-Pam Scott- There is no better way to bring continuous color into your garden throughout the spring, summer and fall than to plant blooming annuals. Annual flowers will usually bloom profusely for one entire growing season and then die off in the cold months, whereas perennial flowering plants will most often bloom for a short time, become dormant and then reappear the following year. Annual flowers add color to the garden when perennial plants stop blooming or become dormant. By planting … [Read more...] about Make Your Own Blooming Container Gardens
Organic Gardening
Getting Started Seed Starting
-Dan Toot- It can’t be April again! It’s STILL April! (March 413th as of the time of this writing.) Still, the wonderful deja vu of this time of year is seeing the rush to the seed rack and our soil amendments as gardeners prepare for a great year of growing. Seeing this, I decided it was time to join the fun and start plants from seed myself! If you dig back, you’ll see I first dipped my toe into organic gardening with some Golden Ghost Pepper seedlings -- which I cloned and am … [Read more...] about Getting Started Seed Starting
Focus on Ficus
-Pam Scott- Large tropical trees growing indoors can add a dramatic element to a room like nothing else. A tall green plant can soften the edges of a large space, as it tends to bring together all the different elements of a room's decor. There are no better plants to do this than plants in the ficus family. There are about 900 species in this family, mulberry (Moraceae), some are deciduous, some evergreen, some tree-like, some vining, most are tropical. The popular indoor tropical figs … [Read more...] about Focus on Ficus
Time to Prune
-Pam Scott- After having had a few months break from rigorous garden chores, you may now feel the call of the outdoors... the need to get this spring thing started. Top on the list of things to do in February is to assess what needs pruning in the garden this year. Late winter is the ideal time to prune a large number of plants in your garden. In our zone 7 climate, most plants are dormant from November to March. There are numerous benefits to pruning plants during this winter dormancy. Plant … [Read more...] about Time to Prune
Clever and Deadly Carnivores
-Pam Scott- Do you remember being a kid and finding out that there are plants that eat animals? Chances are you probably thought that was, without a doubt, the coolest thing in the entire world. Every day we have children coming into the shop, bursting with excitement to see our carnivorous plants. The fact is that many of us at Fifth Season consider carnivorous plants to be the coolest plants on earth. Carnivorous plants are bog plants that have evolved to live in low nutrient, highly … [Read more...] about Clever and Deadly Carnivores
How to build a Johnson-Su Bioreactor
-Mike Weeks- It’s that time of year again when activities in the garden have come to a near standstill and the holiday hustle and bustle is over. Any gardener knows there’s always something to do with the garden whether that’s taking inventory on your seed stock, planning and designing new beds, or even sharpening your tools. But, those unusually warm winter days in between the cold ones like we recently had are perfect for tackling projects that will give you a leg up on spring gardening. … [Read more...] about How to build a Johnson-Su Bioreactor
2020 in Plant Care Tips & Mistakes
-Ginny Schafer- I think my favorite thing about 2020 is the fact that it’s almost over. My second favorite thing is that this is the year that I finally learned enough about houseplants to keep them happy and thriving! Before this year, I was… alright with plants. I had a few aloes that managed to stay alive, but other than that, the average life expectancy of a plant in my house was about 5 months. Then along came 2020, and diving headfirst into houseplants and plant care was a great … [Read more...] about 2020 in Plant Care Tips & Mistakes
Organics: A Better Way to Grow
-Tim Leisman- Organic growing can be intimidating to the newcomer. When I came to Fifth Season, I wasn’t exactly new to organic gardening - I’d helped my mom in the garden many summers, complained about the smell of the manure she would buy to till into the soil every so often, then watched as plants thrived under her care. However, I never took the time to learn exactly how and why she put bone meal into the garden. Have you ever wondered why organic products cost much more in the stores and … [Read more...] about Organics: A Better Way to Grow
Helping your African Violets to Bloom
-Pam Scott- When I was a small child, my grandmother's kitchen window was always full of beautifully blooming African Violets. Their ruffled flowers of deep blues, periwinkle, pinks, purples and lavenders made me think of fluffy party dresses. Their velvety leaves always tempted a forbidden touch. These plants were always in glorious full bloom. People marveled at what a “green thumb” my grandmother had, as she seemed to have natural gifts with these fussy little exotic plants. It wasn't … [Read more...] about Helping your African Violets to Bloom
Propagating Garden Annuals for Some Winter Gardening Fun
-Pam Scott- It's hard to believe that we are working our way swiftly through fall, yet the nights are getting cooler, the days are noticeably shorter, and the sun is much lower in the southern sky than it was a few weeks ago. After a rocking growing season this year, we are beginning to close down the flower garden for the season, bringing some plants indoors to winter over and letting the rest of the garden go to seed for food and shelter for birds and insects. This is the beginning of a … [Read more...] about Propagating Garden Annuals for Some Winter Gardening Fun
