gardeningwithroni

Get ready, get set, GARDEN! Way too much to do now that the weather is perfect for planting almost everything! Try not to get overwhelmed at the garden center. Come in with a project in mind, a new perennial bed, a veggie garden, containers. Know your site; sun, shade and soil conditions, and make it fun. Choose colors you love or that go with your home or other landscaping. Then choose the right plant for the right place!

Fill in right now with late spring perennial bloomers like Iris, Yarrow and Peonies. Choose rhodies and other shrubs that bloom for that splash of color in a shady area. Endless Summer Hydrangeas do fabulously here on the south shore of Boston. They bloom all season and come in more colors than blue!

Use a hanging Boston Fern to create interest on a shady porch or balcony, add a whimsical table top water feature, relax and enjoy! Create an herb garden in a container or plant a container just for the hummingbirds. Sat 5/26 at 10am the Gardeners’ Choice rte 53 in Pembroke, MA is holding a class on planting in containers of all kinds, join us if you can it’s for free!

For those of you who have a pool or large outdoor space, make it uniquely inviting with tropical plants in pots. Hibiscus, agave, fan & sago palm, add the wow with a lime green and yellow varigated leaved rasberry bougainvilla, unbelievable!

Have a wonderful weekend, plant, water and enjoy. Say thanks to a veteran for Memorial Day!

Happy Gardening! Roni 

Fii 

Mother nature has done it again and our spring is gorgeous. After some drenching rain all is green again here on the south shore of Boston. And it’s time to plant those gardens! Make gardening fun and take one project at a time. Plan a veggie garden with the whole family, ask them what they eat, and go from there. Plan a hummingbird or butterfly garden for enjoyment from your deck or windows. Use your imagination and have fun playing in the dirt!

It’s veggie planting time, so here are a few tips for success…Provide 8 hours of sun; plant in soil rich in organic material; choose natural products; rotate your crops; mulch to conserve moisture and give your plants room to grow and the nutrients and water they need.

If your fruit trees or ornamental are getting bugged consider using horticultural oil. Fruit trees do best when hort oil is applied as directed, 4 times over the season. Do read the directions for all garden products you use and try organic solutions first!

It’s easy to decorate your outdoor spaces with colorful flowers. Choose a hanging basket with plants whose needs match your site ( sun or shade) in colors that are pleasing to you or go with the color of your house, for instant curb appeal.

Plant herbs in pots and place near your Bar b que, and pick them to use as you cook! What fun.

Happy Gardening.
Roni

It’s Mother’s Day weekend and the weather here on the south shore of Boston looks fabulous. Having just been blessed with almost 8″ of rain, our gardens are flowering, leafing out and spreading pollen (that may not be a good thing for you!) Cool crops are flourishing in the veggie garden, and the soil is warm enough to start adding more plants, veggies and herbs where ever there’s enough sun to allow them to flourish.

Lilac’s are everyone’s favorite spring shrub, their fragrance is delightful and with newer varieties and colors they are a must have for the gardener. The new bloomerang lilac will rebloom twice over this season and standard lilac trees add that perfect touch to a garden bed that needs height. Miss Kim lilacs bloom a little later, are intense purple in shrub form and at 5′ fit nicely into any sunny spot.

Be cautious about planting in wet soil, it could compact and impair the soil’s ability to transfer water and nutrients to anything newly planted. Wait just a bit for the soil to dry out. Choose a cloudy day, or later in the afternoon to plant, loosen the soil, plant at the depth that plants are in the pot and water at the roots. Some plants love having an old pot tipped over them for a little shelter while they get used to their new home.

Knockout Roses are perfect Mothers Day gifts being easy to care for, profusely flowering and will even do well in large pots. Hydrangeas grow perfectly here and the endless summer variety bloom nonstop all summer. They come in some very unusual colors. Both plants are available at The Gardener’s Choice, rte 53 in Pembroke,MA.

It’s Open House tomorrow at The Gardeners’ Choice, starting at 10am with our 2nd of 4 free garden classes:  Adding Drama to your landscape! This special day continues with a live WATD broadcast with Lisa Azzizian from 12:30-3pm. Come on in and meet Lisa, get some great deals and take a chance at winning a $100 gift certificate from The Gardeners’ Choice! 

Happy Mother’s Day and Happy Gardening!

Roni  

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Planning to plant and maintaining your plantings are both very important. Plan a specific garden for the amount of sun the site will get, find out what kind of soil you have; fast draining sandy soil or slow draining clay. (It’s easy to get a soil test done thru umass.edu/soiltest, follow the easy directions and send it off.) Look for plants that fit your criteria; shade or part shade moist or dry. You’ll be happier with the results if you choose the right plant for the right place.

Then of course there’s the taking care of your garden(s)! Water, get a rain gauge and check it out. An inch of rain a week is good. Then know what your plants need for water. Newly planted trees and shrubs need to be watered daily for the first week, every other day for the second week and deeply weekly for the first growing season. Unfortunately when you don’t water and it’s as dry as it was here in New England this winter lots of plants just dried up and died. Oh well try again, and don’t forget to water! It’s still a perfect time to divide and transplant many perennials.

Plant spring blooming shrubs now for color and interest early next season, azaleas, pjm rhodies and lilacs if your don’t already have them you must. This year I’ve seen a new dwarf pjm like rhodie, the bloomerang lilac (reblooming)and the daphne ‘Carol Mackie’ and i must just have them all.

Hummingbirds are back in New England now and it’s time for those feeders.Most hummingbird feeders have some red on them to attract the hummers but their nectar does not have to be red. Just 1 cup of water & 1/4 cup of sugar, brought to a boil, then simmered for 5 minutes. Cool and fill your feeder. Change it out weekly if they haven’t gobbled it up.

Remember your lawn does need care but we are over fertilizing and over treating with chemicals as a nation. Check out organic alternatives for lawn maintenence. Better yet, plant a garden or ground covers and reduce the size of your lawn.

I have been eating lettuce from our friend John in Duxbury who does a fabulous job with a raised bed garden. My own lettuce should be edible soon and my sugar snap peas are going great. Plant veggies like broccoli, cabbage and spinach. Try planting some fruit, strawberries and blueberries are easy, taste great and are good for you. 

It’s just mid spring here in New England and it is gorgeous. Tulips, narcissi, forget me not, primrose, blooming in abundance. Splashes of color from azaleas and lilacs and leaves of every imanginable shade of green. What a pleasure it is to be out in the garden. 

Take advantage of local gardening classes. Most are free. This Sat May 5th at 10am I’m starting my master gardener classes at the Gardeners’ Choice rte 53 Pembroke, Ma. At 10 am on 4 consecutive Saturdays. This weeks class is Garden Trends and new plants for 2012. Fun and informative, join us if you can!

Just a couple of plants to think about; the new wasabi coleus is ruffled and lime green and will look awesome with the new cherry belle calibrachoa, both will flourish in part sun! And the Gardeners’ Choice sells out of Thunbergia. A bright yellow or orange vine that flowers non stop for the whole season!

Hopefully I’ve be back next week and do look for those Baltimore Orioles, I saw my first one today!

Happy Gardening!