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…
I thought it might be fun to kick off 2025 in style with some talk about climate, gardens, and the adjustments we continue to make to both our gardening choices and practices. Gardeners have certainly always been flexible, or rolled with the punches as they say. As Mother Nature surprises us with this or that, she always…
The winter solstice is upon us, and I am sure everyone is looking forward to a bit more light each day, eventually steering us towards the great annual awakening of spring. To most gardeners, the idea of year ‘round interest is top of mind, as patrons I speak to year after year look to add specimens into their landscapes that provide that “WOW” factor all year long, including…
In the weeks leading up to Christmas and New Year’s Day, several traditional houseplants are available for the holiday season. Most places I visit seem to have Poinsettias, Amaryllis and holiday cactus, and I think most enthusiasts are familiar with these common (but worthy) options. If you look a little closer, you will find…
We dove into oxygenating our indoor spaces with houseplants a couple of weeks ago, and now let’s continue our indoor discussion by investigate some superior pet-friendly options. As the weather continues to cool and the wind and rain ramp up, it becomes easier and easier to garden indoors and work outside a bit less. Many of us have…
I often tell gardeners in our region to rediscover their “Evergreen State”, which (in a play on words) simply means to show some gardening style with the structure, texture and color of conifers. Around here nature has the many shades of green covered, but how about some bold blues and bright yellows? When all of the deciduous shrubs and trees have…
I often refer to myself as a “plant enabler”, a sort of legal dealer that tries his best to hook his customers up with the best plants for their landscapes. Plants are easy to get addicted to, believe me, and running a garden center means you are surrounded on a daily basis by treasures that beckon you to take them home, plant them, and watch them flourish - even if you are out of room, just ask my poor wife. If I jump in a time machine to some 30 years ago, I can see…
The annual human autumn migration from outdoor activities to more indoor focused tasks has commenced, so let us shift gears this week and delve into some houseplants. I spend plenty of time, like I am sure many of you do as well, outdoors in the yard year around. However, there are those days when...
The Golfing Gardener
Trevor Cameron
I thought it might be fun to kick off the new year in style with some gardening resolutions, a practice that may both motivate us and help to maximize our gardening potential. It goes without saying that there are many ways any of us can improve in our lives, community, relationships and even workplace. Setting goals is always useful (year around for that matter), but it seems like at the New Year holiday, resolutions large and small take center stage. I will skip the topics of…