Let Your Garden's Style Speak for Itself, Plant a Unique Conversation Piece

Raleigh, N.C. - A photograph, painting, sculpture or family heirloom prominently displayed inside your home can be a conversation piece. But now you can design your rose and flower garden in a way to spark a conversation. Contrasting shapes, complementary colors, even combined fragrances can bring beauty to your yard. But before you can plant a conversation piece among the petals, you need to unearth your imagination.

"First decide what you want your garden to say, then figure out what tools you'll need to bring it to life," says Bayer Advanced Garden Expert Lance Walheim, author of the best-selling book, Roses for Dummies. "If you put your personality into your garden, chances are you'll come up with something that you'll be proud of that will get your friends and neighbors talking."

Here are some simple ways to create a conversation garden:

• Come up with a theme - An aromatherapy garden, butterfly garden, hummingbird garden, rose garden or even feng shui are just some of the options gardeners have available to them. Also, pick your colors carefully. Work within a specific palette of colors, then use complementary and contrasting hues to create drama and harmony.

  Cultivate character - Use accents like birdbaths, water features, sundials, antique tools, benches, outdoor art, trellises or sculpture, or simply put some of your plants in big pots to add another dimension to your horticultural collection.

• Reach for the stars with your roses - Are you a country music fan? Consider Dolly Parton or Barbara Mandrell roses. If the silver screen is more your style, try growing Audrey Hepburn or Cary Grant roses. If you've got a taste for fine cuisine, you can't go wrong with roses named for the French chef Julia Child. If you're a history buff, consider Mister Lincoln and John F. Kennedy roses. Two helpful Web sites for rose selection are www.ars.org and www.rose.org.
• Use foliage wisely - Mix and match plants with bold and fine textures to give your garden season-long beauty.
• Keep your garden looking beautiful for years - Once you plant the perfect conversation garden, make sure pests and diseases aren't what your neighbors talk about. Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Rose & Flower Care Concentrate contains an insecticide, fertilizer and fungicide. There's no spraying - just mix and pour around the base of the plant - and enjoy your pest-free roses for six weeks!

About Bayer Advanced

Bayer Advanced lawn and garden products are created by Bayer Environmental Science, a business unit of Bayer CropScience LP and part of the Bayer AG family, a Fortune Global 500 company that makes such well-known brands as Bayer Aspirin, Aleve® and Alka-® Research Triangle Park, NC, is the business headquarters of the company''s NAFTA Region. Kansas City, MO, is the company''s core technology center. The global headquarters of Bayer CropScience is located in Monheim, Germany.

Bayer Advanced products deliver Better Science. Better Results.™ and carry a money-back guarantee. They are available at major retailers and independent garden shops across the United States. You can learn more by visiting www.bayeradvanced.com or by calling 1-877-BAYERAG.

Luckie Strategic PR Media Contacts

Lori Merricks (205) 877-9736, lmerricks@luckie.net
Mariesa Woodring (205) 877-9705, mwoodring@luckie.net
Leigh Ann Monitor (205) 877-9795, lmonitor@luckie.net

Products Mentioned In This Press Release

All-In-One Rose & Flower Care Concentrate