12 Essentials for 2012
3 Jan
1. Sungold indeterminate tomatoes
2. Ornamental millet
3. King Tut grass
4. Dinnerplate dahlias
5. Amaranth
6. Rainbow Swiss chard
7. Lemon basil
8. Cobra garden tool for weeding.
It will make you more successful with weeding, digging and planting!
9. Elephant ear to try: King of the Nile, West Indian kale
10. Edible flowers.
Plant some nasturiums or calendulas, (pot marigolds) or Scarlet runner bean flowers. Then add to your salads. These are super-fun for kids to eat.
11. Build and plant a raised bed for your kids, a garden within your garden.
Kids love to be involved and dig in the dirt. Build their self-esteem and foster independence as they create and grow and harvest. This is something Mel’s Green Garden can do for you, too!
12. CHEMICAL FREE for 2012.
Buy grass seed with the money you would have spent on chemicals. Plant and grow instead of spraying and killing.
Decorating your home for Marla
5 Dec
I’ve been getting so many great compliments from friends, neighbors and readers about the seasonal pots on my front porch. I loved putting them together, but I’m smitten with the reaction. So I want to share them! And hopefully, I can contribute to a great cause along the way.
My husband’s sister was recently diagnosed with Gliomatosis Cerebri. A hideous form of brain cancer that is rare and difficult to treat. For my sister-in-law, the symptoms didn’t manifest themselves until very late, and she and her family are being robbed of a great life. She is one of the most wonderful and caring people I know, and I feel helpless watching her struggle with the treatment.
So I’ve decided to give away the pots to the highest bidder and donate the funds to a local organization, HEADRUSH, a non-profit that is helping to fund brain tumor research. The proceeds from the auction directly benefit the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center in the form of a Brain Tumor Research Professorship Award.
I hope I can use my love for gardening and planting to make some kind of difference. No matter how small. I hope you can use this opportunity to not only decorate your home with some great looking pots, but also contribute to a great cause. Interested? Here’s how to get started… I’ve posted the pots on EBay.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170742281417
Here are some details about the pots…
- The pots themselves are lifers that you’ll enjoy for years to come. They are sturdy, black aluminum.
- The pots are 17 inches tall and 17 inches square at the top with a tapered base.
- As decorated, the pots are about five feet tall and 34 inches wide.
- Each pot comes with its own set of LED twig lights. Literally, lights in the shape of twigs.
Photo by Amy Windsor
Your garden begins in the fall
10 SepI love this time of year… a time for renewal, new beginnings and starting over, even for your garden.
Yes, fall is a great time to renew your garden. The best ways? Planting new bulbs for spring and summer bloom, weeding, dividing your plants, and adding a thick layer of mulch or compost. (In fact, just adding the mulch will improve its look.) Here’s a to-do list.
1. Plant new bulbs
My favorite source for bulbs these days is Van Engelen. I have never seen larger, healthier bulbs, ever. I still love Jung’s for bulbs, as well as Johannsen’s or White Flower Farm. My must-have bulbs include alliums of all varieties (but make sure to include some Globemaster alliums) and daffodils, as hungry squirrels and chipmunks do not like these two. And no garden would be complete without lilies, including Stargazer lilies and Casa Blanca lilies.
2. Weed
Cleaning up all the weeds is an important task in the fall so they do not set seed and waste your time next season. “One year of seedin’ is 7 years of weedin.’”
3. Divide your mature perennials
This is the best time of the year to do this for several reasons. The ground is still warm but not too hot, so the plants can really flourish in their new home. Your garden doesn’t always look the best after you make a division, both in the old and the newly planted spots, so by dividing in the fall, the plants will soon be covered with snow. Then come spring, they will look better than ever and as if they were always there.
4. Got soil?
High-quality soil is the best gift you can give your garden. You can just add several inches of compost or mulch each spring and fall, without burying your plants.This provides winter protection and continued nutrition for your plants.
So weed, plant your bulbs, and divide your existing perennials (these can all be done simultaneously). Then, last but not least, shovel on the mulch or compost. Your garden will be totally renewed!
Growing flowers. But delivering smiles
4 AugI’ve been having a ton of fun with my weekly flower share this summer. It’s great putting together the bouquets each week, but the best part is seeing the smiles when people come to pick them up. Seeing those smiles is incredibly gratifying.
I want to give others that same gratification. It’s been a bumper crop in the yard this year so I’ve decided to open up the bouquet opportunities a bit more. I want you all to see those smiles when you deliver a bouquet to someone special.
I’m now taking orders for individual bouquets and floral arrangements. I can do any size for birthdays, anniversaries or the little moments where you just want to make someone smile. With enough warning, I’m happy to help you add multiple arrangements for dinner parties or outdoor entertainment.
Shoot me an email at mel@melsgreengarden.com and let me know how I can help you deliver smiles.
Top 10 garden stores in Madison, Wisconsin
8 Apr1. Seasonal Splendors Greenhouse/Winterland Nursery (map)
Scarlett Runner Bean from Seasonal Splendor growing vertically to hide Mel's Green Garden's Rain Barrels
Seasonal Splendors has the best customer service. There is always someone with a smile who will help you out. They offer a wide assortment of healthy annuals and perennials. I learned about my favorite elephant ear–King of the Nile, West Indian Kale–there last year and bought fishnet-stocking coleus as well as scarlet runner bean. They also sell fabulous pots and will take the time to find just the right plants for them. Winterland Nursery is right next door and has any kind of shrub or tree you might be looking for. I found nice-sized, healthy Annabelle hydrangeas there last year.
2. Johannsen’s Greenhouse (map)
Johannsen’s is the best store for both the beginner and advanced gardener. I would highly recommend going there if you are a new gardener, as they do an excellent job keeping perennials separate from annuals and tropicals. In other stores this can be confusing, and when you are first starting out, you might think you are buying a perennial when you are really buying a tropical. For example, last spring I saw tropicals clearly labeled as perennials in a big-box store. I knew those tropicals would not be hardy in our zone, but a novice gardener might buy them and then think they have a brown thumb and give up. Johannsen’s also has very fair prices, and my favorite part is they always help you out to your car. Always! So they are my favorite place to go with kids!
3. Jung Garden Center (map)
In my opinion, Jung’s has the best selection of winter greens. You can get roping of all kinds, wreaths, and every kind of evergreen to stuff planters and window boxes. We always buy our Christmas tree at Jung’s. I also love Jung’s for their grass seed. They sell a high-quality grass seed at a reasonable price, and it is not treated with chemicals. They are a great store if you are looking for annuals, perennials, trees or shrubs.
4. Farmer’s Market, Hilldale Shopping Center
I love going to the Farmers’ Market. My kids love, love, love going to the Farmers’ market too. I found the best celosia last year at the Farmers’ Market and will buy a couple of flats of it this year. I always buy my old-fashioned climbing petunias from Almost There Farm at the Hilldale Farmers’ Market. Almost There Farm has loads of healthy annuals and perennials for sale at the Farmers’ Market. If you haven’t been to the Hilldale Farmers’ Market recently, check it out. It gets Most Improved. Last year they had music and popcorn, and it’s very kid-friendly, especially on a Wednesday morning.
5. The Bruce Company (map)
The Bruce Company is an excellent store. It is so dependable. They always have what I am looking for, even late in the season. So if you happen to see something you simply must have later in the season and you want to try it out, chances are The Bruce Company will still have it. I bought fabulous artichokes there last year. The Bruce Company is also great if you have any tough horticulture questions. They are great even over the phone. They also carry my favorite seeds: Seed Savers. So if you have procrastinated and not ordered your seeds, pop in to The Bruce Company and you can start your seeds today.
6. Klein’s Floral & Greenhouses (map)
I tried Klein’s Floral & Greenhouses for the first time last summer, after hearing their presentation at Garden Expo. I had a hard time the summer before finding King Tut grass, and they promised they would be well-stocked. They were well-stocked not only with King Tut grass, but with everything else I wanted and needed. I bought one of my biggest 2010 garden hits there: ornamental millet. I can’t wait to shop there again in 2011.
King Tut Grass in San Francisco
7. Garden To Be (www.gardentobe.com)
I had the opportunity to purchase plants from Garden To Be last spring. Everything I grew from them was so successful: the best indeterminate tomatoes and 5 different types of basil (the lemon basil was a family favorite). I can’t wait to place my order this year. They have the best edibles. Basil, thyme and tomatoes, oh my! The best way to find them is by email.
8. Felly’s Flowers, (map)
Felly’s has the best dinner-plate dahlias up and growing strong. They, too, have a great assortment of everything: edibles, shrubs, roses, annuals, perennials.
9. Whole Foods (map)
Whole Foods sells very healthy plants, and everything I buy from them does exceptionally well. They have an excellent selection of edibles, both seeds and starter plants. While you might pay a little more here, Whole Foods proves the saying You get what you pay for.
10. Brennan’s Market (map)
Brennan’s is a great place to find healthy edibles and tropicals. I have bought purple heart there as well as cordyline and Persian shield. They always have one of the earliest sales in summer.
Persian Shield from Brennans
Honorable Mention: The Flower Factory (map)
I finally made it to the Flower Factory last summer with one of my favorite gardening pals. What a place! This is a great day-trip to take with a friend. They have an absolutely outstanding inventory. It seems like they have every color and type of every species. For example, if you are looking for a peony, you will find every color in the rainbow there.
