Home > Lawn & Garden > Home Gardening > Landscaping > A Guide to Louisiana-friendly Landscaping - Louisiana Yards & Neighborhoods [Image: La Yards and Neighborhoods] This handbook provides helpful ideas, information and techniques to create and maintain a more environmentally friendly landscape. You will learn the basics of designing a landscape using carefully selected plants suited to Louisiana growing conditions. $12.00 + tax. You can order this book from our online store, by using the Order Publication link below. Top 10 Caladiums Rated from 2009 Caladium Variety Trial [Image: 1] A total of 38 caladium varieties were evaluated at the LSU AgCenter Hammond Research Station during the summer of 2009 for their landscape performance, including foliage color, fullness and plant uniformity. The top 10 performers are presented here. (Caladium tubers were donated by Classic Caladiums and Happiness Farms.) Ornamental sweet potato options continue to expand [Image: Photo of Allen Owings] Ornamental sweet potatoes have gained considerable interest among land¬scape industry professionals and home gardeners over the past 10 years. Varieties include plants that are chartreuse-lime green (Margarita), blackish purple (Blackie) and tricolored (Pink Frost). Poll Takes Pulse of Home Lawn Care [Image: lawn] Consumer Reports magazine released its second annual lawn care poll in the May issue. See the results.  more articles... Daylily Rust Problem Continues [Image: daylily rust] In the summer of 2000, daylily rust was reported for the first time in the United States. It has since spread across most of the country and continues to present problems for home gardeners, commercial landscapers and daylily growers. Your Louisiana Landscape [Image: azaleas] Use LSU AgCenter resources to help you with the perfect plan for a beautiful lawn and garden. A beautifully landscaped yard doesn’t just happen. It’s carefully planned. Poisonous Landscape Plants - A List [Image: List of Poisonous Ornamental Plants] Unfortunately, some plants used for landscapes in Louisiana are considered poisonous in some situations. Click on the link for a list of some that are commonly grown. Knock Out Roses - Blackspot Disease Ratings 2008 and 2009 [Image: overview photo] The LSU AgCenter has a landscape trial of Knock Out rose varieties at Burden Center in Baton Rouge and also at the Hammond Research Station in Hammond. Blackspot ratings for 2008 are included here. 'Sunny Knock Out' Debuts in 2009 [Image: sunny] With gardeners always wanting something new, 2009 brings the newest member of the ‘Knock Out’ rose family – ‘Sunny Knock Out’. This variety is the seventh variety in the ‘Knock Out’ rose group and has bright golden yellow flower buds that open to yellow. Micro-Irrigation for Home Landscape Plantings Information on benefits of micro-irrigation systems for a home landscape and basics/guidelines on installation and ideas to consider. Drip Irrigation Best For Gardens And Beds Louisiana gets a lot of rain, but it isn’t spaced out uniformly. Sometimes there’s too much rain, and other times there are periods of drought. Plants do better, however, with a more uniform water supply. Choices for Summer Vegetable Gardens [Image: Okra, Tomatoes] There are not a whole lot of heat-loving vegetable crops, laments LSU AgCenter horticulturist Dr. Tom Koske. In late spring, you can plant collards, vine crops such as squash, cucumber and pumpkins, or crops like okra, malabar vine spinach and southern peas. Reduce Stormwater Runoff [Image: title slide] Rain that falls in your yard should soak into your yard. It's good for the landscape and protects waterways. Landscapes for Wildlife [Image: Title Slide] As our communities expand, we lament the loss of birds and other wildlife, but often our own yards are partly to blame. You can provide habitat for wildlife in your landscape. Click for more information...