A Little Time Can Result in a Bounty of Beauty

The second blog in our Guest Garden Writer series comes from Sheryl Babin, a writer and gardener from Texas, gardening in zone 9. We hope you enjoy her post and the photos she took as much as we did!

My first experience with butterfly gardening happened by accident and came as a complete surprise. Living in a typical Houston suburb home and being low on outdoor space, one of my first gardening purchases was a Meyer lemon tree. I placed it into a container and set it out on our front porch. Just a few weeks afterwards, I noticed a green and white blob on one of the leaves. It looked suspiciously like bird poop.

I was slightly grossed out, but before I plucked it off I noticed quite a few of the leaves had been eaten. Suspecting it might have been a caterpillar, I turned to my trusty search engine and typed in “caterpillar that looks like bird poo.” I chuckled at myself for such a ridiculous entry, but lo and behold, the first search result came up with a picture of a Giant Swallowtail butterfly caterpillar. I admit I squealed with delight.

After a few years, we were fortunate enough to purchase a new home with more outdoor space and gardening options.  The first thing we did was tear out shrubbery in the existing back landscape bed. I was determined to have a butterfly garden and immersed myself in research about the type of plants needed to make a habitat. Being in Zone 9, I planted Salvia, Butterfly Weed, Lady Margaret Passionflowers, Lantanas and a Firecracker Bush.

Caterpillars came quickly, and I steeled myself against the inevitable destruction of my plants. The hardest thing about butterfly gardening is watching those tiny creatures decimate your garden! However, it’s completely worth it in the end when you have butterflies swooping in and out of the landscaping.

In the fall, after our first gratifying year of butterfly gardening, I began to contemplate a redesign. However, as I poked around outside, I realized the garden was still teeming with caterpillars I had never seen before. I researched again and found I was the recipient of hundreds of Gulf Fritillary caterpillars, all intent on destroying my Passionflowers. Two days after the discovery, I walked outside and so much of the vine had been eaten you could see right through it to the other side of the garden!

Last year, multiple types of butterflies visited, including Giant and King Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, Monarchs and another type I suspect might have been the Cloudless Sulphur. This year we did a complete redesign and dropped in a Meyer Lemon tree, Lavender, Verbena, Passionflowers, Mealycup Sage, Salvia, Creeping Rosemary and Georgia Blue Speedwell.

I tend to plant for butterflies outside of just one space and have multiple baskets around my property full of Impatiens, Petunias, Bacopa and Calibrachoa. In addition, the front landscaping is full of Duranta, Salvia, Lobelia and Verbena, all plants known to attract butterflies. With just a little research and a small amount of time and effort, I can look out almost any window and be rewarded with a show of butterflies flitting around enjoying the feast I’ve provided.

To learn more about Sheryl, please visit her website and follow her on twitter at @hungrybiblio – Happy Gardening!

April 5, 2013 · Garden Writer · Comments Closed
Tags: Butterfly Garden, Butterfly Weed, Guest Garden Writer Series, lavender, Lobelia, Passionflower, Salvia · Posted in: Customer Stories, Flower Bulbs, Gardening in Fall, Gardening in Spring and Summer, How-Tos, Perennials

I’m Ready to Get my Hands in the Dirt!

Our first blog in our Guest Garden Writer Series comes from Connie Etter, an American Meadows customer from Indiana, gardening in Zone 6. Connie not only loves to garden but also is a professional photographer and we are thrilled to accompany her blog with her own gorgeous photos.

With spring here and my summer flower seeds separated by gardens, it’s time to put the flower catalogs down for a bit and get out to see what needs to be cleaned up. I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get my hands in the dirt! I can’t think of anything better than listening to the birds chirping and toads croaking while preparing my gardens for a new year.

My spring clean up consists of cutting down the remaining seeding plants that were left for the birds, removing last year’s annuals and the remainder of leaves from last year’s plants. If the leaves are left too long they can hurt new plant growth with mold.

After clearing out the unwanted items, I top my gardens with Starbucks coffee grounds. Coffee grounds add organic matter and small amounts of nutrients to the soil. Plus, I love the smell. My last task is to add a fresh layer of mulch around my plants to protect them and retain moisture. Early spring is the easiest time to add mulch because most plants have not started to stick their heads up.

Now I must be patient for a few more weeks before getting my annuals in the ground and planting my seeds. My wise Grandmother always said "Don’t plant your flowers until after Mother’s Day". I think Grandma knew winter’s icy talons may grab the tender sprouts. While there are certainly some advantages to being the early bird – getting the worm for instance, sometimes there are also substantial risks.

With my spring cleanup done its time to get my summer flower seeds in the ground and of course look to American Meadows for a few new plants and seeds for my beds and containers.

Seeing my spring gardens come to life is a rewarding time. It is also the time I start planning for fall bulb planting by paying attention to where my spring bulbs are blooming and where I have open spaces.

To see more of Connie’s gardening and photography, please visit her website or facebook page. Stay tuned for more blogs in our Guest Garden Writer Series, coming from gardeners all across the country!

April 3, 2013 · Garden Writer · Comments Closed
Tags: Guest Garden Writer Series, mulch, Spring Preparation · Posted in: Flower Bulbs, Gardening in Spring and Summer, How-Tos, Perennials, Wildflowers

Planting Tips from our Gardening Team

Here at American Meadows we all share a passion for gardening and represent varying types of gardeners, ranging from the Master Gardener planting a vegetable garden with crops lasting all year, to the beginner planting bulbs on her balcony garden. We love being able to share our favorite gardening tips and tricks with our customers every day!

"Gladiolus bulbs are easy to grow and don’t take up much space, so I like to tuck them between other plants. Try staggering your planting times; Begin planting in mid-spring, continuing every couple of weeks until mid summer, and you’ll have plenty of gorgeous flowers all season long.

Gladiolus make great cut flowers and when I cut them, I make sure to do so in the early morning or at night, using a sharp knife and a bucket of warm water. As soon as I make a diagonal cut I place them in the warm water. If you choose to cut blooms that only have a few flowers open, the rest will open in days to come!"

"When working in the garden, it’s often a challenge remembering where everything is planted. Keeping a garden journal will help you remember the location of your plants and (more importantly) the bulbs.

You will want to be aware of the mature heights and spreads of all your plants. You don’t want to bury a delicate Geranium Havana Blues behind a large-growing Hydrangea Pistachio. This will just create more work and possibly tears in the long run. When planting, I lay the plants, bulbs or seeds on the ground and take photos with my cell phone. I then email them to myself with the date and any relevant comments – Instant garden journal!

Stay tuned for more tips from our gardening team here at American Meadows. Happy Gardening!

 

March 29, 2013 · Amanda Shepard · Comments Closed
Tags: Garden Journal, Gardening tips, gladiolus, how-to, Hydrangea · Posted in: Flower Bulbs, Gardening in Spring and Summer, How-Tos, Perennials

Going Native!

In recent years we’ve been finding more and more wildflower enthusiasts searching for or creating a wildflower garden with a “native” flare.  We’ve expanded our offering to now include over 50 Individual Species and Native Wildflower Mixtures for all parts of the United States.

There are a number of beneficial attributes that native plants bring to any garden or natural setting.  They are usually much hardier, needing less care and treatment than more “higher maintenance” varieties.   They also naturalize and are more in balance with what Mother Nature offersfor growing conditions.  Lesswater, less maintenance and easy to grow – Sounds good to me!

Many insects, birds and other animals need these native plants for survival.  Native Asters and Milkweeds are critical to the Monarch Butterfly life cycle. According to Wikipedia, about 90% of insects depend on native plants for survival!

Native plants also play a very important role in Biodiversity.  Keeping this balance is critical to all life forms; from birds, to insects and humans. Native plants play a critical part in keeping this balance in check.

Establishing a native wildflower area in your garden or landscape is also much easier than most realize.  The key is patience!  Most may take time to establish from seed but once they’ve matured, they will be there for years to come.  With all the different colors and textures and the positive impact Native’s play in the environment, now is a great time to add some Native Plants to your garden this year!

Happy Gardening!

March 27, 2013 · Mike Lizotte · Comments Closed
Tags: Butterfly Weed, Eastern Red Columbine, Low Maintenance, Native Plants, Native Wildflowers, New England Aster · Posted in: Gardening in Fall, Gardening in Spring and Summer, How-Tos, Perennials, Wildflowers

Wildflower Planting Tips from our Gardening Team

Here at American Meadows we all share a passion for gardening and represent varying types of gardeners, ranging from the Master Gardener planting a vegetable garden with crops lasting all year, to the beginner planting bulbs on her balcony garden. We love being able to share our favorite gardening tips and tricks with our customers every day!

 

"Prep is critical! With over 20 years of experience talking with gardeners across the country, the most common question I continue to hear from customers is, "Can’t I just sprinkle the seeds on the ground?"

The simple answer is, "No!" The most important factor in wildflower success, second only to using top-quality seed, is proper ground preparation. Whether you use a tiller for larger areas, or a steel rake to rough up a smaller patch, the more time you spend preparing the soil, the better the results!"

 

"This past fall was my first season planting wildflowers. I live in a city and have a small garden, so I simply added our All Annual Mixture on top of my bulb beds to create additional interest and color when the bulbs were done blooming.

I am ecstatic to be greeted with a rainbow of color throughout the spring and summer months!"

Stay tuned for more tips from our gardening team here at American Meadows. Happy Gardening!

 

March 22, 2013 · Amanda Shepard · Comments Closed
Tags: Employee Tips, Wildflower meadow how-to, wildflower planting, wildflowers · Posted in: Gardening in Fall, Gardening in Spring and Summer, How-Tos, Wildflowers

Spring is in the Air!

I’m always excited this time of year as a few warm winter days remind me that spring is not far away!  We recently participated in our local flower show which was a great success and lots of fun.

This is also the time of year I start hearing from my “regulars”; customers I’ve been working with for years on various wildflower projects.Some go back 20 years or more
like my friends at WV Operation Wildflower.

I recently received an e-mail from a very good customer in Switzerland and they sent over a few pictures of their plantings that I wanted to share with you.  

Someday I’ll take a trip over there and deliver their seeds in person! It’s the year of the wildflower so there’s never been a better time to plant some wildflowers this season!

Happy Gardening!