Video: Planting Dahlias with Garden Answer
Take a look at how Laura from @GardenAnswer plants Dahlias with the help of Espoma!
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Take a look at how Laura from @GardenAnswer plants Dahlias with the help of Espoma!
Featured Products:
Have you thought ahead to your fall harvest yet? August is prime time to plant delicious and nutritious vegetables that will come to life in the cooler months. And there’s nothing better than being able to spice up your home-cooked dishes using your very own garden — no need to run to the supermarket! Read on to find out which veggies you should be planting right now.
Lettuce
Did you know lettuce cannot be frozen, dried, pickled, or canned? That’s why you have to eat it fresh! Luckily, planting it right now means you’ll be able to enjoy it in just a few months. A fall harvest is ideal as lettuce’s sturdiness prevents any frost from destroying it. These leafy greens are a good source of vitamin C, calcium, iron, and copper — making it the perfect base for a healthy salad. Keep an eye out for the dark green leaves when harvesting as they’re even healthier than the light green ones.
Spinach
Spinach is well known for its low-calorie count and high levels of vitamin A, C, and iron — making it the perfect addition to that healthy salad. This veggie also gives you the highest turnover out of all the others. If collected in small quantities, you can keep harvesting them late until May! The best time to start planting them is now, at the tail end of summer.
Parsley
Ready for another healthy addition to that salad we’re working on? Parsley is a rich source of Vitamin K, C, and A, and minerals like magnesium, potassium, iron, and calcium. It’s no wonder this veggie has been used in dishes since ancient Rome! It’s also believed to have anti-tumor, anti-bacterial, and antifungal properties. Plant your parsley now to make sure you can reap all these benefits in the fall.
Carrots
If you’re planning on sowing some veggies that aren’t leafy greens, carrots should definitely be your first choice! As this vegetable grows into the fall season, the cool weather turns the starch to sugar, making them extra delicious. This sweet flavor makes them the perfect side or snack — sauteed, roasted, or even raw! Keep in mind that this plant does need a little extra care compared to some of the others on this list, so be sure to use vegetable food like Garden-tone to provide them with the energy they need to grow.
Beets
Last but not least, beets should definitely be on your August to-plant list. Did you know beets are edible from the tip of their green leaves to the bottom of their brown roots? They also help capture some hard-to-catch toxins and flush them out. These same antioxidants provide anti-inflammatory agents that provide a wide array of health benefits. Still not convinced? Since beet juice helps cleanse your liver, it’s thought that it can even help cure hangovers! If you want to make use of the entire plant and enjoy all these delicious benefits, make sure to sow the seeds now — about 8 weeks before the first frost.
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Just because summer is winding down, doesn’t mean it’s time to pack up your gardening supplies. August is the perfect time to plant some of your favorite vegetables! Cooking primarily with these veggies straight from your garden will give you some of the freshest and tastiest dishes. So get your family together, head outside, and get planting!
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Spring has sprung and it’s time to get outside and plant up some early spring containers. A trip to the local garden center will surely inspire you. Plant big pots of brightly colored bulbs and annuals to liven up entryways, patios and balconies. Laura from Garden Answer shows you just how easy it is to do in the video below.
Laura fills her containers with tulips and violas, true harbingers of spring. Alternatively, you could also use daffodils and other cold hardy annuals like Iceland poppies or nemesia. In cold climates, it’s important to select plans that are hardy enough to withstand a cold snap.
These early spring containers will flower for a month or so, bridging the gap from early spring to the frost-free date. When it’s time to plant summer containers, replant the tulips out into the garden where they’ll bloom again next spring. The violas may also be moved to a lightly shaded area of the garden.
Four Easy Steps to Early Spring Containers
Enjoy flowers for even longer by choosing tulips or daffodils that are not yet in full bloom. When finished blooming, just remove the flower stem. The leaves will still provide a vertical accent and the bulbs need the foliage to replenish themselves.
Taking time to deadhead the violas will extend their bloom time. If temperatures are cool, you may only need to water containers once a week.
Check out these videos from Garden Answer about tulips and early spring planting.
Plant Your Window Boxes Like Garden Answer
How to Care For Your Tulips After They’ve Bloomed
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The start of May brings colorful blooms and lush foliage to your garden. With summer right around the corner, that means there’s only more to come! Now is the best time to prep for your favorite fruits, veggies, and flowers.
Here are a few things you can do this month to prep your garden for the summer growing season:
Be sure to keep your new plants happy and healthy all summer long with the proper nutrients and water. Then, get ready to enjoy your harvest!
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Fabulous and fun, containers filled with bright blooms are easy to maintain and thrive with the right care. They’re great additions to any patio, yards or landscape.
Before summer’s heat and dry conditions get the best of them, give them what they need. Keep containers in tip top shape with these easy tips.
Here’s how to extend the life of containers for a summer of color.
Deadhead. Use pruners or shears to snip off dead or dying flowers, stems and foliage. This is called deadheading. Don’t be afraid to clip stems back a little to encourage new growth. This not only makes the plant look better, it helps encourage more blooms.
Want even less work? You can always opt for plants that do the deadheading on their own, like Million Bells.
Feed. Feed established containers with Bloom! liquid fertilizer to promote & prolong flowering. Simply flip, fill and feed. Or, sprinkle granular Plant-tone on the soil surface and gently work in.
Water. Containers need to be drenched – generally every day – and make sure to get the roots. Water until it pours from the drainage holes. Be sure to empty saucers to keep roots from getting waterlogged.
Replace. If all else fails, simply replace the leggy or tired plants in your container garden with late-season bloomers, like ornamental cabbage, coneflowers or sedum.
Now that your containers are taken care of, sit back and enjoy the heat of summer!
During the final stretch before spring, the Philadelphia Flower Show gives us a magical, beautiful taste of all that’s to come. Which is why we, at Espoma, are thrilled to once again be a contributing sponsor of the show.
Mark your calendar, the show starts in just 4 days! Explore the must-see highlights of the 2016 Philadelphia Flower Show here.
Explore All of America’s National Parks in ONE Day
The 2016 Philadelphia Flower Show, “Explore America,” is celebrating 100 years of the National Park Service.
The Skinny on the Philadelphia Flower Show
Explore our nation’s majestic National Parks in their full glory – wildflowers and evergreens included!
Hanging baskets make great visual impacts when they are filled to the brim with bright summer blooms. They add instant color to any spot and are a sign of warm weather.
Though as days get hotter and the summer rolls on, hanging baskets can start to look tired: drooping blooms, minimal flowers and straggly plants.
Your hanging basket isn’t doomed. It just needs a good ol’ fashion pick-me-up.
Refresh your hanging baskets to keep them partying all summer long
Get ready to give your hanging baskets a make-over. With these tips, your hanging basket will be back in its prime in no time.
Take the Heat Off Hanging Baskets
Look at that! Your hanging baskets already look better. Keep up these tips throughout the summer to keep hanging baskets fresh, beautiful and blooming.
Gardener’s Guide: Hydration while on Vacation
As you pack your bags, finish up at work and plan your vacation adventures, one lingering question remains, “Who will water my plants?
Yes, we’d all like to have a friend or neighbor available to care for our garden while we’re out of town, but that’s not always a possibility.
Luckily, you can prep your garden before you go on vacation. Here are some tricks.
While You’re On Vacation, Treat Your Garden to a Stay-cation
Now, sit back, relax and get ready for an invigorating vacation! Your plants will surely miss you, but they’ll be just fine while you’re gone.
Is there anything better than walking into your garden, smelling the heavenly scent of a rose and seeing a luscious rose bloom?
Believe it or not, we think there is!
More roses!
Once your roses start blooming, all you want is for more roses to grow, too! Stack the odds in your favor by feeding and deadheading your roses now.
Give Your Roses an Energy Boost!
To create those gorgeous, lovely rose blooms, roses need lots of energy! You don’t think those beautiful blooms just happen, do you?
Soon, roses will be coming up every which way! Go forth and create big, beautiful blooms with your newfound knowledge.
Freshly baked chocolate-chip cookies, homemade sandwiches with the crusts cut off and secret passwords— mom did it all for you. She showered you with love in so many ways, big and small.
Now it’s your turn to remind Mom how much you truly appreciate her.
Since Mom has made so many wonderful treasures for you over the years, take the time to make her a gift she’ll enjoy for months!
From a traditional hanging basket to a funky container garden, select a container that’s just her style, fill it with her favorite flowers and present a homemade gift that will bloom and delight for months!
Watch our video on container gardening for each step of the process, or follow the steps below.
First, find the perfect container. There are tons of fun, colorful and patterned containers out there. Or get creative and use an unexpected object. Either way, select the one that screams “Mom!” to you.
Be sure your container has drainage holes at the bottom and be sure it isn’t too big. Once the container is filled with soil, it can get pretty heavy.
Next, look for 3-5 flowers, grasses or greenery. If you already know Mom’s favorite flowers, definitely use those.
Then, choose plants that spill, thrill and fill! You want a plant that cascades, one that mounds and one that stands out among the rest.
You can mix colors, or stick with a monochromatic color scheme. Have fun with it!
Regardless, it’s best to make sure your plants like the same growing conditions. As a final check before checkout, compare plant tags to see if they all need the same amount of sun and water.
While you’re still shopping, grab a bag of the best organic potting mix.
Espoma Organic Potting Mix is not only 100 percent organic, but contains Myco-tone Mycorrhizae, too.
Plants growing in Espoma Organic Potting Mix require up to 30 percent less water than other potting soils. With water restrictions a concern, Mom will use less water for her container.
Plus, Espoma Organic Potting Mix helps your plants adjust to their new home better and grow bigger roots for bigger plants.
Now, get crafty!
Wait till you see Mom’s face when you arrive on Mother’s Day with a beautiful, homemade container garden!
Share a photo of your Mom with her homemade Mother’s Day container on our Facebook page! And tell her Happy Mother’s Day from Espoma!