GMG's Friday Find: Create an Instant Oasis this Memorial Day!

The Memorial Day holiday signals the beginning of summer celebrations on decks, patios and backyards across the nation. 
Here in the east, we're just getting around to planting from a long, cool spring and if you're feeling a bit rushed to get your outdoor space just right for the Memorial Day weekend, relax!  A beautiful blooming combination of hibiscus and mandevilla from Costa Farms® Tropic Escape™ Patio Collection can create an instant oasis.

A vibrant outdoor experience doesn't require endless hours of bending and digging when you pair and pot the big, bright blooms of hibiscus and mandevilla.

Hibiscus from the Tropic Escape Collection bursts with some of the biggest, most flamboyant blooms around -- up to seven inches across.  And the color range and mixes are enough to make a rainbow jealous! These hibiscus are sold in citrus-hued deco pots that immediately add color to you patio or porch for an instant view.

The Tropic Escape mandevilla with its trumpet-shaped flower loves the hot summer weather and pumps out flowers in pink, red, fuchsia and white. This twining and climbing plant splashes color while comfortably making a home just about anywhere from trellis to fence to container.

For a dramatic statement, pair them both in a pot and you'll enjoy show-stopping blooms all summer long. Heat tolerant and not fussy, this combination from the Tropic Escape Patio Collection is easy to care for, produces abundant flower power, and is readily available at local home improvement stores or mass merchandiser.

A backyard getaway doesn't have to cost a fortune or require hours of labor.  These tropical wonders can transform your outdoor space quickly so you can enjoy the seasonal celebrations with ease.

Happy Memorial Day!

~Peggy
Garden Media Group 

 

GMG's Friday Find: Garden Goodies for Mother's Day!

We know mom can be tough to shop for, so here are some ideas to make Mother's Day gift giving a breeze.

Easy Edible Pickins

Since moms everywhere love to feed their families healthy food, a gift of these brand new, low maintenance, small fruit shrubs will be most loved.  These compact berry shrubs provide ornamental beauty and delicious berries! RaspberryShortcake™ is a thornless dwarf raspberry shrub that reaches 2-3 feet and fruits the first season.  This compact, rounding plant requires no staking or trellising, no companion pollinators and very little space, and has sturdy upright canes. Raspberry Shortcake loads up with full-sized, super sweet raspberries and is ideally suited for large patio containers, balconies or any size yard.

Take Mom to the Tropics
Busy moms will love the Tropic Escape Patio Collection from Costa Farms®.  This collection pairs bold flowering hibiscus with trailing/climbing mandevilla - an unbeatable combo for mom's patio or garden!  And the best part is these plants bloom non-stop from spring until fall and are easy to care for. Look for the Tropic Escape collection at your local home improvement store or mass merchandiser and turn mom's outdoor space into a tropical paradise!

The Birds #1 Best Friend
Does your mom love to feed the birds? These new bird feeders from Perky-Pet® look like old-fashioned mason jars.  The Mason Jar Collection is reminiscent of the vintage blue glass canning jars used in the 1800s. They bring rustic, shabby chic elegance to any yard while attracting various types of birds. Perky-Pet® offers three types of Mason Jar feeders including Wild Bird Feeder, Hummingbird Feeder and Wild Bird Waterer.  Mom can have beautiful outdoor décor while enjoying watching the birds.

Eco-Friendly Containers 
Moms love to get handmade gifts from their kids, but if that's not happening this year give her the next best thing - handmade pottery containers from Native Cast. These eco-friendly concrete planters are individually hand-cast, lightweight and durable.  Easy to move and stunning in design, your mom will love this planter for indoor or outdoor, all year long. The heart-shaped cast- your-own kit is a fun project you and your mom can spend time doing together; after all, that's all she really wants!

 Twists on Tradition Cookbook
The next best thing from taking a break from cooking is cooking a meal together with family. James Farmer's newest book, A Time To Cook is a celebration of garden to table lifestyle recipes updated for today's conscientious cooks. Steeped in Southern tradition, A Time To Cook offers scrumptious recipes that are fresh from the land and garden and will be one of your mom's go-to cookbooks for years to come.

Celebrate this Mother's Day with a gift that says "I love you", a gift she'll use and enjoy for years, and a gift that will remind her of just how special she is.

Happy Mother's Day!

~Peggy
Garden Media Group

Your Ticket to Paradise

We are all just loving the new Tropic Escape Hibiscus collection from Costa Farms! I first saw these beautiful and bold plants in January down at the TPIE show in Ft. Lauderdale. The size and colors of the blooms just blew me away!

This new collection comes in 12 varieties with blooms in tropical colors of yellows, reds and oranges. Plus, the names sound like delicious cocktails - Sunrise Mimosa, Tiki Temptation, South Pacific Sipper to name a few. They are all easy to grow and bloom twice as long as traditional hibiscus. I can't wait to plant up a few to punch up my patio this summer!

To learn how to create your own tropical paradise in your backyard, visit www.costafarms.com.

-Stacey

Garden Media Group

Ah... Tropicals!

Just returned from sunny Florida where I spent a few days visiting family for a wedding. I was on the Gulf Coast and literally and figuratively, soaked in the turquoise-colored water lapping up onto pristine powdery sand, edged by a colorful backdrop of lush foliage.

As we drove around small beach towns and well-known cities like Sarasota, I begged my sister to drive by both gated estates and smaller beachy homes that were bedecked and bedazzled with bougainvillea, mandevilla and hibiscus.

Honestly, I couldn't believe the visual treat of brilliant colors that reminded me of enormous Tiffany jewels.

My sister has a small pool. Unfortunately, the on-again, off-again daily rains attracted little critters from the man-made lake that borders their property. Scores of tadpoles and one big ole' mama frog decided to enjoy the benefits of swimming sans cranes lurking nearby. What a hoot!

So, as we sat around the pool I asked her about her plants. "I'm mainly growing tropical shrubs like hibiscus and wanna' get some mandevilla to climb up the fence," she remarked.


I suggested she should check out the array of Sun Parosal mandevillas from Costa Farms and TradeWinds Hibiscus that have gorgeous colorful blooms and are great for her containers and range in size from two inches to one foot. And, they're available in retail stores and perfect for any patio or deck.


I mentioned that they're great for even the toughest summer heat, and are one of the best blooming plants for her summer patio.

"Hey, you'll think you're in a tropical paradise- right here in your own backyard," I declared somewhat all-knowingly.

"Um... great idea but... I live in paradise, Lynne." Of course ... what was I thinking!
~Lynne, GMG
Photos: Mandevilla Sun Parasol, Pretty Crimson on trellis from Costa Farms and Tradewinds Hibiscus in containers