7 Reasons Why I Loath Garden Centers

It's pretty frustrating for me to visit a garden center.  Why I don't like to purchase flowers and shrubs there:

# 1:

Plants are offered in garden centers that don't fit in our climate. I often find plants for hardiness zone 11 (Southern border and Mexico) offered in Canada, which has a maximum of zone 5 with very cold winters.

Plants for shade are placed in full sun...   The regional management always has their say about how the plants are to be displayed, and often they don't know the difference between a shade plant and a sun plant, either, or they don't care about the well-being of the flowers. 

Just recently I discovered a whole shipment of Columbines sitting out in the south and western nursery front on the tables in the blazing sun. I mentioned to the staff that these plants needed to be under the shade building in the nursery and they told me that when they contacted corporate headquarters with this, and that the "planogram" was inaccurate, he was told that "we know where we want the plants this year. Put them where we tell you so that customers will see them and buy them and there won't be as many plants to throw out and in loss."

# 2:

None of the employees knows anything about plants, and they are not trained in any way. The big-box stores will hire people who can't tell roots from blossoms to work in their garden centers.  I blame the managers and the low pay for it.  Employees are not trained.  They might work in the paint or wood aisles and then be sent to the garden center for the summer season. 

You have to ask the manager (first find him/her!) because employees have no clue what the plants are all about.  When I search for a certain plant, using the common as well as the Latin name, they stare at me like a deer in headlights. 

# 3:

Not watering the plants - or between 11 am and 4 pm with the ice-cold shower over delicate blooms. On top of that, customers need to wear rainboots to wade through the aisles.  I talked with so many garden center managers, some don't even know how to water plants, and if they know they don't train their staff to do it right: watering the soil in the pots, not over the flower heads.

# 4: 

Too many annuals are offered in garden centers and barely any perennials and shrubs. They often don't care about the quality of the plants or lack staff that can help customers with knowledgeable advice.  Another customer told me: "Why would you buy plants from anyone but a grower?  You want an interesting selection, well-grown stock, earth-friendly growing practices, and sometimes some information or help to make your selection. So why buy from anyone but a grower/nursery?  

At a box store, plants are just another commodity... Like watering hoses, tools, or insecticides. They often don't care about the quality of the plants or lack staff that can help customers with knowledgeable advice.

# 5: 

Big box garden centers are bad for the environment: If not cared for properly, or shade plants are placed in full sun or displayed too early in spring and get the frost, they are discarded and thrown into the garbage bin - plants and pots together... so that no one could come at night and get them. That is why at Lowes, WalMart, or Home Depot plants are not watered or cared for...

Fact is that a lot of these "big box stores" have an agreement with the plant suppliers that they have to take back the dead, unsold, damaged, etc. plants and are NOT paid for.  The plant suppliers agree to this because who can get by without selling to the "big box stores?  Plant vendors bring them in from various nurseries, and when the plants sell the nurseries give Lowes, HomeDepot, Loblaws, or Walmart a profit.  

# 6: 

Pricing is often not found on plants, but rather overhead and only visible in one direction. Or no prices are given.  In these cases, I pack everything that I am interested in in my cart and then ask the cashier what the price is - and think about it if I like to pay that price or not.  What I don't buy they have to carry back to the shelf. It would be easier if they would price them in the first place.

Nursery retailers' prices are not out of line; in many cases, I found them often lower than in big box stores.  And I do a lot of comparison shopping!  Locally owned nurseries are where quality plants are offered.  The main business of plant nurseries is to grow plants for local people's gardens.  The business of garden centers is to sell plants and lots of other related products. 

# 7:

The plant grower/vendor is the loser.  Some of the big box stores (Home Depot, Lowes, or Canadian Tire for example) commission - and do NOT own the plants they are selling until they are actually sold to a customer (called pay-by-scan).  Then and only then does the store pay for them. So they don't really have an investment in how well the plants are doing. If they die, they lose nothing. The plant vendor is the loser. 

People are often buying plants at big-box stores. That will not change. The plants that are still alive will be purchased and taken home to die - because the poor treatment at the store has weakened them. 

I just hate to see plants tossed away.  Even selling them at a discount, many plants would probably be sold to a person who could spend the time and care to revive them.

I don't buy at stores anymore that don't seem to care about 

the needs of the plants - and their customers.

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Southern Trees - Live Oaks

Traveling the Southern States and discovering new trees, shrubs and flowers is such a pleasure!  One of my favored trees down south is the Live Oak, a beautiful, shade-spending, and characterful species.  Spectacular alleys like those in "Gone with the Wind" can be found in many residential neighborhoods in the South!

Live Oak Trees
It is such a pleasure to walk underneath huge Live Oak trees, especially when they are overgrown with silver-green moss.  They are called a "live" oak because it is evergreen, with green foliage year round, rather than going dormant in the winter.

One of the oldest can be found outside of Charleston, South Carolina.
Few trees are as colossal and awe-inspiring as the Live Oak (Quercus virginiana). It's a fast grower, ultimately reaching up to 80 feet tall and 100 feet wide.  The tree in the Angel Oak Park is estimated to be 400-500 years old. It stands 66.5 ft (20 m) tall and measures 28 ft (8.5 m) in circumference.  Thriving in rich, coastal soils and along banks of streams and rivers, moss drapes over its long branches and dances with each breeze.

Live Oak trees' natural habitat is in the States from North Carolina all the way to Texas and from New Mexico up to Oregon - Hardiness Zone 8 and higher.  Their acorns are a sweet attraction to qual, wood ducks, wild turkeys, and whitetail deer.  These and a variety of birds and squirrels nest and make this tree their permanent home.

Live Oaks do best in warm, moist weather.  They also like areas with mild winters.  That makes them perfect for Central Texas.  Live oaks cannot survive prolonged freezing temperatures and icy weather.  The Live Oak does best in soil types that range from well-draining loam to poor-draining clay.  A young live oak needs regular watering.  The best way to water a live oak is to use a drip system for a slow, gradual soaking.

Protect the root zone of a live oak!  You want to limit competition for resources surrounding your live oak.  The best environment for a live oak is one where there is a comfortable root zone (15 ft) that contains mulch.  You may have to remove sod and plants.  You don’t want anything around the tree that can inhibit its growth.


More Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quercus_virginiana
http://www.sptreefarm.com/interesting-facts-about-live-oak-trees.html
https://www.fast-growing-trees.com/Live-Oak-Tree.htm
http://www.keepaustingreen.com/care-live-oak/

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More tips for new gardeners

First-time Gardeners:

HARDINESS ZONE
It is usually shown on a map. These zones show a geographically-defined area in which a specific category of plant life is capable of growing, as defined by climatic conditions, including its ability to withstand the minimum temperatures of the zone.
In order to survive our harsch winter climate in Ontario, the plants you buy should not have a higher hardiness zone than 5.

COMPOST - FERTILIZER
Compost is an organic!!! fertilizer and mulch. Learn how to make organic fertilizer in a compost pile and benefits of compost as organic fertilizer and mulch:- Making compost is cheap or free.- Organic compost improves the environment.
- Compost improves soil structure, texture, and aeration.
- As a mulch, compost helps the soil retain water.
- Compost is an organic fertilizer that improves soil and plants.
- Compost stimulates healthy root development.
- A compost pile is an excellent means of disposing of organic debris, leaves, food wastes, grass clippings, etc.
- Organic compost improves the environment.
- AND IT IS FREE!!!

COMMERCIAL FERTILIZER
Major Ingredients: Most commercial fertilizers have 3 numbers on the front label, separated by dashes. For example: 5-10-5. This is the fertilizer analysis or percentage by weight of the 3 major nutrients plants need: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, in that order. These are abbreviated as N-P-K. This example contains 5% nitrogen, 10% phosphorus and 5% potassium. The remaining 80% could be comprised of other nutrients and filler.

Nitrogen: The first number gives the concentration of nitrogen in the product.
Nitrogen encourages foliage growth, among other benefits.
Phosphorous: The middle number refers to the concentration of phosphorous. Phosphorous contributes to many fundamental plant processes such as rooting and setting flower buds. Potassium: The final number states the concentration of potassium.
Potassium contributes to the overall health and vigor of plants.

HOW TO READ THE PLANT LABELS
Plants that you buy at nurseries or garden centers always have labels that show the maximum height and width of the mature plant - to show you how far apart they should be planted from each other. Most important is the location info, if the plant likes sun or shade (or partial shade) and the watering instructions. Then you can find the hardiness zone, blooming time and pruning instructions. Most of the time these instructions are given as pictograms.

MULCHING
Place mulch around the plants. This serves many purposes; it cuts down on weeding, as well as aiding in temperature control and water retention. Your flower bed will always look fresh and groomed. Even if you love to work the soil and weed the plants - it would be more rewarding to tending to the plants or just watching them grow, rather than weeding.

WATERING
If you have lots of trees and shrubs in your garden, your perennial flowers live in dry shade and are very thirsty, as they receive very little rain and the big roots of the trees "steal" them their moisture.Water the roots - not the leaves. Water around the plant, not on top of it. The tap water we use in the garden is not as good as rain water for the plants. Ideal would be to install a rain barrel.
To maintain really healthy plants, water for longer periods of time, but less frequently. If it is not raining, water at least once a week. Do not let the plants dry out.
Always water very early in the morning so the plant leaves have time to dry out during the day which helps prevent fungal disease and sunburn (water acts like a magnifier glass of the sun rays).

PLANT A HERB GARDEN

The sunny part of your garden is ideal for herbs. All herbs prefer full sun and well-drained and "fluffy" soil, maybe added with a little bit coarse sand. Herbs are blooming too! Here is a variety of herbs with attractive blooms, just plant them in a sunny flower bed between your other perennials.

Lavender
Compact, green foliage is topped with fragrant spikes of blue flowers. An excellent border and pot plant.

Basil
Basil is a beautiful plant that has culinary, medicinal and ornamental qualities. There are about 150 species and they can be rich, spicy and mildly peppery and are used traditionally in Mediterranean, Italian and Thai cooking.

Chives
Tastes like mild, sweet onions. Great in salads or herbal vinegars.

Rosemary
Goes great with poultry, lamb, pork and is terrific in vinegars. Mulch well or cover with evergreens before winter.

Sage (Salvia)Beautiful gray-green foliage, with blue flowers. Used in sausages, pork and veal dishes, as well as in poultry stuffings.

Oregano
Used in a variety of tomato dishes and in Italian, Spanish and Mexican cooking as well as in vinegars.

Orange Thyme
A citrusy thyme that is excellent with fish, roasted vegetables, stews and soups or in marmalades and chutneys.

Freezing your herbs:
I use a lot of herbs for cooking. But some herbs grow so vigorously that I have to cut the surplus in fall. I rinse the twigs thoroughly under running water, cut them in tiny pieces, fill them into a separate ziplog bag for each type, (mark the name on the bag) and store them in the freezer. That gives me herbs for many months ahead and memories of summer.