We just finished at Paula’s house planting the new summer gardens. Paula has an amazing gardener named Steven Boyce who always comes up with bright and new inventive plantings.

Last fall, Paula chose several different tropical bulbs of Alocasia and Colocasia. Steven got them in the first part of the year, and has been growing them off in the green house. She decided that she wanted her garden to have more of a tropical feel, so we also planted many banana trees.

For color this year, we planted tons of Angel Wing Begonias, Impatiens, a wonderful bed of Sun Coleus by the koi pond, and even planted 200 Amaryllis buds, to cut and bring in doors for table arrangements. We also added our own peach tree onto the property!

Paula’s citrus garden is in full bloom, with tons and tons of lemons, limes, tangerines, grapefruits and kumquats. Also, on the croquet court for loquats are loaded down and everyone that sees them goes over and picks them to eat. This is the third year of the garden.

The rule of thumb is, first year: sleep, second year: creep, and third year: leap! That saying is currently holding true at Paula’s; everything is leaping!!

Planting your own garden? Here are four tips to keep in mind:

1. When planting bedding plants, a great tip is to sacrifice the first blooms, by pinching them off. By sacrificing the blooms, you encourage a healthier and branchier plant.

2. Don’t forget to fertilize!  We like to use Osmocote, which is a slow-release fertilizer. At my house I prefer to use the Miracle Grow spray wand, but I have a much smaller garden.

3.  I always like to add new soil to my garden every year since the minerals in the old soil tend to get bleached out.

4. Also, read the small tags, which will tell you where to plant your plants.  A lot of people plant Impatiens in the sun – it’s a shade plant! (It’s a pet peeve of mine!

At my garden, I planted all white and green. White Impatiens, white Christmas Caladiums. It’s more of English boxwoods feel. I planted climbing white roses on my white picket fence, which are currently in full bloom. And I am most proud of my latest plant vine, which is a ten-foot tall seeded eucalyptus tree. This is the second year of my garden, so we’re just in the creeping stage. I do like the depth that my Japanese Red Maple gives the garden!

Do you garden? I’d love to hear about it, no matter how big or small!

Best dishes,
Brandon