For planting geraniums in flower beds, work in a complete fertilizer before planting. In mid-summer fertilize again with a balanced water-soluble fertilizer. Space plants 10 to 12 inches apart. Water well after planting, but don't overwater.

For planting in containers, use Kellogg Potting Soil, and top-dress with Dr. Earth Rose & Flower Fertilizer to provide continuing nutrients. Water thoroughly when the soil is dry to the touch (so water comes through the drainage holes).

The earliest Mother's Day celebrations we know of were ancient Greek spring celebrations in honor of Rhea, the mother of the gods. But those were in honor of one particular mother. England's "Mothering Sunday," begun in the 1600's, is closer to what we think of as "Mother's Day." Celebrated on the 4th Sunday of Lent, "Mothering Sunday" honored the mothers of England.

In 1907 Anna Jarvis started a drive to establish a national Mother's Day. In 1907 she passed out 500 white carnations at her mother's church in West Virginia -- one for each mother in the congregation. In 1908, her mother's church held the first Mother's Day service, on May 10th (the second Sunday in May). That same day a special service was held at the Wanamaker Auditorium in Philadelphia, where Anna was from, which could seat no more than a third of the 15,000 people who showed up.

By 1909, churches in 46 states, Canada and Mexico were holding Mother's Day services. In the meantime, Ms. Jarvis had quit her job to campaign full time. She managed to get the World's Sunday School Association to help; they were a big factor in convincing legislators to support the idea. In 1912, West Virginia was the first state to designate an official Mother's Day. By 1914, the campaign had convinced Congress, which passed a joint resolution. President Woodrow Wilson signed the resolution, establishing an official national Mother's Day on the second Sunday in May.

Many countries of the world now have their own Mother's Day at different times of the year, but Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Japan, and Turkey join the US in celebrating Mother's Day on the second Sunday of May. Britain still celebrates Mothering Day on the 4th Sunday of Lent — but they now call it Mother's Day. By any name, and at any date, it's a special day to honor a special person.

Having trouble thinking of a gift? Why not do something a little different for Mother's Day? Instead of giving her a bouquet of roses, plant her a rose garden! If she already has a rose garden - add to it! If she lives in an apartment, consider a potted rose plant - many roses will do quite well in containers (ask us for suggestions).

Why give one bouquet that will soon fade away, when you can give years of pleasure from living roses instead?

By Tamara Galbraith

The promise of delicate summer color from the lovely, heart-shaped leaves of caladiums entices gardeners every year around this time. Late spring, when the soil has warmed sufficiently, is the best season to put caladium bulbs or plants in the ground.

The main source of survival for caladiums is moisture. Do not let these plants dry out, or they will die before you can say Caladium x hortulanum. Most will not do well in full sun either, but there are a few varieties (especially the whiter ones) that seem to have more sun tolerance.

Remember, these plants originated in the Amazon, so think "jungle": heat, moisture and shade. They also like slightly acid soil, so amend with a good acid planting mix like Gardner & Bloome Acid Planting Mix before planting, if necessary for your soil. Bulbs can be stored in a dry, cool location once the foliage has died back in the fall.

Mostly, caladiums will provide gorgeous tropical color as a border plant or in window boxes and containers. Nothing brightens up a dark corner like caladiums in brilliant red, flecked pink, white and green, or marbled deep rose hues. Feel free to mix and match, too!

By Tamara Galbraith

The kids are wrapping up their school year, hockey and basketball are into their respective playoffs...and the cucumber beetles are partying harder than Paris Hilton.

Overwintering as adults in protected areas near buildings, in fence rows, etc., cucumber beetles become active in mid-spring, when temperatures begin to increase. Eggs are laid and hatched, and the young beetles feed on plant roots.

There are a couple of different varieties in the U.S.: the striped cucumber beetle is an elongated orange insect with distinct black stripes, while the Southern cucumber beetle — also called the southern corn rootworm  — is stubbier, yellower, and wears black spots on its back.

The worst part is that the bacterial wilt organism overwinters in the gut of some cucumber beetles. (Plants infected with bacterial wilt will not survive, and should be promptly destroyed.) The insect's mere chewing on plants can spread the disease, so it's important to start control early.

On food crops like zucchinis, cucumbers and melons, use row covers to keep the beetles from reaching the plants (you'll have to remove them for pollination or hand pollinate). Know this: cucumber beetles are tough to kill. Scientists continue to work on natural methods for their control but so far, just like Paris Hilton, they seem content to hang out and mooch.

If you get a severe infestation, try Green Light Spinosad (use only as directed).

By Clayton Smith

With the popularity of shows like Trading Places, This Old House, The How-to-Crew and many others, Theme Design, Theme Concepts, and Theme Construction are pushing their way into our way of thinking and into our very landscape design. The very nature of these shows is forcing us to blend the inside with the outside. Even though these concepts have been around for quite awhile, with the advent of cable and satellite television, many more home owners that wouldn’t have noticed these ideas are now taking another look at them. With theme landscaping or any other landscaping concepts we must start with what I term as the 3-P's: Planning, Preparation and Planting. In this article we are going to focus mainly on the planning, with preparation and planting to be followed up in subsequent articles.

PLANNING:

The first step in planning is to create goals, and by creating goals we must ask ourselves a series of questions, with the first being WHY are we landscaping? By far this is not the simplest question or task, with both time and investment required in order to achieve the end product of a beautiful landscape that reflects our lifestyle. So the WHY must include our goals in order to begin planning our Theme Landscape. Some of the goals or questions that we might ask include:

1. Do we want privacy?
With homes being thrust on top of each other due to the high cost of home ownership within our western states, privacy becomes a big issue. How do we incorporate privacy into our Theme Landscape?

2. Are we landscaping for entertainment purposes?
I know a national sales manager of a highly respected gardening book publisher who just had his landscaping done geared towards nothing but entertaining. A beautiful patio blended in with a large and stationary BBQ set, reflecting on a pool and hot tub with a waterfall running to both, shows how entertaining became his main goal.

3. Is it for recreation?
Do we like to swim laps in a pool? If so, how do we design that into our landscape? Do we like working in the garden and how can we use this skill for our purpose with respect to our design? Do we have kids and little children that use the yard? Do we need to include a sand box or play area?

4. Are we trying to modify the climate opposed to the general nature of the surrounding environment?
This is a tricky one to explain: If live in Palm Springs and I have a pool in my backyard, I might want to design a tropical garden. But by modifying my landscape to a tropical theme I am in a direct conflict with the surrounding environment.

5. Simply, are we trying to beautify the property?
Trying to sell your house? Remember, the first thing people see when they drive up is your landscaping. The rest of the tour is based on this. If you don't keep your landscape up, then what are they going to think about the rest of the house? Appearance is everything. Also many communities have minimum CC&R's concerning the design and appearance of your yard.

6. Do we want to include or design a garden as part of the landscape?
One of the fastest trends is creating an edible landscape, that is, a landscape that has nearly 100% edible plants designed in it. Whether it is incorporating fruit trees as shade, using strawberry and others as ground covers, or shaping annual and perennial vegetables and fruits as part of the shrubbery, this goal - while technically a challenge - can offer great rewards.

7. Do we want to attract or ward off wildlife?
If our goal is to attract hummingbirds or butterflies, then we need to design our landscape using the appropriate plants to attract them. If we have a lot of deer in our area then we must use plants that deer, in most cases, will stay away from.

8. Are we landscaping for necessity, such as reducing water use?
In some cases we need to design our landscape around problems or area and environmental requirements. Do we need to hold in our hillside, cut down on our water consumption or do a landscape design simply because the CC&R's require it?

These are goals and questions that must be asked and answered before we can continue onto the next step: deciding on the Style or Theme of the landscape.

To be continued...

By Tamara Galbraith

Wondering what will grow in your veggie garden during summer's most sweltering months? Try the heat-loving beauty that is the eggplant.

Apart from the gorgeous fruit - which comes in many shapes and sizes, from the classic deep purple to pure white, to lavender-and-white marbled, and from the familiar large oblong fruits to the long slender Japanese varieties - the eggplant is in itself an attractive plant that can be grown as part of the ornamental garden. Its upright habit is fairly tidy, and the large, furry leaves provide an attractive contrast to other, more run-of-the-mill, plants in the landscape.

Unfortunately, eggplants tend to baffle a lot of gardeners. Many people don't want to grow them because they don't know what to do with the fruit, and that's a shame. When picked young, firm and still glossy, eggplants are delicious, virtually seedless and not bitter, and they make a wonderful accompaniment to many Italian and Mediterranean dishes.

Watch out for the rest of the plant, however; eggplant is a member of the toxic nightshade family, so don't eat any part but the fruit.

Most varieties should be planted 18 to 24 inches apart; compact and dwarf kinds can be a little closer together. Stake taller plants to keep the fruits off the ground. Plant in full sun - the more sun, the better. Soil should be fertile, well-drained and rich. We recommend amending with Gardner & Bloome Soil Building Compost before planting. Eggplant is somewhat drought tolerant, so don't overwater - it is susceptible to root rot. Mulching around the plant will help maintain even moisture. Water a bit more often when blooms appear. Eggplants will also do well in pots; use 3 gallon or better, with a good potting mix like Kellogg Potting Soil. Feed with a fertilizer recommended for tomatoes; like tomatoes, eggplants will put out lots of foliage and little fruit if you use a fertilizer too high in nitrogen.