Enjoy a New Christmas Plant Tradition

'Jacob' hellebores add beauty to any home or garden
during the winter for years to come!

With the Christmas season comes tradition. Whether favorite family movies, the annual choosing-of-the-tree, grandma’s sugar cookies or playing a classic Christmas album, December is marked by tradition. While it’s not a month typically associated with gardening, plants certainly have their place in the holiday season, and as you go about your Christmas decorating and gift-giving, it might be time for a new Christmas tradition.

If asked to picture a traditional Christmas flower, most people would probably conjure up images of the classic red poinsettia. Certainly poinsettias are synonymous with the holidays—and for good reason with their festive colors—but there’s a newcomer to the world of Christmas flowers that is quickly gaining popularity for decorating both indoors and out. 

Unlike poinsettias, this evergreen perennial will last for more than a single season; in fact, it will bloom around Christmas time for years to come. Its long-lasting white flowers and dark green foliage will blend well with any Christmas décor in your home for a season and then, after the holidays, bring life to an otherwise dreary time of year outdoors. 

Of course, I’m speaking of hellebores—but likely not the plants you imagine. In all honesty, I used to dislike hellebores with a passion. Not only did they have unimpressive, often-leggy foliage, their washed-out blossoms hung down, so unless you were at ground level looking up, the show of flowers was mediocre at best. 

Recently, plant breeders have focused on improving the foliage and flowering characteristics, and they’ve also developed new strains that bloom at Christmas. ‘Jacob’ and ‘Josef Lemper’ are two of the most impressive varieties; with large, bright white blooms facing outward on strong stems, they’re vastly superior to previous generations of the species. 

Hellebores are also incredibly cold-hardy, so whether you choose to plant them in a flowerbed or planter after the holidays (or as soon as you get it home!) you don’t have to worry about cold damaging it as many are hardy as low as -30 degrees Fahrenheit. 

For gardeners who want to enjoy color to start the new year, several other great varieties of hellebores will begin to bloom shortly after the holidays. ‘Love Bug,’ with light pink flowers, tops out at less than a foot tall, making an excellent container plant. Another great variety, ‘Wester Flisk’ stands out with finely-textured foliage reminiscent of a laceleaf Japanese maple.

Add texture and color to your Christmas
decor with the lime-green foliage of
'Wilma Goldcrest' lemon cypress.

Now, maybe your Christmas decorating doesn’t call for more flowers, or maybe you need something with a little bit more height in your Christmas display. For that, have you considered using lemon cypress? ‘Wilma Goldcrest’ cypress is a popular plant for container gardening during the spring and summer months, but there’s no reason it can’t be enjoyed at Christmas as well. 

Its bright lime-green foliage gives off the scent of fresh lemons when brushed, thus the commonly-used name ‘lemon cypress.’ Narrow and upright, this evergreen can even be decorated as a miniature Christmas tree. While it typically prefers more light than is available indoors, it will work well as a table centerpiece or decoration in the house for the season before being transplanted outdoors. 

As you decorate your home for Christmas and shop for gifts, embrace tradition, but don’t be afraid to try a new plant this season. For gardeners, half the fun of the hobby is in discovering something new, and you just might find that a visit to Vander Giessen's this month opens up a whole new world of beautiful plants to enjoy this Christmas and for years to come.

Christmas Has Arrived!

The Christmas season is upon us, and as you prepare to decorate your home for the holidays, we're fully stocked with beautiful Christmas trees and decor for your decorating needs. This year we've greatly expanded our selection of Christmas plants and gift items, so in addition to the trees, poinsettias, wreaths and garland we typically carry, we now offer many other beautiful options as well.

If you're interested in picking out a fresh Christmas tree but don't relish the idea of shopping in cold or rainy weather, we've set up a great display of fresh cut Christmas trees in our greenhouse just for you. Shop in the comfort of a warm greenhouse, out of the weather!

Please mark your calendars for our Christmas open house on Saturday, December 6. Our annual tradition continues--this year in our new garden center. Join us for hot, fresh olie bollen (a Dutch donut), hot cocoa, apple cider and fun for the whole family. Our Christmas train will be running to keep the kids entertained and we'll have sales on many items throughout the store. Enjoy a fun day picking out your Christmas tree and gifts for any gardener in your life.

Below are a few pictures of the festive atmosphere at Vander Giessen's this Christmas season. We wish you a very Merry Christmas!

Just Arrived--Top-Quality Garden Tools

Just in time for the Christmas shopping season, we've recently received a delivery of beautiful,top-quality gardening tools that would make great gifts! Whether Felco pruners, Japanese rakes or beautiful stainless cultivators and trowels from Burgon & Ball, these tools are unmatched for quality and workmanship.

If you have a gardener on your shopping list this season, impress them with gardening accessories that will last a lifetime!

Finish the Gardening Season Strong

Enjoy the vivid colors of heuchera through
winter--wait until spring to prune back!

With Thanksgiving drawing close, we’re in the homestretch of another year—and as you finish up the last of your gardening tasks for the season, here are a few tips to ensure a good end to this year and start to the next.

First, it’s time to label your plants. As perennials grow in popularity and variety, more of the plants in our gardens simply disappear over winter, leaving us trying to remember what we planted where. Right now, before you prune back your perennials for winter, mark the location and variety of each with plant labels. Doing so will make dividing or moving your plants in early spring to make way for others. 

Secondly, it’s time for that much-loved autumn pastime: yard cleanup. After you’ve labeled your perennials, you can cut back any that have already died down for the year. With the frosts we had recently many plants have gone dormant for the season; many more will follow soon. 

Pruning back perennials isn’t a difficult task—many can be cut right back to the ground—but some varieties lend themselves to beautiful winter color and should be left alone until spring. My favorite plant that fits this rule is heuchera, or coral bells. With their brightly-colored leaves through spring and summer, heuchera are beautiful enough, but many varieties take on even more vivid shades in the winter months, so don’t touch them until spring and enjoy the show! 

As for other plants around your yard—while it’s generally safe to prune in the fall and winter, I typically wait until early spring to trim the shrubs in my yard. Even the hardiest plants can suffer some winter damage in the event we have a harsh season ahead, so rather than create wounds on the plants in my yard before winter, wait until after the worst chance of a deep freeze is past to prune. Doing so will also allow you to prune off any branches or foliage that shows signs of winter damage. 

The one major exception I make for pruning this time of year is roses. Because rose canes (branches) can get brittle in cold weather—thus making them susceptible to damage in windy or snowy conditions—it’s a great idea to prune them back halfway sometime in November. In February you can more selectively prune to shape your plants for the coming year, but for winter, the job is entirely utilitarian, so chop away.  

After you’ve finished raking your lawn for the season, take note of what you still may need to do to keep your grass healthy through winter. If moss has begun to take hold once again, apply a dose of ferrous sulfate to kill it and keep it from choking out your grass over winter. If you haven’t yet applied your fall fertilizer, it’s still safe to do so—in fact, with the warm temperatures we had for much of October, the timing is perfect to apply it anytime this month. 

Finally, if you haven’t yet planted bulbs for next spring, it’s not too late to do so. As mentioned above, October was particularly warm this year, so our soils have finally cooled down in the last few weeks, providing ideal conditions to plant. Daffodils in particular offer carefree, deer-resistant color for years to come, so visit a local nursery and browse what bulbs might be right for your yard.  

Autumn’s short days and wet weather are a great excuse to stay inside, but as we near the end of another year, now is the time to finish strong.

Saturday Only--75% off!

This Saturday, November 1, marks the last day of our fall clearance sale. To wrap up our sale, we've marked down our remaining plants even further--but for one day only! From 9:00-5:00 Saturday, nearly our entire selection of remaining shrubs, trees and perennials will be 75% off (currently 40% off). Be sure to print the coupon above to save on your purchase.

Additionally, we have the following sales going on now at the nursery:

• Fall flowers 50% off 
• Spring bulbs 25% off 

Sales on fall flowers and bulbs are ongoing, so stop in anytime--we're open Monday-Saturday 9:00-5:00. Don't miss out, however, on the big one-day plant sale on our shrubs, trees and perennials. It's not too late to plant, and the forecast looks nice for one last big day of yard work on Saturday!

Indoor Plants in Stock

Just in time for fall, we now carry houseplants! As you wrap up gardening outdoors for the season, stop in to check out our new selection of tropical foliage, Norfolk pines, African violets and kalanchoes.

While you're in, be sure to pick up a tub of Jack's Houseplant Special or African Violet plant food--with the top-quality ingredients you've come to expect from Jack's Classic fertilizers, these specially-formulated blends will keep your houseplants vibrant and beautiful for years to come.

Prepare Your Lawn & Garden for a Beautiful Spring

Cool fall weather means it's time
to plant spring bulbs!

By all accounts, this year’s summer weather was exceptional. A long season of warm, dry weather—punctuated by a few perfectly-timed rains—made for a great year in the garden and left many gardeners with bumper crops (tomatoes, anyone?). As we begin to close the books on another year of gardening, there are a few steps you can take now to ensure a healthy lawn and beautiful garden next spring.

First, if you have a lawn there are two final steps you should take this season to keep your grass healthy through winter and into next year. This month, as our rainy weather returns, spread a healthy dose of granular lime over your lawn to discourage moss growth. Because of our warm summer, moss wasn’t a serious problem; as fall takes hold, however, it will return. 

Scientifically-speaking, lime raises the pH of soil, which in the Pacific Northwest, will bring soil to a more neutral pH. Practically-speaking, this serves two benefits: 1) discouraging moss growth, as mentioned, and; 2) improving the effectiveness of lawn fertilizer, allowing you to reduce the amount of fertilizer you need to use. When purchasing lime, choose a fast-acting version like Lilly Miller Super Sweet—while dolomite lime may take up to a year to break down in the soil, fast-acting lime will correct a soil’s pH in just weeks.  

The second step to take this fall to keep your lawn healthy through winter is a final dose of fertilizer. Although spring and summer are the seasons you tend to pay the most attention to your lawn, winter is the season that can be the hardest on grass. To prevent damage from cool, wet conditions and hard freezes, it’s important for lawns to develop strong roots through winter. 

Feed your lawn its last meal before
winter with Winterguard

Later this month or next—essentially once your lawn slows or stops growing—apply a dose of Scotts Turf Builder Winterguard. Feeding late in autumn will give your lawn a good final “meal” before going dormant for winter and allow roots to continue to feed even after the above-ground portion of your lawn has stopped growing.

Aside from the mundane tasks of lawn care, this month is a fun time to plan for spring color, namely bulbs! While spring bulbs can be planted anytime in autumn, October is an ideal month to do so. Bulbs need the winter months to develop strong root systems and prepare for spring, so the sooner you plant after the soil begins to cool for fall the longer they’ll have to get established. 

When planting bulbs, choose varieties that bloom at different times for a longer season of color. Crocuses will bring the earliest signs of spring, followed by daffodils and tulips. For stunning displays, plant bulbs in large groupings.

If you like the look of blooming bulbs but don’t have the patience to watch them die down after blooming in late spring—all the while distracting from your other flowers—plant your bulbs in large pots and bury the pots. After they’re finished blooming, pull out the pots and set them somewhere out of sight to finish dying back. 

For existing bulb plantings, this is also the time of year to fertilize. Keeping up with a yearly dose of bone meal will maintain strong, healthy bulbs and keep your flowers blooming each spring. 

As the seasons continue to change, this month offers an excellent opportunity to get a jump start on a healthy lawn and beautiful garden next spring. Stop in at Vander Giessen's this month for help with your lawn and to see what bulbs might suit your taste!

Fall Clearance Sale!

It's October, and with the cooler weather, ample rains and changing leaves comes a great opportunity to save on plants for your yard. Through this month, nearly our entire selection of trees, shrubs and perennials is on sale at 40% off. 

While spring is the time many gardeners find inspiration to plant--understandably so, especially after the doldrums of winter--autumn is considered by many to be the best time to plant. As shrubs and trees go dormant for winter, any transplant stress they may undergo in being moved from a pot to the ground is minimized. That, combined with regular rains to keep plants watered, makes this month an ideal time to plant.

Although just about all of our plants are 40% off this month, keep in mind the following exclusions: 'Emerald Green' arborvitae, fall flowers, indoor plants and select Japanese maples may not be discounted.
 
Fall is for planting, so enjoy the new season and savings while they last at Vander Giessen's!

Make the Most of Fall & Winter Color

'Orange Rocket' barberry provides
excellent fall color!

Autumn is quickly settling in here in the Pacific Northwest. As we begin to experience more regular rains, cooler nights and foggy mornings, here are some tips and a few of our favorite plants for a new season.

First, I'm going to go out on a limb (pun intended!) and predict that trees in our area will show beautiful fall color this year. After a long, hot summer, deciduous trees and shrubs should put on quite a show of golds, oranges and reds this fall. Of course, if we get an ill-timed windstorm or heavy rain, the colors may be fleeting, but I have my fingers crossed for a colorful autumn. 

Many people plant shrubs or trees in their yards for the beautiful fall color they offer and then experience year after year of disappointing color. If you’ve planted maples, burning bushes or spirea and have been disappointed with lackluster fall color, you may be loving your plants too much. 

To bring out the best color in these plants, now is the time to cut back on watering. If you water your shrubs and trees regularly, you may be able to cut back by half—or eliminate completely—the amount of water you give your plants. Decreasing the amount of water you provide these plants will signal that it’s time to begin shutting down for the season, and in a couple weeks you’ll see the leaves begin to change color. 

September is the time when many plants begin to go dormant for winter, but for many plants, the show is far from over. For excellent fall color, try planting 'Orange Rocket' barberry. Its upright, columnar habit makes it a great candidate for small spaces, it boasts deep orange leaves through the spring and summer months and in autumn it turns brilliant shades of neon pink and orange before dropping its leaves.

'Wickwar Flame' heather adds drama and ever-changing
color to containers or a flowerbed through fall and winter.

A second plant that I’m fond of for fall and winter color is ‘Wickwar Flame’ heather. Unlike the picture that comes to mind when you think of heather, ‘Wickwar Flame’ has yellow foliage, blooms in summer and has scale-like leaves. Most interesting, though, is its gorgeous winter color. After the first frost, the foliage will transition to shades of bright orange and even red. 'Wickwar Flame' is a great choice for pots or in-ground planting. 

Finally, foliage plants are great for color through fall and winter, but as a flower lover, I have a hard time not mentioning winter pansies. After all, what’s not to love? They bloom all winter and well into next spring—yes, you read that right!—they need minimal maintenance, and as far as flowers go, they’ll give you the most bang for your buck. Whether you choose traditional winter pansies or the increasingly popular ‘Cool Wave’ trailing pansy for hanging baskets, they’ll bloom like crazy until a hard freeze, wilt down, and then bounce right back once the weather warms above freezing.  

Early autumn is a beautiful time of year in the Pacific Northwest, and as the seasons begin to change, it’s a great time to rediscover the beauty of your garden. Stop in at Vander Giessen's this month and get inspired!

25% Off Trees, Shrubs & Perennials!

It's time for fall planting--and to help you out, we're throwing a sale! Right now, nearly our entire selection of trees, shrubs and perennials is 25% off. Fall is traditionally the best season for planting--warm soils encourage fast rooting and regular rains (which, trust us, will come!) help alleviate watering concerns. Now, with our sale on just about all of the plants in the nursery, what other excuse do you have not to plant?

While the sale does apply to just about all of the plants we sell, there are a few exclusions, namely: fall flowers (pansies, mums, cabbage, kale and fall hanging baskets), 'Emerald Green' arborvitae and indoor plants. Aside from these few exclusions, our entire selection of plants is discounted.

Supply on many of our most popular plants is limited, and once they're gone, they're gone, so make some time soon to stop by. As always, we look forward to the opportunity to serve you. 

Fall Flowers In Stock

As we begin to enjoy the transition from summer to autumn, now is the time to plant fall flowers for a new season! We're now stocked with winter pansies, mums, trailing pansy baskets, cabbage, ornamental grasses and more. Freshen up your patio planters or hang a new basket by your front door for winter-long color. From plants to potting soil to new pottery, we're here to help bring new life to your garden this season!

Four Steps to a Better Garden

Pick up a bag of Sevin to control
cranefly larvae and discourage
mole activity!

They call it the ‘dog days of summer.’ The month of August is traditionally a beautiful time in the Pacific Northwest, and so far, this month is shaping up to be just as nice as ever. Although it’s not a season when many people make a long to-do list for the yard, there are some simple tasks you can undertake in the next weeks to give you a healthier, more productive lawn and garden.

First, August is an important time to control lawn insects, namely cranefly larvae. Over the next six weeks, adult craneflies will be emerging from lawns to mate and lay eggs. Throughout fall and winter, the eggs will hatch and the larvae will begin eating—and their primary source of food is grass roots.

Typical cranefly damage to lawns shows up in late spring or early summer when grass begins to suffer from the stress of a damaged root system. If you’ve seen unexplainable brown patches in your lawn during the early summer, you may have a cranefly infestation.

To control cranefly populations in your lawn, take time this month to apply a dose of granular Sevin insecticide. Excellent for controlling lawn and garden insects, it’s safe to use at any time and can even be spread on vegetable gardens. As an added benefit, Sevin is a great deterrent for moles in your yard—without an abundance of grubs and insects to eat, most moles will move on to find more abundant food supplies.

Now is the time to prune mophead and lacecap hydrangeas!

Secondly, August is the time to prune some varieties of hydrangeas. Last summer, I wrote about when and how to prune all types of hydrangeas, of which there are four categories. Two of these categories include macrophylla—hydrangeas with old-fashioned ball-shaped (‘mophead’) flowers or a ring of larger blossoms around a cluster of small flowers (‘lacecap’)—and quercifolia, also known as ‘oakleaf.’ For both of these categories, now is the time to prune.

Understandably, many people struggle with pruning hydrangeas that are still in bloom—they’re gorgeous flowers and you don’t like to prune them off at their peak. As a rule, mophead, lacecap and oakleaf hydrangeas bloom only on old wood, so they should be pruned in late summer. Don’t wait until later this fall—your plants need time yet this summer to put out new buds for next year’s flowers.

A third step you can take this month for a more productive garden is to plant! This summer has been great for growing vegetable gardens—I don’t know when I’ve had corn ripen so quickly in my garden—but even once the weather cools, the season is far from over. If you enjoy fresh lettuce, spinach, peas and other early-season favorites, August is the time to plant a new crop of seeds for harvest later this fall.

The fourth and final step I’ll recommend is to keep up on fertilizing your flowers. Our warm summer has put extra stress on annuals and hanging baskets, but it’s still too early to give up on them. If you’ve been feeding your plants with an all-purpose fertilizer (or—admit it—none at all!), switch to a weekly dose of a more specialized blend like Jack’s Classic Blossom Booster or Petunia Feed to reinvigorate your tired plants.

August is a beautiful month for being outside, and it’s also a great time to take some easy steps to ensure a healthier, more productive lawn and garden. Enjoy the dog days of summer and make the most of your garden!

Perennials & Grasses 25% Off!

Over the years, perennials have become an increasingly popular alternative for gardeners looking to plant color in their yards that will return year after year. In response to demand, we've steadily increased the selection of perennials we grow and carry at the nursery.

Now, you can take advantage of our selection of perennials on sale! For a limited time, save 25% off our entire selection of perennials and ornamental grasses. Plants included in the sale are listed below. Supply is limited, though, so stop in soon for best selection!

Coneflowers for a New Month

The month of August brings on feelings of change--while there's still plenty of summer weather left in the year, later this month will be back-to-school time, and with it, the shift in gardening to autumn.

One of the best flowers for late-summer and early-fall color is echinacea, known more commonly as the coneflower. Once a humble perennial available only in purple or pink, echinacea has come a long way in recent years. Today, the species includes dozens of unique varieties, and at Vander Giessen's, we have 10 of the best, most popular colors in stock!

From shades of bright red, yellow and orange to dwarf varieties with compact, dense growth to varieties with double blooms, we have a coneflower for just about any taste.

Coneflowers are best grown in a sunny, warm location with well-drained soil. Many varieties make great potted plants, so even if you don't have a spot in a flowerbed--or your soil is too wet--you can grow echinacea. Check out the great selection we have today!