The Blog

GARDEN GERANIUMS

Geraniums are a truly a garden classic. Did you know that two types of geraniums exist? Seed geraniums and zonal geraniums. Choosing the right type for the garden depends on several factors and there are reasons to grow both depending on personal preference and where you are going to be using them.

Easy-to-love new plants, accessible technology, a flirt with romance, the sharing economy, a cleaner, simpler color palette, and crisp geometric design all add up to a fresh take on gardening in 2016, according to the plant experts at Monrovia.

Since spring has officially arrived, let's get a jumpstart on our container gardens. Try these bloomers that tolerate the cooler early days of spring and get your containers if full spring. These flowers will work great in the early unpredictable days of spring and last all the way until the heat sets in, in May.

Annuals provide color from the time of planting into early fall. Inexpensive, easy-to-grow and gorgeous ~ annuals are great for changing the look of your garden from year-to-year and filling in around those bulbs and perennials. A few early-blooming annuals that are safe to plant now include petunias, marigolds, snapdragons, geraniums, million bells, dianthus and verbena. Some annuals do not handle frost very well and we recommend waiting until after the last average frost date to plant them outside.

by Kathy Van Mullekom, a lifelong gardener and gardening writer living in York County, Virginia

Dad taught me “it’s not what you make but how you spend it.”

That philosophy has guided me in everything I do, even in my garden.

What does spending wisely have to do with gardening? Everything, if you want to get the most out of your plants, time and money.

My gardening dollars are divided into categories: yard art, garden structures, maintenance and, of course, plants.