The Passion Flower (Passiflora incarnata) This vining plant has long green leaves and bright red petals. Each part of this plant can be interpreted as symbols connected with Easter. First, the stigma (part of the pistil where pollen germinates) in the center of the flower is made up of three parts that represent the nails used during the crucifixion of Jesus. Second, ten of the... Read More
With all the plans to spend a weekend of celebrating with loved ones, why not surprise them Easter morning with a Kiss! This delightful and tasty recipe will be gladly received; Ingredients: 2 egg whites Dash of salt ¾ cup sugar 1 – 6 ounce package of butterscotch, chocolate, or mint chocolate chips Directions: Preheat oven to 350° F. Beat egg whites and salt until... Read More
New gift and home décor ideas are arriving daily to the Creek Side Indoor Living Gift and Home Décor Boutique. Each new season of the year, our interior design experts search for all the most interesting, fun, unique and eclectic accent pieces to dazzle your gift receiving friends and family. Not to mention how they may set off that little special something in your own... Read More
“The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago, the second best time is now.” ~CHINESE PROVERB As the spring planting season is quickly approaching, one can not underestimate the value of including trees in the landscape. Now is the time to consider new tree planting and pruning existing trees. Nothing else you can plant will have the presence and character of a... Read More
Phytophthora infestans and Happy Saint Patrick’s Day! This was not the cry of the Irish in 1845. The potato’s (genus: Solanum) history takes us from the mountains of Peru to the hills of Ireland, only one of the many migrations this lowly tuber has traveled. Initially, during the 1600s, the potato was enjoyed only by royalty and nobles. That all changed as the Industrial Revolution... Read More
Everybody has got Spring Fever going now in a big way! The weather has been beautiful, maybe just a little too nice lately. It makes our landscape plants a little crazy like they are not sure what to do. So we’ll watch what happens closely and take it one step at a time. All of us get a little like that too don’t we? The... Read More
While we wait for the beauty and bounty of the 2016 garden season outside, a fun blooming project can be brought inside. If you have access to crabapple, lilac, honeysuckle, apple, plum, forsythia, dogwood, chokecherry or pussywillow then your garden can bloom inside! This technique is called “forcing branches.” Follow these 5 simple steps for a jump on spring: 1. CUT – Select branches that have fat... Read More
“To dig and delve in nice clean dirt Can do a mortal little hurt.” John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922) American Writer Before any planting, the soil must be dry, not wet! Working with the soil when wet drastically alters the structure of the soil particles by compacting them. This does not allow for movement of oxygen, microbes, and composting arthropods/insects which are necessary for plants to... Read More
Spring is in the air and just in time, Creek Side Gardens is now open for business. We take a little break during the winter months to work on new projects and greenhouse maintenance so that everything will be ready to go for the busy spring season. And ready to go we are! As we have been sharing with you the past several weeks, planting... Read More
With the beautiful February thaw weather that we have been having, has everyone had a chance to get out into your yard and garden to see how things are doing? It has been an interesting winter season. There has been a fair amount of steady snowfall over the course of the last several months. So much so that in the lowest, shadiest areas of the... Read More
