Laura from Garden Answer brings a burst of fresh autumn color to the garden! 🌻 She shares an update on her sunflowers, plants new boxwoods with Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus to help the roots establish naturally, and refreshes her fall containers with vibrant ornamental kale, rudbeckia, and pansies. Using Espoma Organic Potting Mix, Laura ensures every plant has the rich, healthy soil it needs to thrive this season.
Watch as Summer Rayne Oakes@flockfingerlakes tours a small, shrub-forward garden that’s brimming with enthusiasm—thanks to a few “thuggish” growers that love to spread. She shows how her garden beds were built with cardboard, compost, and Espoma Organic soils, and how planting densely with Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus helped everything establish beautifully. The result: a thriving space that just needs smart, seasonal management.
Summer’s Tips!
1) Decide the goal, then manage to match
Before you pull a single plant from your wild garden, define your vision. If shrubs are meant to be the stars, reduce anything blocking sightlines or competing for height. A clear goal makes every adjustment easier.
2) Build living soil from day one
Build a garden bed using organic soil like Espoma Organic Potting Mix, Raised Bed Mix, or All-Purpose Garden soil to create a rich rooting zone. Healthy soil grows resilient plants. Plan for light, regular maintenance.
3) Plant with a quality Starter Fertilizer for confident establishment
At planting, mix in Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus. Its slow-release nutrition, beneficial microbes, and mycorrhizal fungi help roots colonize quickly, reduce transplant stress, and set plants up for long-term success.
4) Manage early and often
Make quick passes a habit. Trim seed heads after bloom, thin young growth before it crowds, and lift runners that wander into paths. Small, frequent efforts prevent big overhauls later.
5) Read the site and group accordingly
Let the garden tell you what it wants. Moisture-loving plants often reveal wetter spots; cluster them there and relocate dry-site growers to sunnier, leaner areas. Use edging and pathways to reinforce boundaries.
6) Give energetic growers a job
Channel that vigor. Move fast spreaders to meadows, back corners, or containers where they can thrive freely. Use groundcovers as living mulch in designated zones, but keep stepping stones and entries clear for structure and flow.
Healthy soil and thoughtful plant management help any garden strike the right balance between wild and intentional. With organic soil building and mindful upkeep, you can enjoy a garden that’s full of life—and still beautifully under control.
https://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Plant-Thugs-frame-000004.jpg10801920Matt Dauphinaishttps://www.espoma.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/espoma-logo340w-1.pngMatt Dauphinais2025-10-22 17:18:222025-10-22 17:18:22Video: How to Manage a Wild Garden with Summer Rayne Oakes 🌿🌸
Summer Rayne Oakes @FlockFingerLakes takes us on a tour of her garden packed with edible plants. From fruit trees and berry bushes to roses and kale, Summer shows how beauty and function can grow side by side. Along the way, she nourishes her plants with Espoma Organic products to build strong roots, vibrant blooms, and thriving harvests.
Espoma Products Summer Uses in Her Edible Landscape:
Bio-tone Starter Plus Summer uses Bio-tone Starter Plus when planting apple trees and preparing new beds. With mycorrhizae and beneficial microbes, it jumpstarts root growth and helps plants establish quickly—like “planting insurance” for long-term success.
Espoma Organic Potting Soils To build the foundation of her new garden beds, Summer used a mix of Espoma Organic Soils, including Raised Bed Mix, Potting Mix, Land & Sea Compost, and others. These mixes improve soil structure, boost microbial life, and provide the organic matter plants need for healthy growth.
Rose-tone For her roses, Summer sprinkles Espoma Organic Rose-tone around the root zone. With its 4-3-2 blend, it encourages lush foliage and beautiful blooms while being safe for the soil and pollinators.
Soil Acidifier Blueberries thrive in acidic soil, and Summer keeps them happy with Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier. Made from elemental sulfur and gypsum, it naturally lowers pH to match the needs of acid-loving plants.
Tomato! Liquid Fertilizer Summer gives her tomato plants a boost with Espoma Organic Tomato! This easy-to-use liquid concentrate provides balanced nutrition and added calcium to prevent blossom end rot, ensuring plump, juicy fruits all season long.
Bringing It All Together
Summer’s edible landscape is proof that food gardens can be as beautiful as they are bountiful—with the right soil, thoughtful plant choices, and natural care. Ready to start your own edible landscape? Explore Espoma Organic products and discover how to feed your garden naturally. 🌱
When it comes to hydrangeas, every gardener dreams of full, colorful blooms that light up the landscape. Watch as Kaleb Wyse of Wyse Guideshares how he plants and transplants hydrangeas in his Iowa garden. He walks us through his process step by step—using Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus to help roots establish, Espoma OrganicHolly-tone to feed acid-loving plants, and how using Espoma OrganicSoil Acidifier can create the perfect conditions for iconic blue blooms.
Here are six top tips and takeaways from Kaleb’s hydrangea planting project:
1. Choose the Right Variety for Your Climate
Not every hydrangea will thrive just because it’s rated for your USDA zone. Kaleb explains how some bigleaf hydrangeas struggled in his area, so he swapped them for hardier Seaside Serenade Cape Cod hydrangeas, better suited for his Zone 4 garden. Always match your plant choice to both your climate and the light conditions in your garden.
2. Protect Roots During Transplanting
Whether moving a shrub or planting a new one, Kaleb emphasizes the importance of keeping the root ball intact to reduce transplant shock. He carefully lifts and moves hydrangeas with as much surrounding soil as possible, ensuring minimal stress on the plant.
3. Always Plant with a Good Organic Starter Fertilizer
Every hydrangea Kaleb plants gets a helping of Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plusin the hole. Packed with beneficial microbes and mycorrhizae, Bio-tone encourages strong root development and helps plants adapt quickly to their new home. As Kaleb puts it, he treats transplants like brand-new plants—and Bio-tone gives them the best start possible.
4. Feed with Fertilizer for Acid-Loving Plants
Hydrangeas love soil on the acidic side. That’s why Kaleb sprinkles in Espoma Organic Holly-tone, a slow-release organic fertilizer crafted specifically for acid-loving plants like hydrangeas, azaleas, and blueberries. Holly-tone not only provides balanced nutrition but also contains elemental sulfur to help gently acidify soil over time.
5. Adjust Soil pH
If your soil isn’t naturally acidic, hydrangeas may need a little extra help. Kaleb mentions how his soil leans neutral, so he often turns to Espoma Organic Soil Acidifier. Made from natural sulfur, it safely lowers soil pH, creating the right conditions for healthier growth and, in the case of bigleaf hydrangeas, can even shift blooms from pink to blue.
6. Prioritize Drainage and Consistent Moisture
Hydrangeas thrive in soil that’s both well-draining and consistently moist. Kaleb demonstrates checking drainage by filling the planting hole with water. If it drains well, you’re set! He also reminds us that even established hydrangeas benefit from supplemental water during dry spells to keep blooms from wilting or scorching in summer heat.
You Can Do It!
Healthy soil, the right plant food, and a watchful eye on moisture make all the difference in hydrangea success. With Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus, Holly-tone, and Soil Acidifier in your toolkit, you’ll be well on your way to lush, colorful hydrangea blooms—year after year.
From planning to petals, follow along as Laura from Garden Answer plants ten Rugosa roses in three beautiful varieties: the classic single pink Rosa rugosa, the crisp white Rosa rugosa ‘Alba’, and the fluffier double white ‘Blanc Double de Coubert.’ These own-root roses (no grafts here!) were chosen for their strength, fragrance, and show-stopping hips that carry color from summer into winter.
Laura’s #1 Planting Tip:
Always plant with a high-quality organic starter fertilizer like Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plus!
When Laura plants, she reaches for Espoma Organic Bio-tone® Starter Plus. It’s her go-to because it:
Builds stronger roots fast.Bio-tone is packed with beneficial microbes and mycorrhizae that help new plantings establish quickly.
Reduces transplant stress. Healthier roots mean better water and nutrient uptake—so plants settle in and start growing.
Feeds gently and naturally. An organic, starter-grade fertilizer that supports early growth without pushy top growth.
Works for everything you plant. Ideal for shrubs, perennials, trees, veggies, and roses of all kinds. If it’s going in the ground, mix in Bio-tone.
How Laura uses it: At planting time, she mixes Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plusinto the backfill soil and sets each rose at its current soil level (since these are own-root roses). Then she waters in well to activate the microbes and help eliminate air pockets.
Planting Pro Tip: Always backfill, then water deeply to settle soil around roots. Consistent moisture after planting helps Bio-tone’s microbes go to work.
Rugosa Roses: Tough, textural, and full of seasonal interest
Laura is planting Rugosas for their resilience and beauty:
Cold-hardy and adaptable. Depending on variety, Rugosas can thrive from roughly Zones 2–10, making them a great choice for many climates.
Size & presence. Expect a medium to tall shrub—often 5–7+ feet at maturity—so give them room to show off.
Sun & low maintenance. They love full sun and don’t need deadheading. Occasional shaping and removal of dead wood keeps them tidy.
Iconic hips. Big, colorful hips provide long-lasting interest—and look gorgeous against evergreens and conifers, just like Laura’s pairings.
Own-root reliability. Because these roses are grown on their own roots, if they die back and regrow, they’ll still return true to variety.
No matter what you’re planting, success starts below the soil line. Espoma Organic Bio-tone Starter Plussets roots up to thrive—from shrubs like Rugosas to perennials, edibles, and young trees—so your garden establishes faster, stays healthier, and looks better, sooner.
