PINK Garden Party Mini-Cooper Raffle

May 20, 2011 By

Our 1st Annual Evening in the Garden: a PINK Garden Party to benefit Susan G. Komen NC Triangle Affliliate last night was a HUGE success! Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who helped make this evening possible.  Thanks to Chef Mario for the delicious food, Paco Band for the amazing music, all the Garden Supply Co. staff and volunteers who helped make this evening a beautiful night to remember. But most of all, a giant, heartfelt thanks to all of YOU for supporting us in this wonderful cause!

If you would still like to take part in our Mini-Cooper raffle, it’s not too late. There are still 65 out of the 100 Raffle Tickets for the Mini-Cooper available so we are extending it for one more week. For a $150 donation, you have a one in one hundred chance to win Deb’s car (which has a bluebook value of 15K.)

we MUST sell AT LEAST 100 tickets for the raffle to take place. You can purchase your tickets at Garden Supply Co. The car is also here for folks to come take a look. Checks will be held until AT LEAST 100 tickets are sold and a raffle winner is drawn.

Hurry in as we are only offering 100 tickets!

And thanks again to everyone for a wonderful evening in the garden!

 

Filed Under: Events Tagged With: , ,

New Beginnings

May 16, 2011 By

Of all the seasons, spring is definitely the time for new beginnings.  At Garden Supply Co. we are thrilled to be celebrating not one, but two exciting new beginnings this season. Our family is growing, and we couldn’t be happier! Please help us welcome Baby Lilly.

Lilliana Elyse, is the daughter of Landscape Designer Matthew Noel and his wife. We wish Lilly and family much joy, love, and happiness on this special occasion, and throughout the years!

Also, if you haven’t heard another addition to our Garden Supply family is a sister company that has been birthed this spring: Leapfrog Landcare.

For years we’ve felt there was a better way to the spray-first mentality needed or not in the landscape with chemical based fertilizers & weed controls. We were unsatisfied with the options offered to our customers by large corporate lawn companies and the lack of personal service & knowledge afforded. This is why, through Leapfrog Landcare, we felt it was possible to offer a level of service rooted in the community and driven by human connection that promotes a more holistic approach to the overall health of the landscape. By introducing microbes and beneficial bacteria through organic based fertilizers and compost tea applications, it’s possible to achieve better results through working with nature than relying wholly on chemical based products. Questions about what is compost tea? Here is a video from Harvard University after which we’ve modeled our approach:

Harvard Compost Tea

Call it a holistic way to approach not just your landscape’s health, but that of your community and we’re committed to creating healthy communities by promoting integrative principles-remember it’s not just a landscape, it’s a lifestyle!

Be sure to check out our Leapfrog Landcare page on Facebook.

Filed Under: Greenhouse News, lawn care

Pink Garden Party

May 12, 2011 By

Pink Garden Party: a Fundraiser to Benefit Susan G. Komen for the Cure
NC Triangle Affiliate
“An Evening in the Garden”

Thursday, May 19, 2011
7:00-9:00 P.M.
at Garden Supply Company

$50.00 per Person
or Sponsor a Table for You and Your Friends

Komen N.C. Triangle Affiliate Will Receive 100% of Funds

R.S.V.P. By Reserving Your Tickets Before May 16th
Ticket Information and Registration is Available HERE

Please join us for our First Annual Pink Garden Party, a premier event hosted by Garden Supply Co. to raise awareness and resources for Susan G. Komen for the Cure N.C. Triangle Affiliate. It is sure to be a great evening in the garden and a great way to give to our local Komen Affiliate who is currently serving 13 counties in N.C. (and are about to add 7 more under-served counties to our east)  some extra funds for more grants.

We will be wined and dined by our favorite Chef Mario, live music by Paco Band, and a Silent Auction filled with such great donations from local merchants you are sure to want to bid.  In addition, Deb will be raffling her Mini-Cooper this night!
(There are only 100 tickets available at $150 each. *)

We invite you to bring friends and consider sponsoring a table which comes with extra perks like champagne for the table, a framed photograph of your group, a private hospitality tent, and recognition during the evening.

Keep in mind, all the money you give through ticket sales, silent auction, and raffle are 100% being donated.  Plan on bringing your checkbook and having fun!  We look forward to seeing you!

Filed Under: Events

A Mother’s Day Garden

May 8, 2011 By

Cary, NC

Last year on Mother’s Day, I was fortunate enough to have my mom visiting from California. Since we live on opposite coasts, you can imagine that this was a rare and special occasion for us to be together on this day. As a matter of fact, I can’t remember the last time we were able to spend a Mother’s Day with each other. So to mark this one-of-a-kind event, I told Mom we could do anything she wanted to celebrate. Shopping, theater tickets, a concert, you name it. What did she choose? A day at Garden Supply Company, picking out new plants to create a Mother’s Day Garden in my bare back yard.

Here’s a little bit of detail about it. We were working with a border up against the back foundation of my house.  The area receives a bit of morning sun, but for most of the day, this zone is in the shade.  So step one was to head to the shade plant area at Garden Supply Co, where there are so many gorgeous plants to choose from.  We decided on Hostas as our main focus. Hostas are extremely popular, hardy herbaceous perennials grown primarily for their beautiful foliage. They are easy to grow, shade-tolerant plants. Leaves come in a wide range of shapes, colors, sizes, and textures and may be solid in color or variegated in different combinations of blue, green, white, and gold. The plants are low maintenance and with the huge selection of choices at Garden Supply, your options are boundless.

After weighing all the choices, we decided to go with a variety of hostas in a chartreuse-green color palette.  Chartreuse foliage is highly visible, even from a distance, and brings light to low-light areas. Choosing a variety of cultivars brings some interest to the border, while sticking to a chartreuse color palette unites the border into a cohesive planting. Here is what the area looked like before we got started.

Our hosta selection included: Great Expectations, Stained Glass, Atlantis, Fragrant Bouquet, Guacamole, and Sum & Substance.  We then decided on a few companion plants for our border to add more depth and interest, sticking to the shade area plantings at the garden center. We paired the hostas with the dark purple foliage of the ‘Plum Pudding’ Heuchera (Coral Bells) which do well in sun or light shade, and the light and airy foliage of the ‘Cinnamon’ Fern.  The contrast of these 3 plants provides a ton of visual interest.

For my 20-foot border, we selected 9 hostas, 3 coral bells, and 4 cinnamon ferns. Allowing for adequate planting space, this was the perfect number of plants to fill the area.

Now, one year later, I don’t have my mom to celebrate Mother’s Day with. But I have my garden. And that means the world to me.

To all you wonderful women out there, a very happy Mother’s Day to you from all of us at Garden Supply Co!

Filed Under: Shade Plants

Family Fun Day at Garden Supply Co.

May 6, 2011 By

Family Fun Day- a Fundraiser for 13 Families Affected by the Recent Tornado
Join us this Saturday for free hot dogs, lemonade, and face-painting from our favorite painter, Shannon Carver. There will also be a bake sale with goodies lovingly donated by many friends and a raffle of a new IPOD Nano and BMX bike generously donated by Meghan Ramsey.

The recent tornado is a blip on most of our “radars” considering current events of late, but the Martin Middle School (where Garden Supply Co. owners’ son Bobby goes to school) has 13 families who literally lost EVERYTHING during the storm.

So come out and enjoy the day with us as we host a fundraiser for these families. Students and parents from Martin Middle and Briarcliff Elementary Schools will be on hand to serve you and Shannon has generously donated her time and “tips” as she transform your child’s face to whatever they want to be!

Shannon will start painting faces at 11:00 until 3:00, and the kids will start  cooking at 11:00 as well.

We were lucky, and while the food and face-painting is free, let’s “tip” big to the kids who thought of this idea and encourage their spirit of helping others.

Also, we are celebrating North Carolina’s rich history in farming Saturday.  We will be at the Second Annual Herbfest at the Page-Walker Arts & History Center as well as hosting a local farmer at the store sharing the history of tobacco farming.  It’s a wonderfully informing presentation on what it was to farm tobacco and how it supported so much of our economy in this state.

We are sponsoring a contest to find the “Best Farmer”. There will be one first place winner of a $300 gift certificate and two $100 runner-ups, details are at the garden center. Both events are a great opportunity to share in our heritage as North Carolinians, even if you are “transplant” like me!

Herbfest- Page Walker in downtown Cary
Saturday, May 7th from 9 am- 3 pm

Celebration of NC Farming- Garden Supply Co.
Saturday, May 7th beginning at 8 am

It’s going to be a beautiful weekend…Happy Mother’s Day!

Filed Under: Events

In the Spotlight- Itoh Peonies

April 30, 2011 By

Cary, NC- Cora Louise Itoh Peony

Spring is in full bloom at Garden Supply Co. Everywhere you look you’ll find lush, beautiful plants and flowers, full of color and vibrancy. And although everything is lovely this time of year, I’m always keeping my eye out for the latest and greatest arrivals to the garden center. This week, what really caught my attention were the Itoh Peonies from Monrovia. These plants definitely make my Top 10 gift-giving list for Mother’s Day this year. Here’s why.

Considered an old-fashioned flower, peonies have long been a favorite spring-blooming plant, prized for their large showy blossoms, light aromatic fragrance, and lush green foliage. Although reminiscent of Grandmother’s garden, peonies remain extremely popular with gardeners today. Those who admire the colorful and exotic flowers of tree peonies, put prefer the perennial growing cycle of its herbaceous counterpart, will love the Itoh peonies. This plant is a cross of an herbaceous peony with a tree peony. The cross combines the best traits of both parents, namely great vigor, large distinctive flowers, strong stems, and long lasting blooms.

Itoh peonies resemble tree peonies with a domed, vigorous growth habit and large double flowers with disease-resistant lacy, dark green foliage. Like herbaceous peonies, the Itoh hybrids are winter dormant providing decades of enjoyment in the garden. Itoh peonies can provide up to 50 blooms in a single season due to their ability to produce primary and secondary buds. They will grow two to three feet tall and wide. They offer an increased color range, greater vigor, and excellent resistance to peony blight.

The Cora Louise Itoh Peony, seen above, has large semi-double flowers that open a pale pink, quickly fading to white with striking dark lavender flares. The blooms have a soft pleasing scent and are a wonderful addition to any spring bouquet. This variety can produce up to 50 blooms in a single season and will grow 24 to 32 inches tall and wide.

Kopper Kettle Itoh Peony

‘Kopper Kettle’ has large eight-inch, copper-orange, semi-double flowers with a darker center and occasional yellow streaks in the petals to add to the beauty of these blooms. With its distinct flower color and handsome dark green foliage, this brilliant beauty is a showstopper! Hurry, as only a few Kopper Kettles are left in stock.

Yumi (Beauty) Itoh Peony

This large, double flower, measuring seven to eight inches, is spectacular with its masses of clear yellow petals forming a perfect flower with a light and very pleasant fragrance. Blooms are held on strong stems just above a compact mound of dark green, trouble-free foliage. Plant is very hardy and prefers full sun to dappled shade. Excellent dark green foliage, it lasts well into autumn.

Looks absolutely stunning when paired with the double blossoms of this ‘Multi Blue’ Clematis.

And lastly, we have Keiko (not pictured). The large, semi-double to double flowers measure up to six inches and are held on strong stems above a compact mound of 24 to 30 inches tall and wide, dark green foliage. As the flower matures, the dark lavender pink petals slowly fade to a soft pink, revealing a cluster of yellow stamens in its center. The flower is lightly fragrant. Prefers full sun to dappled shade.

And there you have one of my Top 10 picks for Mother’s Day this year. Stop by the garden center and let our friendly experts help you pick the gift Mom is sure to love. See you all soon!

 

Filed Under: new plant arrivals
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