Is your garden just a vast assortment of green mounds and rounded shapes? Does the idea of a garden literally bursting with color and foliage sound appealing to you? A number of plants and grasses put on an incredible display of color each season. What makes plants in a fireworks garden different from other flowering plants is that they hold their blooms upright on long stems above the plant.

The best thing about a well-planned fireworks garden is that you can "choreograph" your garden to bloom in sequence so that explosions of color burst throughout the garden the entire growing season. Done correctly you should be able to see color from all parts of the garden.

Start with the backdrop of your yard. Could you use some taller shrubs that might add some visual interest along the fence line? Some great selections to consider include smokebush, viburnum, panicle hydrangea and taller grasses such as switch grass and maiden grass.

For bursts of color in the middle of your landscape, look for strategic locations to plant shrubs such as summersweet, butterfly bush, 'Endless Summer' hydrangea or mid-size grasses such as feather reed grass or fountain grass.

Now add some life to your foreground plantings and borders with perennials such as alliums, coneflowers, daylilies, iris, penstemon, sea thrift, and yarrow. Shaded areas can come alive with plants such as astilbes, coral bells, hostas, and ligularias.

Gardening can be a great form of healthful exercise. Depending on the intensity of your garden work, you can get quite a good workout. All that bending, stretching and lifting will keep your body limber and muscles toned. But when done incorrectly it can lead to injury.

Before starting any gardening activity, consider stretching for a few minutes to warm up your muscles and prepare them for the work ahead. And if you take any extended break, do a few more stretches before returning to the task at hand. Also, don't double-dig a whole garden if you've not been exercising regularly.

It's also important to remember to replenish your body fluids while working outside. It's easy to get dehydrated on a hot day while enjoying the sunlight if you don't make a point of replenishing the fluids your body is burning off.

Speaking of that sunlight, make sure to apply plenty of sun block to exposed and unprotected parts of your body before starting your gardening activity. While sun visors will help shade the front of your face, a wider brimmed sunhat hat will also shade the sides and, more important, your ears.

Don't forget that garden safety is another important aspect of healthy gardening. Wear appropriate clothing, safety goggles and ear protection if you plan on using power equipment. Using tools with padded and/or spring loaded handles will reduce stiffness in your arms and hands. Wear knee pads or use a knee cushion or kneeler seat if you plan on spending a lot of time on your knees, and wear gloves to protect your hands.

When using a stepladder, be sure its height is appropriate for the type of job you are doing so you aren't tempted to stand beyond the safety step. Finally, avoid spraying or dusting plants on windy days to reduce the chance of absorbing or exposing your body to harmful chemicals. Keeping these things in mind will help you enjoy a safe and healthy time in your garden. So be safe and have fun!

Summer's in full swing, and your previously glorious flowers are starting to look a little ragged around the edges.

Many plants will benefit--and even rebloom--after a mid-summer session of "deadheading," that is, removing spent flowers and/or stems to promote new growth.

Here's a quick guide of deadheading techniques for different types of flowers:

Pinch off individual dead flowers on balloon flower, bellflower, daylily, delphinium, foxglove, hibiscus, hollyhock. (Also included: some irises that will rebloom in the fall, depending on the variety.)

Do an overall snip of dead blooms (about 2" below the flower) on blanket flower, columbine, globe thistle, goldenrod, geranium, Jacob's ladder, salvia, coreopsis/tickseed.

Cut the entire spent flower stem off to either a side shoot or to the plant's base on baby's breath, bleeding heart, cardinal flower, catmint, coral bells, foamflower, gaura, Jupiter's beard, lavender, lupine, mullein, painted daisy, pincushion flower, coneflower, Shasta daisy, speedwell, spiderwort, Stoke's aster.

(Listening to The Grateful Dead while deadheading is, of course, optional.)

The major reason lavender plants are so prized is that their flowers keep their fragrance when dried. Besides being beautiful and aromatic, lavender flowers are also edible. They can be used as a seasoning, added to salads, baked into cookies and brewed into tea. They can also be candied and used as a cake decoration.

For best drying results, harvest the flowers as the buds first begin to open. In general, wait until any rain or dew has dried from the plants. Harvest midday when the heat brings the most fragrance out of the flowers. Hang in small bunches upside down in a warm, dry spot with good air circulation and out of direct light.

Use rubber bands to tie the stems together for drying because they will contract along with the drying stems. If you wish to remove the flower buds from the stems for potpourri after drying, place the bound bundles inside a pillow case. Then roll it up and gently press and roll it on a hard surface--as if it were a rolling pin. (You can throw away the stems or take them camping and place on a campfire to repel mosquitoes.) Then scoop out the flower buds and place in sachets or potpourri dishes.

Earwigs are the brownish/black insects (about ¾ inch long) with pointed pincers on the rear of their abdomens. Earwigs' lifelong pursuit is to be active members of the insect cleanup crew of the garden. They chew up plant debris and turn it into humus. For this job, earwigs are considered a beneficial insect. You rarely see this insect out in the open, but rather under leaves, under low growing foliage plants or in a woodpile. Creating humus is part of the earwig "career" that is a positive thing for any garden.

However, they also have a liking for new tender foliage and this is what gets them into trouble with gardeners. When they eat tender foliage, they are considered a pest.

There are a number of different earwig management techniques. Earwigs like dark, damp places in the yard. In these locations, place rolled up newspapers or low-sided cans coated with oil. The earwigs will crawl inside of either of these traps, and you can simply throw them away. If, however, you have an infestation of earwigs eating too much of the new foliage, you may find it necessary to apply an earwig bait. We recommend Sluggo Plus Organic. A follow up application two weeks later usually takes care of any stragglers.

Ultimately, the best way to prevent earwig infestations is to keep the garden clean and remove potential earwig hiding spots. A few here and there are more helpful than harmful to your gardens, but if they're making a meal out of your prized plants don't hesitate to pull out the bait!

Bunnies are, of course, just about the cutest thing on Earth. (Incidentally, their poop makes great fertilizer too, and doesn't need to be composted before use.) But what to do when Peter Rabbit spends his evenings munching on your beautiful lettuce, peas and beans?

First, conduct a thorough examination to see whether or not you really have a rabbit problem. Rabbits generally browse no higher than a couple of feet off the ground. Their pea-sized round droppings are their calling card.

There are several critter-ridder products on the market that work with varying degrees of success. Many contain diluted fox urine, an ingredient that is safe to use around plants, people and pets, and acts as a repellent for all small furry animals that foxes usually dine on.

Vinegar, clumps of human or dog hair, and diluted aloe vera gel are also said to be effective rabbit repellents when placed strategically around the garden. Garlic pepper spray - the kind also used as an organic insecticide - is a big turn-off for bunny taste buds, as is any bottled hot sauce.

How often should I water the plants in the ground in my garden?

Answer:
The simple answer would be however often it takes to keep your soil moist but not wet.

As a rule, the hotter it gets, the more you will have to water. In the cooler months, you only water between periods of extended dry weather or high wind, which can also stress or dry a plant out.

When it is hot, increase the length of time you water your plants, not the frequency of watering. Most plants need to be watered at least twice a week; new plants that have yet to be established should be checked every other day. Remember that checking does not necessarily mean watering! We recommend that the top couple of inches of ground dry out between waterings.

Using drip irrigation is the most effective method. It is also important to group plants with similar watering needs together.

If a plant is too dry, the foliage will have a wilted appearance or begin to burn on the outside leaf tips.

If a plant is too wet, it will lose its luster and quickly drop faded leaves, starting from the inside of the plant and working its way to the leaf tips.

Make sure not to use soft water on any plants. The salt in the water can burn or kill plants. Fluoridated water is fine, because your plants will look better when they smile.