Is your dad a hands-in-the-dirt, let’s-get-sweaty, these-weeds-will-never-win gardener? Whether he gardens with a fierce passion, calculates his harvest, or just enjoys this hands-on hobby, there are many great gifts for Dad to help him enjoy every moment he spends tilling, planting, weeding, watering, and harvesting. Garden Center Gifts for Dad Garden centers have a full…
There’s nothing like a garden fresh, crisp salad, and these days, many people are adding varied greens to their salads besides familiar lettuce varieties and common spinach. Try growing a few of these less familiar greens for your own salads or for sale at your farmer’s market. Greens can grow in cooler or warmer weather…
Azaleas are true garden favorite and are popular in all types of landscape designs. To keep them blooming prolifically and as beautiful as they can be, however, you will need to follow a few special directions for their best care. Planting Azaleas Azaleas need a well-drained location, as they will not thrive in an area…
One of the most popular deciduous flowering shrubs, and certainly one of the most nostalgic, lilacs herald the arrival of spring. When we reminisce about this old-fashioned favorite we recall large panicles of sweetly scented, pale purple blossoms. Today, however, lilacs are available in an incredible variety of sizes, growth habits, flowering times, bloom sizes,…
How many of us sit on our decks or patios, stare at a bare fence and think, “there must be something I can do with that.” There certainly is! “Plant” your fence with flower pouches. Not just for fences, these flower pouches efficiently provide color and/or small veggies for tiny balconies, deck railings or other…
It’s easy to buy seedlings, but there are many reasons why you may wish to start your own plants. By starting your own seeds, you have a much greater selection of flowers, vegetables and herbs to choose from. For example, old favorites like hollyhocks and less common varieties of herbs and perennials as well as…
Every garden requires pollinators, and bees are among the finest. Without them there would be limited flowers and far fewer fruits and vegetables. Did you know that about 30 percent of the food we eat depends on the pollination of bees, including onions, cashews, coffee, carrots, chocolate and vanilla? If we don’t protect these prolific…
Forsythia is a true spring favorite and never disappoints with its shocking yellow blooms atop a mass of unruly branches. This early-flowering shrub can thrive for decades on neglect but there will come a time, whether out of want or necessity, that your forsythia will require pruning. But how can you do so without dampening…
Do you love the look of large, stunning hydrangeas? Do they evoke wistful images of summer and floral nostalgia? Don’t you wish they would last longer in the landscape? Unfortunately, many hydrangeas have relatively short bloom cycles, but there are amazing cultivars you can investigate that provide longer lasting blooms without losing any of their…
Now is the time to start planning your entry garden. This welcoming patch has the power to set a warm and friendly tone for those who pass through your garden on the way to your front door. It does take some planning to set the proper mood, however, and you need to consider architecture, setting,…