Gardening Tips

Gardening Hints & Tips

Be sure to rotate crops in your vegetable garden to help eliminate insect and disease problems. Because they are closely related and can carry the same disease, don't plant potatoes, peppers or tomatoes in the same spot as the previous year. The same idea holds for the cole crops of broccoli, cauliflower and cabbage.
– Mel G.

The Perfect Border Bed for a south or west exposure:

Back row: Coral Nymph salvia, Evolution blue Salvia.
Middle row: Profusion Rose Zinnias, Yellow & Pink Liberty Snapdragons.
Front row: Angelonia, lisianthus, Disco Yellow marigolds, white vinca and Fantasy Pink Morn Petunias.

This mixture of flowers will make for a beautiful flower bed and they are all good performers that are easy to grow.
– Mary E.

It is fun to add interest to your flower beds and pots by planting vegetables with your flowers. Some of my favorite vegetables to add are Eggplant, Dill, and the herb Sage, particularly the variegated type. You can also add Flowering Cabbage and Kale but I would suggest that you dust them during the season for insects. The Cabbage and Kale get very large so leave plenty of room for them and as an added bonus they keep their color long into the fall and winter.
– Linda O.

One of my favorite plants in my flower beds are my Ornamental Perennial Strawberries. Not only are they pretty, they do produce some fruit that is edible. For those of you that are water conscience, these strawberry plants are an excellent ground cover that acts as mulch. So you end up with a natural and pretty ground cover that helps your flower beds retain moisture. If they get too thick, you can thin them by pulling any extra plants you don't need.
– Lynn D.

Every year, Sam, Sarah and I plant our flower beds specifically to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and butterfly moths. It is our favorite summer treat to go out in the mornings before the wind picks up and enjoy all these beautiful creatures that are hovering over our flower beds. Our absolutely favorite flower to attract these winged creatures is Lantana. We promise that if you grow it once you will grow it each year after that. It is a versatile plant that will do well in pots and planters or directly in the ground. Other plants that attract them are: asclepias, bougainvillea, buddleia, clerodendrum, hibiscus, plumbago, pentas and salvia.
– Lynn, Sam and Sarah D.

To give your rose bushes an organic boost of potassium, bury banana peels just under the soil around your roses. As they compost they will give your roses extra potassium that roses love. Also, when trimming roses, use a spring-loaded clothes pin to hold the stem and cut away!
– Becky R.

Product Varieties

"... we were pleasantly surprised at your large selection, great value and abundance of quality plants both annuals and perennials.

Great job Medary Acres. You have a return customer!"

— Greta,
Wabasso, MN

The perennial boom shows no signs of slowing down — even the "temperennials" — a new catch phrase for the tender perennials can put on a great show for a season but may not be hardy for the area. If we can keep the cost down to the price of a geranium, these tem perennials can be a great addition to beds and pots without busting the budget. This offers our gardeners new options that have only been available to our warmer neighbors to the south.

Hostas — We'll have over 60 varieties again this year — apparently, this love affair is on-going.
Roses — 70 varieties, including new releases and new patents.
Sedums — The sedums this fall were great, be sure you have some next fall.
Garden Mums — Not as hardy as they once were but spectacular in the fall and inexpensive,
a great color selection.
Perennials — Hundreds of varieties. We try to keep the price low to encourage experimentation
and for use as annuals in pots.
Annuals — We will always change varieties as research and development bring us new and
better varieties.