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…
I am going to go out on a limb here and make a brash statement: “perfection in the garden is fleeting”. Yes, it is sadly true… Earlier this spring I was congratulating myself on how nicely all of my many perennials (probably too many if I am honest with myself) were knitting themselves together and gradually obliterating any bare, visible soil. That is still happening, to be sure, but along the way some of my early bloomers have “gone over” and it is time to take another look at what I can plop in and around them to keep things looking colorful and interesting…
May is, without a doubt, the primary month for planting up our containers. In the garden center you will find an endless supply of annuals and perennials ready to be creatively combined, for what will hopefully be a summer-long display of blooms. But to be successful (as in “over the top” successful) with our pots, we need to pay attention to a few details. Here are my thoughts on “growing in” containers…
May is high season in the garden center, when all levels of gardeners venture out for their annual spring ritual of adding some color to their yards. Whatever level of gardener we might happen to be, I think it is safe to say that we all get the same rush of endorphins whenever we interject colorful plants into our gardens. It is a feel-good kind of activity…
I was in the nursery the other weekend looking for some ideas for my next column, when it occurred to me: “What is it that draws shoppers into the garden center this time of year?”. Considering that there is nary a shy bone in my body, I thought, why not ask a few customers why they were there. This is what I found out…
Before I launch into my diatribe on the glories of annuals, I probably should make sure everyone understands the difference between annuals and perennials… Annuals are plants that grow, bloom, set seed, and die all in one season. Perennials, on the other hand, grow, bloom, set seed, go dormant, and then return the following season twice as big. Where as annuals will bloom all summer long, perennials, for the most part, only bloom for 5 to 6 weeks….
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
The winter solstice is upon us, and I am sure everyone is looking forward to a bit more light each day, eventually steering us towards the great annual awakening of spring. To most gardeners, the idea of year ‘round interest is top of mind, as patrons I speak to year after year look to add specimens into their landscapes that provide that “WOW” factor all year long, including…