Mowing. Do It Right
Learn proper lawn mowing techniques with 8 simple tips to keep your grass healthy, thick, and resistant to weeds, insects, and disease.
Spring Lawn Renovation
Follow these spring lawn renovation tips to seed, repair thin turf, improve soil, and control weeds for a thicker, healthier lawn.
Lilacs
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, […]
Tree Staking: When and How
Follow these tree staking best practices to know when staking is necessary, how to stake properly, and encourage strong, stable growth.
Quick-Growing Spring Greens
Grow fast-growing spring greens like lettuce, spinach, and arugula for quick, early harvests and continuous fresh spring produce.
March Garden Momentum
Kickstart your garden with this early spring checklist: prune, divide perennials, prepare soil, start seeds indoors, and maintain tools for a vibrant season.
Frost Cloth: Essential Spring Protection
Use frost cloth to shield seedlings from frost, extend your growing season, and give your spring garden a healthy start.
Early Spring Perennial Care Guide
Follow early spring perennial care tips to prune wisely, protect pollinators, and prepare your garden for a season of healthy, vibrant growth.
Cold Soil Vegetable Favorites
Learn cold soil vegetable planting for early spring crops like peas, spinach, radishes, lettuce, carrots, beets, kale, and chard to get a head start.
Decorating Your Home With Houseplants
Houseplants enhance home décor, improve air quality, add humidity, and thrive in low, medium, or high light environments.
Insect Control Begins Now
Learn why late winter is the ideal time to manage garden insects, which pests to target, and how dormant oil sprays protect trees and shrubs before spring growth begins.
Pruning Fundamentals
The first thing to look for when pruning a tree is broken, diseased or dead branches, all of which should be removed. Many deciduous shrubs can really benefit from annual pruning. Pruning not only controls the size of these shrubs, but it can also increase flower production and encourage colorful bark.
Easy-to-Grow Indoor Herbs for Winter
Even though it may be miserable weather outside, don’t be stuck having to buy overpriced fresh herbs at the store or using dried. Why not grow your own inside the house? Most common herbs will grow quite happily in a sunny window. Your kitchen may be the perfect spot. After all, it's probably warm and sunny there.
Bird Feeding Basics
Winter is the perfect time to think about attracting bird visitors to your yard. Bird watching is a great hobby that can be enjoyed by both younger and older members of the family and getting started is both easy and inexpensive.
Fresh Cut Trees
There’s nothing quite like a fresh, vibrant Christmas tree with its bold branches, crisp scent and natural charm. But which tree is right for your holiday décor? There are several popular tree species that can be ideal decorations. Douglas Fir This tree holds its dark green needles for a good while, making it an excellent […]
All About Amaryllis
Discover Amaryllis basics — vibrant winter-blooming Hippeastrum bulbs, how to plant and pot them, care tips for watering and light, plus steps to encourage reblooming year after year.
Spruce Up for the Holidays
From the Fir Family come some of our most beloved Christmas trees, the Colorado, Norway and White Spruce varieties. Both the Colorado and Colorado Blue Spruce have a nice pyramidal shapes with strong limbs that can hold heavy ornaments or light strands.
Cut Christmas Tree Selection and Care
A fresh cut tree can be a wonderful addition to your holiday décor as well as a treasured Christmas tradition. Unfortunately, with poor care a cut tree can be looking wilted and worn long before December 25, but if you know a few tricks, you can keep your tree looking vibrant and lush throughout the season. Extend the life of your cut tree this Christmas and enjoy the beauty of the season much longer!
Holiday Poinsettia Care
A poinsettia plant is the quintessential holiday decoration and hostess gift for holiday parties or visits. They're great as a centerpiece, decorating a step or filling in any empty space with bold holiday color and cheer.
Forcing Bulbs for the Holidays and Beyond
Blooming baskets and pots of brightly colored forced bulbs make a fabulous holiday or winter gift for others and ourselves. What better way to dress up the holiday home or cheer up a long, cold winter, reminding us of impending spring?
Stuff a Gardener’s Stocking
Stocking stuffers don't have to be useless, jokey items that are quickly forgotten after the holidays. Instead, choose the appropriate stocking stuffers with a gardening twist, and even the smallest stocking will be filled with gardening fun for that special gardener in your life. No matter what type of gardener you want to buy for, we've got the right stocking stuffers for their green thumb!
Holiday Gardener’s Calendar
Winter is upon us. Depending upon the temperatures, there may still be time to finish remaining chores. If you have any questions about the following procedures or products, please come in and see us. We can help you select the correct dormant oil, fertilizer, selective herbicide and frost protection method. We’re always here to help. […]
Tips for a Gardening Gift Basket
A gift basket is a great present for any gardener in your life, and is easy to customize to any gardening preferences. With just one trip to the garden center, you can create the perfect gardening gift basket for any special occasion. When to Give a Gardening Gift Basket A gift basket can be a […]
Delightful Daffodils
Spring flowering bulbs are a must for every garden. They provide cheerful early-season color at a time when it is most needed, both in the landscape and by our winter weary souls. Daffodils are some of the most delightful Spring flowering bulbs! What makes them so delightful is their ease of care, diversity in their […]
Transitioning Traditional Lawns to Native Landscapes
Lush, green, well-manicured lawns… Americans are obsessed… or have been. But change is in the air. The American Obsession What is America’s obsession with lawns? It can be attributed to both historical and cultural factors. Lawns hold a fascinating and ancient history. Who knew? As far back as 3000 BCE, in Mesopotamia, the concept of […]
Fall Mulching Pros and Cons
Mulch can add a protective layer to any fall garden, flowerbeds, or shrubs, but is it best for your landscape? Understanding the pros and cons of fall mulching can help you better prepare all your plants for the changing season. Benefits of Fall Mulching There’s no denying that when done properly, mulching in fall can […]
Fall Gardener’s Calendar
SEPTEMBER Spruce up the landscape by planting Fall Pansies, Flowering Cabbage & Kale, Garden Mums, Fall-Blooming Perennials as well as Trees and Shrubs. Test your lawn pH to determine if you need to apply sulfur this season. Sulfur should be applied at a rate of 1-2 lbs. per 100 sq. ft. Pick up your Spring […]
Selecting the Right Plant for the Right Place
Creating a thriving landscape isn't just about pretty plants—it's about matching plant selection to your garden's unique conditions. This "right plant, right place" principle ensures healthier plants, less maintenance, and greater garden longevity.
Tulip Time
It’s finally here, that time of year that we’ve all been anticipating – fall! And, you know what fall means? Tulip time! The cooler days of fall entice us back into the garden that the August heat forced us to abandon. This is when your garden retailer is brimming with fresh, new, seasonal plant material […]
Plant a Tree This Fall
There are so many reasons to add a new tree to your landscape this fall that it’s hard to find a reason not to.
Over-Wintering Container Plants Outdoors
All containerized plants that are considered hardy in your zone can spend the winter outdoors, but you do need to take a little special care to keep them safe and comfortable as temperatures drop. Despite their hardiness, winter is still a challenging season, but it is possible to keep your container plants healthy until the days grow longer and warmer again.
Fall Lawn Care
Fall is the best time of the year to overseed your existing lawn or establish a new lawn. If your lawn is a bit thin, has bare patches or needs good care, now is the time to take care of it so it can become thoroughly established before warm temperatures arrive in spring.
Fall in Love with Fall Pansies
Ideal for fall gardens, pansies offer a colorful display for almost six months – in the fall when they are planted, in the winter during a stretch of sunny days and again in spring! Winter pansies may be planted anytime starting in mid-September and continuing through October.
Fall Chrysanthemums
No flower is more iconic of autumn than the chrysanthemum, and these beautiful mounding perennials are ideal for fall flowerbeds, pots, window boxes, borders, and many other uses. How will you get creative with chrysanthemums this fall? Why We Love Chrysanthemums Just when many other flowers are fading at the end of summer, chrysanthemums, or […]
Perennial Power
When choosing a perennial to fill an empty space in your garden, make sure to get the most bang from your buck by selecting one, or several, long blooming perennials
Crazy for Coneflowers
Beautiful and dependable, Echinacea purpurea, or purple coneflower, is the crowning glory of the summer perennial garden. A member of the Aster family, all Echinacea species are native to North America. The genus Echinacea is derived from the Greek ‘echino’ meaning hedgehog, a reference to the spiny center disc flowers.
Daylilies… Easy to Grow, Fun to Collect!
Few perennials can match the daylily (Hemerocallis) for versatility and durability. One of the most popular perennials, daylilies have become a collector plant for novice and experienced gardeners alike.
Mulching: Perfect Timing, Tools, and Technique
Mulching your garden is more than just a seasonal ritual; it's an investment in the vitality and lasting beauty of your landscape. The real secret isn't just that you mulch, but when, how, and with what.
Holey Moley or Vole!
Mole or vole: ever wonder what the difference is between these pests, or why you should care? These mouse-like creatures may be seen in or around your garden. Identification is important in determining if and how you should control these critters. Moles Identification: A mature mole will grow 5-7 inches from snout to tail. Moles […]
Yellowjackets: Good Guys or Bad?
Sometimes it's difficult to tell good from bad. Take the yellowjacket for example. When you hear yellowjacket, what’s the first thing that comes to mind? A buzzing, stinging insect ruining your outdoor meal or a treasured pollinator of many plants?
The Sweet Scents of Spring
Each year, we gardeners grow antsy as winter draws to a close but it seems spring will never arrive. Daily, the season teases, tempts and enchants us with the slightest offerings as the temperatures rise, a balmy breeze brushes our cheeks and the days grow a bit longer, but all we see is a world […]
Early Spring-Blooming Perennials
When winter is long and dreary, it can seem like your precious flowerbeds will never burst into life again. Early spring flowers, however, are precious proof that winter is on its way out, and some can even bloom in bright, cheerful colors right through lingering snow. Yet we often forget these beauties, overcome with the […]
How Many Houseplants Do You Need?
Houseplants bring many benefits into your home, from reducing odors, airborne toxins, and dust to increasing humidity and promoting a sense of wellness. Just how many houseplants do you need, however, to realize those benefits? The answer is more complicated than just a basic number. Basic Houseplant Calculations The general rule of thumb for how […]
Houseplant Parent 101
Houseplants add a breath of fresh air and bring a touch of nature into any home. When you’re ready to adopt your first houseplant, however, you need to be sure you’re properly equipped to nurture the plant so it will have a healthy, comfortable life in your home. Why Adopt Houseplants? Houseplants bring many benefits […]
Insects In Winter
Now that we’re in the throes of winter, do you ever stop and think, “Where did all the bugs of summer go?” With the onslaught of frigid temperatures along with snow and ice, gardeners and homeowners alike hope and pray that these weather extremes will reduce local pest insect populations. But do they? Well, there’s […]
New Year Gardening Resolutions
As a new year begins, so do our garden plans. Winter is now halfway through; day length is increasing, and exhilarating notions of having the best garden ever consume our thoughts almost daily. Here are some resolutions to help make your dreams come true this gardening season. PLAN – A little garden planning goes a long […]
Seed Viability
The perfect way to spend a cold winter’s day is commencing this year’s veggie, herb, and flower gardens. The gardening season begins in earnest in February with seed-starting, and seed-starting begins with an inventory of necessary supplies. To prepare for this endeavor, you will need: Seed-starting mix, containers (flats, peat pots, cell packs, etc.), labels […]
Creating Humidity for Houseplant Health
Houseplants are like Goldilocks...sometimes there is too much humidity and sometimes not enough. However, somewhere it's "just right." Many of our houseplants hail from the tropics and grow in humidity of 50-80%, considerably more humid than our homes.
Winter Gardener’s Calendar
A perfect time to plan! Curl up with your gardening books and the gardening magazines and catalogs you’ve received in the mail. Get out the gardening journal and start dreaming… General Landscape Clean up when you get a break in the weather. Remove fallen branches and downed evergreen clumps. Rake leaves to prevent stains on […]
Winter Houseplant Care
With programmable thermostats, double-paned windows, and other tricks, we are able to keep our homes at the same climatic comfort level year-round. Indoor houseplants, however, can be sensitive to subtle seasonal changes. Even in a balanced home environment, proper winter houseplant care is essential to help plants thrive through this challenging season. Winter Changes in […]
