Easter Lilies

For many people, the beautiful trumpet-shaped white flowers of the Easter lily represent the spiritual essence of Easter. Over time, the flowers have come to symbolize purity, virtue, innocence, hope and life.  Throughout history, they have been mentioned--in mythology, literature, poetry and the world of art--with stories and images attesting to the beauty and majesty of their elegant white flowers.

The Easter lily is actually native to the southern islands of Japan, which was the primary producer of the plant until World War II. When the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941, the Japanese source of bulbs was cut off abruptly. Now the majority of lily flower bulbs are grown along a few miles of the Pacific Coast at the Oregon and California border.

Easter lilies actually bloom naturally in the summer throughout most of the United States. They rise from earthy graves as scaly bulbs, and bloom into majestic flowers right before Easter with a little help from some “trickery” by greenhouse growers who use a balance of moist cold and sunlight to get the flowers to bloom in time for the holiday.

Two of the great charms of the Easter lily are its great trumpet-shaped form and its wonderful fragrance. Whether you plan to give the potted plants as a gift or use them to decorate your own home, the following tips will help make your Easter lilies keep on giving.

Select medium to compact plants that are well balanced and proportional in size--not too tall and not too short. The flowers should be in various stages of blooming with only a few blooms open and the rest still puffy buds or tightly closed.

As the flowers mature, remove the yellow anthers before the pollen starts to shed. This gives the flowers longer life and prevents the pollen from staining the white flowers. When a mature flower starts to wither after its prime, cut it off to make the plant more attractive while you still enjoy the fresher, newly opened blooms.

Easter lilies thrive near a window in bright, indirect natural daylight, but avoid glaring, direct sunlight. They prefer moderately moist, well-drained soil. If the pot is wrapped in decorative foil, be careful not to let the plant sit in trapped, standing water. After blooming, you can transplant your lily outside for many more years of lasting enjoyment. For great tips on planting outdoors, see below.

We have a great selection of Easter lilies and invite you to stop by and pick some up today. Whether given as a gift or enjoyed in your own home, the Easter lily serves as a beautiful reminder that Easter is a time for rejoicing and celebrating.

For some tips on planting Easter lilies, click here.

Do you like having bushels of flowers decorating your home? If you enjoy filling vases with colorful combinations of blooms, you can do so almost year-round by planting annuals that lend themselves well to cutting. The great thing about annuals is that they keep producing more flowers after each pruning.

For big, bold, rounded blooms from spring through fall, consider annual carnations, calendula, dahlia, marigold, and zinnia. For longer plumes, use annual phlox, celosia, larkspur, snapdragon, and stock. To add texture to your vases, use cornflower, cosmos, or statice. Last, make sure to grow some sweet peas. They make great filler and smell wonderful, too.

Most annuals will last 3-5 days in a vase if properly handled. The key is to have your vase ready and filled with water. Bring your flowers in immediately after cutting and re-cut under cold running water. Adding a teaspoon of sugar or a few tablespoons of Sprite or 7-Up to the water will also help the flowers to last longer.

An annuals cutting garden allows you to enjoy beautiful blooms indoors and outdoors--all season long.

Azaleas are easy to love. Their amazing flowers put on an incredible display of color every spring like clockwork, helping to herald the coming growing season. Whether in a formal or a woodland garden setting, azaleas make a great addition to any garden. When these plants are in full bloom, it's almost impossible to see the foliage underneath.

For centuries, azaleas were grown only in Japanese gardens. But then native species were discovered in North America and eventually types from both countries found their way to Europe. Deciduous species (Exbury hybrids) are primarily from North America, while evergreen species (Belgian, Southern Indica, as well as Girard and Satsuki hybrids) are from Japan and Europe.

Azaleas are versatile and can be used in almost any spot in the garden provided they have good drainage. While Belgian, Girard and Kurume hybrids prefer partial shade in the afternoon, Exbury hybrids, Southern Indicas and Satsuki hybrids can be grown in full sun in all but the hottest areas. Azalea flowers come in almost every color shade imaginable, and the bushes range from dwarf shade varieties of 2-3', to the sun lovers that can grow from 4-8' high and wide.

Homeowners in mild climates can select almost any species of azalea for their garden. But in colder areas, Exbury hybrids and some of the newer winter-hardy hybrids should be used. They also reward gardeners with good fall colors in shades of orange and red. Many have sweetly-scented blooms. If you are short on space in your landscape, consider planting azaleas in containers to add another dimension to your garden.

Azaleas grow well in evenly moist and slightly acidic soil. They perform best when the soil is amended with peat moss or an acid planting mix like Gardner & Bloome Acid Planting Mix before planting. They also like to be fed every few months with cottonseed meal or an acid plant food such as Dr. Earth Organic 4 Azalea and Camellia Fertilizer. We recommend feeding from the end of the blooming season through early fall.

Azaleas don't require much pruning if the proper varieties are selected for the desired mature size. If occasional pruning is needed to control size or wayward branches, prune from one month after the blooming season has ended through August. Pruning any later can remove the new blooms that are starting to set for the following spring--these can start as early as September.

Whether pruned formally into shapes or left natural to blend in with the local surroundings, azaleas make a wonderful addition to any garden, with their extraordinary offering of beautiful spring flowers.

Perhaps one of the most versatile plants available for home gardens is the fragrant rosemary. A plant that dates back to ancient Roman times, rosemary remains as popular as ever due to its intensely fragrant foliage and bright, vivid blue flowers.

The foliage can add flavor and spice to cooking as well as aroma to potpourri and beauty to flower arrangements.

Rosemary plants are evergreen, and are not only attractive to look at but also easy to grow. They tolerate poor soil conditions, are very drought and heat tolerant once established and require only occasional feeding to keep them happy. They prefer full sun but will tolerate partial shade locations as well.

Rosemary are generally divided into two different plant types--upright and trailing.

Upright varieties have rigid upright branches with aromatic needle-like leaves. Most upright varieties can grow up to 4-6 feet high and half as wide. They can be placed as individual specimens or used to create beautiful low to medium-sized hedges.

Trailing varieties create a beautiful flow of fragrant foliage that forms an attractive carpet that can cascade from a container or rock wall. Trailing varieties also look great in rock gardens. These ground cover types generally grow 1-2 feet tall and can spread as much as 6-8 feet wide, if left untrimmed.

Rosemary plants are also are excellent for slopes and useful in erosion control.

Consider adding some rosemary plants to your garden. You'll love the fragrant foliage, as well as the butterflies and hummingbirds the beautiful blue flowers attract.

If you haven't already done so, make sure to protect your fruit trees from pests and disease by applying a dormant spray to them. Most fruit trees should be sprayed at least twice--once in January when they are fully dormant and once again at bud swell.

It's helpful to combine a dormant oil spray with a fungicide like Monterey Liquid Copper at the same time so you only have to spray once. This important spraying will help prevent fungus diseases such as dead bud and peach-leaf curl, in addition to knocking out any overwintering insects or insect eggs.

Since different varieties of fruit trees bloom at different times, it's important to make sure you apply your spray at the proper time for maximum effectiveness. Our staff of garden experts will be happy to guide and advise you with all your spray applications.

How often should I feed my lawn?

Answer:
We recommend feeding lawns every two months during the growing season. You can start off by applying a lawn food in late winter to early spring that contains a pre-emergent herbicide to help prevent crabgrass and other weeds from germinating.

After that, switch to a complete lawn food like Dr. Earth Super Lawn Food.

If summer weeds become a problem, apply a weed and feed fertilizer like Lilly Miller Weed & Feed.

Make sure to give your lawn a final feeding in fall, before it goes dormant, to keep it green through winter. If a lawn goes into the winter looking yellow, you won't be able to green it up until temperatures warm up again.