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By Miles Hunter, August 31, 2011

September 1st, 2011

Fall is when trees show their best colours!

Most of the time we take the trees in our garden for granted. We enjoy the shade and the privacy they provide. Fall is when many of those trees show their best colours. The range of red and orange colours seems limitless. If you are looking around your yard and wondering where you can add a bit of colour look up and see if you have space for one of these trees.

Some of the best trees for fall colour include the Maples, both Japanese and European types. Even the green leaf varieties turn to beautiful yellow, orange and red tones. Other great choices include the Katsura Tree (Cercidiphyllum japonica), Sourwood (Oxydendron), and the Forest Pansy (Cercis).

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By Miles Hunter, August 30, 2011

September 1st, 2011

It is time to start Your Winter Vegetable Garden!

As the summer begins to wind down you should be thinking about growing winter vegetables. There are many vegetable that you can grow during a west coast winter. You can start many of the vegetables from seed like lettuce, carrots, radishes, and many others. You can also buy plants that are already growing like broccoli, cabbage, kale, and swiss chard. You can even plant herbs like Sage and Thyme now for a fall or winter harvest.

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By Miles Hunter, August 22, 2011

August 22nd, 2011

It is never too late for some Summer Flowering Perennials!

Although the best times to plant perennials are the spring and the fall it is never too late to plant summer flowering perennials like Rudbeckia. Rudbeckia are among the best perennials available. One of the most popular varieties is the ‘Goldsturm’. Goldsturm is a variety of one of our native North American wildflowers. The plants make a bushy, upright clump with a profuse display of brown-eyed, golden-orange daisies from midsummer through the fall. In addition to their brilliant fall colour their seed heads have good winter interest. They make a terrific choice for mass planting, combining especially well with ornamental grasses. They are excellent as a cut flower in bouquets. By removing faded flowers when the flower petals start to fall lengthens the blooming time. Rudbeckia plants can be easily divided in early spring as they start to emerge from the ground. The flowers are attractive to butterflies and make a great centerpiece to any garden bed. The ‘Goldsturm’ variety was the Perennial Plant of the Year in 1999.

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By Miles Hunter, August 15, 2011

August 15th, 2011

Add warmth to your garden with Echinacea!

Echinacea, or Coneflower, are one of the most popular perennials. Echinacea love full sun and lots of heat. They have large, showy flower heads, blooming from early to late summer. Many varieties bloom until frosts in the fall. Some varieties can be used for herbal or medicinal purposes. They work well at attracting butterflies to your garden. There are many varieties for you to choose from including:

purpurea

This is the most common form of Echinacea which has large purple flowers and grows to 24 to 36 inches high. Click here for more information.

purpurea ‘Double Decker’

This is a unique form of Echinacea. In their second-year plants produce a large magenta-pink daisies with a second smaller flower produced on top of each dark brown central cone. In their first-year plants usually produce only single blooms before becoming double in the second year.

purpurea ‘Magnus’

This is a classic purple coneflower. Beautiful rose-pink ray petals with a coppery-brown, spiky central cone comprise the huge, flat flower heads. They flower from midsummer thru fall. Click here for more information.

purpurea ‘Ruby Star’

This variety has larger, more vibrantly coloured flowers than the regular purpurea species. From a central brown cone the deep carmine-pink petals are held flat, rather than drooping. Click here for more information.

purpurea ‘Coconut Lime’

This variety is the first ever double-flowered, white Echinacea. The flower heads feature a ring of white petals surrounding a large pom-pom of pale green florets. These blooms are big, but the stems are strong enough to hold them. ‘Coconut Lime’ not only looks great in the border but also is a distinctive and very long-lasting cut flower. It’s as easy to grow as any traditional Coneflower. Click here for more information.

‘Pixie Meadowbrite’

This hybrid is a vast improvement over other dwarf Coneflowers on the market. Flowers are midsized, with flat medium-pink petals surrounding a cone that begins greenish-pink, maturing to deep crimson. Deadhead regularly for continual blooming into the autumn. Click here for more information.

‘Maui Sunshine’

This variety has large bright yellow flowers, that are sweetly scented. This variety is well-branched with strong, upright stems. Showy orange cones with green backgrounds (great for cutting and drying). Click here for more information.

‘Tomato Soup’

This variety has warm, tomato-red flowers that grow to 6″ wide. It grows to 32” tall and nearly as wide. Flowers cover the plant till frost. Plants are well branched and show excellent vigor. Click here for more information.

‘Big Sky’ – series

There are many new varieties including a group of new Echinaceas that belong to the Big Sky™ series. The Big Sky™ series currently has five members, all of which are sweetly scented. The varieties include; ‘Sunrise’, ‘Sunset’, ‘Twilight’, ‘Matthew Saul’ (Harvest Moon™), and ‘Evan Saul’ (Sundown™). These varieties all have large green leaves, strong branching stems, wide flower petals, and profuse blooming tendencies.

All photos courtesy of www.perennials.com.

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By Miles Hunter, August 8, 2011

August 8th, 2011

Enjoy the summer blooms of Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’

Crocosmia are one of the best summer flowering perennials to have in your garden. They produce clumps of sword-shaped leaves. These leaves are topped with tall, arching spikes of tubular funnel-shaped blossoms in mid to late summer. There are several named varieties are now available, in a range of hot colours. The most popular variety is the ‘Lucifer’. Lucifer has brilliant flame-red flowers, and a tall habit. They attract butterflies and hummingbirds and make an outstanding cut flower in a bouquet. Every garden should have at least one variety of Crocosmia in it and Lucifer is by far the most popular variety.

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By Miles Hunter, July 20, 2011

July 20th, 2011

Enjoy the Bounty of Blueberries!

Blueberries are excellent plants for the home gardener, providing not only delicious fruit, but plants that have outstanding ornamental value as well. Blueberries are easy to grow, require little care and are seldom bothered by pests. Fruiting occurs from July to October depending on the variety. In winter, the leaves as well as the bark of the young branches turn glowing shades of yellows & reds.

For more information about the varieties of Blueberries that you can choose from and how to grow them click here.

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By Miles Hunter, July 6, 2011

July 6th, 2011

Delight Your Senses with Dianthus!

Dianthus, or Sweet William, are a beautiful flower that lasts all summer long. There are annual and perennial varieties of Dianthus available for your garden. These are also known as “pinks” and the colour pink may have come from these flowers (See Here).

There are many new varieties of Dianthus and one of the best new series are the Scent First series. This includes three varieties; Candy Floss, Passion, and Tickled Pink. These varieties are incredibly fragrant and they bloom continuously all summer long.

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By Miles Hunter, June 15, 2011

June 15th, 2011

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 being flavourful many of the herb 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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By Miles Hunter, June 6, 2011

June 6th, 2011

Enjoy the Sweet Fragrance of Lilacs!

Aside from Roses, there are no flowers as beautiful and aromatic as Lilacs. Lilacs have a strong fragrance that you can enjoy throughout your garden. Unfortunately, Lilacs bloom for only a few weeks in the late spring.

Weather has a lot to do with how long your blooms last. Cool dry weather helps your flowers last longer if only we could control that. Once the blooms have finished, you still have a nice shade bush, but you have to wait until next year to enjoy the blooms again.

You can choose from a variety of Lilacs including:

• Syringa patula ‘Miss Kim’ (Korean Lilac)
• Syringa vulgaris ‘Katherine Havemeyer’
• Syringa vulgaris ‘Charles Joly’

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By Miles Hunter, June 1, 2011

June 1st, 2011

Summer Lawn Care

During the summer months your lawn goes dormant. Before the heat of the summer starts be sure that you lawn has been adequately fertilized. One last treatment of the Spring and Summer Lawn Fertilizer (28-3-8) is all that you lawn will need between now and the fall.

Watering your Lawn

When watering your lawn it is best to water early in the morning or later in the evening to minimize evaporation loss. This saturates the soil more thoroughly and provides better absorption of the water. Watering your lawn less frequently but more thoroughly encourages deeper roots that can withstand drought.

Watering Restrictions are in effect from June 1st until September 30th. You can still water your garden by hand but you can only use sprinklers on your lawn during the following times:

• Even-numbered address:  Wednesdays and Saturdays
• Odd-numbered address:  Thursdays and Sundays
• 4 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. only

Here’s a better idea than getting up at 4am… We have electronic water timers and sprinklers to make it easy for you to water your lawn and not violate the restrictions. Be sure to ask us when you come by to see us.

If you have applied fertilizer or lime to your lawn it is best if you water the lawn to ensure that the fertilizer is washed off the blades of the grass to prevent burning. Watering also helps the fertilizer reach the roots faster.

Mowing your Lawn

Lawns should be mowed at regular intervals. For best results your lawn should be cut every 7 to 10 days. A rotary mower should to be set at a height of 2 to 3 inches for the season. Your lawn mower should be kept sharp at all times. A dull mower tears the grass instead of cutting it, making it more susceptible to diseases.

You should use a catcher, or rake the cut grass to remove the cuttings and prevent the build-up of dead grass. If you do not remove the dead grass you should power rake your lawn on a regular basis to remove the layer of dead grass (thatch) that builds up, this is called power raking or de-thatching.

Fertilizing your Lawn

If you have not fertilized your lawn do it now before the heat of summer comes. Once the summer gets too hot it is not recommended that you fertilize until fall when we have cooler temperatures again.

The beauty of your lawn, its resistance to disease, insects, moss and weeds depends largely on how healthy it is. With our heavy rains in the coastal area, much of the mineral content (food or fertilizer) of the soil is washed away each year. Every fertilizer shows the percentage of Nitrogen, Phosphorus, and Potash (N.P.K.) For example 12-4-8 is 12% Nitrogen, 4% Phosphorous and 8% Potash.

• Nitrogen – gives lawn its green and is the main food a lawn needs
• Phosphorous – encourages good root growth
• Potash – promotes strong healthy stems

Lawns should be fed at regular intervals. Fertilizing should be done when the grass is dry and should then be watered in thoroughly. To ensure an even application, it is best to use a fertilizer spreader. We carry several fertilizers that can help you invigorate your lawn:

• 12-4-8 is an ideal fertilizer to promote a flush of new growth in your lawn. An application will last for 6 to 8 weeks. So applying in May will require only one more application in July.
• 28-3-8 gives your lawn a jump start promoting an abundance of new growth. One application will last 10 to 12 weeks ensuring that you will not have to fertilize again for the rest of the summer. Ensure that the blades on your lawnmower are sharp as you will need to cut your lawn every week with this fertilizer.
• 6-2-3 is an Organic lawn fertilizer that provides a balance of nutrients that you lawn needs. If you wish to keep your lawn healthy using an organic fertilizer this is the best choice for you.

Starting a new Lawn

Summer is not a good time to start a new lawn. It is best to wait until fall when the cool fall weather and rains provide enough moisture for the lawn to grow better.