It’s a great time to start transforming your warm season annual combo pots into fall combo pots!  Whether you are re-working existing containers or starting fresh, here are some tips from the professionals at The Good Earth:

Fall combo pots provide bright color all fall.  Consider plant options such as crotons, ornamental peppers, ornamental cabbage/ kale, rudbeckia, celosia and pansies.  And if you aren’t familiar with Cool Wave pansies, check them out.  Cool Waves trail over container edges for cascading color all winter long!

Keep your crotons!  With their colorful orange, red and yellow leaves, crotons fairly shout fall.  But they aren’t winter hardy so often times, people let them freeze.  There is another way!  Pop them out of your combo pots, pot them up and bring them inside when temperatures start dipping under 50 degrees at night.  They grow well as houseplants in areas with bright, indirect light.

Use evergreen plant shrubs or perennials, pansies, violas, panolas or Cool Wave pansies to fill in where crotons and other non-winter hardy plant materials have died back to give you color all winter long.

Use drainage rock, Good Earth brand Professional Growing Mix, and Good Earth brand Jump Start at planting.  For containers with flowering annuals, use Ferti-Lome Premium Bedding Plant Food.

Don’t forget to water your pots during the winter; plants do not like to freeze dry.  The is is especially important to remember for pots placed in covered areas.

Not sure where to start?  Bring us pictures and measurements of your pots and we will help you.  Also, don’t forget, our Potting Pavilion is open.  Bring your pots and plant them up here!  For more information about the Potting Pavilion, click here.

The post Fall Combination Planters appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Most houseplants are in nondescript grower pots when purchased.  Nothing wrong with that, per se… but given the huge selection of stylish pots available; we suggest upgrading!  Keep reading for tips on properly potting up houseplants.

Why Potting and Repotting Houseplants is Important

So far this week, we have talked about watering and feeding houseplants.  Those posts referenced other houseplant growing tips on our blog.  Armed with all this helpful information, we know you are going to be successful growing houseplants.  And with that success, comes bigger, happier plants!  And those plants are eventually going to need to be potted up into larger planters so the roots can continue to grow.  Plus, part of the joy of adopting a houseplant is giving it a fun container that compliments both the plant and your space.  We thought a post about potting and repotting houseplants was in order!

What Does ‘Pot Bound’ Mean?

Some plants respond well to being pot bound.  Pot bound is the state in which plant roots have filled most of the container they are in and begin circling the outer edges of soil space, and are unable to further expand.

Some houseplants, such as Peace Lilies, Philodendrons and Cast Iron Plants, actually do better, as in bloom more or grow better, when they are pot bound.  When they are repotted into a larger container, the plant switches focus from bloom production to root and leaf production.  Eventually, all houseplants, including these, will need to be repotted as they outgrow the container they are in.  Just keep in mind that plants which enjoy being pot bound will go through a transition period.

Other plants show stress symptoms, such as yellow leaves and loss of vigor when they are pot bound.  Examples of plants that don’t enjoy being pot bound are Chinese Evergreen, Ficus, and Ferns.  In addition to checking for insects and watering stress when houseplants look a bit off, gently pull the plant out of the container and see if it is pot bound.

When you can’t seem to keep a houseplant watered, water just runs out of the drainage hole without being absorbed, the plant could be pot bound.  In this situation, the roots have taken over the container and there isn’t enough soil to hold water for the roots.

Choosing a Container Size

Start by considering the size of the existing container.  Most of our houseplants are individually tagged and this tag lists what the plant is and the size container it is presently in; such as 4″ Silver Satin Pothos (pictured above; isn’t she pretty?).  Exceptions include plants that come in an assortment or the hundreds of little terrarium plants.  If you come across a houseplant you like but the plant name isn’t on the tag, just ask us, we can give you all the details.

Back to that size listed on the tag; the container size.  For houseplants and tropicals, they are almost always in even numbered pot sizes, such as 2, 4, 6, 8 inch and so on.  This is the width of the present container.  This is helpful to know when you are choosing your pot because in general, you only want to go up two inches in container size at a time.

Here’s why; when a tiny little 2″ succulent gets planted into a 8″ pot, the roots are suddenly surrounded by a lot more soil.  This soil can hold a lot more water.  The tiny plant roots can only absorb a small amount of water and the rest of the water just hangs out in the soil.  The extra water near the roots keeps the roots from getting the oxygen they need… and this is how root rot sets in.

More Container Size Tips

This is a general rule of thumb and just like with all general rules thumbs, there are exceptions.  For example, a wide, shallow planter typically called a low bowl, works well for many little succulents planted together.  The shallow nature of the pot means that volume of soil that can hold water is much less.  In the low bowl planter shown above, you would just water close to where the succulents are planted and not all over the surrounding soil. Established houseplants in larger pots, such as 12″ or so, can be bumped up in pot size by four inches at a time, so long as the roots are well established, and the new container has very good drainage.

Choosing a Container

You found the perfect pot and it’s the right size!  Now what?  Check for a drainage hole.  This is the hole in the bottom of the container that allows excess water to be released.  Pots with drainage holes can be directly potted into.  Pots without a drainage hole are called cachepots.  These are decorative cover pots for indoor plants; avoid planting directly in these.  We have a picture of one of our favorite cachepots below; and just look at how adorable that Birds Nest Sansevieria looks in it!

Don’t turn away from a wonderful cachepot, just be aware that there is an extra step in your watering.  This sansevieria is still in the green grower pot it came in and that pot is being covered by the cachepot.  To water, just remove the plant, water it in a sink or place it can drain.  Let it drain well and then replace it into the cachepot.

One of the best features of a cachepot is the versatility of where they can be used.  Because they don’t release water, they can be placed on water sensitive surfaces such as wood.  Just make sure the cachepot isn’t a porous one; those can release a bit of moisture.  But a ceramic one like this will be just fine!

How to Pot and Repot Houseplants

To unpot a plant, turn the plant upside down, supporting the plant by putting your fingers over the soil surface.  With your other hand, gently squeeze the plastic container to loosen the roots and soil from pot walls.  With the plant still inverted, slowly pull the pot away from the plant, ideally, without disturbing the roots.  If the roots are pot bound, loosen them before planting in new container.  If the roots are not as developed, as shown below, try to leave them undisturbed.

Choose a quality potting mix such as the Ferti-Lome Ultimate Potting Mix or our Good Earth brand Professional Growing Mix.  These soil-less mixes consist of sphagnum moss, perlite and other helpful elements.  For specialty plants such as orchids, use orchid growing media.  For succulents, you can use either our Good Earth soil or Cactus Soil.

When potting up houseplant, we suggest putting enough potting soil in the new container so that when resting on this soil, the existing rootball surface is about 1/2 to one inch below the new container rim.  This gives water a place to settle as it is absorbed into the soil.  Sprinkle in some Osmocote.  Check out the Feeding Your Houseplants post for more feeding info; link is below.  Fill in around the sides of the root ball and gently press to eliminate air pockets.  Air pockets can allow plant roots to dry out.

Cover the Soil

Top with a decorate covering if desired.  Visit Happy Roots Potting Pavilion during your next visit here; we have pea gravel and river rock available as free soil coverings when potting up your houseplants here.  In our Gift Shop, we have many more options available for purchase such as white sand, unusual decorative stones and a variety of mosses. These coverings finish off the pot nicely, giving a professional look!

Water and Feed Your New Houseplant

Don’t forget to water and continue to feed your new plant!  These are whole other stories; here are links to helpful posts on these topics.

Handy Watering Tools for Houseplants

Feeding Your Houseplants

When to Pot and Repot Houseplants

A good time of year to bump up a houseplant into a larger size pot is spring.  Although houseplants do not go dormant, they do grow more with longer days and warmer temperatures.  Giving them more room to grow at the beginning of the warm season as opposed to the cooler season when they will be growing less, is a good idea.  But if your plants are showing signs of being pot bound, repot or bump them up sooner than later.

We mentioned it a bit above but want to remind you to check your houseplants over well when potting or repotting them.  Trim off old or struggling foliage.  Look for insect or disease issues and treat them.

The post Potting Up Houseplants appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Thriller

Thrillers are taller plants that add vertical drama to a container planting.  They can be flowering plants, foliage plants or even ornamental grasses.  For containers that will be viewed from all angles, place the thriller in the middle.  For containers that will only be viewed from the front, place the thriller in the back.

Filler

Next, it’s time to add your filler plants.  Fillers are rounded or mounded plants that are placed around or in front of the thrillers.  Place the fillers mid-way between the planter edges and the thriller to leave room for the spiller.  Some great filler options include Diamond Frost euphorbia, petunias, calibrachoa, and many more!

Spiller

Add the spillers next!  Plant spillers around the edges of the container; all the way around if it will be viewed from all angles or around the front if it will only be viewed from the front.  Spiller options include sweet potato vine, ivy, bacopa, vinca vine and that is just to name a few!  Water the container well right after planting.

Done!

The Thriller in this container is Angelface Blue angelonia, Filler is Supertunia Bordeaux petunia, and Spiller is Illusion Emerald Lace sweet potato vine!  Other key tips include using Good Earth brand potting soil (yes, it really is better than the more famous yellow and green bags of soil), use Good Earth brand Jump Start at planting, check soil moisture often and fertilize with BR-61 for amazing blooms!  The annuals mentioned and the images are from Proven Winners; a great line of successful annuals that we carry here at The Good Earth!  Check out our Pinterest board called ‘Combination Planters’ for more ideas and read our container gardening blog post for more planting tips!

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Spring 2019 update

This year, the gardens are planted with two different varieties of Lantana, Bandana Lemon Zest, and Bandana Cherry Sunrise, all planted in the tops of the planters, and then Rio Series Raspberry Lemonade, Orange and Yellow Purslane on the sides and near the bottom of the planters, the Silver Falls Dichondra.  We also planted a few Breathless White Euphorbias in the top of the planters. We typically hang the planters mid-April or so, after planting them in March.

We get tons of comments and questions about our Hanging Gardens over the Gift Shop entrance every year!  These welded baskets were custom designed for us and are very heavy duty.  The baskets are lined each year with fresh burlap.  A plant design is created and x’s are cut in the sides of the coco-moss liner in strategically placed spots, which are then planted.  Here is a rundown of the plants and maintenance of these sun-loving beauties.   As we all know, Central Arkansas summers are hot with sporadic rainfall, although this summer has been a welcome exception! We typically hang the planters mid-April or so, after planting them in March. This gives them extra warmth in order to encourage root establishment.

All of the plants (listed below) were chosen for both their heat and drought tolerance.

Why we love these annuals:

In addition to being heat and drought tolerant, these plants are all self cleaning… no deadheading, no trimming, and no sidewalk cleaning necessary.  Bottom line, we love these plants!  They have given us all season blooms with basically no care at all.  As far as watering goes, this year drip irrigation was added and these get watered via the system three times a week for 20 minutes. We also fertilize twice a month with water soluble fertilizer such as BR61.  Maybe the most commonly asked question is, ‘What is this stuff that looks like Spanish Moss?’  Find the answer below!

1.  Euphorbia ‘Diamond Frost’ or ‘Diamond Snow’

There are both perennial and annual Euphorbia plants; Diamond Frost is an annual variety, great for adding a fine texture and light, airy feel to planters.  It works great as a filler or in this case as the top layer of a mixed planter.  There are two Diamond Frost plants in the top of each planter.

2. Lantana

We mix it up each year and alternate the lantana color to complement the purslane colors of the year.  This is another one chosen for its’ hardiness, drought tolerance and ability to thrive and bloom, regardless of how hot it gets.

3. Purslane

Talk about amazing!  Purslane plants are true givers, perfect for areas that don’t get much water.  The blooms are only open during the day and close up at night, which is a neat little characteristic!

4. Dichondra ‘Silver Falls’

It’s most intriguing plant for most of our visitors!  You have most likely seen (and overlooked) this plant for years.  We carry it in small 4″ pots and it doesn’t look like much when it is young… just some silver leaves in a pot with runners growing over into other pots.  BUT once you use it, you will fall in love with it!  It’s a wonderful spiller for planters as you can see!  These are the long spanish moss looking runners that grow from the bottom of each basket; there are 9 on each side of each basket. Yes, these are the very long silver curtain-like plants that wave you in from off Cantrell Road with their 6 foot long waves!

Look for Good Earth Hanging Garden Samplers this spring!  These hanging baskets have lantana, purslane (several colors available) and Silver Falls dichondra in them.  It’s a perfect opportunity to enjoy a bit the Good Earth Hanging Gardens at your home all season long!

We have all of these plants in stock right now, so it’s a great time to create your own tough, summer heat lovin’ hanging basket or pick up one of our Good Earth samplers! Once we are out, we are out for the season…

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What is a pansy?

Pansies are the most commonly planted fall and winter annual in our area and for very good reason!  Pansies bloom from fall into next spring, all the way through time to plant warm season annuals.  They offer a large variety of color choices and many have huge blooms!  Deadheading will help promote further blooming but isn’t completely necessary.  You will need to feed them though; we suggest using Ferti-Lome Premium Bedding Plant Food at planting as well as Good Earth brand Jump Start to promote rooting.  Additional feedings with water soluble BR-61 (which is like steroids for flowers!) is also recommended.  This can be done during warm spells for best utilization by the plants. For more information on planting, including soil prep, visit this blog post.

As mentioned above, pansies offer a wide variety of color choices.  Blotch pansies, which are also referred to as ‘with face’ are pansies that feature a dark area near the middle of the plant. The blotch color varies depending on variety and may be a darker tone of the same color, or as on light colored pansies, it can be a dark maroon or brown color as shown in the first image.  Blotch or no blotch, which to go with?  It’s all a matter of personal choice, both are beautiful!  Keep in mind that all these varieties we mention move fast, and there is a different selection each week.  Don’t wait to plant or you could miss out on your favorite colors!

Pansy

Viola

Pansies typically have large blooms, which are very showy!  However, sometimes the large blooms get weighed down with rain and winter weather.  Depending on how long they are wet, they don’t always stand back up.  Violas on the other hand have much smaller blooms that don’t get weighed down during rain, the result being flowers that stay upright.  Violas are also known for more heat and cold tolerance, which can mean a better spring display.  Although there are less color options in violas, there are some stunning ones out there.

Viola

Panola

One more great option to mention is Panola!  Panolas have the best of both worlds, durability of the viola and the larger bloom size of a pansy. Plus there are more color options available in panola than there are with violas.

Panola

Nature Series Pansy

Let’s talk about the Nature series of pansies; wow, are they cool!  They are new for us this year, and seem to be more compact than a viola, with blooms standing up taller.  The bloom size is closer to a viola than the bloom size of panolas but the color choices are lovely!  Take a look at these:

Nature Series Pansy

We can’t finish this conversation without mentioning one of our favorites; the Cool Wave trailing pansy.  The bloom size is smaller but the trailing/ spreading growth habit of these plants makes it perfect for pots.  Our staff knows from personal experience how awesome these are; we are talking gorgeous color, trailing out of containers with a length as long as eighteen inches!  These also create mounds of color in landscape beds; the spreading habit means you can plant them much further apart.

Cool Wave Pansy

Don’t forget to add accents such as Dusty Miller and ornamental cabbage and kale.

Dusty Miller

And here is the last tip from us (for this post anyway!).  Use quality potting soil in pots and prepare the planting area in landscape beds.  You can get the best plant, plant them correctly and in the best spot, fertilize, water and mulch them, and STILL not have a great looking if the proper soil isn’t chosen or the bed areas haven’t been prepped.  Take a minute to read the blog post referenced in the first paragraph and pick up some Good Earth brand Professional Growing Mix.  It’s what we use for a reason… it’s the best.  We look forward to seeing you this fall!  Keep in mind that all these varieties we mentioned move fast, and there is a different selection each week.  Don’t wait to plant or you could miss out on your favorite colors!

The post Pansy versus Viola… what’s the difference anyway? appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

1  Plant now and enjoy easy care, blooming color throughout fall, winter and early spring.

2  There are great color options to choose from; a little something for everyone!  Blue, white, red, yellow, purple, orange… and of course, there are all the mixes and different wing colors!

3  Pansies have large, eye-catch blooms that don’t require deadheading (although deadheading will lead to more profuse flowering).

4  Violas are the smaller bloomed cousins of pansies.  Despite the more diminutive bloom size, they often provide a more dramatic display than pansies, especially in the spring.

5  Panolas offer the best of both worlds, with a bloom size in between that of a pansy and a viola.  The Nature series are hybrids offering the best of both worlds too!

6  Pansies, violas and panolas work well both planted in the ground and in containers.

7  Fertilizing pansies (and cousins) is as easy as quick applications of Ferti-Lome Premium Bedding Plant Food, which provides time released fertilizer for up to four weeks.  During warm spells, you can also use our favorite water soluble fertilizer BR-61.

8  These cool season annuals pair well with spring bulbs such as tulips and narcissus.

9  There are sizes available for every budget; 6 pack flats contain 36 individual plants, and flats of 4″ pots contain 18 plants.  While the 4″pots are more expensive, the plants are more mature and have a more established root system.  Either way, plant 6-10 inches apart, center to center, and offset the lines in a triangular planting pattern.  In containers, pansies can be planted right next to each other.  Not sure how many you need?  Visit our online spacing calculator or spacing charts here at the store.

10  Last but certainly not least, there are trailing pansies (pictured above)! They are perfect for cool season, blooming color that spills over edges of container plantings and hanging baskets!

Bonus 11th reason… they are BEAUTIFUL and such a cheerful sight all winter and into the early spring.  For more information on how to get your landscape beds ready for seasonal color plantings, read this blog post.  And of course, come see us at The Good Earth Garden Center if you have any questions!

The post Top 10 Reasons to Plant Pansies appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Fall Planting

Yup, it’s finally that magical time of year, when pumpkins reign and jeans are back in circulation! It’s a magical time for plants too; while the soil temps remain warm, roots keep growing.  This means that fall is actually a perfect time to plant trees, shrubs and groundcover.  The extra root development this season means a stronger more, more established plant next spring.  Bottom line, planting in the fall really gives the plants a jump start.  And speaking of a jump start, we have a Good Earth product by that name that gives the plant an even better root boost so be sure to use that at planting.

Cool Season Color

Let’s welcome the season of cool crisp, sunshine-filled days…by planting! Prep your color areas by removing the summer annuals, and breaking up the existing soil. Breaking up the soil adds oxygen to the soil, increases water percolation, and increases nutrient levels, all of which will help the roots of your fall plantings grow and get established quickly. Next, it’s time to do some soil amending. For perennial and annual color areas, we suggest using what we professionals use; Good Earth Brand Professional Growing Mix. Its’ mix of organic matter, perlite, pH adjusters and Actino root protection provides an optimum growing environment.

Fall annual choices include Pansies, Violas, Cabbage, Kale, Ornamental Mustard and much more. Mums are a Fall favorite; choose healthy plants with dark green foliage and plenty of buds. Don’t forget to give your planters a fall make-over too; Cool Wave pansies provide wonderful, trailing color all season! Use Good Earth Brand Jump Start to give the roots a boost and don’t forget to feed with Ferti-Lome Premium Bedding Plant Food throughout the season.

Fall Color

Bright red, yellow and orange leaves brighten any landscape! Is your landscape full of vibrant colors? Well, it can be just by adding some tried and true shrubs that have great fall color such as Burning Bush, Oakleaf Hydrangeas, Virginia Sweetspire, and Blueberries. There are also many trees that provide fall foliage color such as Maples, Zelkovas, Redbuds and Dogwoods.

What’s that purple blooming grass that has Nicole smiling so big?  One of our staff favorites, Purple Muhly Grass! Most ornamental grasses produce plumes in the fall, and give excellent texture contrast.

Ornamental grasses are a great landscaping option for this time of year. They add texture and fullness to any area! Gregg talks in more detail about these plants in the video above. Check it out!

Pumpkins

Nothing says Autumn quite like a pumpkin, so stock up! Pie pumpkins and Fairy Tale pumpkins are some of the best for baking. Pair different kinds of pumpkins and gourds to create stacks for entryways and mantle decor. Clean out a pumpkin, insert a glass vase and make an eye-catching centerpiece, or add a pot and make a little indoor succulent garden! There are so many kinds of pumpkins and gourds and each one adds its own flair to your fall decor.

And if you considering waiting to pick up your carving pumpkins, we encourage you to come by sooner than later.  Our odd weather this spring and late summer has created a bit of a pumpkin shortage, and this weeks’ order will likely be our last…

The post Arkansas…Goodbye Summer, Hello Fall! appeared first on The Good Earth Garden Center.

Keep reading to learn how to grow vegetables in pots!

Nothing beats the taste of homegrown produce in the summer, but many home gardeners may not have the space in the ground dedicated for a veggie patch.  Since vegetables and herbs need at minimum a half day of sun to produce the best yields, it does limit where one can grow them.  Perhaps, your sun location is by the pool, or maybe it’s a back porch.  This is when growing in pots will work to your advantage.

Growing in pots, harvesting becomes easier because the produce is off the ground and will save your back.  Also, some super fast aggressive herbs such as mint can take over a flower bed, by planting them in pots they can be controlled and become portable for when you want to bring the mint to the mojito!

Another bonus to growing in pots is that you can start earlier and move the pots inside if temperatures dip low.

Vegetables That Grow Well in Pots

Tomatoes. Choose the variety called ‘Patio’ or varieties with the name “bush” in them.  ‘Bush Early Girl, and ‘Better Boy Bush’ are just a few examples.  There are even some tumbler type tomatoes that get their name by tumbling over the side of the pot or hanging basket.  These are micro sized tomatoes.

Regular sized tomatoes can be grown in pots too, but will need a very large pot. Ideally, a 30” pot or so.  Tomatoes prefer to have consistent soil moisture, going too wet or too dry is not ideal. It can reduce the amount of tomatoes you get. Having a regular size tomato in too small of pot can dry out super fast in our Arkansas summer.  And speaking of our summers, those thunderstorms can blow over a tall tomato plant over if it is in a small pot.

Cucumbers.  There are two main types of cuke’s; the vining kind, and the bush kind.  The “bush” varieties are the best to do in pots.  ‘Burpless Bush’ is just one option……….

Eggplant.  All varieties.

Peppers.  All varieties.

And Don’t Forget These Vegetables!

Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes.  You betcha!  Sweet potato plants are often called slips.  You can find slips started in 6 or 9 packs in the spring.  Try planting 3 slips in a 20” pot.  The vines will spill over the sides taking up a few feet all the way around.

Leafy greens.  Spinach, lettuce, arugula, kale, bok choy, swiss chard and collards all work quite well in pots.

Don’t forget that cabbage, strawberries, broccoli and even onions can grow in containers too!

Some veggies such as watermelon, pumpkins, cantaloupe, and winter squash are best left for the ground unless you can grow vertically.  The vines just get so big.  And the containers need to be pretty big!  Asparagus really need to be in the ground for best success.

What Kind of Pots and Potting Soil to Use

Any kind of pot can be used but here are some things to consider; the pot needs to have good drainage holes to allow excess water to be released.  For example, some of our large glazed pottery would work very well, but might need to have additional holes drilled in the pots or the existing drainage holes may need to be enlarged.

Another consideration is container material; for example, thin walled, metal containers may transfer too much heat to the root zone of the plant, as opposed to a thin plastic container which won’t transfer as much heat.

To insure proper drainage use our Good Earth professional potting mix, and in larger pots use some drainage rock in the bottom.  Also consider using pot feet, these go under the pot raising the entire container off the ground.

Feeding Your Potted Vegetables

This is a great opportunity to use an organic fertilizer such as Espoma Tomato-tone and Garden-tone.

The Tomato-tone is perfect for tomatoes due to having a bit more calcium in the formulation which tomatoes appreciate. It helps keep blossom end rot from happening.  This is when a black, rotten spot developing on the end of the fruit.

Garden-tone is a great multi use vegetable fertilizer.

Here are some other article on growing edible plants here in Arkansas:

When and How to Plant Spring Vegetable Gardens in Central Arkansas

How to Grow Blueberries in Arkansas!

Fall Vegetable Garden? Yes!

It’s time to start planning (and planting) your fall garden!  Not familiar with what can be grown and when to plant?  We have some great resources to check out below and of course, we carry seedlings and seeds to get you started when it’s time.

Click to access planting-dates-fall-vegetables.pdf

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Get Started with Herb Gardening

Have you ever run to the store only to find the herbs you need are out of stock? We’ve got a way to combat that pesky problem! Lately, we’ve seen more and more people interested in growing their own herbs at home.

Herb gardening is the perfect way to dip your toes in gardening, even when your space is limited. If you’re interested in growing your own herbs, all you really need is your herb of choice, a container, and a well lit area.

What to Grow

We have a wide variety of herbs available at the Good Earth that we can recommend to you. Sage, mint and thyme are just a few great options for getting started with herb gardening.
These herbs are what we call sensory plants. With these, there’ll be a fragrance when you brush up against the plant or if the wind blows through their leaves. Rosemary is one of the more sensory plants, as it’s scent is so strong and distinct.

Thyme, sometimes referred to as poor man’s ground covering, grows rapidly when it has plenty of sun and room to grow. If you have a yard that needs green ground covering, an affordable option is planting thyme and letting it do it’s thing!

Herb Care and Fertilizer Tips

The herbs featured in this segment are perennials, and can last for years when properly cared for! Gregg has a rosemary plant at his home that’s lived over a dozen years.

It’s important to be mindful of what you use to treat your herbs. Always look at your fertilizer numbers carefully before using them. The first number is for growth, and you don’t need intensive growth in herbs. The middle number is significant in terms of your bloom, and that’s more important. So remember, when fertilizing herbs, you’re aiming for a low first number and higher middle number, with the third number not being very significant in herb growth.

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What can you use as a container?

We talk about containers quite a bit, because they’re an important element in the health of all potted plants! This week, we’re focusing on sprucing up your setup by using things that weren’t necessarily designed to be used as containers.

Gregg suggests searching for old or unused containers, like an old metal drawer, to give your arrangement a unique twist. Simply put a few holes in the containers base, then line the bottom with rocks and pebbles to ensure that water can drain properly.

Scout for Potential Containers

While doing regular spring cleaning, keep your eyes peeled! You never know what you may have tucked back in the garage, attic or tool shed that could double as a new pot. Gregg uses an old drawer, a metal lunchbox, and even a chair frame with some chicken wire to house plants!

All in all, if you can create an environment that will still allow for proper drainage, you can probably use that container to put your potted plants in!

Unique Plant Stands

Already satisfied with the pot your plant is in? Another way to incorporate your personality into your plant display is to look for pieces that can serve as a plant stand!

For example, Gregg found an old wire stool that has a nice even seat. It’s perfect to set the pot right on top of. The addition of a unique plant stand is a direct way to add some interest and spruce up the presentation of your plants.

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