Tag: SL Garden Center

Dec 19, 2022

Need a Last-Minute Gift? Buy a Giftcard!

A shrewd gift-giver is always listening for clues that their loved ones occasionally drop about the things they would love to have or need to replace. For many people, however, these subtle clues often escape us and before we know it we’re less than a week away from Christmas without even a list of ideas. If that’s your situation, don’t worry. Gift cards can rescue us from these tricky places—especially if they let you buy new plants or improve the garden!

Why Buy a Gift Card From a Garden Center?

You don’t need to be a green thumb to enjoy a gift card from a garden center. Even if your friend has never planted a carrot in their life, this token may finally be their entrance into the world of gardening. Unlike other gifts, which we might use and discard, or eat and digest; a gift card for a garden center is like giving the promise of spring itself. It’s a present that can grow into a tree that you’ll cherish for the rest of your life, or a garden which can nourish your family for many seasons!

What Can You Buy with a Gift Card from Our Garden Center?

A Beautiful Garden

We don’t need any scientific studies to tell us how nourishing and fulfilling it is to live in beautiful places. A gift card from our garden center can blossom into new perennials and annuals to beautify a garden. From native plants to popular garden treasures, the list of possibilities is about as wide as your imagination. We don’t just have plants either, but compost, mulch, soil amendments, and all the ingredients necessary for a thriving garden!

New Trees and Shrubs

There’s perhaps no other gift as enduring as a tree, which can easily outlive us and even the lifespan of our houses. Bestowing shade, shelter, nuts, fruit, bird habitat, and colorful leaves throughout the seasons, trees keep giving back year after year. Shrubs are equally valuable, providing structure, blossoms, color, berries, and a middle story to our designs. Both trees and shrubs are lifelong companions that improve our lives as well as our landscapes!

A Gift of Garden Produce

Imagine if you could give your loved ones good health, more energy, and tasty food for Christmas. With a gift card to the garden center, all of those things are possible. Whether from a garnish garden in the kitchen, or a full-sized vegetable plot outdoors—fresh vegetables and herbs are some of the most energizing gifts possible! It’s not just the food itself, but the experience of planting, tending, and harvesting that are also great gifts and wholesome activities that you can do with the family.

Hardscape Features

A big pile of rocks may not be the first gift that comes to mind when you think of your loved ones. Indeed, rocks in your stocking may seem like a punishment, but in the great outdoors, they become a great gift to one’s landscape. Whether they’re wishing for rock mulch, stepping stones, pavers, or other features, your friends and family can easily dedicate our gift cards towards improving their hardscapes.

Home and Garden Decor

The beauty of our home and garden is not just in the pathways and plants, it’s also in the accessories we place around them. Be it a bird bath, spring planter, or Christmas decor, small decorations placed in the right spot can brighten a whole area. At our garden center in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, you’ll find many accessories to enhance the decor of your garden and home.

Even though a gift card at Christmas may be a last-minute purchase, the things you buy with them can last a lifetime. Long after the holidays are over, the new additions to your loved ones’ gardens will continue to thrive and become perennial gift-givers of their own!

Dec 05, 2022

How to Care for Your Fresh-Cut Christmas Tree

Garden Center

Like your other houseplants, Christmas trees need special care to stay at their best throughout the holidays. The right kinds of watering, placement, preparation, and even transportation to your home all play a role in preserving their longevity and preventing needle loss. Here are our best care tips for keeping your fresh-cut tree fresh this holiday season!

Set Up Your Christmas Tree at the Right Time

While it’s tempting to rush out right after Thanksgiving and choose a tree, keep in mind that fresh-cut Christmas trees only last indoors for about 4-5 weeks. Because of this limited timeframe, setting your tree up 2-3 weeks before Christmas is ideal; after all, you don’t want to set it up too early only to have it lose its needles by the time of the big day. With that said, if you do buy your tree early to avoid the rush, you don’t have to bring it inside right away. Instead, keep it outside while you wait for set-up time, as the cold temperatures will help preserve your tree until you’re ready to decorate.

Choose a Fresh Tree

Most trees you find are cut fresh within days or up to a week of arriving there. Still, it doesn’t hurt to check the tree and test it yourself. Shake the tree, check its branches for any brown spots, and gently drop its base on the ground a few times. While it’s normal for a few needles to shake off, a fresh tree will retain most of them. Another sure sign of a good tree is a fresh fragrance, so don’t be afraid to give them a good sniff!

Prevent Moisture Loss During the Ride Home

Remember that this beautiful tree you just bought is still living, breathing, and trying to retain as much moisture as possible. Many people strap it to the top of their car without thinking twice, but the rushing wind on the drive home can quickly dry out your tree’s needles. If you plan to tie it to the roof, wrap it in a tarp or blanket first.

Give Your Christmas Tree a Fresh Cut

Even if your tree just got to our garden center before you bought it, you’ll still want to give the stem another fresh cut before setting it up. That’s because the tree’s sap seals the wound within 4-5 hours of cutting. If you plan to leave the tree outside for a few days, there’s no need to cut the base right away. Instead, wait until you’re ready to bring it inside to saw 1-2 inches off the base, to make it easier for it to drink fresh water.

Keep Your Tree Away From Heat

While it’s tempting to place your tree in a warm and cozy spot, make sure you don’t place it too close to a fireplace, furnace, or any other heat source. Heat will dry your tree out faster, leading to more needles on the floor. Instead, choose a place where your evergreen can enjoy a comfortable climate.

Water —and Rewater —Your Tree Often

Remember to fill your tree’s basin with water soon after set-up, and keep a close eye on its water levels; you’ll be surprised at how fast a thirsty tree can drink a few gallons. Always refill the basin before the water falls below the base of the trunk. That way, your tree will always have as much water as it needs, and its needles will stay on for longer.

Turn On Your Christmas Lights Strategically

The purpose of a Christmas tree is to enjoy its beautiful decorations, especially the lights. However, keep in mind that Christmas lights—especially incandescents—kick off a lot of heat. This doesn’t mean you have to skip the lights altogether, but just remember to turn them off when you’re not enjoying your tree.

Use an Anti-Desiccant

Anti-desiccants give your tree an extra hand in preventing needle loss. They act as a type of sealant, helping to lock moisture in. If you plan to use one, remember to spray it outside and wait until the tree is dry before bringing it back into your home.

So, what’s the best way to care for a fresh-cut Christmas tree? At the end of the day, it all really comes down to moisture retention. Choosing a fresh tree, wrapping it on the way home, recutting for water access, regularly topping its water up, and keeping it away from heat are the most important steps; follow them the best you can, and your tree will be looking gorgeous all season long!

For more guidance on fresh-cut Christmas tree care, or for answers to any other commonly-asked plant questions, visit our garden center in Moultonborough, NH, today! Also, don’t forget to follow our Facebook or Instagram pages for updates and featured products.

Sep 26, 2022

A Guide to Fall Container Gardening in New Hampshire

Garden Center

A container garden is not only functional but also beautiful and adds a touch of aesthetic beauty to your landscape. We’ll teach you how to create your own gorgeous fall container gardens here!

Vegetable Container Garden

Grow delicious organic fall crops in a gourd-geous fall container garden! Showcase your garden yield with a beautiful wooden box filled with fast-growing fall vegetables like ornamental peppers, purple cabbage, green onions, beans, radishes, and beetroot. Throw in some pumpkins and autumn squash, and other rustic accents around the planter to add a touch of fall to your design. Situate your vegetable container garden in an area where it can receive full sunlight for up to six hours a day, and enjoy some delicious organic vegetables pulled straight from your patio at Thanksgiving.

Vegetable Perennial Mix Garden

Your container garden doesn’t have to be limited to just vegetables. You can grow your favorite fall crops right alongside beautiful fall flowers that will actually benefit the livelihood of your crops! Creating companion plant gardens and pairing crops that like each other in the same container will make your gardening routine easier and help you create beautiful planters. Beans and asparagus like growing with marigolds, potatoes like growing alongside pumpkins and sunflowers, and cauliflower likes growing with nasturtiums! Incorporate some fall-colored leaves into your garden plants to add extra beauty and benefit your crops’ soil with organic matter.

Fall Color Basket Container Garden

You can leave this fall container garden on your front porch well beyond the fall season—it never goes out of style. Vintage farmhouse décor will look great on your outdoor patio or front porch, and it’s easy to put together. Fill a straw basket or watering can with seasonal favorites like ornamental peppers and fall-toned pansies like ‘Bowles’ black pansy, and you’ll have a gorgeous container display in no time.

To incorporate a more modern aesthetic in your color basket, try filling a black cane or metal planter with some bold perennials in shades of red, orange, and brown. Concrete planters also make for great fall container gardens, especially when placed alongside mini pumpkins, straw bales, and outdoor lanterns!

Blooming Window Box Container Garden

Fall is the perfect time to fill your window box with mums and spruce up your garden. This blooming window box container garden will make the exterior of your home look picture-perfect. Especially with a flower mix as beautiful as the one we’ve listed for you to try out here:

‘Draga’ chrysanthemum
‘Bolero’ chrysanthemum
‘Osaka purple’ flowering kale
‘Dwarf mondo’ ornamental grass
‘Glacier’ variegated ivy

You don’t have to stick to this combination; these are just a few fall favorites we love. The beauty of fall gardening comes from how many passionate tones and textures you can incorporate into your containers.

Container Garden Accessories That Make A Statement

Fall foliage and twigs add a whimsical touch to this container design. Using red dogwood and other decorative branches, you can DIY your own tall-looking gorgeous garden containers on both sides of your front porch. Make your planters more visually appealing by using tall, narrow containers and tall ornamental grasses like pampas grass and feather reed grass. Elevating your front porch game has never been so easy!

Pumpkin Container Gardens for Moultonborough

Pumpkins are a magical way to incorporate fall into your container garden. With this funky design, you can even use the pumpkin as a container! Simply cut a hole in a pumpkin, clean the guts out (better yet, get your kids to do it for you), and fill your pumpkin with a gorgeous fall plant pulled straight from the pot with its soil and roots.

How To Include Pumpkins In Your Planters

It’s hard not to love mini pumpkins during the fall season. You can add a touch of autumn to even the smallest of places with these ideas:

Place pumpkins on a trellis alongside your planters
Set pumpkins on your porch steps
Stack them on top of each other according to size
Paint them modern colors that complement the colorful plants inside. Add a cute touch by painting your family’s name or house number on the pumpkin!
Create a jack-o-lantern for your front porch

Some people think gardening is over when the fall season arrives, but really it’s just begun. Visit us at SL Garden Center in Moultonborough, New Hampshire, today to learn more about how to elevate your front porch with some beautiful fall container gardening designs. Don’t forget to follow us on Facebook or Instagram for updates!

Jul 05, 2022

DIY Garden Pathways

Garden Center · Landscape Construction · Landscape Design

Pathways are a beautiful and essential feature of any landscape. Besides laying out a place to walk, they create a path for the wheelbarrow, save surrounding soil from compaction, and divide your garden into distinct spaces. With a bit of creativity, you can build pathways that are both visually pleasing and very practical. Let’s walk through the DIY options and lay out the steps to build them!

The Mulch Pathway

Mulch pathways are one of the least expensive and simplest pathways to install. The first steps are to mark out the path and dig out some of the soil. Then, lay down some landscape fabric as an extra barrier against weeds, and fill in the mulch. Over time, you’ll need to replenish the mulch and remove any weeds that take root. Still, the mulch path is simple, practical, and a pleasing way to create a passage through the gardenhttps://www.stephenslandscaping.com/2022/12/26/creative-resolutions-for-your-moultonborough-garden-in-2023/.

Stepping Stones

Stepping stones are another versatile DIY option and add charm and character to the garden. One option is to use evenly spaced rectangular or circular stones. Alternatively, natural-shaped flagstones lend a rustic look to your steps.

No matter your choice, the steps for installation are the same. Mark out a path and place the stones in your preferred arrangement, keeping an equal distance between the center of each stone. Then, dig a place for each step in the ground. Lay down a level base of sand in each hole and tamp down the sand for stability before laying the stones in their final position. To finish, you can plant groundcovers or moss around the stones, which will beautifully frame the stones over time.

Pathways are a beautiful and essential feature of any landscape. Besides laying out a place to walk, they create a path for the wheelbarrow, save surrounding soil from compaction, and divide your garden into distinct spaces.

Gravel Pathways

Besides mulch, gravel is the next easiest DIY option for smooth transit in the garden. However, to make a lasting pathway that is stable and free of weeds, you’ll want to follow the preparatory steps below. Because gravel tends to spread and get knocked into the surrounding areas, make sure you cut definitive edges, lay down plastic edging, or border the path with stones.

Flagstones

As already mentioned, flagstones form beautiful stepping stones. You can also use them in continuous pathways, where the stones are beside each other. These smooth, naturally cut stones create perfect imperfection. They’re durable, long-lasting, and age well over time. Follow the steps below to build a solid foundation for flagstone paths.

Paving Stones

Pavers are interlocking bricks that form a solid and stable path. They are sleek, even, symmetrical, and lend a polished look to the landscape. You can choose both the color and the pattern of arrangement. Make sure to follow the steps below for a DIY approach that resists settling and remains level throughout the years.

Steps for DIY Gravel, Flagstone, and Paver Pathways

When making these types of pathways, you want to ensure you have a solid base. Here’s a quick guide to get you started:

Mark out the path, using string to create straight edges.
Dig down approximately 6 inches into the ground. Note: a flat head spade comes in handy.
Fill in the bottom layer with loose stones or pea gravel; tamp them down, and cover with landscaping fabric.
Fill another layer of sand, tamp down the surface, and level it.
Lay down the pavers, flagstone, or gravel. Tamp down the stones with a mallet to make them level and keep them in place.
To finish, fill between the cracks of the stones with sand and sweep away any leftovers on the surface.

Building a pathway is well within reach of the DIY gardener. When working with flagstone and pavers, remember to lay a solid base the first time so you don’t end up with sunken and uneven stones in the future. With that in mind, you’ll be well on your way to laying beautiful and functional garden pathways, no matter what style you choose. For more gardening and landscaping tips, feel free to follow us on Instagram or Facebook, or visit us in person in Moultonborough!