Four Investments for a Better Garden in 2019

Investment Number One: Build your gardening skills. The more you know, the better you’ll grow. Taking classes, joining a local garden club and finding someone to mentor you along your gardening journey are three ways to strengthen your gardening knowledge and techniques.  

Consider joining Hoe and Hope Garden Club, a well-established local organization whose membership includes all levels of gardening experience. For more information regarding Hoe and Hope by click on this link: http://hoeandhopegardenclub.com/.  

Take some classes. At The Flower Bin, we offer classes in the spring and fall. As a matter of fact, our first class for 2019 is on Saturday, January 19. You can learn more about this class and others on our website at https://www.theflowerbin.net/home-decor.  

Find a garden mentor. A garden mentor is someone with the training, knowledge and experience to help you make good decisions when it comes to planting, growing and harvesting your crops. This could be a neighbor, a friend or someone in a local garden shop that you can bounce garden questions and ideas off of.  

Investment Number Two: Build your garden soil. Soil quality has the greatest influence on your crops and yields. You can overcome a lot of gardening mistakes if your soil has good structure, drains well and is healthy and rich with microbial activity. Adding organic material on a regular basis, utilizing cover crops effectively and incorporating strategies that build and maintain soil microbe health are methods that will pay off in larger yields.  

Investment Number Three: Know, don’t guess. From Azomite to Langbeinite to Vermiculite, you have a lot of choices when it comes to garden supplements. It’s a good idea to test your soil before the season begins. You can use a DIY kit or send a sample off to Colorado State University for a more extensive test. Once you have your test results, bring it to us and we'll help you figure out what to do. 

Investment Number Four: Buy the best tools you can and take care of them. Good tools make every garden task easier, safer and more effective. Create a designated storage spot for each tool and get in the habit of cleaning your tools and putting each tool away after you’ve used it.  This way, you won’t waste time looking for tools when you're ready to go to work. 

Finally, get out in the garden every day. Working in the garden isn't all about the chores you "have to do". Whether you're growing tomatoes or dahlias, make sure you pause every now and then and enjoy your garden. It's one of the healthiest aspects of your life. 

Gift Gardeners will Use

  

Got a gardener on your Christmas list? Give them gifts they will use to make their gardening hobby more enjoyable. Whether your gardener enjoys growing tomatoes, vegetables, flowers or roses, having the right tool makes every job easier. Every gardener's tool box should include  a garden knife, a good set of pruners and a pair of trimming scissors. 

For versatility, it's hard to beat a garden knife, also called a Hori-Hori knife. Once you use it, you'll want this tool with you every time you work in the garden. 

Garden knives are used for everything from laying a straight line to digging, weeding, planting, opening bags of soil or mulch, cutting garden twine and much more. 

A good set of pruners is another essential tool for every gardener. Your gardener will use this tool to prune roses, perennials, shrubs and small tree limbs. Choose a quality bypass pruner for best results. 

Trimming scissors are the best tool to have for some of the finer work in the garden, such as deadheading and light pruning. They are also useful indoors for keeping houseplants neat and trimmed. This is the tool we use at the 'Bin for all of our trimming chores. 

Finish up your shopping with a good pair of gloves and add some hand lotion while you're at it. These gifts your gardener will really use and they'll think about you every time they do. 

Caring for your Flower Bin Poinsettia

Poinsettias are native to Mexico and Central America. Poinsettias were introduced in the United States by Joel Roberts Poinsett, the first U.S. Ambassador to Mexico. The Poinsettia we know today is a result of the significant contributions of Horticulturalist Paul Ecke Jr., whose innovations transformed the poinsettia into the country’s best-selling potted plant. Poinsettias have thin foliage leaves that vary in color from pale to dark green. 

The showy parts of the poinsettia that most people think of as flowers are specialized leaves, called bracts. The actual flowers are tiny yellow clusters found at the very center of the bracts. Poinsettias are available in a wide variety of breathtaking colors from solid red to variegated leaves. 

We also dye a few poinsettias for added color and interest. Our dyes are safe for the plant and people. 

Proper care for your poinsettia begins before you leave the store. If you choose, we will gift wrap your poinsettia in foil and ribbon. We cut a drain hole in the foil on the plants we wrap so your plant will drain properly.  We will carefully bag your poinsettia when it’s cold, to protect it on its way home. Once you get your poinsettia home, unwrap it and place it in a room where it will get bright light, but not direct sunlight.  

Poinsettias don’t like drafts, so keep your plants away heater vents, fireplaces, doors and cold windows. The ideal room temperature should be around 72°F during the day and no cooler than 60°F at night. Water your poinsettia thoroughly when the soil surface is dry to the touch. Poinsettias don’t like to sit in water, so discard any water that may collect in the saucer under the plant. With the proper care, your poinsettia will last through the holiday season and retain its beauty well into the New Year. 

At The Flower Bin, we grow all of our own poinsettias, so you can be assured that the plant you are purchasing is locally grown and of the highest quality.