It pains me to see customers spending hundreds of dollars on new plants and simultaneously refusing to spend a few more on a bag or two of compost and a box of starter fertilizer. These two items are not unnecessary “add-ons” that the retailer is just trying to add to the sale, they are critical components of a successful transplanting process - or as I like to refer to them as “plant insurance”. Unless you have phenomenal soil, you should always add compost and starter fertilizers when you are planting new plants. Here is why…
Summer-blooming bulbs, like Lilies, Dahlias and Gladiolus (to name just a few), have a very warm spot in my heart. I have fond memories as a child of planting Glads and coming home from school every day to check their progress, feeling the stems for potential flower buds, until finally they would emerge into their glorious colors. It was absolute magic for a youngster such as myself. You too can experience those same feelings (no matter what your age), simply by…
During the months of May and June one of the all-time favorite plants of local gardeners, the peony, is bursting into bloom. There are many excellent peonies available to utilize in our landscapes; including herbaceous cottage types in all sorts of colors (and varying fragrances) and larger growing tree peonies too. I would never scold anyone for growing either of these types (since I do as well), but I want to bring attention to another fabulous peony option… what is known as the intersectional or Itoh Peony.