“The cross is the lightning rod of grace that short-circuits God’s wrath to Christ so that only the light of His love remains for believers.”  — A. W. Tozer

“Our old history ends with the cross; our new history begins with the resurrection.” — Watchman Nee

“God proved His love on the Cross. When Christ hung, and bled, and died, it was God saying to the world, ‘I love you’.” — Billy Graham.

As we celebrate Easter Sunday, it’s half-past April and we are given the opportunity to enjoy some great spring weather. Enjoy this day and prepare to get back out into the great outdoors this week as your landscaping ideas continue to develop.

Creative and effective landscaping with curb appeal completes the outdoor environment at your home. Everyone seeks to have a beautiful and attractive landscape that is functional, inviting and appealing. These spaces provide an area for you to enjoy with family and friends while experiencing an outdoor environment filled with fresh air and fragrant plants during the different seasons of the year.

Bedding plants add color and beauty to the landscape. Plants that are tolerant of summer heat include salvia, torenia, wax begonia, coleus and ornamental pepper, as well as herbs such as basil, Mexican tarragon and rosemary. Keep a lookout for harmful insects such as thrips, scale, and mites on ornamental plants.

Additional plants that offer various color qualities which help to beautify the landscape and grounds throughout the season and year include the following.

EverLast dianthus is double-flowered and characteristically mounded which earns its name from its ability to continuously flower throughout the season. This hardy dianthus blooms with vigor from early spring season to late summer season and is available in many colors including white, burgundy blush, lavender, lilac, and orchid. Plant them in full sun as they reach a height and width of 12 inches. EverLast dianthus work well in beds with lambs’-ears.

Electric Wizard hibiscus has swirling blooms which add a mystic, tropical touch to porches, patios, decks and gazebos. This new hardy hibiscus produces 9- to 10-inch wide clear pink flowers with a dark red throat boasting in red streaks and purple foliage shaped like maple leaves. This drought tolerant hibiscus makes a great landscape addition and grows 3 feet tall. Its small physique and large blooms make it a spectacular container planting. Grow it in full sun and it looks great planted or positioned near roses. Hibiscus is also called rose mallow.

Midnight Marvel hibiscus has huge deep-red flowers (8- to 9 inches wide) with dark purple maple-shape leaves. It flowers from midsummer until frost and is a prolific bloomer in the heat of summer. Midnight Marvel prefers full sun to partial shade and will reach a height and width of 4 feet and makes a fabulous border planting. It looks great growing alongside turtleheads (Chelones).

Hypnotic hibiscus offers colorful blooms and colorful leaves as well. This hardy hibiscus has 11-inch diameter white flowers which are veined with rose pinstripes. In addition to its blooms, its characteristic purple maple-shape leaves are most fascinating. It prefers full sun and will grow 3 to 4 feet tall and makes an outstanding landscape plant. It looks great growing near roses.

Crystal Ball hibiscus has 11-inch wide deluxe white flowers and it will reach a height of five feet. This hardy hibiscus is bred with increased pest tolerance. It prefers full sun and looks great in a mass planting and with roses.

Heartthrob hibiscus has 8- to 10-inch wide, dark red flowers and its canopy is compact and well-branched. This 4-foot tall hibiscus is a prolific bloomer in mid- to late summer and looks great in the landscape. Heartthrob is deer-resistant and prefers full sun to part shade. It looks great growing with asters.

Pardon My Purple monarda (also called bee balm) highlights fancy, nectar-rich flowers that attract such pollinators as butterflies and bees. Its fuchsia-purple flowers bloom in midsummer as it grows to a height of 12 inches. This tiny perennial is ideal for placing in the front of a flower border as dazzling edging. It prefers full sun and grows well with the butterfly bush.

Mercury Rising coreopsis is a brilliant red cultivar (most coreopsis varieties are yellow) blooming from early summer through early fall. Its small, wine-red flowers feature a golden button center and it looks awesome in beds and borders. Mercury Rising will reach 18 inches in height and prefers full sun, and it looks great planted near perennial geraniums.

Phenomenal lavender is very hardy and flowers in midsummer. It forms a mound of silvery foliage with long spikes of purple-blue flowers growing vertically from within its canopy. It works great in fresh bouquets and in dried arrangements. The lavenders prefer well-drained soils in full sun. Phenomenal will grow to 32 inches in height and looks good with roses.

Gone with the Wind belamcanda looks like an exquisite tall yellow iris that reaches upwards to 6 feet tall. This blackberry lily flowers all summer followed by the production of clusters of blackberry-like seed in the fall. It is a cross between the dwarf iris “Hello Yellow” and the taller wild blackberry lily, which has orange flowers. This plant meets its southern exposure limitations in this area and prefers full sun. It looks good with coreopsis.

Remember, Earth Day is April 22 and Arbor Day is April 28 — so plan on doing something favorable for the environment at home or the office, whether planting a single tree or a bed of landscape plants.

Continue to think in terms of native and sustainable plants in the landscape rather than those with invasive characteristics. Keep your hanging baskets and potted plants refreshed with water and food. Remember to feed and water the songbirds, and give your pets the care they need. Also, be on lookout for children playing and bicyclists riding along the streets and roadways throughout our communities as the weather continues its warming trend. And remember to safely share the road with motorcycles. Drive alert and arrive alive. Don’t drive distracted or impaired, and don’t text while driving. Help the homeless every chance you get. Let’s keep everyone safe while enjoying this spring season! Happy Easter!

Many thanks to all who read this column which is an effort to provide each reader with timely and useful information. It is a small contribution on my part in “paying it forward” to my readers. In keeping with this thought, many of you know that we are planning our annual mission trip to the Peru this summer. We are currently raising funds to help finance this mission trip (discipleship journey). If you feel led to do so and would like to donate to this cause, please make a check payable to Heritage Church and mail to Eddie Seagle, Peru Mission Team, 108 Tallokas Circle, Moultrie, GA 31788. We would appreciate your prayers for a safe journey as well, and many thanks to each of you.

“Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live.’” — John 11:25.

Seagle is a Sustainability Associate, Golf Environment Organization (Scotland), Agronomist and Horticulturalist, CSI: Seagle (Consulting Services International), Professor Emeritus and Honorary Alumnus (Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College), Associate Editor of The Golf Course (International Journal of Golf Science), and Short Term Missionary (Heritage Church, Moultrie). Direct inquiries to csi_seagle@yahoo.com.