By Oscar Philips, For The Guardian

Flowering trees and shrubs provide beauty and privacy to your garden and outdoor living.

Shrubs: Provide year-round charm in your garden. A tall border of mixed shrubs makes a friendly screen along your property line and creates an ornamental background for flowers and ensures a complete year of green and colorful foliage. It should not be noted that most shrubs are long-lived and comparatively inexpensive to maintain. These plants are classified as follows:

Tall shrubs: Can be used along your property boundary and give an excellent and colorful screen to your property.

Medium flowering shrubs: Provide you and your property with the following benefits.

* A solid green background and a screen effect all year-round.

* Color and flowers for cutting for your home.

* They need very little upkeep and only three times a year of fertilizer and mulch at the roots to conserve moisture and keep weeds down.

* Some of these shrubs provide berries and has attractive foliage.

Low growing shrubs: These low and very compact shrubs are indispensable in a small garden. They fill in and give finish to the taller plants in the garden.

Propagation of these plants: Now is the time to take cuttings and air-layering of sturdy stems. For cuttings, dip the bottom end of the cut stem in Rootone or any other rooting hormone and place it in a container which has a mixture of one part of peat moss, one part of perlite, one part soil and one part coarse sand. Seal the top of the cutting with pruning paint or sealant and leave only two to three leaves on the cutting. Water regularly with a weak solution comprising of one teaspoon of soluble fertilizer (12-36-14) or any other soluble fertilizer high in phosphorus to every gallon of water. It should be noted that phosphorus assists in the root and growth development of all plant life. Remember to seal all wounds of your cutting with pruning paint or sealant.

Disease and insects: A number of these plants are attacked by aphids, white flies, powdery mildew, scale insects, mealy bugs and caterpillars.

Treatment: During the dormant months (December-March) you should spray your trees with a mixture of Oil of Emulsion and Black Leaf 40 or Diazinon. Repeat spraying during the flowering season with an insecticide containing Diazinon and remember to add your spreader-sticker of two teaspoons of dishwashing liquid.

Growing shrubs in containers or pots on patio or balcony: Many of the decorative shrubs could be grown in large containers or tubs to beautify your balcony or patio or terrace. Crotons and hibiscus could be trained to remain at a particular size by manicuring the plant through skillful pruning.

Planting guide for MAy

Vegetables: Beans (lima, pole, snap), cabbage, cantaloupe, collard, corn, cucumber, eggplant, okra, peppers (hot and sweet), sweet potatoes, radish, summer squash, tomato, watermelon.

Flowers: Aster, balsam, bachelor's button, begonia, candyturf, celosia, cosmos, cornflower, dahlia, daisy, gaillardia, marigold, periwinkle, portulaca, Queen Anne's Lace, verbena, zinnia.

Grasses: Centipede, St. Augustine, Zoysia

n For help with your garden problems, write to Garden Korner, P. O. Box N-3011, Nassau, Bahamas.