Itea virginica 'Henry's Garnet' is an open upright shrub growing to about 7 feet tall with bright green oblong leaves and white, fragrant flowers. 'Henry's Garnet' is a truly outstanding selection, the flower clusters arching and cascading above the foliage beautifully. Fall foliage turns deep burgundy and the colorful leaves seem to hold on forever, sometimes persisting well into the winter. Grow 'Henry's Garnet' in moist to average soil in full sun or light shade. Expect a happy mature plant to be 6 feet tall and at least that wide. This plant in the fall is a color dazzler.

By Tamara Galbraith

Lemongrass (Cymbopogon citratus), is a beautiful tall plant with dual personalities: it has the willowy visual effect of ornamental grass in the landscape, and boasts a wide variety of culinary uses as an herb in the kitchen.

A native of India, lemongrass is widely used in Thai and Vietnamese cooking. The grass blade can be sliced very fine and added to soups for a lemony twist. Also, the bulb can be bruised and minced for use in a variety of recipes. Medicinal herb teas can also be brewed from lemongrass.

To replicate lemongrass's native Indian climate, give it full sun, sandy soil and average water - do not overwater. In the milder areas of the country, lemongrass will act as a perennial. If your winters are on the harsh side, it's better to pot up the plant and bring it in to the garage.

Before you do that, however, see if it needs to be divided. Lemongrass is a clumping type of grass, which means you can eventually divide and get several plants out of it...or, of course, you can plant some and eat the rest!

By Tamara Galbraith

When shopping for plants, sometimes the planting and care instructions provided on the tag are either too brief, not all that helpful, or both.

For instance, let's take a look at sun exposure recommendations. "Full sun" is pretty self-explanatory, but what exactly does "part shade" or "partial shade" mean? And how does "deep shade" differ from "full shade," if there is a difference?

"Partial shade" is generally defined as an area that gets around 4-6 hours of sun, mainly during the morning or evening, with the rest of the time in shade.

"Full shade" is usually reserved for areas that get almost no sun - maybe 3 hours at most. "Deep shade" is reserved for those areas, generally under thick trees, that get no sun at all.

There is also "dappled shade," whereby sunlight filters through the moving branches of trees onto plants for most of the day. This is considered the lightest type of shade.

Of course, all of this should be taken down a notch if you live in some of the really hot, dry places in the U.S. Plants that are recommended for partial shade, like coral bells, hostas, and ferns, in other parts of the country do better in full shade in the desert regions. If you see a plant getting scorched (browning leaves and general crispiness) in partial shade, it'd be best to move it to a shadier spot when fall comes around.