What's the difference between an Annual and a Perennial?

Great Question! One that I've been wondering myself but couldn't seem to find the answer. Well, I finally found something that seems to explain what the difference is and it came from "Easy-Care Landscaping" magazine. I wish I could say thanks to the person who finally set me straight on this, but no credit was given in the mag.

The article basically says in order to determine whether a plant is annual or perennial, you need to know the zone number you live. (If you don't know for sure, see the Hardiness Zone Map) Then see what zone your plant belongs to. If the plant belongs to your zone number or lower, then it's considered a perennial.

For Example: If you live in zone 4, then any plant that is labelled zone 4, 3, 2 or 1 is a perennial. Plants zoned 5 through 11 would be an annual. So it's based on the area you live in, not the plant.

One gardener's annual is another gardener's perennial.

Can I plant different bulbs together?

Ahh, another question that has been answered in the "Easy-Care Landscaping" magazine. In the "Ask the Experts" section of the mag, they answer the question with an enthusiatic YES! They go on to say you can mix and match bulbs to your heart's content and you can even plant them with ground cover. Both will grow without affecting each other because the bulbs are planted deeper than the ground cover, so there's no danger of them robbing or being robbed of soil nutrients.

What's the best way to control weeds?

The best way to control weeds, according to "Easy-Care Landscaping" magazine, is to prevent them from coming up in the first place. How do you do that? By putting down some landscape fabric over the soil while you are planting your bulbs, shrubs, trees, etc. Just make sure you cut a hole in the fabric large enough for it to grow through. By using landscape fabric in the beginning, you'll put an end to your weeding woes and it should enable you to sell your stock in Advil!

Have a gardening question you can't find the answer to? Let me know and I'll see what I can find and add it to this section.