Tuesday, August 2, 2011

Perennial of the week

Until Thursday, Aug.4th at 5, our perennial of the week is Buddelia or better known as Butterfly bush.
Grows up to 8 ft. tall and has beautiful cone-like flowers in pink or dk. purple.

2 in 1

I love this flower bed! I spotted it at the Goderich Vet Clinic when I was driving by one day. It just goes to show how creative one can be with plants! The taller plants are corn stalks, the spikey plants in between the corn are onions! The smaller green plant on this side of the corn is a pepper plant. They were dispersed all along the bed as well. I believe the flowers are petunias.
If you have a creative garden that is growing, send me a picture at lorraine@huronridge.ca
I'd love to see it and might even post it with your permission!

Saturday, July 23, 2011

Amazing Annuals

Pots of colour ready for your deck or garden!
Marigolds
Zinnias
Petunias
Hollyhocks
Flowering Vinca

Flower Power

Gorgeous colour for the gardens!
Monarda (Bee Balm) Petite Delight Butterfly Bush in Pink and Dark Purple
Garden Phlox in assorted colours
Giant Russian Sage
A boost for your health and gardens!
Echinacea (Coneflower)

Friday, July 22, 2011

thinking cool thoughts

During this heat wave, we thought you may need some help to think cool thoughts. So here is what's happening in the greenhouse these days......you're right, it's poinsettias.
Our rooted cuttings have been arriving over the past several weeks, and today we will start putting them into pots to grow into the bright & beautiful flowers we associate with Christmas, snow and cold weather.
You can see how well they have rooted in the oasis, but now they need some soil to get the nutrition needed to grow into strong healthy plants
Each strip of cuttings comes clearly labelled to indentify the 25+ varieties that we grow.

Monday, July 4, 2011

weather challenges

The severe thunderstorms & wind that have been more prevelant than I remember in other years, are creating challenges for keeping our gardens in their best appearance. The wind of Saturday night has my sweet corn stalks all standing at a 45 degree angle. I'm hoping they'll straighten up a bit in the next week or so. The petunia baskets along our laneway, took a real beating but are coming around really nicely again. Along with all the rain & humidity, we need to be watching for powdery mildew on some plants. Monarda or Bee Balm, Phlox & Hollyhocks are especially susceptable to the fungus disease at this time of year.. It may be wise to treat these plants with a fungicide before the problem shows up. Other plants that pick up the mildew fungus very easily are rose bushes and tuberous begonia.
There are many fungicides available. check the label to be sure they are safe & effective on the type of plant you want to treat. Look for ingredients such as: potassium bicarbonate, neem oil, sulfur or copper.