Many gardeners are saddened when the weather begins cooling, because they believe the colder weather will hail the end of color in their garden. A yard filled with beautiful flowers in summer and fall suddenly seems impossible to duplicate when the weather is cold and the sun is hiding. But there are two plants that are becoming increasingly popular and cheering up winter gardens.

Let us introduce you to "flowering cabbage" and "ornamental kale." These ornamental plants look much the same as their cousins bred for the table, but have been bred specifically for their showy colors and ruffled foliage. They come in a variety of colors, ranging from white to pinks, purples, or reds. (The ornamentals are edible, but not bred for taste.)

More important, these plants can survive winter temperatures as low as 5 degrees (and with some protection, they can survive even lower temperatures). While a sudden severe cold can be deadly to seedlings or new transplants, these plants will do just fine if given time to acclimate. What is more interesting, a light to moderate frost will even help intensify their brilliant colors. They actually prefer the cold and don't do at all well in the summer months.

Both flowering cabbage and ornamental kale prefer to be planted in the full sun but will tolerate some shade (although their colors might not be as intense). As with all other annuals, they do best when planted in rich soil. So, for best results, amend the soil before planting. We also recommend feeding them every two weeks to keep them looking their best. In addition, they do very well in pots, making them great for adding a bit of color on patios and around entrances.

It's Pumpkin Time!

It's that time of year that so many of us look forward to. Next to Christmas, Halloween and the fall harvest season is the most popular time of year, and we want to celebrate it with you!

We offer pumpkins in many shapes and sizes in addition to other fall décor to help turn any home into a fall harvest paradise. We are the perfect place to shop for all of your Halloween and fall decorating needs. Hurry in while supplies last!

1. Plant all types of permanent landscape plants other than bare-root and tropicals.
2. Plant trees, shrubs and vines.
3. Choose plants for fall and winter color in your garden.
4. Continue to shop for spring-blooming bulbs.
5. Plant lilies as soon as you get them home.
6. Buy daffodils, grape hyacinths, ranunculus, anemones and Dutch irises; keep them in a cool, dry place until planting time.
7. Purchase hyacinth, tulip, and crocus bulbs; pre-chill them in the refrigerator.
8. Plant cool-season flowers for winter and spring bloom.
9. Plant wildflowers.
10. Plant cool-season lawns; this is the best time of year for this job.
11. Plant cool-season vegetables and year-round vegetables, including carrots and some perennial vegetables.
12. Thin out sweet peas and pinch them back to force branching.
13. Divide, trim, and mulch plants that tend to grow in a clump and that need to be divided, including clivia, iris, daylily, gazanias, and perennials like Shasta daisies.
14. Cut back zonal and ivy geraniums; finish pruning Martha Washingtons.
15. Divide hardy water lilies.
16. Dig up, divide and replant perennials; put unwanted ones in the mulch pile.
17. Cut off runners from strawberries, gather them in bunches, and pre-chill them for November planting.
18. Feed fuchsias.
19. Continue to treat blue hydrangeas with aluminum sulfate.
20. Stop fertilizing chrysanthemums and just enjoy the blooms.
21. Feed roses early in October; don't fertilize in November.
22. Water deciduous fruit trees more sparingly in fall.
23. Water roses with up to 1 1/2 inches of water twice a week, unless it rains.
24. Finish pulling out faded annual flowers and cleaning pots and beds for fall.
25. Thoroughly clean up the vegetable garden; pull up the last of the summer crops and compost the remains (if you have had fungus or disease problems, skip the composting and get rid of them instead).

How can I get my flowers to bloom more?

Answer:
Most flowers and flowering plants need three essential ingredients to bloom: sunlight, nutrients, and warm soil. Even shade plants like azaleas and camellias need some sunlight in order to bloom. If your flowers are sun lovers, make sure they get at least five hours of sunlight per day--the more sunlight the better.

Key nutrients for blooming plants are phosphorus and potash. While most plants need some nitrogen to help them grow and stay green, too much can focus the plant on growing instead of blooming. Nitrogen is also more readily available in the soil and more easily taken up by the plant.

Feed flowering plants with a high phosphorus and potash but low nitrogen flower food. If that still doesn't work, starve it of nitrogen by feeding it with a 0-10-10 fertilizer.

Finally, make sure you don't water your plants too often. Allow the soil to dry out some between waterings. This allows the soil to warm up. If you water too much, the plants will often produce excessive fleshy growth and no blooms.