Plant your own Container Garden – April 22 at 10am
Thursday, April 20th at 6pm Join us to get a jump on Spring and be the envy of your neighborhood. We will work with you to create your very own masterpiece. Bring in a favorite container or patio pot. We will also have pots available for purchase. We will care for your creation here at the retail store until the 5/6/17 pick up date. Fees for this workshop will be determined by size and amount of plant material used. Space …
Wine and Roses Weigela
Add Season Long Color to Your Gardens Wine and Roses Weigela is one of those “boy I wish I would have planted this sooner” shrubs. Its striking dark burgundy leaves provide a fantastic enhancement or background to your garden or entry way. The leaf color continues to intensify as summer progresses. Its rosy-pink trumpet shaped flowers bloom in spring and then again throughout the summer. Hummingbirds love the flowers. A cut branch of Wine and Roses Weigela in a flower …
Strawberries
Strawberries – the Luscious Taste of Summer! Strawberries are delicious! And when they come from your own garden, they taste even more delicious. Now’s the time to get your strawberries started. The information tells you to wait to harvest the second year but we won’t tell anyone if you harvest and eat them the first year instead! The strawberry’s incomparable sweet fragrance, fresh red color and superb flavor are the essence of summer. One of the few fruits that originated in …
Fuchsia for new and old fashioned beauty!
Fuchsia are beautiful, delicate plants loved by many. They’re known for cascading out of hanging baskets and attracting hummingbirds. The botanical name for fuchsia is pronounced FEW-shah. It’s a diverse genus of plants where some are cascading types and some are more upright. Some do well in sun but most prefer shade. Fucshia have beautiful flowers for sure! They are typically double, tubular types of flowers that hummingbirds and people both love. It’s a favorite for many. So why do …
Fabulous Ferns
Fabulous perennial ferns add texture and contrast to any shade garden. Their names are complicated and there are many different varieties – but don’t let that scare you! I”m pretty comfortable with annuals and many perennials but when it comes to ferns, I still have a lot to learn. The good news is that most of the ferns we offer are pretty easy to grow. The hardest part seems to be deciding what type of ferns will work best for …
Ensete – The Dramatic Tropical
If I had a dollar for every time someone asked me what “that” plant was… I’d be almost rich! “That” plant is Ensete. It’s dramatic and so much more. Ensete is frequently called a banana plant because it looks like a banana plant. The real name for the redish variety we are coming to love is Ensete Ventricosum Maurelii. In Michigan, these plants grow and grow and grow. In a single summer, ensete can grow over 5 ft tall. They …
Bruschetta
This delicious and easy to make bruschetta recipe will put your fresh tomatoes to good use. This tomato bruschetta is the most wonderful appetizer during fresh tomato season. Simple to make and packed with the vibrant flavors of summer, it’s a fantastic choice as a snack, appetizer, or side dish. Give it a try, and you’ll be hooked! Ingredients 10 plum tomatoes, diced 3 cloves garlic, minced ¾ cup fresh basil leaves, coarsely chopped 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice (optional) 1/3 …
Seed Technology
A seed is not just a seed. Was I ever amazed after taking a tour of the Ball Seed Technology Lab in West Chicago, IL. The hours of work that it takes and the science behind what’s needed is far beyond what I knew about. I recently attended the Ball Customer Appreciation Day in West Chicago, IL. Ball Seed is a one of our largest sources for the seed that purchase to produce our plants. For most items, we sow …
Echinacea – A Must-Have Perennial!
Echinacea – also known as coneflower – is a terrific perennial for Michigan flower beds. Beautiful, butterfly attracting, deer resistant flowers bloom most of the summer in sunny locations. New colors and new varieties make this plant one of the best choices. Echinacea sounds more like a disease than a plant you would want in your garden. And if you read the Wikipedia description, it still seems like something to stay away from. Maybe that’s why people commonly refer to it …