By Carol Stocker
Boston’s famous flower show has been signaling the wind-down of winter since 1834. This year’s version, The 2013 Boston Flower Garden Show, blooms indoors at the Seaport World Trade Center through Sunday. March 17.

Hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays, Saturday March 16, 9 .m. to 9 p.m. and Sunday, March 17, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tickets for the show are $20 for adults, $17 for seniors, $10 for children 7-17. Children under six are free. For more information, visit bostonflowershow.com.

The theme “Seeds of Change” embraces both environmental concerns and the down home pleasures of vegetable gardening. The dozens of scheduled presentations will include tips on how to raise chickens and keep bees – two of the fastest growing environmental hobbies. Ecologists will lecture on controlling invasive species and reusing water. Local chefs will show how to grow, use and preserve herbs and produce. Whether your interests are pickling or pruning, you can learn about it here.There will also be plenty of pops of color, such as Deborah Trickett’s lecture on creating “Jaw-Dropping, Traffic-Stopping, Get-Your-Neighbors-Talking Container Gardens.”

Most appreciated will be the instant gardens in full bloom. Favorite returning exhibitors include Miskovsky Landscaping of Falmouth, Earthworks of Leverett, Heimlich Nurseries of Woburn and Peter R. Sedeck of Lakeville who includes exotic birds in his Eden-like designs. Some gardens will be large and some will be very small. Debi Hogan and Warren Leach of Tranquil Lake Nursery in Rehoboth will contribute one of their crowd pleasing miniature gardens where one inch represents one foot in scale and a begonia does a good imitation of a Japanese maple tree while nasturtium seedlings stand in for lotus leaves.

The roots of the Boston flower show go back to 1834 when the Massachusetts Horticultural Society held its first large show in Faneuil Hall, primarily for farmers and gentlemen to exhibit their homegrown produce, especially new fruit varieties. The Concord grape was introduced at the 1854 exhibition. The Society ran the show for 137 years before its financial melt down in 2009.This resurrected version of the show is produced by Paragon Group of Needham with long-time director Carolyn H. Weston. But Mass Hort, under new leadership and currently in the black, still has an important role. It oversees all the amateur competitions, including a floral design show and an Ikebana International Exhibit. Seven small gardens, called vignettes, trace Mass Hort’s long history, including its role in the creation of Mount Auburn Cemetery in 1831, the Window Gardening Movement of the 1870s, the School Yard Experiment of 1891 and the Victory Gardens of WWII. The noteworthy designers include Julie Moir Messervy, Paul Miskovsky and Marisa McCoy.

There will also be educational children’s activities and plenty of experts from government agencies and the state Master Gardener’s Association on hand for your questions.

Azaleas are a signature plant in southern spring and also in southern gardens.

Interestingly, North American native azaleas are all deciduous species. Most of the azaleas in our yards, however, are evergreen, with their ancient roots in Asia. The result is more than 10,000 registered or named varieties from hundreds of years of breeding.

As southern gardeners we are particularly aware of azaleas during the spring. Consequently it is a good time to look at caring for them.

Here are 18 things to know and do so our azaleas will thrive:

• Plant azaleas in early spring or fall; new roots need time to develop before summer heat and drought.

• Keep transplanted azaleas well watered, but not water-logged, until they are established.

• Azaleas grow best in dappled or part shade. Deep shade produces spindly plants with fewer blooms. Too much sun results in shorter bloom time.

• Plants require acidic soil with a pH of 4.5-6.0.

•  Soil should be loose, well drained and contain plenty of organic material.

• Plant the root ball higher than ground level.

• Azaleas have a shallow root system that spreads within the top 12 inches of soil. Protect roots with organic mulch beyond the drip line, but leave bare two inches around the stem.

• Fertilizer is usually not necessary. It can burn shallow roots. Azaleas get adequate nutrition as mulch and compost slowly decompose.

• Chlorosis (yellowing leaves with green veins) and stunted growth are likely indicators of nutrient deficiency. If a soil test shows a nutrient deficiency apply a scant amount of slow release fertilizer for acid loving plants.

• Too much water, too little water, or too much fertilizer can cause brown leaf tips and leaf drop.

•  Prune azaleas when they have finished flowering, and before mid June. If you prune after that you reduce next year’s blooms.

• Cut leggy stems back to the place where they meet a larger branch.

• A cool damp spring can lead to petal blight, an airborne fungus. Flowers appear spotted and turn brown. They look mushy and water logged, sticking to the leaves. The fungus over winters on the fallen blossoms. Remove and destroy dead blossoms from your plants and the ground around them.

• Leaf gall is a fleshy fungal growth that begins shiny green. White spores cover then cover the mass which dries brown. Pick off, bag and throw out the growths, ideally before the spores are released to become new galls next spring.

• Azalea lace bugs can be a problem – their population continues to increase if they are untreated. Look for small black specs on the underside of leaves. Their sucking sap causes a stippled effect on the surface of leaves turning them from green to grayish. Lace bugs overwinter on plants as eggs. Spray plants thoroughly with horticultural or control lace bugs chemically with Sevin, malathion, cyfluthrin and imidacloprid products. Follow label instructions.

• Red spider mites start on the underside of leaves. They look like tiny specs. As the population increases they move to leaf surfaces. Look for fine webbing on leaves to help identify the pests. Horticultural oil will help control the numbers, but a chemical miticide will be more effective. Always follow label instructions.

• Azalea caterpillars are small. They grow from about 1/2-inch to 2 inches long beginning brownish black with yellow and white stripes. They mature black with yellow and white stripes and a red head. Typically they feed in groups and devour leaves quickly. Look for the caterpillars during August and September. Use Bacillus thuringiensis, horticultural oil, malathion, Sevin, or cyfluthrin products to control them. As usual follow label instructions.

• Check the bark on plants, especially crotch areas, for azalea bark scale. Scale insects are damaging because they suck the sap out of plants. Scrape off scale insects as possible. Use horticultural oil to kill adults and eggs. (Insecticidal sprays kill only the crawler stage of scale.) Follow label instructions. Be aware that you will need to spray multiple times to control the pest.

Azaleas are beautiful and easy to grow. Just give them the right conditions and know how to trouble shoot a few problems.

Reach DEBBIE MENCHEK, a Clemson Master Gardener, at dmgha3@aol.com.

jaf701@frontier.com. You also can read her What’s Bloomin’ blog at www.news-sentinel.com. This column is the personal opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of The News-Sentinel.

Longfield Gardens new blog shares ideas on planning, selecting, planting and caring for bulbs

We’re taking the guesswork out of gardening and giving people tips on designing beautiful outdoor and indoor spaces. Our blog shares our top experts’ advice about bulbs to give our friends confidence and be successful gardeners.

Lakewood, NJ (PRWEB) March 14, 2013

A new how-to blog aimed at educating gardeners about planting and growing bulbs has been launched by Longfield Gardens, one of America’s top purveyors of quality flower bulbs.

Longfield Gardens is no stranger when it comes to bulbs. The new blog reflects more than 80 years of experience in growing and selling Dutch bulbs and is designed to help gardeners simplify the planning process and select the best bulbs for each unique space.

“We’re taking the guesswork out of gardening and giving people tips on designing beautiful outdoor and indoor spaces,” says Hans Langeveld, co-owner of Longfield Gardens. “Our blog shares our top experts’ advice about bulbs to give our friends confidence and be successful gardeners.”

Langeveld is the third generation of Dutch-American bulb plantsmen and has a vast knowledge about bulbs. Langeveld, along with co-owners, cousin Pete Langeveld and longtime colleague Dave Strabo, strive to provide the best bulbs at the best price to their customers. With the addition of a new blog, Longfield Gardens not only educates customers with the best bulb information but it reflects the simplicity and pleasure of bulb gardening.

While Langeveld contributes the majority of blog posts, he does not do it alone. Longfield Gardens’ team of bulb experts, growers and designers also share ideas on planning, selecting, planting and caring for bulbs.

The blog includes breathtaking inspiration photography of Longfield Gardens’ creations, gardens and combinations that readers can take and implement in their own yard.

Various experts will offer tips on the blog, like those from creative director Marlene Thompson, who has 15 years of experience in the horticulture industry and product developer Jen Pfau, who shares ideas on how different bulbs look and act together in the garden. Pfau selects the ‘Perfect Together’ collections to create beautiful colored blooms and interesting foliage in the garden. Another contributor is Dave Strabo, longtime industry expert, who identifies which bulbs produce better flowering results, fuller plants and stronger stems.

“Buy with confidence. Love what you grow. That’s our approach. We’re gardeners ourselves and we want fellow gardeners to be comfortable shopping with us, knowing exactly the quality of product they will get,” says Langeveld.

Longfield Gardens is one of America’s top importers of quality flower bulbs with over 80 years of combined experience in the bulb industry. Longfield’s mission is to stretch the customer’s dollar and offer common sense planting information that is easy to follow. This simple approach to selling bulbs saves their customers time and money. The retail site offers spring-planted and all-planted product lines and has a commitment to education. For more information, visit the website at http://www.longfield-gardens.com or visit the blog at blog.longfield-gardens.com/

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I love being in the garden. My garden is so terrific friends and neighbors started asking me for tips on how to make their gardens nicer. It got so I was spending more time telling people about my garden than being in it. That’s when I decided to put my six best tips for the home garden in writing for all to see.

1. Make it what you want.

My neighbor across the road has the most perfect lawn I have ever seen. He is out there after work and on the weekends pulling weeds, mowing, watering, and feeding. I don’t like doing those things, so I don’t have any lawn. A garden can be anything you want it to be, so make yours right for you.

2. Add comfortable outdoor furniture.

I have a rattan sun bed with a tree to shade me when I take a nap or read in my garden. I visit with company on my rattan loveseat. The loveseat has colorful weatherproof cushions that match the cushions on the chairs for my outdoor dining table.

image source: Bridgman Furniture 

3. Create an all-season garden.

You probably won’t spend as much time in the garden in winter as you do the rest of the year, but you can still enjoy it all year round. Here’s what you can do to make the most of your garden lovely in the cold months when nothing is growing:

• Add garden sculptures and statuary;
• Use plants with winter interest. Shrubs and trees with dramatic branching patterns, ornamental grasses, and plants with fruit that lasts make the garden interesting to look at in winter, whether you are standing in it or looking at it through the window.
• Feed the birds. Bird feeders attract life to the garden at a time when plants are dormant.

I love being in the garden. My garden is so terrific friends and neighbors started asking me for tips on how to make their gardens nicer. It got so I was spending more time telling people about my garden than being in it. That’s when I decided to put my six best tips for the home garden in writing for all to see.

1. Make it what you want.

My neighbor across the road has the most perfect lawn I have ever seen. He is out there after work and on the weekends pulling weeds, mowing, watering, and feeding. I don’t like doing those things, so I don’t have any lawn. A garden can be anything you want it to be, so make yours right for you.

2. Add comfortable outdoor furniture.

I have a rattan sun bed with a tree to shade me when I take a nap or read in my garden. I visit with company on my rattan loveseat. The loveseat has colorful weatherproof cushions that match the cushions on the chairs for my outdoor dining table.

image source: Bridgman Furniture 

3. Create an all-season garden.

You probably won’t spend as much time in the garden in winter as you do the rest of the year, but you can still enjoy it all year round. Here’s what you can do to make the most of your garden lovely in the cold months when nothing is growing:

• Add garden sculptures and statuary;
• Use plants with winter interest. Shrubs and trees with dramatic branching patterns, ornamental grasses, and plants with fruit that lasts make the garden interesting to look at in winter, whether you are standing in it or looking at it through the window.
• Feed the birds. Bird feeders attract life to the garden at a time when plants are dormant.

With spring just around the corner, you may find yourself getting the urge to start your own vegetable garden as magazines and newspapers are full of gardening stories. There are plenty of places to learn the step-by-step instructions on how to do this.

But, after teaching and writing about gardening for the past decade, I have come up with some common sense tips that new gardeners should consider before they even start to plant. Here are just a few of them.

Plan ahead. Whether you grow from seed or from transplants, things take time; you have to plant at the right time, in the right place, and with the right conditions. Pick the location that will work for what you want to grow. Is there enough sun? What about your soil and what else do you have in that area that might interfere or help you grow there? If you don’t know the answers to these questions, find out. Nothing frustrates and discourages beginning gardeners more than having things die unexpectedly. Use your enthusiasm to your advantage by taking the time to learn.

Which brings me to this: get educated, learn as much as you can, and never stop learning. When are your favorite vegetables in season? When do they need to be planted to be ready in this season? You can’t expect bushels of corn in July if you only planted them in June. Or, do you want to grow your own Halloween pumpkins? Then you need to plant those pumpkins months before October, usually no later than June 15. Not finding out the most basic things about what you are growing is a surefire way to set yourself up for disappointment.

Resist the urge to overdo. Start small. You don’t have to use the entire space you have available, or plant everything all at once. In your enthusiasm to start gardening, did you request a copy of every seed catalog you found online and then order way more than you’d ever eat? Or, did you make a trip to the local nursery and couldn’t resist all the great bargains they have for spring planting? Once you buy all those seeds or all those plants, then you have already committed yourself to planting them all. Even if you use succession planting, you may still feel overwhelmed. Instead, choose one small site in your garden, and pick one or two of your absolute favorite veggies and start with them.