Exciting addition at Greenhouse Garden Center & Gift Shop
a full service florist.
Call Joni at 229-7040 and look for her by the door to the Gift Shop.

We have added 20 more parking spaces when you drive in by the American Flag on the North end of the parking lot.

Stroll under the trees and amongst the shrubs and flowers, enjoy the many running fountains and visit our waterfall and pond all the while enjoying the presence of over twenty-five regional artists and musicians at Greenhouse Garden Center's 5th Annual Art At The Greenhouse.

Artists will be exhibiting a wide variety of art in oils, pastels, watercolors,
stained and fused glass, gourd art, jewelry, and folk art. They will also be giving demonstrations and selling their work. In addition, Chuck Wayne will be providing soothing jazz sounds on his keyboard and Brenda Lockie-Knight will be providing beautiful music on her harp. The Carson High School Band Boosters will be selling hot dogs, soft drinks and snacks.

Finally, the Blood Mobile will be set up to accept blood donations. All people donating blood that day at the Blood Mobile will receive 20% off up to $100 of purchases at Greenhouse Garden Center on that day. Visit all of the artists and vote for your favorite ones..

ART AT THE GREENHOUSE

WHAT: Greenhouse Garden Center's 5th Annual Art At The Greenhouse Art Show and Sale.

WHEN: August 23, 2008 from 10 AM to 3 PM

WHERE: Greenhouse Garden Center, 2450 S Curry St., Carson City, NV. 89703

COST: It is free to attend; however, artists will be selling their art and the Carson High School Band Boosters will be selling hot dogs, soft drinks, and snacks. Anyone donating blood at the Blood Mobile that day will receive 20% off up to $100 of purchases at Greenhouse Garden Center on that day.

CONTACT: 882-8600 and ask for Mary
or e-mail mary@greenhousegardencenter.com for questions
or to make an appointment for donating blood.

Regardless of whether they are created out of desire or of necessity, rock gardens provide a unique opportunity to tame difficult landscape terrain or add interest to a garden setting. Whether they are set in naturally rocky terrain or in a man-made area, a couple of considerations will add to your overall success.

Because of the relatively shallow pockets of soil, water can drain away very quickly. The most exposed and shallow places are excellent sites for planting drought-tolerant creeping or trailing plants, especially where they can cascade over a ledge. Plants that prefer a little more moisture will be happier around the base of the rock garden, where water will not drain or evaporate so quickly.

Many rock garden plants are beautiful bloomers, so you can enjoy loads of color throughout your rock garden. The plants suggested below are mostly sun lovers. If your rocky site is in a woodland or other shady area, our staff of nursery experts will be happy to make suggestions for substitutes.

Every rock garden is a unique setting. The rule of thumb is to plant single plants of separate varieties for smaller space gardens, and groupings of three or more of particular varieties for larger areas. Anytime is great time to plant a rock garden, so we invite you to come into the nursery and get started today. We promise you'll have a rockin' good time!

Click here to see our collection of great rock garden plants!

There are several things you can do to ease your plants through a dry summer and even improve your landscape at the same time. While installing and using a drip system is a no-brainer, there are other steps you can take if you find yourself in a real pinch. Here’s how to make every drop of water count.

First of all, irrigate slowly, deeply and less frequently. Slow soaking limits runoff and encourages plants to develop deep root systems that are better able to tolerate drought. To minimize evaporation, irrigate in the early morning or evening. If you have to use a hose for watering, build soil berms around young trees and shrubs such as roses to concentrate water on the root zones. Fill the basin so the water soaks in.

It's also important to check the soil moisture occasionally between waterings to make sure the plants actually need to be watered as frequently as they are. Dig down one foot with a trowel or spade and feel a handful of soil. Another way to test moisture is to use a metal sampling tube to "read " the soil. Simply push it into the ground and twist it back out. It will show a 10-12" cross section of soil, showing how wet or dry the soil actually is. If the top 2 inches of the soil sample are dry, it's time to water.

If you don't have a drip irrigation system, consider using soaker hoses or root irrigators to concentrate water in specific areas. You can also be water-wise with pots by using glazed, foam or plastic pots, which are less porous and hold moisture better. Nesting smaller pots inside of larger ones will also create extra insulation.

If you have a grass lawn, raise your mower height. Taller grass shades the soil and will help reduce evaporation. Instead of high-nitrogen lawn food, apply a low-nitrogen iron product to help prevent excessive growth and improve the lawn's tolerance to heat stress.

Consider applying mulch to your garden. It helps reduce evaporation, insulates the roots from hot temperatures, helps prevent weeds and just plain makes a garden look better. We recommend applying a 2" layer of for best results.

If you face a real pinch in water availability, survey your landscape and give the highest priority to established trees and foundation shrubs, because they would be the hardest to replace. With just a little extra diligence, most gardens will make it through a drought period just fine.

Full sun, full shade, part sun, part shade. How’s a gardener supposed to know and understand the best place in the garden for these plants?

This determination can be an interesting proposition! Let us begin with the definitions of the terms. Then we will digress into the nuances of gardens.

Exposure refers to sun, shade, part sun, part shade, etc. Information tags on plants from the nursery will indicate which of these exposures is recommended for that particular plant.

Full Sun or Sun: the plant grows at its optimum with full sun all or most of the day. An hour of shade in the morning or afternoon would be ok.

Part Sun/Part Shade: the plant needs shade for about 3 hours of the hottest time of the day. It also means that a plant may succeed in full sun in more northern areas that do not get extremely hot sun.

Full Shade/Shade: the plant prefers little to no direct sun. This exposure can be provided on the north side of the house or under a large dense-foliage tree.

Now that you have the definitions (as provided by the Sunset Western Garden Book), don’t be surprised to learn that there are exceptions to the rules.

The effects of full sun on a plant are quite different in cooler and warmer climates. Full sun in a very hot climate may be too much for the same plant that loves full sun in a cooler climate. That plant may need to be in part shade or even indirect sunlight in the hotter climate. Conversely, a plant that requires full shade in warmer climates may grow quite nicely in partial shade, if the climate is cool.

Physical structures can contribute to these exposure issues. Think about where in your garden this new plant is located. If you plant near a white or almost white building, along a concrete sidewalk, a plant that may normally take full sun may find that it is too hot and bright in this location. Light-colored buildings, light-colored sidewalks, and pools all reflect much light and generate more heat that might prove to be too much for some plants.

Alternatively, if your white house, light-colored walk and pool are in full shade, that same reflected light could allow you to grow otherwise sun-loving plants in the part shade or shade.

What happens if you grow a plant without following the exposure recommendation?

Flowering plants or variegated plants that love sun but are grown in the shade may not flower to their full potential. The variegation may revert to a solid green color, and the plants may become leggy and less attractive than they could be.

Plants that love shade but are grown in the sun may wilt, especially in the warmest time of the day; flower color may fade; and foliage color may bleach and dry out. The plant will live under constant stress.

There are very good reasons for the exposure recommendation on each plant tag, but many plants have built-in flexibility in a garden. Look around your neighborhood and take note of the light exposure for the plants you like. Get to know your own garden and discover whether or not you can slightly bend these rules. And above all, trial and error is the best way to learn! Happy Gardening!

In the summertime, when the weather is hot, heat-loving annuals will dazzle your gardens with vibrant colors. They are the sun-bathing beauties of any garden. With so many different flower forms, colors, sizes and foliage shapes, every gardener will have a dozen or two favorite annuals blooming in the garden to brag about.

Versatility is their name; garden pizzazz is your gain. Annuals can make themselves at home in your garden beds, around your trees and shrubs, and in containers of all kinds. Some annuals are groundcovers, some are midsized and perfect for borders, and some will stand tall in the rear of the garden bed or as a focal point.

For a huge colorful impact, plant in swaths or waves. Or plant in patterns and create a colorful design. Use your imagination and don't be afraid to try new arrangements. Unlike perennials, annuals don't hang around for years. So experiment! If you don't like one effect, you can always try something else the next time you plant. You can do the same with potted annuals, of course--and those are even easier to rearrange.

If you plant your annuals in the ground, we recommend using a good planting mix. Most annuals need regular water, as they don't have the time to develop extensive root systems.

Fertilize to encourage continuous blooms. Also, to keep your annuals blooming all season long, "deadhead" (which means to pluck off the spent flowers). This will keep the plants from thinking that it's time to spend all of their energy developing seeds for the next season. Remember that annuals are plants that grow and bloom within one season.

Whatever your garden style or colors, we have annuals for you! Come in and pick out your favorites. Arrange them in your gardens for a spectacular summer flower show!

Answer:

A fertilizer can be labeled as all-organic when it is completely composed of naturally-occurring ingredients. While people place an organic label on manures--and products such as bone meal, blood meal and "hoof and horn" are considered organic--most blended organic fertilizers do not contain these products. Most organic fertilizers use only plant and fish by-products as a source for their nutrients.

The majority of organic fertilizer blends contain a mixture of alfalfa meal, cottonseed meal, kelp meal, feather meal, fish bone meal, mined potassium sulfate, soft rock phosphate and seaweed extract. Organic plant foods break down faster in meal form than in pelletized form, because pellets have a binding agent that needs to be broken down before the nutrients can become available to the plant roots.

One of the most useful additions you can make in your garden is to plant a tree. A tree adds scale and structure to a garden and pulls together the various elements that create the overall look and feel. The tree's foliage throughout the seasons, and flowers when they are significant, will also add impact to your garden design.

Yet today, many gardens do not have the space for large spreading trees (along with their imposing trunks). But most of us have a small garden--or even a courtyard--that still can use a smaller tree to give balance to the landscape.

Sometimes gardening isn't limited by space, but by time and interest. If you love the idea of being surrounded by a garden, but you can't see yourself spending countless hours with a pruning shear in your hands, a wonderful option is to create a garden paradise on your patio or terrace in containers. And small trees will add balance and make a great addition to any patio collection. If you plant in containers, be sure to use a high-quality potting soil like Bumper Crop for best results.

Small trees are sometimes called patio trees and are usually defined as slower-growing and ranging in height from six to fifteen feet. Most produce an incredible display of blooms at some time of the year, and have non-invasive roots as an added landscape benefit.

When selecting a patio tree, allow adequate width to keep walkways, entryways, driveways or buildings clear of overhanging branches. Many small trees, although short, can spread as much laterally as vertically.

We offer a large selection of small-space trees that will be perfect for that special place in your garden or patio. Just click on this link for a description (and pictures!) of trees that we offer. Then hurry down and make your selection while supplies last.