It's all about gardening ... At Zinnia Designs it's all about gardening, the love, the passion and just getting your hands in the soil.
Let us design and plant your beautiful garden and you will be rewarded with perennial joy and happiness.

images“Love Planted a rose, and the world turned sweet.”- Katharine Lee Bates

Many of us think of Valentine’s Day as a day when people give small presents, chocolate candy,(Conversation hearts-a must) flowers, or cards to someone they admire or love. Roses are always the first flowers that come to mind, but to all of us gardeners when we think roses, we think-rose bushes in the garden-or at least I do. For years I have told my husband I would rather head down to Roseland in Acushnet, MA for a field trip in early spring and let me choose a new addition(or multiple) to my garden.  Many flowers, herbs, trees, and other plants traditionally symbolize feelings, moods, or ideas, and roses in particular have their own meaning and come in a variety of colors.

  • White rose: purity, innocence, reverence, a new beginning, a fresh start.
  • Red rose: love, I love you
  • Deep, dark crimson rose: mourning
  • Pink rose: grace, happiness, gentleness
  • Yellow rose: joy, friendship, the promise of a new beginning
  • Orange rose: desire and enthusiasm
  • Lavender rose: love at first sight
  • Coral rose: friendship, modesty, sympathy

House Plants-Always a must especially this time of year-my opinion-you can never have enough! Houseplants fo dormant int he winter and you don’t want to fertilize them at this time. Resume feeding once new growth appears in early spring. saintpauliaafricanviolet-1My rule of thumb this time of year is to always have something blooming indoors-it may be gray and cold outdoors but bright and cheery indoors.

Design-Because of the lack of snow on the ground now is a great time to bundle up and head outdoors-assess your garden and make notes of what you want to do come spring-adding or transplanting plants, trees, shrubs, adding hardscape, vegetable gardens etc. Make a list of must-haves for this upcoming season that you are thinking about. Consider trying a new perennial or tree this year. I usually have about 5 new items.

Flower show-The Boston Flower and Garden show is right around the corner-put it in your calendar for March 13th-the 17th at the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston. Just what we all need this time of year. I think it also helps that Daylight Savings Begins on March 10th this year also.
IMG_0575“In the spring, at the end of the day-you should smell like dirt.”- Margaret Atwood

 

unknownNo two gardens are the same. No two days are the same in one garden.” –Hugh Johnson, English writer

Yesterday was the Full Hunter’s Moon, I hope you all were able to see it last night. If not I am sure tonight will be just as spectacular.

The temperatures have been cooler than usual this time of year and we are starting to see the hydrangeas droop, perennials turning brown and of course lots of leaves falling. If you haven’t brought in your houseplants yet, I recommend you do and quickly. I also recommend spraying them as well to kill any larvae or eggs that may have been laid over the summer. I use Neem oil and also Bonide Houseplant insect control.april-24_tulips-daffodilssecaucus_0245sm-s

Bulb Planing: Great time to plant bulbs is when you are cutting your gardens down for the season and putting them to bed. I have given up planting tulips, the deer don’t seem to mind moth balls unlike the other critters. So now I plant masses of daffodils and hyacinths which they don’t seem to like. I recommend using a bulb fertilizer and also once placing the soil back on top spreading some moth balls and pressing them into the ground-chipmunks, squirrels and skunks don’t care for moth balls.

Putting the gardens to bed: This time of year we gardeners get a little sad about putting the gardens to bed for the season, but it’s also a time to get in there and divide and transplant! With all the rain we have had the ground is nice and moist and is perfect for transplanting! Also many nurseries are having sales and you may come across that certain perennial or rose bush you just didn’t have time to pick up in the spring, go get it and add it in! My advice as always is make sure you keep a blanket of leaves over your garden beds through the winter-this way if we get a cold snap and don’t have any snow, your plants will be protected. I know to some of you it will look messy, but trust me you will be happy come spring that you did.

flwbul-ama-minerva-2Holiday greens/flowers: It is never too early to start thinking about decorating for the holidays! If you’re like me this time of year, when the garden starts to fade, I bring all the house plants in(am excited to see all the buds on my Christmas cactuses!) I look out the window and don’t see as much blooming in my yard, I need something blooming indoors-at all times! Amaryllis bulbs are spectacular. Now is the time to get them, you can get them at the nurseries or hardware stores, get a sturdy pot (I recommend a heavy pot-not the plastic ones they come with-when they start to bloom-they get top heavy) can even be terra-cotta, and place in a sunny window and water once a week, rotate the pot as the stalk begins to grow-it will want to lean towards the sunny window. You can put multiple in one large pot and different colors too.

Meyer Lemon Tree: Again I always have to have something blooming at all times, which I mean in every room in my house! SO why not try a Meyer Lemon tree? They are easy to grow, they flower and the scent is so beautiful and produce lemons. Place in full sun by a south facing window, temperatures day and night should be between 55-70 degrees. Keep soil evenly moist and mist leaves every few days.unknown-1

Halloween: I am sure many of you have your pumpkins already and getting ready to carve them. Save those pumpkin seeds and roast them! Spread 2 Cups of cleaned seeds in a shallow baking pan and drizzle 2 teaspoons of oil, stirring to coat. Bake at 325, stirring frequently until seeds are golden and crunchy about 1 hour. Enjoy!

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images“Every spring is the only spring, a perpetual astonishment”-Ellis Peters, English Writer

Well, we are certainly all ready for spring and March 20th can’t seem to come fast enough for many of us. We have been spoiled this year, and we deserve it! Because of the warmer temperatures and rain we have had, try and stay off your grass if it is soggy, too much pressure will compact the soil and inhibit the rooting of new grass. With the weather being so nice we all want to get out there and get in those gardens, my advice, get all the big sticks and limbs that have fallen but don’t remove the snow stakes, just in case, you don’t want the plow digging up your lawn.

IMG_0575Boston Flower and Garden Show March 14th-18th at the Seaport World Trade Center. Put it on the calendar. What a wonderful way to get all of us ready for our gardening season, and who doesn’t love to smell mulch? There are wonderful lectures you can attend, exhibits to see and can even bring home a potted house plant or fresh flowers.

Daffodil Weekend, Nantucket A wonderful event if you have never been. This year is April 27-29th. The last weekend of April, the Nantucket Island Chamber of Commerce holds their annual Daffodil Festival – a weekend of events to celebrate springtime awakening on Nantucket Island. The first occasion, a very simple affair in the 1970s, included an antique car parade in which islanders showed off their classic cars, followed by a community tailgate picnic in ‘Sconset.images-1

Let’t talk about Wisteria. Wisteria has enchanted gardeners for centuries with its dramatic clusters of flowers in blue, pink, purple and white. Unfortunately the Chinese and Japanese varieties can be weedy and destructive. But as an alternative, consider growing less invasive natives, such as American Wisteria. This high climbing vine blooms from April to May. Train vines to grow on a freestanding arbor, pergola, trellis or fence. Their twisted woody vines create great interest in the garden when in bloom and not in bloom.

A Beautiful Flowering Wisteria Plant during Spring ** Note: Shallow depth of field

Lastly, we have the Full Worm Moon this Thursday. It is called the Full Worm Moon because the ground begins to thaw and earthworms reappear, soon followed by the return of robins-a sight that we all welcome with spring!

 

“Garden as though you will live forever”-William Kent

unknownThis is the way I live each and every day, because we all know that every day is a gift. And what is better than giving yourself constant gifts in the garden. Now, if you ask my husband he will tell you I don’t possibly need one more item for my gardens, but it is not about the need it’s the want. We gardeners are constantly learning about new plant materials, whether it is all the wonderful magazines we read, the lectures we attend or even popping by a friends garden. The other night I attended a lecture and this gorgeous Japanese Beautyberry was one of the shrubs they talked about. I have planted many of these for clients and friends, but then sat there saying to myself-“why don’t I have this in my garden?” My quick answer to myself-“first thing I will get in the spring!” This is “Early Amethyst”the primary ornamental feature is the spectacular display of the lilac-violet fruit in the fall.The prefer full to partial sun. The leaves are also striking and add interest in any garden. This is a great time to think about your gardens, hopefully you made some notes and you can immerse yourself in how you will add to your gardens as soon as the ground thaws.

unknown-1Seed Catalogs- I love when they fill up my table. I sit and look at them for hours, check off multiple pages then go back and realize I don’t have the space for all I want to order.But there are always the favorites like Zinnias-such a happy flower! If you are new to growing plants from seed, keep it simple. Because each plant has different seed starting requirements, I suggest trying a few of the same varieties to start indoors. Try tomatoes, basil, marigolds, cosmos, nasturtiums and of course Zinnias.

Full Wolf Moon/Full Old Moon- This month we have 2 full moons, we had the first one on New Year’s Day, and the second which is on January 31st. A blue moon is the second full moon that occurs in a month, this year we have 2 blue moons, January and March, none in February-but just a fun fact.

imagesEarly Bloomers- One of the early bloomers that flower in early spring are glory of the snow and spring snowflake. Glory of the snow can sometimes be seen poking through the melting snow. It is deer resistant and offers a beautiful lilac color blossom which after a long winter is a welcoming sight. Spring snowflake is a beautiful white bell shape flower that multiplies and is a great choice for pond side plantings.unknown-2

Lastly, with all the snow we received from Mother Nature earlier this month, embrace it. With the frigid temperatures that followed and high winds, if we didn’t have the snow to act as an insulator, many of our evergreens would suffer from winter burn or wind damage. I know with this wonderful thaw we have going on you may be tempted to go out and brush off your plants or shrubs, don’t. Plain and simple. You may damage the plant worse than the snow. Don’t worry they are hardy and will bounce back, may need a little trimming, but trust me stay indoors and focus on what you will be planting in garden for the spring!

 

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