As a confirmed cheapskate, I'm always interested in 2-for-1 deals. Floating row covers are just such a deal, affording protection for your plants from insects in the summer and from frost in the spring and fall. Marie Iannotti describes floating row covers as "lightweight spun bonded synthetic fabrics."

If you're not as cheap as I am and are willing to forgo the 2-for-1 deal, it's also possible to acquire different floating row covers for different needs. Some floating row covers are heavier than others -- but not so heavy that they don't still "float." Keep the heavier floating row covers on hand for the special purpose of protecting plants from frost. These heavier floating row covers "are used only in the evenings and are removed during the day to allow more light and heat access," remarks Marie.

Lighter floating row covers, meanwhile, since they won’t trap as much heat inside (an important consideration during hot spells), can serve as "netting" to keep insects away from plants in the summer. Learn more in this article on floating row covers from About's Gardening Guide.

Do you have trouble getting trees established along your street? It's no wonder; you face the following challenges (among others) in growing street trees:

• pollution
• compacted soil
• infertile soil

And even if you do get a tree established, sometimes it's too messy to grow as a street tree. For instance, eastern white pine trees drop large cones and, worse yet, can lose numerous branches in ice storms. Another specimen too messy to be an effective street tree is American sweetgum; opt for a non-fruiting cultivar so as to avoid having to clean up gumballs.

Steve Nix lists the ten best street trees in this article. Literally an A-Z list, About's Forestry Guide begins with Acer campestre (hedge maple) and ends with Zelkova serrata (Japanese zelkova). Steve stresses that only fruitless ginkgo bilobas should be selected as street trees: the fruit is not only messy, but smelly to boot!

Perhaps more people know of red twig dogwood than know of yellow twig dogwood. And that's too bad. If you're already aware of the virtues of the red version, then you should make it a priority to learn about the yellow twig dogwood.

Like their better-known cousins, yellow twig dogwoods are at their best in winter. That's because in winter there are no leaves in the way (both are deciduous) to obscure their handsomest feature, which is the golden bark that gives them their name.

And it's not as if you have to choose between the red-barked shrubs and their yellow counterparts: in fact, they look great planted together. Let these two dogs play in the same part of your yard -- they'll keep you entertained all winter....

Read article: Yellow Twig Dogwood Shrubs

You've probably heard the saying, "All that glitters is not gold." It's true: some of it is silver! Just as shrubs like Gold Mops add much to a landscape with their golden foliage, so the smaller plants with silver foliage that I feature in this photo gallery will please the eye month after month. Just today, in fact, I was enjoying the silver leaves of my lavender plants, sticking up out of a blanket of snow.

The wonderful thing about plants grown primarily for their foliage is that they're "there for you" -- whether their leaves be silver or gold, green or variegated. Flowers are often ephemeral, but the foliage of these plants is something you can count on -- if not for the whole year, then at least for extended periods of time. Think "stable," think "rock solid," think "dependable friend."

View photos: Pictures of Silver-Leafed Plants