Did you know that okra is a relative of hibiscus and hollyhock? And it is just as beautiful too. Okra is believed to be a native of West Africa near present day Ethiopia. Today, the most common varieties grown are ‘Green Velvet,’ ‘Emerald,’ and ‘Clemson Spineless.’

Like many of our vegetables, okra can be a member of any landscape garden, not just your vegetable garden. The flowers are beautiful but so is the foliage. There are several different varieties of okra, including red okra, which has deep red stems and looks great combined with a red salvia such as ‘Hot Lips.’

Okra can be grown anywhere that tomatoes and squash will grow. It likes full sun, well-drained soil, and plenty of water. Springtime, when our ground is getting warm, is the best time for planting. The standard okra grows to 4-6 feet, so be sure to leave plenty of room in your garden. (There are dwarf varieties that will grow to only 2-4 feet.) Do not use fertilizers with too much nitrogen. You will end up growing lots of showy foliage, but few pods.

Among the garden pests for okra, the larvae of the cabbage looper and green stink bugs are two in particular. You can hand-pick them or spray off with water. If you plan to use any other pest control, remove any pods, mature or immature, before doing any treatment.

Harvest your okra pods when they have reached about 3 inches. If you let them stay on the plant much longer, the plant will stop developing new pods because it will put all energy into maturing the seeds in the existing pods. Use gloves and long sleeves if you aren't growing a spineless variety—the spines can cause a rash and/or itching if you are sensitive to them.

Okra or gumbo is used for soups, canning, stews, or alone as a fried or boiled vegetable. What is your favorite use of okra?

Paula Deen’s Savannah Seafood Gumbo

• 1/4 cup oil
• 6 tbsp. all-purpose flour
• 2 cups onion, chopped
• 1 cup green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 cup celery, diced
• 3 large garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 tbsp. chicken base
• 3 cups water
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried thyme
• 1 tsp. dried basil
• 1/3 cup dried parsley
• 1 tsp. lemon pepper
• 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper
• 2 tsp. House Seasoning, recipe follows
• 2 tbsp. soy sauce or Worcestershire sauce
• 1 (14 1/2-ounce) can diced tomatoes seasoned with garlic, basil, and oregano or 2 cups fresh diced tomatoes
• 4 cups sliced Cajun-style fresh link sausage
• 4 cups cut okra (fresh or frozen)
• 2 cups oysters and liquor
• 1/2 pound crabmeat
• 1 1/2 pounds fresh peeled shrimp
• 3 cups bay scallops
• File powder

In a large pot combine oil and flour.

Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until the roux has browned to a light chocolate color. Add onion, pepper, celery and garlic.

Saute for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring constantly.

Slowly add chicken broth, and chicken base, stirring as you go.

Add water, bay leaves, thyme, basil, parsley, lemon pepper, cayenne pepper, House Seasoning*, soy sauce and tomatoes.

Cut sausage into 1/2-inch pieces. Add to pot along with okra. Cover pot and simmer for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

Add oysters, crabmeat, shrimp and scallops. Simmer for an additional 15 minutes. Serve over hot buttered rice. Sprinkle with file powder on top of bowl and stir in.
Tip: Add file powder after putting gumbo into individual serving bowls. Adding file into the pot will make the gumbo too thick, as file powder acts as a thickening agent.

* House Seasoning:
• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder
• Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

Yield: 1 1/2 cups

All plants are not created equal in the eyes of children. Although they don't differentiate when it comes to flowers over vegetables, annuals or perennials (in fact they're likely to plant them side by side), kids have their hands-down favorites.

Kids like extremes: huge flowers, like the classic sunflower, and small vegetables, like cherry or tiny grapelike tomatoes. If you have room, try 'Atlantic Giant' pumpkins; if you don't, try bush cucumbers and pick them early for tiny pickles. Try plants that come in surprising colors, such as purple carrots, striped beets, rainbow chard, and 'Easter egg' radishes.

Textured plants are irresistible. If your conditions are right for them, include the fuzzy woolly thyme and lambs' ears, the prickly coneflower and strawflowers, and the delicate maidenhair fern and columbine.

Fragrant plants transport the imagination. If you grow them now, your child will always remember the scents of heliotrope, mignonette, roses, peonies, and lilacs. If you show them which plants to rub between their fingers, they'll never forget lavender, pineapple mint, lemon balm, rosemary, basil, and scented geraniums.

Butterflies are beloved in the garden. Everyone says plant monarda, butterfly weed, and salvia to attract them. We say plant parsley, dill, milkweed, thistles, and knapweed—wild plants are the diet butterflies expect.

Night bloomers fill summer evenings with magic. Children will never forget the nights they went out with flashlights and saw the sphinx moths zooming among the nicotiana and moonflowers. Four o'clock strikes and evening primrose open, as their name promises.

Positively pickable plants get the thumbs up from kids. While mom's landscape may be off-limits for bouquet gathering, children should have free rein over certain cutting gardens. Cosmos, snapdragon, salvia, zinnia, coleus, and celosia are just a few that produce more vigorously if picked.

And besides all these high-performance plants, parents shouldn't overlook those stalwarts of the nursery trade. Common annuals or tender perennials are common because they bloom reliably all summer long. That's what kids want, so include these hard-workers in the mix:

For full sun: geraniums, morning glories, marigolds, nasturtiums, petunias, salvia, snapdragons, strawflowers, and sunflowers.

For semi-shade: begonias, forget-me-nots, impatiens, Johnny-jump-ups, and pansies.

For deeper shade, flowering annuals are hard to come by: abutilon, variegated ivies, sensitive plants, and ferns.

Don't overlook bulbs and corms—especially the tiny ones such as daffodils and irises. Grape hyacinth, crocus, and snowdrops are naturally small. 
Please stop by with your children for all your gardening needs!

A backyard retreat means something different for each of us. It could be a quiet corner in the shade with a comfortable chair for reading, or a chaise lounge in the sun. Perhaps it is a table for two for quiet dining or a large table seating 6-8 with an outdoor kitchen perfect for large dinner parties. Whatever your choice, needs and desires, include other features such as a bubbling fountain, koi pond, trees and flowers in a container arrangement.

Most of these ideas can be incorporated in part, no matter what the special area is for this special retreat. It could be a balcony, tiny patio garden or large backyard. Everyone can have a private customized retreat.

When designing a garden retreat, first take time to imagine the future dream garden that you desire. A multitude of questions will come pouring into your mind as you begin to envision your future garden. Or, for those less aware of just what to do, consider what your answers are to these questions.

1. Do you want a retreat for serenity after hectic days at work; do you want a space designed for entertaining?
2. How much space do you have? Is this a patio transformation, a small grotto along the side of your house, or the entire backyard?
3. What ever your desire, next consider what 'look' you would like--be it tropical, formal, informal cottage garden, or Asian.
4. Color and texture choices. Color and textures can be added in many different ways: through the plant foliage, fabrics, walls and flooring (you could paint them!), pottery, statuary, garden art and more.
5. Sound. Quiet water, bubbling water, splashing water, birds singing and/or leaves rustling in the breeze?
6. Water feature. Do you want a fountain, pool, pond, pond with waterfall?
So you see, there is much to consider when planning your very own backyard retreat. Join us at the garden center. Wander through our fountains, pottery and plants--experience the various outdoor settings that we have displayed here for you.

Click here to see just a few ideas that we have for your backyard. We offer so many choices, they won't all fit on in this newsletter.

Hunks of spit? Soapy foam? Not exactly. It’s sudsy foam from the spittlebug. These little guys are the immobile nymphs of the spittlebug, and they are buried in their own foam. The adult is a brown oval insect that hops and flies from plant to plant and does not produce the foam that the nymph makes.

Yes, the nymphs are sucking at your plant, but the damage is minimal at worst. If you don’t like the "spit" look all over your plants, just hose it off. That’s all you have to do to clean up after the spittlebug!