It’s hot out there for newly planted trees and shrubs. These plants may be struggling to survive the heat and drought because their root systems haven’t had a chance to get established in the native soil yet. That’s why it’s important to pamper spring-planted trees and shrubs during the first year after planting. Most trees […]
If your perennial flower garden gets a little drab and boring come late summer and fall, think about planting dahlias. Gardeners are always trying to find colorful flowers to keep the show going into autumn, and dahlias are the perfect star to fit the bill. Dahlias just need a little more thought and attention compared […]
One of the worse threats to your young flower and vegetable garden is hungry animals and birds. It only takes a few hours for a rabbit, bird, woodchuck, or deer to make a quick meal of your pampered transplants. Here are some strategies to keep these varmints away.
We are hard at work planting all of your Proven Winner annuals … we plant ‘rooted cuttings’ …. this plant propagation method produces new plants from vegetative parts of the original plant, such as the leaves, stems and roots. In just a few weeks (and some TLC…) we will have big healthy plants ready for […]
Take a break from the garden and turn on your reading lamp or e-reader to enjoy some truly entertaining titles that give insight into obscure and fascinating plant facts.
Choose Well To ensure attractive healthy annuals all season, choose full, well branched plants with good foliage color and – on flowering annuals – an abundance of buds. Don’t go for the biggest plants or most open blooms, these are more likely to be leggy and burned out too soon. If the latter is all […]
Hosta and ferns are standards for the perennial shade garden. They have similar growing condition requirements and the contrast of fine-textured fronds and broad Hosta leaves does bring dimension and quiet contrast. All well and good for a supremely serene retreat, but what if you’d like to energize your shadowy shade realm a bit?
Pruning of trees and shrubs can help them stay within a certain size limit to fit the confines and aesthetics of a garden space. More importantly, pruning encourages fuller plants – thus more foliage for photosynthesis, more blooms to attract pollinators, more fruits for you and any creatures you share them with.
Benefits of Mulching Long before modern day use as a purely decorative element, mulch had an established history of benefitting plants, soil and gardeners. This is still its highest calling. A good layer of beneficial mulch can reduce stress on plants by regulating soil temperatures and reducing moisture loss and competition from weeds. In the […]
Landscape Calculator for mulch, stones, plants, etc. created by professional landscape contractors. Pest I.D. for Vegetables. Clear Insect photos, descriptions, damage details and management suggestions. Plants best suited for Pollinators in your region. Zip code search tool courtesy of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign. Leads to full guidebooks for specific regions. Pollinators list on […]