Plant for pollinators. Native flowering plants like milkweed, liatris and ironweed provide much-needed habitat for bees and butterflies. Before gardener Lisa Moran's neighborhood was developed she used to see thousands of monarch butterflies fluttering around the wild milkweed. After the land was cleared for housing subdivisions, the butterflies diminished dramatically. But now that she's added a pollinator garden and allows milkweed to pop up in other beds as well, she's noticed an increase in visiting butterflies.

Plant with height in mind. "If it's a garden you walk around, put the tallest plants in the center," said Moran. "If it's not walked behind, put tall things in the back."

Move plants freely. "People are afraid to move plants, like it's set in stone," she said. "If I've made a mistake, I dig it up. Or if something has a terrible habit and I'm mad at it." Such as? "If it falls over, I don't have time to stake it." She'll move it or get rid of it entirely.

Survival of the fittest. Moran uses organic fertilizer on her vegetable plants, but none on her flowers, where she practices tough love. "They're on their own," she said. "They perform, or they don't."

KIM PALMER