Relax

Perfect Weather for Relaxing Outside

After a long day, sitting outside and enjoying your garden is one of the best ways to relax and wind down. We recently got in these classic retro chairs in bright primary colors that are comfortable and stylish. We currently have them in aqua, red, yellow, and lime. If you need a specific color, let us know and we can bring that in for you. In the featured image, we have the aqua colored classic retro chairs combined with earthenware blue pots filled with geraniums and a sago palm. A beautiful blue elephant side table between the chairs is holding a candle and a cup of coffee. Since Easter is almost here, we also have a wide variety of metal art with bunnies and Easter eggs scattered throughout the nursery. 

Lightweight Containers

If you need some containers that aren’t heavy but have a very solid look to them, try some of our resin and fiberglass pots. Right now we have an assortment of sizes and shapes in different colors. The white pots featured in the image only look like they weigh a ton, but are really light and easy to carry. This same style also comes in black. We also have other resin and fiberglass containers that are made to look like concrete, while others look like glazed pots. Also featured in this image is some light weight metal wall art and a butterfly to liven up your garden and bring it all together.

Weeping Cherry Trees

        

Weeping Cherry trees are a wonderful addition to any garden planted in the ground or left in a container. They are covered with small blooms along the branches that weep over and practically touch the ground. The cascading growth habit contrasts with other trees making it an interesting ornamental throughout the year.

Japanese Maples Leafing Out

       

When Japanese Maples first start to leaf out in early Spring, they have striking foliage color in shades of red, orange, yellow, and green depending on the variety. Their colors along with their elegant growth pattern make Japanese Maples a must for any shade garden or understory tree. Right now, we have a wonderful selection in all shapes, sizes and varieties.

Sweetness in the Air

Sweetness in the Air

 

The walkway in our nursery right now is filled with the sweet aroma of Gardenias and Evergreen Clematis. These are two early Spring bloomers that are sure to delight anyone who plants them close to a doorway or a walkway where they catch their sweet fragrance. The Evergreen Clematis is a vine with tiny star like clusters and a long dark green leaf that stays all year round unlike other Clematis which die back in the winter. Gardenias are also an evergreen and do very well in pots with protection from the afternoon sun. Both the Evergreen Clematis and Gardenia have white flowers which make them a great choice for moon gardens.

Starting to Feel Like Spring

Starting to Feel Like Spring

     

Today we got our first shipment of tropicals for this year, and nothing brings the greenhouse to life like the beautiful lush foliage of ferns and the bright colors of Crotons and Dracaena Spikes. We also have a succulent and cactus table set up in the greenhouse full of an assortment of drought loving plants in interesting shapes and colors. These plants are tender and we are still not out of the woods yet despite the beautiful weather we are having, so if one of these plants finds their way to your garden, don’t forget to protect them if we have another frost.

Glorious Color

Glorious Color

The color display of geraniums in full bloom can actually cause a traffic jam outside of our nursery this time of year. Exaggerating? Not really. Nothing beats the vibrant colors of lavenders, whites, pinks, corals, salmons, reds, and violets. When massed together they are a real showstopper. They also do beautifully in pots by themselves or with some trailing ivy or alyssum. Sometimes we use it here to brighten up an herb container. We also have some trailing geraniums that are great for hanging baskets.

Theme Gardens

Theme Gardens

 

 Need a good place to start your landscape design? With so many different plants to choose from sometimes it can be hard to find a good starting point. Theme gardens are great for that. You can plan your whole garden around a central idea, or you can plan different sections to incorporate a theme. For example, on your patio or balcony, you might want a moon or fragrance garden so you can enjoy blooms in the evening and get a waft of sweet smelling blossoms. Next to your kitchen door, you could plant herbs and vegetable to create a cooking garden. Do you have an area where your sprinkler doesn’t reach? You can create a rock garden with low growing and drought resistant plants, or a cutting garden using Bearded Iris and Peonies. Butterflies and birds can be attracted to your yard by using different plant combinations and garden features like a fountain or birdbath. Hedges can be used to create screens for hidden gardens. And it’s a lot of fun to watch children play in gardens especially designed for them. Or, maybe you just want a low maintenance formal garden with seasonal color. The possibilities are endless. Come on in to the store and we would love to help you get the plants you need depending on your gardening needs. We also have some designs for butterfly, urban vegetable, and shade gardens already made to help you get started.

Things to Consider

Questions to Consider

Before Buying Plants at the Nursery

Creating a garden is an investment… an economical one as well as an emotional one since we tend to care for and grow to love the spaces that we have created and the plants therein. So just like any investment, it is good to gather some information first to ensure greater success. Here are some questions we might ask you at the nursery to help you find the right plant for your space so that you can come prepared and make the most of your visit to Nicholson-Hardie.

The first list of questions refers to light quantity and quality:

1. How many hours of sun do you get in your location?
2. Do you get morning sun or afternoon sun?
3. What direction does your house face?
4. Are there any trees or structures that might block the sun?
5. Is it direct sun? Dappled sun? Bright light? Or deep shade?

If you can, it is important to pay attention to the time the sun hits because sun at 11am might be fine for some plants whereas sun at noon will scorch them.

The next set of questions refers to water and soil:

6. Do you have a sprinkler system?
7. Does the sprinkler have good coverage?
8. How often do you water?
9. Are there some areas that stay wet?
10. Are there some areas that stay dry?
11. What is the quality of your soil? Is it hard clay? Is it sandy?
12. Is it a new bed, or an existing bed?

Pay attention to different areas in your yard. Moisture can vary in different sections of your beds. You can put empty tuna cans out in various places and run the sprinkler system to test your coverage. Remember that certain areas may dry out faster than others, so keep that in mind also.

The following questions refer to the type of plant you would like?

13. Do you want a plant that stays green all year (an evergreen)?
14. Do you want a perennial garden that comes back every year?
15. Do you want plants that bloom and bloom and bloom for a season and then replace with other plants that bloom and bloom for that season (annuals)?

Consider your space, time and energy, and the kind of garden you want:

16. How big is your space in width and depth?
17. How tall do you want the plant to be?
18. How much maintenance do you want to put in?
19. What kind of garden do you want?
20. Do you want a formal look to your garden?
21. Would you love a cottage English style garden?
22. Are you interested in growing your own fruits, vegetables, and herbs?
23. Do you want to attract butterflies or birds to your garden?
24. How about a fragrant or cutting garden?
25. Would you like to involve children in your garden?
26. Are your plants going in a container, in the ground, or a mix of both?

This is a long list and a lot to think about, so if all else fails, just come prepared to answer questions about how much sun you get and we can go from there!

What Is All the Hoopla Over Azaleas?

What Is All the Hoopla Over Azaleas?

  

They are gorgeous! Have you ever driven around the Turtle Creek area in Dallas and seen the outstanding display of flowers in all shades of whites, pinks, corals, oranges, and reds that appear in early Spring? Those are Azaleas. They are wonderful plants that can be an evergreen shrub in your garden with a breathtaking display of flowers in the Spring.

There’s only one catch… they are allergic to our soils! Well, rather the high PH level and salt content in our soil is toxic to their roots and they will die a slow, ugly death if planted directly into our native Dallas soil. However, with the proper planting and a lot of initial work, which requires excavating your soil and replacing it with Azalea Mix, you can grow Azaleas quite easily in your garden. 

A previous post about soil recipes goes over what you need to do to prepare your Azalea beds, but I’ll repeat it here so you don’t have to go back and look for it.  

Azaleas need to be planted in a bed 15”- 18” deep with Azalea Mix which is a mixture of 50% moistened Peat Moss and 50% Pine Bark Mulch. Our Nicholson-Hardie Azalea Mix is ready to go and a lot easier than trying to mix it yourself which can be laborious and time consuming.

Raised beds are preferable since it ensures drainage, allows more depth of Azalea mix, and allows you to be more flexible with your location.  

1. Excavate 2” to 4” of your existing soil. Prior to this you will need to think about where you want to put this soil… in your garden or have it hauled away.
2. Raise your beds 14” to 16” with Nicholson-Hardie Azalea Mix.

 Once your beds are prepped, you can start planting your Azaleas.

Apart from your bed preparation, there are a few more things to consider when planting Azaleas. Be sure to choose the right location. Azaleas like shade, but not deep shade. They prefer half a day of morning sun, or bright dappled sun. They can take the sun after 4pm, but they don’t want to be in our scorching midday sun.

If you just planted new Azaleas, it is important to create a basin around the plant to funnel the water to the roots ensuring that it is getting the necessary amount of water. Hand watering is crucial at this stage! The amount you water depends on their location, so be sure to check them by sticking your finger down into the root ball and feeling for moisture. (This is true for all plants that haven’t rooted out yet.)

Fertilize with Fertilome Azalea, Camellia, and Gardenia food three times a year – once in April after they bloom, once in June, and again in September. Wash any fertilizer off the leaves to prevent burn. You can also fertilize with Rose Glo as an organic option – just follow the same feeding schedule. If your Azaleas have yellow leaves with green veins, use Carl Pool Mineralized Acidifier.

Do you want blooms two to three times a year – Spring, possibly Summer, and Fall? Encore Azaleas are a newer variety, but have proven to be wonderful bloomers.

If you want Azaleas in Dallas, it is possible… you will just have to jump through some hoops at first to get your beds just right.