Timely tips and ideas all year to inspire you and help you succeed with your garden.
Tomatoes are consistently the most popular vegetable in American gardens. From bite-size to sandwich-size, either red, yellow, or “black,” modern or old-fashioned, there is a tomato for every taste. We have added some wonderful varieties we encourage you to try this year. New Tomatoes: Mountain Merit – Resistant to early and late blight as well as tomato spotted wilt virus. Deep red 8-12oz fruit, great for slicing as well as canning. Determinate with a 4-5 week harvest. Fantastico – Resistant …
Learn All About Roses from Larry Hill. Larry loves talking about roses and sharing his knowledge and love of roses with others. Hopefully, you have your new roses planted and are seeing some growth. It is important to remember that, like every living thing, roses need to be fed. Here is my recommended feeding schedule for your roses: Two weeks after planting, you should water with a mixture of Atlantis Fish Emulsion, mixed at the rate of two tablespoons per gallon of water. …
Learn All About Roses from Larry Hill. Larry loves talking about roses and sharing his knowledge and love of roses with others. Sometimes it seems there are as many kinds of rose care products as there are roses! Choosing between them can be a daunting task, especially for those who are new to rose gardening. To help ensure your success with roses, I’ve compiled a list of my favorite rose care products: Composted cow manure: It’s cost effective and won’t burn the roots of …
The next time your roses start to wilt, instead of tossing those pretty petals in the trash, make potpourri. It’s so easy andwill make your home smell amazing. Potpourri also makes a memorable homemade gift. After dead heading your roses, you can use them to make potpourri: Pull the petals off the roses. Spread the petals out on a screen and let them dry in a warm and dry place (approximately 2 – 3 days). Separately, dry some whole rose …
Get them involved in the garden. Mixing plants, soil, water and sunshine with a bunch of kids is a winning combination. And, who knows, you may be even able to get them to eat their vegetables too! A garden is a hands-on, living classroom. Gardening will teach them responsibility and patience; it helps improve life skills and helps form a positive relationship between the child and the environment. Gardening can also increase self-confidence, creativity and a love of nature all …
Then you need to check out all the amazing varieties of heucheras! Heuchera foliage has been bred to produce a wide burst of colors, from amber, gold and orange to lime-yellow, red, purple, brown and even black. Heuchera is now 30% off along with all other perennials. The little stalks of flowers that give the plant its common name of coral bells are still there, but it’s the leaves that are prized. Although traditional coral bells had only green leaves …
Do Not Touch This Plant: If you come in contact with this plant, you could experience severe burns to your skin, and risk temporary or permanent blindness. Giant Hogweed is an invasive, non-native plant that poses a serious threat to human health and natural ecosystems. If you haven’t already heard, Giant Hogweed has now been detected in many counties across Michigan. The Michigan Department of Agriculture & Rural Development states on its website, “Giant Hogweed is a public health hazard …
Have you ever wondered how roses get their names? The process of having a rose named is actually very simple. The real difficulty is in hybridizing a rose that’s worthy of naming! A very popular older Hybrid tea, the ‘Peace’ rose was introduced right after the end of World War 2. It was actually sheer coincidence that Berlin fell and a truce was declared on the same day as the naming of the ‘Peace’ rose. In naming the rose, this …
Cleaning your bird houses is essential for good bird health and safety. Dirty bird houses can harbor rodents, insects, feather mites, fungus and bacteria that can spread disease to the birds. Ideally, a bird house should be cleaned after all babies have grown and left the home. Remove all old nesting material and scrape out any feces or clumped matter. This material should be disposed of in a plastic bag to prevent spreading any parasites it might harbor. Scrub the …
If you are one of the few who saved your poinsettia in the hopes of getting it to bloom again… this is for you! The trick to getting Poinsettias to bloom is a very strict light and dark schedule. If it is not followed chances are your Poinsettia will not bloom. 1. Starting September 20th until December 1st, keep your Poinsettia in light from 8 am to 5 pm. Place in a closet with no window from 5 pm to 8 …
