It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
One of best things about being a Dad is spending time with your kids, especially when an activity is made even better by sharing a personal passion with them. In my case, as with many other Dads, a keenness for gardening is towards the top of this list. I mean seriously now, just like Moms at Mother’s Day, us Dads like…
June has officially arrived, and as we head toward the Summer Solstice it means gardeners have some extra daylight for frivolities in the garden. More importantly, we celebrate Pollinator Month (with National Pollinator Week June 17th-23rd as a highlight), a campaign created by the Pollinator Partnership to create harmony between us humans and nature. We all need to pause and give thanks to…
During the months of May and June one of the all-time favorite plants of local gardeners, the peony, is bursting into bloom. There are many excellent peonies available to utilize in our landscapes; including herbaceous cottage types in all sorts of colors (and varying fragrances) and larger growing tree peonies too. I would never scold anyone for growing either of these types (since I do as well), but I want to bring attention to another fabulous peony option… what is known as the intersectional or Itoh Peony.
Speaking as a self-proclaimed “plantaholic” who likes just about all things with foliage, fronds, or needles, one plant I started to salivate over in the 1990’s was Crape Myrtle (Lagerstroemia sp.). For us in northern latitudes, these mythical plants were uncommon and were perceived as…