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Answer:Duct tape. A screwdriver. Bacon. Acorus gramineus.Question:What are four versatile home problem-solvers?Acorus can’t patch your canoe, open paint cans or make everything it touches delicious.But it can beautify just about any moist spot in your garden -- sunny, shady or in-between. Duct tape can’t fix that.It looks great in containers, too. How pretty is a pot full of screwdrivers?The common name “sweet flag” refers to the scent given off when the foliage is bruised. OK, bacon wins this o

Dangling, jangling wind chimes give the breeze a voice.Dancing, swaying grasses make it visible. Miscanthus sinensisThe world’s premier ornamental grass genus, Miscanthus has graced America’s gardens for over a century. Heights range from just a few feet to Wow! Blades run the gamut from very narrow to very wide, in solid green or a variety of variegation patterns -- so there’s a “maiden grass” for every purpose.All varieties provide movement and sound for a delightful garden presence nearl

The current hunger for succulent plants of all kinds has increased awareness of this tough, fascinating genus. But do folks who’ve recently discovered it realize how long it’s been in cultivation? Mankind’s love for this genus goes back centuries. The name is Latin for “always living,” a testament to its durability. In antiquity, it was used in medicine and magic. Its juicy flesh was said to heal stings and sores, much like Aloe.Some say only two things can kill a Semp: Shade, and poor drai

That which we call a weasel snout, by any other name...Lamiastrum ‘Herman’s Pride’ is a lovely ground cover that excels even in one of the toughest landscape niches: The dreaded dry shade.Colorful and sturdy, it spreads slowly, clump by clump, to colonize tricky slopes and other barren places. Hardy in Zones 4 – 8, it stands about a foot tall when in bloom.This interesting, useful plant has two common names. Both are interesting, but only one is useful. “Yellow archangel” resonates at retail: An

How low can you go? When you hear the word “groundcover,” what comes to mind? After “Ho-hum,” probably a few too-familiar genera, right?It doesn’t need to be that way. There are strikingly different, even fascinating, perennials that blanket the ground without putting you to sleep. And low-growing does NOT have to mean low margin.Here’s the lowdown on a low-growing species we think highly of. Lamium maculatumSeldom rising above 8”, this pretty genus sports deceptively delicate looking folia