Late November Gardening has its benefits

Chilly November mornings quickly turn into warm, late fall days, perfect for spending time in the garden. Even though it’s a quiet time, there’s still things to do in the landscape this time of year including cleaning up any left-over leaves and debris, adding mulch to roses and perennials, spreading soil amendments on the vegetable garden and wrapping up some chores that somehow linger from week to week. 

First of all, gather up any leaves that last week’s high winds blew in. Use them to mulch around herbs, such as Chamomile, mums and other perennials. Fallen leaves can also be used to improve the vegetable garden. Simply scatter them across the top of the beds, then cover with two or three inches of compost. The leaves will break down over the course of the winter, improving soil structure and protecting microbial life. Even if you don’t have any leaves, top dressing your garden beds with organic material this time of year will improve soil health and structure, protect those all-important micro-organisms living in your garden soil and make your spring preparation much easier. 

Bagged compost such as Sheep, Peat and Compost make it easy to add two or three inches of organic material to your beds. A one cubic foot bag of Sheep, Peat compost will cover ten square feet, two inches deep. 

This is a good time to add mulch to your perennials and roses. Four or five inches of mulch will help preserve moisture and keep the ground stable through the winter. Choose from Gorilla Hair Mulch, Western Cedar Mulch or Soil Pep.

While you’re at it, give your roses and perennials a good drink.  As to those lingering chores. There’s still time to wrap young trees to protect them from winter damage. There’s still time to plant some bulbs for spring color. There’s still time to send a soil sample to Colorado State University for testing. 

And there should always be time to spend walking through the garden, enjoy in the ornamental grasses and a colorful mum blooming late in the season.

You may even discover a lady bug enjoying the afternoon sun.  Even in late November, time spent outside is good for you and your garden.  

Christmas Begins at The Flower Bin

A long-standing Flower Bin tradition continues this weekend with our holiday-themed open house. This year, Christmas Begins at The Flower Bin runs from Friday November 23rd through Sunday November 25th and features live entertainment, visits by Santa Claus, refreshments, unique ornaments and decorations, living and fresh cut Christmas trees and Flower Bin grown poinsettias. 

Performing at our Holiday Open House for the 25th year in a row, Jeffery Rogers brings the unique sounds of the hammered dulcimer on Saturday November 24th from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm and again on Sunday November 25th from 11:00 am to 1:00 pm.  

Harpist Margot Krimmel will perform on Saturday November 24th from 11 am to 1 pm and again on Sunday November 25th from 1:30 pm to 3:30 pm. 

Santa Claus will pay a special visit on Saturday, November 24th, from 10 am to 2 pm and Sunday November 25th from 1:00 pm to 3:00 pm. 

Bring your camera for great family shots with Santa. 

Enjoy holiday cookies and apple cider while you shop the best in holiday decorations including: 

live and cut Christmas trees, wreaths, garland, ornaments and 

featuring stunning Flower Bin grown Poinsettias. Start a tradition of your own by making the Christmas Open house at The Flower Bin a “Must Do” to kick off your holiday season.

How to grow Amaryllis

Among the seasonal flowers that help us celebrate the holidays, amaryllis stand out for the living accent their long-lasting, colorful blooms lend to our holiday decorations. Amaryllis take six to seven weeks to bloom, so now’s the time to start them. 

Amaryllis are available in many beautiful varieties, including various shades of red, white, pink and salmon. 

Next to color, bulb quality and size are most important. Look for bulbs that are firm and still have some of their natural papery covering. Amaryllis bulbs are sized from small to X-large. Generally, the larger the bulb size, the more stalks and blooms it will produce. 

Once you've chosen the bulbs you want to start, it's time to pick out a container. Amaryllis can be planted in soil or forced in water. If you’re growing in soil, ceramic, clay or plastic pots will all work, as long as the container you select has good drainage. It's also important to know that amaryllis like to be snug in their pot, so select a container that's about an inch or so larger than the bulb and is deep enough for the roots to grow. Begin by adding damp potting soil to the bottom third of the pot. Place the bulb in the center of the pot and spread the roots out so they fan out from the center of the bulb. Do the best you can with the roots. You're mainly trying to keep them from bunching up under the bulb.

 Next, fill in around the bulb with more damp potting soil. Leave the top third of the bulb uncovered. Water thoroughly and place the bulb in a warm, well-lit location. Once the flower stalk begins to appear, you can start feeding your bulb with a 20-20-20 fertilizer. After that, fertilize every two weeks and water frequently enough to keep the soil moist. 

Amaryllis can also be grown in water. Select a container that doesn’t drain, add stones or gravel to the bottom of the pot and place your amaryllis bulb in the center of the container.  Add water to the container until it just touches the base of the bulb. Choose a warm, bright location for your bulb and maintain the water level throughout the growing and blooming cycle. For colorful blooms throughout the holidays, plant an amaryllis bulb every three to four weeks, starting now.