'Green Velvet' Boxwood is a slow-growing shrub with small dark green leaves. During late winter the leaf color is best described as dark green with a bronze hue. The cream-colored flowers are somewhat fragrant and usually attract bees. The 'Green Velvet' cultivar is great for northern locations because it will hold its green color well in the winter sun and cold conditions.

It can be used individually but its dense, compact habit makes it ideal for a small hedge or border. It takes well to shearing, and can be shaped into a variety of shapes. Left unpruned, it will slowly grow to about 3' by 3'.

It prefers sun-dappled part shade and moist, sandy loams. It also does fine in full sun as long as it get sufficient water.

Are you planning on putting a stone path in your lawn or garden? If so, you've got a great opportunity for some great garden design. Don't just plunk those stones atop your sod! There are many low-growing perennial plants that are just great between stones in a path, and will add more personality to your garden than mere grass.

To help you select the best ground cover, consider:

• The amount of sunlight reaching your path (full sun, partial shade, full shade), because different plants thrive under different conditions.
• The amount of traffic the plants will need to endure. Light traffic means the plants will be stepped on once or twice a week. Moderate traffic is once a day. And heavy traffic is similar to walking on your lawn several times a day.
• The type of soil (poor or rich) and moisture conditions (wet or dry).
• Appearance: plant height, texture and color. If the path is heavily traveled, or people will be running on it, keep the plant height low, or use a plant that bends easily (you don't want people tripping over the plants).

Improve the growing conditions when you carve out the soil for your new stone path. It's difficult to grow anything in a trampled area. The soil gets so compacted that roots cannot deliver water and nutrients to the plant. Add good drainage as well as a layer of topsoil at least 1 in. deep around the stones so your ground cover can thrive.

Finally, help your new ground cover prosper with a weekly soaking (the plants need to stay moist) and a weekly hand weeding. And if you'd like to keep the plants short between the stones, consider plants that tolerate mowing, such as thyme and ajuga.

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By Tamara Galbraith

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 balloonflower, 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 blanketflower, 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.)

How often should I water my lawn?

Answer:
The key to a healthy lawn is to water deeply but infrequently. Deep and infrequent irrigation stimulates root growth, resulting in healthy, drought tolerant, and pest resistant turf.

Most lawns require between 1" and 1.5" of water per week. But the height of your grass can also contribute to water needs. A lawn maintained at 2-3 inches in height will hold more water than a lawn maintained at 1.5-2" of height, which will be more subjected to heat stress in summer. Soil type also comes into play, since sandy soil holds water less effectively than a heavier clay type soil.

To determine how long it takes to water your lawn at the required rate, place several shallow containers such as margarine containers in different areas of the lawn for thirty minutes while irrigating. Measure in inches the depth of water from the containers. The average depth of water in these containers, multiplied by two, is the inches of water per hour emitted by your sprinkler system. Then adjust your sprinkler timers accordingly. If you notice water runoff prior to achieving full irrigation, then you will have to water in a couple of cycles spaced at least half an hour apart to allow for complete penetration.

A lawn should be watered when the soil begins to dry out, but before the grass actually wilts. If you notice footprints in the lawn that don't bounce back after you walk on it, or areas with a blue-green or smoky tinge, then your lawn is stressed. The lawn should be watered before these signs of wilting are obvious. You will find that most lawns, though, will need to be watered at least twice per week, usually less in spring and fall, and only during periods of extended dry weather in winter if your lawn doesn't go dormant.