Park Seed Garden Journal

Start Thinking About Fall Planting!

I am moving to a new house this fall - I have a a new clear lawn, a blank canvas - I can plant anything I want, build it from the ground up, do an elaborate themed garden if I want to. Your own garden may be decades old, established with your distinct character and style, but even the oldest gardens are very dynamic and require plenty of attention. Make sure you are ready for this fall planting season.

Fall is the best time to plant. Our horts drill that into our heads every season, and it's true. No matter how excited we get in the spring and summer seeing all the beautiful plants in full bloom and the fruits on the trees, the real work is done in the fall. All of your trees, shrubs, and bulbs, and many of your favorite perennials will be much healthier if they are given an opportunity to establish themselves in the fall.

If you haven't already, you can request your Park Seed Fall 2009 Catalog Online. I just got one today - the people over in the creative department really did a great job this year. This is a very pretty book. The layout is very intuitive and functional, and the large crisp pictures allow you really get an idea what these plants might look like in your own garden. And, along with many of the Park Seed classic favorite fall-planting items, there are three or four new items on every page.

Flower Day is This Saturday!

If you don't already have plans for the weekend, come visit us at the Park Seed Company in sunny Greenwood, SC this Saturday, June 27. There will be tours of the gardens, expert speakers, good food, and plenty of pretty flowers, shrubs, and trees. And, once you've seen all you can see here, you can head downtown to continue the party. The South Carolina Festival of Flowers will continue into the night with food, drinks, free live bluegrass music, crafts, artwork, and much, much more.

Follow this Google Maps Link to find directions to Park Seed.

Request Your Fall 2009 Catalog Now!

Request your fall catalog online now. As soon as the first new fall catalogs reach our customers we will also begin shifting gears online, focusing on our fall items. Our brand managers are really excited about this years fall line-up, many new exciting garden items to choose from!

Fall is the best time for planting! Trees, perennials, and shrubs thrive in the mild weather. Give all of your bulbs a head start for the spring season. You will also find a great selection of cool season veggies and flowers.

Happy Mother's Day!

Show all of the nurturers and providers in your life how much you appreciate them this weekend. To all of the hard-working ladies out there, Happy Mother's Day!

If you haven't already, go buy some flowers for your mothers, stepmothers, wives, sisters, daughters, nieces, aunts, grandmothers, great-grandmothers, and -- if you're family is so fortunate -- great-great-grandmothers.

Garden Resolutions Contest Winners Announced!

The winners of the resolution contest I mentioned last Thursday have been announced! They are each receiving a Park Seed gift certificate and bragging rights for their much appreciate participation. There were hundreds of entries, and four winners were chosen. One of my favorites was actually picked as a winner. If you'd like to participate in a contest like this, or you'd like to get the latest garden news and the best deals, just subscribe to Park Seed's Newsletter.

And the winners are:

I had the brainstorm one year to plant Nicotiana next to our many (~60) tomato plants...not thinking that Nicotiana is related to tomatoes, & that Nicotiana has the loveliest night-time fragrance, & that lovely fragrance would draw in night-flying moths to visit, & that apparently MOST of those night-flying moths would turn out to be Sphinx moths. The strong-flying parents of the Tomato Hornworm. We had the best crop of Tomato Hornworms EVER. Hundreds of them. Hundreds. Not only on the tomatoes, but also the Nicotiana. That's a lot of hunting & squishing. We'll never plant Nicotiana again, anywhere, as long as we grow tomatoes. And a caveat to gardeners trying to attract butterflies, moths, & other wildlife to your plot: investigate what their "babies" like to eat before planting! Every year in the garden is a new adventure, even after 40+ years!

— Judy Weymouth

My New Year Resolution for gardening is To Never Sneeze Again with Seeds in My Hands.

— Irene Lyons

1. I resolve never again to allot three feet square for zucchini plants. 2. I resolve never again to raise eight tomato plants at once for a table that feeds two people. 3. I resolve never again to let my dog romp through my unplanted garden. 4. I resolve never again to let the heat and weeds and bugs beat me back by April.

— Lisa Willmon

I will never again buy the leftover pitiful looking disease ridden plants that nobody else wanted at a nursery that tells me they just need a little TLC and some good soil and that they'll catch up. I'll start with quality and plan ahead even if it takes a few days longer to get them.

— Kelly Palmer

Stevia Is Now Commercially Available In North America

In October of 2007, I posted a short entry about the super-sweet herb, Stevia, and it's growing popularity. I mentioned that food giants Cargill and Coke were courting the FDA to allow them to market a form of the stevia extract as a food additive/sweeter. Last month, Rebiana (the Stevia additive's trade name) was approved for use in North America, so you may start seeing it on shelves within the next few months.

But you don't have to wait that long - you can benefit from this zero-calorie sweetener within a few weeks by growing it in your own kitchen herb garden. I grew stevia last year. It was fairly easy and the plants were impressively dense with sweet foliage. You will probably not run out even if you grow only one plant. You can dry them and save them for later. Right now you can get a pack of 10 USDA certified organic Stevia Rebaudiana seeds for $3.95 from Park Seed.

I really wish I had taken pictures, I had one stem that was almost 4 feet tall on my patio, with leaves from base to tip. Just one leaf of stevia is more than enough to sweeten a glass of tea or lemonade.

New Spring 2009 Park Seed Catalogs Are Here!

Park Seed's spring catalogs have been mailed. It is now time to start planning your spring garden and thinking about seed starting.

Our Spring 2009 Seed Book is full of all of your favorite hybrid and heirloom seed varieties, but it is also packed with almost 100 brand new rare varieties. You can also get all of your vital seed starting supplies like Park's famous Bio Dome seed starting system. This is the catalog that many gardeners wait all year for--it gives you everything you need for a strong start in the spring planting season.

If you like the Seed Book, you should also check out Park Seed's Spring Planting Catalog 2009. This books is full of a huge variety of bulbs, roses, perennials, shrubs, and trees that will really make your garden glow this season. This book contains many old favorites, but you will also find many new and exclusive plant varieties.

You can request these catalogs to be delivered free to your home, or you can look through them on our website: Park Seed eCatalogs. The pictures and descriptions in the electronic catalog link to full descriptions on at Park Seed's website.

The Trial Gardens Monster Captured on Film!

 
Most people around the company don't believe in the Trial Gardens Monster anymore.  "It's just a silly legend!" they claim.  Some think that he probably died off years ago, since the first sightings were in the late 1920's.  Those non-believers are dead wrong,

though.  Those of us who spend more time out in the gardens know better.  Most of us have had our own sighting at some time or another.  I've spotted him twice in my time at Park Seed.

So, when Chris Browne, our fantastic new Trial Gardens Manager, came to Park Seed, he heard these old legends and thought that they were intriguing.  He didn't believe, of course, but he wasn't sure in the face of so many people who work with him making these claims.  So, he started keeping a camera at hand when he was out working in the gardens (which is most of his time).  Doing so, he became the first person (to the best of my knowledge) to actually capture the great gardening beast of legend on film.
 

I'm Not Just the Lawn Guy, I'm the New Trial Gardens Manager!

Gardening. Outdoors. Horticulture. These are the three things I think of when it comes to my passions. My name is Chris Browne and I am the Trial Gardens Manager here at Park Seed. My passion for the horticulture industry was sparked by a summer landscaping job when I was only 14 years old. I found myself yearning for more knowledge about plants and why they grew the way they did. As each year went by, I promised myself to always find a summer job that would help grow my experience and understanding.

Upon graduating high school, I decided that I wanted to continue my education in this field. I therefore chose to go to Clemson University and study horticulture. My early interest in plants has developed into a full-time career in which I can honestly say that I learn something new every day.

The Trial Gardens here at Park Seed make up a 9-acre area that incorporates new varieties of annuals, perennials, and vegetables, along with other great varieties we choose to showcase in our catalog. In addition to the trial rows, we have developed permanent theme beds, which include the hummingbird and butterfly garden, the winter-interest garden, and the tropical garden.

At this point in the season, we are preparing the gardens for winter annuals. We are now cleaning up all of the summer annuals and will be planting the winter ones as soon as fall gets here.

I will be posting updates from time to time to keep you informed of the new and exciting things going on here. I look forward to the future of the Park Seed Trial Gardens as we continue to grow and develop new plants and new relationships.

Jacket Weather and Fall Beginning

Most gardeners that I've known (and I work at a garden company, so that's more than a few to say the least) have expressed a great love for changing seasons.  The coming of spring is when most gardeners really thrill, as this is the coming of the best gardening season, and the budding and growing of new plants stirs something deep in the human soul. 

For me, though, it is this time of year that opens me up to the world around me most.  The first day when it is truly chilly each year is one of the greatest thrills for me.  I can taste in the air the promise of what is coming: hooded sweatshirts, autumn veggies, hikes among falling leaves, and football.  Halloween is my favorite holiday, and when the weather demands a jacket for the first time of the year I can smell toasting pumpkin seeds just around the bend.

Of course, I say this every year at the beginning of the Fall, and I mean it.  But, come Spring, I always end up pronouncing how the beginning of Spring is my favorite time of year.  Don't listen to me then, though.  It's totally Autumn.