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…
As a garden center owner for over three decades, I have seen all types of gardeners come in to shop for plants, and without exception, regardless of their level of skill, there is one common habit they all exhibit. Show them a pretty flower and they will immediately plunge their schnozzola right into the heart of it to see if it has fragrance - we have all done it, myself included…
We are fortunate, in our mild northwest climate, to be able to enjoy a wide selection of broadleaf evergreen shrubs - some of which will actually grow into small trees… The genus Euonymus, with several available species, is one of my favorites and yet another option that gives us a variety of choices in foliage size, color, and growth habit…
I first fell in love with Peonies back in the early 70’s when I was stationed in Petersburg, Virginia with the US Army. I was driving out in the country one afternoon when I came upon row after row of these incredible plants covered with pink, red or white blooms that looked like carnations on steroids…
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
The legendary nostalgia of Lilacs has graced garden across the world for hundreds of years. When I say the word “Lilac” I think most gardeners can close their eyes and picture the flower, and perhaps more importantly imagine the intoxicating fragrance that they fill the air with each spring. We now have…