New Infographic from Longfield Gardens Illustrates How to Enjoy up to 60 Days of Spring Flowers

As fall approaches, gardeners are making plans to plant flower bulbs for brighter spring gardens, landscapes and bouquets. With a little understanding and forethought, gardeners can extend their flowering season by choosing the right bulbs that bloom one right after another, filling spring with flowers for months.

“Bulb gardening is very easy by nature. Just dig up some dirt, put in some bulbs and wait,” said Marlene Thompson, creative director for Longfield Gardens.

“Our new infographic further simplifies the bulb gardening process by helping gardeners understand spring’s four ‘sub-seasons’ – very early spring, early spring, mid-spring and late spring. If you plant the right bulbs, you will have a succession of blooms and enjoy a season full of color.”

How to Plant Spring-Blooming Bulbs in 3 Easy Steps

Flowers make life more beautiful. They provide a sea of color in the yard and fresh cut flowers to decorate every room of the house.

Starting a garden for the first time can be a daunting task. Fortunately, bulbs are an easy and economical way to ensure flowers this coming spring—and provide a fool-proof way to jumpstart gardens.

“Bulbs are the gateway to the garden,” comments Hans Langeveld, co-owner of Longfield Gardens. “They provide all the beauty of high-maintenance flowers with little effort.”

GMG's Friday Find: Warm Winter Up with Amaryllis Bulbs

Amaryllis bulbs are exotic, mid-winter treasures that add a burst of color during the winter months to liven up your home or office.  These bulbs are becoming more popular as hostess gifts, teacher gifts and holiday gifts simply because they're beautiful and easy to grow.  And you can get creative with containers too.

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You can group several together in a decorative pot with moss, or even hollow out a pineapple and set some blooms inside.  Place the pineapple vase in a shallow serving dish with cranberries for a cool centerpiece.  To add sparkle and shine, whip some egg whites and brush lightly on the blooms, then sprinkle sugar on top.  When the sugar dries in about an hour, your amaryllis will be as festive as the holiday season. 

To plant your amaryllis bulb, choose a container that is snug and just slightly larger than the bulb, making certain that the container will drain after watered.  Put a couple inches of potting soil in the container, sit your bulb in, root side down and then fill with more soil covering 3/4 of the bulb. Make sure you keep your pot in a warm spot and water lightly to keep the soil slightly moist but not soggy. Amaryllis, like most plants, grow towards the sun so make sure to rotate your container to ensure that the stalks grow straight.

Half the fun is watching your amaryllis grow.  From the first sprout, to the buds, to the huge flowers, you can actually see it grow. Everyone can grow amaryllis, even brown thumbs!  Simple, elegant, and beautiful the amaryllis is the solution to holiday decorating and beyond. 

~Peggy
Garden Media Group

Kennett Township 'Garden Way' wins 1st Place from Keep America Beautiful

Kennett Township 'Garden Way' won 1st Place
from Keep America Beautiful.

It’s a great thing when a community comes together for the greener good. Kennett Township, where I live, is a great example of this community spirit. Several years ago Juergen Steininger, Joe Poppiti and Matt Sabo (pictured here) came up with a idea to beautify the main entrance into Kennett Square, PA.

This past week, that effort and the effort of more than 70 volunteers (yes, I planted my share of bulbs) was recognized by Keep America Beautiful, Inc. for its outstanding cleanup and beautification effort that transformed a barren traffic island into a dazzling island of flowers.

Keep America Beautiful awarded Kennett Township the national first place title for “Beautification and Community Greening” for its “Garden Way” project.

Some 70 voluntees, including the Lions Club
helped make the Garden Way a reality.

The Environmental Advisory Council (EAC) initiated the “Garden Way” project and provided funding for the initial flower bed preparation. Longwood Gardens provided mulch and plant material was donated by Zabo Plant, Inc. and the Conard- Pyle Company.

Some 70 volunteers from the community, including master gardeners and Kennett Square Lions Club, contributed more than 450 hours to make this project a huge success. Garden Media handled the publicity and did some digging.

Sue Waeber of The Garden Design Group designed Phase I. Nearly 30,000 blooming lilies and 200 Knock Out® Roses were planted in a 5,300 sq. ft. bed on the traffic island at the US Route 1 Interchange.

Currently half of the north bound traffic island is planted.

Phase II of the project was unveiled by landscape architect Margot Taylor. It builds upon the existing sustainable design, adding more than 240 new plants and bulbs, including Edward Goucher’s abelias, crape myrtles and weeping blue Atlas cedars and, of course, more Knock Out® Roses.

Every time I pass the traffic island I think of digging holes and planting bulbs with other people in the community, and I smile with pride in how a community came together to make this sustainable vision of three local men a reality.

Suzi
Garden Media

GMG's Friday Find - The Growers Exchange

As any good gardener knows, January & February are always filled with anticipation for the arrival of gorgeous new plant catalogs. This week's Friday Find is the just released 2012 catalog from The Growers Exchange.
 
Full of great growing tips for your favorite culinary, medicinal and aromatic herbs and flowers, as well as interesting facts, high quality pictures and more! They've also added more pages this year to include even more Potted Herbs and Potted Herb Garden Kits, Tools and Garden Accessories to give you the best selection possible.

And, just for requesting a catalog, you’ll get multiple discounts found inside and even some additional savings for referring your friends. This is definitely a resource worth holding onto for reference while planting.

Request a FREE catalog today and start planning your spring herb garden early...click here!

Like The Growers Exchange on Facebook here!
Follow them on Twitter here!

Keep sending me your ideas for our Friday Find!
-Karen
GMG

Gardening Tips for September

It's hard to believe that the kids are back in school and football season has begun! I'm still wondering where the summer went!


Now is really a great time to evaluate your garden successes and plan ahead for next year. I found some helpful hints for things to do this month on the Old Farmer's Almanac website. 

Check them out here and let us know if you have any other fall gardening tips to share:

*Compost should be watered during dry periods so that it remains active.

*This is the best time to plant dormant evergreen trees and shrubs.

*Correct any soil deficiencies you've noticed. Healthy soil is crucial to healthy plants.

*Young trees should be staked to prevent the roots from being pulled by fall and winter winds.

*If you haven't brought your houseplants in yet, do it before you have to start heating your home. This gives them a chance to adjust. Wash them thoroughly before bringing them in to rid them of any pests and eggs.

*As perennials fade away, mark their locations with small sticks. Some might not be apparent after the winter and might be disrupted by spring cultivating.

*Plant spring bulbs as long as the ground is workable. Plant the following bulbs soon: trout lily, narcissus (including daffodil), snowdrop, winter aconite, starflower, and crown imperial. For crown imperial, add a little lime to the soil.

*Take cuttings from such outdoor plants as impatiens, coleus, and begonia. An early frost can ruin your chances for cutting at a later date.

Well, that's all I have for today. Looks like I have a lot of work ahead of me!

-Stacey
GMG

Have a Green Thumb All Winter Long

Master gardener Nancy Bell, from Gateway Garden Center, shares her tips and tricks for preparing your garden now for a fabulous spring. Check out some of her favorite plants and bulbs that those pesky deer won't eat!

-Stacey
GMG