Pretty and Practical Gifts for Mom

It's not to late to get Mom something she'll covet for Mother's Day.
Need ideas? Here are some of my top picks.

You can never go wrong with a great flowering shrub that blooms all summer long and grows back year after year. Last year, I got my mom the Proven Winners Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea. It's hardy, it's pink and $1 from each purchase will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. But, don't stop at hydrangeas. There are so many shrub options to choose from, including butterfly bush varieties, rose of Sharon, spirea and more. Check out Proven Winners for more shrub ideas or visit your local garden center.

Dirt Couture is probably my new favorite site, with for gifts for moms, friends or yourself. (Remember Father's Day is right around the corner, too!) This site offers a variety of handmade gifts for the garden, the home, organic vegetables and gift cards. Several items also offer free shipping. Some of my faves include the Good Egg Salt Cellar, the Canning Jar Chandelier and the Trook!

Every good woman should have her very own set of gardening tools. And yes, they should be pink. Bond MFG is teaming up with the National Breast Cancer Foundation to bring you this pink gift set including bag, bypass pruner, pruning sheers, trowel and cultivator (with ergonomic grip!)

Yes, you may have noticed a theme. Breast cancer has affected too many family members and friends. So, get great gifts while supporting great causes. Happy Mother's Day!

Left: Pink 5-piece garden tool gift set, available at Amazon.
Top right: Proven Winners Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea
Bottom right: Tree of Life Necklace from Dirt Couture

The Case of the No-Bloom Daffodils

Over the weekend, I received my first reader question. Heather from Farmington Hills asked, "Why for two years in a row now, have my daffodils only been producing foliage and no flowers?"

While we believe our spring bulbs will tend to produce season after season, they will run their course over time. The key to keeping that full and replenished look, is to add fresh bulbs to the mix every fall or every other fall.

However, I know this is not Heather's situation. Her bulbs are only two years old. So here are a few scenarios and solutions.

1. The bulbs themselves may have been too small at planting to produce flowers. With bulbs, bigger is better. Bulbs do get bigger over time, so there is still a possibility that they may bloom...Eventually. Have patience, if you feel compelled to wait it out.

2. Try some fertilizer. Sometimes bulbs just need a little bit of encouragement. But, be careful not to overfertilize. Too much nitrogen will perpetuate the same problem--too many leaves, no flowers. Never use lawn fertilizer.

3. Sometimes bulbs are just particular about their environment. Is it too shady? Are there adjacent plants that are competing for sun and nutrients? What is the soil like? Take my daffodils for example. Mine (photo left) have just about had their fill, and yet my neighbors to the south (photo right) and the west are still in full bloom. Go figure.

4. Hate to say it, but sometimes you just get duds. And unfortunately, there's no remedy for a bad bulb, except to try, try again, with new bulbs, of course.

My two cents, wait until fall to replant some new bulbs. Now is the time to start focusing on summer flowering shrubs and perennials.

One more important note about bulbs while we're on the subject. Once blooms are spent, don't get too eager to cut back the leaves. As unsightly as they may become, the leaves take in the sun, which then feeds the bulb for the next season. Love daffodils?

Viola Voilà! Or, YOU'RE a Pansy!‏

It's funny how often the word "pansy" is misused as an insult, meaning weak, sissy, unmanly... Because, in actuality, pansies are pretty dang scrappy. While they may be petite and delicate looking, pansies pack a pretty good punch, giving containers and beds color and vitality early in the season.

They are a great spring and fall selection because of their hardiness, adaptability and tolerance to cold, especially if you live in a hardiness zone where frost (or *gasp* snow) is still prevalent in March, April and May. (Don't know your zone?) If you really want to see some determined flowers, check out these Icicle Pansies.

Pansies love full sun, but don't like the heat--go figure--and be sure to give them plenty of water. Try pairing with other spring bulbs for real impact. They are annual flowers, but some (not all) are pretty talented at reseeding themselves. Pansies are also known to be fairly disease and pest resistant, just another reason why they're tough cookies. (Speaking of cookies, did I mention that they are edible as well?)

Pansy, viola and violet tend to be used interchangeably, but pansies were actually derived from violas. (Just think of them as distant cousins.) The name pansy actually comes from the French word, pensée, meaning "thought" and because the flower resembles a pensive-looking face. Want to learn more?

Just for funsies, I came across this old citrus company crate label from: La Verne Cooperative Citrus Association. Mutual Orange Distributors. La Verne, Calif. Circa 1930s. Found on the Riverside Public Library, Citrus Label Collection.

Boots With Moxie

Anyone who really knows me, knows I love boots!

Take fall and winter right into spring with these fashionable gardening boots, perfect for the damp transition into summer.

These rubber boots, affectionately known as wellies or muckboots, are waterproof workhorses that are perfect for a rainy day or a soggy romp in the garden. Thick and sturdy, rinse these off with your garden hose and you're done.

I only have a pair of perpetually grass-stained and soiled sneakers, but see how these boots would be a good investment, as they range upwards in the $70+ range.

Now if only I had a mudroom...

far left: Toile rainboot by Tamara Henriques

middle: Hunter rainboot with Slugs bootliners found at Dirt Couture

upper right: Hunter floral boot

lower right: Tall boot from Gardener's Supply Co.

Opening Day

What? You didn’t think I was talking about baseball, did you? 

Ok, maybe a little about baseball because in Michigan, we determine spring’s arrival by the following factors: 

• Temps that finally peak above 40
• The release of Bell’s Oberon 
• When Tigers take the field at Comerica Park, marking another season of will they/won’t they baseball drama.

  
My opening day was Saturday. With latte in hand, I started off at Romence Gardens for a mid-morning class on how to grow a fabulous lawn (more on that and other Romence happenings later). Followed up by some consignment shopping and antiquing at my favorite local digs, which left me oh-so-inspired to take on the yard for the afternoon.

Extreme clean up was necessary because I neglected to do my fall prep last year. (I got married and went on a two-week Mediterranean honeymoon, followed by some excessive hours at work, which also explains my blogging hiatus.) My husband fought the good fight, by extracting some holly berry bushes that just weren’t cutting it. I give the previous owners of our house credit for putting in some landscaping, but their garden “design” left something, well everything, to be desired. I give myself credit for finally deciding to part ways with things that don’t work and allow me to have an almost-clean slate.

The latter hours of the afternoon were spent transplanting day lilies. If you remember, Don’t Ditch the Ditch Lily, my goal last fall was to move these to a hard-to-grow space in the backyard. The labor was intense. I feel like I spent hours at the gym yesterday doing nothing but squats and lunges. I know that if I keep up the good work all season long, the results will be amazing...for both my flowers AND my glutes.

P.S. How great would these look on my two front windows?
 

Garden, Gardener, Gardening

I like the word garden.

I don’t like the words “gardener” or “gardening,” as in “I’m a gardener” or “I like gardening.” It reminds of those Bree Van DeKamp, Connecticut housewife types that say they like gardening, but manage to keep their gloves pristine and fingernails in tact. They wear delicate straw hats, cutesy aprons and never seem to break a sweat. Their roses are remarkable. And, Japanese beetle, is never a word in their vocabulary.

Desperate housewife, I am not. Expert gardener, I am not, and every year, I dig back in anyway. And when I “garden,” I end up wearing dirt like it’s a second skin. I barely know how to take care of the roses I have. I still mourn the loss of perennials planted one season, never to return. I still haven’t determined if gardening is a hobby or a contact sport.

Yes, I like to garden. Love, actually. I never thought I would be the type to love gardening. It was never something I did growing up. Perhaps home ownership brought it out in me. Or, Martha Stewart. There’s just something about taking soil into your own hands (literally) to produce something of beauty. Something appreciated by friends and neighbors. I’m sure my neighbors would appreciate me a lot more if I could get certain areas of the yard under control, but I digress…

Spring is back and so am I. Making up my own rules, learning from my mistakes and creating my own expertise.

Stop What You're Doing

I was on an evening bike ride when I observed a woman in the neighborhood lightly showering the flowers in her yard. It occurred to me that it's never too late to promote proper watering technique.

Yes, there are right and wrong ways to water your flowers. The "showering technique" would be in the wrong category.

First off, morning is always best, which allows the roots to soak up most of the water before the afternoon heat kicks in. If you water on a hot summer afternoon, most of that water is just going to evaporate. Additionally, late evening waterings are no good because the wet, cool soil can lead to mildew and other plant diseases.

Secondly, go for the roots only. Your actual flowers and buds really don't need a drink. And water that accumulates on leaves and stems can also lead to disease. Give it to the roots. That may mean you have to lunge, squat and contort your body in all sorts of ways to get to that container in the back of your garden, but your flowers will thank you for it. And bonus, you get your leg workout for the day. If you do want to take the easy way out, at least opt for a soaker hose and skip the ineffective oscillating sprinkler. If you have tricky areas, invest in a hose wand to give you some extra reach.

Lastly, quality over quantity. You may feel compelled to shower your flowers for a few minutes every day. Stop. Brief sprinklings promote shallow roots, which cause flowers to dry out quicker and can lead to overall poor performance. You're much better off to water just a few times a week, but when you're watering, go for the roots and just hold the hose there for 10, 20, 30 seconds, until the water starts to pool a bit. Then let it drain. Repeat if necessary. Longer, deeper waterings promote healthy root development.

As we get closer to fall, proper watering technique is also crucial as you start to divide/replant, or plant new bulbs and perennials. Same rules apply. Healthy roots now result in fabulous flowers in the spring!