"That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet"

William Shakespeare

The presence of roses in gardens transcends time. Roses have always been, are today, and will forever be, not only a plant member of our gardens but most often the featured plant in our gardens. And this happens simply by default, because nothing has as great a floral color impact in your garden as a rose.

Humans have an ongoing love affair with roses. And to that end, we have created many different garden designs, most of which leave space for the rose. Whatever your garden style, a rose is a welcome addition.

Roses in English gardens are tucked in with lavender, foxglove, daisies, and delphinium. They appear in wildflower gardens with poppies, forget-me-not, love-in-a-mist and clarkias; they stand in rows in formal rose gardens and gather in circles in the informal rose garden, and please believe us, they are in vegetable gardens too. Roses are planted en masse as a flowering hedge, roses are planted in commercial settings, roses are in our cemeteries, and roses are growing in the wild. We think you may be getting the picture.

There are thousands of different roses, wild or species, hybrids, old roses and modern roses. There are China roses, Gallica roses, Damask roses, moss roses, Bourbon roses, hybrid perpetual roses, rugosa roses, macranth roses, ramblers, and polyanthas. And we haven't even begun to talk about the roses in our garden center!

We welcome you to join us in the garden center for a stroll through the roses. Don’t forget to leave a few spaces in your garden for your favorite ones.

By E.W. Forsyth

Nothing enhances cooking more than fresh herbs. Once you have incorporated a herb garden into your landscape, and experienced the simple joy of picking the flavors that will bring compliments showering upon you for your culinary expertise, there is no going back.

Ah, but what about winter? Hopefully you have frozen some of your summer crop, but it still is not quite the same as freshly picked herbs. If you have a south-facing window, you're equipped with most of what you need in order to grow an indoor herb garden. Begin with indoor-friendly herbs such as sage, mint, rosemary, parsley, bay leaf, thyme, chives, garlic and oregano. Basil, dill and coriander should be started from seeds, and mint, rosemary and bay leaf should be rooted from cuttings.

If you're starting with seedlings which you have purchased from the nursery, they will need to be acclimated to lower light conditions. New leaves that are accustomed to the lower light must be produced in order for the plant to survive. Most herbs require an absolute minimum of 6 hours of direct sunlight, which a window with southern exposure should provide. Assist with the addition of grow lights, placed about 6 to 9 inches above the tops of the plants. Generally speaking, your herbs will prefer temperatures between 55 and 70 degrees F.

However, basil is such a sun and heat lover, it will thrive if given 16 hours of artificial light. I guarantee that the pesto and spaghetti sauce that is seasoned with the fresh basil from your indoor herb garden will make the effort well worth it. Place the plants that need the greatest amount of light in the center of the window, directly beneath the grow lights. Your mint, parsley and rosemary will require less light; therefore, they should be placed at the sides, farther away from the strongest point of light.

Use separate pots for each plant; this allows for each plant to have air flow, and if a problem occurs with one plant, it is easily removed from the mix. Unglazed terra cotta is the preferred pot as it is porous, thus allowing moisture and air to pass through. Roots need air; if gasses in the root zone are not able to move, and watering prevents the roots from breathing, root rot will set in. So, be sure that there are drainage holes in the bottom of your pots to allow excess water to drain.

When first prepping the pots, DO NOT use soil from your garden, no matter how gloriously your outdoor plants grow in it. Instead, use a high-quality potting soil with organic fertilizer mixed in, and add some perlite. Fertilize with a liquid fish emulsion at half strength or a 20-20-20 chemical formulation about once a month. Mist on occasion, particularly rosemary.

The conditions inside your house will affect the frequency of watering. Using your finger, check the soil. If it feels dry to the touch, water thoroughly until the water comes out of the drainage holes in the bottom. Herbs such as bay leaf, thyme, oregano and sage should dry out completely between waterings while mint and rosemary prefer a little more moisture.

When harvesting from an indoor herb garden, a certain delicacy is called for; because indoor herbs tend to reach for the light and become leggy, it is best to pinch them at the growing tips, thereby forcing a bushier growth form.

Experiment with a light-hearted sense of fun; fresh herbs are by nature givers of a unique flavoring to our cooking. Add to salads and omelets; toss a few fresh mint leaves in a pot of hot tea. Gardening and cooking are two sublime pleasures that anyone may enjoy. Nothing enhances cooking more than fresh herbs.

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Many people don't realize that plants can suffer from water stress in winter just as they can in summer--particularly if there is a mild winter. Excessive moisture loss in plants can cause stress, wilting, bud and shoot damage, and even plant failure.

Moisture loss can strike during periods of winter drought, or when plant roots have been disturbed by transplanting too late in winter. It also occurs when drying winds and frozen ground deprive plants of their natural moisture intake.

Most plants have some natural ability to survive the winter cold, provided their roots stay moist and the plant can still take up water. But when normal water intake through the root system is curtailed, plants can suffer. If the ground is left dry, they may not have enough moisture built up in their foliage to survive long periods without absorbing water.

Always check your plants and soil on a weekly basis, even in the winter, especially during any prolonged dry period. Make sure to keep the soil moist--but do not spray the foliage with water. Mulching is very beneficial, both to keep soil moist and to insulate the soil.

For extra protection, consider using an anti-transpirant spray. It can give plants an extra 2-6 degrees of protection, which can be enough to see them through a frost or long periods of water stress. Make sure to spray when temperatures are above freezing so that the spray will not freeze on foliage.

Don't take winter moisture for granted. Keeping an eye on your soil will go a long way toward protecting your plants from winter damage.

When you think of spring, daffodils (Narcissus) come to mind. They weren’t planted in the spring; the narcissus bulbs should have been planted the summer or fall before. Think of summer and you envision the vibrant colors of beautiful dahlias or gladiolas. These bulbs were planted in winter or spring. Our point? To ensure flowers from bulbs in any particular season, their bulb must be planted during the prior season. This gives the bulb time to develop a hardy, healthy root system that will grow a strong plant and produce beautiful flowers.

Different bulbs are planted at different depths. Double check the planting instructions for those you have chosen. Use Dr. Earth bulb food, and Master Nursery Bumper Crop or Gardeners Choice planting mix for happy, healthy plants and flowers.

As each new season is upon us, come into the garden center and discover what new bulbs and varieties we have in stock. We do not stock all bulbs all year long. We do not keep each season’s bulbs in stock throughout that entire season. (We usually sell out first!) But don’t worry; we’ll remind you when the newest bulbs arrive!

Did you know that many of the plants we call bulbs aren't bulbs at all? Read below to find out more.

Bulb Types
A bulb by definition is "a modified underground stem, such as that of the onion or tulip, surrounded by scale-like modified leaves and containing stored food for the undeveloped shoots of the new plant enclosed within." A second, looser definition is "an underground stem or root such as a corm, rhizome, or tuber."

Here's how bulbs differ so you can tell them apart.

True Bulb
This is a modified underground leaf bud surrounded by fleshy leaves and with a small stem at the lower end. Picture an onion. We eat the fleshy leaves, but that base with the stringy, dried roots that we cut off, that's the small stem, compacted. Other bulbs in this category are tulips and daffodils.

Corm
These resemble bulbs but are different because they are made up of all stem cells. Visually, you might not be able to distinguish this difference. They have the same papery leaves coving the outside, and roots at the base. Also, like a bulb, they are a food storage vessel for the plant. After bloom the old corm is used up, but new ones have grown on top or at the sides to take its place. Gladioli, sparaxis, and freesia grow from corms.

Rhizome
Rhizomes are horizontal stems that grow below the ground near the surface. They look like roots, but actually have scale-like leaves and leaf buds at nodes. There are "adventitious" roots growing along these stems, on the underside. Examples are bearded irises and calla lilies. Just to help you understand, other examples of rhizome growers are some grasses and ferns.

Tuber
A thickened stem that runs underground. At the ends of the stolons grows a tuber or a storage chamber that is short, thick, and round. It grows totally or partially underground. Tuberous begonias, cyclamen, and potatoes grow from tubers.

Tuberous Root
Growing underground, this differs from a tuber in that it's a swollen root rather than a thickened stem. Tuberous roots have growth buds on top in the old stem portion, from which spring the plants. Dahlias and sweet potatoes grow from tuberous roots.

Spring bulb displays are less predictable than summer flowers, and it can be especially disappointing when different bulbs planted in the same windowbox flower at different times. The consolation is that this does at least extend the interest. A good alternative is to plant single-subject displays which, although often brief, are frequently bolder.

Make sure that there are drainage holes, and add a layer of material to aid quick drainage, such as broken pots or pieces of chipped bark (normally sold for mulching).

Add enough potting soil to cover the bottom couple of centimeters (about an inch). As the bulbs do not need a lot of nutrients during the winter, you can often use some of the potting mixture previously used for summer bedding.

You can pack in more bulbs by planting in layers. Place large bulbs such as daffodils or tulips at the lower level.

Add more potting soil, then position the smaller bulbs, such as crocuses and scillas. Try to position them so that they lie between the larger bulbs. Be careful about the bulbs that you mix - small crocuses will be swamped by tall daffodils, so choose miniature or dwarf daffodils, to keep a suitable balance.

Top up with more potting soil, but leave about an inch of space at the top for watering and perhaps for decorative mulch. As the windowbox will look bare for some months, a few winter pansies will add a touch of interest. Don’t worry about the bulbs beneath - they will find their way through the pansies.

When is the best time to prune roses?

Answer:
Regular "deadheading" should be a regular activity throughout the blooming season and will result in better continual blooming. But more severe pruning should be done between December and February, when roses are at their lowest activity level. In really cold climates, it is best to wait until the main cold season is over and then prune the roses back so tender new growth won't be damaged by late cold snaps.

While sealing the canes with pruning sealer after pruning during the growing season is optional, we definitely recommend doing so to protect the canes after dormant pruning.

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