You can thank Cortez for the Beefsteak Tomato.

Tuesday, February 20th, 2018
Comments - 1 Continue Reading |

News Flash:
You can thank Cortez for the Beefsteak Tomato.

Remember Hernando Cortez?  He’s the Spanish Conquistador you learned about in fifth grade who conquered Montezuma and the massive Aztec Empire in Mexico back in the early 1500s.  He and his soldiers arrived in Mexico, just a few years after the Columbus sailings. Cortez is not known as a really nice guy, but very successful.

Read more You can thank Cortez for the Beefsteak Tomato.

What’s your Phlox IQ?

Tuesday, February 20th, 2018
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

Pssst:  There are only two important types.
And they’re totally different.

Ok. OK. There are others, but only two big ones for gardeners—one tall perennial, and one short annual, both easy, easy, easy to grow!  You’ll want them both.  Here they are:

Read more What’s your Phlox IQ?

Planting Lilies in Spring

Thursday, February 8th, 2018
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

Lilies are easy!

If you know the 2 major kinds,
that’s all you need to know.

I love Lilies, and who doesn’t?  But the names are confusing, right?  Well, no they’re really not.  If you just know the two major types, that’s all you need to know. But here’s the confusion.  The two types are named ASIATIC and ORIENTAL.  But even though both names speak of the Far East, the two types are completely different—different bloom times, different heights, and different looks, too.

Read more Planting Lilies in Spring

5 Favorite Vegetable Seeds

Thursday, February 1st, 2018
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

The numbers are in:
Customers’ Top Five Favorite Vegetables

I asked our Order Department for the results from all of 2017, and here are the winners. Out of the hundreds of varieties of vegetable seeds we carry, these are the top 5 winners. That means thousands and thousands of our customers are choosing them. But of course, with our selection, you’ll find all the favorites—51 famous Heirlooms, over 90 Organic varieties and over 100 that are “Direct Sow Seeds,” which means you plant them directly in your garden, and don’t have to germinate them indoors for a good crop. What’s more they’re all non-GMO. Here’s to a best-ever garden this coming year!………Linda

Read more 5 Favorite Vegetable Seeds

Top Five Favorite Herbs to Plant

Tuesday, January 30th, 2018
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

The numbers are in:
Customers’ Top Five Favorite Herbs

I asked our Order Department for the results from all of 2017, and here are the winners. Out of all the herbs we carry, these are the big winners. And why not? They’re some of the all-time tastiest and easy to grow. An herb garden only takes a few feet of space, and it’s always there when you’re ready to cook up a great meal. For a summer full of flavor, take your pick of the five faves:

Read more Top Five Favorite Herbs to Plant

Top Five Flower Seeds

Monday, January 29th, 2018
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

The numbers are in: Customers’ Top Five Favorites

I asked our Order Department for the results, and here they are.  Out of the hundreds of varieties of Flower Seeds we  carry, these are the big winners.  And why not?  They’re some of the all-time most beautiful flowers, most come in a rainbow of colors and are the easiest to grow.  For a summer full of color, take your pick of the three annuals here, and for even more color next year, the two perennials (Lavender and Echinacea.)

Read more Top Five Flower Seeds

A free internet visit to Keukenhof, the famous tulip garden in Holland

Thursday, November 2nd, 2017
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

There’s no other place like it on earth. And whether you’ve heard of the world-famous 79-acre Tulip Garden in Lisse, Holland or not, here’s your chance to have a great look at it all without leaving home. It’s named Keukenhof, (Kew’-ken-hoff) and is visited by more than 800,000 people during its 8-week opening in spring, when the tulips bloom. 7 million bulbs are planted each year.

Read more A free internet visit to Keukenhof, the famous tulip garden in Holland

Celebrity Wildflowers

Tuesday, October 17th, 2017
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

A few famous plants are named for celebrities, but not the celebrities you know.

If you read gardening books like I do, you pick up fascinating stories about plants.  Did you know there was a famous doctor and plant expert in Charleston, SC during the Colonial Period named Dr. Garden?  And did you know that when the Spanish Conquistadors sailed up our California coast after conquering Mexico, they saw the coastal hills clothed in gold, but it wasn’t the gold they were looking for, it was California Poppies!  Here are few celebrity stories about plants. Enjoy.

Read more Celebrity Wildflowers

Plant Lettuce, Kale and Other Cold Crops Right Now!

Monday, October 9th, 2017
Comments - 2 Continue Reading |

Hurry. It’s not too late!

Plant Lettuce, Kale and other cold crops right now, and surprise everybody at Thanksgiving with fresh greens from your garden.

Yes, it’s late, but not too late.  Most leaf lettuce and almost all kales love fall weather.  In fact, they prefer it to spring! If you haven’t put in fall greens, do it now.  We’ll ship your seed quickly.

Read more Plant Lettuce, Kale and Other Cold Crops Right Now!

Now’s the Time: Plant Peonies and Hostas in Fall

Friday, October 6th, 2017
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

Most all perennials are fine for fall planting.  But there are some that almost demand it–—like Peonies and Hostas.

Peonies, the big beautiful flowers that bloom in late spring, have very large roots which take time to develop.  An established peony root looks a lot like a bunch of carrots, except they aren’t orange!  Those big thick roots have plenty of time to grow all winter long when you plant in fall.  If you plant them in spring, they have to struggle to produce roots and flowers all at once.

Read more Now’s the Time: Plant Peonies and Hostas in Fall

Paint your own Rembrandt

Tuesday, October 3rd, 2017
Comments - 1 Continue Reading |

Do you know about “Rembrandt Tulips?”  They’re some of the oldest of them all.  Named after the 16th Century hybrids which were some of the earliest efforts of the Dutch tulip growers, they are the ones that touched off “Tulipomania.”  It was an astonishing financial craze in Holland over the new bulb production industry which was just getting going.

Read more Paint your own Rembrandt

Plan Your Bulb Garden for Months of Bloom

Thursday, September 28th, 2017
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

This is a big deal with bulbs.  Most gardeners just pick the prettiest bulbs and plant them, ignoring their bloom times. That’s one reason the display is often lackluster.  Don’t do that.  Plan your choices based on when they bloom, not just your favorites. Because if you plan, you can have two or even three solid months of bulbs blooming in spring, and don’t worry, there are plenty of beauties from beginning to end.

Read more Plan Your Bulb Garden for Months of Bloom

Remember King Alfred?

Friday, September 22nd, 2017
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

When it comes to daffodils, King Alfred  was king of them all for decades, especially in the USA.  Just ask your mom or grandmother—they’ll remember King Alfred Daffodils, always the one to plant, famous since its introduction early in the 1900’s.

Read more Remember King Alfred?

“Naturalizing” Daffodils

Saturday, September 16th, 2017
Comments - 0 Continue Reading |

“Naturalizing” is simply a big word meaning planting something outside the flower garden.  With daffodils, it’s usually in woodland, since they’ll be happy in any unprepared soil—yes, you can plant them anywhere, sun or shade, and in whatever soil is there (except in wet spots or under dense evergreens).

Read more “Naturalizing” Daffodils

Don’t Forget Hyacinths

Wednesday, September 13th, 2017
Comments - 2 Continue Reading |

Don’t forget Hyacinths, the bulbs with the big perfume, and an alluring history.

The “other” major bulb for spring glory is the Hyacinth. It was made famous by Madame Pompadour, Louis XV’s favorite mistress at Versailles from 1741 until her death. As history tells us, she was a woman who knew how to get men’s attention. From childhood, her mother schooled her to become the King’s mistress, and she did even better than that. After a few years with him, she was serving as the unnamed Prime Minister of France.
Read more Don’t Forget Hyacinths

Plant Wildflower Seeds in Fall

Monday, September 11th, 2017
Comments - 11 Continue Reading |

Don’t argue with Mother Nature.
Plant Wildflower Seeds in fall.

OK, most people plant them in spring, and that’s fine. But think about it. In the wild, when wildflowers “go to seed” after the flowers fade, that’s when the seed is dropped. It simply falls to the ground and waits for the cycle through winter to spring. So the naturally-planted seed is planted in fall, not in spring.

Read more Plant Wildflower Seeds in Fall

Fall Flowers and the No. 1 Gardening Book All About Them

Wednesday, September 6th, 2017
Comments - 2 Continue Reading |

Is your garden (and maybe the gardener) tired when fall rolls around?  Well, it’s historically the most typical thing among gardeners to sort of give up after August.  After all, you’ve already done a great job with your Tulips, Daffodils, Irises, Peonies, and maybe Roses, but that’s all about spring.  Then you labored over your summer flowers like Rudbeckia Goldsturm, Phlox, the Echinaceas, and others, but by late August, they’re about gone too.

Read more Fall Flowers and the No. 1 Gardening Book All About Them