One of the easiest and most rewarding things for a gardener to grow is a selection of herbs. It’s fun to use your own fresh herbs in cooking, they are interesting to learn, the most common ones all have the same growing requirements, and animal pests tend to leave them along.
Thinking of growing your own fresh herbs? Thyme is one of the easiest herbs to grow, as French Thymewell as one of the most versatile. Like most herbs, it is best planted in full sun and needs well-drained soil. It…
Supertunia – ” The Queen of Petunias” Supertunias bloom from early spring until frost, with a slight fragrance especially late in the afternoon and early evening. To really show off in their trailing habit, place them in a hanging basket…
Annuals are plants that are programmed (Mother Nature 3.0) to live their entire lives in one year (an annual life cycle). That is, they start out as a seed, grow, flower, make more seeds to start the next generation and die, all within one year or less. In the garden center, some plants that would live for more than a year in a warmer climate are sold as annuals because they croak when it gets cold (begonias, for example) or hot (pansies).
Chrysanthemums, originally from the Orient, are now prized the world over for their colorful blooms in fall. The mum has been woven into Asian culture for hundreds if not thousands of years and has long been the national flower of…
Annuals, in general, are plants that grow from seeds or cuttings, begin to bloom shortly afterwards, and set seed and eventually die, all in a single growing season. Annuals have many advantages for the home gardener. Most annuals are nearly…
For many people, Christmas decorating is not complete without a beautiful poinsettia from Behnke Nurseries. In the nearly 40 years that Behnke Nurseries has grown poinsettias, we have grown and sold over a million plants. Our poinsettias are grown at…
The holidays are here again, and among the icons of our celebrations is the beautiful poinsettia from south of the border. The history of this popular plant is indeed colorful, according to the University of Illinois, from which we obtain…
The colorful pansy reigns supreme from Fall through Spring. The name “pansy” comes from the French “pensée” meaning “remembrance” or “thought;” and thus, traditionally, when someone was presented with a pansy, the giver was saying “I’m thinking of you.”The pansy…
Ornamental kale is becoming increasingly popular with gardeners looking for a cool-season ornamental to compliment pansy plantings. They are at their best in late Fall, and depending on the weather, may look good into the following Spring.