DO YOU HAVE AZALEAS AND CAMELLIA SHRUBS? This past week I have had two different guests come into the garden center with samples of gall on their azaleas. Not to make light of this disease but I love using the tagline “you have some gall” with our guests. We both laugh. On a serious note, … Read more
MY NATIVE PLANT PICK FOR MAY My AMERICAN BEAUTIES NATIVE PLANT pick for May is … ITEA virginica ‘HENRY’S GARNET’. You may know this plant by its common name – VIRGINIA SWEETSPIRE. Are you familiar with the American Beauties Native Plants? We have been carrying this line of plants for a few years now. Each … Read more
NATIONAL ARBOR DAY IS THIS FRIDAY, APRIL 29TH National Arbor Day is a day set aside to celebrate the value that trees add to our lives and to promote tree planting and care. Now, for this tag line, “JUST DON’T STAND THERE, PLANT SOMETHING”, I want to give a shout-out and credit to a colleague, … Read more
GROWING YOUR OWN FRESH KITCHEN HERBS IS A VERY POPULAR PLANT TREND Now that we are toward the end of April, outdoor gardening is in full demand. And, growing fresh herbs is huge here in 2022. Did you know that many of our popular herbs are mentioned in the Bible? People who lived in Jesus’ … Read more
HOW GARDENING CAN HELP WITH ALZHEIMER’S All of us know this horrible disease. All of us know that there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s. Many of us have experienced loved ones and friends who have suffered from the effects of Alzheimer’s. The founder of Meadows Farms, Bill Meadows, who was the father of the … Read more
CAN A TROPICAL LANDSCAPE BE DONE HERE IN CENTRAL VIRGINIA? Can we create a tropical oasis in this area? A quick answer to this question is yes! You will need to put on your creative cap because there are a few steps that you can do now knowing that you will add to this landscape … Read more
NATIVE PLANTS ARE ESSENTIAL In a nutshell, native plants are essential if bees are to survive and thrive. Make sense? It does to me and it does to many others, thank goodness. Matter of fact, adding natives to the landscape has become very, very popular over the last few years. And, The Great Big Greenhouse … Read more
PROPER MULCHING TECHNIQUES AND PROBLEMS CAUSED BY OVER MULCHING Now is the great time to be mulching existing garden beds. Here is a quick list of what proper mulching will provide: Mulch is considered the first line of defense against weed growth. New mulch adds a fresh, clean look to all garden beds Mulch helps … Read more
VEGETABLE GARDENING TO ANOTHER LEVEL How many of you are aware of the PLANT A ROW FOR THE HUNGRY (PAR) program? I didn’t know this existed until recently. I believe wholeheartedly in its concept. As a matter of fact, I mentioned this idea of donating our extra produce to our food pantries in past blogs. … Read more
FEBRUARY IS HOUSEPLANT MONTH AT THE GREAT BIG GREENHOUSE In order to support FEBRUARY IS HOUSEPLANT MONTH I decided to step out of my comfort zone with my weekly blog and highlight a very popular tropical plant—the Prayer Plant. The Prayer plant is a member of the Marantaceae family, which also includes the beautifully colored … Read more
