see the 2004 AAS winners. These are annual and vegetable plants that were �tested nationally and proven locally.�

National Garden Clubs

If you want to find out more about gardening or share your interest with others, a garden club may be just what you are looking for. Visit the National Garden Club Organization�s website to find a club near you.

May Day

May Day is an international holiday celebration. For a fun activity to do in the garden with children, visit Around the Maypole.

The Gardener's Bookshelf!

These books provide more useful information on gardening with colorful foliage and creating a great all-season garden.

CONSIDER THE LEAF: Foliage in Garden Design by Judy Glattstein. ��leaves are among the most significant elements to be considered when planning�visually exciting garden displays. Glattstein makes a case for thinking long and hard about using the foliage aspects of plants to best advantage, including an entire palette of perennials, trees, shrubs, vines and tender annuals.� This book includes over 110 photographs demonstrating the subtle and dramatic effects of foliage in a garden.

THE HARMONIOUS GARDEN: Color, Form, and Texture by Catherine Ziegler. �This book takes much of the guesswork out of garden design. Organized by hue, the pictures are accompanied by accessible discussions of composition, form and texture, as well as nuts-and-bolts information on optimum plant quantities and space and environment requirements.

Choosing to purchase garden books through iloveplants.com's affiliate program with Amazon.com helps to support our website and enables us to continue to provide iloveplants.com as a valuable resource to gardeners. Thank you for your support!

May is a great gardening month. Enjoy! And if you are planting your vegetable garden you might want to Plant a Row for the Hungry and donate it to your local food bank.

Susan Myers