Western Gardens

November Gardening To-Do List

November 1, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!

If you’re excited to work in your yard or garden, but not sure what to do in the chilly November weather, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a list of things to do throughout the month.

You may not need to do everything on this list. For example, if you don’t have upright bushes to tie or snow tools to inspect, skip over those items on the list. Just pick what applies to your yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

Photo by Russ Hendricks

November Gardening To-Do List

➺Tie Upright Bushes like junipers and arborvitae with burlap strips to keep the
snow load from spreading their branches during winter

➺Cut Back And Mulch perennials as they go dormant

➺Deep Soak lawn, trees, shrubs & flower beds

➺Fertilize lawn if necessary, according to your schedule

➺Put Away any tools that are still out

➺Make Sure your snow shovels and/or snow blower are in good repair,
before you need them

➺Check Ice & Snow Removal Products and replenish if necessary, before it snows

➺Cover Beds With A Frost Blanket for an added layer of protection for your perennials

Be sure to check back for December’s to-do list!

October Gardening To-Do List

October 1, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!

If you’re excited to work in your yard or garden, but not sure what to do in the cooler October weather, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a list of things to do throughout the month.

You may not need to do everything on this list. For example, if you don’t have bulbs to plant or stone fruit trees to spray, skip over those items on the list. Just pick what applies to your yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

October Gardening To-Do List

➺Plant trees & shrubs

➺Buy Spring Bulbs from your local nursery, if you haven’t already

➺Plant Spring Bulbs at the proper depth with a complete fertilizer, if you haven’t already

➺Plant Paper Whites in beautiful indoor pots

➺Store summer flowering bulbs in a cool, dry place

➺Fertilize lawn, according to your schedule

➺Aerate Lawn if necessary

➺Mow Lawn short for winter

➺Plant Pansies for fall color

➺After A Killing Frost remove dead plant material and debris from veggie & flower beds

➺Inventory your tools and inspect for damage, make any necessary repairs or replacement

➺Control Field Bindweed also known as Wild Morning Glory, control other weeds as well

➺Dig Tender Bulbs cannas, dahlias & gladiolus, after a hard frost

➺Drain and Winterize sprinkler system

➺Spray Stone Fruit Trees for Coryneum blight after leaves fall

➺Assess Your Yard for changes to make next year

➺Rake Leaves and add them to your garden. DESTROY Aspen leaves, as they are usually diseased

➺Drain Or Add Fuel Stabilizer to lawn mower. Change oil and store for the winter

➺Disconnect Hoses drain and store for the winter

➺Cover Patio Furniture to protect it from the winter weather, especially wood furniture

Be sure to check out November’s to-do list to keep your yard and garden looking their best into the winter!

September Gardening To-Do List

September 1, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome friend, thanks for stopping by!

If you’re excited to work in your yard or garden, but not sure what to do in the cooler September weather, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a list of things to do throughout the month.

You may not need to do everything on this list. For example, if you don’t have roses, then you won’t need to worry about letting the hips form. Just pick what applies to your yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

September Gardening To-Do List

➺Plant trees & shrubs

➺Watch For Frost Warnings and cover tender crops if necessary

➺Don’t Store apples and potatoes together

➺Stop Dead-Heading roses and let hips form

➺Buy Some Spring Bulbs from your local nursery

➺Plant Spring Bulbs (tulips, daffodils, etc) at the proper depth with a complete fertilizer

➺Plant Pansies with your fall bulbs

➺Keep Up with insect and weed control, keep watching for slugs & snails {check out THIS article for 3 simple ways to control snails!}

➺Last Treatment for peach twig borer

➺Treat Lawn Weeds with weed spray

➺Lay Seed for a new lawn, or lay sod

➺Divide Peonies if necessary

➺Stop Watering fruit trees

➺Start Feeding wild birds, if you stopped in the spring

➺Install a Roof De-Icing Cable to avoid winter ice build-up

Be sure to check out October’s Gardening To-Do List too!

July Gardening To-Do List

June 27, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!

If you’re excited to work in your garden, but not sure what to do in the summer heat of July, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a list of things to do in your yard and garden throughout the month.

You may not need to do everything on this list. For example, if you don’t have iris planted in your yard, then you won’t need to dig, divide and replant it. Just pick what applies to your yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

Mike from our Sandy location was just featured on KUTV 2 News, teaching how to keep your plants healthy and happy in the summer heat, plus some veggies you can plant now for a second crop this season!

July Gardening To-Do List

➺Thin & Fertilize veggies

➺Fertilize lawn, if needed

➺Treat Corn Silks to prevent corn earworms

➺Control peach twig borer and all stone pit fruits with spinosad

➺Dig, Divide & Replant iris

➺Control Codling Moth on apples & pears

➺Fertilize potatoes with nitrogen

➺Remove faded blossoms on roses and ground cover

➺Watch for insect invasions

➺Adjust Sprinklers if necessary, for increasing heat

➺Cut Back & Fertilize annuals for longer bloom

➺Provide An Even Supply of water to tomatoes, to prevent blossom end rot

➺Summer Watering Is Critical for birch trees

➺Things To Keep Away From Tree Trunks: weeds, grass, mowers and trimmers

➺Remember—water lawn early in the morning or at night

➺Plant Outside
Until July 15th: beets & broccoli
Until Sept 1st: radishes

*This is not an exhaustive list. If we’ve overlooked something important, feel free to leave a comment and we will add it to the list!

If you’re local to the Salt Lake area, come in to any of our locations with questions or samples!

How to Calculate Mulch

April 2, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome! We’re so glad you’re here!

Are you looking for a simple way to calculate how much mulch to buy for your garden this year? Then you’ve come to the right place!

Need mulch for your flower beds, but don't know how much to get? Here's a quick & easy way to figure it out!

We’re making it easy for you to calculate just how much mulch you’ll need to get the correct coverage for your garden. This simple formula will make it quick and painless for you to figure out how much to buy without the headache of getting way too much or coming up short.

But wait! Do you really need to worry about mulch? Can’t you just skip it?

Putting mulch on your garden beds is important for several reasons:

It provides nutrients to the soil that last year’s plants took
It helps with weed control (and who doesn’t need that?!)
It reduces soil heat by 10°
It gives your beds a fresh look

To calculate how much mulch you should buy for your garden, we need to use a little bit of math. Don’t let this scare you! It’s actually really simple, and we’re going to break it down so you know exactly what numbers you need and what to do with them.

There are several ways to calculate cubic feet (which is what we’re after), so if you’ve used a different equation that you like better, keep using it! We’re sharing how we like to do it. The general equation we use looks like this: (AxD)/324.

Click NEXT to see how to work the equation!

Image courtesy of winnod at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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April Gardening To-Do List

March 30, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!

If you’re excited to work in your yard or garden, but not sure where to start now that Spring is here, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a list for you of things to do throughout the month.

You may not need to do everything on this list. For example, if you don’t have shade trees to fertilize or seedlings to harden off, skip over those items on the list. Just pick what applies to your yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

April Gardening To-Do List

➺Plant all trees and shrubs

➺Fertilize lawns with a pre-emergent fertilizer to prevent weed seeds from germinating (if not done in March), repeat in 6 weeks if you had a difficult weed problem last year.

➺Fertilize lawns with a regular fertilizer if you plan to seed your lawn/bare patches
in your lawn (if not done in March), repeat every 6 weeks. See Westerns 4 step program for the season.

➺Fertilize trees and shrubs

➺Thin Out seedlings you began indoors

➺Harden Off Seedlings by moving them to a cool place like a garage for two
or three days before planting them outside

➺Fertilize seedlings with a root starter during/after transplant

➺Aerate Lawn if not done in the Fall. If you have a new lawn of 2 years or less, no need to aerate.

➺Water Lawn only if needed, or to water in fertilize, water early in the day or at night

➺Remove or Spray Weeds when they first appear

➺Seed Bare Patches in Lawn do NOT use a pre-emergent fertilizer, OR you can plan to lay seed in September if you have already used a pre-emergent. Not sure how? See our article on Seeding Bare Patches in a Lawn!

➺Spurge & Crabgrass Control if not already done

➺Drain Snow Blower Gas and run it until it quits

➺Lay Sod any time you can find it, you can plant it

➺Deep Soak Trees & Shrubs if rainfall is inadequate

➺Harden Off Tender Annuals before planting outside

➺Spray Fruit Trees for fungus and pests with Fertilome Fruit Tree Spray AFTER the
flowers have fallen off

➺Do a Second Planting of lettuce & radish

➺Transplant kohlrabi, lettuce, onions, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, etc

➺Plant Outside
Until May 1st: kohlrabi, lettuce, parsnips, potatoes, rhubarb, asparagus, cabbage, spinach, turnips
Until May 15th: onions & peas
Until June 15th: carrots & endive
Until July 1st: cauliflower, parsley, swiss chard
Until July 15th: beets & broccoli
Until Sept 1st: radishes

Be sure to check out our May Gardening To-Do List!

*This list is not exhaustive. If we have overlooked something you’d like to see on this list, tell us in a comment below!

History of Western Gardens

March 22, 2016 by Western Gardens

History of Western Gardens

Western Garden Centers (commonly known as Western Gardens to our customers) was established at the downtown location in 1957 by S.W. Clayton and Dwight Walton, who had previously managed the Porter-Walton Company, which began is 1905. We are the uninterrupted retail continuation of this original Porter-Walton Company. Today Western Gardens is owned and managed by three Utah gardeners (including S.W.’s son and grandson!) with the goal of being the preferred garden shop for Wasatch Front gardeners.

Our West Valley store opened in 1962, and in 1972 moved to 3033 West 3500 South. In November of 2000 we moved the West Valley Western Garden Center to 4050 West 4100 South, where we’re still gardening today.

Western Gardens in Sandy was opened in the Spring of 1979 at 9201 South 1300 East. The greenhouses there were previously used by a grower, and we converted the site to retail use. Our current building went up at the same location in 2007.

When we rebuilt the Sandy store in 2007, we added a wedding venue called Atrium Weddings. In 2011, we renovated our historic downtown location to create a second reception center called Ivy House Weddings. These beautiful facilities continue to grow in serving the wedding and event community with wonderful gathering places for families and businesses.

Western Gardens provides trees, shrubs, annuals, perennials, gardening supplies, organic solutions and plant material for the urban garden and gardener. Our goal is to be the best customer to our suppliers (most of which are local Utah companies), create the most enjoyable workspace for our amazing staff, and offer the best products at the best prices for our wonderful customers. We are the Utah garden experts. We are Western Gardens, for what grows here.

March Gardening To-Do List

March 1, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!

If you’re excited to work in your yard or garden, but not sure what to do in the uncertain early Spring weather, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a list of things to do throughout the month.

March Gardening To Do List | Things to do in your yard and garden all month long You may not need to do everything on this list. For example, if you don’t have fruit trees to fertilize or a sprinkler system to check, skip over those items on the list. Just pick what applies to your home and yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

March Gardening To-Do List

➺Fertilize fruit trees (6 weeks prior to bloom)

➺ Fertilize lawns with a Pre-Emergent Fertilizer to prevent weed seeds from germinating

➺Fertilize lawns with a regular fertilizer if you plan to seed your lawn/reseed bare patches in your lawn

➺Prune trees & shrubs (especially those damaged by winter snows), roses, fruit trees

➺Apply Dormant Oil Spray to trees (before bud break)

➺Yard Clean Up remove winter debris and remaining annuals from last year

➺Plan your planting schedule for veggie and flower gardens, drawing a diagram is very helpful

➺Check Sprinkler System for winter breakage, pressurize your system, etc.

➺Inventory Your Tools to make sure you have everything you need

➺Plant Some Early Spring Colors such as pansies, ranunculus, iberis, primrose, etc. Check out our helpful article for 8 easy tips for Planting an Early Spring Flower Pot!

➺Plant Seeds Indoors: eggplant, peppers, tomatoes, begonias, dahlias, etc

➺Plant Outside:
Raspberries & Strawberries
Until May 1st: kohlrabi, lettuce, parsnips, potatoes, rhubarb, asparagus, cabbage, spinach, turnips
Until May 15th: onions & peas
Until June 15th: carrots & endive
Until July 1st: cauliflower, parsley, swiss chard
Until July 15th: beets & broccoli
Until Sept 1st: radishes

March Gardening To Do List | Things to do in your yard and garden all month long

January & February Gardening To-Do List

January 1, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!

If you’re excited to work in your yard or garden, but not sure what to do in the Winter weather, then you’ve come to the right place! We’ve put together a list of things to do to keep your yard in top shape.

You may not need to do everything on this list. For example, if you don’t have a Christmas tree to recycle or trees branches to watch for heavy snow, skip over those items on the list. Just pick what applies to your home and yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

January & February Gardening To-Do List

➺Recycle your fresh-cut Christmas tree, many cities offer recycling services at no cost

➺Remove outdoor Christmas lights and store until next year

➺Remove Snow From Driveway before driving on it, compacted snow is difficult to remove and quickly turns to ice

➺Watch Trees during and after big snow storms, they may need snow knocked from their branches to avoid breakage

➺Make A List of your favorite flowers & veggies so you will be ready to buy seeds in March

➺Draw A Diagram on paper of next year’s garden

Don’t miss our March To-Do List!

Want to print a handy checklist for every month? We have a great ebook coming soon, and we’re offering it for FREE because we love you! Check back soon, we don’t want you to miss it!

Roasted Asparagus

April 9, 2014 by Western Gardens

Roasting vegetables is one of the best things you can do in your kitchen. It preserves more of the nutrients than boiling or steaming, and it caramelizes the natural sugars to bring out a lovely hint of sweetness. The first time I roasted asparagus, I was a convert for life!

Use asparagus that has thick stalks. They are better for roasting than the thin stalks. Cut off the bottom inch and a half of the stalks. You can snap off the tough bottom portion by hand (as seen below in the top left picture), but all of mine tend to break off at about an inch and a half, so I save time by just cutting them.

Toss your asparagus and oil in a zip top bag, or drizzle it over the asparagus right on the pan, then toss to coat. Sprinkle with freshly ground sea salt or kosher salt and freshly ground pepper, and it’s ready to roast!

Pop it in a 425 degree oven for about ten minutes. Don’t overcook it, or it will be bendy and floppy. You want it to still have some substance to it…mushy veggies=blah veggies.

Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients:

1 bunch asparagus
3-4 Tbsp avocado oil
kosher salt or freshly ground sea salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Wash and dry asparagus.
Coat in avocado oil, arrange in a single layer on baking sheet, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Roast for 10 minutes

*Avocado oil has a smoke point of 500 degrees, so I like to use it for high heat roasting, grilling & sauteing.

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~Becky