Category Archives: Annuals

Do Mums Come Back Every Year?

October 4, 2019 Comments Off on Do Mums Come Back Every Year?
Chrysanthemums Roll Image

Is it really fall without mums on your patio and in your garden? Mums, or Chrysanthemums, are perfect to set in a pot on the front porch next to a few pumpkins …

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A Bittersweet End to the 2018 Outdoor Gardening Season

November 16, 2018 Comments Off on A Bittersweet End to the 2018 Outdoor Gardening Season

It’s been a wet one hasn’t it! Record rainfall levels and days upon days of lingering results. Since spring we have battled powdery mildew and fungus levels to beat the band, phytophthora …

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Add life and color to your dormant garden with fall annuals

August 28, 2018 Comments Off on Add life and color to your dormant garden with fall annuals

When fall rolls around, it’s time for the unpleasant chore of yanking up the faded, scraggly blooms of summer. Luckily, there’s no need to tolerate empty pots and barren beds through the fall and winter. …

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New Year’s Resolution: Healthy Eating for All (so)…Go for the Garden!

January 7, 2015 1

 
Be Inspired Seasonally with Rita Calvert
The holidays are receding from view, and the excitement of the new year is brimming with healthy options for your eating and growing pleasure. Here …

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Bring Herbs, House Plants and Tropicals Inside Before the Temps Drop Too Much

September 26, 2014 Comments Off on Bring Herbs, House Plants and Tropicals Inside Before the Temps Drop Too Much

Your herbs, flowering plants and vines spent the summer months beautifying your outdoor deck or patio. If you want to enjoy the fresh herbs all winter long, or would like an encore performance of the …

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When Gene Sumi Speaks, We Listen

January 31, 2014 2

by Rita Calvert
Every year both stores of Homestead Gardens feature winter workshops to help us get charged up for planting and growing seasons and just help educate by answering many questions. Gene Sumi …

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Most Popular Gardening Topics of 2013

January 10, 2014 1

 
It’s the year with 365 brand new days to fill! Bet you never thought of it that way before. You chose if you want the day half (or completely) full or half empty. …

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Colorways via Plants at Homestead Gardens

November 1, 2013 Comments Off on Colorways via Plants at Homestead Gardens

 
 col·or·way  ˈkələrˌwā/      noun

plural noun: colorways any of a range of combinations of colors in which a style or design is available.
 

I was stopped in my photography tracks when cataloging …

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Happy Belated Bloom Day!

July 17, 2013 Comments Off on Happy Belated Bloom Day!

Since practically the dawn of blogging, garden bloggers have posted photos of whatever is blooming in their garden on the 15th of each month.  This blogging “meme” is called the Garden Blogger Bloom Day and …

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More Alternatives to Impatiens

April 15, 2013 Comments Off on More Alternatives to Impatiens

First, if you haven’t heard about the Downy Mildew disease threatening the common Impatiens this year, click here for a brief update.  That link also includes my favorite alternative to Impatiens for color in …

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What to do about Downy Mildew on Impatiens

April 10, 2013 Comments Off on What to do about Downy Mildew on Impatiens

The world of horticulture is abuzz with news of the “Downy  Mildew” fungal disease that’s killing the ever-popular shade annual Impatiens walleriana – that’s the one shown above, the most popular type of all.  …

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Wealthy in Cucumbers

July 12, 2012 1

Seasonal Cooking with Rita Calvert~The Local Cook
Tip: Before we get into the juicy elements of cukes, did you see Guru Gene Sumi’s Facebook valuable advice yesterday? Basically to keep plants in the healthy mode …

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The Kitchen Garden and Those Down and Dirty Questions

March 2, 2012 Comments Off on The Kitchen Garden and Those Down and Dirty Questions

Season Cooking with Rita Calvert~The Local Cook –Leave a comment

Well now, we made it through a winter of mild temperatures and it feels grand to be heading into March with the LOCAL …

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For Late Fall and Late Winter Color, Grow Hellebores, Camellias and Pansies

November 7, 2011 Comments Off on For Late Fall and Late Winter Color, Grow Hellebores, Camellias and Pansies

For our Golden Spades event this month, Homestead’s education coordinator Gene Sumi  recommended his favorite plants for those difficult times of the year in the garden – just before winter and then late …

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For the Love of Annual Salvias

October 31, 2011 Comments Off on For the Love of Annual Salvias

Gardeners are putting their borders to bed for the winter and scheming about what new plants to buy next year, and the plants that are on the top of my To-Get List are annual Salvias, …

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Gene’s Tips for October in the Garden

October 5, 2011 Comments Off on Gene’s Tips for October in the Garden

On the first Tuesday of every month, Homestead’s own garden guru Gene Sumi talks to our Golden Spades Club and the number one topic is always: what to do this month …

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Plant a Moon Garden

September 21, 2011 Comments Off on Plant a Moon Garden

Gene Sumi, Homestead’s Educational Coordinator, gave his popular Moon Garden talk this week to the Silver Spring Garden Club, and I’ll go out on a limb and speak for the audience – we were …

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Planting the Second Season~Cool Weather Vegetables-Get Them Now!

September 1, 2011 Comments Off on Planting the Second Season~Cool Weather Vegetables-Get Them Now!

 

Seasonal Cooking with Rita Calvert~The Local Cook

With Gene Sumi, Education Coordinator, Homestead Gardens, Inc.

When I tracked down Gene Sumi to ask him about THE SECOND PLANTING, he broke …

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Kerry’s favorite plants for sizzling hot summer containers

July 20, 2011 3

As promised, here’s part 2 of Kerry Kelley’s container gardening tips for hot weather.  Click here to see her suggestions for designing plant combinations, and potting up the chosen plants – and see some …

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Kerry’s Tips for Designing and Planting Containers

July 17, 2011 Comments Off on Kerry’s Tips for Designing and Planting Containers

Kerry Kelley,  Homestead’s manager of annuals, shared her tips for designing and caring for awesome container plantings as part of our Crapemyrtle Festival, and her enthusiasm for plants and combining them beautifully was apparent to …

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