Southern Gardening

I’ve always said that colorful hanging baskets are a great way to bring the summer landscape up close to the house. In my mind you can’t beat a hanging basket planted with Supertunias and their 36-inch spread. They grow with mounded habits, are terrific spiller plants and the medium to large flowers are outstanding. Probably my favorite combination is anything planted with the clear pink flowering Vista Bubblegum. This basket also has the white flowers of Vista Silverberry and deep pink Fuchsia. A combination that runs a close second is Honey and Royal Velvet Supertunias.

As a plant scientist, some may say even a mad plant scientist, I’m interested in sharing how plants work with home gardeners. Do you know how the water gets from the roots to the top of the plant? Let’s take a look. We all know that watering is important for good plant growth. As a gardener waters plants in the garden and landscape, the movement of water from the roots through the stem occurs via a process called transpiration, where water evaporates to the atmosphere from small openings called stomata on the back of the leaves.