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How To

How to Choose an Apple Tree in Utah

September 21, 2017 by Wendy Pettit

Learn 3 important criteria to choose the right apple tree for your yard

Photo by Pixabay

Fall is a wonderful time to plant trees and the apple tree is one of the easiest fruit trees to grow.  Surprisingly, how to choose an apple tree is easy to learn as well.  Learn these three basic criteria as you prepare for this investment.  Nearly all apple trees require a second variety close by in order to pollinate.  So as you are considering, be sure to have a first and second choice.

How to Choose an Apple Tree – 3 Criteria:

  1. Right SIZE – Choose the right size of tree for your space.  You need to look at your space and maybe even measure the space so you know what you are purchasing.
  2. Right VARIETY – Type of fruit desired.  Do you want fresh eating apples, or just cooking apples?  You will be investing time and effort into you tree, so they may as well be apples that will please you and serve your purpose.
  3. Right TIME – When does it flower and when is harvest time.  Apples require a second variety to cross-pollinate, therefore you want 2 apples trees that will bloom about the same time.
Tree size for the right space is important when you choose an apple tree

Photo by Pixabay

SIZES of Trees:

  • Standard size tree – can grow to 25-30 feet tall along Wasatch Front with a spread of 25-30 feet.  You need a large area for the standard size tree.  Standard trees take 4-8 years to produce mature fruit.  These trees are very good in cold-climates, but be ready to prune every year.
  • Semi-dwarf (sometimes called half-standard) – can grow 12-15 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and same width if not pruned.  This tree will have mature fruit in 3-5 years.
  • Dwarf or Genetic Dwarf tree or Bush trees – Can grow 6-10 feet tall along the Wasatch Front and just as wide.  These trees produce mature fruit in 3-4 years.
  • Others:  There are several other types of fruit trees.  These would include espalier and columnar.  See your local experts at the neighborhood nursery for what will grow in your area and for availability.

Nearly all semi-dwarf and dwarf or bush trees are grafted.  Growers graft or attach the desired fruiting branch to a “rootstock” trunk.  The rootstock determines how big your tree will get.  Shopping your reputable local garden nursery will ensure that you are buying a quality product – good grafting onto a quality rootstock.  There are different rootstocks for different areas.  Your local nursery experts will only sell what will work here along the Wasatch Front, versus a big company back east somewhere that orders for their stores throughout the country.

How to choose an apple tree with the right variety of apple for your needs.

Photo by Pixabay

VARIETY of Fruit:

There are literally over 7000 apple varieties.  Obviously many more than what you find at the local grocery market.  Visiting a good local farmers market can expose you to other varieties you can taste before you make an investment into your own tree.

Click HERE to see a basic break down of the more popular varieties and their best uses.

 

Remember that your tree is your investment, so you want to produce something you will use and enjoy for years and years to come.  Apples trees can live as long as 60 years or more.

The blooming time of apple trees is important to pollinate the blossoms.

Photo by Pixabay

TIMES for Blooming:

As mentioned above, nearly all apples need a pollinator apple tree in the general area.  If you have neighbors that have apples trees, planting one in your yard should still give you plenty of harvest.  But if you are the only one, then you may need to plant two different varieties of apples.  For example, in commercial orchards, farmers often plant some golden delicious apple trees along with their main crop.  Golden Delicious trees are known to be good pollinators.  Be sure to choose two varieties that overlap their flowering time.

Midseason bloomers:

  • Crimson Beauty
  • Gala
  • Jonamac
  • Jonathan
  • McIntosh
  • Golden Delicious
  • Jonagold
  • and others

Late bloomers:

  • Fuji
  • Granny Smith
  • Rome Beauty
  • Winesap
  • and others

Poor pollinators:  Jonagold and Winsesap (plus a few more), are considered poor pollinators.  Don’t plan on them being your pollinating tree.

Hardiness and Cold Requirements:  Be sure to check at your local garden center for those varieties that are actually hardy for your area.  You need to choose an apple tree that will survive your climate year round.  And on the other hand, realize that apples require a certain amount of cold temperatures to have the sugars set and the fruit to ripen properly.  If the fruit doesn’t get the required coldness, the fruit will be a disappointment for all the time and effort you’ve put into your harvest.

For example, my parents planted a Red Delicious apple down south in the area of St. George, Utah.  The fruit grew but never turned red and always had a mealy texture and flavor. The fruit never was like their Red Delicious apples from their trees up in northern Utah.  The tree eventually was cut out.

Conclusion:

Now you know the basic criteria for how to choose an apple tree.  You need to consider the right size of tree, the right type of apple, and the right blooming time for good pollination. What a great investment for your yard, yourself, and your family!

In future posts, we will go through proper planting procedures, learn about any pest control needed, and how and when to properly prune your tree.   Soon you will be enjoying the fruits of your labor.

Check out these recipes for apple goodies (submitted by Western Garden patrons):

Simple Apple Chips and Apple Pie Filling

Simple Applesauce and Apple Butter

 

Learn 3 important criteria to choose an apple tree for your yard

Filed Under: Fruit, Gardening, How To, Trees, Utah Gardening Tagged With: Apple trees, blooming time, choosing trees, fruit trees, How To, how to choose, tree size, utah apple trees, utah fruit trees

Harmful Garden Insects: Organic Management

July 18, 2017 by Marjorie Carter

 Welcome, Friends! Glad you’re here for some tips to organically manage those pesky harmful garden insects so you’ll have produce left to harvest!

Harmful garden insects can be managed organic methods

All yards and allotments will have harmful garden insects every year; it’s part of nature.  These insects need to eat in order to feed the beneficial insects.  Eliminating ALL the harmful insects from your garden would be time, labor, and resource intensive. You also run the risk of depleting the food source for beneficial insects and other animals that feed on the harmful critters.

Wise Goal – An important and wise goal is to control the harmful garden insects enough to reduce the damage to your garden to a manageable level.  Meaning that by harvest time, there is something left for you to eat.  Losing one or two tomatoes is manageable and probably hardly noticed, but an entire decimated crop means there’s a problem to address. 

aphids are harmful garden insects that can be easily controlled

Aphids – One year we had aphids on our herbs which was easily treated by spraying the affected plants with neem oil, a wonderful organic product found at Western Gardens.  This significantly reduced the number of bugs.  They were further kept at bay by some helpful ladybugs, also found at your garden shop. 

Neem Oil is safe organic product. Read label

We were careful to thoroughly wash our herbs before eating them to remove any remaining aphids. Washing anything you harvest before eating it is always a good idea anyway.

Harmful garden insects include the Leaf Miner

Leaf Miner – Last year, our challenge was leaf miner larvae on our Swiss chard.  In this case, we simply discarded any leaves that had been extensively chewed.  Otherwise, we snipped off the parts that didn’t look as appetizing, like anything that had a visible egg attached to it (usually on the underside of the leaves), washed everything, and then enjoyed our tasty green salad.

tracks of leaf miner on pepper plant leaves

This year, now that we know to look for the leaf miner eggs on the leaves, we were more attentive with our starts for our garden and inspected them daily, looking for them or other harmful garden insects.  We found eggs on our pepper plants and did our best to remove them when the plants were small.  We used a piece of duct tape wrapped around a finger to remove the eggs.

duct tape wrapped around one finger helps lift off insect eggs from plants

We found that using a gentle fingernail was still too rough for the tender young leaves, so gently touching the tiny eggs with the sticky duct tape easily lifted them off.  

Eggs of the leaf miner on pepper plants

Once the plants were more mature and could withstand a little insect activity, we were less vigilant at egg removal, but still mindful of looking for eggs once in a while.  Read more on homemade remedies for treating leaf miners by clicking here.

harmful garden insects also include squash bugs

Squash Bug – This year, we planted pumpkins for the first time.  We had heard of the dreaded squash bug and had been looking for them but hadn’t seen any damage to the plants.  Then, just last week (late June), one of our pumpkin plants was nearly devoured overnight by something.

Squash bug eggs are easy to spot and remove.

We assumed it was the infamous squash bug.  This assumption was reinforced when, upon closer inspection of the plant, we found a mating pair of squash bugs with a third one waiting on the side-line and eggs attached to the underside of the remaining leaves and the stem. We posted photos of the damage to a Facebook gardening group and learned of some other likely culprits.  That night my husband went out with a headlamp and a bottle of neem oil to investigate.

earwigs are harmful but also beneficial

Earwigs – Someone suggested the damage looked like the work of earwigs.  My husband found several earwigs eating on the plant and a swarm of them hiding in a nearby crevasse. Earwigs are a complicated insect in the garden.  They are not only harmful, but also beneficial.  They aid in breaking down organic matter (composting) and they also eat aphids and other harmful insects. However, when there are too many of them around a young susceptible plant, they can be very destructive.  We could also see evidence of earwigs damage on a few leaves of nearby tomato plants.  This minimal damage doesn’t pose a risk to a plant that has hundreds of leaves to perform.  In comparison, the pumpkin plant had only a dozen leaves to start with and most of those were very damaged. 

earwigs eating pumpkin plant leaves

My husband sprayed neem oil on the earwigs on the plant, in the swarm nearby, and even in their nest. It’s still uncertain whether the plant will survive though it already shows signs of new growth. We monitor it closely to prevent another insect attack that would probably kill it.

Another organic alternative that works to kill earwigs is diatomaceous earth, which also now offers a nice dispensing bottle which helps cut down on waste and mess.  Check it out at Western Gardens.

diatomaceous earth is a natural organic product to control crawling insects in the garden.

As for the squash bugs, not the main culprits to the pumpkin plant, they were probably snacking on it also.  We’re still removing eggs as we find them (using the duct tape trick mentioned above) and killing any adults.  Their numbers can quickly get out of hand. Again, diatomaceous earth works well to control squash bugs.

Beneficial vs Harmful Insects – Lady bugs, praying mantis, and birds are a few examples of creatures that feed on the harmful garden insects; hence, we like to see these around around the yard.  When considering how to handle any harmful garden insects, the first reaction should generally not be total annihilation.  Rather, try to reduce their numbers and also allow the beneficial insects and animals to do their part until the plant is mature enough to withstand the damage. 

Good luck and happy hunting!

CLICK HERE to read about beneficial insects you want in your garden.

10 beneficial insects you want in your garden! If you spot these in your yard, you're in good shape!

Filed Under: Flowers, Gardening, How To, Insects, Tips & How To's, Utah Gardening, Vegetables, Veggie Gardening, Yard Care Tagged With: Gardening, harmful garden insects, harmful insects, How To, organic management, organic pest controls, Utah gardening, Western Gardens

June Gardening To-Do List

June 8, 2017 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends!  So glad you stopped by!

Not sure what to do in your yard & garden this month? Check out our June to-do list on www.westerngardens.com

Do you love to work in your yard, but aren’t sure of all the things you should be doing?  Then you’re in luck!  We’ve put together a list of things to do in June!

Not sure what to do in your yard & garden this month? Check out our June gardening to-do list on www.westerngardens.com

You may not need to do everything on this list.  For example, if you don’t have a cherry tree, you won’t need to worry about treating for Cherry Fruit Flies.  Just pick what applies to your yard and plan out when you will do it all throughout the month!

June Gardening To-Do List

➺Plant shrubs, trees and evergreens

➺Fertilize vegetables every 4 weeks with a slow-release fertilizer, and
fertilize roses

➺Watch For Insects show a sample in a clear plastic bag to a garden expert if you suspect a problem

➺Fertilize Lawns and apply iron sulfate if needed (to green up your grass)

➺Watch For Insects like grasshoppers, potato bettle, squash bug & spider mites.  If you suspect a problem, take a sample in a clear plastic bag to a garden expert.

➺Thin Out fruit trees for a better yield

➺Control Powdery Mildew on apples, apricots, cherries, peaches, nectarines,
grapes, peas, roses & euonymous

➺Treat For Cherry Fruit Fly when cherries begin to turn pink, unless already
using fruit tree spray

➺Control Peach Twig Borer once a month with spinosad

➺Watch For Slugs & Snails control with bait or other techniques

➺Adjust Sprinklers if needed, for increasing heat

➺Move And Replant Bulbs if the foliage has died down

➺Watch For Lawn Insects and treat as necessary

➺Prune & Fertilize flowering shrubs

➺Watch For Signs Of Lawn Disease take a sample to a garden expert if you
suspect a problem

➺Control tobacco budworm on geraniums & petunias

➺Control Weeds before they set & disperse seed

➺Plant Outside
Until June 15th: carrots & endive
Until July 1st: cauliflower, parsley, swiss chard, rutabaga
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!

Not sure what to do in your yard & garden this month? Check out our June to-do list on www.westerngardens.com

Filed Under: Gardening, Tips & How To's, To-Do List, Utah Gardening, Yard Care Tagged With: Gardening, How To, June gardening to do list, lawn, Lawn Care, tips, Utah, Utah gardening, utah gardens, Western Garden Centers, Western Gardens

December Gardening To-Do List

November 5, 2016 by Western Gardens

December Gardening To-Do List We know you're busy! So we've written down the things you don't want to have to remember.

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 cold December weather, then you’ve come to the right place!  We’ve put together a list of things to do throughout the month.

December Gardening To-Do List

You may not need to do everything on this list.  For example, if you don’t have Christmas lights to hang or snow to remove, 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!

december-gardening-to-do-list-2

December Gardening To-Do List

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

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

➺Hang Christmas Lights Outside if you decorate with them, be sure to connect only 3 strands together—more than 3 can overload the circuit

➺Decorate Indoors with beautiful poinsettia plants

➺Buy An Amaryllis Bulb as a gift for your favorite gardener

➺Buy A Fresh-Cut Tree early in the season for the best selection

➺Impress Your Friends when you tell them your well-watered fresh-cut Christmas tree is less flammable than an artificial tree

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

Don’t miss the list for January!

December Gardening To-Do List

Filed Under: Gardening, To-Do List Tagged With: Gardening, How To, Monthly To-Do List, winter

September Gardening To-Do List

September 1, 2016 by Western Gardens

September Gardening To-Do List

Welcome friend, thanks for stopping by!

September Gardening To-Do Lists...to make taking care of your yard easier!

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 Lists...to make taking care of your yard easier!

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!

September Gardening To-Do List...to make taking care of your yard easier!

Filed Under: Gardening, To-Do List Tagged With: Gardening, How To, how to's, tips, to-do list

Red, White & Blue Patriotic Flower Pot

July 2, 2016 by Jenn Crookston

Hi friends, thanks for stopping by!

Red, White & Blue Flower Pots to dress up your patriotic 4th of July porch!

Patriotic Flower PotDo you love unique, patriotic outdoor decor?  Especially when flowers are involved?  Me too!

When I started my flower pots this year I knew I wanted a red, white & blue patriotic flower pot.  I love how all the colors look together and I love how this variety of flowers blend in this container.  The colors, the flower sizes & styles, and the greenery all just work perfectly.
Patriotic Flower PotI’m so happy with how my pots are doing this year!  I know that learning the proper steps from the Garden Solution Experts at Western Gardens has really increased my success, and because of how well my plants are doing, I keep wanting to plant more and more!

For a perfect flower pot in Red, White and Blue, start with your choice of pot (make sure it has drainage holes in the bottom).  Fill your pot 1/3 full with packing peanuts (this helps with drainage and takes up space without adding weight to the pot) and then fill another 1/3 full of fresh potting soil (I use Gardener’s Gold).  Lay your plants out how you want them to look in the pot before removing them from their plastic containers and filling the rest of the way with potting soil.
Patriotic Flower Pot

Red, White & Blue Patriotic Flower Pot:

Red – Verbena Voodoo Red Star, Verbena Obsession Red, Zonal Geranium
Blue – Lobelia Dark Blue
White – Petuna and Bacopa Snowtopia White
Green – Cordyline Indivisa Spikes

Both the Cordyline Spikes and the Zonal Geranium are the thrillers for this pot.  My spillers are the Bacopa Snowtopia White and the Lobelia Dark Blue.  The fillers for this pot are White Petunia and Verbena Voodoo Red Star and Verbena Obsession Red.

I planted the Spikes and Geranium in the middle of the pot and then laid my other flowers out in a red/white/blue pattern around the outside.  It has all filled in so perfectly, I just love it!
Patriotic Flower Pot
I’m excited to create a smaller table top version of this pot for my 4th of July decor.  It’s hard not to create 20 of these pots to line the whole front of my house, they’re just perfect for the summer!

For more 4th of July fun check out these projects!
Patriotic Flower PotHand Print Flag Shirt – United States of America Wood Sign – Patriotic Star String Art

Filed Under: Annuals, Container Gardening, Flowers, Gardening, Utah Gardening Tagged With: 4th of July, decor, flower pot, flowers, Gardening, holiday, How To, patriotic, porch pot, Western Garden Centers

July Gardening To-Do List

June 27, 2016 by Western Gardens

Welcome gardening friends, thanks for stopping by!

July Gardening To Do List, so you can easily keep up with your yard & garden! Because you’re busy and need one less thing to worry about.

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.

July Gardening To Do List, so you can easily keep up with your yard & garden! Because you’re busy and need one less thing to worry about.

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!

July Gardening To Do List, so you can easily keep up with your yard & garden! Because you're busy and need one less thing to think about!

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!

July Gardening To Do List, so you can easily keep up with your yard & garden! Because you're busy and need one less thing to think about!

Filed Under: Gardening, To-Do List Tagged With: Gardening, History, How To, tips, Utah, veggies

DIY Tabletop Terra Cotta Fire Pit

June 7, 2016 by Sydney Anderson

Hi there, thanks for stopping by today!

DIY Fire Pit: Make Your Own Campfire At Home For Less Than $5 | Western Gardens

Do you love camping with your family in the summer?  Roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire with the people you enjoy most?  Me too!

Some of my favorite memories are of camping in the mountains, at the lake, in the desert, and even in the backyard!  I can’t wait to make the same memories with my boys…but since I’m 20+ weeks pregnant, sleeping on the ground isn’t very appealing.
DIY Fire Pit: Make Your Own Campfire At Home For Less Than $5 | Western Gardens

So we’re bringing my favorite part of camping right to our front porch—campfires!

There’s nothing better than sitting around a camp fire, roasting hot dogs, making s’mores and just spending time together, laughing and telling stories. Currently we live in a great little townhome community— without a backyard—so building a fire pit was out of the question.

I couldn’t let that stop me!

DIY Fire Pit: Make Your Own Campfire At Home For Less Than $5 | Western GardensI took matters into my own hands and made a mini fire pit out of a terra cotta pot for our front porch!  I took my husband, who is definitely the brains of our family, into Western Gardens and he picked out this terra cotta pot with holes in the bottom.  The holes allow more oxygen to enter the pot (just like on a charcoal grill), which will let the fire burn longer.

Longer lasting fires are perfect for those summer nights when the kids are playing, grown ups are chatting and you want to be able to make more s’mores when you get that craving (which happens a lot when you’re pregnant!).

Click NEXT to get the simple instructions!

Western Gardens | Utah

Pages: Page 1 Page 2 Page 3

Filed Under: Crafts, Outdoors Tagged With: DIY, Fire Pit, How To, how to's, Terra Cotta Pot, tips, Utah, Western Garden Centers, Western Gardens

4th of July BBQ Decor

June 4, 2016 by Jenn Crookston

4th of July BBQ Decor

Looking to update your 4th of July BBQ decor?  Try this fun layered look with paper fans, banners and garlands!

4th 1

Plus, I’m sharing sources for everything you see here so you can recreate this patriotic look for your BBQ.

IMG_0945

4th of July BBQ Decor

  • Paper Fans and Confetti (My Mind’s Eye)
  • Stars & Stripes and Flag Banner and Red, White, and Blue Pails (Target Dollar Spot)
  • Table Skirt, Blue and Silver Star Garland (Zurchers Party Store)
  • RWB Balls in the vase and Fountain Type vase decor (Hobby Lobby)
  • Lightbox and Letters (Heidi Swapp)

IMG_0950
What’s great Red, White & Blue decor without a barbecue to go with it?  Nothing beats an “All American” menu for a fun family get together!

4th of July Menu

  • Hamburgers (don’t forget the avocado for an amazing burger!)
  • Hotdogs
  • Steak
  • Chicken
  • Green Salad
  • Potato Salad
  • Chips (lots of varieties)
  • Fresh Fruit (watermelon is a must!)
  • Veggie Tray
  • Punch
  • Soda
  • Strawberry Shortcake
  • RWB Fresh Fruit topped Sugar Cookies
  • Funnel Cakes
  • Homemade Frostys

IMG_0938

I mixed and matched the paper fans from three different decor lines at My Mind’s Eye: 4th of July, Red and Blue.  They may have come from different lines, but they all coordinate perfectly!  (For a great deal, shop right after the holiday, if you can wait that long!  You’ll have to wait for nearly a year before you can use it, but the wait will be worth it if you’re patient!)

IMG_0941 IMG_0939

Don’t be afraid to use some height in your decor for added dimension.  And if you feel like more layers would be better, add as many as you want.  The most important design element is that you love it, so have fun with it and make it your own!

IMG_0948
Have a safe and happy Fourth of July, with beautiful decor and lots of great food!

Filed Under: Crafts Tagged With: 4th of July, BBQ, decor, DIY, holiday, How To

7 Best Flowers for Beginning Gardeners

May 20, 2016 by Jennifer Day

Hi there! I’m so happy you’re here!
Just starting out in the garden? Not sure what to plant? Check out 7 plants for the beginning gardener! Beautiful and easy to grow flowers.

Are you just starting out in the gardening world and looking for a great list of flowers that are easy to grow AND beautiful?  Then you’ve come to the right place!

But first, I come to you with a confession—I was a Black Thumb most of my life. What’s a Black Thumb you ask? If a Green Thumb is someone who can make a garden blossom and grow, a Black Thumb is the opposite—a plant killer.

Yes, it’s true.

I grew up with parents and grandparents who loved gardening, and who created beautiful yards and gardens every year. Their yards were curated beautifully and I loved spending time with the fragrant blooms, feeling a sense of tranquility and peace in their spaces.

When we bought our home several years ago, I thought for certain that I would have that same ability.

But, I was wrong. I should have known better. After all, I almost killed a nearly-unkillable plant while working for my Dad in college. I’d only remember to water it when it started wilting. And that was about once a month!

After a sad attempt at gardening the first Spring in our home, I basically gave up altogether. My husband takes care of our lawn and landscape, and we have never actually had flower beds—just beautiful trees and bushes. Things that are hard to kill!

This year, however, my black thumb has turned GREEN, and I hope you will join me on this journey!

Because I’m a beginner too, I am going to share with you 7 of the best plants for a beginning gardner. So grab those gardening gloves and shovels and let’s get to work!

Click NEXT for 5 TIPS before you start planting your flowers!

Western Garden Centers | Salt Lake City | Sandy | West Valley UTAH

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Filed Under: Annuals, Container Gardening, Flowers, Gardening, Tips & How To's, Utah Gardening Tagged With: flowers, Gardening, How To, tips, Western Garden Centers, Western Gardens

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