The longer I garden, the more I love shrubs. I am utterly delighted with every new Deutzia and Weigela that comes out, but I would never forsake my old favorites, like lilacs, hydrangeas and viburnums.

There are over 150 species of viburnums that grow from Zone 2 through 9. These are long-lived and fuss free shrubs that can provide colorful berries for the birds, brilliant fall color and sometimes even fragrance. You're probably familiar with at least a few Viburnums already, like Korean spice, with pink buds that open to white, clove-scented snowballs, the American Cranberry Bush, with it's lacecap flowers and clusters of red berries and the showy Doublefile viburnum, with it's intense orange-red fall leaves set off by almost deep red berries.

Viburnums, as a group, are versatile. There are many native species and there's certain to be one that will suit your growing conditions, no matter how difficult. If you're looking to add some four season interest to your yard, a viburnum could be just what you need.

• Choosing and Growing Viburnums
• Viburnum Leaf Beetle
• Flowers of Koreanspice Viburnum or Korean Spicebush (Viburnum carlesii)
• Berries on Smooth Witherod Viburnum (Viburnum nudum)

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Someone in the About Gardening Forum wanted to know if pruning their raspberry plants now, rather than waiting until late winter, would have any effect on the amount of raspberries the plants produce. I've always heard that leaving the canes in tact helps the plants make it through winter, although I'm not entirely sure why. We'd love to hear from other raspberry growers, about when you do your pruning. Do any of you cut your raspberries back at the end of the season and have you noticed any differences or problems?

• Pruning Raspberries in Fall Forum Thread
• When to Prune Raspberries and Blackberries

Photo: Armin Baldemair / Stock.xchng.

For many of us, the shrubs in front of our homes are about the only gardens we see throughout winter. While there's a movement to get us thinking about alternatives to foundation plantings, shrubs still rule. If you're not yet willing to replace your yews and rhododendrons with perennials and vegetables, you still might want to think about sprucing up your curb appeal. David Beaulieu has a foundation planting photo gallery of inspiration for you to mull over and compare what you have with what it could be.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Each spring, when I see old lawns glazed blue with scilla, I briefly think maybe I'll give that a try next fall. Then I remember the year I crawled around the lawn planting dozens of crocus bulbs that somehow disappeared after their second year. Maybe they were eaten or maybe I just mowed them down too early.

Do bulbs planted in a lawn have to be allowed to yellow and die on their own, like bulbs planted in the garden? Good question. A spring lawn glowing with scilla or dotted with crocus is stunning, but the lingering foliage can be an eye sore. However, if you want your bulbs to thrive, naturalize and bloom for years to come, you need to let them go through their normal cycle and store as much food as possible. That doesn't mean you have to live with an eye sore. There are a few tips to making the dieback process as painless as possible. Here's how to plant and care for bulbs in the lawn.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

We've started the Nov/Dec Photo Challenge and the theme is - Holiday Plants. No gardener would think of decorating for any of the holidays without including a few plants, flowers and evergreens. Once you've finished your creative masterpieces, take some photos and share your holidays with us.

Post your entries Photo Challenge thread, in the About Gardening Forum. Submissions will be closed at midnight, December 31st and winners will be announced on January 10th of next year. This challenge spans 2 months, so you've got lots of time - and lots of holidays - to snap lots of photos. So get into the holiday spirit and start decorating.

Photo: © Getty Image News

November is when any similarity between gardening zones ceases to be. Some of you are just moving into your temperate, gentle garden season and others will have almost no garden to speak of for several months to come. Or so you might think. There's always something waiting to be done in the garden. Now is when insect pests settle in for their long winter nap. So before you indulge in the holiday season, take a look at what you could be doing for your garden in November.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Calling Alliums "Ornamental Onions" kind of diminishes them. It's true they're closely related, but Alliums deserve more respect that being labeled inedible onions. These late-spring bloomers look like a fireworks display in the garden. In fact, I've seen the dried flower heads spray painted neon colors and left in the garden to dazzle throughout the summer.

There are dozens of alliums to choose from, tiny to larger than a softball. They're hardy from USDA Zones 4 through 10 and their deer resistant. My only qualm with alliums is that the voles seem to enjoy the newly planted bulbs. Now I plant my bulbs with a handful of grit or gravel, to discourage the pests. Once your alliums have established themselves in your garden, they'll start to multiply. Then the fireworks really begin!

• Growing Alliums
• Other Choices for Deer Resistant Bulbs

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

I've heard from a couple of new heat belt gardeners recently, asking what they can grow in their vegetable gardens in the fall and when they should be planting. It's been awhile since I gardened in southern California, but I still remember the mixed feelings when the temperature broke and the rains finally came. While northern gardeners are frantically trying to get their pots indoors before it snows, gardeners in Zones 8 and up are still tending the soil - many of them are just getting started.

If you're new to warm climate vegetable gardening or maybe just new to vegetable gardening, figuring out the planting calender can get confusing. Zone 9 can mean northern Florida or coastal California and growing conditions can be very, very different. Cooperative Extension to the rescue.

I know I often recommend contacting your local Cooperative Extension Service for advice and it can sometimes seem like I'm passing the buck, but this is where they excel. Local advice from the local experts. So here are links to When to Plant Your Vegetables, from Cooperative Extension offices throughout USDA Hardiness Zones 8, 9, 10 and 11. I'll just sit here and try and control my envy.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Every year nurseries try to convince gardeners that fall is the best time for planting. That makes sense in areas where fall is the main planting season. But in colder climates, fall planting can be a risky bet. Perennials need at least 6 weeks in the ground, to develop a decent root system that will anchor them through the winter. And fluffing up the soil just seems to encourage the voles and other digging pests. Saying fall is for planting is a nice way for nurseries to clean out their stock in time for the holiday decorations to come in. Or is it?

The one fall exception I'll make for any climate is planting deciduous trees and shrubs, which seem to take to the cool weather and settle in just fine, now that they don't have their leaves to worry about. What do you think? Do you do much planting in the fall, or do you take advantage of the nice weather to clean up the garden, rake the leaves and enjoy the fall festivals?

Photo: © Marie Iannotti

Row covers are a quick and easy way to extend your growing season by a couple of weeks. Row Covers, sometimes referred to as Floating Row Covers, are lightweight spun bonded synthetic fabrics that are laid over plants for protection against pests and temperatures. They are light enough to rest on the plants and allow light, water and even fertilizer to get through. In general, they add about 2-4 degrees F. protection. Depending of the weight of the fabric, you could keep your plants growing even when nighttime temps dip down into the mid-20s.

Photo: © Marie Iannotti