Beauty bush

Beauty bush has several names, including Linnaea amabilis, Kolkwitzia amabilis, or simply beauty bush. Native to China, this shrub is popular for being extremely easy to grow. It’s tolerant of all soil types, moderately drought tolerant, and grows quickly. The beauty bush earns its name by growing many pale pink, bell-shaped flowers in the spring. This shrub can grow to between 6 and 10 feet tall and wide, but you can also keep it smaller through regular pruning.

Azalea

Azalea is a classic flowering shrub, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a type of rhododendron (another popular flowering bush) that comes in an array of colors. Although the flowers are classically pink or purple, you can also find them in orange, red, white, and yellow, making it easy to match an azalea bush to your garden’s aesthetics. Additionally, the bush’s popularity makes it easy to find at any nursery or garden center.

Butterfly bush

If you want to draw pollinators to your garden, or want stunning flowers that won’t wilt in dry weather, then a butterfly bush might be the right choice for you. Available in a wide variety of colors, the bush’s conical flower spikes are a favorite of butterflies, bees, and even hummingbirds! In addition to being drought tolerant, these shrubs have long-lasting blooms, so they’re a great choice if you want your garden to stay colorful most of the year.

Loropetalum

For a gardener with more unusual tastes, loropetalum is sure to be a delight. Also called the Chinese fringe flower, this shrub grows bright pink flowers with long, thin petals that splay outward. When not in bloom, this shrub is still a beauty. It has dark purple or pink leaves that won’t fade or fall in winter, providing color all year long!

Weigela

Weigela is the perfect shrub for northern gardeners who struggle to find flowering plants that survive cold weather. This bush can survive temperatures as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit, so you can enjoy its beautiful flowers each spring without fear! Its flowers can be many shades of pink, and there are even varieties with variegated leaves.

Whether you’re looking for a flowering shrub that can survive drought or cold weather, or you want something that’s easy enough for a true beginner to grow, we’ve got you covered. One of these five flowering bushes is sure to meet your needs and bring you joy. These shrubs make it simple to create a colorful garden full of flowers!

Forget-me-nots

Forget-me-nots, also known as scorpion grass, are sweet little flowers. They’re classically pale blue, but can also be light pink or white. These flowers typically only grow to heights of around 5 inches and can grow in small clumps for a more full appearance. They prefer moist, well-draining soil, but can develop mildew if the soil becomes waterlogged.

Lily of the valley

Lily of the valley is a slightly taller plant, but is still quite small and has thin stems. Reaching heights of 6 to 12 inches tall, this flower prefers morning sun, light shade, and slightly moist soil. Lily of the valley spreads horizontally through underground rhizomes, and some varieties can spread quickly. If it fills your flower pot, you can gently divide it into multiple plants, which make great gifts. Alternatively, you can clip some of the excess stems to place in a vase or for use in a bouquet.

Candytuft

Candytuft is a lovely white flower with dark green leaves. It typically only grows 6 to 8 inches tall, but it does have a spread of 1 to 2.5 feet. This spread is smaller when grown in containers, but it will fill a pot. Candytuft often drapes over the sides of its container, creating a beautiful waterfall-like effect. Planting your candytuft along the top of a wall can create the same cascading effect. For the best results, use well-draining soil and keep your candytuft in full sun.

Fairy foxglove

Fairy foxglove, or alpine balm, isn’t actually related to foxglove. This small European wildflower is hardy and extremely easy to grow. Native to rocky mountain slopes, it will even grow in sidewalk cracks! Simply plant this little flower in moderately dry soil and place it in a sunny area. Fairy foxglove only grows 3 to 6 inches tall, so it’s a perfect desk plant.

Plants to avoid

Some plants are large enough that it’s easy to avoid them. Most trees and shrubs, for example, as well as plants like sunflowers and Brussels sprouts. However, plants that spread can quickly get out of control without you even realizing it. Mint, ivy, and blackberries are small at first, but can easily take over a space if left unattended. If you plan on growing one of these plants, regular pruning can help keep them small.

Whether you plan on growing a single plant in a pot or creating a tiny garden outdoors this spring, these four flowers are the perfect starting place. They’re easy to grow, so even beginners can care for them without issue. This makes these flowers a great choice for practically any gardener!

As it turns out, it depends on your soil composition and what plants you’re growing. If you’re unsure about whether this tip is right for you, don’t worry! We’ll walk you through when coffee grounds are perfect for your plants and when your ground is better off without the grounds.

Coffee grounds are a source of nitrogen

If you look at a breakdown of coffee grounds, they are roughly 2% nitrogen. This may not seem like a lot, but this 2% can add up, especially when you consider how much coffee the average person drinks in a month. Adding your used coffee grounds into your compost every day is a great way to create a nitrogen-rich compost for your garden.

As with most organic compounds, the nitrogen spreads throughout your soil or compost when it begins to break down. This makes it more similar to a slow-release fertilizer, adding nitrogen to your garden or compost over an extended period.

However, coffee grounds aren’t the only way to add nitrogen to your garden. Although coffee grounds are convenient for many gardeners and rich in nitrogen, practically any organic matter added to your compost will contribute some nitrogen. If you prefer tea over coffee, then there’s even better news. You can compost your tea bags, which contain roughly 4.4% nitrogen!

Coffee grounds add acidity to the soil

While most plants prefer a fairly neutral pH, some plants actually prefer slightly acidic soil. This means soils with a pH just below 7, typically in the 6.5 to 6.9 range, although it depends on the plant. Blueberry bushes and azaleas prefer acidic soil, for example, as do rhododendrons. There are plenty of ways to lower your soil’s pH, but you have to be careful not to lower it too much.

Coffee grounds are acidic, but only mildly so. They can lower the general pH of your soil gradually, and there is very little risk of adding too much acidity to your soil. Mixing coffee grounds directly into the soil around plants that appreciate acidic soil can help those plants flourish, without majorly impacting the other plants in your garden. If you don’t drink a lot of coffee but need to increase the acidity of a large garden, then you can use leaf mold, peat moss, or pine straw.

Using coffee grounds reduces food waste

Admittedly, coffee grounds aren’t the largest source of food waste. However, every little bit counts, and it all adds up. If you’re already composting, then your coffee grounds and coffee filters can be composted, which means just a little less is going into the garbage every day. Using coffee grounds in your garden is an easy way to make your home and life slightly more sustainable.

Reducing food waste is good for the environment, but there are other ways to make a larger impact. The vast majority of food waste and pollution comes from large companies, not individuals. The best way to protect the planet is to let companies and legislators know that you care about the environment, either through letters, emails, or phone calls. This can be intimidating sometimes, but it’s much easier with friends or neighbors.

Consider looking for local environmental groups, or form one yourself. You can get together with your community members to write petitions or letters, clean up local streams or parks, start a community garden, and brainstorm new ways to help your community accomplish its environmental goals. Of course, you can all compost your coffee grounds as well.

When shouldn’t you use coffee grounds?

There are a few times when using coffee grounds isn’t a good idea, or at least not the best idea. One of those times is if you need an immediate boost of nitrogen in your soil. If your plants have a nitrogen deficiency, then adding coffee grounds isn’t going to help, since your plants will have to wait for the coffee grounds to break down before they can access the nitrogen. Instead, add compost or a nitrogen fertilizer.

The opposite is also true. If your garden has too much nitrogen, then adding coffee grounds certainly will not help. Too much nitrogen can lead to nitrogen burn, which is just as detrimental as a nitrogen deficiency. This is why testing your soil’s nutrient balance is important. The same can be said about pH, as well. If your soil is already too acidic, or if you have plants that are sensitive to acidity, then using coffee grounds in your garden is a bad idea.

Using coffee grounds is just like using any organic matter in your gardening. Coffee grounds add nutrients and change the pH of your soil. Sometimes, it can be very helpful. Other times, they are unnecessary or even potentially harmful, like if you already have too much nitrogen in your soil. If you aren’t sure whether coffee grounds will do your garden any good if applied directly, then you can always add them to your compost.

Holly leaves tend to have more spikes lower to the ground

When they first grow, holly leaves are pretty uniform across the plant. However, once a few leaves are eaten (most commonly by deer), a neat genetic quirk of the holly plant reveals itself. The leaves that grow back to replace the eaten ones, as well as the surrounding leaves, grow more spikes. This helps protect the holly plant from being overeaten, but you can use this info to protect yourself as well!

If you need to reach into a holly bush for any reason, aim for higher branches to protect your hands. Additionally, if you like to walk barefoot in your yard or garden and don’t like stepping on shed holly leaves, consider pruning the lowest branches.

Protecting your holly bush from deer can also protect your feet! Deer may eat holly leaves at any time of year, but it’s more common in winter when there are fewer options for the animals. When the weather turns cold, you should consider placing a barrier around your holly bushes to keep deer from munching on them.

Holly leaves are smooth and waxy to conserve water

Holly leaves have a smooth, waxy texture that makes them gorgeous to look at, but it also slows their decomposition. It can be annoying to find leftover leaves, ages after other leaves would have crumbled. You may have noticed similar leaves on other plants, but do you know why they’re like that?

A waxy leaf surface keeps the water in the leaf from evaporating too quickly. This is particularly useful in dry climates, but also in cold climates. When the soil freezes, water can’t absorb into it as easily. This can cause dehydration, which is why so many evergreen plants have waxy leaves.

Not all holly plants have spiny leaves

Although the classic holly plant look includes dark green, spiky leaves and bright red berries, the holly family actually contains over 480 species of plants! There’s a lot of variety among the species, including some plants that don’t grow spines on their leaves. If you love seeing holly leaves in the winter, but hate being poked, one of these varieties might be the best choice for you. Additionally, there are deciduous holly plants that lose their leaves in the fall but still produce berries.

Holly trees and shrubs are great additions to gardens. Their bright berries provide important food for local birds, and their glossy leaves can keep your garden from looking drab throughout winter. Now you have some fun facts that you can pull out to impress your guests — and to help you keep your hands and feet safe from prickly leaves!