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Collier's Garden Scoop
Late Summer 2023
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Based on the temps forecasted for this week, it looks like summer is going to stick around a bit longer. But even during the dog days of August and September several shipments of fresh plants arrive at the nursery weekly. We have healthy annuals for sprucing up containers and flowerbeds, blooming perennials and ornamental grasses, a great selection of houseplants and succulents, and plenty of shrubs for those landscaping projects. Mums will make their appearance in early September, and we'll begin to stock pansies and all of the winter favorites as soon as temperatures cool down, usually by the first or second week of October.
Stop by soon and get your plant fix!
Current Hours:
Monday through Saturday 9 to 5
Closed Sunday
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For the Birds, Bees & Butterflies
Blooms for Pollinators
Blooming annuals and perennials to support late summer and fall pollinators are in stock now! Pollinators play an extremely important role in the ecosystem by transferring pollen from plant to plant so that fertilization can occur. The most well-known pollinators are bees and butterflies, but lesser known pollinators like hummingbirds, moths, flies, beetles, wasps and even bats deserve recognition for their invaluable work.
During August and September hummingbirds and monarch butterflies begin their fall migrations, and nectar sources along the way provide the energy needed for these epic journeys. In general, hummingbirds look for tubular or trumpet-shaped flowers, such as cuphea, petunia and salvia. Butterflies are attracted to "landing pad" blooms with plenty of space like butterfly bush, coneflower & black-eyed Susan, cosmos, sun-tolerant hydrangeas, marigolds, sunflowers and zinnias. Bees are attracted to all flower types; we've noticed them especially enjoying Mexican heather and purslane at the nursery this summer. Lantana, pentas and verbena are some of the best choices, as their clusters of tubular flowers attract pollinators of all kinds.
We also have several host plants in-store now, including milkweed, dill and parsley. Butterflies and moths lay their eggs on host plants, which then provide food for the caterpillars as they grow.
Consider adding a few nectar sources to your garden to benefit pollinators for the coming weeks!
Pictured here: 'Blue Bayou' Agastache, 'Cheyenne Spirit' Coneflower, 'Lucky Pink' Lantana, 'Durango Yellow' Marigold, Butterfly Weed (Asclepias tuberosa), 'Allyson' Mexican Heather, 'Graffiti White' Pentas, 'Skyscraper Pink' Salvia, 'Lollipop' Vervain (Verbena bonariensis)
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Enticing Edibles
We have a great selection of herbs and edibles in stock currently!
In the herb section you'll find basil, bay laurel, chives, dill, fennel, lavender, lemon grass, mint, parsley and rosemary to flavor your culinary creations this season (cilantro will be in when cooler weather arrives).
In the shrub yard we have perennial options for yearly harvests including 'Arbequina' olives, 'Osage' and 'Ouachita' blackberries, several varieties of rabbiteye blueberries (these are native to the southeast) as well as 'Rosa's Blush' blueberry, a dwarf, evergreen variety. We also have this rare find: 'Fignomenal' Fig, a dwarf variety that can be grown in a container!
We still have a good stock of lemons and limes, another great container edible that can be overwintered indoors in a bright, sunny spot.
Most of the fall veggies will arrive by mid-September, with the exception of leafy greens like lettuce and chard, which need much cooler temperatures to thrive (look for these around mid-October).
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Weird But Wonderful
Carnivorous Plants
According to the International Carnivorous Society, "carnivorous plants are predatory flowering plants that kill animals in order to derive nutrition from their bodies." Several unique characteristics distinguish carnivorous plants from other plants. They use their specialized leaves to capture prey (which are attracted by nectar), and are able to digest this prey and absorb nutrients from its corpse. Their prey can include things like insects, spiders, crustaceans and even lizards, frogs and mice!
We have a couple of the most notorious carnivorous plants in stock now, pitcher plants and Venus fly traps, if you'd like to start a creepy collection of these botanical oddities. Keep in mind that all carnivorous plants need sun or bright light, consistently moist soil, and should never be fertilized.
There are two common types of pitcher plants, and both are in-store now. Sarracenia pitcher plants are native to the eastern US, where they can be found growing in sunny bogs from Maryland to Florida. The soil in these areas is most often acidic and nutrient starved, thus the need for plants to absorb nutrients from other sources. This type of pitcher plant is best grown in the ground, in a sunny spot with constantly wet (but not flooded) soil.
Nepenthes are the tropical pitcher plants, native to southeast Asia where they vine across the ground or through trees. They are also called monkey cups. Nectar attracts prey which then falls into a sticky digestive liquid at the bottom of the pitcher, where bacteria helps digest the unlucky critter- essentially acting as a plant "stomach." This type of pitcher plant does not like to be outdoors in temperatures below 60 degrees, so must be brought inside during cooler months. Grow in bright, indirect light in a warm, humid environment.
Venus fly traps (Dionaea muscipula) are also native to the eastern US, specifically the subtropical wetlands of North and South Carolina where they are found growing in sunny bogs. The leaves are a trapping structure that are triggered when an insect or spider touches the tiny sensitive hairs along the edges. The leaves then digest the prey over a period of 4 to 10 days. They can be grown indoors in bright, indirect light with plenty of moisture and humidity, making them an ideal terrarium plant.
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