53 million homes will plant a garden this year. Learn the basics of planting a vegetable garden and do it right the first time. Most gardens produce 1/2 pound of fresh produce per square foot; at $2.00 a pound that's some green savings--in fact, the average home owner can save $500 dollars or more each year on produce alone! Registration is limited. Please RSVP by May 14th

Understanding Your Yard will help you learn what type of landscape you already have, and how to best work with it. We'll cover identifying your soil type, and various soil amendments for it, using fertilizers, root stimulators and soil acidifiers as well. We'll also look at sun and shade and where we find it, and the effects of elements like winter wind on your landscape.

The Basics of Landscape Design will help you identify the best plant options for your landscape. We'll look at various levels of the landscape -- from lower planting, such as groundcovers, perennials and low shrubs to midrange levels, such as shrubs and tall perennials, and lower canopy small trees (to bigger ones!). We'll help you learn how to get those plants in correctly, and also share some awesome plants we recommend!

Registration for both classes is limited. Please RSVP by May 28th.

This class is for a parent/guardian and child who want to learn, and make, a garden together for a fun summer of work together=results! We will talk about easy ways to grow colorful healthy foods that kids can't help but want to try! We will think about red tomatoes, orange carrots, yellow summer squash, green cucumbers, purple eggplant and more! Children must be accompanied by an adult ($10.00 fee includes take home materials and lunch to follow). Registration is limited. Please RSVP by May 28th.

A flower garden, dangling like a colorful jeweled earring from the eave of your home. Yes, a hanging floral bouquet, the hanging basket--filled full to the brim with flowers and plants from the season, whether that is spring, summer or fall.

A design concept is important for you to consider when building your own hanging basket. You will need to choose a style or theme. For example, perhaps you want all of the same kinds of plants or flowers, or you might choose to have a single color scheme, while others might choose complementary colors or contrasting colors. A hanging basket with all flowers can be fun, and a mixed basket with flowers and foliage plants can be even more interesting.

A hanging basket makes a wonderful statement when it contains both upright and trailing plants. Make sure, however, that the plants that you choose for the upright feature will remain within the scale of the container that you have chosen.

Did we mention containers? There are many choices of containers, too. Wire baskets lined with moss, plastic pots with built in hangers, pots hanging with woven ropes--your ultimate choice will depend on the look that you are creating.

So, you've decided upon your theme, have an idea of the plants that you want and have chosen the container. Excellent. Next you need to prepare your potting mix. Select a high quality potting mix and mix in a controlled-release fertilizer. Also, remember that moisture retention is frequently a problem with hanging baskets (and all containers, for that matter), so mix in a soil polymer that will hold on to the moisture between waterings.

If you have chosen to create a succulent hanging basket, you will need cactus mix, but probably not the slow-release fertilizer or the moisture polymer.

Planting is the next step. Fill your container about 2/3 to 3/4 full with the potting mixture. Carefully remove your new plants from their nursery containers and place them in the container. Don't hesitate to move them around until you are thrilled with the arrangement. Keep in mind which ones are upright growers, and place them in the center. Trailing flowers/plants should be near the edge, of course.

Once the plants are arranged to your satisfaction, fill in between plants with your potting mixture and water well. Remember that, even if you did use the moisture retention polymer, containers dry out far more quickly than plants in the ground. You will need to water several times a week or even more frequently in hot weather.

What's next, you wonder? Watching your own creative design grow to maturity.

Take your time to come into the garden center and look through our selection of flowering and foliage plants. We'll be delighted to help you become a great hanging floral bouquet designer!

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations we know of were ancient Greek spring celebrations in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods; the ancient Romans also had another holiday, Matronalia, that was dedicated to Juno. But those were in honor of one particular mother. England's "Mothering Sunday," begun in the 1600's, is closer to what we think of as "Mother's Day." Celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent, "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

In 1907, Anna Jarvis started a drive to establish a national Mother's Day. In 1907 she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother's church in West Virginia--one for each mother in the congregation. In 1908, her mother's church held the first Mother's Day service, on May 10th (the second Sunday in May). That same day a special service was held at the Wanamaker Auditorium in Philadelphia, where Anna was from, which could seat no more than a third of the 15,000 people who showed up.

By 1909, churches in 46 states, Canada and Mexico were holding Mother's Day services. In the meantime, Ms. Jarvis had quit her job to campaign full time. She managed to get the World's Sunday School Association to help; they were a big factor in convincing legislators to support the idea. In 1912, West Virginia was the first state to designate an official Mother's Day. By 1914, the campaign had convinced Congress, which passed a joint resolution. President Woodrow Wilson signed the resolution, establishing an official national Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.

Many countries of the world now have their own Mother's Day at different times of the year, but Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, and Turkey join the US in celebrating Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May. Britain still celebrates Mothering Day on the fourth Sunday of Lent--but they now call it Mother's Day. By any name, and at any date, it's a special day to honor a special person.

Having trouble thinking of a gift? Why not do something a little different for Mother's Day? Instead of giving her a bouquet of roses, plant her a rose garden! If she already has a rose garden--add to it! If she lives in an apartment, consider a potted rose plant--many roses will do quite well in containers (ask us for suggestions).

Why give one bouquet that will soon fade away, when you can give years of pleasure from living roses instead?

Click to print this article.

Many homeowners revel in the glory of their garden in spring, only to be disappointed when plants start to dry out and look stressed in the heat of summer. The natural reaction is to pour more water into the garden to "moisturize" the plants. This in turn can lead to root rot and/or the continuous lowering of soil temperature to the point that plants aren't stimulated to grow--or just plain die (overwatering is one of the main causes of plant death). But these problems can be greatly reduced or, in many cases, prevented by proper mulching.

The goal of mulching is not only to reduce summer heat stress on plants, but to create an environment for plants that will be conducive to good growth. Mulch is to a garden what a roof is to your home. We couldn't heat or air condition the home without the roof. The same seasonal temperature variance occurs in your garden. A 3" layer of mulch not only retains moisture in the soil, but also maintains a cooler temperature in the summer and a warmer temperature in the winter.

Mulching also brings many other benefits to the garden. It gives the garden a tidier appearance, and greatly improves the growing conditions for plants. Mulch helps suppress weeds and helps to conserve moisture. It creates an environment where earthworms can thrive and enhance the soil's condition. Nature provides this for us in natural settings, and when we apply mulch to our garden, we mimic what is naturally done on the forest floor.

The strategy is to stimulate the growth of good soil bacteria which in turn digest plant foods that the plant will recognize as nutrients and absorb. By keeping moisture in the soil you will attract earthworms and beneficial microbes and bacteria. The earthworms loosen up the soil easing compaction, and the beneficial microbes help digest nutrients more efficiently making them more readily available to the plants. Maintaining "moist" soil as opposed to "wet" soil keeps the temperature of the soil at a more consistent level for optimum growth. Mulch also provides a blanket to the soil that protects against the crusting effect that happens as a result of watering or rain. Organic mulches decompose and add humus to the soil.

The method is to spread a 2-3" inch layer of a composted mulch over the top of the native soil before the heat of summer hits. There are many mulching materials available. Color, particle size, and nutrient exchange are considerations when choosing your material. While decorative barks are attractive, they will drag nitrogen from your soil. If you wish to use a decorative bark, we recommend putting it over a composted mulch to balance out nutrient loss.

When properly mulched, the plants in your garden will not only survive the stress of summer, but will thrive in it. A good rule of thumb for mulch is to apply it at least 1-1/2 inches and up to 3 inches in depth. Mulch should never be placed right up against the stem of the plant or trunk of the tree.

In addition to all of the cultural advantages created by mulching, you will also give your garden a more "finished" look, adding to its overall beauty.