Garden Center Blog

keep calm and garden on

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...

garden moon rising

I’ve gardened in some pretty eclectic styles-a suburban arboretum, a restored native woodland and currently, a Japanesque landscape. It can feel limiting to garden with such restraint, but it’s a great way to learn how to add my own style to a such a quiet vibe. This...

vegging out

It seems as though the pace of setting up for spring is faster every year, but this season is especially frenzied. The yo-yo 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...

we’re digging the season

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...

the rhythms of spring

All of April’s severe weather added up to a pretty wet month. The month’s total precipitation totaled 7 ¼-inches! Average is 3 ¾. With the exception of a small corner of northwest Wisconsin, the state is no longer showing any drought conditions. All of the gardens...

better late than never

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...

spring wake-up call

This spring’s really warm days gave us a taste of the summer to come, but the unseasonably high temps should moderate for the next few days to something more seasonal. I’ve always maintained that gardeners are the most optimistic folks on earth and, no matter what the...

brief but brilliant

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...

seeds of success

There are great reasons to grow your vegetables from seed because you have are so many more choices when you’re buying seeds. Let’s start with taste and depth of selection. Ordinarily, the Garden Center has 50 or so varieties of tomato seedlings on order. If you look...

lettuce beware!

My whiskers twich when you’re not watching- My ears flick like weather vanes. My eyes grow round and rounder, I hippety-hop along the rows. Sometimes I nibble cabbage. Sometimes I nap amid the squash. When the sun shines, my coat turns to rust. But when the moon...
delayed gratification

delayed gratification

written by Lisa Briggs
Are you confused when it comes to fall-planted bulbs? Lots of gardeners are. What are bulbs, and how, and when should they be planted are questions that we often hear at the Plant Desk in late summer and early autumn.

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if at first you don’t succeed

if at first you don’t succeed

written by Lisa Briggs
So many of you planted fruits and vegetables again this spring and we hope that you’ve been happy with the results. After all, there are few things more delicious then a tomato eaten right off the vine.

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vive la difference!

vive la difference!

written by Lisa Briggs
What a difference a wet growing season makes! Weather factors can make gardening in our area mighty interesting. But the Autumnal Equinox is just 30 days away and the first frost is usually a few weeks later. It’s time to think about preparing for the cooler weather to come.

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add some color to your summer

add some color to your summer

written by Lisa Briggs
Seesawing temperatures are one clue that summer is on the wane. Long-range weather forecasters predict that we can expect more moderate temperatures this weekend through the end of the month,

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late summer planting

late summer planting

written by Lisa Briggs
As summer wanes and autumn approaches, birds congregate in the trees and on overhead wires. The air is sweetly scented with ripening fruit. The light changes, becoming more golden. Everything seems ready to burst. Not in the tender, life-is-beginning way of spring, but in a more poignant manner that hints life in the garden will soon fade.

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in living color!

in living color!

written by Lisa Briggs
When you’re at the Garden Center choosing perennials, annuals and flowering shrubs for your yard, there are probably many factors that affect your decision.

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who let the dogs out?

who let the dogs out?

written by Lisa Briggs
The brightest of the stars in the Big Dog constellation is Sirius, the Dog Star. In the mid-summer, it can be seen rising and setting with the sun.

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