Park Seed Garden Journal

Recently, I’ve mentioned some of the new varieties of Knock Out roses, like Rose Double Knock Out and Rose Rainbow Knock Out, but I just wanted to touch on the original Knock Out Rose a little. This is the robust landscape rose that started it all, possibly changing the culture of rose breeding and rose gardening forever. After the original Knock Out, everyone wanted to make their roses as strong as they were beautiful. There is no reason your hybrid teas need to be sensitive to every fungus in your garden, and the Rose Knock Out has proven that.

In case you haven’t heard, the Knock Out Rose is cold-hardy, disease resistant, and pest-resistant. It is probably the most blackspot resistant rose on the market. It will stand up to ravages by Japanese beetles and other insects. It is cold-hardy to winter temperatures as low as -20 degrees Fahrenheit, and has one of the longest bloom seasons of any rose, stretching from spring to fall.

This is a touch, beautiful, single-blooming landscape rose. It has made history by spawning a whole generation of hardy roses.

These elegant little flowers are the source of the world’s most expensive spice. The bright orange stigmas contain saffron. You can grow your own, and use it right in your kitchen. And, the beautiful lavender blooms will make a nice addition to any garden.

The Saffron Crocus was once grown as a culinary herb, medicine, perfume, and dye–now they are available for you to grow in your very own garden. Charming violet-blue flowers arise in fall–dainty and unassuming–you never guess they harbored such a rich history. The elongated orange stigmas contain saffron, the most expensive spice in the world, once worth its weight in gold in the ancient Minoan culture and medieval Europe.

In the fall and winter as many plants start to go dormant, the deer and other mammalian wildlife star getting pretty hungry. Many of us have watched our beautiful gardens turn in a veritable buffet for the local fauna. But, choosing certain deer-resistant plants will make your garden less appealing to your furry little visitors.

No plant is guaranteed to be deer proof, but these plant are naturally unappetizing because of unpleasant tastes, smells, or textures. If hungry enough, these woodland bandits will eat just about anything, but if you choose plants that are known to be resistant to grazing, your garden has a better chance of surviving through the night.

Many of these plants that are deer-resistant, like Thuja Green Giant and Echinacea, are pleasing to humans, and you would love to have them in your garden anyway.

Many people often have a few questions about they’re fall vegetable gardens. You’ve started your seeds inside with a seed-starter system like Park’s Bio-Dome, or you are sowing your fall veggies directly on the ground – Now what? There are a few things to keep in mind to ensure a plentiful harvest this fall.

1. If your garden will not receive regular moisture — it may be better to germinate inside or buy transplants. Your fall vegetable seeds will have a hard time starting if it is too dry.
2. Remove all of the weeds and other plant material from your spring garden to ensure your new plants get a fresh start.
3. Plant your garden seeds deeper in the fall — most cool-season vegetables do well if planted about an inch deep. The moisture will be a little lower in the soil, and the ground will be a little warmer at the surface than it was in the spring.
4. Water your fall garden deeply once a week. Frequent light waterings will be needed at first if you are germinating in the ground — this will allow the new roots to become established more quickly.

Cool season-veggies are much hardier than those planted in the spring. The insect pests and scorching  heat of spring and summer gardening are not a problem in the fall, allowing your plants to thrive with much less work from you.

It’s time to start thinking about those beautiful winter flowers, from pansies and sweet pea to viola and nasturtium. Park Seed supplies some of the top seed-starting systems available including Park’s Original Bio-Dome.

This tiny little greenhouse with its innovative peat germinating sponges, is the most reliable way to start seeds. I bought mine last spring (found out later that since I was going to write about it, I might have been able to try one for free – oops!- they are only $19.95 and well-worth it). I used it for squash, tomatoes, zinnias, watermellon, and everything else. I was just sticking things in it mostly because I was curious. My germination rates were Great. The Bio-Dome is also great for cuttings.

If you are looking to start some flower seed this winter take a look at this short list of what we are offering at Parkseed.com

Winter Flower Seeds
  All Winter Flower Seeds
  Delphinium Seed
  Nasturtium Seed
  Ornamental Cabbage Seed
  Pansy Seed
  Pot Marigold Seed
  Snapdragon Seed
  Sweet Pea Seed
  Viola Seed

If you have any garden projects in mind that require trees, you may want to go ahead and order them to ensure you get them in time.

When the weather starts to cool your baby trees will have the best opportunity for a great start in your garden. The drying summer heat has passed, and the cool fall will allow your new trees to get their roots established and have a nice restful winter and spring before the next heat wave.

Whether you are planning on planting a privacy fence with those wonderful Thuja Green Giants, or you want to plant your own orchard of fruit trees, the time for planting is quickly approaching. Here in the south, we probably have another month or two, but for those of you in the cooler zones, it will start to be very cold very soon.

Plant a beautiful fig tree this fall. The dwarf petite black fig is a wonderfully interesting tree with a dense twisty habit and beautiful little black fruits. The tasty little figs are a perfect summer treat. A fruit tree is an excellent way to add multiple levels of interest to your garden. Not only are you growing an incredible specimen that your gardener friends will surely envy, but you’re growing delicious a delicious fruit that can be using in baking, making preserves, or just a light snack while you enjoy your garden.

The petite black fig, or dwarf fig negronne will grow only 6 to 8 feet tall and 3 to 4 feet wide–perfect for a large container. After about a year, you will get one good crop, and from then on you will get two crops of fruit per year–one in July, then another around late September. The large, black-skinned fruits are plump and lightly creased, with delicious, juicy dark red flesh.

It is also good for attracting birds to your garden, and , if you let the fruit fall to the ground, butterflies. The petite black fig is an all around garden star. It if also small enough to grow on your patio, or even inside if you have enough room.

You can go ahead and plant all of your spring flower bulbs and summer bulbs this fall. That gives them time to establigh a strong root system and ensures a good show next.

Bulbs should be firm and not mushy or rotten—small amounts of surface mold should be okay. If only a small part of the bulb seems to be mushy, try slicing off that part with a knife and stick it in the ground anyway. It’s better to give it a fighting chance than to just assume it’s dead and throw it away.

Bulbs that have already sprouted will be vulnerable during the winter, so make sure your bulbs have as little new growth as possible.

Larger bulbs, like tulips, produce bigger plants and tend to come up later in the season than plants from smaller bulbs. Plants with smaller bulbs, like crocus, come up much earlier.

While plowing through gardening news, looking for ideas and current events, I came across this great article about what the author, Christine Arpe Gang, refers to as Lasagna Gardening. This is a method of amending the soil in such a way that traditional tilling and working of the soil isn’t necessary.

Instead of working with your existing poor or hard soil, just put down layers of wet newspaper and organic matter like compost or leaf mold. Lie down 12-30 inches of this depending on your needs, and let the worms work through it for a few days before planting. A perfect solution for those who aren’t able to till or just don’t have enough space to justify the equipment, but its also a very efficient trick for anyone wanting to improve soil quality.

I was curious about how effective this method might be, so i asked a fellow Park Seed employee, who also happens to be a very active Master Gardener. She told me that she hasn’t tilled her garden in over two years. She already uses this method, and her plants are amazing – it’s the best way to garden if you have tough clay, or thin sandy soil. I am very eager to try this myself.

Knock Out roses have impressed ever since they hit the market in 2001. They are as beautiful as traditional hybrid teas with none of the fuss. They are the perfect landscape roses.

The double-blooming Knock Out Rose brings the series to fruition, introducing a real competitively fragrant and elegant rose for rosearians. These full double blooms keep coming all season long. The Double Knockout is as resistant to blackspot, insect pests, drought, heat, and humidity as its older sister, but with a little extra flair.

If you are looking for a truly elegant landscape rose that will stand up to the elements, you should consider the Rose Double Knock Out.