Blueberries for June

Growing blueberries in your own back yard can be very rewarding, and a collection of blueberry bushes makes for a great Father’s Day gift that will keep on giving for years to come.

Here are a few things to pay attention to when planning your new blueberry patch:

• Cross-pollination: Like many other backyard fruits, you will need to plant at least two varieties to get good cross-pollination and fruit set. Following is a list of varieties that we carry or have carried in the past. Personally, my favorites are ‘Northland’ for their exceptional flavor reminiscent of wild blueberries and ‘Bluecrop’ for their large clusters that make for easy picking.

• Your soil pH: Select a sunny site in your garden and then get your soil tested! Blueberries will only thrive in acidic soil and most garden soils will need to be amended with a soil acidifier. This is the same product you would use for hydrangeas.

• Spacing: Give your blueberry bushes enough elbow room. Depending on the varieties chosen, this will be 4-6 feet of space between the plants. Check the tag on the plants you purchase to know their mature size and recommended spacing.

• Take your time: Blueberry bushes can be planted any time of year but will require good watering (mulching helps!) and weeding especially in the first few seasons. As tempting as it is to let your berry bushes fruit as soon as possible, it is recommended to remove all flowers in the first year. This way your plants can put all their energy into growing a healthy root system. That will in turn give them more energy to bear more fruit the next season. Patience pays off.

For more growing and maintenance tips, please refer to this handy growing guide or come by in our greenhouses and ask one of our plant experts!

Simple Gifts

I have been drying orange slices and making all sorts of simple holiday decorations this past week. It is a fun and uplifting way to get into the holiday spirit or to honor the return of the light at solstice.

Hello and warm wishes from all of us at Red Wagon. I just wanted to pop in and give you a little reminder that this coming Friday, December 17th, will be our last order pick up for any purchases you make in our online store. If you would like any gifts for the gardener or the cook on your list, or you want to treat yourself to a little something, here is your chance!

Our suggestions:

Our cute new gift packs of herb salts are the perfect hostess gift, all ready to go. You can find those here. Each package is lovingly packed and dressed up with a cotton ribbon and includes a wooden miniature salt cellar and salt spoon.

How cute is this?

This sickle weeder is easily everyone’s favorite hand tool at Red Wagon Plants. I never step into the garden without it if there is weeding to do.

The Hori Hori knife is also a staple in my garden tool box. It is so handy for making a planting hole, digging out tough roots, or cutting back fibrous stems.

While this won’t win “Most Romantic Gift”, we think that any serious houseplant owner would be thrilled to receive a bag of potting soil or Compost Plus made by our friends at VT Compost Company.

And these gardening gloves are a sweet little gift that will fit into a stocking or parcel just fine. They are another favorite of mine that I stash in my tool box, car, and garden shed. You never know when you might want to get your hands in dirt!

Finally, thank you for making 2021 another amazing season for us. We are excited for our future with you, and have lots of new developments that we will be sharing soon. Your love of plants, nature, and people is what fuels us.

With love from our gardens to yours,

Julie and the crew

Herb Wreath How To

Here is a little project that is easy to do and uses up herbs from your garden (or purchase one of our kits). Lily and Julie made some herb wreaths this week to give you a sense of how to do it. We instantly felt better after doing a creative project like this, and my wreath is in the kitchen smelling and looking great. Check out this video for a tutorial on how to do it. And if you would like to purchase one of our kits, you can find them here for purchase (we will contact you to arrange pick up at our Hinesburg location).

Mothers' Day

We are loaded with great gift ideas for Mothers' Day this year. We have added so many new succulents, sempervivum and sedums that make great planters, houseplants or can be added to the landscape. Succulents are generally grown in containers in our climate, and come in many textures, colors and forms. They can make great houseplants in the winter and love spending the summer outside in a pot. Sempervivum are also known as hens and chicks....they are those cute rosette shaped plants that grow in rock gardens or along stone paths and in patios. We have about 7 kinds of those and it is fun to pick and choose for funky designs. And we have about 12 kinds of sedums this year. These come in a vast array of sizes and shapes from little 2 inch tall rock garden plants to huge 3 foot tall perennials that make a statement in the garden May through November. For the mom who wants to homestead or grow more of the family's food, we have berry patches and fruit orchards waiting to happen - peach, pear, plum trees; raspberry plants that produce in summer and fall; 8 kinds of blueberries; blackberries; hazelnuts; hops; grapes; currants; and gooseberries. And strawberries too, including a really nice French one called 'Mara des Bois' - it has been bred in France for the past 30 years or so to have extraordinarily sweet and fragrant strawberry flavor. It produces fruit all summer long, and can be grown in a big pot on the deck or in a strawberry patch. We also have strawberries growing in hanging baskets for a fun surprise snack all summer long.

For the mom who likes to be adventurous in the kitchen, we can help put together a delicious selection of herbs that will make cooking easier and full of flavor. We can even recommend a variety of mints (we grow 8 kinds) for making interesting cocktails, teas, or using in desserts.

For the traditional mom, we have lots and lots of lovely hanging baskets that will brighten the entryway and bring a splash of color to the home all summer long. We also have the right fertilizer and plant care tips to keep the plants looking good in the heat and straight through fall.

For the mom without much gardening space, we have really nice cucumbers, zucchini, and tomatoes that are in big 3 gallon pots with a bamboo trellis. With the right compost based fertilizer, they can keep growing and producing all summer long right in their pots on the deck or balcony.

For the choosy mom, we can always provide you with a gift card that will make her happy every time she comes in.