The perennial department at Van Wilgen’s lives at an interesting crossroads. We watch as the nursery yard fills up with evergreen interest, and the Greenhouse loads up on pansies, and we poke and prod our plants, waiting for the day that they too might be in bloom. Then the evergreen gives way to the spring bloomers, and the greenhouse starts whispering about veggies and herbs, and perennials…. While, we proudly display four or five perennial plants that bloom early (here’s to you, hellebores, and columbine) and continue to wait. Until now.

The perennial season is finally in full swing, and our humble department is about to go off like the fourth of July. From catmint and salvia in full bloom to coneflowers, yarrow and coreopsis just about to break open, all our favorite plants are finally arriving on the scene. Red Hot Poker? Budded. Delphinium and Heliopsis? Buds and blooms! Bellflower and Iris and Bee Balm, oh my! It’s June- the best time of year to be a perennial gardener. Come enjoy it with us.

Here are a few of Trevor’s favorite’s that look fantastic right now!

Echinacea Lemon Yellow– Sunny, lemon yellow blooms sure to brighten a summer border! A must-have for a cutting garden, this drought-tolerant perennial was bred for cold hardiness and compact form with prolific flowering over an exceptionally long season.

Gaillardia Spin Top Yellow Touch-Each plant is bathed in big, flat, solid, medium red daisies with just a touch of yellow at the tips of each petal that blooms from late May through early July.

Geranium – Johnsons’s Blue-Large, blue-violet flowers appear continuously from spring to fall above finely cut, divided leaves. Use in borders, rock gardens, and containers.

Perovskia- Crazy Blue-A compact and colorful, easy-care perennial for use as an accent, border, or mass planting. Violet-blue flower spikes arise from the lacy, gray-green aromatic foliage, adding an airy feel to the landscape. Hardy and heat tolerant, and sturdy, interlacing branches do not fall open in wind and rain. Deer and rabbit-resistant.

Delphinium – Blue Butterfly -This little beauty stands at a height of 14″ and forms compact mounds of well-branched foliage. It puts on a spectacular show from early summer to fall, with 1.5″, deep blue flowers that cover the lacy leaves. Though it is short-lived, it is worth using as edging, a bedding plant, or in containers combined with brightly colored annuals.

Will O’Hara

Perennial Manager

(Why beneficial insects really are beneficial!)

Release the hounds! Not literally, but I do want you to release the Ladybugs, Lacewings, Praying Mantids, and Nematodes. They are fantastic hunters and a huge benefit to your lawn, flower garden, and veggie garden.

These beneficial hunters have many things in common. They are meat-eaters. They never eat your plants. They only eat bad bugs. Ladybugs and Lacewings will eat aphids, whitefly larvae, mealybugs, scale, mites, and many other soft-bodied insects. Ladybugs can easily eat over 50 aphids a day. Lacewings are voracious and eat as many as 1000 per day. Nematodes are power eaters of bad bugs in the soil. They will eat over 200 insects such as cutworms, armyworms, grubs, sod webworms, fleas, fungus gnats, etc. They are the best hunters ever because you do not have to care for them, feed them or train them. Their instinct is to go where the food source is.

There are a few things you can do to make these beneficials even more beneficial. Be sure to release them all at night. Ladybugs fly away in the day. Lacewing eggs and nematodes can dry up in the hot sun. Water the garden. The first thing Ladybugs do when you release them in your garden is drink. Lacewing eggs like the moisture for hatching. Nematodes spread more quickly when kept damp. Release these hunters at the source of their food. Place Ladybugs and Lacewings at the bottom of plants. Ladybugs naturally crawl up. Lacewing eggs will hatch and the larvae will immediately eat insects dwelling on the plant. Nematodes need to be in the soil, where they can attack their unsuspecting food source. Praying Mantids can hatch right in the container but you have to release them right away so they don’t gobble each other up. Otherwise, place the Praying Mantis egg case in the crutch of a plant outside and wrap it with dental floss or thread to hold them in place.

Ladybugs don’t always stick around for a long time but this is ok! Ladybugs will feed for a little bit but most importantly, they quickly begin laying eggs on your plants. Those eggs will hatch and give you voracious Ladybug larvae. The larvae are very cool. They look like mini black alligators with orange spots and they are hungry for bad bugs in your garden. When the Lacewing larvae hatch from the eggs you released, these Aphid Lions have serious munchies and eat over 1000 bad insects per day. Lacewings can have multiple generations in one season. How awesome is that!? Nematodes have been known to hang around in the soil, eating plant damaging insects for 2 years straight. Praying Mantids will mate and lay more egg cases on your plants for next season hatching.

These hunters are so easy to have around the yard. You will barely notice them but they will be very busy helping you eliminate plant damaging insects. Let them go and they will reduce your need to use pesticides in your gardens, they will keep your plants healthier, and they will become an integral part of your garden community.

Note: The Ladybugs that you buy from Van Wilgen’s are not the ones you see inside your homes. The beneficial Ladybugs are native to the USA and do not invade homes.

SHOPPING LIST:

*Ladybugs

*Lacewings

*Nematodes

*Praying Mantis

Buddleia ‘Pugster Blue’

Full-sized flowers on a dwarf plant!

Meet Pugster Blue – it’s a whole new look for butterfly bush. This compact plant reaches just 2’/.6 m tall and wide but has the large, full flowers normally seen on a much larger plant. It blooms non-stop from early summer through frost with true-blue flowers, each with a tiny yellow-orange eye in the center. Thanks to thick, sturdy stems, the Pugster series offers vastly improved hardiness and winter survival over other types of dwarf butterfly bush.

Top three reasons to grow Pugster Blue butterfly bush:

1. Appealing true-blue flowers add hard-to-find color to any type of garden or landscape.

2. It produces full-sized flowers on a compact, dwarf frame.

3. Thick, sturdy stems ensure better winter hardiness in zone 5 than other dwarf butterfly bush.

Monarda ‘Pardon my Cerise’

Tuck this sweet and petite perennial into the front of your flower border where it will create a colorful edge of dark cherry pink flowers in high summer. Butterflies and hummingbirds adore it!

Salvia ‘Pink Dawn’

I BLOOM for your PLEASURE.

This colorful perennial produces cotton candy pink flower spikes atop the mounded, aromatic foliage. Lovely when planted in drifts. Attracts butterflies and hummingbirds and resists deer and rabbits. Easy to grow in almost any climate in full sun. Drought tolerant but blooms better with average moisture. Cut back after flowering to promote rebloom.

Cupea ‘ Vermillionaire’

Garden VALEDICTORIAN.

Abundant yellow-orange flowers all season long; loves the heat and loved by hummingbirds. Vermillionaire, like all Cuphea is a heat lover and will do best in warm gardens with bright light. Always keep this plant in full sun for best flowering and to avoid it stretching in the shade.

Petunia ‘Bubblegum’

Don’t JUST keep up with the Joneses. LEAPFROG them.

Supertunia Vista petunias are very vigorous, with mounding habits that can reach up to 2 feet in height in the landscape and will trail over the edges of baskets and containers up to 4 feet by the end of the season. They are fantastic landscape plants and are great in large containers, where they function as both fillers and spillers. In garden beds, they will work either in the front or middle of the bed. They have medium-sized flowers.

Lantana ‘Grape’

I can go ALL summer.

Extremely heat tolerant; a brighter purple than Trailing Lavender.

If you are looking for a tough plant it’s hard to beat lantana. Lantana is heat tolerant, uses little to no supplemental water in the landscape, will tolerate less than ideal soils, and usually doesn’t need to be deadheaded. If you are looking for a plant that will thrive on neglect, lantana is the champ.

This time of year we are all itching to get in the garden. All it takes is a few warm days, some sunshine and we are all ready to dig in the dirt. At the garden center we get asked all the time, what can I plant now? There are many choices for early spring perennials, and with proper planting, you too can have beautiful blooms this time of year. Just be sure to amend your soil with Van Wilgens Premium Planting Mix and add Jump Start to push root growth so your perennials have a healthy start. Top with mulch so your blooms stay nice and cozy and your good to go! Here a few of my early spring favorites.

1. Hellebore- Great shade-tolerant deer-resistant perennial that comes in a rainbow of colors
2. Candytuft (Iberis)- profuse white blooms and neat mounding habit make for a perfect early season edging plant
3. Columbine (Aquilegia)- Eastern US Native with distinctive show-stopping flowers
4. Creeping phlox- Gorgeous mounding groundcover with pastel flowers giving way to mossy green foliage
5. Forget me not (Myosotis)- Long-lasting, true blue flowers make for an unforgettable plant
6. Rockfoil (Saxifraga)- a super cold hardy plant with early blooms that’s at home in any alpine planter or garden
7. Yellow Alyssum (Aurinia)- traditional cottage garden border plant that’s also at home in alpine gardens or as a border groundcover
8. Windflower (Anemone)- The early spring entry in this broad plant family provides huge blooms in an array of colors to brighten up any spring landscape

Will O’Hara

Perennial Manager

WHAT DO THEY ALL HAVE IN COMMON?

(How to protect our plants in winter)

The Winter Warlock is coming soon. With him, he brings salt, sun, wind, snow, and animals. This does not sound too bad, does it?! Hmmm. Let’s think about this. Salt, delicious in our food. Sun, great for supplying us with Vitamin D. Wind, cools us on the hottest of days. Snow, perfect for building snowmen. Animals, cute and fuzzy. This definitely is one way to look at things.

Let’s look at these things from the perspective of trees, shrubs, and flowers. Shall we?!

SALT: The big, mean, town trucks come along dumping drying salts along the roadside. Homeowners throw damaging salts onto their icy walkways and driveways. These salts dry out evergreens, cause leaves to brown and kill roadside plants.

SUN: This hot, yellow thing shines down from above burning up boxwoods and creating splits in the tender bark of maples, crabapples, etc.

SNOW: Although beautiful, giant snowplows pile it against hedges, causing them to suffocate, break and rot. Japanese Maples, Arborvitaes, etc. split under its’ weight.

WIND: It blows across branches and leaves drying them up, causing them to curl and fall off. Salty, ocean wind is the worst!

ANIMALS: Cute and fuzzy turns into mean and ugly when winter hits. Voles eat roots of roses and more. Mice gnaw at the base of tree trunks, making their survival difficult.

What to do? PLENTY! There is plenty of help you can offer to your plants to protect them from the Winter Warlock.

COMBAT SALT: Apply Gypsum to the soil around plants that are close to roads, walkways, and driveways. Do this before snow and ice are anticipated. Gypsum helps to displace salt from the soil so our plants do not absorb the deadly salt through their root system. Wilt-Pruf will also give leaves extra protection from salt spray.

COMBAT SUN: Wilt-Pruf acts like sunscreen for most of our evergreens. It helps protect evergreens, like vulnerable Boxwoods, from sunburn. Tanglefoot’s Tangle Guards work well to protect the bark of young trees from splitting due to sunburn.

COMBAT WIND: Rolls of Burlap staked to make a wind barrier for vulnerable plants will help to prevent drying winds. Look for Shrub Jackets and Winter Pals in the store to cover plants individually. Wilt- Pruf to the rescue again. It works to prevent leaves and needles from curling and dropping.

ANIMALS: Voles, unlike most animals do not go into winter hibernation. They love the Winter Warlock and all the snow he brings. They are most active under snow, chewing on plant roots and gnawing on bark. Mice also enjoy nesting at the base of trees and scraping away at the bark. Protect trunks with TreeKote’s Vinyl Tree Guard. I Must Garden’s Mole & Vole Repellent is a must to protect trees, shrubs, roses, and plants from vole damage. Apply this good smelling repellent in garden beds and around the base of trees and shrubs before the winter snow hits. It will really help!

Salt, Sun, Snow, Wind, and Animals. It all depends on how you look at it. These things can be good until Winter Warlock brings them to our trees, shrubs, and flowers. These are winter gifts they could do without. PROTECT THEM!

Come see us at Van Wilgen’s. We would love to help!

It’s been a busy season. The summer has flown by and like many people I spent far less time in my garden than I would have liked. Fortunately, the fall weather has been fantastic for planting and I am still taking advantage of it!

My second tree is finally in the ground and I think it looks terrific! For the somewhat sunnier side of the yard, I’ve chosen a Japanese Red Maple. Acer palmatum “Red Emperor” is a beautiful, fast-growing tree, maturing at about 15 to 20 feet tall and wide. The leaves develop later in the spring than other species and this helps the tree avoid damage from late spring frost. The brilliant red foliage of this variety will last throughout the summer, then warm up to an incredible crimson red late in the fall. At maturity, this beauty will provide just the right amount of shade over my patio while remaining small enough to fit the scale of my cozy backyard retreat.

No garden is complete without a strong evergreen foundation. Winters are long in Connecticut and planning for four-season interest is very important to me. I walk through my garden at least twice every day on my way to and from work and I love to sit by the window on a cold winter’s day, sipping a hot cup of tea and enjoying my cozy outdoor space from inside my warm home.

On the other side of the fence in my neighbor’s yard is a tall blue Colorado Spruce. I wanted to echo the color of my neighbor’s tree but not the size, so I planted a Blue Globe Spruce (Picea pungens “Glauca Globosa) on the south-facing side of the yard. This delightful globe-shaped dwarf evergreen shrub will slowly grow to about 5 feet tall and possibly 6 feet wide over time but this will take many years. The Spruce prefers full sun and fortunately, this location is sunny all day long. It’s deer resistant and the steely blue foliage creates an excellent contrast in front of the rich red Japanese maple.

Closer to the walkway and a little bit to the left of the maple is another new addition to the garden that goes by the name of Goldilocks. This Dwarf Japanese white pine (Pinus parviflora ‘Goldilocks’) is a multi-stemmed slow-growing evergreen with a gracious sweeping habit. The long, soft bluish-green needles are frosted with gold and the color won’t quit during the long winter months.

We have nearly reached the end of October but the weather and soil temperature are still great for planting! I’m hoping to add a few perennials before putting the garden to bed for the winter. I can’t wait to see how the things I’ve planted this year look next spring and I’m already planning and dreaming of the new additions that will come next year.

Happy Gardening!

Cecile

Winter is Coming… and that is not just for all you Game of Thrones fans. It is that time of year and the veggie growing season is drawing to a close. Fortunately, we do not have to prepare for The Night King or his army of White Walkers heading from the north but it is really nice to prepare for winter and enjoy as much of your garden as possible. For tomato lovers it is tough to watch the fruits of your labor go to waste so you pick everything you can, but what about all the tomatoes that will not have a chance to ripen? Some of them might ripen on the counter but for a lot of them, they will stay firm and green. My family, particularly my wife, stores as much as possible and she can’t stand to see anything go to waste so even though those tomatoes are green, we are going to use them!

Have you seen or heard of the movie, “fried green tomatoes”? Yep, you know where I’m going next. For a guy who is not a huge fan of “raw” tomatoes, the first time my wife placed a plate of fried green tomatoes in front of me I raised an eyebrow. I will say I was pleasantly surprised! Although who am I kidding, it’s fried, throw a little sriracha mayo for dipping and now we are talking. It kind of tastes like a tangier version of fried eggplant so go ahead and make it “Parmesan style” with sauce and cheese.

Give this recipe a shot and let us know what you think!

Ingredients:

Best Fried Green Tomatoes

• Prep 5 m

• Cook 15 m

• Ready In 20 m

Recipe By: Diana Swenson-Siegel

“You can also fry up red tomatoes with this recipe but make sure they are not overripe or they will be mushy. Serve these tomatoes outside with a glass of iced tea one summer night and enjoy the sunset with someone you love.”

Ingredients

• 4 large green tomatoes
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup cornmeal

• 1/2 cup bread crumbs
• 2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1-quart vegetable oil for frying

Directions

• Slice tomatoes 1/2 inch thick. Discard the ends.
• Whisk eggs and milk together in a medium-size bowl. Scoop flour onto a plate. Mix cornmeal, bread crumbs, and salt and pepper on another plate. Dip tomatoes into flour to coat. Then dip the tomatoes into milk and egg mixture. Dredge in breadcrumbs to completely coat.
• In a large skillet, pour vegetable oil (enough so that there is 1/2 inch of oil in the pan) and heat over medium heat. Place tomatoes into the frying pan in batches of 4 or 5, depending on the size of your skillet. Do not crowd the tomatoes, they should not touch each other. When the tomatoes are browned, flip and fry them on the other side. Drain them on paper towels.

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR HOUSEPLANTS

(BRINGING PLANTS IN FOR THE WINTER)

You invested good money and time into your summer plants. You may have enjoyed tropical Hibiscus, sweet-smelling Gardenias, and luscious Lemons out on your deck or patio all summer long. All of these plants love the summer heat and the more sun they can get, the happier they are. BUT…There is always a BUT, isn’t there?! It is starting to get a little chilly. These plants are going to get a little sad once nighttime temperatures dip below 50 degrees. You don’t want sad plants, do you? I have some tips for cheering them up this fall and winter:

*Bring plants inside slowly. Baby steps always work best. If the pot is not too heavy, bring the plant in at night and back outside on a warm fall day. If you cannot move it in and out daily, tuck it in closer to the house to keep it a little more protected. If you must move it inside in one fell swoop, put it in the sunniest spot in the house if it was used to getting tons of sun outside.

*Treat plants first. Give them a nice shower with Neem Oil or Horticultural Oil. Spray the leaves, top, and bottom. Spray all branches. The oil will suffocate any sneaky insects or eggs trying to make their way into your cozy, warm winter house.

*Treat the soil first. Use a granular Houseplant Systemic Insect control on the soil. The systemic helps to eliminate soil-dwelling pests like fungus gnats. In addition, the plant absorbs it all the way through every branch and leaf, protecting houseplants from the inside out. Aphids, Whitefly, and Scale get one taste and they are toast!

*Treat the soil first. Fungus gnats can be a real bear to get rid of once they lay their eggs in the soil of your plants. They look like little fruit flies and are just as much of a nuisance. You can treat the soil with Systemic Houseplant care or with organic Mosquito Bits. Trust me, take a moment to do this because once Fungus Gnats make your home, their home, you will not be smiling.

*Fertilize. Use a slow-release fertilizer so they can feed slowly while spending the winter months inside.

See, the “BUT” wasn’t so bad. A little attention to your houseplants now will keep them from being sad inside. Keep them happy with a little extra TLC.

Come see us at Van Wilgen’s. We would love to help!

SHOPPING LIST:

*Neem Oil

*Horticultural Oil

*Systemic Houseplant Insect Control

*Mosquito Bits

*Van Wilgen’s All Purpose Control Release Plant Food

(Tucking your veggie garden in for the winter)

Thanks to my Dad and his wonderful veggie garden, we had delicious, fresh veggies all summer long. My daughter and I really miss the fresh tomatoes but we will enjoy his homemade tomato sauce this winter. To reciprocate, I am bringing home a little goody bag from Van Wilgen’s for my dad.

This year Dad did not plant any cool-season crops such as broccoli, lettuce, arugula, or Brussel sprouts, so his garden is all set to be tucked in for the winter. No excuses. Not only should I bring home an “over-wintering” goody bag for my Dad but if we were really good, my daughter and I would actually help him with the tucking-in process.

What is in this goody bag I am bringing home? I am filling the goody bag with Garden Lime, Garden-Tone, Diatomaceous Earth, and 3lbs of Winter Rye seed. For his little Strawberry patch, I picked up a bag of Mainely Mulch.

So what do I want my Dad to do with all these winter goodies? Why does his garden need all these treats? Fall veggie garden clean-up is very important. My dad already did one of the hardest chores. He pulled out all the spent vegetables. He composted a few that had no signs of disease or insect damage and the rest I forced him to put in a plastic bag and throw in the garbage. I did not want him to throw the old tomato plants showing signs of fungal leaf spot into his compost.

Thanks Dad for doing the hardest part. Now, we will help! I brought home the Garden Lime because it is very important to keep the pH level neutral for vegetables. Almost all veggies like the soil sweet. Potatoes are an exception, so don’t throw the Lime in the corner where they are planted. My daughter and I will sprinkle the Lime onto the soil of the cleaned-up veggie garden. The next layer is Garden-Tone. Garden-Tone is a good, all-purpose, organic, vegetable garden fertilizer. You are probably wondering why the heck I am fertilizing the soil with no veggies in the ground! I am crazy. That is why. Well, that is not actually why but maybe there is some element of crazy. The good crazy, of course! Vegetables use up the nutrients from the soil bed all summer. They need the energy to give us all those delicious veggies. Now, it is time for us to give back. Sprinkle Garden-Tone right on top of the Garden Lime.

What’s next? Diatomaceous Earth. Not everyone does this but being the “bug lady” that I am, I like this step. Sprinkle a layer of organic Diatomaceous Earth as your next layer on top of the soil. It is great for killing overwintering insects that may be hiding in the soil.

My daughter can help me spread all of these products onto the soil. We are dealing with all-natural products that will completely benefit the garden bed. Now it is important to till all the products into the top 6 inches of soil. Voila! We have magically restored the soil in my Dad’s veggie garden. His veggies will be so much happier next year and we will all benefit. Thanks Dad!

One more step to take and we are done. My daughter will like this part. Time to spread the Winter Rye Seed. Winter Rye is a very inexpensive and great cover crop for your vegetable garden. October and November are perfect months to plant Winter Rye. Winter Rye does so many good things to the soil…stops erosion, aerates, keeps weeds from taking over, allows water to flow through, and nourishes the soil. Winter Rye must be mowed or cut down in the spring before it goes to seed head. Till it into the garden bed 3 weeks before you are going to plant. It is a wonderful “green manure.”

p.s. I almost forgot about the Mainely Mulch. Simple. Just spread it a few inches thick over your sweet strawberries to protect them from the cold.

Come see us at Van Wilgen’s. We would love to help!