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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

Compost and Amending Soil

February 23, 2016 by Becky

Compost and amending soil can seem tricky and intimidating if you’re not sure where to start. It’s actually a simple process that will give you great results in your garden and better nutrition in your harvest. We’re breaking it down for you and explaining why we recommend {or don’t recommend!} different products and processes. Let’s get started!

Amending Soil–What is it, Why and How Often?

Amending soil means adding organic matter to your garden in order to give back the nutrition your fruits & veggies took from it last year to grow your healthy, beautiful plants. Without soil amendments, your garden could be deficient in different nutrients necessary to grow healthy plants and yield a strong harvest. You should amend your soil every year by placing a 2-3″ layer of compost over your garden beds.

Why Compost?

Also called Gardener’s Gold or Black Gold, compost is both partially decomposed organic matter {mostly plants and the manure of plant-eating animals} and the microbes that do the decomposing. Because it is made up primarily of plant matter, compost contains the right proportion of the elements needed for plant growth. Compost does many things for your soil, including:

Provides Nutrition It’s the source of all basic nutrition for plants.
Improves Soil Structure It separates soil particles and creates aeration, and nurtures the organisms that build and maintain it.
Increases the Ability of Soil to Retain Water Compost can hold up to 6 times its weight in water.
Contributes to the Health of Plants May help prevent some diseases and promotes plant growth.
Moderates Soil pH Most compost is already the ideal pH for optimal plant growth, and will help moderate the pH level in the soil.
Feeds Soil Organisms Compost is the food source for many, many organisms whose activities greatly improve soil structure, increase aeration and water retention, and make it easier for plant roots to grow. Compost feeds not only worms, but also soil bacteria and fungi, protozoa, nematodes, and more. (The Vegetable Gardener’s Bible, 142)

Bumper Crop

Not everyone can compost because of space, time, location, or other reasons. You can still amend your soil even if you don’t save your kitchen scraps and lawn clippings! Our favorite soil amendment is Bumper Crop, a compost with an organic fertilizer, mycorrhizae (a beneficial bacteria that supports stronger root systems), worm castings (lots of plant-ready nutrients), and kelp meal (filled with micro-nutrients). This is what we use in our own gardens, and recommend to our customers.

Click NEXT to find out why you might NOT want to till your garden!

Images courtesy of winnod and posterize at FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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How to Plant a Spring Flower Bed

April 1, 2015 by Becky

Planting a Spring flower bed may seem like a daunting task if you’re new to gardening, but we have 10 easy tips and tricks to help you create a beautiful, inviting space in your yard.

1 -Lay Out Your Plants Before You Buy. Today’s planting actually started out on the floor in the nursery of Western Gardens. I laid out all of my plants on a cement square to help me decide how much I needed for the space to be planted. Once I had what I needed, it was easy to load up and head to the flower bed!

2- Clean Up Your Flower Beds. I always start every planting by cleaning up what’s already there. It seems simple, but it makes a big impact to just clear away old debris. 3- Add 2 Inches of Compost Over Top of the Flower Bed. No need to work it into the soil, the nutrients will work their way down to your plants’ roots. We could almost just stop here, at this point the bed already looks so much fresher and cleaner! The fun part is next though, so let’s get planting!

4- Use an Auger to Plant Bulbs. One of my favorite tools is a bulb planting auger. It’s an attachment that fits a standard-size drill, and it makes planting bulbs SO easy and fast! {You can pick one up at your nearest Western Gardens.} Just drill down about 6 inches, drop your bulbs in, and fill back in with soil! Bulb planting at its finest. And simplest.

5- Add Unique Plants like Veggies! I am always looking for ways to plant veggies in a landscape, so I took some along. Lettuce for some extra green, and some sugar snap peas to put on the trellis. It’s a great addition because it’s unique and beautiful, and who doesn’t want a sugar snap pea on their way out the door?

6- Incorporate Unique Elements that you might not always see in a flower bed. I found a trellis at Western Garden Center that went perfectly with the yellow front door and bistro table on the patio. Always try to find cool things to throw in a landscape, but never force it. If it doesn’t go with the flow, don’t try to make it work.

7- Adjust Flowers Prior To Digging. Before I dig any holes for my flowers, I lay them all out in the bed still in their containers. This is the time to make changes and play around with design. One important tip I always give is, take 10 steps back, take a deep breath, and look at what you are about to do. Adjust now before it’s too late!

If everything looks perfect, take your hand shovel, and dig into that bed! All the hard work is over now, so it is time to get everything into the ground. 8- Before the flowers go in the ground, gently tear part of the plants’ root systems…it will encourage the roots to grow into the surrounding soil instead of circling itself (like it’s been doing in the container). 9- Once all your flowers are planted, quickly give it a drink of water. If you’re planting when it’s hot outside, there’s a good chance those plants are in shock. Watering them right away will help them get established in their new home.

10- Don’t Be Afraid To Try Something New! We can’t wait to see those Sugar Snap Peas on that trellis! Now grab a lemonade, pull up a chair and enjoy your beautiful new flowers… and enjoy a sugar snap pea for me!

Plants in this post’s flower bed include: Sugar Snap Peas, Lettuce, Pansies, Prim Rose, Ornamental Cabbage, Ranunculus

{We are often asked what kind of compost we use in our own gardens. We recommend Bumper Crop all natural organic soil builder. It’s great for veggie gardens, flower beds, planter boxes, and pretty much anywhere else you want to put it!}

How to Freeze Basil Pesto

October 9, 2014 by Becky

Pesto is a great way to use up a lot of basil if your garden is bursting at the seams, or if you need to harvest it before a drop in temperature. The basil pesto recipe we posted last week is a great one to try, especially if you’re looking for a less expensive pesto that still has wonderful flavor (we used pecans instead of pine nuts!).

But what if you make a big batch of pesto and you can’t finish it before it starts to go bad? Freeze it! Freezing pesto is simple, but we have a few tips to keep it fresh and green. Pesto oxidizes (darkens when exposed to air), so keep reading to find out how to keep it looking bright and green!

Start out with clean ice cube trays and a cookie scoop. My scoop is 1 tablespoon, and since two would have overfilled the tray, I placed one scoop in each pocket. You will need just a little space at the top, so don’t fill it completely full.

Once you have all of your pesto scooped into the trays, gently tap them on the counter to remove any air bubbles and to settle the pesto into an even layer. Lightly drizzle a thin layer of olive oil over the top of each pesto cube. This will help seal out any air that could turn your pesto brown.
When you are finished drizzling the oil, cover the tray with a layer of plastic wrap and press it gently onto the pesto to remove the air. Once the air has been pressed out, just place it in the freezer!

I missed a spot on the plastic wrap…it probably pulled when I picked up the tray. Check yours before you set it in the freezer just to make sure it didn’t shift like mine! Because of the oil, it retained it’s green color as it froze, but I like to be double sure that my food will be perfect when I want to use it!

Once your pesto is frozen (I left mine overnight), remove the plastic wrap and run the bottom of the trays under cold water for a second or two to loosen the pesto, if necessary (be careful not to get water on the pesto).

Label a gallon size freezer bag, being sure to include the size of your pesto cubes.

Now just remove the cubes from the trays and toss them all in the bag!

They should be a lovely green color. Now you are ready to pull out exactly how much you need when you’re ready to eat it! Garden-fresh flavor any time. Doesn’t get much better!
Be sure to squeeze out as much air as possible before you put your bag of pesto in the freezer, and you’re done! Easy!

Deadhead Flowers

June 21, 2014 by Becky

You want your garden to always look it’s best, so don’t forget to deadhead your flowers when the blooms are spent! It’s easy, quick, and gives your plants a fresh look. It will also encourage more blooms on your flowers, so you get more bang for your planting buck.

Why Deadhead?

Plants want to ensure the survival of their species, so they produce seeds to grow the next generation. Flowers produce blooms, which will typically develop seeds. Once the plant has gone to seed, it will stop producing blooms because it has already done its job…it doesn’t need any more flowers. To get your flowers to keep producing beautiful blooms, remove the dead ones so they can’t produce seeds, and it will continue flowering in an effort to get those seeds! {THIS BEING SAID HOWEVER, most flower plants that are sold in stores are hybrids. They are bred by growers to develop different traits like color and hardiness. These flowers generally DO NOT produce seeds that should be replanted. Do not save seeds from hybrids, they will not produce a plant that is the same as the parent plant. Check with your local garden center if you aren’t sure about your particular plants.}

How Often?

How often you deadhead really depends on the size of your garden and how much you are in it. A small garden can go a couple of weeks in between deadheading, while some gardeners deadhead every day. You will quickly figure out how often you need and want to deadhead as you spend time in your garden.

How do I Deadhead a Flower?

It’s easy to deadhead flowers! You can pinch off the expired bloom between your thumb and forefinger, or go down to the first leaf below the flower and pinch it off there to hide the cut stem. If you don’t want to use your fingers, or the stem is too tough, use garden shears or even scissors for a nice, clean cut.

My 7 year old wanted to paint my nails sparkly green. Not sure if it’s coincidence or fate that I have a green thumb in these pictures!

As you deadhead flowers in your garden, you will notice more blooms and get more mileage out of your beautiful flowers. It only takes a few minutes to clear the dead flower heads away, but it will give you (and everyone else who sees your garden) more enjoyment as you spend time in your lovely space.

Happy Gardening!

How to cut Grape Tomatoes {Tip!}

June 17, 2014 by Becky

Today I have a great tip for you–how to cut grape tomatoes quickly and easily! {Plus a to-die-for recipe that just happens to need grape tomato halves!} With this simple method I can cut a dry pint of grape tomatoes in less than a minute!

…

How to Water Your Lawn

May 24, 2014 by Becky

Have you ever wondered how to water your lawn correctly? Think you’re watering too much? Not enough? Not at the right time of day? Or maybe you’ve never even thought about it! We’ve put together some pointers for you to cut out the guessing and save you water and money this summer! Because who doesn’t want to go green and save some green?!

Climate and soil and sprinklers are different everywhere you go. When people ask us how long to water their lawn, it would be great to have a tidy, pat answer to give. But because there is so much variation even within the same area, the answer usually starts with, “It depends.” It depends on how well your soil drains, how much water your sprinklers put out, what time of day you water, and even how long your grass is! Even though there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer for everyone, it isn’t hard to determine how much water to give your grass.

How Much Water Does My Lawn Need?
Lawns in the Salt Lake area need about 2 inches of water per week (not per watering). An easy way to see how much water your lawn is getting in a watering cycle is to place some straight-sided containers around your lawn. Empty tuna cans work great. Check them after the watering cycle and measure how much water is in them.

How Often Should I Water My Lawn?
If your lawn is planted in loam or clay soil, it’s best to water twice a week with one inch applied at each watering. Sandy and gravel soils won’t hold an inch of water in one watering, so they need to be watered a little more often (every other day works well with about 0.6″ applied each time).

When Should I water My Lawn?
Early Morning is the best time to water. Watering in the evening or late at night is not a good time because the lawn remains wet overnight and is more susceptible to fungus, and makes snails and slugs harder to control. Never water during the heat of the day—most of that water will just evaporate.

What Else Can I do to Save Water?
Set your lawnmower height as high as you can stand it. The longer the grass, the more shaded the soil will be, and the more moisture it will retain. Shorter grass doesn’t shade the soil as well and the heat of the summer sun will evaporate all the moisture you just worked to get in there.

For more specific questions about your lawn or soil type, stop by one of our locations (Salt Lake, Sandy or West Valley) and talk to one of our helpful plant pros!

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.

Check out these great tutorials for raised garden beds!

Garden Box Collage

Rectangle Garden Boxes | Vinyl Garden Boxes

U-Shaped Garden Box | Narrow Garden Box

Long Garden Boxes | Cinder Block Garden Box

Garden Box with Brick Border | Tall Garden Box

Rolling Casters Patio Box | Painted Garden Box with Cage

Raised Garden Boxes | Vertical Pallet Planter

Let us know what kind of raised beds you have in your garden, or what you plan to try!

Happy Gardening!

Companion Planting 101

May 10, 2014 by Becky

Companion planting can help your garden flourish in ways it never has before. You can have healthier plants and a better harvest (and even control some garden pests!) by choosing with care which plants go together and which plants to keep apart. Companion planting isn’t difficult once you have a few basics down. This is, however, a very broad subject, so we’ll cover the basics here to get you started! Through companion planting you can:

enhance the flavor of your harvest (plants like herbs can enhance the flavor of nearby plants)
increase your yield (some plants help others grow better)
improve nitrogen (some plants can make nitrogen available to other plants)
repel pests (the biochemicals of certain plants can repel insect and other pests)
attract good guys (beneficial insects are attracted to or like to inhabit certain plants)
divert pests (certain plants attract pests, which can keep them away from your garden)

Companion Plants

{The list looks small, just click on it to enlarge!}

Other highly beneficial plants to consider for your garden:

catmint: deters ants
chamomile: helps keep nearby plants healthy
foxglove: lends strength and longer life to nearby plants
lavender: attracts bees and deters caterpillars, mice, ticks & rabbits
marigolds: deter pests
marjoram: repels insect pests, attracts bees
mint: repels insects pests, attracts beneficial insects
nettles: a weed, but it excretes nutrients into the soil and protects against aphids, black fly & mildew
pennyroyal: deters ants & burrowing insects
soybeans: nourishes and reconditions soil, and deters corn pests
tansy: repels pests
tarragon: beneficial to nearby plants
yarrow: good for veggies & herbs, attracts beneficial bugs

One of our favorite combinations for the garden is one of our favorite combinations for the kitchen…tomatoes and basil! Basil will add subtle flavor to tomatoes, makes it more disease resistant, and repel aphids, fruit flies & house flies, and it will attract bees! If you missed last week’s recipe for
bruschetta, a simple but amazing combination of tomatoes and basil, be sure to pin it so you can make it this summer! We will keep bringing you weekly garden-fresh recipes to give some kitchen inspiration for all those delicious fruits and veggies!

Happy planting!

How to Plant a Flower Pot

May 3, 2014 by Becky

Flower pots are an easy, beautiful way to dress up your porch and yard. They add a great pop of color and a lot of interest, and you can try something new without a commitment to your landscape. We’ve put together a few tips to make your planters really stand out and look their best this Spring!

Choose Your Pot

Pick something that will match its surroundings…or stand out and make a statement!

Prepare Your Pot

The first thing to add to your pot is a coffee filter. This will let water drain through the hole, but keep all that potting soil where it belongs…in the pot! This is especially helpful if your planters will be on a porch or patio, or other area you want to keep clean.
Add a couple of inches of small rocks over the coffee filter. This will help your soil drain better, which will keep your plants healthier.
If your pot is large and you worry that it will be too heavy when filled, try placing a smaller pot inside your large pot and upside down over the layer of rocks.
Once your rocks (and smaller inverted pot, if necessary) are in place, add some potting soil. Fill the pot about 2/3 full. This way you can set each of the plants in the pot without digging individual holes…you will fill soil in between the plants once they are all in place.

Add some Drama!

The three types of plants for your pot are “Thrillers, Fillers & Spillers.”
When you remove the plants from their containers, gently tear the roots away from the soil so they will begin to grow into the soil, instead of circling their root ball.
Thrillers add height and dimension. Place in the center of your pot. Grasses are a great choice for a center plant, anything from Purple Fountain Grass to Dracaena Spikes.
Fillers add rich color and interest. Place around your “thriller” plant. Choose your favorite flowers…the possibilities are endless!
Spillers add a special, dramatic touch as they begin to cascade over the side of your pot. They stay beautiful all season long. Sweet Potato Vines and Creeping Jenny are always popular!

Make it Odd

Use odd numbers when you are adding plants to your pot. One of those basic design principles…odd numbers are more pleasing to the eye. Add them in 1’s, 3’s or 5’s.

Keep it Happy

Be sure to give your flowers pot the water they need, but don’t over-water! Feel the soil…if it’s still nice and moist, don’t water. If the soil is just barely moist, it’s time for water. {A good rule of thumb is to stick to your finger in the soil about two inches to feel how moist it is. Let the soil become just moist between waterings, but don’t let it dry out.} Plants in full sun will need water more frequently than plants in full shade. You will figure out quickly how often to water your pots, then just make it part of your gardening routine!

Check out our video, Mike will show you how to put it all together!

Flower pots are a gorgeous addition to any yard. We would love to see yours! Email your pictures to [email protected] for a chance to be featured on our Instagram account! {Or use the hashtag #westerngardencenter} Be sure to follow us @western_gardens if you aren’t already!