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Grow a water-wise garden with drought-tolerant flowers 👉   Pinterest 👉  Facebook If you've found yourself watering more than you expected over the past several years, you're not alone. Plants (and gardeners!) suffer because many parts of the country have long periods between rainfalls. But with irrigation restrictions in many communities, grabbing a hose isn't always the answer. Who really wants to do that anyway? Applying mulch to retain moisture and watering deeply to encourage roots to stretch into the soil are two things that help plants survive drought conditions. But ultimately, incorporating plants that can handle less water is a better long-term strategy for combating drought. We've picked 6 of our favorites for you to try here, so keep reading to find out more! 1. Bearded iris (iris hybrids) Bearded irises, once established, are incredibly drought tolerant, thanks to their large rhizomes that allow these plants to store water and nutrients for fu

varieties with different flowering times 👉   Pinterest 👉  Facebook Peonies put on such a beautiful show, you hate it to end! Keep the blooms coming by planting peony varieties with different bloom times. Extend the peony program Peonies only bloom once in the spring and in a few years those wonderful blooms seem to be gone in a flash. You can extend the show by growing peony varieties with different bloom times. You can find early, mid and late blooming peonies and can take up to 6 weeks to get color depending on the weather. (Hot weather accelerates this process.) Early bloomers bloom about a month before mid-season bloom. Mid-season peonies bloom from late April in southern gardens to early June in northern gardens. Late blooming when mid-season flowering ends. Peony cut flower notes With all these blooms, you'll often have plenty to cut off a few handfuls to enjoy those lusciously fragrant blooms. Look for open flowers or buds with color, then use pruners to cut o