The Early Bloomer :: February 2020

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Love Notes

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FEBRUARY 2020

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Early Bloomer

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F R O M O U R G A R D E N TO YO U R S

There’s no better way to say

Be Mine Get ready, gardening friends, you’re going to adore February’s brilliant displays of color! Yes, it’s also Valentine’s Day, but we all know beautiful gardens need no excuse or special holiday to share their love. Show your garden a little tender loving care this month and it will reward you with beautiful love notes (aka blooms) throughout the season.

Rock City is in full bloom with a glorious assortment of homegrown plants and flowers. Whether giving a gift to a special Valentine or friend – or gifting yourself with the long-lasting beauty of a garden full of healthy new plants and flowers – our seasonal selections will reap rave reviews.

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DAHLIA Our XXL series was perfectly named because the blooms of these showy flowers are huge! Dahlias have always been a showstopper for container gardens, but the curtain swings wide open with brilliant colors like the hot pink Merida, sunny Durango, and spicy Tobasco with its flame-like red tips. If you enjoy fresh-cut flowers, you’ll love the simplicity yet dramatic Dahlia in a cut-flower arrangement. Grown in garden beds and containers, expect these big 4”–5” blooms to reach 16”–22” tall.

MAINTENANCE Well-drained soil and

lots of sun ensure bigger blooms!

LIGHT Full Sun

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PETUNIAS: POTUNIAS Our Potunias series is blooming in gorgeous shades of Strawberry Ice, Love Pink, Blue Sky, Fire Engine Red, White, Lemon Frost, Cobalt Blue, and Hot Pink. Like the Crazytunias, Potunias perform beautifully in container gardens, hanging baskets, and garden beds this time of year. With a little love, they will continue looking fabulous throughout the season.

Allow top layer of soil to dry between watering.

MAINTENANCE LIGHT

Full Sun

PETUNIAS: CRAZYTUNIAS Our Crazytunias series is a perfect addition to container gardens, hanging baskets, and garden beds.

These fast-growing and vividly colored flowers love the sun and require minimal maintenance to keep them looking their best. The toughest thing about this flower is choosing which colors to bring home! Crazytunias are available in fun colors like Kermit Purple, Black Mamba, Passion Punch, Lucky Lilac, and Blackberry Cheesecake.

Deadhead spent blooms to encourage continuous blooming.

MAINTENANCE

LIGHT

Full Sun

SUPERBELLSTM (CALIBRACHOA): Superbells are one of the most popular flowers for growing in containers and hanging baskets this time of year.

They are prolific bloomers, perform beautifully as a classic spiller, and they don’t require pruning although doing so creates dense, attractive foliage.

Superbells look like tiny petunias, but there’s nothing tiny about their showstopping color. With 15 amazing colors from which to choose, you’ll want to try them all!

Let soil dry between watering. Ensure your containers have adequate drainage and use a water-soluble fertilizer designed for flowering plants.

MAINTENANCE

LIGHT

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Full Sun

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RED LATAN PALM (LATANIA LONTAROIDES) A spectacular species noted for its silver, single trunk and slender fronds edged in a bright red color grows up to 20’. This slow-growing palm is a great fit for containers or your landscape and loves plenty of Florida sunshine.

MAINTENANCE LIGHT

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Full Sun

Easy!

SPECIAL EVENT

MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Art Stroll in the Gardens Sunday, March 21st Plan to join us for our 2nd annual Art Stroll in the Gardens. Back by popular demand, you’ll love taking an enchanting turn through Rock City Gardens while enjoying the creativity of our finest local craftsmen and artisans. A fabulous variety of art and media will be displayed as well as delicious eats and entertainment.

SPECIAL EVENT

Rock City Gardens was a Featured Expert at GardenFest 2020 Our talented growers, Shirley Barton and Farrah Tyler, headlined an Ask the Experts session at GardenFest 2020 in Riverside Park on Sunday, February 2nd. Fielding questions about homegrown plants and flowers, they helped garden enthusiasts understand what grows best in our area, which plants and flowers are readily available this time of year, and the unique growing process that Rock City implements to grow their own healthy flowers right on site.

POPULAR QUESTION FROM ATTENDEES:

Do any plants maintain year-round growth in our area?

ANSWER: Several

plants maintain their growth and beauty throughout the year, including but not limited to, Blue Daze (part of the “Blue My Mind� series), Ice Plant (and other succulents) and Lantana to name a few.

For more garden facts and finds, ask for Shirley or Farrah during your next visit to Rock City Gardens!

STAFF SPOTLIGHT

Meet Farrah Some of us discover at a young age exactly what we were meant to do in life. As we grow and mature – much like a garden – we realize that our early passion can be cultivated for a career.

That’s what Farrah Tyler, our Assistant Grower, discovered.

As a child growing up in West Virginia, she learned a deep appreciation of plants and flowers. Her mother would take her for long nature walks and identify different vegetation growing along the paths. Every year they grew vegetables and fruits in a large homegrown garden and always had beautiful flower gardens in their yard.

“My grandmother taught me to cook what we grew and take advantage of all the delicious

benefits of homegrown vegetables. I loved working the garden because I got to reap its goodness,” she said.

Farrah’s grandfather worked for the Department of Natural Resources and, according to her, was “forward-thinking.”

He was always trying new gardening methods like raised-beds gardens in the 1980’s, long before it was common. She learned right alongside him.

Soon after a curious, fateful visit to Rock City Gardens in 2017, she joined the team as a weekend associate. Within six months, she was hired full time. And within a year she was promoted to Assistant Grower, working alongside Head Grower,

Farrah Tyler ASSISTANT GROWER

Shirley Barton. As Farrah explains it, she and Shirley are like “two peas in a pod,” often knowing what the other is thinking before even asked.

“I tend to take control of whatever I’m doing, going from 0 to 100 as I take in as much knowledge as possible,” Farrah said, “and it worked to my benefit because Rock City appreciates the initiative.”

Understandably so, she loves “plant people” as she affectionately calls gardeners, and the joy they bring to everyone. Gardeners tend to be happy and that’s an added benefit of working in the retail garden business!

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GARDEN BOUTIQUE

MESMERIZING ART GLASS Made from handblown, recycled glass, our new ornamental orbs are stunning additions to our Garden Boutique this month. Like flowers in a garden, no two ornaments are alike. They can be hung or displayed indoors or outdoors. Whether displayed as a single ornament or as a brilliant collection of artistry, when the sunlight hits these delicate orbs, they project a colorful light.

Each has a special story expressed on a themed sentiment card and includes a gift box.

How does your garden grow?

Rock City Gardens continues to grow in all the right directions. In addition to our seven acres of inspiration in Wabasso, we will soon be opening a new, oceanside retail location in Vero Beach. Watch for exciting details coming your way soon! From all of us at Rock City, Happy Valentine’s Day! A love note to you: Love what you grow, and it will love you back tenfold.

9080 U.S. Hwy 1 Sebastian, Florida PO Box 700808 Wabasso, FL 32970

acres of inspiration

772.589.5835 RockCityGardens.com

Monday through Friday 8:00am – 5:00pm Saturday and Sunday 9:00am – 5:00pm © 2013-2020 Rock City Gardens