Gardening

Mother’s Day Flower Garden in a Basket

April 30, 2016 by Jenn Crookston

Welcome! I’m so glad you’re here.

Do you love gardening and giving beautiful gifts? Then I have the perfect project for you!

I’ve been bitten by the gardening bug this year. I have been enjoying getting my hands dirty and creating beautiful things with flowers. This Mother’s Day Flower Garden in a Basket quickly turned into a favorite project!

I love when an idea turns out how I hoped it would when I imagined it. What I love about this project is that it is easy to customize, it can be as big or small as you want and can include a variety of flowers.

For this project you’ll need:

Favorite flowers
Basket
Potting Soil
Basket Liner

For my particular basket I collected some of my favorite flowers and an old Easter basket. The Easter basket was blue and that didn’t work for what I wanted, so I started by painting it white. I was happy that the basket liner fit well inside which helped make everything look nicely put together.

The reason I call this a Flower Garden in a Basket is because in a big enough basket you can place the plants inside the basket in their original container making it easy for the receiver of the basket to plant the flowers in their yard or into flower pots if they want to. For my basket I took the flowers out of their containers but kept them separated with additional potting soil which will still make them easy to remove from the basket if that is what is desired.

This basket contains the following flowers/plants:

Cordyline Indivisa Spikes
Pansies
Trailing Petunia
Red Nancy
Bowles Cunningham Periwinkle

If they stay in the basket they’ll fill in beautifully and look fantastic on an outdoor table or on the porch. If they are taken out of the basket they’ll be a wonderful addition to the yard or another flower pot.

I can’t wait to put a few more of these together to give to some of the best Mother’s I know!

Here are a few breakfast recipes sure to make Mom smile when you make her breakfast in bed Mother’s Day morning!

Stuffed French Toast Casserole ~ Breakfast Burritos ~ Strawberry Shortcake Pancakes

10 Deer-Resistant Plants

April 27, 2016 by Heather Leister

Welcome, I’m so glad you stopped by!

Do you have frequent visitors to your yard? Visitors that may not be very welcome…because they’re eating your landscape?! Oh, deer! If you get these visitors like we do, we are here to help! We’re sharing 10 beautiful plants you can add to your flower beds and containers, that deer will leave for you instead of taking for a snack.

Several years ago we moved to a new area with a well-known urban deer population. The city’s deer herd was notorious for visiting yards and sampling the local landscaping. In the beginning, being in the midst of the deer was a treat. We had never lived in an area with this much access to wildlife.

The novelty quickly wore off as our plants began to vanish.

Plants that had thrived for years in our old yard were no match for the deer’s appetites. It became clear that we had to adapt our landscaping or our yard would continue to serve as a 24-hour deer buffet.

Through research, trial and error, we found deer-resistant plants that grow in our area. There are still a few deer delicacies planted in the yard (I just can’t give up my hostas!) but for the most part we’ve been successful in keeping them away.

When looking for a deer-resistant plant, a good rule of thumb is to choose something fragrant, prickly, or poisonous to the deer. The deer won’t always obey this rule, especially if they’re hungry and food is scarce, but this is a good place to start. Here are 10 deer-resistant plants that thrive in a variety of environments.

10 Deer-Resistant Plants

FRAGRANT PLANTS

1. Lavender

Are deer eating everything you plant? Try these 10 plants that are deer-resistant, your landscape will thank you!

Lavender is always an excellent choice for a deer resistant plant. This hardy, fragrant perennial requires little water and maintenance.

2. Salvia

Are deer eating everything you plant? Try these 10 plants that are deer-resistant, your landscape will thank you!

Salvia is another perennial that produces a strong fragrance which deer find extremely unpleasant. The plant comes in a wide variety of colors and is a strong perennial that will be easy to care for year after year.

3. Yarrow

Are deer eating everything you plant? Try these 10 plants that are deer-resistant, your landscape will thank you!

Yarrow plants are not overly picky about soil requirements, making them an excellent choice for many people. Bright, colorful flowers bloom throughout the summer, but the deer won’t be tempted to snack thanks to the strong aroma produced by the yarrow leaves.

4. Butterfly Bush

Are deer eating everything you plant? Try these 10 plants that are deer-resistant, your landscape will thank you!

Another fragrant, drought-resistant perennial, Butterfly Bush is an excellent choice if you are looking for a flowery, deer resistant shrub. It grows quickly, produces a large amount of blooms, and does well in almost any type of soil.

Click NEXT to see which beautiful prickly plants will keep deer away!

Salvia image courtesy of Rawich at FreeDigitalPhotos.net
Lavender and Yarrow images courtesy of wikimedia commons
Butterfly Bush image courtesy of staticflickr

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Best Plants for Window Boxes

April 23, 2016 by Jenn Crookston

Welcome! I’m so glad you stopped by!

Are you looking for the best plants that will really stand out in your window boxes this year? Flowers that will thrive, even in uncertain Spring weather? Then you’ve come to the right place! I’m sharing 6 of my favorite picks for gorgeous window boxes.

Those who know me well know that my house and I just aren’t best friends. I probably couldn’t have picked a house with an exterior that I like less! But since an all-new exterior isn’t in the plans, I have to do what I can to make it as pretty as possible.

A few years ago I finally convinced my husband that we needed flower boxes for the windows. We’ve had varying degrees of success, so this year I am determined to get these window flower boxes prize-worthy! You know what I’m talking about, right? Jaw-dropping window boxes like this one from The Lily Pad Cottage.

Isn’t it just beautiful? I’m in awe.

I needed some advice to start out right in my quest for gorgeous window boxes, so I headed to Western Gardens to get some help. Andrea answered all my questions and gave me some great tips that I can’t wait to share with you!

Prep Your Boxes Correctly:

Replace the liners in each flower box. I was amazed at what this did to make everything look better immediately!
Fill the liners a little less than half full with styrofoam packing peanuts. This will reduce weight and save potting soil, and allow more air and water to get to the roots.
Fill the rest of the liner with fresh potting soil, like Gardner’s Gold.
Plan out your flowers. I planted earlier in the spring than normal, so I made sure to choose flowers that were all cold-tolerant (since April snow is a thing here!)
Ensure you have doubles of every flower, if you need to make matching boxes like I did.
Don’t overfill your boxes. Let your flowers get established before you fill in gaps.

Window Box Flowers (left to right, repeated in each box):

Pansy Frizzle Sizzle Mix
Primrose Danova Mix
Vinca Bowles Cunningham Periwinkle
Ranunculus Bloomingdale Mix
Pansy Delta Premium Beaconsfield
Pansy Matrix Lemon
Pansy Frizzle Sizzle Mix

The same rules apply to window boxes as porch pots. To create a truly awe-inspiring display, you need a filler, a spiller, and a thriller. See my tips for porch pots if you’re not sure what this means!

Pansies and primrose are great fillers with a lot of wonderful color. The Vinca will spill beautifully over the sides, and the tall, red Ranunculus is currently thrilling my boxes!

As these flowers grow and spread, they will fill the boxes nicely. These flowers should all last several months, depending on how quickly our Utah weather turns hot.

Two final tips for healthy window boxes:

Check the water regularly. The heat from the house may increase your boxes’ water needs.
Fertilize regularly for the best blooms. I use ferti-lome blooming and rooting soluble plant food, which is perfect for big, beautiful blooms. Click here to see why I recommend this one!

I can’t wait to share how my window boxes progress this summer. Here’s to growing gorgeous!

While I’m waiting for my flower boxes to fill out, I’ll be enjoying these delicious recipes with my family:

Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies ~ Spinach Salad w/Poppy Seed Dressing ~ Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

8 Tips-Planting Early Spring Flower Pots

April 16, 2016 by Jenn Crookston

Welcome gardening friends!

Do you love seeing splashes of color in the early spring? Especially when winter hasn’t quite worn off yet, and the landscape can look a little gray and uninviting?

I’m here to help! With these 8 Tips for Planting Early Spring Flower Pots, you can take your yard from winter-blah to spring-wow!

I am very excited to start gardening this year! So excited, in fact, that I have no desire to wait for Mother’s Day to get planting (here in Utah, Mother’s Day is about the time to start).

But I didn’t want swing and miss this year, so I headed to Western Gardens with my mother-in-law Sue (my personal go-to flower guru) and we consulted the experts there.

When we first arrived at Western Gardens I couldn’t help but notice all the beautiful flowers they already had in their pots out front.

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!

Sue and I both loved this pot! Since it’s still quite cold, I was impressed with how much color was in the pot and how great the flowers looked. Some even had ice sitting on them, and yet here they were in their vibrant beauty!

To make sure we were doing everything possible to have the best chance of success, we asked a Plant Pro from Western Gardens to help us out. Andrea answered all of our questions and gave us so much great advice! I appreciated her friendly personality and really appreciated that she never once made me feel foolish for my lack of knowledge.

I was thrilled to discover such a wide variety of flowers and plants that are cold-weather hardy and perfect for early spring flower pots. With our temperamental Utah springs, we can have beautiful spring-like weather in February, only to have snow on the ground in April. With these cold-weather flowers, I can have blooms all spring long.

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!

8 Tips for Planting Early Spring Flower Pots:

1. Talk to your local gardening shop (if you’re here in Utah, visit Western Gardens in Sandy, Downtown Salt Lake, and West Valley City). Ask them what flowers and plants work best in your area for early spring planting. It will vary depending on your location and climate. To make the most of your pots, you’re going to want expert advice!

2. Choose a filler, a spiller, and a thriller (these are different flowers that will fill in the pot, spill down the sides, and thrill the eye…think grass spikes)! Click HERE for more details.

3. Gather other necessary supplies:

Styrofoam packing peanuts (enough to fill each pot 1/3 full)
Fresh potting soil (like Gardener’s Gold)
Fertilizer (like ferti-lome blooming and rooting soluble plant food. The high middle number (9-58-8) is responsible for the flowering of plants and flowers, which means it’ll help your potted plants/flowers have beautiful blooms − or if you’re planting fruits/veggies, this helps with food production.)

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!

4. Fill your pot 1/3 full with styrofoam packing peanuts (they partially fill the pot without adding weight, and allow for air and water to have room to move around the roots of the plants). Fill the remaining 2/3 of your pot most of the way with potting soil (leaving a few inches of space at the top, you’ll need it in a few minutes!).

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!

5. Arrange your flowers in the pot before you plant. Here I’ve got my plants all laid out to get an idea of how I want the pot to look when it’s finished. Once you’re happy with the arrangement, then start potting each one (don’t forget to gently tear some of the roots on each flower before you plant it, this helps the roots spread into the surrounding soil and promote growth).

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!
6. Add more potting soil once all your plants are potted, to fill in any holes.

7. Water your flowers to make sure they’ve got a nice, fresh drink to help keep them perky. Don’t oversaturate your pot.

8. Fertilize, dead-head & water your flower pots to keep them looking their best all spring! Fertilize regularly (organic and chemical fertilizers have different instructions, read carefully! We recommend organic for pots, as chemical fertilizers leave a salt residue), remove expired blooms (so the plant’s energy can go to make new ones!), and water when soil is just barely moist (don’t let it dry out).

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!

The plants and flowers featured in my pots are:

Fillers:

Pigeon Purple Flowering Kale (perennial)
Flowering Cabbage (perennial)
Candy Tuft Tahoe (perennial)
Pansy Fizzle Sizzle Mix (annual)
Pansy Matrix Lemon (annual)
Ranunculus Bloomingdale Mix (annual)
Pansy Delta Premium Beaconsfield (annual)
Primrose Danova Mix (annual)

Spillers

Red Nancy (annual)
Bowles Cunningham Periwinkle (annual)

Thrillers

Cordyline Indivisa Spikes (annual)

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!

I am absolutely in love with how my pots turned out! And with these tips and advice, I know I’ll have beautiful pots all spring. A few of the plants I chose are perennials (they’ll come back year after year), so when they stop blooming, they can be replanted in the ground for next year!

These flowers will all last several months, and possibly through June, depending on how quickly it gets hot. I love that my pots are already planted, and that I can add other flowers as some of them expire, to keep some beauty outside my home all spring, summer and fall!

8 Tips for planting early spring flower pots, to help pull your yard out of the winter blues and into the happy colors of spring!

Now that all my flowers and plants look so beautiful, I need some new pots for them! I think that will be my reward for keeping them pretty and healthy all season.

Here are a few more things to love about Spring that you can find over on my blog!

RHW Collage
Gluten Free Oatmeal Cookies ~ Spinach Salad w/Poppy Seed Dressing ~ Strawberry Lemonade Cookies

5 Plants for Utah Porch Pots

April 12, 2016 by Heather Leister

Welcome, gardening friends! We’re so glad you’re here.

Do you love having beautiful flowers on your porch? But have you grown tired of the same old geraniums and gerbera daisies that you plant year after year? If you’re ready to try something new in your flower pots this spring, then you’ve come to the right place!

We’re sharing five gorgeous plants that you should add to your gardening arsenal. If you’re in Utah like us, these plants will thrive because they are native to our area. They are perfect for planting in your containers, so give these beauties a try!

1. Bee Balm

Bee Balm is a showy, native wildflower that will add color and excitement to your flower pots. The plant requires well-drained soil, so you will need to ensure that your container is large enough to accommodate the plant’s growth. Bee Balm attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, making it the perfect centerpiece for a container.

2. Silvery Lupine

Need some beautiful, new plants for your porch pots? Try these native Utah plants to freshen up your outdoor decor!

This native perennial can grow up to 1-2 feet tall. Silvery leaves and spikes are covered with small showy flowers. The height of the Silvery Lupine makes it an ideal showpiece in a pot.

3. Four O’Clock

four o'clock 2

The Four O’Clock is a fragrant, colorful flower that will thrive in dry soil. The Four O’Clock opens in the late afternoon, or on cloudy days, so it’s ornamental blossoms will complement your daytime blooming plants.

4. Wasatch Penstemon

wasatch pestemon 2

The Wasatch Penstemon is a familiar fixture in Utah’s Wasatch Mountains. The small plant blooms in a gorgeous blue, but it may take two years for flowers to appear. Seeds should be planted in the late fall, which means you’re going to have to plan ahead. It will be worth it in the end, when spring arrives you’ll have a mountain valley in a pot on your porch.

5. Prairie Aster

Need some beautiful, new plants for your porch pots? Try these native Utah plants to freshen up your outdoor decor!

The Prairie Aster is an upright perennial that thrives in the desert and will require little watering or attention. The flowers resemble daisies and are tiny and elegant. Once it blooms the Prairie Aster will attract butterflies and birds, bringing excitement to your flower pots.

If you can’t decide which Utah native plants to put in your containers, or you want more information, we can help! At Western Gardens we carry a large selection of Utah native plants, and our staff knows exactly what grows here. Bring us your questions, we’re here to help you figure out exactly what you need for your flower pots or yard.

Images:
Prairie Aster, Wasatch Penstemon – Flickr
Bee Balm, Silvery Lupine, Four O’clock – commons.wikimedia.org

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.

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!

Raised Garden Beds

May 17, 2014 by Becky

Raised garden beds have become very popular in recent years, and for good reason. Growing more food in less space with less work sounds too good to be true, but it’s not! If you are thinking about taking the plunge and building raised beds for your garden, we’ve included links to 12 different tutorials for raised beds.

Why Raised Beds?

Less Compacted Soil. Roots (and worms!) need air space in the soil to grow, so if you’re stepping in your garden beds, you are compacting the soil and destroying that important air space! For more information about compost and soil amending, see this blog post all about it.

Deeper Soil. The deeper the roots can grow, the healthier your plants will be and the better your harvest. It is often suggested to line the bottom of your garden box with cardboard or black weed barrier cloth, but this will prevent your roots from growing as deep as they want. Try it without and see how your garden grows!

Weed Control. Your veggies will be further from the grass and weeds in your yard, but you will also be able to plant more densely…crowding out weeds that would otherwise grow.

Grow More in Less Space (with less work!) Traditionally, our gardens have always had narrow rows for plants and wide rows for walkways. There is no real reason to design your garden this way, except maybe because it’s how your grandparents gardened. If you have wider rows for your plants, you can fit much more than if you were to plant single rows. Utilize your space more efficiently and you can grow more in your garden than ever before!

Here is a great link to another good article about raised garden beds and on how to build a raised garden bed.