The best gardens have plants that add shape, color and overall decor in all seasons. Spring and summer can be pretty easy to fill your gardens with color, especially if you use annuals. However, it can take a bit more planning on your part to keep your flower beds looking great during the late summer and well into the fall. …
Slugs in the Garden
Slugs are among the most easily recognized pests and if you have slugs in your garden, you are probably familiar with the damage they cause to your plants. You may notice their slimy trail they leave behind or the shredded leaves of your plant. Slugs are nocturnal, so you don’t generally see them. They will emerge or hatch in the …
Vegetable Leaf Spots and Molds
With the rain and warm temperatures we’ve beening having, your vegetables are likely growing really well and look great! However, if you have started to notice any spots or molds on your plants, here is a bit of info that can help you. Leaf spot is a very common disease of tomatoes and can affect other plants such as potatoes …
Deadheading Perennials
Deadheading/Trimming Perennials Removing spent blooms will help keep your perennials tidy and promote more flowers. Deadheading and promoting new blooms will also provide more pollen and nectar for the pollinators in your gardens. The plants get a refreshed appearance and the amount of seed it drops is lessened with deadheading. This will direct the plants energy into root development and …
Watering Tips
After all the trips you’ve made to the garden center, and all of the flowers and vegetables have been planted into the garden, many gardeners feel that their work is done. Now is the time to sit back and enjoy all your hard work. Yet, when Mother Nature turns up the heat in your garden, it’s time to get watering! …
Tomato Splits
Seeing your big, red, ready to pick tomato with a split in its soft skin often happens after a big rain – right when you are ready to pick it! All season you’ve watched your tomato plants grow and blossom, and have nurtured the plant and small green tomatoes into plump, red juicy ones. And then you notice a long …
Heat Stress on Plants
When temperatures in late spring and summer start creeping up, you’re not the only one who can get stressed. A lot of plants will suffer when the weather turns hot out. Irreversible damage can occur to the plant with decreased functions in growth, failure to flower, or failure to produce seeds. However, with adequate care, outdoor plants in the extreme …
Butterfly Gardens
Butterflies and flowers were made for each other, and there are certain flowers that butterflies absolutely love to be around. Different species of butterflies have different preferences of nectar, in both colors and tastes. Searching for nectar they help pollinate plants, ensuring seeds for future generations. Planting a wide variety of plants will give the greatest diversity of visitors in your garden. …
Drought Tolerant Plants
In order to beat the heat of summer and have a colorful yard or patio all season long, you’ll need to have plants that are tolerant of the high temperatures of summer as well as being somewhat drought tolerant. The following is a partial list of plants having drought tolerant potential, but you must still remember that all plants will …
To Deadhead or Not?
First, what exactly is deadheading? This gardening term simply means to remove the old spent blooms including any developing seed from a plant to help keep it blooming longer. Why does a plant bloom more if you remove old flowers? Flowers are a means to ensure the continued survival of the plant and the next generation as well. In some cases, …