tips

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

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!

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!

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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!

Tips for Early Spring Gardening

April 11, 2014 by Becky

Haven’t started thinking about your garden yet for this year? Still deciding if you should start your very first garden? Looking for some inspiration? Now is a great time to start, and we want to make it easier by giving you a few tips we’ve learned over the years. Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned gardener, you should find something helpful!

Start Small

If you have never planted a garden before, start small so you don’t overwhelm yourself and give up. Choose 3-5 of your favorite veggies or fruits. If you have more favorites than that, choose the produce that is the most expensive to buy at the store or farmer’s market!

Make it Easy

If you are starting your garden from seed, you want to avoid regular soil, which can carry diseases that your tiny seedling won’t be able to combat well. Use a seedling starter mix. We like to add some water to the mix before pulling it out of the bag! This way it stays evenly moist during the germination process.
Mike from our Sandy store demonstrated this on a great gardening segment for our local news channel. You can see him adding the water here before they pull any potting mixture out of the bag. We are working on getting a link to the actual video so we can show you his other great tips!

Protect

If you want to get your veggies outside and into the ground right now, just be sure to protect them from frost. A wall o’ water is a great way to protect individual plants, the wall of water surrounding the plant will insulate it from any cold nights that will hit. The average last frost date in Utah is May 15th, so a good rule of thumb is to protect your tender plants until about Mother’s Day.
Ever tried to fill a wall o’ water? It can be tricky! Check out our quick video tip to see a fast & easy way to do it. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great gardening tips!

Grow Boxes

If you are trying your hand at container gardening/grow boxes/raised beds, make sure they are the right size for you! You should be able to reach into the middle with your hand…so when you are building them, measure with the span of your arm. This is so when you are weeding, caring for your plants, and harvesting, you will be able to reach comfortably into the center of the bed.
If you are doing a vertical container garden, make your boxes a few inches smaller than this so you can reach the fruits & veggies that are growing up high.
Try to get 8-10 inches of soil in your grow box. The roots of your plants will be happier if they can get this far down into the soil.

Compost

Add a 2-3 inch layer of compost to your garden beds, the nutrients will seep down into your soil, and weeds will be kept at bay.

Pace Yourself

Try to do a little gardening every day, rather than saving it all for the weekend. Weekly gardening can seem overwhelming, but 15 minutes a day will keep the weeds down and spirits up!

There are as many good gardening ideas as there are gardeners. If you have a great tip you want to share with us, please leave us a comment! We might just feature you in an upcoming blog post!

Happy Planting!

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Tips For Picking Ripe Cantaloupe

September 27, 2012 by Becky

If you’re like me, you can use some tips for picking ripe cantaloupe, because it can be hard to tell when it’s ready to eat!

I used to think I didn’t like cantaloupe very much. And I guess I didn’t really. My problem was that I was eating bland, dry, flavorless cantaloupe that I bought on sale somewhere. I learned my lesson and discovered how to choose or pick a cantaloupe that is ripe and ready to eat. Now when I’m either picking fruit at the store or from my own garden, there are some simple tips to help you spend your money and time wisely.

Follow these simple tips to choose a melon that is ripe and ready to eat.

LOOK – Cantaloupe should be a nice golden yellow color. Don’t pick cantaloupe that are greenish. They are not ready! Don’t worry about rough spots that may be on the outside of your cantaloupe. They don’t mean anything as to the ripeness.
FEEL – You should be able to feel the edges of the outer skin. A smooth skin means it is not ripe. The flower end (the end not attached to the vine) is soft. You should be able to press it gently in. If it springs back out after pressing, your cantaloupe is ready.
SMELL – Place that blossom end or the “button” of the cantaloupe just under your nose and take a whiff. A strong sweet aroma indicates the cantaloupe is ready. Sometimes you will smell the strong aroma without smelling the button. If it doesn’t have a scent, don’t pick it or don’t buy it. It is not sweet.

Now when I eat cantaloupe, it is like a little slice of heaven. Fresh from my garden, picked right off the vine. It is heavy, fragrant, so very juicy, and still warm from sitting in the sun in my happy little weed-filled corner of the world. This is what makes me love to garden. And what makes me love to eat!

Perfection!