1. Continue to plant melons.
2. Plant tropical and subtropical plants.
3. Plant bougainvilleas.
4. Plant perennial morning glories.
5. Purchase fuchsias.
6. Continue to purchase epiphyllums.
7. Plant seeds of heat-loving annuals.
8. Use bedding plants for quick color.
9. Continue to plant summer vegetables.
10. Plant zoysia grass.
11. Plant exotic vegetables.
12. Purchase, plant and transplant succulents--including cacti and euphorbias.
13. Purchase alstroemerias throughout summer while they are in bloom.
14. Plant papayas and bananas.
15. Plant and transplant palms.
16. Continue to pick and deadhead roses.
17. Pinch back chrysanthemums to make them bushy.
18. Divide and repot cymbidiums that have outgrown their containers.
19. Remove berries (seed pods) from fuchsias after flowers fall.
20. Prune epiphyllums.
21. Thin out deciduous fruit trees after June drop.
22. Give marguerites a "butch" haircut.
23. Cut back gamolepis and euryops.
24. Deadhead and pick summer flowers to keep them going.
25. Mow cool-season lawns longer.
26. Mow warm-season grasses shorter.
27. Clip runners off strawberries.
28. Prune climbing roses that bloom once a year in spring, but wait until flowers fade.
29. Divide English primroses after bloom or wait until September.
30. Continue to prune and train espaliers.
31. Continue to remove spent bloom stems from daylilies and to propagate the types that make proliferates.
32. Deadhead alstroemerias often by pulling off the stalks with a sharp tug.
33. Look for yellow leaves and green veins indicating chlorosis in citrus, gardenias, azaleas, and others; treat it with chelated iron.
34. Feed citrus and avocado trees.
35. Feed bamboo with a slow-release fertilizer.
36. Feed water lilies.
37. Fertilize cymbidiums with high nitrogen for growth.
38. Give camellias their second feeding for the year.
39. Feed container-grown annuals and perennials with a complete fertilizer.
40. Side-dress vegetable rows if you didn't do it last month.
41. Give strawberries a shot of 0-10-10 to prolong the harvest.
42. If peppers look yellow despite adequate nitrogen, spray them with Epsom salts.

Coneflowers (Echinacea species) are a native American wildflower that have found their way into our gardens because of their stunning beauty and hardiness. Originally only available in shades of purple and lavender, coneflowers now come in a wide range of colors. Thanks to the efforts of breeders across the country, they can now be found in shades of pink, white, purple, yellow, orange and salmon. They come in a range of sizes as well, from dwarf coneflowers that grow only 18" high and wide to varieties that grow 4-5' high and half as wide.

The 3-5" diameter flowers on these robust deciduous perennials are arranged above sturdy, elongated, upright stems that are perfect for cutting and last in a vase from 5-7 days. The flowers have somewhat weeping petals that surround a coned center (thus, the name) and are produced from summer into fall.

Coneflowers prefer full sun locations and regular watering in well-drained soil that keeps them moist, but not wet. They require a couple of feedings per year of a good flower food to keep them healthy and strong.

Coneflowers make an excellent addition to any perennial garden and also look great in border or container plantings. They are a perfect selection for butterfly gardens. We invite you to stop by and bring some home today!

Splish Splash, we're having a blast!

Splashes of color,
a dash of green,
plenty of "spikies,"
and foliage with sheen.
Trailing and lovely,
billowing and white,
large leaf or curly leaf
All a delight!

Yes, we're talking about floral and foliage beauty in patio or deck containers. Anything goes; don't hold back. Don't be afraid to plant with annuals, perennials, grasses, vegetables, herbs or succulents. Your plant choices will seem endless.

Container gardening offers something for everyone. Think of it as a work of art and yourself as the artist. You might want simplicity--a single plant, the same color as the chosen pot. Or you may want to find foliage plants (no flowers, please!) of many different sizes, textures and colors to create an arrangement that reminds one of a modern art painting.

Can you envision this: Pennisetum setaceum 'Rubrum', a fountain grass, in the center; various coleus in contrasting colors of burgundy and chartreuse surrounding the grass; a couple of begonia 'Escargot' tucked in for color contrast and foliage texture; and finally, black Ipomoea (Potato Vine) and Lysimachia (Creeping Jenny) 'Goldilocks' trailing over the sides!

An impressionist look can also be accomplished by blending flowering annuals and perennials, all close in both color and flower size. Or, try a mixture of complementary colored flowers. Imagine this: In the center of the pot towers Queen Anne's Lace, surrounded by white, pink, and purple nemesia. Draping off the sides of the pot, sweet alyssum in white, pink, and purple. All soft colors, sweet fragrances and delicate blooms!

Try mixing ornamental grasses together. Combine soft green stipa or a rich golden brown carex with short tufts of silvery blue Festuca glauca. What a wonderful color combination. Stipa is a wispy grass and will give you "motion in the garden." Don't be afraid to mix your favorite ornamental grass with complementary perennials or annuals.

Rather go with vegetables and herbs? You will not sacrifice beauty; you will explode with it! Purple sage and 'Bergarrten' culinary sage (Salvia Officinalis), basil (many varieties), chives, lettuce (red leaf would be fun), sweet peppers with tiny bright red orange fruits, and French tarragon (it has a bright yellow flower) all surrounding rosemary. Clipping herbs or lettuce for the evening cookout is just a step onto your patio. This combination might be so beautiful you'll hate to snip off any foliage. But don't worry about that; these herbs and veggies will just keep on growing!

Don't forget our planting advice. We encourage you to select a high quality potting mix and to mix in a controlled release fertilizer. Also, remember that moisture retention is frequently a problem with containers, so mix in a soil polymer that will hold on to the moisture between watering.

Just a few further tips as you plant your own piece of living art:

1. Consider grouping containers together, varying the heights of plants and containers
2. Make one container the main focal point
3. Create some coherence to each grouping in color scheme and plant forms
4. If the background is "busy" and colorful, choose like colors and lots of foliage
5. If the background is light, rich flower and foliage colors will look fabulous

Summertime is the time for outdoor living! Now is the best time to decorate your outdoor living spaces with floral and foliage works of art. We look forward to watching you create your masterpieces. Hurry in. We'll meet you in the gardens.

There is just not much good one can say about thrips. They attack ornamental landscape plants, spread viruses, and simply make the foliage ugly and your plant sicker than it was. Many pests "move in" and make themselves at home when the health of a plant is poor. Thrips are no exception. In fact, they are most likely to attack a plant that is too dried out--especially if the foliage is dirty.

Thrips are microscopic and look like elongated black flies. They may be tiny, but the damage that they cause is not. And that damage is quite characteristic, and easily identified. The foliage becomes silvery or bronze and stippled, because thrips are both chewers and suckers. There can be a blackish deposit from their presence, and often the plant will develop sooty mold as well.

The natural predators to thrips include parasitoid wasps, soldier beetles, and green lacewings and their larvae. Spraying with insecticidal soaps can also help. If their presence is minimal, cut, remove, and destroy the infested foliage.

In severe cases, other insecticides can be used to treat an infected plant. Talk to one of our salespeople to determine not only the right product but also the right time in the season for treatment.

Remember--during hot, dry weather, one of your best protections is to make sure your plants have the appropriate amount of water and fertilizers to keep them healthy.

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Now...let’s take it up a notch.

If your dad is a patio barbeque Daddy-o, plant a big patio container or two with a few veggies that he can cook up on the grill later this year: peppers, tomatoes, onions, and maybe some cilantro or basil.

Or how about that shade tree that he needs in the backyard? You know...the tree that will shade him while he is in dreamland in his hammock or chaise lounge? Come into the garden center and we’ll help you pick the best one for him. Bring Dad along, he might have a special one in mind already. You can plant it together with him and watch it grow over the years, while you are growing too.

Most of all make sure all the dads are given "Royal Treatment." Fix him breakfast. Have a Father's Day BBQ or picnic in your garden. Do things that will let him know he's "King" for the day.

And you know what else is fun? Getting Dads to tell you about himself growing up. Here are a few things you can ask him about: his favorite color, the best movie he ever saw, his most memorable moment with you, his best friend, his hobby, favorite food, animals he likes, or even his most embarrassing moment and happiest moment.

• Cube London broil – 2” or bigger-use enough meat to feed all guests!

• Season the meat with olive oil, minced garlic, and Old Bay seasoning (seafood, poultry, meats, and salads); salt and pepper to taste.

•Skewer all meat together. Cook time is 15-20 minutes for medium rare.

• Cut up large pieces of sweet onion or red onion, yellow pepper, red pepper, orange pepper, thick slices of zucchini and yellow squash, whole baby bella mushrooms, and whole grape tomatoes.

• Season the veggies with olive oil, Old Bay seasoning (seafood, poultry, meats and salads), and minced garlic. Add a couple of shakes of red pepper flakes.

• Skewer all veggies together.

• Cook for about 15-20 minutes, along with the meat.