Garden Center Blog

ladies and gents, meet the beetles

It’s June and by the end of the month, many a gardeners’ most hated day of the entire summer will be here - the annual emergence of the dreaded Japanese Beetles. We’re hoping that this year’s cooler spring means that our Plant Information Desk will not be surprised by...

mid summer dreams

Early summer is an especially nice time to start a garden journal. Your what-to-do-in-the-garden-today lists have shortened and everything is just so achingly beautiful. Jot down plants that you’ve seen and are interested in adding to your own garden, annual container...

the seasons go round and round

Although June often ushers in a gentler garden, it looks like the kaleidoscopic colors of May might linger with us a bit longer. My peonies are just beginning to bloom and the hardy geraniums are not even yet showing flower buds. Spring temperatures see-sawed up and...

jumpin’ jack flash

Are they fireflies, glowworms or lightning bugs? It doesn’t really matter what you call them because one of our favorite sights of summer are those yellow-green orbs flashing against the backdrop of the garden at dusk. Fireflies are not flies. Nor are lightning bugs,...

why grow your own veggies?

It seems as though the pace of setting up for spring is faster every year, but this season is especially frenzied. The yoyo temperatures had all of us itching to start gardening in March, even though those chilly nights held back a lot of our plant deliveries and...

gardeners start your engines!

May is many a gardener’s favorite month, and this year even more so! The seesaw spring had spring flowers developing in fits and starts, but the warm temps late last week pushed many plants hard, all at once. My drive into work each morning is a little reminiscent of...

patience is a virtue

Gardeners are not the kind of folks who enjoy being cooped up in the house all winter. When the weather finally breaks, and plants begin to emerge from dormancy, it’s understandable that we are eager to greet every new shoot and admire every swelling bud. But, we can...

no april showers bring…

April of 2025 wasn’t particularly shower-ful, but the flowers are bursting into bloom despite the dry weather. And Monday’s unsettled weather has us scrambling to get plants under cover and protected from the storm that never was. I don’t believe that there is any...

some beauty is fleeting

Every spring, gardeners hold their collective breath as we wait for the first green shoots pushing through the warming soil. To be a perennial gardener in this climate requires great faith in your choices. It seems miraculous that fragile perennial plants and very...

we’ve got high hopes

The days with warmer temperatures these last few weeks have given hope that spring would be early this year. And then they take a nosedive. Clearly Old Man Winter is unwilling to let go! But I’ve always maintained that gardeners are the most optimistic folks on earth...
will you be our valentine?

will you be our valentine?

written by Lisa Briggs
Have you wondered why red roses are the go-to flower for Valentine’s Day giving? Or why white calla lilies are in so many traditional bridal bouquets? The answers to these questions lie in the language of flowers.

read more
more than a gramma’s flower

more than a gramma’s flower

written by Lisa Briggs
Even though it’s barely started, you may find yourself getting a bit sick of winter. The damp, gray days contribute to cases of cabin fever and longing for the sight of some swelling buds.

read more
stop and smell the violets

stop and smell the violets

written by Lisa Briggs
During the holidays, when we need stress relief the most, we turn to gardening again and again, not only because it’s our passion, but because it is also our favorite form of therapy.

read more
Skip to content