Keep your indoor tomato plants thriving with these top tips. Potential pitfalls and tasty triumphs when growing tomatoes make them an edible garden favorite all summer long. But what happens when you want fresh tomatoesfor your soupin winter? Or you don’t have access to outdoor space for your tomato containers? They’ll also need hot, humid temperatures, like what they’d get outside. Use seed trays or even an empty egg carton filled with planting mix to start the plants....

Also known as the trumpet creeper, here’s how to keep it from taking over your garden. Its flowers form seeds that drop to the ground, making more vines that do the same thing. Its spreading roots submarine underground far from the original plant and pop up everywhere. Credit: Steve Bender Herbicides are necessary to stop the emergence of new trumpet vines. Plant it in spring or early fall. Left unchecked, thisplant will invadesurrounding areas, including house foundations and structural elements....

No green thumbs are required to grow vinca vine. Variegated vinca goes by many names. Known as bigleaf periwinkle (Vinca major’Variegata'), it’s a variegated form ofV. Credit: Togmit / Getty Images major,or greater periwinkle. These vinca vines have big leaves with a distinctive appearance. The leaves have central patches of deep green, edged in white and varying shades of light green. These stunning patches look like brushstrokes painted across the leaf’s surface....

Vibrant verbenas offer variety for Southern gardens. makes a stunning statement anywhere in the garden. The low, spreadingground coversshine in rock gardens, on slopes, in borders, and in hanging baskets. Moss Verbena creates a wispy mound of feathery foliage and delicate blooms.Credit:Diana Kirby Their dense mat of dark green foliage is punctuated by brilliant clusters of small, five-petaled flowers. bonariensis, or tall verbena, bring dramatic height to beds. They grow as tall as 3 to 6 feet and 1 to 3 feet wide....

This diverse and versatile garden shrub is a landscape star. Blossoms are usually followed by single-seeded, often brilliantly colored fruit that willbring birds to your landscape. Many viburnum are grown for their flower display and a few for their showy fruit. Viburnum Opulus.Credit:Southern Living/Debbie Wolfe Many evergreen types are valuable as foliage plants. Several species (noted below) can be grown as small trees. Viburnums are somewhat resistant to deer damage....

Virginia bluebells are native wildflowers that bloom in the spring and become dormant in the summer. In March, dark purple, spoon-shaped foliage emerges, but it turns light green when mature. The plant quickly grows andblooms in April. Credit:Getty Images The plants form an intense carpet of flowers. Up close, the buds are pink, opening up to blue or lavender color with a two-tone effect. The sweetly scented flowers attract bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds but are not used as cut flowers....

Monet loved these summer flowers, and you will too. These eye-catching, sun-loving plants might just become your new favorite perennials to grow. Some species are hardy, while othersare tropical. Credit: ICHAUVEL/Getty Images Some bloom during the day, others at night. Floating leaves are rounded, with deep notches at one side where the leafstalk is attached. Showy flowers either float on the surface or stand above it on stiff stalks." They are typically left in their containers for planting and submerged in a natural or artificial pond....

The vining plants are members of theCucurbitaceaeor gourd family, which also includes pumpkins, cucumbers, and squash. And they are immensely rewarding. These juicy fruits each weigh between 6 and 60 pounds, depending on the variety. Credit:Getty Images/Jonathan R. Beckerman It takes 65-100 days from planting until the fruit is ripe. Plants grow as long vines, with curly tendrils and large, lobed leaves. Bees are your friend in the melon patch....

Weeping willow trees are undeniable beauties, but they need ample space to grow. The weeping willow (Salix babylonica) is a polarizing plant. Narrow light green leaves grow on long branches that arch and sweep the ground. Credit:july7th / Getty Images Weeping willowsgrow very fast, often more than 2 feet per year. To plant a weeping willow anywhere closer is to court disaster. Weeping willows are short-lived trees, lasting 30 years or as many as 50 with proper care and luck....

This early-flowering and long-blooming shrub emits a strong, sweet fragrance. The best time to plant a winter honeysuckle seedling is in late winter to early spring. However, it should be planted with caution as it is considered invasive in many states of the South. Credit:Arterra/Getty Images Plant Attributes Is Winter Honeysuckle Invasive? It is fast-growing and develops into thickets that restrict native plant growth. The seeds are dispersed by wildlife....

Everything it’s crucial that you know about this cold-hardy pansy. Just because the cold comes around doesn’t mean you have to give up color in your garden. Winter pansies (Viola hiemalis) are perfect forwintertime flowerbeds. Credit: Southern Living, 2006 Read on for all it’s crucial that you know about winter pansies. Plus, winter pansies can return for three years or more. While winter pansies are very tolerant of the cold, they grow the best in sunlight....

After the spring blooms fade, keep the ambitious wisteria vine trained and maintained. Wisteria is one of the first harbingers of spring and warmer weather. Just like gardenias and azaleas, wisteria is an essential member of the Southern garden. Credit: Linjerry/Getty Images But unlike the aforementioned plants, wisteria wears out its welcome rather quickly. Wisteria Care Ready to plant a new wisteria vine? The container walls will help control lateral root growth....

Put a sharp design point on your garden with these structural showstoppers. Diana Kirby Yucca plants add drama wherever they are planted. These low-maintenance and water-wise plants add texture and form to any garden. Credit:Diana Kirby They thrive in full sun, easily embracing heat and drought, and positively shine in a xeric garden. Plus, they’re evergreen. Flower stalks emerge from the center of the rosette, and some grow up to 12 feet tall....