Exciting! New plants in the garden! But wait….now what? How much water? When?

Quick considerations before watering: Sun & Shade – Although most may say that shade gardens need less water it’s actually the opposite. The same trees that are providing shade are the same trees taking all the available water first. Wind – Wind is a quick way to dry out soils. Slopes – Watering on a slope is a challenge and this is where a slow soak is needed more. Mini soil damns and mulch help.  Making sure water is able to reach the bottom of those new root balls is extra important on a slope or it simply runs off the top. Seasonal Temperature – Soil is going to remain wet longer in the cooler months so be sure to check the soil moisture before adding to already wet soil.

To ensure the success of your newly planted trees and shrubs the root ball is to be constantly moist for a few weeks as soon as they are planted. Lawn irrigation will not be able to supply the water needed to soak the newly buried root ball because the roots of a lawn are just below the surface and the trees and shrubs are not. Physically check under the mulch for dry or soggy soil and either add water or wait. Too much water/love will result in sick or dead plants. Set the hose on a very slow trickle so that the water soaks in and doesn’t just move across the surface.

When getting new perennial plantings established it is very important to understand how small the root balls are. These small plants need more water often than new trees and shrubs and not as much. Keeping the soil moist for the first 30 days and then starting to back off. Here is the kicker, if the ground is wet already do not add more water. Plants will drown just as quick as dry out. Using an irrigation system is OK, but it does not allow it to be a “set it and for get it” solution for the new plants. Constant up front monitoring is very important. Hand watering is a great way to water and really get to know how your plants are establishing. Some may argue that hand watering is therapeutic.

    The upfront work is sure to reward you with a garden space to enjoy for years to come!

Pansy, Lamium & Azalea

Dusty Miller, Yarrow & Buttercup

Viola, Coralbell & Sweetflag

Lettuce, Blue Fescue & Foxglove

Pincushion Flower, Swiss chard & Feather Grass

The possibilities are truly endless, any of the above combinations are interchangeable. Add forced Tulip, Daffodil or Hyacinth bulbs as a wonderful companion.  

These plants are chosen specifically for Spring Containers because they can all tolerate cooler temperatures.  Even more fun, the combinations that include perennials will extend the life of the container because the perennials bloom later into the season.  The added benefit of using perennials is that you can transplant them into your garden beds at the end of the season to enjoy for years to come.  The same is true for shrubs.  Azalea were mentioned, but you can also use Lilac, Blueberry, Mock Orange, etc..  

Have fun and enjoy your Spring Containers!

• Get a plant!  A simple house plant can provide stress relief and improve the air you breathe inside of your home.
• Explore your own!  Nature is all over your own backyard.  Take time to explore each corner, engage all of your senses and then relax a little.

• Grow a salad!  Salad bowls containing different varieties of lettuce are fast and easy to grow.  The lettuce can be harvested for lunch in just 4 weeks.  Add some herbs for diversity.
• Grow your own fruit!  Even apartment dwellers can utilize new varieties of small space fruit plants on your balcony or patio.  Self pollinating dwarf apple trees can produce fruit in their first year.  Self pollinating cherry, peach and apricot trees are also available.  Raspberry shortcake bushes are thornless and produce an abundance of sweet fruit.
• Get to the root of it!  Both potatoes and carrots are easily grown in containers and produce bountiful harvests for you to enjoy later in the season.

• Go miniature!  Create a Garden Bowl using miniature conifers and other favorite garden plants.  Watch the garden grow and develop throughout the season.
• Draw nature in!  Install feeders and watch the diversity of birds and squirrels that stop by for a snack.

These simple encounters with nature can lower our blood pressure, our heart rate, muscle tension and our cortisol (a stress hormone) levels.  Viewing photos of nature can produce similar results so keep the in mind as we are working form home.  Nature is a great distraction, often helping us forget the anxiety that may be hindering our daily lives.  Contact us if you would like help implementing and of these ideas.

SAFETY –  Always the first consideration.  No one wants to compound unfortunate circumstances by getting hurt trying to fix them.  Begin by looking overhead to identify both branches and utilities that are broken or hanging in place.  Any one of these hazards could quickly dislodge and be headed towards the ground.  Be certain to identify these conditions and contact the appropriate professionals to provide the fix prior to the risk of working in that area.  Next, check the ground layer.  Saturated soils are unable to withstand the weight of equipment.  Some thoughtfulness and planning are needed as even a mower can cause more damage than anticipated.  We don’t want to create unnecessary work in the form of ruts or getting stuck and generating undue anxiety at a time when stress is already high and can be avoided.  Soil conditions will vary from location to location within the same property.  No area can be guaranteed to be firm enough without observation.  Unless something is an imminent  hazard- we encourage patience over panic.  

GENERAL CLEAN-UP – In order to more clearly see the conditions, the debris and tatter needs to be cleaned up.  A broad sweep, allowing for general assessments to take place.  Try not to get distracted at this stage with specific tasks.  Look for patterns of damage throughout the property.  For example, there could be three plants of the same type in a grouping.  Two of the three look pretty good while one is totally shredded.  In turn, in another location on site is a find of the same plant (all alone) and available for transplant.  What could have been an orphan elsewhere can now become the solution in filling in the previous grouping.

WAIT SOME THINGS OUT –  Some plants were highly susceptible to significant damage. Plants with large foliage, lush leaves and new growth took the biggest hit- one shrub in particular being Annabelle Hydrangea.  The current leaves were literally stripped off the plant leaving nothing but woody stems.  We suggest waiting to see where adventitious buds will break prior to any pruning.  Once that is discovered, prune back to the new area of growth.  If no additional bud break occurs (after sufficient time a week to 10 days) pruning back to the ground may be the only recourse.  Herbaceous plants (annuals and perennials) will need to be evaluated on a case by case basis.  Unfortunately, some were instantly turned into “celery stalks.”   Most of your decisions with this particular plant group will lean towards improving the cosmetics of the situation.  Pruning out the collection of stalks (at the base of the plant, or nearest point of growth), clipping off broken stems.  While some leaves may look bad, if more than half of the leaf is intact, leave it for the time being.  The plant still needs to produce energy for repair, and the leaf can always be removed once new growth emerges. If there is nothing but stems left, with no basal foliage or lateral growth, it’s time to replant.

GO EASY ON THE FERTILIZER – We recommend waiting until new growth starts to emerge before getting overly aggressive on the feeding.  Let the plants initiate recovery and response first, then react with the appropriate inputs, not the other way around.  

THINGS MAY LINGER IN THE LANDSCAPE BEYOND THE STORM EVENT – As plant material starts to recover, and the garden/landscape once again becomes more recognizable, additional care initiatives may last beyond the current growing season.  Especially trees which suffer wounds and bruises from the forceful winds and hail.  All of which need to heal and during the process such tissue damage becomes prone to potential problems.  We encourage taking intentional garden walks throughout the season (at least once a week).   First and foremost, becoming attentive observers of your investment.  Examine the bark and keep an eye on how the healing process is progressing.  Look upward, review the overall structure of the tree, there may still be some judicial pruning that needs to be done.  Be selective and conservative on your pruning  and removal strategy.  We want to deal with all the safety hazards first, then sequence our way throughout other pruning needs that can wait until another time.  The tree will work towards quicker recovery if we keep our pruning wounds to a minimum.  Leaf size and color are indicators of how the recovery is progressing.  We encourage keeping as many branches as possible (even the lower ones that may interfere with mowing).  Reason being, we want to increase the available surface area of leaves for photosynthesis to take place, if the branch is currently not a hazard, please don’t remove it without some thought.  Now more than ever, keep all the mechanical equipment away from the trunk of the tree, have appropriate tree pits so string line trimmers and mower blades don’t create more damage than already inflicted.  

CHECK YOUR GUTTERS –  Not very horticultural, but with all the flying debris from this storm, a Gutter Check is in order.  Typically, we don’t think about a June clean out, but it may be the best post storm suggestion we can offer to keep other issues away & not take away time from being the best steward possible for your property.  

How We View Design

If you’d like to meet with us about designing a functional, productive and pretty garden for your outdoor living space, please contact us today!

What’s the first thing you do when you get to work?

I usually start my day by checking all of the paperwork that was turned in the day before. I review what was done and create adjustments in our schedule accordingly. Weather will always play a role in how our days go. After making adjustments, I create a plan for the day ahead and communicate with both the Gardening and Turf departments about the properties that will be cared for on that day and how their visits overlap with our Seasonal Color Team. I find that the best way to have a successful day is to start with communication.

Tell me about a typical day look like for you from start to finish. 

In my day to day, there’s a lot of communication and coordination between the head gardeners, seasonal color, and the design team as well. In our industry it will always be a team effort to ensure we create beautiful experiences for our clients.

As the Head of Horticulture, training is the most important part of my position. I will check-in or meet with head gardeners on property to help them be successful in their gardens, discussing the why behind the what and offering on-site training. Whenever we have a new employee, I always go out to check-in with them on their first day. 

I also provide Horticultural Consultations to potential and existing clients—that’s my favorite thing to do because homeowners are always so thankful for this service. I enjoy walking them through their garden’s potential and discussing what’s salvageable or how to care for certain areas. I help them develop a plan or suggest our team stop by for a couple maintenance visits. 

At the end of the day, I am checking on the last few properties and may go help out crews or advise them on how to finish out their day. When I get back to the shop, I’m back to the paperwork side of things. I also like to check in with each head gardener and share in their success or build them up for the next day. Depending on the day of the week, I check on our more complex properties and make sure they’re ready for lots of weekend enjoyment.

What’s your secret to being a successful leader?

I find that if I take the time to thoroughly explain the entire problem or process, that my team understands better and will be able to apply what they’ve learned. Every minute I’m on property with another gardener, I like to walk around and point out the different plants and say their names out loud so they can learn them. I’m constantly keeping my team involved rather than acting like a professor. I don’t ever want to act like I’m their superior or talk over their head. I am a colleague, a resource tool, and I keep this in mind every time I’m training. A lot of what we do at Kinghorn Gardens is similar to that of a doctor, we diagnose plants. Once we come up with the diagnosis it’s important to discuss how to treat it.

Another secret is to be as hands-on as possible which means being on properties and working alongside the crew members. I love the outdoors and plant material and my crews know that.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

The 3 Ps—People, Plants, Places, and now I can add a fourth, the Purple Polos.

My favorite part of the week is my Friday walkthroughs when I get to see how every piece and part of our company came together. It’s always an amazing sight to see.   

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After taking one step into this spring garden and I didn’t feel like I was in Nebraska anymore, but like I had been swept far away, to the Netherlands perhaps. While tulips didn’t originate in the Netherlands, it has become one of the things the country is most well-known for. Today, over half of the country’s land is used for horticulture, with much of that land dedicated to growing bulbs.

Lisse, Netherlands

Our story all begins last fall when our Design Team visited this garden, took some photos and made some notes. 

Fall 2017

The client wanted a colorful spring display that brightened up the garden and trusted our design knowledge and creativity to get the job done. After getting back to the office, our team got to work on selecting a palette that would create a beautiful spring splash. Warm tones were chosen, along with a beautiful shade of lavender thrown into the mix.

The display was designed to create a layering effect and the selections include a variety of tulips, double and lily flowering. Eight Purple Polos and 6,400 bulbs later, the beds were planted last fall. The bulbs were spaced tightly together to create a full impact.  

We enjoy getting to see all of our entire team’s hard work, from Design, Seasonal Color, and Gardening, come to fruition when fall planted bulbs bloom. While there isn’t instant gratification after planting, bulbs are worth the wait and this display was just magnificent, to say the least.  

Want to bring the Netherlands to your garden? We’d love to plan a colorful spring for you next year. Contact our Design Team to get on our list for spring bulbs. Need some ideas for your spring garden next year? Follow us on Instagram to see some of this year’s color combinations.

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Grab the watering can and hop in the truck for a day with our Seasonal Color Team.

Tell us about a typical Seasonal Color day from start to finish.

Sarah: The first thing I do when I get to work is open my email. While my computer is waking up, depending on the weather or time of year, I check the temperature in the greenhouse and check on the plants in the nursery yard.  Next, I check our calendar and review the jobs to be completed. If everything goes to plan, and no plant emergencies developed overnight, I divvy out the work for the day to our color teams. Once everyone knows where they are going for the day, we load our trucks- plants, soil, hoses, watering cans, trugs, annual designs, tools, more soil, plant wagons, personal equipment, blowers, even MORE soil, and water bottles. Don’t forget the water bottles!

What’s your secret to creating beautiful containers?

Happy Roots, Happy Plants, Happy Gardeners.

What’s your favorite part of your job?

Don’t beautiful plants make people happy?

1. We are entering the very beginning of our growing season. Spring has been slow to unfold and currently, soil temperatures are cool. While we all enjoy a fresh topdressing of mulch, it is possible to pile on too much of a good thing. Excessive mulch only keeps the soil temperatures cooler longer. A light topdressing at this time of year accents the newness of the season but we need to allow the plants to start growing and then follow-up with mulch as needed, not all at once. It is when we enter into the hot, dry months of the year that our applied mulch earns its keep.
   

   Spring bulbs poking through a light layer of mulch

2. Mulch has merits, but shouldn’t be the most prominent visual thread that captures our attention. We garden because we look forward to watching plants grow, trying new things, anticipating a lilac in bloom or fresh strawberries in season. Such anticipated seasonal experiences focus on Place, Plants, and the People we share our days with. Yet, we start the season by smothering such outcomes beneath layers of mulch, slowing the process and in some cases, unintentionally harming what we desire to preserve.
   

   Mulch is too prominent, not enough plants or layering of plants.

3. If we allow nature to be our teacher we realize that nature mulches in the fall. All of its available organic matter drops to insulate the soil beneath. This self-supplying mulch blankets the soil and holds the warmth within. Now extending the below-ground growth of roots and the lively activity of other soil born organisms. When cold daily temps arrive and freeze the soil profile, this natural layer keeps the soil frozen to preserve dormancy. Over time, this organic layer breaks down to build healthier soil, reduce compaction and prevent erosion. It is a protection prelude in the fall of the year for the plant community or ecosystem to await the arrival and growth of spring in due time.
4. The crowns of our perennials and the trunks of our trees don’t want all of this placed mulch pushed up against them. Our trees don’t want consistently moist bark due to volcanoes of mulch rising upward.
   

   “Mulch volcanoes” are unnecessary and harmful

   Our perennials don’t appreciate their crowns swimming in “oceans of bark” or having to hollow out small canyons of mulch to discover soil to plant them in. It may sound strange but it’s possible to kill plants with far too much kindness. Another approach may be to blame the plant for simply not being robust enough to survive such loving treatment. Yet, only steps away are perfectly happy plants growing in the cracks of our driveways in the harshest of conditions. Proving plants are very resistant and adaptable to most any situation and seek out success where conditions are favorable to their needs over our rituals. So…while mulching does have merits it is also true it should have moderation as well.

   

   Example of a well done tree pit

Next up-strategies that take us beyond mulch!

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Your landscape should be more than a collection of plants, it should be an exciting place to make memories with loved ones that also captivates the senses with every new season. Here are just a few of our favorite exciting plant combinations that will really make a statement in your garden.

Fothergilla & Snowdrops Anemone

Fothergilla Bloom Time: April to May

Snowdrops Anemone Bloom Time: April

This low maintenance plant combination loves part-shade. If you enjoy white in your garden, this combo is for you. Snowdrops anemone will transition to white, woolly seed heads and repeat bloom may occur in the cooler weather of early autumn. Fothergilla flowers are fragrant and the leaves often turn brilliant shades of yellow, orange, and red in the fall.

Tulips, Grape Hyacinth & Prairie Smoke

Tulip Bloom Time: Varying

Grape Hyacinth Bloom Time: April

Prairie Smoke Bloom Time: May to July

Gladiator Allium & Catmint

Galdiator Allium Bloom Time: May to June

Catmint Bloom Time: April to September

This combo loves full sun to part shade and is very easy to care for. Gladiator Allium creates a whimsical, dramatic statement with perfect, globe shaped flowers and catmint has a long bloom time extending into the fall. You know we really just love this pair because they’re purple!

Coneflower, Black-Eyed Susan & Calamintha

Coneflower Bloom Time: June to August

Black-Eyed Susan and Calamintha Bloom Time: June to September

Another combo that requires little care and loves full sun to part shade. If you love bees and butterflies, you need to consider adding this triple stunner to your garden.

Dakota Pinnacle Birch & Blue grama

Dakota Pinnacle Birch Bloom Time: March to April

Blue grama Bloom Time: June to August

Stonecrop & Yarrow

Stonecrop Bloom Time: September to October

Yarrow Bloom Time: June to September

Both of these plants love full sun! This pair will require care, mostly the yarrow. Stonecrop features star-like flowers which emerge pink that gradually changes to deep rose-red and then coppery-rust in autumn. Yarrow is noted for producing fern-like, aromatic, medium green foliage and tiny, long-lasting, white flowers.

Hosta & Fern

Hasta Bloom Time: July to August

Fern Bloom Time: Nonflowering

We love this combo for the complimentary textures and simplicity! These woodland garden rockstars will need little care and enjoy part-shade to full-shade. Hostas are primarily grown for their ornamental foliage and include bell-shaped flowers that bloom in late spring or summer. Even without flowers, ferns are still loved for their textured leaves.

Little Lime Hydrangea & Plumbago

Little Lime Hydrangea and Plumbago Bloom Time: July to September

This plant combination loves full sun to part shade and creates a stunning color combination, Little Lime Hydrangea being a soft, light green that matures to pink and burgundy in the fall while, in contrast, plumbago is a deep blue.

Little Bluestem & Butterfly Weed

Little Bluestem Bloom Time: August to February

Butterfly Weed Bloom Time: June to August

Sun-loving pair that will require little care. Bluestem is very exciting with a tinge of blue at the base. This ornamental grass changes to purplish-bronze in August this is followed by attractive silvery-white seed heads which often persist into winter. The bright orange flower of butterfly weed is a stunning pop of color against bluestem.

Switchgrass and Blazing Star

Switchgrass Bloom Time: July to February

Blazing Star Bloom Time: August to October

This pair will need full sun to part shade and blazing star will require some attention. The purple bloom of blazing star is very exciting and holds up beautifully surrounded by switchgrass.

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