Category: gardening

Gardening with Kids

Kids and gardening seem to go hand in hand. Dirt itself has a natural draw for children, as is the magic of planting a seed and discovering its power to change and morph and grow. If you have kids in your life, include them in the gardening process by planting with them or at least with them in mind.

Many childhood memories are formed in the garden and can be re-triggered later in life when certain smells re-enter consciousness. Many plants offer unique color, texture or olfactory stimulation, and of course many are edible!

Here are some plants you can place into a garden today that may be of particular interest for kids!

Radishes

Radishes from seed are extremely quick to germinate and grow to fruition within just 3 to 4 weeks from seed packet to table; radishes are the fastest way to illustrate the harvest cycle from start to finish.

Marigolds

Marigolds planted from seed have child-appeal partly due to the bright orange or yellow color and also for the distinct fragrance of the crushed leaf. Do you remember your first marigold? Marigolds are also kid-friendly because as the flower fades, the center can be tugged away to reveal the seeds as they form. These can be dried and planted again (and again), teaching the circle of life.

Cherry Tomatoes

They pop in your mouth, bite-sized, juicy, and growing at just the right height to harvest whenever a child needs a natural snack. Cherry Tomatoes climbs like a vine and can cover a trellis or arbor in a season.

Nasturtiums

Nasturtiums, being both colorful and edible, naturally lend themselves to gardening with children.  A few seeds set into a semi-shady spot will sprout and clamber to grace a corner with mildly spicy flowers and foliage.

Sunflowers

Sunflowers are awe-inspiring both in the garden or as a cut flower on the table. Plant the “mammoth” giant blooms but don’t overlook the smaller branching ones that can be cut for a bouquet and tend to rebloom.

Pumpkins

Everyone knows that pumpkins have child appeal. The value of a pumpkin planted and harvested from one’s garden is immeasurably more memorable and valuable than one purchased from the supermarket.

Mint

A little mint underfoot will fill the air with the fragrance of so many familiar sweets. Tuck some in a shady spot near the hose spigot where it will soak up the spills. Beware! It travels and spreads if you are not looking. Mint can be invasive, so grow in a pot.

Thyme

Thyme is easy to grow and full of the familiar scent of pizza. It is always good to show kids that their food comes from the earth. Vegetable and herb gardens drive this point home.

More

There are dozens of more options for growing a kids’ garden. Consider planting veggies in with your ornamentals as long as you treat all with vegetable safe care products. Pumpkins and tomatoes can grow right in with the roses and perennials. The basic idea is to enrich the lives of the little set and provide some memories that will linger with them!

Water-Wise Summer Perennials for May Planting

Our perennial section is alive with color this week. Perennials perform year-after-year. Here are a few of our water-wise favorites that provide interest over a long season. These are easy to grow and last to bloom again in future years. Now is a great time to plant so you can enjoy them as summer unfolds.

Beard Tongue (Penstemon sp.)

Beard Tongue (Penstemon sp.)Elegant and reliable perennials; valued by gardeners for their spires of foxglove-like flowers. Outstanding color varieties make it difficult to choose just one. Hummingbirds aren’t choosy; they like them all. Penstemon will perform all summer with regular deadheading, full sun & good garden soil.

Gaura Lindheimeri

Gaura LindheimeriGaura means “superb”, and it is. Imagine tall, loose wands of pinkish white stars, dancing on the wind. From spring to fall, this plant will flourish on a hot, dry slope, and in many other water-restricted sites. Blended with other perennials, it serves as a softening element for brighter colors. Give it a full season to establish.

Lavender (English, French & Spanish)

These heat-of-summer bloomers produce fragrant flower spikes that you’ll love. Their lavender-blue flowers are great for dry arrangements, sachets, or they may be made into aromatic stove-top potpourri simply by boiling. Cool the water, strain; use as a counter-top cleaner. Different varieties range in height from 18″ to 3′ with an equal spread. Well-drained soil is essential.

Salvia Greggii

salvia180Known as Autumn Sage, they are available in a number of flower colors – red, yellow, pink, white and purple. Erect growth to about three feet with medium green foliage. Blooms for much of the season, spring through fall. Plant in full sun.

Yarrow (Achillea millefolium)

Evergreen Perennial usually in the range of 18″ high, creating a spreading mat much of the year, then stretching to full height when it blooms with white, cream, pink red or yellow “landing pads”. Butterflies love them, and so do ladybugs!

Santa Barbara Daisy

ErigeronOne of the easiest daisies to grow, and very water-wise.  Adds sparkle to the flower garden, usually grows about 12″ high and 18″ wide. Blooms heavily in spring and then moderately through the warm season.

Summer Vegetable Gardening

Nurture and Support your Growing Vegetables

Many gardeners have planted their vegetable gardens and are looking forward to tasty, mouth-watering tomatoes, snappy beans, sweet corn or crunchy peppers.  Take action now to improve the harvest and prolong it, too!

First, fertilize the vegetable garden with Master’s Tomato and Vegetable Food or E.B. Stone Organic Tomato and Vegetable Fertilizer. Remember it’s better to under than over fertilize. And never feed a thirsty plant. Water the garden thoroughly the day before feeding. Also, keep an eye on the temperature. You don’t want to fertilize if the temperature is expected to be over 85 degrees.

Water established tomato plants deeply and less frequently. These plants have deep roots, and frequent watering encourages plant growth without much fruit production.

Water cucumbers more often. Cucumbers need to be kept evenly moist to help prevent them from being bitter.

As cucumbers, squash and pole beans grow, save space by training them to climb trellises, poles or tomato cages.

When harvesting your first fruits, pick them on the small size, giving you a sweeter, milder tasting vegetable. For tangy peppers, pick when green, or wait until they are red for a more delicious flavor.

Control garden pests before they control you! Snails and slugs are out in force, as well as earwigs, cutworms, and tomato hornworms. Sluggo provides slug and snail protection, and Sluggo Plus adds insect control. Both of these products have organic labels. Captain Jacks (also organic) is suitable for insects and caterpillars and leaf-eating worms and Take Down for small sucking insects like aphids and whitefly.

For those who have not yet planted a vegetable garden, It’s not too late!

June is a great month to plant a vegetable garden. Alden Lane has a collection of vegetables that will help you establish a garden quickly.

Stop by the nursery and let us get you growing this season!

Easter or Spring Grass

We have wheat seed, perfect for growing an instant Easter egg nest in pots, bowls, vases, and baskets. A fun project you can enjoy indoors throughout the spring season.

Fill a container 2/3 full with soil, sprinkle with seed and press seeds firmly against the soil.

Water and watch it grow! Wheat seed germinates in 3-4 days and takes 10-15 days to maturity. Plant in time for Easter on April 20th and spring decorating.

Please Note We do have some organic grasses available in our seed section.

Sansevieria and Other Houseplants Clean the Air

This incredible houseplant hails from West Africa and India but is very much at home in your household. It has a few familiar names, such as Snake Plant, and Mother In Laws Tongue (no comment), but its botanical name is Sansevieria, and it comes in several color variations.

It differs from most houseplants, in that it continues to produce oxygen and remove carbon dioxide all through the day and night. Most plants pause their oxygen production in the absence of photosynthesis at night.

This plant is easy to grow and presents a very sculptural element to any interiorscape. When I say EASY, I mean it. The biggest threat to this plant is overwatering, for it loves to dry out; thrives in lower light or high light; seldom needs repotting, only every few years; and it is not bothered by pests. It is also a great office plant for all those reasons.

It should be noted that Sansevieria has a low toxicity rating, mostly as indigestion or skin irritant. Although it looks “pointy” at the ends, it does not have an end thorn and is no threat.

Pollutants and airborne toxins lurk undetected from hundreds of sources inside your home or office, but there is a straightforward solution that will not only purify your air, but also add humidity to calm allergens, and add beauty and tranquility to your life. There are dozens of beautiful indoor plants that have become heroes in our household, and Alden Lane will not only immerse you in living, breathing greenery but help improve the air quality as well.

Grapes & Berries

Grow grapes and enjoy big bunches of beautiful berries! Dormant season planting allows roots to get a head start so the plants can take off during the growing season. Our young grape vines are here as well as blueberries, and cane berries. 

GRAPES: Plant in the sunniest spot in your yard to help ripen the fruit and keep the foliage dry. Vines are vigorous and need sturdy support to grow on, and something for the tendrils to twine around.  Train them beginning at planting time to encourage one main cane, which with time will become a sturdy trunk. Yearly pruning in January will keep your grapes fruiting for the long term.

TABLE GRAPES (seedless):

  • Princess – large, sweet, light green grape. Fruit holds well on the vine and in storage
  • Ruby – medium-sized, dark red, firm grape. A vigorous grower and heavy producer
  • Black Monukka – medium-sized, black with excellent, crisp, sweet flavor
  • Come in to see our additional varieties!

WINE GRAPES:

  • Cabernet Sauvignon – excellent producer in our area of small, round, seedy, purple-black grapes.
  • Zinfandel – a solid red wine grape related by DNA to the Italian Primitivo.
  • Chardonnay – a popular selection for white wine with flavors of plum, apple and pear.
  • Merlot – Black berry, used for distinctive red wines. 

BLUEBERRIES:

Healthful, beautiful and delicious! Find an afternoon shady corner of your yard to grow a few of our Southern Highbush Blueberries, and enjoy snacking straight from the bush. Or plant a couple of varieties in a large pot or half wine barrel. Either way, blueberries thrive in acid soil. In a pot use, 3/4 E.B. Stone Acid Planting Mix and 1/4 Potting Soil. For in ground planting combine 1/2 E.B. Stone Acid Planting Mix, 1/4 fine or medium orchid bark and 1/4 native soil. All Organic Cottonseed Meal further lowers the pH and adds nutrition. A mix of varieties aids pollination and can increase yields.

  • Jewel – one of the leading California varieties yielding lots of high-quality berries
  • O’Neal – early ripening with lighter blue fruit; arguably the best flavor of the Southern Highbush
  • Reveille – wonderful flavor and a crisp texture on an upright bush that does well in hot climates

Cane Berries:

You know you want some warm from the oven, mixed berry cobbler with vanilla ice cream melting on the top. May we suggest the following varieties.

  • Blackberry Marionberry – medium in size and tends to be longer than it is wide with a somewhat tart flavor, fairly earthy with traces of sweetness
  • Boysenberry Thornless – really big, reddish purple berries popular for flavor and high June yield
  • Canby Raspberry – summer bearing with large bright red berries on thornless canes
  • Olallieberry – much requested, and they are here! A hybrid that is about 2/3 blackberry and 1/3 raspberry and 100% delicious.

Landscaping with Roses

Roses are perhaps the most popular ways to add vibrant color to your landscape. If you don’t love them already, give them a try! Roses are available in a myriad of colors and styles; some suited for cutting, others suited for landscaping, some are climbers, others low and rambling. Roses add beauty, fragrance, curb appeal and color, and they attract beneficial pollinators to the landscape.

Most roses will bloom the first year and grow under many different climatic and soil conditions. However, when given optimum conditions, roses will thrive for years to come.

Don’t be afraid to experiment using roses in your landscape. Some uses might include:

  • low growing types for planting along beds or lawn,
  • a pathway leading to your front door,
  • mass plantings of floribundas, miniatures or even hybrid teas for a magnificent blast of color and beauty,
  • hybrid tea roses to create a beautiful and colorful cutting garden to fill your vases with all season long,
  • a climbing variety to grow up a trellis or over an arbor,
  • tree types, making a great backdrop and companion plant to other shrubs and perennials in your garden,
  • and roses which thrive in containers on a porch or deck.

Whichever you choose, all lend themselves to a very casual or formal looking landscape. Oh, my! So many options! Next time you are wondering what can I plant, consider using roses. We’re ready to help you select one, two or even three that will suit your style. You’ll be glad you did!

See our 2025 rose list HERE.

Tips for Pruning Roses

obj6306geo2742pg239p7[1]The suggested time for pruning roses is January in Northern California. Even though your roses may still be leafy, budded or blooming it is time to force them to rest. Pruning them back now, removing every single leaf and dormant spraying with copper will provide a healthy beginning for the coming season.

Here are some tips in advance of our pruning classes.

What You’ll Need:

  • Body armor – safety or prescription glasses, a hat, and a long-sleeved sweatshirt will go a long way insulating you from thorny branches. A good pair of leather gloves such as gauntlet types will do a superior job of protecting your forearms
  • Pruning shears – sharp hand shears along with a long-handled lopper and a pruning saw are helpful for hard to reach or extra large wood
  • Pruning seal – sealing cuts prevents the cane borer insect from invading and killing stems
  • Copper dormant spray like Monterey Liqui-Cop to control over-wintering diseases

For specific variety and form (bush, miniature, tree & shrub) pruning tips, come in and one our rose experts will be happy to help. In the meantime here are some pruning basics. For the most part, roses produce flowers on current season growth. Therefore, the more new growth you have, the more bloom potential you’ll enjoy. Pruning is one way of stimulating new growth.

If your bush form roses have grown sky high lop off the top one-quarter to one-third of the plant so you can more easily and safely do the ‘fine pruning.’ For bush and tree forms you always want to maintain evenly spaced canes (stems) around the outside of the plant. The number of canes that you leave depends on the vigor of the plant. Three to seven is the rule in the case of bush roses. Tree roses rarely sprout new ones as they age so encourage and maintain those well-spaced branches. The final height of the stems depends on the variety and vigor of the plant.

We have gotten away from pruning roses to within an inch of their life (6-12 inches). The general rule is to prune back by at least 1/3rd, and no more than 1/2. Leaving the canes a bit longer provides the plant with extra energy for the coming season’s performance. Prune to an outside bud where a leaf was to ensure that the next branch will grow in an outward direction. On both tree and bush roses remove all twigs and stems that are crowding the center of the plant. The extra sunlight will warm the bud union and encourage more young stems to grow that will eventually be selected to replace the older canes. The light also stimulates increased flower production.

The bud union is the area where desirable buds from the specific rose variety join the rose rootstock .

Always remove any stems coming from below the bud union. These suckers are vigorous and can over-grow the desirable rose. If your white or pink rose is producing small red flowers, it has been taken over by the rootstock rose.

Maintain a nice compliment of permanent climbing rose canes that you will arch against the fence, wall or train over an arbor. The stems that grow off these permanent canes are pruned back to four buds. The resulting new growth will produce a mass of flowers. There are always exceptions to the rule so touch base with our rose experts for just the right pruning guidance.

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Cover Crops Improve Garden Soil

Vetch is a cover crop that will pull nitrogen from the atmosphere and store it in your soil. Plant cover crops from seed in fall and turn them under in spring.

Cover crops are fast-growing plants that are utilized by farmers and gardeners alike for one or more of their beneficial qualities and not usually intended as food crops.

A gardener will usually work these crops into the soil or remove them before they set seed. A healthy garden can benefit in several ways when cover crops are included in the annual rhythm of sowing and reaping.

It seems that for almost any problem, there is a cover crop solution. Try one, and you’ll notice over time how much better your garden performs with less input of extra water, fertilizer, and insecticide. Cover crops are the natural choice for a naturally better garden.

Some crops add nitrogen to the soil, pulling it from thin air. Others pull up minerals from deep underground and concentrate it in the topsoil as you till the plant into the earth. Other cover crops work like a rototiller to loosen heavy soils with their vigorous roots.

How to Get Started with Cover Crops

cover-crop-clover

Preparation can usually be minimal for sowing cover crops. Cultivate the soil to a depth of about 1 inch and rake out any large debris or weeds. Sow the seeds at the rate recommended on the packet. Seeds can usually be scattered evenly. After sowing, tamp down the soil lightly to create good contact between seed and soil. Water immediately after sowing and keep the area moist until your plants emerge. After establishment, most cover crops require minimal additional water.
It is usually best to cut down or incorporate cover crops before they produce seed. Cut or till the plants just as they begin to flower or before. Small plants can be directly tilled into your soil. Larger plants can be cut down with a weed trimmer or mower and left on the soil surface to dry for a few days before they are roto-tilled in.
We carry an assortment of cover crop seeds from Botanical Interests as well as larger bags of fava beans.

Mulching Helps in Summer

Mulching does wonders for your garden.

As well as looking good, mulching conserves water up to 50%. Mulching suppresses weeds and keeps roots cool. It also promotes beneficial microbial activity at the soil level and encourages earthworm activity.

All plants can benefit from mulching, but we especially recommend it for fruit trees and roses. We suggest a mulch layer 3-4 inches thick. One that we particularly like is Micro-bark. It has a nice look and breaks down relatively soon. 

Apply a thick layer of mulch. Your garden will enjoy the results. It keeps the roots cool and may assist with weed prevention.

Don’t mulch right up to the plant trunk or stem. Leave 4 to 6 inches of breathing room.