Worried that you may have to give up color in your landscape to save on maintenance and water? Afraid that watering restrictions in your area will put a damper on your colorful flowerbeds, borders and shrubs? It doesn’t have to be that way! Many brightly-colored trees, shrubs and flowers don’t require as much water once they become established, which generally takes about a year. The key is knowing which plants to select and how to treat them for that year. 

Choosing Plants That Tolerate Drought 

The key to keeping your color while losing the water is to opt for plants that aren’t quite so thirsty. Fortunately, there are all types of beautiful drought-tolerant plants to choose from, with more cultivars being developed every year. 

Dry soil tolerant plants include: 

Annuals

• Cosmos
• Nasturtium
• Portulaca
• Strawflower
• Verbena

Perennials

• Achillea (Yarrow)
• Anthemis (Golden Marguerite)
• Artemesia (Wormwood)
• Asclepias (Butterflyweed)
• Baptisia (False Indigo)
• Echinops (Globe Thistle)
• Gallardia (Blanket Flower)
• Hemerocallus (Daylily)
• Rudbeckia (Black-Eyed Susan)
• Salvia (Sage)
• Sedum (Stonecrop)
• Stachys (Lamb’s Ear)

Shrubs

• Berberis (Japanese Barberry)
• Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
• Chaenomeles (Quince)
• Cotinus (Smokebush)
• Hypericum (St. John’s Wort)
• Juniper
• Ligustrum (Privet)
• Potentilla
• Rhamnus (Tallhedge)
• Yucca

Establishing Drought-Tolerant Plants 

To be sure drought-tolerant, water-saving plants get the good start they need, it is important to plant them in appropriate locations. Some do well in full sun, others need varying amounts of shade. Also pay close attention to soil needs, including pH values – the chemical composition of the soil affects its water retention and the ability of plants to absorb that water effectively. If your plants are in the right spot, they will flourish with the best foliage and flowering possible, even with little watering. 

Plant drought-tolerant plants as early as possible so they can begin growing strong, absorbent roots well before the driest days of summer, and use drip watering systems, mulch and windbreaks to protect delicate plants from too much heat stress. Grouping plants with similar watering needs together can also help minimize water loss by avoiding irresponsible watering. 

More Watering Tips 

To make the most of every drop of water you offer to your garden, flowerbeds or landscape… 

• Water in the very early morning when the air is still cool and less water will evaporate before it soaks into the soil.
• Water deeply but infrequently to help plants stretch their roots deeper into the soil seeking moisture.
• Check your irrigation system regularly for any leaks or other problems that could result in poor watering practices.

With thoughtfulness and care, you can easily enjoy beautiful, colorful flowerbeds, gardens and landscaping even without a great deal of water.

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, shapes, colors and fragrances.

About Lilacs

Lilacs belong to the genus Syringa that consists of approximately 20 different species and about 1,000 different varieties. Most species are native to Asia, but Syringa vulgaris, the common lilac, is an Eastern European native. Some of the finest cultivars of this species were bred in France in the early twentieth century, hence the term “French Hybrid.” Lilacs were cultivated in America’s first botanical gardens and grown by both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. They remain a steadfast favorite to this day in public gardens as well as backyards, and many municipalities even host lilac festivals to celebrate these blooms each spring.

Proper Lilac Care

If cared for properly, a lilac bush has the potential to survive for hundreds of years. Planting your lilac in pH neutral, well-drained soil that is high in organic matter will help ensure the longevity of your shrub. Providing at least 6 hours of direct sun each day and deadheading immediately after flowering will guarantee an abundance of lovely scented blooms. Give lilacs adequate growing space so that they may grow to their full potential. Spacing these plants too closely will cause them to grow tall and spindly and only flower at the top; instead, be sure they have plenty of room to grow out as well as up and you’ll be rewarded with copious blooms all over the shrub. Fertilize with a high phosphorus fertilizer in the early spring to ensure the best growth and most luxuriant blooms.

When your lilac reaches a height or shape that is no longer to your liking, you may remove up to 1/3 of the thickest stems. Cut them back to the ground. You may also shorten any unusually tall stems by cutting them back to a strong branch. Open up the crowded base of the shrub by removing a portion of the youngest stems. Remember; prune lilacs immediately after flowering before plants start to form next year’s flower buds.

Beyond the Classics

Syringa vulgaris provides the spring garden with perfumed blooms for up to two weeks. To extend the bloom season for up to 6 weeks, plant an assortment of the uncommon species along with the common lilac. Some excellent choices are hyacinthiflora (which blooms before vulgaris), paired with palibin, prestonia and reticulate (which bloom consecutively after vulgaris).

Want to branch out into even more lilac cultivation in your yard? Come in today to see the latest lilacs to love.

Water is critical for a healthy garden and landscape, but how much water is too much, how much isn’t enough and how much is just right? Unfortunately, there isn’t a specific answer that suits every gardener’s needs. All plants have different water requirements, which change depending on the type of soil, amount of sun, temperature, humidity, season, maturity of the plant and overall growing environment.

Initial Watering

All plants, including specimens described as drought tolerant, will require water when first planted. This is because many of the smaller roots responsible for water uptake are usually damaged during shipment and planting. Build a small circular soil wall around the plant to contain water while it percolates into the soil. Watch new plants carefully and keep them well-watered as their roots settle in and they adapt to their new or transplanted location.

Groups Are Good

It’s a good idea to have some knowledge of the plant’s water requirements when determining the location in the garden. It will keep watering simple if you plant a new specimen near other plants with similar water requirements. In this way, there is no need to readjust an irrigation system or watering schedule, since all the plants in the group have similar needs.

Need a Drink?

Because plants’ watering needs can change through the season, how can you tell if a plant needs more water? Most plants will wilt as the soil becomes too dry. The leaves may droop, and if it’s an upright plant, the top ends may become soft and bend over. Glossy plants may begin to look dull, while thick leaves will shrivel. If you notice these signs, it is time to water! Most plants will revive if watered quickly enough, but be sure to water deeply rather than allowing moisture to run off the surface.

How can you tell if you should water? Push your finger into the soil an inch or two from the base of a plant. Perfect soil should feel cool and slightly moist. Some soil should stick to your finger. If none does, it’s too dry. If it’s muddy, don’t water. Overwatering kills plants by depriving the roots of oxygen. Some gardeners use water meters to see the precise amount of moisture. If you’re unsure, this tool can be helpful.

Adjusting Your Watering Schedule

The amount you have to water your plants or landscape can change from day to day. A cool morning will allow more dew to form and drain to the soil, or a sudden afternoon thunderstorm can be enough water to keep your plants hydrated for a few days. An overly hot day, however, can rapidly deplete water resources and extra watering may be required. Check your plants and landscape regularly to be sure they are getting adequate water, and make adjustments as needed to keep them suitably moist without either too much or too little water.

Need help monitoring water? Stop by to see our collection of water gauges, meters and monitors that can help you be sure you are watering your landscape correctly.

Many homeowners, whether they just purchased their home or have owned it for years, are interested in increasing the value of their property. A better value leads to greater home equity, a higher resale price and the personal pride of owning a lovely home. Good landscaping can lead to a better home value, and there’s no easier way to improve landscaping than with beautiful bulbs. 

How Landscaping Adds Value to Your Home

A well-groomed, thoughtfully planned and attractively maintained landscape is a great asset to your home. Your home’s exterior, including its landscaping, is the first impression visitors see, and good landscaping creates an attractive, welcoming atmosphere. Colorful landscaping can help attract notice to your property, while larger plantings provide shade and help with temperature control. Borders can conceal fences or unsightly foundations, and flowerbeds soften the edges of the house structure to provide an appealing sense of nature. Unlike interior home improvements that come and go with the latest design trends, good landscaping is a constant asset to your property and your home value.

Why Bulbs Are Best

Bulbs are some of the best options to improve your home’s landscaping and increase your home value. While bulbs won’t grow to provide shade to your yard and don’t yield tasty treats in a garden, they have many benefits that add solid value and enjoyment to any yard.

• Bulbs Are Familiar
  Unlike exotic tropical plants or little-known cultivars of tree and shrubs, many bulbs are instantly recognizable. That familiarity is comfortable and reassuring, and adds a sense of peace to your landscaping. Tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocuses and lilies are some of the most popular and tried-and-true bulbs that can enhance your landscaping.
• Bulbs Are Versatile
  While many plants can serve only one distinct purpose, bulbs can serve many purposes. Taller varieties can provide an effective screen for privacy or create stunning borders. Dense bulb patches can “paint” your landscape with flowing color, or bulbs can be layered in pots or containers for instant beauty. Bulb flowerbeds can be positioned along your home’s foundation, around trees or lining walkways, driveways or sidewalks. Bulbs can be strategically positioned to fill in thinner areas in your yard or landscaped beds as well.
• Bulbs Are Beautiful In Different Seasons
  While a spring-blooming annual or a brilliant fall foliage tree may look stunning for one season, many bulbs offer beauty for far longer. Not only are their flowers showstopping beauties, but many bulbs have thick, graceful foliage that is delightful long after blooms may have faded. Furthermore, you can mix-and-match bulbs to keep a bed blooming from early spring to late fall without difficulty.
• Bulbs Are Perennials
  Annual flowers are gorgeous but need to be replaced every year, a process that can be very time-consuming and labor-intensive. Bulbs, on the other hand, are perennials that will keep coming back year after year with very little extra care. With just basic maintenance – watering and the occasional removal of dead foliage – bulbs will grow back more lush and vibrant each year, continuing to add value to your home.
• Bulbs Are Easy
  There’s no denying that bulbs are easy to grow and require very little maintenance to look their best. Bulbs can tolerate a wide range of soil types, pH levels and sunlight levels, and they often thrive even when neglected. This makes them an easy addition to any landscape, bringing their proven value to your yard quickly.

Improving Your Landscaping With Bulbs

It’s easy to improve your home’s value by adding bulbs. Simply choose the types and colors of bulbs you want, and you’re just three steps away from a beautiful landscape and a more appealing home.

1. Dig – Dig the appropriate hole to plant your bulbs, paying attention to the recommended depth for the bulb type. You can dig individual holes for each bulb, or plant an entire bed at once.
2. Drop – Drop the bulbs in the holes. You can position them in graceful, cultivated rows, or choose a more organic, natural look. Cover the bulbs firmly with soil and a layer of mulch if desired.
3. Done! You only need to keep a simple eye on moisture levels and the occasional critter that may enjoy a bulb snack, and you’re done with bulb care and maintenance. Before long, both your bulbs and your home value will be blooming!

With so many benefits from landscaping and the ease of bulbs to create a stunning look, why not add to your home’s value today? Get digging – you’ll be done before you know it!

Fall is an excellent time to repot many houseplants. Potted plants that have been growing outdoors during the summer have probably grown quite vigorously due to the high light levels and greater humidity. If the top growth of the plant has increased in size by 20 percent or more, it probably should be transplanted into a larger container so the roots can stretch and settle comfortably.

Before You Repot

Before repotting, check the plant and the soil carefully for insects.  Add systemic granules to the soil and spray the leaves with an insecticidal soap to remove any unwanted pests. If an insect infestation is particularly bad, it may be necessary to remove most of the plant’s soil and replace it with fresh potting soil. Avoid using soil from the garden, however, which will harbor insect larvae and eggs as well as weed seeds and other material you do not want in your houseplants.

Acclimating Plants

Bring your plants indoors well before any danger of frost for proper acclimation to the indoor environment. The change in light levels and humidity could shock more delicate plants, and they may wilt temporarily or drop leaves before they adjust to the new conditions. If possible, bring them in just a few minutes at a time for several days, gradually increasing their indoor time to several hours before keeping them indoors all the time. Flowering tropicals will also benefit from cutting back some of their foliage to avoid shock before being brought indoors.

To help houseplants overcome the transition from outdoors to indoors, position them in a bright, sunny area and consider adjusting indoor temperature and humidity controls to more closely mimic outdoor conditions. Make adjustments slowly and gradually, and the plants will adjust.

Time to Repot

Once your houseplants are adjusted to their indoor fall and winter environment, they can be safely repotted without adding to their stress. Repot the plants early in the day, and move them to a slightly larger pot. Avoid jumping several pot sizes, which could lead to excessive root growth while the foliage is neglected. Be sure to fertilize and water the plants appropriately to provide them proper nourishment as they settle into new pots. Do not expect luxuriant foliage growth right away, however, as it will take some time for the plants to begin growing again, especially in fall and winter when most houseplants are entering a dormant, slow growth period.

By repotting your houseplants in fall, you can help healthy, vigorously growing plants adjust to a new environment and continue their growth with ease in a new, larger, more comfortable pot.

Spruce are beloved as potted Christmas Trees. Both the Colorado and Colorado Blue Spruce have a nice pyramidal shapes with strong limbs that can hold heavy ornaments or light strands. The Colorado Blue is set apart by its stunning steel-blue foliage. 

Beyond the holidays, spruces make a lovely addition to any landscape. When viewed in the northern forests, these majestic, needled evergreens are glorious with their graceful, symmetrical, conical forms. Smaller landscapes may also enjoy the merits of this genus with the many slow-growing and dwarf cultivars that are commonly offered, many of which are also ideal when selected as living holiday trees. Larger spruces work wonderfully planted in a row as a windbreak but shine equally as well when chosen as a specimen plant. Added benefits include deer resistance and salt tolerance.

Caring for Your Living Christmas Tree

If you do opt for a potted spruce, there are certain steps you need to take so they can survive the rigors of the holiday and be ready for planting. 

1. Only leave a live spruce tree inside the house for a maximum of 12-14 days.
2. If possible, place the tree in a garage, carport or sheltered area to help acclimate it to a warmer location before putting it into the house. Keep the root ball moist..
3. Place ice cubes on the soil to keep cool and moist while in the house.
4. Place the tree away from heating vents, wood stoves and baseboard heaters.
5. Check water level daily and refill as needed.
6. Prepare your planting hole outside by digging it early and covering with plywood until needed. Store soil in the garage so it does not freeze.
7. If possible, acclimate the tree once more by putting it in a garage or sheltered area for a few days before planting outside. Continue to keep the root ball moist.
8. Plant the tree as you normally would, mulch and water well.

Growing Tips 

• Plants require full sun, good air circulation and moist, well-drained, acidic soil.
• Spruces are shallow-rooted and should always be planted high rather than low.
• Mulch the root zone with a thick layer to keep plant roots cool and moist.
• Consider available space and ultimate size of the chosen variety before planting.

 Since we are interfering with the natural growth cycle of these trees, their survival through the season cannot be guaranteed. However, customers who have purchased living trees from us and followed the guidelines have reported a great success rate with the trees thriving in the spring. It is fun to look out into your yard at trees from Christmases past!

Do you think your tiny balcony terrace means you can’t have a grand garden? Are you looking for a clever and imaginative way to introduce a child to the world of plants? Have you ever dreamed of your own “McGregor’s Garden?” One of the newest gardening trends can do all these and a whole lot more!

Start planning…and playing…in your fairy garden!

About Fairy Gardens

One of the newest gardening trends, fairy gardening is the new-and-improved miniature gardening of yesteryear with all sorts of new products, idea books and plants. Despite their small size, the themes, designs and creativity of these tiny garden spaces is boundless. Any container, nearly any type of plant and any type of design can add a bit of garden magic even to a tiny space. Go small and have fun.

Designing a Fairy Garden

You can create your fairy garden just about anywhere. For portability, consider a pot, basin or terrarium. Or, for a more rustic appeal, plant an old lunchbox, garden bucket or child’s wagon. Old shoes, a stack of broken pots, a rusty wheelbarrow or a concrete bird bath are other great planting options.

Fairy gardens can be positioned anywhere. A smaller design can be a fun centerpiece to patio furniture, or it can be part of an entryway display. To heighten the intrigue, find a secret place in your own garden to lure the garden fairies. Between tree roots, beside a water feature or in a grove under flowering shrubs… The possibilities are endless.

Design the overall look of your fairy garden just as you would a larger garden. What is its theme? Is it a fantasyland for unicorns? A gnome family farm? A replica of your own big house? It can be anything you imagine. Consider tiers, layers and depth as well to create a truly impactful scene in your miniature fairy world.

If you’re having trouble coming up with an idea, visit your garden center to check out all the products. They’ll help you create your own mini-fantasy scene. From arbors and benches to umbrellas and miniature tools, the possibilities are amazing. If you’re not sure your resident garden fairies will understand your invitation, you can always buy a mannequin fairy to entice them to share the fun.

This visit also sets the mind whirling with ideas for plant materials. Consider the mixture of colors, textures, shapes, and scents… in miniature. Tiny groundcovers such as moss or creeping thyme create beautiful “lawns.” Pebbles become paths. Sand creates shores. Twigs make houses, fences and other structures. What can you do with a small pinecone or acorn? How can you recreate a Disney-type pumpkin carriage?

Creativity knows no limits, and the fairies will love you for it!