If you plan to have colorful flowers displayed for any outdoor parties or activities, be sure to plant them six to eight weeks before the event.

Red, white and blue top the list for Independence Day colors. Plants are available for planting in containers, as borders, or in mass plantings. In a container, red annual salvia in the center with blue lobelia and white alyssum around the edge makes a great show. As a border, the same three can be used with the salvia in the back and the alyssum and lobelia alternating in the foreground. Full sun for all of these for most of the day is required.

In a hanging basket, alternate two each red, white and blue petunias. As they fill the container, they will be using a lot of water and may need to be watered daily. They also need full sun for most of the day. Adding the water absorbing gel, Soil Moist, to your Gardener’s Gold potting soil will reduce the frequency of watering your hangers.

If you have a large, sunny annual bed, divide it into three sections (any shape) and fill each section with all one color of the red, white, and blue petunias. Do not plant the petunias in rows of alternating colors.

When you plan your BBQ for the day of the Big Game; bowls of yellow dwarf marigolds and blue lobelia look great, or if need be a bowl or two of red salvia and white alyssum works well. A bridal shower needs a mass of white, so start with bowls of bacopa that hang over the sides of the container. If you know the bride’s colors, three plants of the appropriate color can be planted in the center of the container. Allow at least eight weeks for the bacopa to fully develop.

For a Halloween or Fall event, multiple blooming sunflowers and pumpkins would be a good combination, but you need to allow 10 to 12 weeks for these plants to mature. A minimum of ten by ten square feet will be needed to make a good show. The pumpkin vines can be trained to grown around the sunflowers. Hanging baskets filled with Black-eyed Susan vines will complete the display.

Luminaria are always a delightful addition to evening parties and activities. For an added touch, a flower blossom could be glued to a paper bag: strawflower for Fall, Vinca minor for Independence Day and so forth.

Finally, if there are trees in the area of the festivities, get some portable floodlights which can be inserted into the ground and focus them to display the form of the tree trunks and branches.

The term 'Japanese maple' mainly refers to cultivated varieties of Acer palmatum and its close relatives. The parent of all these varieties is a species Acer palmatum. There are over 1000 cultivated varieties (cultivars), displaying a great variety in size, habit, leaf shape and color, texture, and fall coloration.

There are cultivars suitable for most cultural situations, including sun, shade, container growing, and bonsai. Japanese maples are small enough to fit into most gardens, and although they cannot be grown as houseplants, they will thrive in a pot on a patio.

In some cases, you don't even need more than one cultivar to have variety. A number of them have one color in spring, another in summer, and another in fall, and some even have winter interest.

Name: Salvador Guiterez (Chava)

Position at Wegman's: Nursery Assistant, Delivery, Landscape Crew

Hobbies: Volleyball

Favorite Food: Birria de chivo

Favorite Plant or flower: Japanese Maple

Favorite garden center product: Potting Soil

Tivia Question: What food for rabbits is also used to feed roses?

Question and answer from May 28th edition:

What is the meaning of the Latin name 'penstemon'?

Answer: The name Penstemon is derived from the Greek words pente "five" and stemon "stamen." Its common name, beardtongue, comes from the bearded staminode found in most species.