Fast-Growing Fillers
Let’s be honest. Everyone has them: gaping, unwanted holes smack-dab in the middle of their plantings. Not long after the promise of spring has sprung, problem areas start rearing their ugly heads. Signs of pests attacking a prized container specimen become evident; your favorite spring ephemerals say “Sayonara” for the rest of the year; and that hot, new perennial you planted last fall turns out to be not so hot. But don’t let these flops get you down. Failing plants are just a routine part of gardening and an excellent excuse to go shopping. To salvage the season and plug those garden holes, reach for annuals or tender perennials that are long lasting and quick to mature. Here are eight that will carry you into fall, while your display barely misses a beat.
Seed sellouts are plaguing spring gardeners yet again
Updated Mar 11, 2021;
Posted Mar 11, 2021
Demand for garden seeds is up again, and sellers are facing another year of order delays, back orders, and sellouts.
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This year, even that didn’t help.
Like a lot of gardeners, Moyer has run into sellouts already – and weeks-long delays even when her wish-list items were available.
“I ordered some seeds, and the website had a big banner saying they were so busy it might take two to three weeks to ship,” she said. “Some other seed companies I looked at had lots of out-of-stocks. It’s the same with plant nurseries. Some items are already sold out.”
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Three market garden farms benefitting from a federal regional relief-and-recovery fund (RE3) are among the women-led businesses working to expand their individual operations amidst the pandemic.
Located on Howe Island near Gananoque,
Emily Dowling says she used the $5,000 grant to extend the growing seasons of Root Radical Community Shared Agriculture with a shipping container pad and awning that serves as a storage and staging area, plus a place for her crew to get out of the weather.
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The Martha s Vineyard Times
Garden Notes: Getting our gardens ready
It’s still a bit early, but hope springs eternal.
Buds of hellebore Ivory Prince emerge through a blanket of fallen leaves. Susan Safford
Under February’s Snow Moon, our cold soil underlain with clay seems to be the last on the Island to lose its snow cover. However, even here, snowdrops are advancing, and the hellebores are covered with fat pink buds. A glance to the shrubbery and tree tops reveals brighter coloring in twigs, and noticeably fattening buds.
Notorious March begins, month of expectations dashed, the dreaded “bonus” of the maritime climate, although hope springs eternal. Maybe this year will be different? Ha, there are sure to be cold fronts and gales; do not rule out a late snowstorm or two.
Last year’s seed shortage may extend to this year, but not to worry
Leftover seeds from last year, and sometimes as much as a decade ago, may still be viable.
By Tom Atwell
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Cucumber seedlings. Cucumber seeds, if stored properly, can be viable for up to ten years. Happy Lena/Shutterstock
When COVID-19 hit last March and so many Americans decided they had to grow something, anything, seed companies ran short of seeds.
The shortage was understandable. Early on, photos of empty shelves in grocery stores appeared on television and newspapers, and many people feared they might not be able to buy the vegetables (and maybe cut flowers) they needed or wanted. In addition, people knew they would be stuck home, and gardening could fill their time.