Gardening with Doug Archives - Page 33 of 35 - The Great Big Greenhouse Gardening Blog

TALKING GARDENING with DOUG – Gardening Safely in the Heat

July 11, 2018 by Meadows Farms

AVOIDING HEAT STRESS INJURIES IN JULY The dog days of summer have arrived. As gardeners, we need to spend time outside tending to our landscape needs. But, this past week was brutally hot and humid. Thank goodness for this past weekend with us having much-needed rainfall and lower temperatures but more heat is on the … Read more

TALKING GARDENING with DOUG – JULY GARDENING CHORES

July 5, 2018 by Meadows Farms

HERE ARE SOME GARDEN CHORES TO DO IN JULY Before I get into the list of garden chores for July, here we are in the first few days of July and I want to talk about being too wet. Go figure. In the past, I would be writing and talking to customers about being water-wise … Read more

TALKING GARDENING with DOUG – JUNE IS PERENNIAL GARDENING MONTH

June 28, 2018 by Meadows Farms

THE 2018 PERENNIAL PLANT OF THE YEAR. Each year the PPA (Perennial Plant Association) selects a perennial to highlight for the year. This year the Association chose ALLIUM ‘MILLENIUM’ Allium ‘Millenium’ is referred to as the “butterfly magnet” perennial. Other pollinators will flock to this plant. Butterflies and bees will thank you for adding ‘Millenium’ … Read more

TALKING GARDENING with DOUG – NATIONAL POLLINATOR WEEK

June 20, 2018 by Meadows Farms

JUNE 18 – 24 HAS BEEN DESIGNATED AS THE WEEK TO CELEBRATE OUR POLLINATORS. In my blog last week I mentioned that June is PERENNIAL PLANTING MONTH. Now, let’s take June to a higher level and think about what perennials are blooming right now, what perennials are considered native plants, and what perennials are considered … Read more

TALKING GARDENING with DOUG – JUNE IS PERENNIAL GARDENING MONTH

June 14, 2018 by Meadows Farms

PPA (PERENNIAL PLANT ASSOCIATION) HAS DESIGNATED JUNE AS PERENNIAL GARDENING MONTH AND FOR GOOD REASONS.

June has been tagged as Perennial Gardening Month by PPA. The main reason behind selecting June is that June is a great month for seeing so many beautiful perennials in bloom. Secondly, June is a great month for planting perennials.

Planting perennials this year, in June, couldn’t be better. We have had plenty of rainfall this year that is helping to encourage vigorous growth on perennial plants. Also, there is more publicity about planting native plants and planting pollinator plants than ever before. Matter of fact, Virginia has designated the week of June 24 as POLLINATOR WEEK.

Mark your calendar for Sunday, June 24. The Great Big Greenhouse and VDACS (Virginia Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services) have come together to host a pollinator event here on the 24^th from noon to 4:00. Local beekeepers will have observation hives. There will be honey tasting. You can learn how to become a beekeeper, and how to plant a pollinator’s garden using specific blooming shrubs and perennials, and more.

We have made shopping for native perennials and pollinator plants easy for you this year. We have a designated table that we keep full with beautiful perennials. It has been very popular, which puts a smile on my face seeing how many customers are becoming more supportive of gardening with native plants and being so consciences of supporting our pollinators.

Here is just a quick, short list of assorted perennials that you can plant this month and help support our pollinators:

Asclepias tuberosa (Butterfly Weed)

Baptisia

Eupatorium

Coreopsis

Eutrochium (Joe-pye-weed)

Monarda (Beebalm)

Lobellia (Cardinal flower)

Rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan)

Sisyrinchium (Blue-eyed Grass)

We bring in new stock of perennials weekly. You need to come see our selection. It is a beautiful sight seeing all the color this time of year.

Happy Gardening!!!!

TALKING GARDENING with DOUG – JUNE GARDENING TASKS

June 8, 2018 by Meadows Farms

HERE ARE SOME TIMELY GARDENING TASKS THAT NEED TO BE DONE IN JUNE. We are entering June on a wet note. We had record rainfall for the month of May. Our rivers, streams, and reservoirs are full and overflowing, which is a good thing as we enter the hot summer months. A cool April and … Read more

Have You Had Enough Petrichor This Past Week?

May 23, 2018 by Meadows Farms

By the way, PETRICHOR is defined as “THE SMELL OF EARTH AFTER RAIN”. To a gardener, rain is generally a welcome blessing. Rainfall and plants are usually a match made in heaven. We sure have had our share of rainfall, and petrichor, this past week in the Richmond area. Going into this latest rainfall, we were about … Read more

Hanging Basket Care

May 16, 2018 by Meadows Farms

Over the past month, The Great Big Greenhouse and Meadows Farms Nursery have sold thousands of hanging baskets. Blooming hanging baskets are a staple for adding color to decks, patios, porches, and balconies. Although they are an instant way to add color to our outdoor space, they do require a bit of care to stay … Read more

Mother’s Day = Flowers

May 9, 2018 by Meadows Farms

Spring is finally here to stay and this is such a beautiful time of year for The Great Big Greenhouse when it comes to flowering shrubs, perennials, annuals, and hanging baskets. Our selection is almost overwhelming with all this beauty. And, what a perfect time to have so much color especially with Mother’s Day this … Read more

Things To Do In May

May 2, 2018 by Meadows Farms

I don’t want to jinx us but I think spring is finally here to stay. There are a lot of gardening activities going on right now by everyone. It seems everyone is trying to do catch up all at the same time. Our extended forecast looks very promising with some good temperatures and rain in … Read more

Pin It on Pinterest