Hi Gardeners
Well the fickle weather of April is back. It’s partly sunny here today but cold and
blustery. There was ice on the water outside this morning. We had high winds
yesterday that blew over our mailbox but at least we didn’t lose power. I saw
some pictures of frozen gardens online today, poor little plants put out way
too early by inexperienced gardeners. In the eastern half of the country it’s
going to be a cold week, so hold off planting all but a few hardy things. I’ll discuss what to plant now later in this
blog.
Last Tuesday evening, after I had put this blog online, we
had an incredible hailstorm. The hail was only pea sized but it came down in
buckets, about 3 inches piled up. It looked like a blizzard had struck. It was
55 degrees outside, and lightening was flashing every few seconds. My poor
crocus that were open turned to mush, buried under ice. There was damage to the
tulip and other emerging plants leaves.
I was just glad most plants were barely out of the ground. Even in the
morning, when it neared 60 degrees there were still pockets of hail on the
ground.
Today there are daffodils and hyacinths blooming in the
garden. They do survive the cold. The barberry, honeysuckle, and honeyberry have
leaves already. Green is showing on the lilacs. The tree willows are blooming,
pollen season has started.
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Hail on the deck |
Last week I did get my lettuce and kale planted (seed). I am
having a hard time getting salad greens from the grocery, so I hope those
plants grow quickly. This week won’t favor quick growth but by the weekend it’s
supposed to be warmer. I worked some high nitrogen fertilizer into the soil
before I planted, which gives greens a good boost.
Inside the house the pace of bloom has picked up with the longer
days. The geraniums are blooming well and growing like crazy. The streptocarpus
are blooming and 2 of the hibiscuses. My gerbera daisy has another bloom. The
holiday cacti are blooming again and there’s even a bloom on the big lemon
tree. Bulbs I planted on the porch in pots are popping up now. I’ll be getting
more planted this week. My jasmines are putting out new growth too.
I live in the country and my neighborhood hasn’t changed a whole
lot from the CV19 shut down. But there are more people walking and riding their
horses and bikes down the road. I’m getting to see neighbors I don’t know,
those whose houses are hidden back in the woods, well off the road. I’m seeing
dogs and horses I didn’t know existed. As I am working outside many are
stopping to talk from the road, commenting on my gardens. (Some see me sitting
on the ground and want to know if I’m all right too.) So, there are some
advantages to this stay at home order, you get to see your neighbors more.
For all of you across the country that must stay home,
please try to get outside every day for a few minutes anyway. An hour or so would be even better. Even if
you just sit in the sun, even if it’s chilly, get outside. Being out in the sun makes you feel happier.
The smell of soil also has a proven ability to ease depression. Get out there and enjoy spring. Things will
get better.
Finding
seeds and plants
People are so worried about growing their own food this year
that they are panicking when they hear garden stores are closed. They think
they can’t get supplies and seeds. First, let me say this. It’s still early. There
is still time. Don’t panic. Second, you
can find seeds and plants if you just calm down and do some work looking for
them.
If your state is on a lock down that includes closing
independent garden stores and garden areas of big stores, you may still find
seeds in smaller hardware stores and in grocery stores. Farm stores like Tractor
Supply are open in most states and they carry seeds. And then there are numerous sources for seeds
and plants online.
At this time of the year it is normal for some seed catalogs
to be out of some types /varieties of seeds and plants. This year there has
been an increase in sales that is further depleting stock. Some companies have
had to close depending on the state they are in and their own personal feelings
about CV19. But that DOES NOT mean you can’t find seeds and supplies.
You may have to look a bit harder, and you may not get your
first choice of some varieties but there are seeds and supplies available. I
surveyed some online sources this weekend and many still have a good supply of
seeds, and you can even order vegetable plants like tomatoes from some of them,
when the time is right for your area.
You can see a list of online garden stores with links on this page:
If everyone does their part and obeys their states stay at
home orders, then garden stores will be able to open sooner.
Beware of
scams involving seeds and plants
When there’s a scarcity, or perceived scarcity of something,
there are always going to be people who take advantage of the situation. It’s
the same with garden supplies, seeds and plants. I’m seeing and hearing these scams
already.
I strongly recommend you do not purchase seeds and plants on
Ebay or Amazon right now. The scammers are working overtime. There’s always
been fraud on these platforms for seeds and plants but it’s worse now. I saw
seeds for purple strawberries, roses, sweet potatoes and regular potatoes
offered this morning on Amazon. All these things do not grow well from seeds
and purple strawberries don’t exist.
Buy seeds from established online sites that have an
address, a phone number and a good reputation. Or buy them from local store
racks- and yes you can still find them.
Beware of price gouging. I am seeing this on several online
sites. When looking for seeds and plants look at many different places, even if
they are out of stock. Check sizes of seed packets and pot sizes of plants so
you can do a good comparison. All seed packets should give you an approximate
number of seeds. And all sellers should state this information. This gives you
an idea of the price range seeds and plants should sell for.
One common trick I am seeing is to offer very small amounts
of seed for the price of a normal packet. Sellers are taking a regular pack of
seed and dividing it into 2 or 3 packs. That may be all you need but it should
be priced accordingly.
Also make sure seed packets say the seed is for 2020. Old
seed is also being pawned off on unsuspecting gardeners. Some of this seed will
germinate just fine but it should be priced lower than fresh seed. And seed
companies often donate the previous years seed to charities and youth groups. If someone is selling those seeds, they are
committing fraud.
Never, ever give out your credit card information or bank
information to someone who claims they will find seed for you or that they have
access to seeds no one else has. Sometimes they say they will grow plants for
you and ship them later. Reputable companies have catalogs, websites, and
secure payment options. Look for the little locked padlock symbol in the
address bar online.
Also make sure the packing and handling and shipping costs are
plainly given before you give payment information. Make sure you can get a
refund and that the company can tell you when the product will be shipped. Most
reputable companies do not charge your credit card until they ship an item,
although they will ask for the info when you order. Just be very skeptical and
careful anytime prepayment is required. I would certainly avoid sellers
advertising on local swap sites or on garden pages who are asking for
prepayment with a credit card.
I’d also be very skeptical of people wanting to sell you
seed that they saved themselves unless you are knowledgeable about seeds and
growing heirlooms and landraces. I recently saw seeds someone had bought that
were supposed to be “special” tomato seeds. They were not tomato seeds, they
were probably carrot seeds. Could it be an honest error? Maybe, but it wasn’t
in this case.
If you don’t know what seeds, plants, or supplies should
cost ask an experienced gardener. While there is some truth in the saying that
the price depends on how badly you want something, the shortage of normal
garden varieties of seeds and plants is not so acute that you need to pay exorbitant
prices for them.
If you get scammed, let the police and other gardeners know
about the scam. Even if you lost just a small amount of money turn these people
in. If you suspect price gouging, especially on supplies, let authorities know. (Plants are trickier to prove gouging on
since quality has to be figured in.) Some states have a designated department
and phone number for reporting price gouging, but in any state, you can also
call the state attorney general’s office.
Should
you start your vegetable garden from the grocery store?
So now let’s explore the idea that’s circulating online that
you can just go to the grocery store, buy produce and start a garden from
cuttings and seeds taken from the fruits and vegetables you buy. This is NOT a good
way to start a garden. I hate to see people new to gardening trying this and
failing, because it discourages them from gardening in the future. Even with seeds and plants being hard to find
this is not the way to grow food.
There are a very few things that you can get to grow from
grocery produce that might be productive. Potatoes, sweet potatoes, dry beans
and celery are the only feasible crops to grow from something you buy at the
grocery meant to be eaten. And I say celery only because most households only
need a small amount of it. There are other things that you can grow as a
novelty, but they really aren’t productive, or they won’t be what you expect
when you grow from seeds.
Potatoes are the most valuable and productive thing you can
get in the grocery to grow more food. Some grocery potatoes have been treated
to prevent sprouting, however, and may take a long time to sprout. It is not
advisable to use eating potatoes for growing new crops though. This is because
late blight, a serious fungal disease, can be present on them. Once it starts this
disease could ruin your crop in a few days and spread to any commercial potato
fields nearby, ruining those crops. Instead try to use certified seed potatoes,
which are blight free. To see how to grow potatoes read this article:
You can take a sweet potato suspend it in a glass of water
and it will grow sprouts. You can then root these sprouts and once they are
growing, plant them in the garden. This is a long, slow, laborious process,
especially if you are trying to start enough plants to harvest a decent crop.
Northern gardeners, those in zone 6 and lower, probably won’t get a crop at
all. If you want to try sweet potatoes look for companies that sell cuttings,
called “slips”.
Dry beans, the kind you find in packages in stores, will
probably grow. (Whole dried peas, not split peas, could also grow.) These beans need to stay on the plant until
the plant and the bean/pea pod is very dry, they are not “green beans”. Soak
them for a few hours before planting and plant after all danger of frost has
passed.
You can’t grow “green beans” or snap peas from beans/peas
you buy in the supermarket. That’s because the seeds in these will not be
mature. We pick these beans and peas before the pods are mature for best eating
quality.
If you get a bunch of celery from the store and cut off the
bottom “root plate” and stick it in a shallow dish of water you can sometimes
get new roots to form and eventually new stalks will form too, if you get
lucky. You must find a bunch that a good deal of the root base has been left
on. You can’t root pieces of celery stalk, even if leaves are still on
them.
If you only need a little celery for flavoring or tossing in
the occasional salad this may work for you. If you like a lot of celery for
munching on you need to buy seeds or started plants from a nursery.
Yes, you can root sprouting onions. If you are lucky you
will occasionally get an onion bulb from them. Usually what you will get will
be similar to green onions, a little thickened stalk and some green tops. If you cut the bottom off a large onion and
get it to root in water you will never get another onion bulb from it, you may
get some leaves for seasoning. It’s
better to buy onion seeds, onion sets, or onion plants from a nursery.
You can grow a carrot or beet from the tops you cut off and
put in water. At least you can grow the tops. They will never produce another
edible root for you. Most of the tops that you manage to grow will quickly
flower and die. If the flowers were pollinated at least you might get seeds for
next year.
Cucumbers, green peppers, eggplants, summer squash and
zucchini are all picked for eating before the seeds inside are mature. If you save seeds from these items that you
bought from the grocery they won’t grow. You need to purchase seeds of these or
started plants.
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Summer squash are picked before the seeds inside are mature |
Tomatoes, hot peppers, red, orange, yellow bell peppers,
winter squash, pumpkins and melons may have mature seeds inside. If you plant
them you may get a plant to grow. However,
you probably won’t get what you expect.
These items are almost always from hybrid plants. Seeds from hybrid
plants have a wide range of variability in what kind of plant and eventually
fruit, that they will produce.
You may get cherry type tomatoes from that big red slicer
you took seeds from. Your melon may take 140 days to mature, long past your
growing season. Your squash may look and taste like nothing you have ever seen
or tasted. Most of these plants won’t be
as disease resistant or as vigorous as the parent plant that produced them.
Still you may get some food from them. But it’s better to use seeds you
purchase specifically for growing or purchase started plants.
As far as things like strawberries, cherries and apples
planted from seed the same thing applies. Many of the purchased fruits will be
hybrids. The seeds from them produce all kinds of fruits, good and bad. It will
take a year of growing for strawberries and maybe 10 years of growing for an
apple or cherry, to see what kind of fruit you get.
Some people are also rooting things like sprigs of herbs
they purchase in stores or pieces of ginger root. Sometimes it works. It’s better to buy herb
plants already growing in pots or grow them from seed meant for planting. That
way you can pick the right varieties for your area. Some things like black pepper seeds, avocado
pits, ginger or coffee beans may grow but they aren’t hardy in most of the US
and take years to produce a crop. You’d have to winter them inside a
greenhouse.
In short growing things from grocery store or farmers market
produce is just for fun. Outside of potatoes you’ll produce very little food.
Times are not so desperate that you need to do this either. For the best
results in a food garden buy your seeds from a reputable source or starter
plants from a reliable nursery.
What to
plant outside in April
I just saw online a new gardener who had planted all the
things she had started inside outside a few days ago. She was asking other
gardeners to tell her why everything was limp and yellow. Basically, she had
put those tender plants outside way too early and without any kind of
acclimation. They were dead.
There are lots of new gardeners out there. April weather can be tricky – it may look and
feel like warm weather has arrived one day and the next day it snows. But you
must use patience and good judgement with gardening. Learning from experience
is hard- and expensive. So, here’s some advice from an old hand at gardening.
If you are new to gardening please read it and spare yourself some time and
money.
Here’s a planting zone map.
Look at it first.
Planting zones 4-6.
If you start your tomatoes, peppers and other warm crops
from seed now is the time to plant them inside. They’ll be just about
the right size for planting after the last frost. You can also start annual and
perennial flowers that take a long time to bloom now inside. These seedlings
can be moved to a coldframe, or unheated greenhouse as long as temperatures are
above freezing.
In the vegetable garden you can plant peas, kale and lettuce
in early April, as soon as the soil can be worked. Frost and even light snow won’t hurt them.
You may want to get the seeds germinated in a coldframe or unheated greenhouse
and then move them to the garden, especially if early April remains very cool.
By mid to late April you can also plant spinach, radishes,
beets, onion sets and plants, carrots, turnips, cabbage, broccoli and Brussel’s
sprouts as seeds or plants. You can plant asparagus and rhubarb roots also.
Strawberries, raspberries and other brambles, and grapes in a dormant stage can
be planted in mid to late April.
Wait until May to plant green beans, tomatoes, peppers,
eggplant, cucumbers, melons, pumpkins, squash, sweet corn and most herbs. You need to plant these after the danger of
frost has passed and the ground is warm. This will vary depending on what zone
you are in and your local conditions. There are some natural indications you
can use to judge the right time. It’s
usually safe to plant frost tender things if the lilacs in your area have
bloomed and are starting to drop their petals.
If you are unsure when the last frost generally occurs, ask
an experienced local gardener or ask at your local county Extension office. Planting
a little late is better than planting too early. Late planted crops
generally catch up quickly but plants that get too cold or are planted in cold
soil may never do well the entire season.
Flowers
Pot up your dahlias, canna’s and glads now in a warm place
if you want to have early flowers. (If your tuberous begonias haven’t already
been planted, you should get them planted too.) You should have a good sunny
spot that stays above 45 degrees if you do this. Otherwise wait until later in
the month or early in May for planting inside an unheated greenhouse – or until
after the last frost when they can be planted directly in the garden.
If you are holding plants like horticultural geraniums,
semi-tender bulbs in pots, brugmansias, herbs and so on in a dormant state, now
is the time to get them growing. Move
them to a bright, warm spot and water with warm water. When new growth appears
give them some liquid fertilizer or work some slow release fertilizer into the
soil in the pot. You’ll need to gradually acclimate them to outside conditions
when the weather warms up outside. Some
can go out before the last frost, but most semi-tender plants should wait until
late May in zone 5-6.
Dormant perennials can be planted now, the bare root plants
you mail order and plants you get from local nurseries that have been kept in
open, natural conditions and don’t have much new growth. Don’t hold dormant
plants too long in the house after buying them. If they begin new growth inside
because of the warmth they may have a hard time adjusting to chilly spring
temps outside. If dormant plants are supposed to be hardy in zone 5-6 then they
can be planted in a dormant state as soon as the ground is thawed.
Be more careful with greenhouse grown perennials which have
lots of new growth or that may even be in bloom. An April snow or heavy frost
may damage or kill these. Use established garden plants growing nearby to make
your decisions. If the new plant has the same amount of growth as older
established plants of the same species growing outside you can probably plant
it safely. For example, hostas that are just furled shoots peeking above ground
are probably safe to plant in the garden in early April, plants with a few
small leaves in late April. But wait until May to plant large, fully leafed out
hostas in the garden in zones 5-6.
The greenhouses will be filled with flowering annual plants
in April but only a few bedding plants are ready for outside planting in April,
even if we have a really warm stretch of weather. Frosts and freezes are common
in April. Some plants that will survive
light frost in the fall won’t survive it in spring if they have come from nice
warm greenhouses. However, pansies and violas can be planted in containers and
beds in early April. Calendula, diascia, and snapdragons can probably be
planted from mid to late April. Be patient and wait until mid-May for the rest
of the container and bedding plants.
Planting zones 7-9
April is prime planting season for many things in these
zones. All of the early crops should be planted in the garden by now, this
includes lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, radishes, carrots, onions, and potatoes.
Most frost tender crops can be planted in these zones by the
end of the month, depending on your zone and local conditions. This includes
tomatoes, peppers, squash, melons, eggplant, sweet corn and most herbs.
Annual bedding plants and baskets should be safe to plant
outside now. Summer bulbs like cannas, glads and dahlias can be planted. Any
dormant plants should be put in the ground as soon as possible, the best time
for them has passed. Any potted perennials and shrubs /trees should be planted
now.
Some gardeners in these zones should be getting their first
harvests of early crops like peas and lettuce.
Star of Bethlehem-
weed or flower?
Star of Bethlehem, Ornithogalum umbellatum, is not a
native plant. It is an escapee from gardens and is sometimes still sold in bulb
catalogs. It is however, a pesky weed in
many lawns and also finds its way into ditches and woodland edges. It is also
called wild onion for its great resemblance to the onion family. Other names include star flower and summer
snowflakes.
The leaves of Star of Bethlehem resemble onion leaves as
they emerge in the spring, with rounded, narrow leaves. As plants mature the leaf blade broadens and
looks more like a grass leaf. It has a groove in the middle of each leaf that
sometimes appears as a white line. Plants form clumps and by midsummer the
foliage has dried and disappeared.
Star of Bethlehem has bulbous roots that resemble small
onions attached to a thick fibrous root system. In the north the plants most
often multiply through their bulb like roots, which divide into numerous
bulblets. Although the Star of Bethlehem roots may look like onions they should
never be eaten, all parts of the plant are poisonous.
The flowers of Star of Bethlehem are quite pretty. There are
florist varieties of Ornithogalum, grown for cut flowers and gift pots.
The flowers arise on long naked stems that divide into smaller stems each with
a shiny white flower about an inch across. The flowers appear to have 6 petals,
3 of the “petals”, however are actually sepals. There are some double flowered
varieties now. The flowers may retain a faint green line across the back. The
airy flower clusters appear in spring.
There are 6 stamens in the center of each star of Bethlehem
flower, each with a broad white base and a yellow anther on the end. These
surround a greenish pistil with a star shaped top. It’s almost as if there was
a tiny crown in the center of each flower. If fertilized the flowers turn into
little seed pods with 3 segments, containing hard black seeds. In zones lower than 6 the plants don’t often
set seed.
If Star of Bethlehem is left in the landscape for its
ornamental nature make sure that children and pets don’t eat it. It would be
wise to avoid using the name wild onion. If ingested the plant causes severe
pain, vomiting and diarrhea and irregular heartbeats which can cause death.
Grazing animals eating the plants have died quite rapidly and this plant should
always be removed from pastures.
Five best annual flowers to grow from
seed
Annual flowers live for one year. Many modern gardeners don’t want to bother
with the ones that generally are started from seed, but instead buy things like
petunias to fill in spots in the garden that need color. You can buy some of the annual flowers on
this list in garden stores in the spring too, but these plants are easy to
start from seed and provide an economical way to fill up those bare garden
areas.
All these plants in the list can be sown directly in the
garden where you want them to grow. They grow quickly and will bloom in only a
few weeks. All these plants prefer full
sun locations.
Calendula
This lovely flower will get you started in the spring as it
can be sown outside very early and likes to bloom when things are still
cool. If you are lucky, you’ll also get
an encore performance in the fall.
Calendula comes in shades of yellow, orange, and sometimes
pink. The flowers are daisy-like. Plants
grow about 18 inches tall, with a sprawling habit. Calendula flowers are edible
and were once used to color butter as the petals lend a yellow dye to food
products. Cheerful and pretty they are liked by bees and butterflies also.
You can plant the seeds of calendula where they are to grow
as soon as the soil is thawed and workable. Or you can start the seeds inside
about 8 weeks before your average last frost and put the plants out when the
soil is thawed and workable, and only light frosts are predicted – about a
month from your predicted last frost chance.
Calendula may go dormant and stop blooming if the weather
gets hot and dry. You can either remove the plants to make way for summer
bloomers or let them sulk until fall when they will spring back and keep
blooming until a hard freeze.
Cleome
Cleome is often called spider flower. This tall and graceful
flower looks good in masses at the back of flower beds. It lends an airy elegance to large pots also.
The foliage is attractive, and the flowers are arranged in circular
clusters. Each flower has a long slender
tendril sticking out, which accounts for the spider name. Cleome comes in
white, lavender, purple and pink shades.
Sow cleome seeds where they are to grow after the soil has
warmed – about 2 weeks before your last predicted frost. Or start plants inside
4-6 weeks before the last frost. Cleome shoots up quickly and in good soil can
get 4 feet high or more. (There are now dwarf varieties.) The plants begin
blooming about 6 weeks after they sprout and will bloom continuously until
frost.
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One thing about cleome that puts some people off is the
smell of the foliage, which many describe as cat pee smell.
It’s only notable if you brush or crush the
foliage and you won’t smell it if you are just admiring the tall, beautiful
flowers. The plants foliage resembles marihuana, which can either generate
laughs or make you feel uneasy.
Cleome plants are prolific seeders and from one planting of
cleome you may have plants for many years, without having to plant them
again! If you don’t want them to re-seed
themselves, you can cut the narrow seed pods off as they form. Don’t cut the
bloom stalk as the plant keeps getting taller and putting out more flowers at
the top.
Cosmos
Cosmos is a versatile and lovely garden flower and makes a
great cut flower too. The foliage of the 3-4 feet tall plants is light and
ferny looking. The flowers are daisy-like and come in just about any color from
white to scarlet except true blue. There are varieties with double flowers and
flowers that have rolled, quill style petals. Cosmos looks good in the back of the
border and coming up through other tall flowers. In good soil the plants can be
a little floppy and benefit from stakes or being supported by other plants.
Cosmos is sown where it is to grow when the soil is warm,
about 2 weeks before your last predicted frost. Or like the other flowers
mentioned you can start them inside about 6 weeks before the last frost. They
will start blooming about 6 weeks after sprouting and bloom until a hard frost.
Cosmos will sometimes come back from seed in the area you planted it also.
Marigolds
Marigolds are common at garden centers in the spring, but
this plant is so easy to grow from seed it’s often used as a children’s garden
project. If you want lots of marigolds the economical way to grow them is from
seed. By choosing seed, you can often grow varieties you won’t find as plants
in stores. Plant the seeds where you
want them to grow around the time of your last predicted frost or inside 6
weeks earlier. The small varieties may
be in bloom only a month after planting and the larger varieties take 6-8
weeks. Marigolds bloom all summer until
a hard frost.
There are tall, short and intermediate varieties of
marigolds. There are double and single
flowered varieties and small one-inch flowers and huge fluffy 6-inch flowers. Marigolds
come in shades of yellow, orange and red.
There are some marigolds now that are a very pale yellow that looks
white. Marigolds are used as short
border edging plants, in containers, and as tall garden plants for color. It’s very common to plant marigolds among
garden vegetables for a bit of color, to attract pollinators and some people
believe the marigolds deter harmful insects, although there’s little proof of
that. The roots of some of the “African” type marigolds are said to repel nematodes,
little soil creatures that harm plant roots.
Like cleome, marigold foliage also has a scent that some
people find unpleasant, but once again it needs to be brushed against or broken
to smell. Some people actually like the
smell of marigolds. There are varieties of marigolds that have been developed
to be almost scentless.
Zinnias
Every respectable gardener used to plant zinnias in the
garden for garden color and to use as cut flowers. They were often exhibited at
state fairs. Now gardeners seem to have
forgotten these beauties. Zinnias do have the unfortunate predilection for getting
powdery mildew, a white powdery fungal disease of the foliage that makes the
plants look bad. However, many powdery
mildew resistance varieties now exist.
When not crowded and grown in sunny, drier areas with good air
circulation zinnias will bloom their heads off for you and make a wonderful
garden plant.
Zinnias have daisy-like flowers and come in all colors and
color mixtures except true blue. There are small flowered plants, and plants
with 6 inch or larger blooms. There are short, sprawling type zinnias, compact
uprights and tall stately zinnias. Plant zinnias where you want them to grow
after the last frost or 6-8 weeks before the last frost inside. Small flowered
zinnias begin blooming in about 6 weeks, larger ones start in mid-summer and bloom
until frost. Keep the dead flowers picked off zinnias to encourage prolific
blooming.
All of the above annual plants need to be spaced about 6-8
inches apart for small varieties and 8 -12 inches apart for larger plants. They
should be watered if it’s dry for a week or so.
And they benefit from a good slow release fertilizer for flowers worked
into the soil at planting time. Annual
flowers are great for kids to grow as they bloom quickly and for long periods
of time. Your garden will look great this summer if you mix some of these
popular annuals into it.
“Behold, my friends, the spring is home; the earth has
gladly received the embraces of the sun, and we shall soon see the results of
their love.”
-Sitting Bull-
Kim Willis
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And So On….
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(This
is the Lapeer County Gardeners facebook page)
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