Video: Shrub Haul & Planting with Garden Answer
Garden Answer ‘s got a bunch of gorgeous new shrubs to plant and a big bag of Bio-tone Starter Plus to help them establish fast. Follow along and find out how it’s done.
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Tag Archive for: Garden Answer
Video: Planting a Super Tall Rose of Sharon with Garden Answer
Espoma Organic Bio-tone, Soil Acidifier, and Land & Sea compost are all keys to success in Garden Answer latest project. Follow along and see why!
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Video: Time for Fall Wall Planters with Garden Answer
Watch as Laura from Garden Answer creates a beautiful planter for Fall using Flower-tone and Potting Soil Mix!
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Video: Arranging Succulents in an Urn with Garden Answer
Starting a fun new succulent project? Take a tip from Garden Answer and kick things off with Espoma Organic Cactus Mix, which is made specifically for cactuses and succulents.
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Video: Making Tea Tin Arrangements with Garden Answer
A rainy week calls for an awesome indoor activity like this one! Remember: Anything that contains something is a potential planter. Watch as Laura from Garden Answer makes the most of her old tea tins using Espoma Organic Cactus Mix!
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Video: Planting Fall Crops for Harvest with Garden Answer
Fall crops already? That’s right! Join Garden Answer and get some great ideas for food crops in the upcoming season.
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Drip Irrigation with Garden Answer
In this video from Garden Answer, Laura plants a new garden for her sister–in-law. She has already outlined the new beds and removed the sod. The next steps are installing a drip irrigation system by tapping into an old one and marking the spots for the trees she will be planting.
Drip irrigation emits water at the base of the plants, which is better for plants than overhead watering. Hard water can leave damaging build up on foliage and wet leaves can invite diseases. With drip irrigation, all of the water soaks into the ground and doesn’t evaporate. It’s the most efficient method of watering.
Irrigation systems take the work out of watering, but it’s not – set it and forget it. Water needs vary at different times of the year. Laura is using emitters that deliver one gallon of water per hour, a standard-setting. She still waters each newly planted tree with the garden hose to make sure the soil has settled and that there are no air pockets.
Planting in mid-summer isn’t ideal because of the heat, but it can be done with a tiny bit of extra care and water. Laura always recommends using Espoma’s Bio-tone Starter Plus whenever she plants. And, as she points out, it’s even more important when the plants are stressed, in this case by heat. The mycorrhizae in Bio-tone helps stimulate root growth to ensure new plants get maximum water and nutrients from the soil to minimize transplant shock and loss.
These trees will become the “bones” of her design. She has taken into account the mature height of the trees so they do not interfere with the power lines above them or the fire hydrant between them. She has also chosen narrow varieties of evergreens that will not outgrow their allotted space in the garden.
Slim Trees for Small Spaces
Weeping White Spruce
An elegant, straight trunked tree with weeping branches. The needles are green with a bluish tint. A perfect choice for narrow spaces. Hardy in zones 2-7.
Merlot Redbud
Bright lavender-pink flowers bloom in spring before the leaves unfurl. Dark purple, glossy foliage stands up to summer heat. Perfect for smaller landscapes. Hardy in zones 6-9.
‘Baby Blue’ Blue Spruce
Attractive silvery-blue needles make this spruce standout, plus it maintains its color throughout the year. The habit is smaller and narrower than other blue spruce. Hardy in zones 2-8.
‘Hillside’ Upright Norway Spruce
A narrow, upright form growing to just 10 feet tall in the first 10 years. Perfect for smaller urban gardens. Dark green needles are backed by attractive, burnt orange stems. Hardy in zones 3-7.
Columnar Dwarf Mugo Pine
A narrow, upright form of mugo pine, makes a strong architectural statement. Will grow to just 8 feet tall. Produces small, yet ornamental cones. Hardy to zones 2-8.
Here are a few of our other blogs and videos that we think you’ll enjoy:
Top Trees for Fantastic Fall Color
Top Five Trees to Plant for Bees
Garden Answer’s Design Tips for a Romantic Cottage Garden
English cottage gardens date back centuries. They were used to grow vegetables, herbs for healing, fruit trees, perhaps a beehive, and common flowers. The informal style went through a renaissance in the late 1800’s when they became somewhat more nostalgic than practical.
The informal aesthetic of dense planting and natural materials is still en vogue today. In this video, Laura outlines 10 design principles to help you design a cottage garden. Before you start, make sure you have plenty of Espoma’s organic Bio-tone Starter Plus plant food to make sure your plants get the best possible start.
No Straight Lines
Cottage gardens are always informal and a touch whimsical. Avoid straight lines. Gently curving edging looks more natural and playful. If your site restricts you to a straight edge, let the plants spill over it to create an unrestrained look.
Large Groups of the Same Plant
White cottage gardens are more relaxed in their design, it is still best to use large sweeps of the same plant. Think of planting in groups of three, five or seven. That is far more restful to the eye than a jumble of onsies and twosies.
Spacing Doesn’t Matter
This is one time you do not have to follow the advice on the plant tag. Cottage gardens are always densely planted and generally grow more densely packed with time. Annuals and biennials are often used in cottage gardens and will self-sow in the border. Biennials are plants that take two years to grow and flower from seed like the foxgloves shown. Another advantage to planting things close together is that there is less room for weeds to grow.
Color Harmony
It’s very important to pick a collection of plants that have harmonious colors. Without that the border would look chaotic. Garden Answer uses a collection of soft pinks and peaches with touches of blue and lavender. It needn’t always be soft colors, but they do need to be unified in some way.
Use Varied Heights and Textures
In any planting, it’s a good idea to think about texture, height and foliage color as major design elements. Nothing blooms all the time. Varied foliage forms and colors will create interest even when the flowers aren’t in bloom. Laura uses Heuchera specifically for the silvery foliage color.
Anchor Plants/Structural Elements
This is sometimes referred to as the “bones” of a garden. It’s a structural element that all of the other plants get woven around. In this case, it’s a beautiful shrub rose named Rose ‘The Lady Gardener’, a fragrant beauty with full, apricot blossoms. The rose is repeated three times. Repetition is soothing to the eye. It’s possible to use evergreens for a slightly more formal feel, or whatever peaks your interest.
Fragrance
The first thing everyone does when they pick a flower is to hold it up to their nose. Cottage gardens are known for their fragrance. Try to select varieties that smell good at the garden center. Roses, lavender, sweet peas, and sweet alyssum are all good choices.
Not Perfectly Maintained
Along with relaxed design principles, comes relaxed maintenance. Planting tightly will discourage weeds. Annuals like poppies will self-seed and move around the border, just like the biennial foxgloves. Weeding everything that comes up might mean that you weed out these plants and inhibit their spontaneous movements.
The Look Will Change Over Time
This style of gardening is the exact opposite of a formal border filled with geometric shaped boxwood. By its very nature this is meant to be more random. People often sow cosmos, violas and other plants that have a tendency to move around. Let them surprise you. If you really don’t like where one popped up, it’s easy enough to remove.
Be Patient
Being patient is really what gardening is all about. A garden is never really finished. Enjoy the journey!
Garden Answers Plant List
Nepeta ‘Cat’s Pajamas’ – catmint
Achillea – pink yarrow
Allium ‘Serendipity’ – ornamental onion
Rose ‘The Lady Gardener’
Heuchera Dolce ‘Spearmint’ – Coral Bells
Clematis ‘Brother Stephan’
Digitalis Foxy Hybrids – foxglove
Lobularia ‘Blushing Princess’ – sweet alyssum
Here are more videos from Garden Answer we hope you will enjoy.
How to Plant Cottage-Style Flower Beds!
Plant Your Window Boxes Like Garden Answer
Succulent Pot in a Pot – Quick Version
How to Re-pot Houseplants – Quick Cut
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Garden Answer’s Mother’s Day Container
Mom is the best! For years, she’s showered you with love in so many ways, big and small.
Now, it’s your turn to remind her how much you truly appreciate her. Creating a beautiful container is something she’ll enjoy for months or even years to come. Watch as Laura from Garden Answer visits her family’s garden center to pick out a selection of plants, potting soil and fertilizer to make the cutest planter for her own mom.
Tips for Making a Flowery Container for Mom
First, start by selecting a container that’s her style. You’ll find lots of fun, colorful and patterned containers at your local garden center. Check to make sure your container has drainage holes in the bottom and will fit the plants you select at their mature size.
Next, choose plants that spill, thrill and fill! You want one plant that cascades, one that mounds and one that stands taller than the rest. Look for 3-5 varieties of flowering plants, grasses or greenery. Does Mom have a favorite flower or color? Try your best to incorporate those features into your creative design.
The options are endless. Have fun as you mix colors and textures for a winning combination. Check plant tags to make sure your plants like the same growing conditions, sun exposure and amount of water before checking out.
While you’re still shopping, grab a bag of the best organic potting soil mix and Espoma’s liquid Bloom! fertilizer. These Espoma products will help the plants adjust to their new home and grow healthy roots for bigger plants.
Now plant!
Fill the container 3/4 full with Espoma’s Organic Potting Mix.
Remove plants from their original containers and arrange them in the new planter. Play around a bit and move the plants around to see where each plant looks best. Remember to consider their mature size and give them ample room.
Once the plants look perfect to you, fill in any gaps in the container with more organic potting soil.
Water well.
Wait till you see you mom’s face when you arrive on Mother’s Day with a beautiful, homemade container garden!
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