Gardening Has Not Been Canceled

Gardening here in Maryland has taken on new life. I've been lucky enough to work through this pandemic, but have spent much more time at home in late afternoons and evenings. Plants are flourishing; tomatoes are too abundant to use immediately after harvest.  Luckily, they're plum tomatoes, so I'll freeze them for use later. 

Two weeks before the harvest

 Summertime, as usual here in Maryland, flips between drought and tropical storm-induced heavy rains. A friend who lives in Southern Maryland has had 11 inches or more of rain this past week! Her fruit trees have floated up into her pasture, roots and all. Still, with all of its challenges, gardening gives us a nice break from the news of the day and allows us to nurture nature on our own terms. 

Walking through the garden center today, I've made plans for more planting. The vegetable garden gets a restart. I consider this season 3 in the garden. The first round in March-April was for peas, cole crops, and lettuce. Season 2---tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, and zucchini. Season 3 will include broccoli, lettuce, and beets in my own garden, planted in pots around the patio. 

Spinach, Swiss Chard and Lettuces

Great time to plant herbs too!

Coneflowers, hardy hibiscus, sedum, ornamental grasses, asters, and mums are a few things that can be planted and give the garden color for another couple of months. Rudbeckia, heliopsis, the aforementioned coneflowers, and coreopsis all feature daisy-shaped flowers with seed centers that birds will love long after the plants finish blooming. 

Hardy hibiscus blooms are dinner plate size

Ornamental grasses

Sedum a few weeks before color

Mums

Captivating coneflowers

Black-eyed Susans

Coneflowers

Pond plants are blooming too. Lotus, waterlilies, and cannas add color to the water garden. The Koi bring delight to everyone. Watching kids feed the koi with enthusiasm is a highlight at the big pond daily at 12:30. 

David topping off the ponds

Water gardens

During storms and times that it is just too hot outside, we move inside with houseplants. Decorating with plants is fun; choosing the right pot to go with our plant and inside spaces brings a bit of nature inside. 

The dracaena is on its way to a new home

Gardening was not canceled this year. We've met many new gardeners. Please use our resources, including signage, handouts, and knowledgeable people, many who are passionate gardeners themselves. 

Keep calm and garden on!

Are Houseplants the New Black?

By Emily Weglein

February 3^rd, 2020

Hello fellow plant lovers! It’s Emily, your soon to be 25-year-old here to discuss why millennials like myself are into purchasing and tending to houseplants over traditional home gardening. I have been working at Valley View Farms Garden Center and Nursery for a year now, and with working here comes a vast knowledge of how to care for plants along with which plants are best suited for your lifestyle.

These 3 plants that were purchased as terrarium plants flourish in this south-facing window

Many college students and recent college graduates live in smaller enclosed spaces such as apartments or dorm rooms. Urban living has also become a popular “home” destination among those who have completed university. The appeal of living within walking distance to any food joint or bar of your preference lures the younger generation in. The downside to apartment life is the lack of yard space that many who live in a single-family home have at their disposal. Because young adults do not have the space for a flower or vegetable garden, houseplants ring in as their only option for the chance of acquiring a green thumb.

Euphorbia trigona, a succulent houseplant, is showcased here

Many millennials use houseplants to decorate and bring natural color into their living areas. Houseplants are said to improve overall wellbeing by enhancing mood and promoting creativity. If anyone needs a boost of serotonin, it would be recent college graduates drowning in student debt. What better way to reduce stress than buying that cute little succulent you just saw your best friend post on their Instagram? With technology on the rise and the active use of mobile phones, trends tend to seemingly occur overnight. The houseplant trend has skyrocketed over the past couple of years thanks to social media platforms such as Instagram. Instagram is a public video and picture-sharing social network. From big magazine corporations like Better Homes and Gardens to local businesses such as Valley View Farms posting and promoting unique houseplants, no wonder college kids are interested in adding plant life to their space. If houseplants are the rage all over the internet, of course millennials will then follow by getting their hands on some.

Asparagus fern thrives on this windowsill

Some houseplants are harder to tend to than others. I like to stick to the basics, the ones that require as little care as possible but still look beautiful in your home. One of my favorites, and most popular among houseplant owners would be the Pothos plant. Pothos is a trailing vine with leaves that look like spades. Pothos requires a moderate amount of watering and can even grow in low light conditions. It is the perfect houseplant for people constantly on the go.

The pothos pictured above is starting to trail beautifully

Another great easy-to-care-for houseplant would be the Snake Plant! Snake Plants have a vibrant yellow outline along the leaves making the plant pop out in any room. Snake Plants are one of those plants that do best when you just leave them alone.

With its striking yellow edges. the Snake Plant shows off its vigor in the picture above

By placing them in indirect sunlight and watering once the soil has completely dried out, you will have a happy Snake Plant last for years.

Are you interested in purchasing some bright and colorful houseplants for your home? Check out Valley View Farms Garden Center and Nursery in Cockeysville, MD. We have a variety of houseplants in our Greenhouse that I’m sure will dress up your home in the happiest way possible! Check out and follow our Instagram page on the link below for updates on new plant arrivals!

Valley View Farms Houseplants

Happy Planting,

Emily