Locally Grown Means more than Vegetables

Last Updated on Friday, 2 September 2011 07:38 Written by Phillip Friday, 2 September 2011 07:38

Usually when garden centers advertise locally grown items, you assume they are talking about vegetables. I believe locally grown is also important for any item purchased at your local garden center. When you purchase a plant that is locally grown, you should be getting something that is already acclimated to your area. All to often the grocery store parking lot “garden center” and box stores, have plants that are shipped in from all over the country. Many of these plants have a tag on them saying they are appropriate for your growing zone. What you need to do, is look closely at the tag and see where these plants were grown. Very often, perennials and nursery stock that was grown in a warmer climate, have difficulties adapting to the more severe cold of northern winters. This causes people to have failures with their purchases and they think to themselves, “I’m not a green thumb….I just can’t grow plants.” The truth is, that it usually is not your fault at all. So when purchasing plants or produce, think locally. Go to a local garden center that grows their own plants. Ask questions…if they can’t answer those questions they probably didn’t grow the plants themselves. They are hundreds of reasons to buy locally…..this is just one of them!

Don’t be afraid of growing roses

Last Updated on Tuesday, 8 March 2011 10:20 Written by Phillip Tuesday, 8 March 2011 10:20

Lena

Often when I suggest roses as part of a customers landscape, I get that look. You know the one….the face scrunches up and a slight scowl comes on! Many peoples first reaction to roses are “fussy, high maintenance plant”. That is true of many of the old fashioned roses. Today’s  roses have been developed for the type of people who garden today. Bailey Nurseries have been a leader in developing roses that perform in an average homeowners landscape. Lets face it, most homeowners put plants in their landscape and don’t want to mess with them ever again. The Easy Elegance series of roses were developed to do just that.

Now Baileys offer another line of no fuss roses developed by the University of Minnesota. These roses have been developed to not only grow, but to thrive in the tough climate of Minnesota. This series is called  ‘Northern Accent’….a fitting name for these plants. The first of this series released to the public were called Lena, Sven and Ole. Maybe to the rest of the country these are just names, but to us here in the upper Midwest these names immediately evoke a smile. We have all been raised here in the middle of Scandinavian descendants, on Ole and Lena jokes. While these roses can make you smile, they are certainly no joke. Now there is a new rose added to this series, called ‘Sigrid’. While Ole and Lena are different shades of pink and Sven is luscious mauve color, their cousin Sigrid is a true red. As you can see by the pictures these are polyantha roses. Which means they produce blooms in clusters. These roses have performed beyond my expectations in the garden. They are continually in bloom and have shown no  sign of any disease or insect problems. I am looking forward to adding Sigrid to my garden this spring!

Sigrid

Making scents of gardening

Last Updated on Saturday, 29 January 2011 12:42 Written by Phillip Saturday, 29 January 2011 12:40

Sometimes when you are buying plants for your home, you are subconsciously recreating a pleasant memory. While walking through the Nursery my senses are always revved up by the sights, sounds and smell around me. I very often find my mind drifting like the aroma of lilacs in the spring.

Daylilly