Exciting additions at Greenhouse Garden Center & Gift Shop
A full service florist. Call Joni at 229-7040 and look for her by the door to the Gift Shop.

20 more parking spaces when you drive in by the American Flag.

One other quick note: Butterflies also like puddles. Provide a small water source in your garden with a shallow birdbath or buried bucket filled with stones and then filled with water.

The Sweet Scent of Lilacs

Lilacs are among the most beloved plants in the U.S., and their sweetly scented panicles of flowers are something that gardeners the world over look forward to every spring. Lilacs date all the way back to 16th century European gardens; and westward pioneers would bring along cuttings of their prized specimens to plant once they settled in their new home.

Lilacs are deciduous plants actually related to the olive family and other scented plants, including privets and jasmine. But the flowers of the Syringa species are the showiest. In fact, sometimes the stems are so heavy from the weight of the blooms that they nod, giving the plant an arching, graceful appearance.

Many lilacs are hybrids between the common lilac and other species. The subtle differences such as size, color and flower shape allow gardeners to use them in almost any situation. In cold regions, lilacs do best in full sun locations, while in hot summer areas they perform best with some shade in the afternoon.

Lilacs come in a variety of colors that will please even the most discriminating gardener. Flower colors range from true lilac, red lilac, and lavender-lilac to blue, pink, purple, white, creamy yellow and even variegated selections.

Most lilacs require a little shaping and it's best to prune them immediately after they bloom. Lilacs do best with regular watering, although once established, they don’t usually require water more than once per week. They are fairly disease resistant and look their best when fed every two months starting after the blooms are finished until the end of summer. Pests that common are leaf cutter bugs which make perfect circles and root weevils which live in the roots and leave jagged holes on leaf edges.

We have a great selection of lilacs available in the nursery now. We invite you to visit us and select your plants before they find a home in your neighbor’s garden!

Spring is here and it is time to plant a garden of flowers to enjoy now and all through the season.

Have you ever noticed that there are gardeners who will actually cut their beautiful blooms for a fresh flower bouquet in their own home or as a generous gift to friends and neighbors? And, of course, there are those gardeners who will tell you the plants should remain in the garden to be gazed upon. Which are you?

Whether you are a "flower cutter" or a "flower gazer," we have plants for you to grow in your gardens all season long. Before you plant, consider the shape of your garden beds while determining plant placement.

Is your garden rectangular and one-sided? Then you may want to place the tallest plants toward the back and tier down in heights toward the front.

Is your garden in the center of your yard? It may be rectangular, round, oval or square. In that case, you may want to place the tallest members in the center and slowly tier down toward the outer edges.

Or maybe you plan to just tuck your favorite annuals among your roses. Just remember that your roses need to have plenty of air circulation.

Want a list of ideas? OK, here you go: celosia, cosmos, dahlia, marigold, nasturtium, nemesia, petunia, portulaca, salvia, snapdragon, verbena, and zinnia for sunny areas. Use begonia, coleus (ok - not really a flower--but that lovely foliage makes up for it), impatiens, lobelia, and mimulus in shadier spots. This is by no means an exhaustive list; we just want to get you started.

Now off you go, into your gardens. Your bouquets will have fabulous color and character, and that garden you are gazing at will be a work of art. Enjoy!

The world of berries can be confusing. You have blackberries, black raspberries, red raspberries, and yellow raspberries. And don't forget boysenberries and marionberries. How do you tell them apart? Berries whose core stays intact are blackberries. Berries that lose the core and resemble a thimble are raspberries. But then...a few berries are a cross between the two!

The similarities don't stop there. All bear fruit on two-year-old wood, except for the ever-bearing raspberries that also fruit on first year growth. These are also called two crop raspberries because they bear a late summer or fall crop on the first year growth and a second crop the following spring on the two-year-old wood.

Different types of wood? What's that all about? Ok, it may help clear up a lot of confusion about blackberry and raspberry culture if one remembers that after flowering and fruiting, any cane that bore fruit dies back to the crown. All the new growth will rise out from primary buds just below the soil line.

Now here's the good news, blackberries, raspberries and any other favorites will thrive in most locations and soil types, but good drainage is desirable with most varieties. Just give them some room to ramble because they do like to spread out. As far as cold-hardiness goes, raspberries tolerate very cold temperatures better than blackberries.

Most berries like being fed at blooming time, with a follow-up feeding in early fall after the plants have finished fruiting. Just use a well-balanced fruit food such as Dr. Earth Organic 4 . They prefer staying moist, and should be watered regularly if rainfall is insufficient.

The new canes that grow out each spring will not bear fruit until the following summer when they are two years old. After harvest, the two-year-old fruiting canes will start to die back and should be removed as close to the ground as possible without injuring the new canes.

In cold climates, the canes should be left on the ground over winter--making them less likely to be damaged by cold. The ideal time to "spring train" is after the danger of freezing weather and before the leaf buds begin expanding.

We have berry plants that grow well in our local area (click here for a list of our varieties). The bottom line is that all berries are easy to grow and they taste great. So don't stress about all your different choices. Just plant some berries and enjoy!

Few plants can equal the stunning blooms of a rhododendron. Like jewels on a royal crown, these queens of the shade garden are regal beauties whose stately forms add excitement to any woodland setting. New varieties are continuously sought after--and today number more than 800 varieties from around the world.

Rhododendrons are fairly hardy evergreen plants that can withstand temperatures from as low as -10 degrees to over 100 degrees in the summer. The plants can range in shape from dwarfs that grow only 18" tall, to mounding forms and upright varieties that take on a tree-like quality.

But what sets them apart from the rest of the plant world is their incredible display of spring blooms. The ornamental flowers appear in large clusters called trusses, with each individual flower containing protruding stamens that produce a somewhat spidery effect.

The flowers come in a myriad of colors including shades of blue, purple, lavender, red, pink, coral, white, and yellow. Some varieties produce flowers in a combination of colors. Most bloom from as early as March to as late as June, depending on climate and location. Some varieties are also fragrant.

Rhododendrons prefer a morning sun location with afternoon shade in all seasons. They are an acid-loving plant that responds well when an acid soil amendment such as peat moss or Acid Planting Mix is incorporated into the soil before planting. They prefer a consistently moist (but not wet) soil environment and enjoy being fed with cottonseed meal or an acid food such as Dr. Earth Organic 4 every two months--from after the blooming season has ended until early fall.

So if your shade garden is lacking pizzazz, add a few rhododendrons to the area and watch it come alive with color in the spring. With so many endearing colors to choose from, there's a color that is bound to please even the most discriminating gardener.

Watch the soil for white powder around the watering zone because this indicates salt or alkalis. Adding Dr. Iron and watering heavily will reduce the leaf burn. We also recommend spraying the leaves each season with an anti-dissectant like No-Wilt Plant Shield.

How do I get rid of dog urine spots in my lawn?

Answer:
Hmm...let's see...do you own a dog? (More on that later.)

First, check to see if the damage spots are entirely dead. Pull on some of the damaged grass to see if it comes up completely or if it bends. If it's still pliable, it might recover. If it is dry and cracking like straw, then you might have to reseed that area with a seed patch.

Some studies which have been done indicate that the damage is mostly caused by a nitrogen overdose (think fertilizer burn). So, if you see a/your dog urinating on your lawn the most effective way to prevent urine damage is to water heavily to dilute the urine in the area as soon as possible after the dreaded act.

There are a number of animal repellents on the market, which work with varying degrees of success. Apply to existing spots and the perimeter of the lawn, especially in a front yard setting.

Now back to our first question. If the dog belongs to an inconsiderate neighbor who has ignored your pleas for consideration, we recommend a Super Soaker water gun. Simply aim for the perpetrator's head. Since we don't advocate attacking innocent animals, please consider the owner the perpetrator. If the dog is your own, perhaps you could replace the lawn with bark or concrete. (Ok, we're kidding in all of this paragraph--but we do personally understand the problem.)