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Dig in to create a spectacular spring garden! You don't have to be an expert gardener to have a beautiful and colorful spring garden. With a little bit of clean up and some early spring pansies, along with colorful bulbs popping out of the ground, your garden will come alive with color. Our newsletter features tips for vegetable gardening, how to select annuals and red star spikes as well as an introduction to groundcovers. |
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Be part of the grow-it-yourself trend! Make this the year to start a vegetable garden - it's fresh and practically free. Fernlea Flowers has recently partnered with Bonnie Plants to bring gardeners an incredible variety of always-fresh vegetables and herbs that have been tested and proven to perform. Bonnie Plants began in the United States in 1918 and has a long history of bringing top quality, tried and true varieties to gardeners. |
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A recent gardening survey by the National Gardening Association points to a sharp increase in the number of North American households planning to grow their own fruit, vegetables and herbs. Gardeners want high quality, high-yield plants but don't want their purchases to contribute to landfill and waste. Gardeners will appreciate Bonnie's "Going Greener For You" program that relies on 100% biodegradable pots that can be planted directly in the ground! Bonnie Plants are extensively tested and proven to perform. The company's dedication to top quality has resulted in an incredible 64 varieties of tried and true vegetables and herbs that come in 4 different sizes. Gardeners will be especially pleased with a veritable rainbow of peppers and tomatoes to choose from. |
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Tomatoes and peppers in the garden • Tomatoes need at least 6 hours of sun per day for good fruit production. Plant them when temperatures are above 55 degrees at night. Planting slightly below the first leaves help anchor the plants with more roots. Fertilize every 4 weeks with liquid fertilizer per the label instructions. If staking or caging plants, space about 3 feet apart, and 5 feet apart otherwise. Staking and pruning off smaller branches can help produce larger fruit. • An easy way to ripen green tomatoes is to place a single layer of them in a drawer. Then add a couple of ripe apples. The apples generate a ripening gas called ethylene. So, every few days you'll have red tomatoes! • Peppers like it warm and sunny. It's best to plant when temperatures are above 60 degrees at night. Space plants 18 to 24 inches apart and fertilize every 4 weeks. Leaving bell peppers to fully ripen on the plant makes them sweeter. It's best to cut peppers from the plant with care to avoid breaking the plant stems. |
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Visit our website to find Bonnie Plants Veggies at a garden center near you. U.S. customers can visit www.bonnieplants.com to find a retailer located in the United States. The store locator can be found under the "Contact Us" tab. You can also sign up to be notified when Bonnie Plants arrive near you. |
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A perfect time to enjoy your backyard with bursts of colorful and good value annuals! Experiment with annuals... using different designs and colors every spring. An annual is a plant that completes its life cycle, from seed to bloom and back to seed again all in a single growing season. For masses of constant color in beds and containers, annuals are the best. Simple to plant and easy to maintain, annuals can turn your yard into a beautiful garden almost instantly, providing color, texture and visual appeal all summer long. | |
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When selecting annuals consider younger plants, they often give better results; mature, leggy or heavy blooming ones are often rootbound and don't transplant well; choose plants with compact foliage and healthy leaf color; keep in mind the visual arrangement or design of the bed you are creating and choose sizes and colors that complement each other. • Choose plants suitable for the site (sun vs. shade, soil, etc) • Select plants according to their height • Arrange according to plant form and texture • Consider their flowering periods for constant blooming • Arrange in groupings by type and color considerations Annuals in containers Create interest and beauty with your container gardens. Container gardens offer opportunities for experimenting with color and flowers in your existing landscaping. Barrels of petunias, geraniums, or impatiens located along garden paths can add visual impact and offer a change of pace without having to completely redo your landscape. They are perfect for small patios, backyards, decks and balconies. To make your own colorful container gardens, visit our website. You will find tips and "how to" recipes to create beautiful planters. Visit our sample gardens for more ideas for your containers and gardens. Our website also includes an extensive list of annuals with growing and care information and photos for each. Try Osteospermum this year. It is available in pink, rose, purple, white and orange. Great for cool summer climates, they bloom throughout the season and are spectacular for adding early and late season color to the garden and containers. Plant in full sun and you will get beautiful plants 16" to 24" tall (41 - 61 cm). Osteospermum features intensely colored flowers, highlighted with a contrasting center. These lovely flowers provide a striking contrast against the foliage. Don't forget to water regularly to prevent plants from drying out. Deadhead regularly and fertilize weekly with an all purpose fertilizer. Enjoy! | |
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Visit our Annuals for more selections. Add mulch to your garden beds Mulching keeps weeds down; keeps the soil warm promoting quicker plant germination and growth; keeps soil from drying out; and if an organic mulch is used, it will over time improve the soil. To be most effective, lay mulch in late spring about 3 inches thick. Mulching allows you to decrease watering by about a third and eliminates hoeing between rows. Organic mulches include straw, peat moss, sawdust, dry manure, and bark chips. | |
| Create interest and beauty in your containers and garden beds by adding beautiful Red Star spikes. The Red Star spike, botanical name cordyline australis, is a tall grass-like accent plant which is ideal for containers and the garden. It features richly colored, palm-like foliage which creates an exotic, tropical look. Red Stars grow 24" to 36" tall (61-91 cm). They are hardy to zone 7 and should be treated as annuals in cooler climates. These spikes perform best in full sun and in soil that is kept moist. We suggest incorporating a slow release fertilizer like Osmocote into the soil prior to planting. Fertilize with a balanced fertilizer like 20-20-20 on a weekly basis if no slow release is added to the soil. Red Stars can be purchased from your local garden center beginning in early Spring. Try a container garden using Red Star spikes Consider Red Stars for a center piece in your containers and in your garden. Here are some ideas to help get you started - Red Star container recipe for full sun (includes Pansymonium pansies) Red Star container recipe for full sun Red Star container recipe for part sun They will look beautiful on your front porch! | |
| To find a garden center near you please visit our website or you can sign up to be notified when Red Stars arrive near you. Click here for more information on the Red Star spike. | |
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Easy to maintain and wonderfully attractive, ground covers are a gardener's delight. Just think of all the wonderful benefits of growing ground covers... your bulbs will pop up through them, they provide wonderful green texture for bare patches, they grow where grass won't grow and no more mowing steep slopes. Plus ground covers are attractive and easy to maintain. Here are some popular ground covers and how to grow them - |
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Lamium - Vigorous foliage and colorful blooms in summer. A real standout in heavily shaded locations. Spreading plant displays dark green leaves with white center. Short spikes of yellow flowers. A reliable ground cover for any location. Beautiful in shady borders and woodland gardens. Lamium prefers part shade to shade. Grows 6" to 8" tall (15 - 20 cm). Plant 12" to 24" apart (30 - 60 cm). Tolerant of most soil conditions. Prefers well drained soil. Do not allow to dry out, keep well watered during dry spells. Hardy to zone 4. Bugle Weed - Botanical name is ajuga reptans. A highly adaptable low growing ground cover. The foliage is attractive burgundy or tricolor. Deep blue flowers bloom in spring. Best used as a fast growing ground cover ideal for large areas, banks and slopes or interplanted with hostas and other perennials. Ajuga is a perennial that grows in full sun to full shade. Low growing, spreading plant. Grows to 8" tall (20 cm). Space 6" to 12" apart (15 - 30 cm). Grows in any garden soil. Myrtle - Botanical name is vinca major bowles. Broad lance shaped leaves, 2" (5 cm) long, dark green. Small, light blue flowers in spring. Rooting stems thin and wiry. Best as trailing hardy, evergreen groundcover. Good on slopes. Myrtle grows in full sun to full shade. Although prefers shady places. Grows to 10" tall (25 cm). Space 6" to 12" apart (15 - 30 cm). Grows in any garden soil. Japanese spurge - Botanical name is pachysandra terminalis. Leaves are thick, dark, glossy green, spoon shaped, alternate. White flowers will bloom in May. A popular evergreen which makes a thick ground cover, with stems beneath the surface sending out runners. Pachysandra grows best in shady areas. Grows to 8" to10" tall (20 - 25 cm). Space 6" to 12" apart (15 - 30 cm). Grows in any garden soil. Baltic Ivy - Botanical name is hedera helix. Evergreen ivy with deep green leaves. Leaves have rounded or pointed lobes. Trailing stems root as they spread. Baltic ivy is an attractive natural cover for walls and sides of buildings. May be used as ground cover under trees or in dense shade. A perennial which grows in full sun to full shade. Ajuga is a clinging vine which can grow to 40 feet spread (12.3 m). Space 6" to 12" apart (15 - 30 cm). Grows best in moist, fertile soil. |
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| For best results - • Water ground covers in dry weather once per week. On steep hills, build ridges to keep water from running down hill too fast. Water thoroughly less often versus short waterings more frequently. • Mulch between plants after initial planting. This helps control weeds and provides a natural slow release fertilizer. Use lawn fertilizer in early spring. Few weeds can grow in dense foliage of established ground covers. • Occasional pruning is a must with most ground covers. Click here for more tips on growing ground covers. Visit our website at www.fernlea.com for complete gardening resources. | |
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Enjoy the amazing new growth and beautiful colors of spring! Click here to send this newsletter link to a friend. Have gardening questions? Drop us an email at webmaster@fernlea.com. Click below to read other issues of the Fernlea Garden Club Newsletter. |
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