2019 Garden Superstars - New Plants and Products for Spring

The best way to reverse those winter blues is to get back in the garden. To get you excited for spring, Garden Media Group has released its 2019 Garden Superstars for Spring. This year’s list features delicious edible plants, safe garden food and innovative products.

These Garden Superstars will transform any patio or backyard and make gardening easier

Grow your own homegrown nutritious blueberries. This spring try two new varieties from the Bushel and Berry® collection that are perfect for warmer climates and self-pollinating. Blueberry Buckle™, a quick growing blueberry that stays compact with white bell-shaped flowers that appear in spring and produce sweet, dark blueberries. Southern Bluebelle™ will be a charming addition to your patio or landscape. This petite blueberry plant produces plump, juicy blueberries in late summer and displays bright red, emerging foliage that turns emer­ald green as it matures. For more information on these and other berries, visit www.bushelandberry.com.

Summer Bulb of 2019. Get blooms all summer in fiery shades of red, orange and yellow with Crocosmia. Requiring little care, they combine well with ornamental grasses to create a beautiful scene in your yard. Crocosmia is a hummingbird magnet, makes outstanding cut flowers and can provide a vivid splash of color to containers. Plus, they’re deer resistant too! Visit your local garden center to find more summer flowering bulbs. For more information, visit Bulb.com.

Small Space Gardening. The new Collapsible Watering Can and Collapsible Watering Bucket from Centurion were created with storage and mobility in mind. Their heavy duty, non-porous silicone material offers superior strength, while the foldable and detachable parts allow freedom to use these products in any space. The Watering Bucket is perfect for gardening, boating and camping while the Watering Can doubles as a storage container. For more information visit CenturionBrands.com.

Better fruits and veggies. The Espoma Company’s new Tomato! Liquid fertilizer and Berry-Tone granular fertilizer provide just the right nutrients to these timeless favorites. Tomato! comes in a colorful 8 oz. bottle with a user-friendly cap that measures just the right amount of plant food to encourage plump and juicy tomatoes. For berry gardeners, Espoma’s new Berry-tone provides a long-lasting, slow-release of nutrients. Feed plants in early spring to encourage growth and more berries. Find Berry-Tone and other Espoma products at your local garden center or at Espoma.com.

Grow a Hanging Garden. Fresh herbs in the kitchen? Yes, please! This rustic herb kit from Bloem comes with a real wood back and comes with three 6” Ariana planters in black. Write the name of your favorite herbs on the planter holders, and grow vertically! Perfect for growing herbs indoors so you can enjoy the freshest ingredients all year long! Find this and other beautiful containers at BloemLiving.com.

For more exciting new plants and garden products for spring 2019, visit gardenmediagroup.com.

Celebrate National Women’s Health Week with Healthy Blueberries from BrazelBerries

It's  National Women’s Health Week, and we can't think of a  better way to celebrate than by planting a blueberry bush and growing fresh fruit right in your own backyard.

Having these super fruits on hand will improve your health not just this week, but all year long.

Throughout the celebration, the U.S. Department of Health and Office on Women’s Health are combining forces to empower women to make their health a top priority. Women everywhere are being encouraged to take steps toward improving their health, including exercise, medical screenings, avoiding detrimental habits and eating healthy.

When it comes to eating healthy, not all foods are created equal. Although they might be small,blueberries provide big rewards. They’re known as super fruits for their low-fat content and high concentrations of dietary fiber, antioxidants and Vitamin C. Just one serving of blueberries serves up almost 25 percent of the recommended daily intake of Vitamin C.

Tips for Growing Berry Shrubs in Small Spaces from Fall Creek Farm & Nursery

Fresh blueberries and raspberries have never been easier to grow. With new BrazelBerries, all that is needed is a sunny spot big enough for a container. Patios, decks, front steps and urban balconies are perfect choices.

These revolutionary berry shrubs are changing where fruit is grown. They’re as decorative as they are tasty, offering compact, gorgeous foliage for any small outdoor space. And, all BrazelBerries are self-pollinating, so only one bush is needed to produce fruit.

Why are BrazelBerries different? “They’ve been selected to be simple to grow, beautiful in landscapes, and delicious to eat,” says berry expert Amelie Brazelton Aust, a second-generation owner at Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, whose family’s breeding program has been focused on finding berry plants for the home gardener for more than two decades.

Friday Find: Four Simple Tips for Growing Perfect Blueberries

There’s nothing like fresh-picked berries to add to a morning smoothie, fruit salad or evening dessert. For foodies and families wanting to grow their own blueberries, picking which variety and growing them doesn’t have to be hard.

We asked Amelie Brazelton Aust, a berry expert and second generation owner at Fall Creek Farm & Nursery, about the secrets to blueberry success. “While I know a lot about the blueberry business, I do not have a green thumb like the rest of my family. However, blueberries are relatively simple and even I have great success with my blueberry plants at my home,” says Aust. “Simply follow these four simple tips to help your bushes flourish with berries season after season.”

GMG's Friday Find: Winter Care for Berry Plants

Photo Courtesy BrazelBerries(R)

I found myself jumping into the berry craze this year and scored a BrazelBerries® Jelly Bean™ blueberry plant from Fall Creek Farm & Nursery.  I planted my young Jelly Bean in a container on my deck and tended to it throughout the summer.  Now that autumn has arrived and the temperatures are beginning to dip, I needed to find out how to care for my prized plant through the winter to ensure it's coming spring into summer bounty. 

The BrazelBerries® Collection of compact berries includes two beautiful blueberries,  Jelly Bean™ and Peach Sorbet™ and a luscious dwarf raspberry, Raspberry Shortcake™.  If you're lucky to have picked one up this year, the following tips on how to overwinter will help you get the most from your berry plants once spring arrives.  It's easier than you think!

GMG's Friday Find: Celebrate National Blueberry Month!

July is National Blueberry Month, a perfect time to celebrate the mighty fruit, and we invite you to grow, eat, and cook with this powerhouse nature provides.  The health benefits of blueberries are widely known and continue to get attention as studies find even more super benefits from  blueberries.

Among fruit, blueberries have the highest total antioxidant to help us fend off disease. They reduce belly fat, prevent hypertension, improve memory, and help to reduce the risk of colon cancer.  And let's be honest, they are delicious!

Buying organic blueberries is a wise choice, and planting up your own from Fall Creek Farm and Nursery, Inc's BrazelBerries™ Shrub Collection is an even better choice!  These compact blueberry plants not only provide incredible fruit, their foliage is truly lovely as well, from spring to fall.  And how convenient can it be to pot up a container and pick your fruit fresh right off your deck or patio.

There are endless ways to use blueberries, from straight off the vine to salads, drinks, muffins, cakes - you can add them to practically any dish that you imagine.  We've pulled two great recipes for you to consider enjoying this powerful fruit.

James T. Farmer III Sip and Savor

Blueberry Oatmeal Drink 

3 tablespoons oatmeal

Pinch of salt

1 cup boiling water

1cup blueberries

2 heaping teaspoons local honey

6 tablespoons plain Greek-style yogurt, divided

Berries, granola, or nuts for garnish

Spoon oats into heatproof bowl and mix with the salt.  Cover with boiling water and allow to stand for 10 minutes. Place the soaked oats in a blender with the berries, honey, and 4 tablespoons of yogurt. Blend well and scrape the sides of the blender as needed.  Pour blended mixture into two glasses and swirl 1 tablespoon yogurt into each glass.  Garnish..

Kate's Easy Blueberry Cake

1 cup flour

1 cup sugar

Stick of butter

2 eggs

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 Tablespoon vanilla

3 Tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon 

Powdered Sugar 

Cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs and vanilla.  Add flour and baking powder.  Stir. Grease a 9"springform pan.  Sprinkle 2 cups of blueberries on top.  Sprinkle with the sugar and cinnamon.  Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes. Cool cake for 10 minutes before removing the form and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Can be served warm.

And no worries if you have lots and lots of blueberries, you can freeze them without doing any damage to their antioxidant power, which means you can grow, enjoy and store for year-round pleasure. Happy National Blueberry Month!

~Peggy
Garden Media Group

Fall Creek® Farm & Nursery Featured in Country Gardens

We are thrilled to see a gorgeous 7- page feature on Fall Creek® Farm & Nursery in the Spring 2013 issue of Country Gardens Magazine! It’s truly an amazing article on their new collection of BrazelBerries®: a dwarf, thornless raspberry and two ornamental blueberries. All three are the result of decades of research by the Brazelton family. Don’t forget to pick up your copy today!

For the complete article click here or visit our results page!

-James

BrazelBerries™ Amelie Aust on The Wall Street Journal's 'Lunch Break Live'

Amelie Aust Brazelton, owner of Fall Creek Farm & Nursery and the BrazelBerries™ Collection, stopped by the Wall Street Journal yesterday to discuss trends in blueberry gardening on WSJ's 'Lunch Break Live'. See her discuss the growing trend of blueberries, tips to help you grow berries in your home garden and the many health benefits that blueberries provide.

Watch the interview

Fall Creek Farm & Nursery® is the world’s leading wholesale blueberry nursery stock producer. From their state-of-the art growing facilities in Oregon, Fall Creek specializes in the propagation, production and global distribution of blueberry nursery stock. They work with the leading nursery stock growers and retailers to bring consumers the very best that blueberries offer.
 
For more information visit: www.fallcreeknursery.com

Garden Media Group

My Visit to Fall Creek Nursery

Here's Dave Brazelton from Fall Creek

Last week I was fortunate enough to head out to Oregon with Suzi to visit with the folks at Fall Creek Nursery, the world's leading wholesale blueberry nursery stock producer located just outside of Eugene. Their state-of-art growing facilities specializes in propagating, producing and distributing blueberries to commercial fruit growers and nurseries all over the world. Pretty exciting stuff!

I was impressed right off the bat when we pulled up to their offices. We started our tour by meeting all the wonderful folks who work there and then we headed to the testing field to do some taste tasting with Dave Brazelton, the founder and blueberry aficionado of Fall Creek. I knew I was going to get my fill of antioxidants for the week with this part of the tour.

Dave gave us a quick overview of the testing area and then we were off to the fields to eat some delicious berries right off the bushes. It's amazing how each variety had its own unique taste, color and texture. I was in blueberry heaven!

I was impressed to learn that Fall Creek currently grows 50 varieties of blueberries. I had no idea that many existed! Besides trying old and current varieties that you would find in your local grocery store, we also had the opportunity to try out a few new varieties as well. Sorry, can't give you any info on these berries just yet!



Suzi in the fields. What an amazing view!

Next year you'll be able to grow some of Fall Creek's amazing berries right in your own backyard. They'll be introducing Raspberry Shortcake (TM), a dwarf thornless raspberry that works great in containers. And in 2014, you'll be able to grow two new exciting berries called Jelly Bean (TM) and Peach Sorbet(TM), which all part of their new BrazelBerries Collection!

I must say that I'm looking forward to my next trip out to this beautiful farm. Hope it's sooner rather than later!

-Stacey
Garden Media Group

Foraging for pawpaws and easy pickins'

Every summer, I remember my grandmother singing a folk song to my sister and me as she baked homemade cornbread and cooked grits, as we gathered around her homespun apron in her Carolina farmhouse.

It goes something like.. "Picking up paw paws puttin in your pocket... way down yonder in the paw paw patch..."  We sang with gusto but never actually tasted a paw paw!

Today, this indigenous fruit (and a favorite of Thomas Jefferson) is making a slow but steady comeback. It's rich in antioxidants and other nutrients and can be used in multiple recipes.

The pawpaw (Asiminia triloba) fruit has a tropical flavor that resembles a mix of banana, mango and pineapple (depending on your discriminating palette) with a creamy, custard-like texture similar to an avocado and a thickish skin. 

For those intrepid foragers, wild paw paws are smaller than the new cultivated varieties. You probably won't find them at grocery stores (yet) and may have to wait for these seasonal fruit to appear at select farmers markets, generally in September.

Thanks to Kentucky State University, pawpaw research is under way for developing orchard management, conducting regional trials, and improving propagation methods.

For those who prefer to forage in their own backyard, berries and small fruit trees are the ticket. From blueberries and raspberries to small citrus trees in containers, new cultivars are making it easier for all of us to enjoy fruit and berries (and pawpaws) too!

Just wish I knew all the words to that paw paw song...

Lynne
Garden Media Group
Photo credit: Dr. Kirk Pomper, Kentucky State University
Tigersandstrawberries.com

The Next Big Thing: Raspberry Shortcake from Fall Creek Nursery

My Raspberry Shortcake (TM) planted up

 One of the many perks of working for the Garden Media Group is that we get the chance to test out new products and plants before they're available to consumers. This summer I'm so excited to be trialing Fall Creek Farm & Nursery's new Raspberry Shortcake (TM) from their new BrazelBerries(R) Collection.

Birds eye view of my Raspberry Shortcake (TM)

This little compact beauty is the first thornless raspberry to hit the market. It grows to a height of 2 1/2 to 3 feet tall and really thrives in containers. And since it doesn't have thorns, it's a perfect plant for allowing kids to harvest fruit right in their own backyard.

Raspberry Shortcake (TM) from Fall Creek Nursery

I planted mine up in full-sun a few weeks ago in one of my containers.  If all goes well, I'll have full-size, super sweet raspberries next summer just like this photo to the right.  I'll be sure to post more pictures at the end of the summer, so you can see it how it's progressing.

If you want to be the first of your friends to try out this incredible new raspberry, you can order it online through White Flower here.

-Stacey
Garden Media Group

Pretty in Pink

Ah, Spring. My favorite season. Allergies aside, I'm always astonished with the rites of Spring.

For those of you who also count Spring as your favorite season,the sheer delight of a clear blue sky framing pink and white azaleas against flowers like gems draped in your landscape dripping with color, leaves a lasting impression. A time for renewal and discovery.

Frankly, I love discovery. A new plant, an unusual container, or garden art draw me like a moth to a light.

Maybe it's the right brain thing but I love the architectural form and sheer voluptuous volume of colorful ornamental shrubs. Take the new pink blueberry- Vaccinium 'Pink Lemonade'- from Briggs Plant Propagators, for instance. Wow.

Talk about a breakthrough plant! This beauty is a vigorous grower, shows off four seasons of color, grows about 5' X 5' and bears bright pink clusters of plump and juicy, sweet blueberries rich in anti-oxidants, from mid to late season. Berry heaven. Yay!

Pick em' and top them on cakes, make a pink blueberry pie, pink blueberry jam, or like me, unabashedly stuff them into thy mouth as you savor every morsel.

If you dare, leave a few behind for your feathered friends and enjoy the changing season as this beauty reveals orangey leaves in fall and reddish-brown twigs in winter that add color and charm to any garden.

Look for 'Pink Lemonade' at your garden center and wait patiently grasshopper for a season to bedazzle your garden awash in pink blueberries. You won't be disappointed!
~Lynne
GMG

Photos credit: Northcreek Nursery and Briggs Plant Propagators

Edibles Are Still Hot for 2011

Go ahead and mix it up! Berries next to tomatoes and azaleas under grapevines may sound odd but are a growing trend according to the professional landscape designers of APLD.

Fresh berries like raspberries and blueberries you can pick right from home are spiking in popularity. Blueberries offer four seasons of color and juicy berries rich in antioxidants.

Try the first-ever pink blueberry “Pink Lemonade” (pictured here) from Briggs Nursery. This pink blueberry bush provides delicious fruit rich in anti-oxidants plus four seasons of color -- white flowers in spring, bright pink fruit in summer, great fall color and finally dusky auburn stems in winter

And according to a recent survey by the Garden Writers Association, about 16 percent more American households planned to add a veggie garden and an additional 12 percent planned on adding an herb garden. Why? More than three-fourths of respondents felt veggies are less expensive with better taste, quality and nutrition.

So go ahead and plant more berries and veggies for a tasty and healthy spring! To see a complete list of 2011 Gardening Trends, visit GMG.

-Stacey

GMG