outdoors

JUNE GARDENER

After chives have

finished blooming,

cut them back

hard—to 2 inches

high. They’ll grow

back quickly and

stay tall and tidy-

looking all summer.

Susan A ppleget H urst

,

S enior Associate E ditor

TO P PICKS

HOT POT

B eg o n ia ‘B o n fire’ p ro d u c e s m asse s o f

fiery o ra n g e -re d b lo o m s fro m s p rin g

th ro u g h la te fall. P e rfe c t fo r h a n g in g

b a sk ets, ‘B o n fire ’ to le ra te s d ry

c o n d itio n s th a t p a tio p la n ts a re

o fte n su b je c t to. P la c e in full su n o r

p a rt sh a d e , a n d w a tc h it e r u p t w ith

color. A v ailab le n a tio n w id e . F o r

in fo rm a tio n , v isit

tesselaar.com.

YARD GOODS

THEKNEES

HAVE IT

The OXO GoodGrips Garden Kneeling Mat

has a large ^"xio " kneeling surface of

dense foam covered in washable nylon.

The full-size mat also folds in half to fit in

a garden tote or cart.

Magnets keep the

mat shut when

folded, and there’s a

hanging loop for easy

storage. $15; oxo.com

*PI^NTING&

MIX,

MATCH, BUY

Here’s an easy garden planning trick:

Put together eye-catching container

combos and flowerbeds right in your

shopping cart. Coordinate colors and

textures by staging plants next to each

other, experimenting until you get the look

you want. Our trio for partial shade includes

Carex ‘Bowles Golden’,

Heuchera

‘Sparkling

Burgundy, and

Hosta

‘Blue Mouse Ears’.

108

JUNE2008 BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS

P H O TO S TH IS PAGE: (B E G O N IA , PLAN TS IN CART, S M A LL K N EELIN G M A T ) PETE KR UM HARDT; (LAR G E KN EELIN G M A T ) B LAIN E M O ATS. P H O TO S O PPO SITE PAGE: (B A S IL) B O B S T E F K O ; (B R O M E LIA D ) BILL STITES; (P O R T U L A C A ) PETE K R U M H AR D T