Blog entries

Freshen Up Your Garden

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 14:24:24 +0100

Garden Mums

Tired looking containers? The quickest way to freshen up your balcony, patio or garden is to replace spring and summer blooming annuals with fresh garden mums. You don't even have to re-pot. Just leave mums in their plastic nursery pots and set them down into pots. Then...

September 2010 Calendar of Sales & Events

Fri, 03 Sep 2010 13:51:40 +0100

To Hot To Handle Sale

JF — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 20:16:57 +0100

Too Hot To Handle Sale
Sale Through August 18 or While Supplies Last

The Stuff In My Garden That Didn't Get Watered Or Looks Terrible & Needs To Be Replaced Sale

6" Annuals Sale $4.99 ret $6.49

10" Hanging Baskets $19.99 reg $26.99

12"Hanging Baskets $29.99 reg $44.99

Deciduous Tress 30% off excluding Crape Myrtle

...

Leaf Cutter Bee, Harmless or Harmful?

JF — Thu, 05 Aug 2010 13:09:26 +0100

Leaf Cutter Bee
Harmless or Harmful

If some of your roses or other plants have leaves cut in round half circles, it's the neat, meticulous work of a leaf cutter bee. As far as insect damage, it's pretty amazing to look at the leaves because unlike other insect...

August 2010 Calendar

Fri, 30 Jul 2010 12:58:04 +0100

Tropicals in Containers, Use Houseplants Outside

JF — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 12:00:46 +0100

Tropicals in Containers, Use Houseplants Outside
Houseplants are essentially tropical plants which means they can actually tolerate and thrive in Washington's heat and humidity.

For part sun to bright locations but not scorching, baking sun, you can put together an attractive cont...

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER HINTS

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 13:13:26 +0100

DOG DAYS OF SUMMER HINTS

Marta Caruso, Manager of our Kensington Store, recently gave viewers of News Channel 8 helpful hints on taking care of your garden during the Dog Days of Summer. Watch the video and get them for yourself!

Summer Perennials

JF — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:36:30 +0100

Summer Perennials, What's Blooming Now

Savvy perennial gardeners always seem to have something in bloom from spring through summer. Most perennials bloom about a month. So if you add a new perennial every month, you'll gradually build an ever bloomin...

Spotlight on Sunflowers

JF — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:22:53 +0100

Spotlight on Sunflowers

Cut sunflowers are looking especially gorgeous at this time of year. One simple arrangement is sunflowers arranged in a blue vase accented with limonium or sea lavender. Here's another idea from one of our floral des...

July Pruning To Do List

Fri, 16 Jul 2010 16:52:00 +0100

July Pruning To Do List

Perennials & Roses

Prune back spent flower blossoms and leaves of hostas by clipping stems at the base of the plant. By deadheading roses and flowering pere...

Pruning Hydrangea

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:14:17 +0100

Pruning Hydrangeas
When to Prune a Hydrangea

As hydrangea blossoms begin to fade, according to the U.S. National Arboretum, "bigleaf and oakleaf hydrangea...should be pruned shortly after flowering is complete."

Additional Information:

Pruning Made Easy
Hydrangea Diseases & Insects
How to Change Hydrangea Color
Yellow Hydrangea Leav...

Watering Too Much?

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 17:04:56 +0100

Watering Too Much?

Are You Killing Your Plants With Kindness?

A lady recently came in with a story about how every year she has the same problem with her impatiens where some of her stems will break off. After eliminating the possibility of an insect, fungus or disease, we determined it might come down to how she was watering her plants.

Everyone thinks,...

Spider Mite Damage, Prevention & Control

JF — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 19:36:25 +0100

At this time of year, we're seeing an increase in spider mite damage. The insects are so tiny you won't see any bugs but you will see their destructive damage. Leaves will be stippled or you'll see tiny dots as the mites feed on leaves which later turn yellow. The other clue your plants h
Image: thatredhead4, flickr.com

Nicknamed the "dog vomit" fungus, this unattractive, slime mold sometimes suddenly appears in gardens as a large yellow blob on top of the mulch.

We often get panicked homeowners asking what pesticides or fungicides can be sprayed to kill it.

First of all, it's harmless to pets, children and plants. According ...

Cottony Scale on Camellia & Yews

Sun, 20 Jun 2010 15:04:59 +0100

Check your camellias, yews, holly, dogwood, climbing hydrangea, and other landscape trees and shrubs for white, fuzzy scale insects this month.

These insects can be found on the underside of the leaves and suck the plant's fluids. This can contribute to their decline.

Mid-June is an ideal time to spray all parts of the plant with horticultural oil to kill the females and the newly hatched young.

If you have persistent problems with this pest year after year, follow-up by ...

Match Your Personality To Seven Container Garden Ideas

Tue, 25 May 2010 16:25:20 +0100

I Sometimes Forget To Water & Have Full Sun
Plant a drought tolerant garden with succulents such as sedums or hens and checks or for more color try ice plant or portulaca. See succulent garden containers here.

I'm Too Busy to Water & Have A Shade Garden
Try drought tolerant coleus with their inte...

How much do I need?

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 04:34:47 +0100

One bag will cover this many square feet at these depths:

Product

Size of bag

1/4”

1/2”

1”

2”

3”

4”

Shredded Hardwood Bark

3 cu. ft.

Shredded Cedar Mulch

3 cu. ft.