Ready, Set, Go!

Our unseasonably cool April has slowed gardeners down a bit this year. Many of us, especially those of us out in the northern and western Baltimore suburbs want to get going with our container plantings and annual beds outside. Mother's Day may be the rule for tender annuals like impatiens and begonias, but many plants can go outside right now without worrying about low temperatures and frost.
Verbena is available in many colors. It is great to use as a trailing plant in a planter or as a very colorful groundcover that will bloom all summer. We use them in combination with geraniums and petunia in our farm greenhouse-grown hanging baskets.

Another hanging basket favorite is the Wave petunia. Burgundy Star was new last year. If performed well through our cool spring and hot summer in 2010.

The family of black petunias is new this year. Phantom, Pinstripe and Black Velvet have all garnered lots of attention from garden writers this year.
 Many other annuals do well planted now and often blooming all summer long. Take a look at beautiful pink diascia, snapdragons, alyssum, dusty miller and all sorts of hybrid petunias. In the meantime, be patient. Warmer weather is just around the corner.

Spring To-Do List

Finally, spring looks like it may be here to stay. Here is my to-do list for my next couple of  days off. What's yours?

Replace foundation shrubs around the house. I'll be looking for deer resistant shrubs and maybe a few azaleas. I'll be using Liquid Fence to keep the animals away.

Deer-resistant plum yew

Add compost or Leafgro to all of my garden beds to get them ready for planting. Leafgro adds much needed organic matter to the soil, creating a healthy environment for growing.

Leafgro, our favorite soil amendment

Plant cole crops, like broccoli and cabbage. Lettuce, peas, onions and potatoes can go in now too. Wait a bit on tomatoes, peppers and eggplant unless you live in Baltimore city or areas south.

Cole crops and lettuces are grown by Valley View Farms

Plant spring-blooming trees and shrubs. A little color goes a long way to get spring started in the yard.

Nothing says spring like forsythia

Now is a great time to add perennials too. Beautiful pastels are especially valued for spring color.

Phlox subulata is great for slopes

Feed trees, shrubs, perennials and vegetable plants to get their roots, leaves and blooms ready to go for spring and summer.

Espoma is one of our lines of fertilizer

And, finally, get a head start on pesky weeds. Use Jonathan Green's Crabgrass Preventer and Greenup for a beautiful lawn. Use Amaze and Concern weed preventers to keep garden beds weed free.

Is that Scotty hiding behind the crabgrass preventer?

Weed preventers are a real timesaver

I will also take some time to stop and smell the roses, pansies and other spring flowers. Hope you have a fun and productive time getting ready for spring and summer.

I love, love, love pansies

Filming Commercials at Valley View Farms

Whew! We just finished a week of filming twenty of our spring commercials at Valley View Farms. Our friends from WBAL TV spent the entire time checking lights, audio, all of our beautiful garden settings and our on-air "talent" while they rolled camera filming our thirty second spots.

Don and the crew from WBAL TV make sure the lighting and set are ready

So many people from Valley View Farms kicked in to make this year a success. Thanks to Andy, Matt, Andy, Jan, Suzanne, Mary Beth, Bonnie, John, Carlton, Brian and our adman Dick.

Suzanne is waiting for the "action" signal

And, thanks to our co-workers and customers who were so patient and "quiet on the set". Don, Jen, Sean, Dave, Steve, the three Mikes, Mark, Adam, Amy, Josh and all the folks at WBAL; thanks for making us look good. Stay tuned to WBAL all spring to see the results.
                                                                                     

Dogs and bunnies steal the show

                               

2011 Plants of the Year

The National Garden Bureau has declared the tomato and zinnia as 2011's vegetable and flower of the year.

Profusion Zinnias

 Both plants are very popular here at Valley View Farms. Our farm's greenhouse staff is growing 39 varieties of tomatoes this year from the diminutive Tiny Tim to the huge Beefsteak varieties.

Young Beefsteak Tomato Seedlings

Check out our website and click on each tomato variety to learn more about each plant's fruit size, disease resistance, days to harvest, and whether or not it is an heirloom variety or good for container gardening.

Our growers John and Vernon will also be starting several varieties of zinnias, including beautiful Dreamland Ivory, Red, Rose, Scarlet and Yellow. The farm will be seeding Profusion Cherry, Fire and Yellow varieties for late May and June gardens and planters too. Profusions are great in the garden, providing tons of color and are easy to grow. Or start your own seeds; we have over 50 varieties in the seed aisle to get things going.

Zinnia Seeds Galore

How to Make a Terrarium

Terrariums can be easy to grow. Choose a glass vessel, preferably with a lid. (Plastic wrap will do in a pinch.) Depending on the size and height of the container, add an inch or two of gravel. Add an additional inch or two of horticultural charcoal. Charcoal acts as a water filter and will keep the little bit of water you'll add later from getting stagnant. Add a layer of potting mix. Again depending on the size of your container, levels will vary. I've used an old aquarium and could actually add hills and valleys to the terrarium landscape. In a smaller vessel, a couple of inches will do. Remember, the potting mix does have to be deep enough to satisfy your plants' root systems.

Now comes the fun part of terrarium making. Choosing plants for the terrarium can be a little intimidating. Look for tropical plants that don't get too tall or grow too wide. You'll have to match the plant to the container also. A tall glass container can handle a plant like a Norfolk Island Pine or a long-leaved dracaena. Wider glassware can be planted with groundcover-type houseplants like baby's tears and strawberry begonias. I love ferns; the humidity levels that terrariums provide are perfect for them. Also consider Venus fly-traps and other plant oddities that require high moisture levels. And, cacti and succulents can be grown in terrariums too; just keep the lids off and plant relatively high in the container.

Terrariums will not need much water. Do water the plants in initially, keeping any lids off until condensation disappears from the sides of the glass.  I am amazed at how long terrariums can go without water. Do check to make sure the soil is moist, but not too wet and water when the soil surface is dry to the touch.

Stop in and take a look at the tremendous variety of small plants that can be grown in terrariums. You'll love the mini-violets and orchids for color. And stay tuned. We will be receiving some adorable accessories to convert your mini-glass gardens into homes for fairies and gnomes.

Terrariums

We knew terrariums were going to be hot this year, so the Sun newspaper article and the episode on CBS Sunday Morning  last week featuring terrariums did not take us totally by surprise. A few of us were around last time, in the 70's when terrariums and sand art gardens were big.

At least four of us have been on the lookout for cool glass vessels for planting, our bonsai grower has been busy potting up miniature plants and the garden shop manager had stocked plenty of charcoal and moss. So we are ready now, and good thing, because we've received eight phone calls during a cold winter's day from people who are ready to plant up some of these fun mini-gardens.

One of our inspirations is a book by Tovah Martin titled The New Terrarium. The book features all kinds of ideas for growing and displaying gardens under glass.
If you are interested in learning more about terrariums, stop in anytime and talk to one of our enthusiasts, or join us on February 5th at 11:00 am for a workshop. Visit our website and click on Events for more information.

Gardening Seminars for 2011

Saturday, January 8th Seminar Held in Our Greenhouse

A snowy Saturday didn't stop people eager to learn about gardening, particularly bonsai, from stopping in  Valley View Farms this morning.  About forty participants, most here for the first time, enjoyed learning about the basics of bonsai from our guest speaker Martha Meehan of Meehan's Miniatures. We will continue to hold informational seminars about many forms of gardening in the coming weeks and months in our greenhouse and seminar area at the garden center. Click here to go to our schedule of events. The events page will be updated regularly with our featured speaker's names, times and titles of new classes.