flowers

The fall season brings a whole new garden of flowers to enjoy. Plus it is great fun to get your hands dirty! So here’s a few tips to help you transition to the new cool weather annuals coming in now!

Decide “sun or shade?” All flowers have their best growing conditions, if you have sun well you need to plant sun loving flowers, shade, plant the shade lovers. Watch the area you are going to plant or set your container.
Prepare the soil. Most annuals have fine hair-like roots that require rich loose soil with good drainage. Turn the soil with a digging fork or tiller, add Cotton Burr Compost and mix, rake area, top dress with Natures’ Blend and you’re ready to plant. The Nature’s Blend acts as a natural fertilizer and helps with controlling certain disease possibilities. If you are planting flowers in containers, use a good potting mix like Miracle Gro Potting Soil or Landscapers Pride Potting Soil.
Pick out your flowers. Most annuls for fall and winter will last from now until mid-March-April next year. Some of our favorites for sun are petunias, snapdragons, calendula, alyssum and mums. Shade favorites include impatiens, begonias, and dianthus.
Start planting! It’s important to know how close or far apart to plant your flowers. Most annuals need some space between each plant so they can grow to their potential. We can help you determine the plant spacing when you come in. Set out the plants in a zig zag pattern, equal spacing between each plant, to fill the area. Don’t worry if they’re not in perfect lines, in a few weeks you won’t see the ground anymore. We find it best to use odd numbers for containers depending on the size of the pot…..you’re almost done!
Mulch, water, fertilize. Mulch makes your new planting look great, helps with weed control and reduces watering. Water the area well with a gentle shower of water; you don’t want to beat up your new young plants. Fertilize with Hasta Gro every week or Rose Glo every month.

Now go wash up and take a break. Check your new planting every day for water for at least the first couple of weeks, cutting back as the plants grow and temps cool down. If you get worried or just not sure, we are always here and ready to help!

Debbie

That first cool front in fall sure does feel good, and with the new season comes new flowers and time to get back outside and garden. In South Texas September and October are the best months to spread wildflower seeds. With the prediction of a wetter and cooler fall, this is a perfect time to start planning that little bed or large meadow of spring blooming wildflowers.

Texas Bluebonnets (the state flower), Alamo Fire (the maroon bonnet), Texas Paintbrush, and Indian Blanket are all excellent single varieties. We also carry a wildflower mix which includes Coreopsis, Indian Blanket, Black-eyed Susan, Lemon Mint, Drummond Phlox, Cornflower, and Corn Poppy for a mixed show of spring color.

There are also low growing varieties or a Butterfly/hummingbird mixture. For shady areas, we have a shade mix and also a water wise mix.

Pick a spot in the yard, a flowerbed, or the easement strip and go wild this fall. It will reward you with beautiful blooms come spring.

-DeAnna

Mexican Flame Vine is a wonderful vine with a long blooming period until the first good frost. It has deep green leaves back-dropping beautiful orange daisy flowers. Very easy to grow in full sun to part shade with little to no serious pest issues. It is considered the best nectar vine for Monarch butterflies. It is also one of the best butterfly plants attracting Eastern Tiger Swallowtails, Gulf fritillaries, Hairstreaks, Painted ladies, Pipevine swallowtails, Skippers, Sulphurs, Queens, Zebra Longwings and more. It also attracts hummingbirds, and is a pollinator plus plant attracting bumble bees and honey bees. It can also be grown in a pot on a small trellis or tomato cage for support. We have one next to our office building. It is a great addition to any sunny landscape.

DeAnna

With cooler months finally upon us, now is the time for planting some of my favorite winter annuals, one being the ever vibrant, versatile and easy to grow Nasturtium. Here are some things you may or may not know about this lovely little flower:

Nasturtiums are edible, flowers and leaves. The flowers make a beautiful addition to the top of any salad and add a peppery flavor. During the mid-twentieth century people used nasturtium seed pods as a replacement for pepper by drying out the seeds and grinding them. The bloom can be dusted with sugar and used to decorate a holiday cake.

Nasturtium Salad c/o Sunset Magazine

They’re not picky and grow well in any type of soil. They love sunshine and don’t like to stay wet.
They make a great companion plant. They help deter aphids, white fly, squash bugs and other pests. Plant alongside veggies like tomatoes, cabbage & broccoli.

Gill Garden Guide: Fall & Winter Annuals

-Whitney

Food from a garden is one of life’s best experiences. You get to play in dirt, sweat with a purpose, and the payoff is just plain rewarding: nutritious, delicious foods for you and your family. Not only is food-gardening fun, but it teaches us patience, trust, and connects us to where life begins – in the soil. So let’s get started!

1. Keep it Simple

Not too big, not too much. Gardening is fun and laborious. Your first few gardens should be manageable enough for you to have fun and success with.

2. Choose Your Food

We have two great seasons for growing food. Spring (Feb. 1st – June 1st) and Fall/Winter (Sept. 15th – Jan 31st). Each offers their own bounty. Mother Nature plays a vital part in this – check out “Gill’s Spring Vegetable Planting Dates For Nueces County” to help you decide what to grow and when to plant.

3. Pick Your Spot

All food gardens need: Adequate sun, nearby water source, good soil, and proper drainage. Whether you are planting in the ground, raised beds, or in containers, 4 to 6 hours of mid-day sun is generally enough for popular edibles like tomatoes, peppers, squash, beans, and most herbs.

Above: Last year, Debbie shared a weekly log of her fall/winter veggie garden – check it out!

Planting in: The Ground

Most vegetable plants will enjoy a good 12 inches of rich soft loam to grow in. You can make your own by adding Nature’s Blend or Cotton Burr Compost, to your existing soil. Follow this with Dried Molasses to attract good soil microbes.

Here’s my recipe for ground planting:

Clean/clear area of all weeds and grass
Moisten soil a couple of days before breaking ground-good for your back!
Break soil with a dirt fork if it’s hard packed. Then till the soil.
Add compost, till some more
Add molasses and Medina Growin Green Organic Fertilizer. Chicken feed it across the bed.
Hand rake into soil, water and rest the soil, at least a few days

The end result should be good rich soil, slightly mounded and ready for planting.

Above: A raised bed we installed for one of our landscape customers – all ready to plant!

Planting in: Raised Beds

Raising the bed has some great benefits including reducing weeds, helps with soil compaction, concentrates your energy in smaller spaces, easier to maintain, and it’s easier on your back…for those of us who need all the help we can get!

Here’s my recipe for planting in raised beds:

Build your gardens up as little as 4 inches, as much as 24 inches, more is better, with cinder blocks, rocks, or treated lumber.
Add sandy loam, purchased in bulk, and Nature’s Bend Compost. Mix it up.
Add Medina Growin Green and dry molasses.
Mix in, water, and rest; a few days for the soil & as needed for you.

Planting in: Containers

Using containers for growing food is perfect for small spaces or those who just want a little something to grow…a tomato, a pepper, a few herbs. You can add a trellis for beans and a few herbs or edible flowers for a pop of color.

HERE’S MY RECIPE FOR PLANTING IN CONTAINERS:

Choose some large pots, at least 5 gallon size, 10 gallon is better. Something pretty or old used nursery pots are fine.
Fill with good potting soil. Potting Soil by Landscaper’s Pride and Premium Potting Soil by Back to Nature are quality mixes for containers.
No need for anything to rest, the soil’s already blended and the work is easy!

Look ahead for the next part of this series. We’ll talk about what to plant this spring, seeds and transplants, growing vertical, fertilizing, and watering.

-Debbie

We have a grower that does an outstanding job growing Mystic Spires Saliva in “tubs”. Wow, they are gorgeous! They can be planted in containers or in the ground. I have mine right by my front door. They get morning sun until about 1 pm and are very happy, but also can get full sun. They produce masses of true blue flowers and in all the years I’ve had them, no bugs! AND, they make great cut flowers! Enjoy!!

-Sally

A favorite stand-by in Gill landscape designs!

[x_slider animation=”slide” slide_time=”3000″ slide_speed=”300″ slideshow=”true” control_nav=”true” prev_next_nav=”true”][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][x_slide][/x_slide][/x_slider]

I love my Katrina Iris! It’s always in bloom…always! I planted it about 4 years ago and it has quadrupled in size or more. It gets full hot west sun all year long in a sometimes wet, sometimes dry flower bed. The flowers are creamy white with hints of gold and glow at night like tiny lanterns. They are tough and elegant! No bugs, no disease, just a family of lizards that call it home!