I love the planter below simply for the bright contrasting colors.  The dark red mum and red copper leaf plant contrast nicely with the green peacock kale and purple cabbage. 

 The combination below has fall written all over it.  The pot was lined and draped with burlap before the soil and plants were put into to give it that extra special touch.  The planter contains a rustic combination of ornamental peppers, kale, cabbage, mums and floral accent picks of wheat and berries.   

The planter below is so colorful and fun for the fall.  Although purple and yellow aren’t traditionally thought of as fall colors they really make a great cheery color combination.  This planter contains purple asters, hypericum, purple kale, and yellow mums.

 I love this planter below because of the wild mixture of plants and the beautiful textures and colors.   The planter contains a bergundy mums, purple kale, two types of ferns, caladiums and rex begonias. 

This pretty pink planter below is a beautiful combination of pink asters, yellow pansies, hypericum and kale. 

 This planter below has a variegated ornamental pepper plant with bergundy mum, kale, and diamond frost as a filler.  I love all the foliage textures and bright contrasting colors.

 Want to create some of these fall planters?  Click here to print off recipes cards with a picture and a list of necessary plants to recreate them.  Click here to see the full selection of fall annuals we have in stock in the garden center.  Happy Planting!

Beautiful fall Mums in an array of colors.

Yellow blooms of Hypericum

Hypericum with Red Berries

Ornamental Peppers

 Ornamental Peppers are one of my newest favorite fall plants that I only recently began incorporating into my fall plantings. They are beautiful because their foliage and peppers come in so many colors.  Foliage can be purple, green, white, or variating combinations.  The peppers are typically red, purple, white or green.  Their colorful combinations can really add some great interest to pots.

Annual Grasses add great color, texture and height to fall planters.

Ornamental Grasses are a fabulous plant for the fall because they add height and texture to a planter.  In the fall most grasses have interesting seed heads or plumes in shades of brown, burgundy or purple.  The grasses will also turn color as the fall progresses into similar shades of brownish reds and purples.   

Peacock Kale

Kale and Cabbages are some of the most cold tolerant plants out there.  Their ability to withstand temperatures up to 15 degrees makes them a perfect addition to any fall (or even winter) planter.  Their ornamental foliage with shades of green, white, and purple and their wide vareity of textured leaves makes them a great accent plant. 

Pansies love the cool fall weather!

Pansies are a cheerful addition to any fall planter because they can withstand cold temperatures (28 F) and come in a variety of bright colors.  They come in shades or combinations of purple, pink, yellow, orange, white and lavendar.  Plant them in full sun to part shade for best results.

Try using sedums in your fall planters for added texture.

 Sedums are fun to use because they can tolerate cooler temperatures and they have a wide variety of colors and textures.  They make a great accent plant for any fall planter.

In my next blog post I will show you how to put these plants together to create fabulous fall combinations!

Endless Summer Hydrangea Wreath

Supplies:

• Wreath Form—Wire or Grapevine (I prefer wire)  
• Spool of Floral Wire
• Wire Cutters
• Scissors
• Fresh Hydrangea Blooms (see notes below on selecting)
  

  Floral Wire & CuttersWire Wreath Form

 Select your hydrangea blooms

The secret to perfect blooms for your hydrangea wreath is very simple: Wait until they are ready before picking them. While it is tempting to cut the hydrangea blossoms for drying at the height of their color, this doesn’t work. Fresh, recently opened blooms, rarely dry well in open air.  If you use fresh hydrangea blooms they will shrivel within a few days and create open areas in your wreath form.  

 Hydrangeas do best when allowed to dry on the plant before picking them.  You want to pick the blooms when they are on their way out.  Leave the blooms on the plant until late summer.  Toward the end of the summer the petals will begin to age and take on a vintage look.  Blooms will feel more papery or dry to the touch versus the “wet” feel of fresh blooms.  It is the older blooms with the paper touch that you want to cut.  If left on the shrub a while longer, many blooms will pick up interesting shades of burgundy and pink. Normally the best harvesting time in Iowa is from August through October.

 Any type of hydrangea blooms will work, some of the more common ones I haved used are Annabelle, Endless Summer, and Limelight.  I prefer to make wreaths with round or mop headed  hydrangea blooms because they are fuller and cover the wire wreath forms easier. 

Cutting the Hydrangea Blooms

 Cut your flowers when you are ready to begin making the wreath form.  .  You may want to cut blooms that are similar in size.  This will help your wreath look consistent in size all the way around.  When you cut your hydrangea blooms cut them with a stem of at least 4 inches so that you have enough stem to wire the flower to your wreath form.  Once you have cut your hydrangea blooms strip all leaves off the stem and trim any brown blooms off the flower head.

Creating the Wreath

1. Take a small piece of wire to wrap into the back of the wire base at the top so that you can hang the wreath on the wall or door.
2. Wrap the free end of the floral wire around the edge of the wire wreath form and secure it to the wreath form. 
3. Place a hydrangea stem with bloom on wreath form. Using the spool of floral wire wrap the wire around stem to secure it, pulling wire taut.
4. Place another flower bloom on the wreath, with the flower head covering the stem of the prior bloom and wire this one on. 
5. Continue adding flowers and wrapping stems around the wreath until wreath is completely full.  Cut the wire and attach the end of the wire to the wreath form.
6. Now look at the overall appearance and shape of your wreath—Balance is what you are looking for in shape, you don’t want any blooms sticking out way above the others, you don’t want one side of the wreath to be fuller than the other. Try stepping back and looking at a distance.  Give the blooms a little “haircut” with the scissors if they need it in order to balance out the shape.
7. Hang your wreath up.  Your blooms will usually dry within one day to one week, depending on temperature and humidity levels.  Once they are dry you have a wreath that you can enjoy!

Annabelle Hydrangea Wreath

Expect your wreath to look good for about one year or much less if they are in direct sunlight.  When your wreath doesn’t look pretty anymore strip off the old flowers and use the old wire base to make a new one!

Endless Summer Hydrangea

What’s not to love about the Endless Summer Hydrangea? It begins blooming late spring and blooms endlessly until early fall.  The blooms can be pink or blue in color depending on the soil acidity (add lime to the soil for pink blooms and aluminum sulfate for blue blooms).  The shrub will grow up to 4′ tall by 4′ wide and tolerates full sun to part shade.

Pinky Winky Hydrangea

Pinky Winky Hydrangeas are a great shrub because it has a strong vigourous upright growth habit.  The blooms are large (up to 12″) and pyramidal in form.  The blooms begin later summer and last into the late fall.  They start off as creamy white and transition into a dark pink color.  Pinky Winky’s can grow up to 8′ tall and wide and can quickly fill an empty space.

Limelight Hydrangea

Limelight hydrangeas are fabulous for their upright growth habit and their large cone shaped flowers.  The blooms start mid summer as creamy white and eventually transition to a chartreuse green and onto shades of pink into early fall.  They can grow up to 6′ to 8′ tall and do well in full sun.

Annabelle Hydrangea

Annabelles are always a favorite in Iowa gardens.  They have enormous creamy white (volleyball size) flower heads, blooms all summer long, can tolerate full shade to part sun, and are super hardy in Iowa’s winters.  Their only downfall is that the stalks often droop when the flower blooms are at their largest.  This hydrangea gets approximately 3′ to 5′ tall and wide.  Trim it back to the ground before winter hits for best results.

Bella Anna Hydrangea

One of the newest varieties we’ve added to the garden this year is the Bella Anna Hydrangea, which is a strikingly beautiful plant with large, bright pink flower heads.  It is the first truly hardy pink Annabelle Hydrangea.  It began blooming in the early summer and is supposed to continue to bloom through Fall.  Plant it in full sun to part shade.  It grows 3’ wide x 3’ tall.

In  my next few blog posts I will show you how to make a fresh hydrangea wreath and how to dry them for use in dried bouquets.  Happy planting!

I love this rustic fairy garden from Midwest Living.  The garden is planted in an old drawer which really gives it a special charm.  I especially love the use of the vines on the arbor and the rusty garden benches and birdhouse.  The garden contains a mini variegated boxwood shrub, thyme, ajuga and juniper. 

Fairy Garden in a Drawer by Midwest Living

Mini Manicured Garden with Fairy House

 You may want to consider creating a themed fairy garden.  I think the beach themed fairy garden by the Miniature Garden Shoppe below is absolutely adorable.  Just remember anything goes for themes.  Rain Forest, Desert, formal gardens, hardscaping, and more!   

Beach Fairy Garden by Miniature Garden Shoppe

Below is another fabulous fairy garden featured on the Christian Science Monitor.  I really like this one because it is in a metal tub which really adds  unique character.  I also like the mix of stone, plants, and moss to create a miniature landscape.  The use of some bright colored “fairy” accents really makes it fun!  

Fairyland by the Christian Science Monitor

 This garden by Miniature Garden Shoppe is fun because it really shows how to put all the fairy furniture and accessories to good use.  I really like the miniature tools and arbor in this particular garden.    

Rustic Fairy Garden

 Check out this Fairy Garden by Two Green Thumbs.  Its a nice example of more formal fairy garden, complete with masonry patio and park bench.  I think the use of dwarf sized conifers works very well in this garden.  (We also carry a nice selection of the dwarf conifers in the garden center in case you want to add a few to you own fairy garden). 

Formal Fairy Garden by Two Green Thumbs

Fairy Garden in A Wheelbarrow by Ilona's Garden

Glimpse a view into Fairyland. Garden by the Mini Garden Guru.

Bonsai Fairy Garden by Mini Garden Guru

Fairy Gardening Miniatures

Willow Fairy Chair and Cushion

 I adore the bench shown below.  We have chairs, arbors, and a fence that makes a great set when combined with this bench.  

Rustic Bench perfect for a fairy garden.

Lillybelle the Fairy.

Fairy Wheelbarrow.

Consider making a beach themed fairy garden.  The adirondack chair shown below works great in a beach themed fairy garden.  Pair it with our mini sand pails, colorful benches, flip flops and seashells.

Adorable Adirondock Chair

A small urn planter for the fairy garden.

Even the fairies need to relax in a hammock.

Fairy Outdoor Living at its finest.

Fairy Gardening Fence, Tools, and Door.

Beautiful Fairy Garden by theburghbaby.com

What is fairy gardening?

Miniature or “Fairy” gardening is one of the newest and most creative gardening trends!  Our customers (and their kids) love to create these miniature container gardens.  There are endless creative possibilities for miniature gardens with the use of dwarf sized plants, moss, “fairy” sized furniture,  mini patios, and more.  Fairy gardening can become quite addicting (just ask a few of us that work here at the garden center)! 

Tiny Fairy Garden by Kelsey at Ted Lare Garden Center

Choosing a Container for your Fairy Garden

Typically the containers that work best for fairy gardens have good drainage and have a wide diameter across the top.  The wider the diamater at the top, the more space you will have to create your fairy garden.  Traditional terra cotta pots with a low bowl shape work well but don’t be afraid to get creative.  Some of the prettiest fairy gardens I have seen have been in creative containers like wash basins, picnic baskets, bird baths, and hyper tufa pots.   

Birdbath Fairy Garden by fairy-gardens.blogspot.com/

Selecting Plants for your Fairy Garden

Since the whole purpose of the fairy garden is to have miniature plants, you’ll want to select plants that stay small or can be trained or trimmed to stay small.  Take into consideration where you will place your container when its finished.  You will want to choose plants appropriate for the sunlight conditions in that area.  You will also want to select plants that are zone hardy compatible for your container and decide whether you will leave your container outside for the winter or if you will bring your container inside.  Below is a list of plants that work well in fairy gardens.

• Baby Tears
• Ferns
• Creeping Thymes
• Irish Moss
• Jade Trees
• Succulents
• Sedums
• Rosemary
• Dwarf Conifers
• Dwarf Boxwoods 
• Moss
• Mini African Violets
• Bonsai trees such as Schleffera, Ficus or other varieties

Choose dwarf sized plants for best results in your miniature garden.

Select Fairy Furniture & Accessories

There are a multitude of fairy gardening accessoires available right now.  We carry benches, patio sets, arbors, hammocks, pots, cloches, gardening tools, hoses, wheelbarrows, fences, and much more.  You may also want to consider putting in a patio or walkway through your fairy garden. Small stones or tiles can be used to accomplish this.

Fairy Garden Accessories at Tedsgardens.com

Layout your Garden & Plant It

Fill your pot with potting soil.  Any regular mix of potting soil will work well as long as your pot has adequate drainage.   Before you begin planting we suggest laying out your fairy garden with the plants, stones, and/or fairy furniture you have selected.  This allows for adjustments in placement without making a big mess. 

Once you have determined placement, plant your plants in the soil and then add patio stones and fairy accessories to your garden. Some items may need to be staked down in order to keep them in place.  A paper clip or piece of wire will often do the trick.  If an item is top heavy a nail can often be glued to the bottom of it to act as a stake to put in the soil and keep it in place. 

Miniature Garden with Patio by minigardener.wordpress.com

So you ask, “Now what?” Relax, sit back and wait for the fairies to show up!

Look for my next blog posts that will show all the absolutely cool fairy accessories that are available and pictures of some inspirational fairy gardens.

Aeonium Kiwi Succulent

One my favorite trends in gardening in recent years has been the use of succulents in container gardens.  Succulents are ideal for container combinations because they come in a wide variety of colors, textures, and leaf shapes and sizes. Their fleshy leaves, stems and roots store water.  This ability allows them to thrive in our hot and humid summer weather. 

Variety of Succulents

Planting your Succulents

Choose a pot with good drainage.  Fill the bottom 1″ to 3″ of the pot with gravel to provide additional drainage.  Then layer the soil on top of the gravel, we prefer a cacti soil or succulent mix for best results.  Plant the succulent at the same dirt level that was in the original pot.  Once you succulents have been planted you may want to place small stones or gravel on the surface of the soil.  The rock will help keep the soil in place and provides a nice decorative element to succulent planters.

Succulent Decorative Planter

Succulent Planter

General Maintenance & Care

Place your succulents in a sunny location that gets a minimum of 6 hours of full sun a day.  Keep an eye on where you place your plants for the first several weeks.  If your succulents are getting too much sun you may notice leaves that are sunburned or that have turned white or brown.  If they are not getting enough sunlight you will notice the succulents stretching towards the light, becoming stringy or discolored.  During the summer months water your succulents once a week but allow the soil to thouroughly dry out in between waterings.

Wintering Care for your Succulents

In Iowa, some of your succulents may be hardy enough to survive our winters, check the tag or plant information for zone hardiness.  Most succulents will need to brought inside to survive the winter, especially if they are in containers.  When you bring the succulents inside for the winter place them in a sunny spot by the windows.  Only water them once a month during the winter.  

Hens and Chicks

Succulent with wonderful pale colors.

Air Plant in Hanging Glass Globes from budgetwisehome.com

Wall Vases with Air Plants by shelterness.com

Air Plant in Sea Shell by Robin Charlotte.

Hanging Air Plant Pod from Mudpuppy

Air Plants in Glass Vases and Bowls Grapevine with Air Plants by vivaterra.com

Table Centerpiece created with Air Plants

Glass Air Plant Garden

Live Lamp made with Air Plants by toHold on etsy.com

Happy decorating!