June 10th, 2013
Savour the Flavour of Fresh Herbs!
If you enjoy cooking with fresh herbs there is nothing more rewarding than a herb garden full of Rosemary, Thyme, Sage, and Basil to use in your culinary creations. There are many flavourful herbs that are easy to grow in your garden or in pots on your patio. In addition to their flavour many herbs are very aromatic and make an excellent addition to your garden. The beautiful blue flowers of rosemary are as ornamentally beautiful as they are culinarily delicious. I can not imagine a garden without at least a few herbs.
You can choose from a broad range of herbs including:
- Basil
- Bay Leaf
- Cat Grass
- Chamomile
- Chives
- Cilantro/Coriander
- Curry
- Dill
- Lemon Verbena
- Oregano
- Parsley
- Majoram
- Mint
- Rosemary
- Sage
- Savory
- Stevia
- Thyme
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Basil
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Cilantro
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Oregano
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Rosemary
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Sage
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Thyme
June 3rd, 2013
Make your garden “Pretty in Pink”
If you like pink you should add this beautiful Supertunia ‘Picasso in Pink’ to the colour palette in your garden. ‘Picasso in Pink’ is new for 2013 and is a close relative to the Supertunia ‘Pretty Much Picasso’ that has been available for the last three years. If ‘Pretty in Pink’ grows as well as the ‘Pretty Much Picasso’ it is sure to be a winner in your garden this year.
‘Picasso in Pink’ has a unique bi-colour flower with a pink centre and a chartreuse green edge. They are self-cleaning so you will not have to manually remove any dead flowers. They a heat and drought tolerant and will attract hummingbirds and butterflies to your garden. They would be great in a hanging basket, planter, or in your garden.
For more information click here.
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Picasso in Pink
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Picasso in Pink
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Picasso in Pink
May 31st, 2013
Grow Your Own Sweet Potatoes!
If you have a nice sunny spot and you’re looking for something easy to grow try one of the Sweet Potato varieties available. Sweet Potatoes, which are in the Ipomoea family are tubers that you can plant in a pot or in the ground. You might be more familiar with their ornamental cousins which have beautiful chartreuse or dark purple foliage. The ornamental varieties develop tubers as well, although they are generally not edible. The edible varieties (Ipomoea batatas) have a plain green leaf and rarely flower. They require little watering or feeding and when harvested they store very well. For 2013 you can choose from the following varieties:
- Carver
- Georgia Jet
- Superior
- Tainung 65
For more information about how to grow Sweet Potatoes click here.
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‘Carver’
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‘Georgia Jet’
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‘Superior’
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‘Tainung 65′
May 27th, 2013
Enjoy the sweet scents of summer with Lavender!
Lavender (Lavandula) is a romantic flower and every gardener should have at least one variety in their garden. They love a sunny location with good drainage. Lavender is extremely drought tolerant once it is established, but it should be watered regularly when young.
Two of the hardiest and best know varieties are the English varieties (Lavendula angustifolia) ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Munstead’. These varieties of English Lavender produce wonderfully fragrant blue-lavender coloured flowers during the summer. You can also try several new varieties of English Lavender including a new one for 2013 called ‘Blue Royalty’. This new variety produces beautiful royal blue flowers in late spring and early summer.
Another popular variety of Lavender is the Spanish Lavender (Lavendula stoechas) ‘Anouk’. This variety produces a consistent display of flowers from June through September. To encourage them to repeatedly bloom is it best to cut them back after they produce their first set of flowers to encourage the second bloom. There is a new variety of Spanish Lavender called ‘Silver Anouk’ (Aka Silver Summer). The ‘Silver Anouk’ has beautiful silver foliage and the repeat blooming capability of the ‘Anouk’.
May 13th, 2013
Grow the Sweetest Tastiest Tomato – Tomaccio
If you enjoy growing Tomatoes and are looking for something unique and different try growing the Tomato ‘Tomaccio’. This grape sized Tomato have an intense, sugary flavor when picked fresh or dried at home. Tomato aficionados love them as a sweet snack or a gourmet ingredient in pastas, pizzas, salads and other dishes.
For more information about this great variety visit the website at www.tomaccio.com.
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Tomato ‘Tomaccio’
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Tomato ‘Tomaccio’ (Dried)
May 13th, 2013
Mighty Mato Grafted Tomatoes – Have Arrived!
One of the easiest and most rewarding vegetable crops to grow on your own are Tomatoes. Now they are even easier with the new Mighty Mato grafted Tomatoes. Mighty Mato Tomatoes are like superheroes they are stronger, faster, more able to fend off pests and diseases than regular tomato plants. They are also most drought so you can miss a watering or two. They are also more cold tolerant so they can begin producing earlier and continue producing later in the season. But most importantly they produce bigger crops of tomatoes.
How do they do this? They are better because they are “grafted”. Grafting is where the top part of one plant is attached to the root system of a separate plant (the rootstock). The top part of the plant fuses with the bottom part of the plant and combine the rootstock’s vigor and disease resistance with the exceptional fruit quality of the top plant. These are NOT genetically modified in any way. They are some of the same great varieties that have been grown for many years including several Heirloom varieties. One important difference between grafted and non-grafted tomatoes is that the graft must stay above soil level, and you should prune lateral suckers for best fruiting.
The Mighty ’Mato line-up includes twelve heirloom and four hybrid varieties. For 2013 you can choose from the following varieties at our stores:
- Amish Paste
- Beefsteak
- Black Cherry
- Black Krim
- Brandywine
- Cherokee Purple
- Early Girl
- Green Zebra
- Mortgage Lifter
- Stupice
- Sun Sugar
- Sweet Million
- Yellow Pear
For more information about the varieties please click here. To see the picture below please click on them.
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Mighty Mato – Grafted vs. Non Grafted
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Mighty Mato – Beefsteak
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MIghty Mato – Sun Sugar
May13th, 2013
Taste the flavour of home grown Tomatoes!
The weather is finally warm enough to start thinking about putting tomatoes outside in the garden. It is still recommended that you provide some protection from the cold night temperatures. You can do this by covering your tomatoes with plastic or a white cloth like our “Crop Cover” or “Frost Blanket”. When the night time low is above 10 degrees Celsius, or 50 degrees Fahrenheit, you can leave them uncovered.
Whether you are a seasoned tomato growing veteran or a new gardener here are a few tips to help you grow better tomatoes:
- Tomatoes are heavy feeder, they are the teenage boys of the plant world. You should add manure and fertilizer to the soil before you plant.
- When you plant the tomatoes plant them deeper as new roots will develop along the stem helping your plants grow faster and stronger. (Except ‘Mighty Mato’ grafted Tomatoes, do not plant them below the graft)
- Water regularly all summer, twice a week early in the season and daily during the summer months. Tomatoes that do not get regular water are more likely to develop diseases and are less likely to produce as much fruit. They also develop thicker skin if not watered properly.
- Fertilize weekly with a water soluble fertilizer like Miracle Gro Tomato Food 18-18-21 or monthly with a granular fertilizer like Evegro’s Vegetable and Tomato Food 10-15-19.
- Add Lime to your soil before you plant and every month during the growing season. Lime helps balance the pH and provides Calcium and Magnesium to the plants.
With so many varieties of Tomatoes to choose from here are a few varieties that perform well in our climate:
- Ball Extra Early – a medium sized tomato that produces early
- Beefsteak – one of the largest tomatoes with lots of meaty flesh
- Early Girl – a medium sized early producing variety
- Sungold – a golden cherry tomato
- Sweet 100 – an excellent small cherry tomato
- Sweet Million – a smaller version of the sweet 100 that produces an abundant crop
- Tumbler – a great cherry tomato for hanging baskets that produces all summer until frost
- Tomaccio – a super sweet grape type tomato that is great for making Sun Dried Tomatoes
In addition to these varieties you can choose from a selection of Heirloom Tomato varieties including:
- Bloody Butcher – a medium sized tomato that is great for slicing
- Brandywine Black – a large heirloom tomato
- Latah – an early producing medium sized tomato
- Nyagous – a medium to large early to mid season tomato
- Prudens Purple – a medium tomato great for slicing
Be sure to stake your tomatoes as they grow to give them support as the fruit matures. You can stake them up with a basic bamboo or cedar stake or buy a “Tomato Cage” that provides support for the leaves as well.
Click here to download our information brochure on Tomatoes.
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‘Beefsteak’
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‘Brandywine’
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‘Early Girl’
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‘Sungold’
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‘Sweet 100′
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‘Sweet Million’
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‘Tumbler’
May 10th, 2013
All of the Beauty and None of the Work!
If you are looking for a Rose that has all of the beauty with none of the work you should try the new Easy Elegance Roses. For more information click here.
Gone are the days of high-maintenance roses. With Easy Elegance®, you can have hardy, disease-resistant, chemical free roses without all the effort and attention. Let it be known – these are not your grandmother’s roses. You don’t have to spend all day in the yard to make them last. All you have to do is plant them and enjoy the beauty. And there’s nothing easier than that.
You can choose from six varieties including:
Click here for more information about Easy Elegance Roses.
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‘All the Rage’
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‘Coral Cove’
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‘High Voltage’
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‘Macy’s Pride’
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‘Paint the Town’
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‘Yellow Submarine’
Flower Garden, Garden Tips, News Items, Now in Bloom, Shrubs
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Easy Elegance Roses, Rose All the Rage, Rose Champagne Wishes, Rose Como Park, Rose Coral Cove, Rose High Voltage, Rose Kashmir, Rose Macy's Pride, Rose Paint the Town, Rose Yellow Submarine, roses
April 25th, 2013
Plant the best! Plant Proven Winners!
Are you looking for plants you can trust to create a beautiful, easy-to-maintain garden? All you have to do is look for the Proven Winners name to know you’re getting the most distinctive plants on the market. That’s because Proven Winners partners with the top plant breeders around the world to ensure our varieties are vigorous, healthy, vibrant, and unique.
Why are Proven Winners Plants Better?
Proven Winners searches the world to find and select plants which are clearly superior to others of their type in our trials in Michigan, New Hampshire, California, Germany, Japan, and Florida. Once a Proven Winners plant makes it to your house, you’ll fall in love. Proven Winners plants are:
- Easy to grow and care for
- Covered with blooms
- Bright and colorful
- All-season bloomers
- Disease free
- Trialed and tested
Our selection of Proven Winners includes many great plants including varieties of Ageratum, Argyranthemum (Daisy), Bacopa, Bidens, Coleus, Ipomoea (Sweet Potato Vine), Lobularia, Nemesia, Petunias, Salvia, Supertunias and Verbena.
There are some great new varieties for 2013 including a new variety of Lobularia called ‘Frosty Knight’. Click here for more information about Frosty Knight. There is also a great new variety of Superbells (mini Petunias) called ‘Lemon Slice’. Click here for more information about Lemon Slice. Both of these new varieties go great with the best seller from 2012 Supertunia ‘Royal Velvet’. The dark purple will go great with the lemon yellow flowers of Lemon Slice as well as the variegated yellow foliage and white flowers of the Lobularia ‘Frosty Knight’. Try them as a combination in your hanging baskets or planters.
To go to the Proven Winners Website to see more great plants click here.
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Lobularia ‘Frosty Knight’
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Lobularia ‘Frosty Knight’
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Superbells ‘Lemon Slice’
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Superbells ‘Lemon Slice’
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Supertunia ‘Royal Velvet’
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Supertunia ‘Royal Velvet’
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