Let's Talk Gardening with Guru Sean
Preparing Your Vegetable Beds for Winter and Next Spring
Sean, the Garden Guru here at The Gardener’s Center, talks about how to prepare your vegetable garden beds for the winter and to set them up for a successful spring. And you might be surprised by what he has to say!
Caring for Your Fresh-cut Christmas Tree
When selecting your tree, you need to know the optimal time to purchase and what’s okay (and not) with needle drop. In caring for your tree, you need to know when and why it needs a fresh cut as well as the do’s and don’ts for watering and setting up.
Caring for Your Living Christmas Tree
Sean highlights the critical things you need to know if you choose to have a living Christmas tree indoors.
Things you need to keep in mind… The tree must acclimate to warmer temps before coming inside. It should be inside for no more than 7 days, tops. It needs to acclimate to cooler temps before moving outdoors. Watch the video for all of the deets!
Fall Ornamental Cabbages & Kales
Have you considered adding ornamental cabbages and kales to your landscape or containers? You should! These beauties are a fall staple, but we should really think of them as a fall AND winter staple.Kales and cabbages have a very wide temperature range in which they thrive — 75 degrees all the way down to the mid 30s — this is their “sweet spot.”They’ll even survive temps well below freezing. And the cooler it gets, the more their color intensifies! They do well and look great in both the landscape and in containers.
Perks for Planting in the Fall
Fall is the BEST time for perennials, shrubs, trees and grass seed to take root!
We generally think of spring as the planting time, which is it… But fall — September, October and November —is the optimal time to get your plants in the ground. Sean, our gardening guru, explains why in this video. Check it out — then let’s get get to planting so your plants can get their underground party started!
Fall-Blooming Native Perennials, Part 1
Sean provides an overview of some of his favorite fall-blooming native perennials: Eupatorium Dwarf Joe-Pye Weed and Hardy Ageratum + New England Aster • New England Aster Purple Dome + Vernonia Iron Butterfly.
September and October are the best times to plant AND enjoy their blooms. With these natives you’ll have gorgeous blooms that will extend well past other plants that have finished blooming. These lovelies are also invaluable to our pollinators: bees, butterflies and migrating hummingbirds will certainly thank you for it!
Fall-Blooming Native Perennials, Part 2
Sean, the garden guru here at The Gardener’s Center, talks about fall-blooming native perennials in the Asteraceae (Aster) family.
Native to eastern North America, Sean reviews Aster Novae Angliae (New England Aster); Coreopsis Tripteris (Tall Coreopsis); and Liatris Scariosa Nieuwlandii (Nieuwland’s Blazing Star). All provide fall food for bees and butterflies (so much so that Sean watched a kaleidoscope of butterflies following his cart as he placed them on the benches outside)!
More Late-Blooming, Pollinator-Loving Perennials, Part 3
Sean talks about perennials that are at their best at the end of summer/beginning of fall. He’ll show you some bee-lovers and butterfly-friendly natives, as well as some different shade-lovers that are many times overlooked.
In this video, Sean reviews Solidago (Goldenrod), Heliopsis (Ox Eye Daisy,), Veronica (Ironweed), Anemone (Windflower), Tricyrtis (Toad Lily), and Hearty Begonias.
Autumn Color in the Garden
Sean showcases three perennials: theLady in Black Aster, the ever-popularMontauk Daisy, andtrue perennial garden mums. These are great options for late-season color and, because their bloom time is late in the season, they provide some of the last meals for pollinators while they are getting ready to hibernate or migrate. He also talks aboutScotch Heather, a little evergreen shrub with great texture and flower color that looks fantastic in those fall pots, and a selection of annuals that become more colorful as the weather gets colder.
Proper Hydrangea Paniculata Pruning
Hydrangeas are always a hot topic according to Sean, our horticulture guru here at The Gardener’s Center. Especially when it comes to pruning them. Unlike the mopheads, the Paniculatas only flower on new growth. So the more you prune them back, the more growth you’re going to stimulate.
Overwintering Hardy Plants in Containers
As we get ready for cooler temps, let’s review what you need to know about overwintering your hardy container-planted perennials. Sean, our horticulture guru, identifies what you need to be aware of when overwintering your hardy potted perennials. These hardy plants fall into three groups: deciduous, conifer evergreens and broadleaf evergreens. Deciduous and conifers are easy enough to care for, but the broadleaf evergreens, such as boxwood and rhododendrons, are the most challenging, especially when they experience prolonged below-freezing temperatures. Watch the video to learn what you need to know about overwintering your potted perennials.
Winterizing Your Outside Containers
Learn how to safely take care of your plant pots over the winter. Sean considers the four groups of pottery: terracotta, cast stone/concrete, fiber glass/lichen fiber and finally, plastic. He explains that it’s not the cold temperatures that can damage your pots; it’s the precipitation they absorb or contain, followed by freeze/thaw cycles. All Sean’s helpful advice can be applied to garden statuary and bird baths.
Hydrangea Paniculata
Sean, the garden guru here at The Gardener’s Center, talks about his favorite flowering shrub, Hydrangea paniculata.
You’ll hear these beauties called by a few different names — Hydrangea paniculata, Panicle Hydrangea and Pee Gee Hydrangea. However you refer to them, you should know they are Sean’s favorite hydrangea and favorite blooming shrub, and for good reasons!
Sean covers a little hydrangea history, a few of the over 100 varieties, where to plant them and how to prune to them. Find out why you’ll want to add them to your garden and landscape.
We Like Big Begonias and We Cannot Lie
Let’s talk about begonias and why you should be planting them! These incredibly versatile and easy-to-care-for bloomers are Sean’s favorite annual for a number of reasons. Begonias come in a variety of gorgeous colors but did you know they are one of the most forgiving annuals in terms of light requirements? They can really be placed anywhere outside. Watch the video to learn why begonias are going to be YOUR favorite annual, too!
Important Lavender Lessons for Lavender Lovers
Love lavender but it keeps letting you down? Unless you’re living right on the coast with its sandy soil, you’ve most likely struggled with keeping your lavender alive for more than a season or two. That’s partly due to our climate, but your soil composition has a huge amount of impact on your success. Give Sean’s video a watch to learn how to properly prepare your soil, and learn about how Phenomenal Lavender may be the hybrid answer you’ve been searching for.
The Buzz on Native Milkweeds: Asclepias Incarnata & Asclepias Tuberosa
Sean, the horticulture expert at The Gardener’s Center, is here to give us insightful information on two different types of native milkweed: Asclepias Incarnata (Swamp Milkweed) and Asclepias Tuberosa (Butterflyweed).
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