Monthly Archives: January 2025

Valentine Gifts From the Garden Center

Valentine’s Day is all about love, and if you love gardening, there’s no better place to find the perfect Valentine’s Day gifts than the garden center. Whether the gifts are for that someone special in your life or just to show some love to yourself or your garden, you can find a wide array of amazing choices for Valentine’s Day or any gift-giving occasion.

Gifts for Your Very Special Valentine

The garden center has much more than just tools or plants, and you can find a variety of nature-inspired gifts for everyone you love this Valentine’s Day. Whether you are shopping for a friend, neighbor, family member or anyone else on your friendship and love gift list, the garden center can offer the right touch of Valentine’s Day sentiment, including…

  • Wind chimes, welcome signs, decorative path stones, and colorful wall decor for the person who loves their porch
  • Bird baths, feeders, houses, nesting material and birdseed for the bird lover
  • Gnomes, fairy gardens, fun statuary and other whimsical accessories for the fantasy lover
  • Houseplants, succulents and easy plants for the plant lover who doesn’t have a full garden
  • Moisture meters, thermometers, pH test kits and rain gauges for the environment manager
  • Fountains, statues, gazing balls and other relaxing accents for those who love to meditate

Gifts for Yourself

While it’s fun to shop for Valentine’s Day gifts for all your friends and everyone you love, don’t forget to show yourself some self-love on this holiday. The garden center has great gift options for a little treat you can enjoy, including…

  • New tools engineered for better ergonomics and comfortable use
  • Plants and seeds to add to the variety in your garden and flowerbeds
  • Decorative solar lights and other colorful accents to spice up your garden space
  • Pots, planters and containers to expand your growing area
  • Seed starting materials setups so you can put that caring spirit to use, even in the winter

Valentine Gifts to Give Your Garden

While you’re shopping for everyone on your Valentine’s Day list, don’t forget your garden. It gives you joy and pleasure all year long, from the first sprouts and blooms of spring to your autumn harvest, and even through the winter with preserved herbs and canned fruits and vegetables as well as outdoor visual interest. As you start planning your spring gardening chores around Valentine’s Day, mid-February is a great time to pick up gifts to “give” your garden, including…

  • Proper fertilizer for the needs of different herbs, vegetables, fruits and flowers
  • Pesticides to keep unwanted garden visitors away and protect your plants
  • A ladybug house to attract beneficial insects to help your garden grow
  • Different types of mulch to control weeds and preserve moisture in your garden
  • New hoses, drip systems and other irrigation tools to keep your garden well-watered
  • Row covers and other shelter to protect your garden against frosts, birds and deer

No matter what your garden needs, you can show it how much you love every plant, path and corner with Valentine gifts from the garden center. Even with every gift you give others on Valentine’s Day, you can share your love of gardening and encourage everyone to enjoy more time in the garden, courtesy of a well-stocked garden center.





Winter Gardener’s Calendar

Winter is a perfect time to plan! Curl up with your gardening books and the gardening magazines and catalogs you’ve received in the mail. Get out the gardening journal and start dreaming.

General Landscape

  • Clean up when you get a break in the weather. Remove fallen branches and downed evergreen clumps. Rake leaves to prevent stains on concrete and dead patches on lawn. If freezing weather is still in the forecast, leave the mulch in place.
  • If your Christmas tree is still around, set it where the dropping needles will provide mulch, use the branches as additional insulation for perennials, or get together with neighbors to rent a chipper and create wood chips for larger mulch.

Houseplants

  • Perk up tired houseplants by removing dead and dying leaves. Wash under a soft shower in the sink or tub.
  • Spider mites love living in warm dry winter homes. Check for mites by looking for tiny speckles on leaves. If so, pick up some Neem Oil or Horticultural Oil or Insecticidal Soap from Bonide.
  • Transplant if roots are growing through the drainage holes or over the pot edge. Pick up some new larger trend-setting colored pots to perk up your décor. Or, if you don’t want to move into a larger pot, untangle the roots and cut back by 1/3, scour the pots and replant with new soil.
  • Remember to turn your plants each week as they begin to grow towards the weaker window light.
  • Plant a terrarium or miniature garden. If you can’t play in the dirt outside, bring the fun indoors!
  • Pick up a potted plant for your valentine. Come in and choose from our thriving greenhouse full of succulents, tropicals and houseplants that are the perfect “I love you!”

Vegetables

  • February: Start vegetable and herb seeds indoors. Pick up some seed trays, heating pads, peat pellets and seed starting mix.
  • Sign up for our February 17th class “Seed Starting and Companion Gardening” and learn and companion gardening and different methods for seed starting.
  • These veggies need an early start indoors:
Broccoli
Cabbage
Celery
Chard		 Eggplant
Kale
Leeks
Lettuce		 Scallion
Onions, bulb
Peppers
Tomatoes

If you just need a breath of aromatic fresh garden air, stop by and smell ours! The humidity is perfect and will instantly transport you to spring. We’d love to see you!




The Best Birdseed for Winter Finches

Gardening and landscaping may be at a standstill during the coldest, deepest days of winter, but that doesn’t mean there is nothing to enjoy in your yard. In fact, there are many beautiful birds that visit our yards only in winter, including whole flocks of fantastic winter finches. With the right bird feeders and the very best birdseed, plus a few other key winter garden accessories, you can easily enjoy a flock of feathered fun all winter long.

Winter Finches to Watch For

There are many different birds that thrive in northern regions. When winter conditions are exceptionally harsh or food supplies are exceptionally low, these birds may move much further south than expected during the coldest months. While weather patterns, food sources and population changes all impact how many of these birds visit feeders, some of the most eagerly anticipated winter finches include…

  • Common redpolls
  • Evening grosbeaks
  • Pine siskins
  • Purple finches
  • Red crossbills

Several other northern species, including snow buntings, bohemian waxwings and boreal chickadees may also be seen at feeders more frequently in winter, but it is the finches that are often the most welcome and reliable winter guests – if you have the right birdseed and feeders to attract them.

Not in a northern area? No need to miss out even if the typical winter finches won’t make it to your yard! Many other finches, including house finches, Cassin’s finches, American goldfinches and lesser goldfinches visit more southerly regions in the winter or even stay in the same range year-round, and these tips work just as well for those species.

Feeding Winter Finches

Winter finches eat mostly seeds and grain, and they require great quantities of nutritious food to keep up their body heat and energy in the bitter cold. Black oil sunflower seed is ideal for most winter finches, even in southern areas. While their sturdy bills can break open these seeds, hulled sunflower seed is often preferred because there will be no discarded shells to build up under the feeder until the ground can be cleaned in the spring. Offering this seed in open platform feeders will accommodate large, hungry flocks, but hopper or tube feeders with covers will protect the seed better from snow, ice and winter rains that can cause mold.

The smaller finches, siskins, redpolls and goldfinches, are especially fond of Nyjer (finch) seed, and it is best to offer these tiny, lightweight seeds in small tube feeders or mesh feeders.

Making Your Yard More Finch-Friendly

The right food and feeders will feed hungry winter finches, but there are several additional accessories you can add to your yard to make it even more finch-friendly.

  • Fresh Water
    Despite all the snow and ice around in winter, birds need liquid water even more than they need food. Providing a heated bird bath when temperatures drop will give birds a fresh, liquid water source to visit so they don’t need to waste precious calories melting their own water.
  • Safe Shelter
    These birds are used to cold, but extra shelter can make a critical difference in bitter cold snaps, especially further south where dropping temperatures aren’t as common. Bird roost boxes and bird houses can be left up year-round for fast, easy shelter, and dense evergreen plantings also provide a good windbreak and comfortable spot for birds to rest.
  • Clean Facilities
    Bacteria is easily spread through dirty water and bird feces, and clean baths and feeders are essential to keep finches and other backyard birds safe. Use a weak bleach solution to sterilize feeders and baths regularly, and use scrub brushes, old toothbrushes or bottle brushes to get into every nook and cranny. Some bird diseases can also affect humans, so be sure to wear gloves when cleaning.
  • Open Feeding Areas
    Even the best food and greatest feeders won’t be useful if the feeding areas are buried under ice and snow. A broad, umbrella-style baffle can keep snow off feeders, or you can use a brush or old broom to gently remove snow when needed. Keep a small ground feeding area shoveled or tamped down to make foraging easier for birds under the feeder as well.

Winter finches are amazing backyard visitors that aren’t deterred by the cold days, chilly winds and frozen ground that keep gardeners inside for months. By providing good quality food, suitable feeders and other finch-friendly accessories, you can enjoy the energy, color and excitement of these birds in your yard all winter long.


Pruning Fundamentals

Pruning is essential to keep your trees and shrubs in good shape, but it can be intimidating if you’ve never pruned before. Once you learn the fundamentals, however, you’ll realize it isn’t as hard as it may seem.

Tree Pruning

The first thing to look for when pruning a tree is broken, diseased or dead branches, all of which should be removed to preserve the overall health of the tree. The next thing to be concerned with are suckers and water sprouts. Suckers can be either bottom suckers coming from the root system or growths originating from the trunk. In either case, they reduce water and nutrient flow to the main portion of the tree and should be removed. Another problem growth is called a water sprout, which is very noticeable because it grows straight up from a branch. Water sprouts also rob water and nutrients from the tree.

After all of these problems have been corrected, a second look at the tree should let you know what other limbs should be removed. Removing large limbs is perhaps the most difficult part of tree pruning. It requires two cuts in which one cut removes the weight of the limb and prevents tearing of the bark. The second cut is made closer to the trunk and removes the remaining stub, but should be no closer than the branch collar. Smaller limbs may also be removed to help preserve the desired shape and size of the tree if needed.

Pruning Deciduous Shrubs

Many deciduous shrubs can really benefit from annual pruning. Pruning not only controls the size of these shrubs, but it can also increase flower production and encourage colorful bark.

Let’s begin with a few of the more common shrubs, such as lilac, forsythia and weigela. These shrubs are most commonly known for their flowers, so we should prune them accordingly. By removing a portion of their oldest stems entirely we can encourage younger growth, which will give us more flowers. Plants such as red and yellow twig dogwood have colorful stems which can be enhanced by removing the older gray stems. Another group of plants that benefit from pruning are the spireas and potentillas. These plants are treated a little differently in that they are cut down to about 4 or 6 inches in the fall or early spring. By pruning them this way, we increase their flowering and yet remove all of their twigginess that would look unsightly throughout the winter and early spring.

There are many other trees and shrubs that require more detailed pruning recommendations and careful guidelines. Please email us your questions or stop by the store, we always have people available to answer your questions whether they involve specific plant recommendations or which pruner is the right one for you and the pruning job you need to do.


Bird Feeding 101: Low Maintenance Suet Feeding

Suet is a high-energy brick of animal fat and other ingredients to attract insect-eating birds. Because it is high in fat and calories, it is a quick source of heat and energy for birds and has been used as a good substitute for the insects that birds usually feed upon, but are not plentiful in cold weather. Suet can be offered all year long but is especially important in winter. Why not offer suet to your backyard birds today?

Easy Suet Feeders

Providing suet in a wire basket or mesh bag is an easy, low-maintenance option. Depending on the numbers of birds feeding in your yard, you may only need to add a new cake or ball to the basket or bag once or twice a week. Birds will cling all over the feeder to access the suet, so even as the cake is nibbled away they can still reach the treat. While suet may be most popular in winter, you can leave it in your yard year round and birds will always visit, so there is no need to swap out the feeder or store it during different seasons. For the safest feeding, position any suet feeder 5-6 feet off the ground and near a tree trunk, shrubs or brush for birds to retreat easily if they feel threatened.

It is important to note that squirrels may love suet just as much as birds. Using wide baffles above and below the suet feeder can help keep squirrels away from the food and give birds a better chance to feed without interference. Choosing suet blended with hot pepper can also discourage squirrels, but birds have very limited taste buds and don’t mind the heat.

Birds That Love Suet

Presenting suet in your backyard will also attract a greater variety of birds for your enjoyment. The different birds that enjoy suet include…

  • Bluebirds
  • Bushtits
  • Cardinals
  • Chickadees
  • Jays
  • Kinglets
  • Mockingbirds
  • Nuthatches
  • Starlings
  • Titmice
  • Thrashers
  • Woodpeckers
  • Wrens

As more birds discover your suet feeder, your flock will grow and you may find you need to add a second, third or even fourth feeder to sate all those feathered appetites!



Insect Control Begins Now

It’s hard to think of insects in winter, but don’t forget the havoc these tiny creatures can bring to your garden – defoliating leaves, contaminating produce, even destroying complete plants. Before these pests begin to be a problem is the perfect time to take steps to control them.

Why Winter Control?

Late winter is the right time to control insects for two reasons. First, the insects and their eggs are just coming out of dormancy. The shells and protective coverings are softer and more porous in late winter, and so are more vulnerable to the effects of oils and sprays. Second, the oil-water mixture should not freeze on the tree or plants, which could damage the plant and make the spray far less effective. When you spray, the temperature should be above 40 degrees. Delay spraying if freezing night temperatures are predicted. Choose a calm day for spraying to be sure stray breezes and cross winds do not spread the spray to plants you don’t want covered.

Insects to Control

In late winter, before any leaf buds begin to open, spray Bonide All-Season Oil or Dormant Oil Spray on fruit trees or other ornamental trees or shrubs to suffocate over-wintering aphids, thrips, mealybugs, whitefly, pear psylla, scale and spider mites that cling to the bark. The treatment will also destroy the eggs of codling moths, Oriental fruit moths and assorted leaf rollers and cankerworms. Don’t wait until the buds have burst in early spring, as the coating of oil will also smother the emerging plant tissue.

Tree Spraying Tips

While small shrubs can be easy to treat, larger trees are more challenging to be sure you don’t leave any area untreated where insects can thrive. Spray the whole tree at one time, concentrating on the trunk, large branches and crotches, rather than spraying down a whole row of trees at one pass. If you’ve experienced extremely bad infestations of insects, you might treat your trees a second time. But be sure to spray before the buds are near the bursting point. Dormant oil can also be used after the leaves have dropped in the fall. Never spray when any foliage or fruit is on the trees or you risk unwanted pesticide contamination.

After you spray, be sure to store any remaining oil properly and out of reach of children and pets. Containers should be labeled clearly and kept in cool, dark spaces to preserve their usefulness. Avoid reusing any sprayers to minimize the risk of cross contamination or inadvertent use.

Spraying for insects in winter may not be the most glamorous job, but you’ll appreciate the improvement in your trees through the spring and summer when you’ve nipped your insect problems in the bud.

Seed Viability

The perfect way to spend a cold winter’s day is commencing this year’s veggie, herb, and flower gardens. The gardening season begins in earnest in February with seed-starting, and seed-starting begins with an inventory of necessary supplies. To prepare for this endeavor, you will need:

  • Seed-starting mix,
  • containers (flats, peat pots, cell packs, etc.),
  • labels and markers,
  • heat mats,
  • grow lights,
  • spray mister and watering can
  • and, of course, seeds.

If this is not your first seed-starting rodeo, you will already have a number of these supplies on hand and will just need to supplement your inventory where necessary.

But the seeds, what about the seeds? Can last year’s excess be used for this year’s plants? Let’s find out!

Leftover Seed

Don’t throw away leftover seeds! Most vegetable, herb, and flower seeds are viable for much longer than we may anticipate, especially when stored properly.

Instead, test the seeds to assess their viability. Here’s how:

  1. Dampen a paper towel.
  2. Place ten seeds, all from the same pack, on the paper towel.
  3. Gently fold the damp paper towel and slip it into a sealable plastic bag.
  4. Label the bag with the date and the seed name.
  5. Place the bag in a warm area in the home out of direct sun.
  6. For germination time, check the seed pack or look this information up.
  7. Check on seeds twice a week up until about a week after the advised germination timeframe.
  8. If one seed germinates of the ten, then you have a 10% germination rate; if five seeds germinate, then you have a 50% germination rate, and so on and so forth.
  9. Make your decision on using or discarding the seeds based on your personal preference for germination amounts. We recommend purchasing new seeds if germination is under 50%.
  10. Seeds pre-sprouted in paper towels may be planted in pots or cell packs and grown on.

It is important to note that even when stored under perfect conditions, seed viability will decline each year. Therefore, it is wise to test all older seeds every year. The exception is seeds that have already been determined only to germinate when fresh, one year old. These seeds are not worth the effort to test.

Seed Storage

Proper storage plays an important role in future viability when purchasing fresh seed. We recommend:

  • Storing seeds in a cool, dark environment. A refrigerator works well. If a refrigerator is not available, a cool basement will do.
  • Keeping the storage temperature as consistent as possible, avoiding wide fluctuations.
  • The relative humidity be maintained at less than 40% – store seeds in sealed glass jars or plastic bags.
  • Ensuring that the storage area or containers are varmint-proof.

Be sure to clearly and accurately mark your seed containers with the plant name and variety, the purchase or storage date, and any other important information you may find helpful in the future.

Seed Viability Charts
Clear Creek Seeds (https://www.clearcreekseeds.com/seed-viability-chart/)  offers an excellent seed viability chart on their website, which we have included here for easy reference.

New Year Gardening Resolutions

As a new year begins, so do our garden plans. Winter is now halfway through; day length is increasing, and exhilarating notions of having the best garden ever consume our thoughts almost daily. Here are some resolutions to help make your dreams come true this gardening season.

  • PLAN – A little garden planning goes a long way. Layout your garden design for vegetables, herbs, and flowers, even trees and shrubs, to maximize space, efficiency, and beauty.
  • IMPROVE – Healthy soil equals healthy plants. A soil test will tell you what needs improvement. Add the recommended amendments to feed both the soil and plants for a vibrant, beautiful, and productive garden. Resolving to stick to a regular weeding, feeding, and watering schedule will also help improve your garden results.
  • START – There’s just something special about starting seeds indoors. Maybe it’s the improved cultivar selection, the excitement of beginning a new gardening year, or simply getting your hands in the soil during the winter months. Whatever the reason, it’s beneficial to get a jumpstart on the season by starting and growing seedlings under grow lights.
  • TRY – This year, resolve to try something new every season. Experiment with one unusual vegetable, herb, or flower. This is an excellent way to increase both plant and garden knowledge and may result in a delightful, unexpected outcome.
  • ATTRACT – Plant more bee-friendly plants to attract pollinators. Some of the best plants for this purpose are native. Be sure to include early, mid, and late-season bloomers to ensure that veggie plants are pollinated and producing and to keep pollinators active, plump, and happy all growing season long.
  • IMPART – What greater gift can you impart to children than a lifelong love of gardening? This year, involve the whole family, from youngest to oldest, by giving kids their own small plot, raised bed, or container to plant, nurture, and learn from.
  • PRESERVE – Don’t allow your hard work to go to waste. Harvest fruits, vegetables, and herbs at peak ripeness when they are their tastiest. Preserve the abundance. Can, freeze, or dry extra produce so you can enjoy homegrown all year.

This list will start you on your New Year’s gardening journey. Feel free to add to this list to personalize it. Use it to evaluate your successes at the end of the year and for planning purposes next January as you resolve, yet again, to have the best garden ever!