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It’s always fun and rewarding to find those plants that take care of themselves with just a little help from your hands. Say hello to nasturtiums! This simple edible is one of my all time favorites to sow from seed. The foliage is vibrant green and reminds me of small living Frisbees rambling around a flowerbed or trailing out of pots or baskets. The flowers are delightful 5 petal trumpets coming in the perfect colors for your fall plantings.

Nasturtiums do best planted in the fall where they enjoy our warm days and cool nights. You will enjoy them well into the following spring. They play out in our hot summers but are known to reappear in fall once again. No help from you needed. They thrive in full to part sun and well drained soil.

To grow nasturtiums from seed, simply sow directly in soil that is been turned and loosened. A bit of Nature’s Blend compost is helpful. Scatter them, lightly cover with soil, water, and wait. If you like, you can start them in pots mixed with other annuals and let them grow up through making your own mixed bouquet.

We love these from Botanical Interest Seeds and think you will too!

Peach Melba, fiesta orange, jewel blend, cherry rose, Alaska-has variegated leaves, and a new one called black velvet that looks almost chocolaty! Gotta try it this year! See you soon

-Debbie

For years I’ve requested an APLD (Assoc. of Professional Landscape Designers) Conference in Boston. I’d heard it was a beautiful city with lovely architecture and I knew there had to be fabulous gardens. This year my dream came true and I traveled to Boston to view gardens in peak July bloom. Fellow designers living in the area were show casing their work at client’s properties and their own homes. On the first day, in the first garden, I knew I’d come to the right place at the right time.

Now, you may ask what I could gain touring gardens with plants that won’t grow in South Texas? The answer is inspiration, design details and renewed appreciation for plants and objects we might consider common place. For instance, I never expected to see Mexican metal garden animals occupying center stage on pristine New England lawns! Likewise typical Corpus Christi garden tropicals – Hawaiian Ti, banana and canna lily were prominent accents displayed in pots for the summer and returned to greenhouses for winter.

The “icing on the cake” was a chance to view the privately owned, newly restored “Blue Garden” designed by Frederick Law Olmstead Jr. in 1908. This formal estate garden contained numerous blue and white annuals, perennials, trees and decorative objects that most South Texas homeowners could use to create their own cool, serene blue garden….no estate required!

And what can I say about the secret garden tucked away at a rural Rhode Island farmhouse except, “I want one!”

Join me at Gill Nursery on September 30th at 9:00 a.m. and I’ll take you on a photographic tour of these gardens. You too, will be inspired to create a new garden experience at your home. Thanks Boston!

-Kathy Hubner

Saturday, September 30th, 9:00am
GARDEN TALK!

Boston Gardens: Growing Strong

with Kathy Hubner, Landscape Designer APLD, TCNP

Kathy will give a presentation showing fresh landscape ideas from the best gardens in Boston, MA. You’ll be inspired by gardens with new takes on growing vegetables, flowers, and creating fun whimsical spaces that make you smile. And if you’ve always wanted a secret garden, you won’t want to miss seeing a secret garden gem hidden in plain sight on a Rhode Island Country Road.

View Our Garden Talk Schedule

We just received a nice selection of geraniums for last minute planting in your garden for the holidays! Ours are the zonal “Fantasia” variety with large ball shaped clusters of flowers and rings on their leaves. These geraniums are known to be compact and very hardy.

Originally from South Africa, geraniums like part sun to full sun fall through spring. They can be planted in well drained soil in flower beds or in containers with good rich potting soil. They make good cut flowers, really don’t have pest problems and don’t need a lot of water. They love being fertilized with Hasta Gro.

We promise this will brighten any sunny spot in your garden all winter and spring long. Hardy to the upper 20’s (which probably won’t happen this winter). Enjoy!!

-Sally

We had a great garden talk last Saturday about plants for the indoors from Margaret Hicks, owner of Charlie Cook Associates in Dallas. Below are some of her top tips and picks.

Margaret recommends talking to them, not loving them to death with too much water and fertilizer. Most indoor plants can go 2 to 4 weeks between watering. It’s not the soil at the top but the soil in the lower part of the container to check. When it’s dry, then you water. Water them well, then let dry. We use a moisture meter to help us here at the nursery.

Light is important to all plants, unless you’re a mushroom. A great way to tell how much light a plant would need is the darker the leaf, the less light required. The more variegation in the leaf, the more light required. It’s not an absolute rule but a good guide.

I asked Margaret what she thinks are the top 5 picks for houseplant success:

Hoya is her top choice. Hoya can go virtually anywhere in your home there’s light. No natural light is required and very little water. Plus they bloom a cluster of star shaped flowers that look like wax. Very cool.

Aglaonema aka Chinese evergreen are good for low to medium light depending on the leaf color. They add interest with patterned leaves. They do not get too tall so are good as table accents.

Dracaena Janet Craig compacta is a rich dark green color with more rigid leaves, another low light low water plant.

Sanseveria aka snake plant or mother in law’s tongue have tall or short rigid blades that look like sculpture. They are patterned or solid colors and will grow with minimal care.

Tillandsias aka air bromeliads truly need no soil and low light. Perfect for hanging, driftwood, or holey rocks. Just give them a spritz of water every couple of weeks.

Want more? Come in, we can help!

–Debbie

One of my favorite pastimes, in between planting, fertilizing, trimming, and mulching, is sitting in my backyard and watching the butterflies dance around my garden. Here’s a few tips to entice these beauties to YOUR GARDEN!

Locate a sunny area.

Butterflies and most butterfly attracting plants require bright sunshine.

Plant nectar producing flowers.

Butterflies visit flowers in search of nectar to eat. Many butterflies seem to prefer purple, yellow, orange and red- orange blossoms. Clusters of short, tubular flowers or flat-topped blossoms provide the ideal shapes for butterflies to easily land and feed.

Select single flowers rather than double flowers.

The nectar of single flowers is more accessible and easier for butterflies to extract than the nectar of double flowers, which have more petals per flower.

Use large splashes of color in your landscape.

Butterflies are first attracted to flowers by their color. Groups of flowers are easier for butterflies to locate than isolated plants.

Plan for continuous bloom throughout the season.

Butterflies are active from early spring until late fall. Plant a selection of flowers that will provide nectar throughout the entire growing season. For blooms throughout the year, plant hamelia, shrimp plant. jatropha, lantana, bulbine, buddleia, mist flower, & penta. For flowers spring and fall, try mexican flame vine, verbena, mexican mint marigold, pavonia, passion vine, salvias, & fall chrysanthemums.

Clockwise from Top Left: Lantana, Mist Flower, Salvia Mystic Spires, Salvia Gregii, Shrimp Plant, Mexican Mint Marigold

Plant for perching.

Plant some evergreen trees or shrubs for perching and rain shelter. Example: Yaupon holly or desert willow.

Include host plants in your garden design.

Host plants provide food for the caterpillar and lure female butterflies into the garden to lay eggs.

Common Name: Larval Food Source

Black Swallowtail: dill, parsley, fennel, carrot tops

Fritillaries: passionflowers

Giant Swallowtail: citrus, rue

Julias: passionflowers

Monarchs & Queens: milkweeds

Pipevine Swallowtail: Dutchman’s pipevine

Skippers: mallows

Snouts: hackberry

Sulphurs: cassias

Viceroys: pear, cottonwood, willow

Whites: mustards, pepper-grass

Zebra Longwings: passionflowers

Clockwise from Top Left: Black Swallowtail, Monarch, Snout, Zebra Longwing

Include damp areas or shallow puddles in the garden.

Some butterflies drink and extract salts from moist soil. Occasionally large numbers of male butterflies congregate around a moist area to drink, forming a “puddle club”.

Place flat stones in the garden.

Butterflies often perch on stones, bare soil or vegetation, spread their wings and bask in the sun. Basking raises their body temperature so they are able to fly and remain active.

Do not use pesticides in or near a butterfly garden.

Most traditional garden pesticides are toxic to butterflies. Use predatory insects, insecticidal soap or hand remove the pests if problems occur.

Become a butterfly watcher!

Get to know the colorful butterflies that visit your garden. They are easy to identify with a field guide or butterfly app!

-Sally

With Passover starting Friday & Easter this Sunday, many will be gathering with family & friends to eat, play games and visit. Wonderful times!

We’ve filled our store with beautiful blooming annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and tubs of flowers for last minute “dress up” your garden for the holiday! Come see us this Friday & Saturday for the best of the best in gardening supplies to make your home it’s best. We all wish you a very happy holiday!

…And we’ll be closed Sunday for our time with family. Thank you!!

– Sally & James & Your Gill Nursery Team

Whether your hummingbirds are just passing through or they’re residents to our area, you can be sure they’re hungry! Hummingbirds are most attracted to orange & red blooming plants with tubular blooms.

From our observation, one of their favorites in our area is the Firecracker Plant, which blooms spring, summer and fall as long as it gets good hot, full sun.

Firecracker Plant

The tubular flowers make it perfect for the hummingbird to feed on. Another sun loving hummingbird plant is Red Yucca, which also has a very generous bloom season.

Red Yucca

One of my favorites is Salvia gregii. It doesn’t look like much in the garden center because it doesn’t bloom as heavy until it gets established. But boy, the hummingbirds love this one!

Salvia Gregii

Others are Mexican Honeysuckle, David Verity Cuphea, Firebush (aka Hamelia), Turk’s Cap (native to our area), Shrimp Plant and Cape Honeysuckle. Planting in mass (two or three plants) in full sun is a sure way to get them to stop by your garden for dinner!

Clockwise from top: Hamelia, David Verity Cuphea, Turk’s Cap, Shrimp Plant

Happy Gardening!!

-Sally

Left: Hamelia Patens; Center: Lime Sizzler Hamelia

What a great diverse shrub for the landscape. Super easy to grow, drought tolerant, and they are another hummingbird favorite!

Firebush comes in 3 different varieties. Hamelia Patens grows to 6-8 feet tall and wide with reddish leaves and red-orange tubular flowers. Compact Hamelia grows to 4-5 feet tall and wide with the same colored leaves and flowers as the tall variety. Both of these thrive in full sun.

A new variety came out a couple of years ago called Lime Sizzler. It has more of a chartreuse green variegated leaf with orange tubular flowers and works best in morning sun and afternoon shade. It’s a little more cold sensitive but that colorful foliage is worth a place in your landscape!

They’re all fast growing and can be cut back early spring, rebounding quickly. They bloom from spring through fall catching migrating hummers spring and fall.

We have them all in stock ready to light up your landscape!

-DeAnna & Debbie

flowers

Boston Gardens: Growing Strong

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