by Gloria Ballard | Aug 4, 2023
If you’re concerned about the environment, you want to make sure your landscape practices are not harming the planet with unnecessary chemicals, unsafe practices or excessive use of resources. Gardens of Babylon shares your concern, and can take eco-friendly care of your landscape with regular maintenance of your yard and gardens.
“It’s really a three-pronged approach: using organic materials, appropriate maintenance, and paying attention to what’s successful in the landscape,” says landscape designer Chloe Barrett, a maintenance specialist on Gardens of Babylon’s design team.
Fertilizers are sourced from organic materials (never glyphosate or other harmful chemicals); when a pesticide is called for, the choice is natural Neem oil or other non-chemical measures. Maintenance procedures include proper pruning practices, and timely trimming and care of perennial and annual garden beds.
“One of the biggest issues is site analysis,” Barrett says, explaining that designers consider the light, water and soil needs of plant placement in a design plan. If you continue to plant something that fails, you’re not just throwing away the plant, she says, you’re also wasting the resources that went into growing it and bringing it to your landscape. “Making proper recommendations for the site is critical to landscaping,” she says.
Considering the lawn
“Turf is, by nature, a bit of a sign of luxury,” Barrett says. “One of the big things I see is that clients are becoming more educated about the use of chemicals. People realize that violets and clover are appealing.”
For clients who still don’t share the appeal, Barrett admits that weed management without chemicals is a challenge. In that case, eco-maintenance includes regular aeration and overseeding to allow turfgrass to thrive, and manual control – digging and pulling weeds as they appear. It’s also important to make sure irrigation systems are in order and there are no drainage issues in the lawn that would affect the growth of turfgrass.
Gardens of Babylon’s natural turf care is a six-step program of weed control, fungal treatment, dethatching, fertilization and insect control.
“Those are the overarching issues that can be addressed for a more sustainable landscape.”
Maintenance on schedule
A typical regular maintenance plan includes two large cleanups each year, in February or March ahead of the growing season, and again in the fall to prepare the landscape for winter. Spring tasks may include pruning ornamental or fruit trees, cutting back roses, maintaining boxwoods, removing the first flush of cool-weather weeds, and a spring mulching to prevent soil moisture evaporation and germination of weed seeds in garden beds.
Throughout the growing season, regular maintenance includes a visit every couple of weeks so weeds don’t grow out of control “Many gardeners enjoy doing the work and just want us to come out and do the heavy lifting,” Barrett says. “We make sure our clients don’t miss the flowers for the weeds.”
Fall tasks would include cutting back perennials and putting beds to rest for the season, adding a secondary layer of mulch if requested.
Mosquito control is also among the available services, using organic methods. “It’s not a blanket pesticide, but it does prevent the formulation of larva over time,” Barrett says. Eco-friendly leaf services can be arranged in the fall. “We like to mulch the leaves on-site to return organic material to the soil.”
Personal Farmer
For clients who have the desire for home-grown produce but not the time or ability to grow it, Gardens of Babylon offers a full-scale vegetable- or fruit-planting service — “Everything from designing raised beds, installing plants and providing ongoing maintenance,” Barret says.
The Personal Farmer makes regular visits to feed and weed and make sure everything is healthy. Harmful insects are eliminated with a spray of food-grade insecticidal soap. “We can come on a monthly basis to keep everything in check,” she says. “Most of our personal farmer clients get a twice-a-year install and two or three maintenance visits through the season.”
Commitment to sustainability
Sustainable practices don’t stop once the landscaping crews are finished.
“We are working on a company-wide waste diversion policy of recycling and composting,” says Leah Mattix, marketing director at Gardens of Babylon. “Our garden center waste diversion from composting since 2019 is at 81,300 pounds. The landscaping roll-off dumpsters have diverted 234,000 pounds of landscape waste.
Landscaping initiatives for recycling, composting and reducing landscape waste include mowing and mulching to build organic matter on-site; mulching leaves to use in local garden projects; repurposing soil by sifting out debris and reusing it in local grading projects.
Rock and concrete pulled from jobs are recycled into aggregate for hardscape construction projects; pallets are given to vendors to be reused if they are pressure-treated; recycled or composted if they are not.
“We focus on water-wise irrigation. Our landscape designers will do sustainable designs like xeriscapes, edible landscapes, raised garden beds,” Mattix says. “We focus on local products; the stone, cedar beds, compost, and compost tea (“Develops healthy, living soil, key for healthy plants,” says Barrett) are all local.”
Even the Garden Center’s break-room supplies are either reusable or compostable. And for the convenience of customers who would rather recycle their plastic nursery pots instead of throw them in the trash, there’s a recycling bin at the Garden Center, near the loading zone.
Getting on board
Clients can begin a maintenance program at any time. “We set up a 30-minute window to talk by phone through needs and expectations, then come to your home for an on-site evaluation,” Chloe Barrett says.
To schedule a consultation for a Landscape Maintenance Program, visit the Gardens of Babylon website here.
by Gloria Ballard | May 18, 2023
Local tomatoes: Grow your own!
Ask a gardener what she grows in the kitchen garden, and the first thing she likely mentions is tomatoes. If you enjoy this nutrition-rich vegetable (technically, a fruit), nothing is better than a ripe tomato plucked from the vine in your own back yard.
What tomatoes need to grow
Tomatoes have a reputation for being finicky, but backyard gardeners have success growing them in the ground and in raised beds, and many varieties grow well in containers on the deck or patio. They do need plenty of sunlight – the most successful plants grow in at least six hours of direct sun.
In the ground or in raised beds, work the soil to a fine texture at least six inches deep. A fertilizer especially made for vegetables (such as Espoma Organic Garden-Tone or Tomato-Tone), worked into the soil at planting time, will help provide necessary nutrients.
Choose your tomatoes
Tomato plants are either determinate or indeterminate. Determinate varieties grow to a shorter height and set fruit that ripens over a few weeks, with short harvest intervals. ‘Bradley,’ ‘Roma,’ and other “paste” varieties are determinate. Most of the juicier varieties, such as ‘Better Boy,’ ‘Cherokee Purple,’ Mortgage Lifter’ and many smaller varieties such as ‘Chocolate Cherry’ are indeterminate, which grow taller and produce fruit throughout the summer until the plants are killed by frost.
Which type you choose depends on how you plan to enjoy them. For making sauce or paste, select a determinate variety, which will yield sizable harvests of sturdy tomatoes all at once. For the very best BLT sandwiches all summer, choose a big, juicy variety like ‘Big Boy’ or ‘Beefmaster.’
Planting tomato transplants
After the danger of frost is past, plant tomato transplants deep enough to completely cover the root ball. Transplants that have grown tall and leggy can be planted even deeper, which allows the plant to develop roots along the buried stem. Leave enough space between plants – 18 to 24 inches – for them to grow and spread. Indeterminate varieties will need to be staked or supported in cages to keep the plants and their fruit off the ground, and it’s best to install those at planting time to avoid damaging the plant’s roots later.
Water the transplants at planting time, and plan to provide ½ inch to ¾ inch of water to the root zone twice a week if it doesn’t rain. Mulch that covers the ground around the plants helps retain moisture in the soil and suppresses the growth of weeds in the garden bed. As the plant grows, you may want to remove suckers – secondary shoots that grow in the joint between a branch and the stem – to reduce the overall sprawl of the plant.
Tomato-growing pains
One of the most common problems with ripening tomatoes is a disease called blossom-end rot, which causes a dark, leathery patch to spread on the bottom – where the tomato formed from the flower – of each tomato. The cause is an inadequate level of calcium in the fruit, which gets its nutrients from the soil.
The best advice is to have the soil tested before you plant a garden, which will allow you to know the soil’s pH level and whether you need to add garden lime (calcium carbonate) to the soil. Lime raises the soil’s pH, the measure of acidity or alkalinity from 0 – 14, with 7 being pH- neutral. A pH number below 7 is considered acid soil; above is alkaline. Tomatoes grow best in soil of pH 6.1 or above. Maintaining uniform soil moisture helps plants take up the calcium dissolved in soil.
Harvest the fruit when it begins to turn from green to red. They will ripen further after they are picked, and you can soon enjoy the rich summer flavor of those home-grown tomatoes.
by Gardens of Babylon | Apr 25, 2023
A gardener whose landscape spaces are overshadowed by mature trees may have mixed feelings about this: there’s plenty of shade to relax in on a hot July day, Right? But just try to grow a rosebush – or any of those much-loved perennials that need abundant sunshine — in that shady garden. You are facing frustration. Unless you want to lose the trees (which, in my opinion, you most definitely do not!) you may have to re-think what will thrive in your shaded spaces. Fortunately, there are many choices of shade-tolerant and shade-loving perennials to grow for color and texture in your landscape. Here are 10 that should thrive in shady garden beds.
First, define “Shade”
What’s the quality of the shade in your landscape? Part shade/part sun? Light shade? Full shade? Information from Tennessee Master Gardeners provides straightforward explanations: Part Shade (or semi-shade, half shade) means the garden gets full sun part of the day and full shade part of the day. Light shade is what some also call dappled shade, the “moving” light and shadows made by the sun filtering through the leaves of deciduous trees. Full shade means that direct sunlight never reaches a plant’s leaves. This is probably the most easily understood, but the most difficult place for plants to thrive. Even so, there are plants that flourish in full shade.
Perennial favorites for part shade
Astilbe. Some gardeners call this plant false spirea; others may call it meadowsweet. It has fern-like foliage and blooms in feathery white, pink, peach, red or purple plumes. This plant can be a mainstay in your partly shady spaces where the soil is moist (but not soggy), or where you’re most likely to keep it watered; Astilbe hybrids don’t care for dry soil. Bleeding Heart. Despite the name, bleeding hearts may evoke a smile when they bloom in your part-shade beds. The flowers of Dicentra (its botanical name) resemble a string of pink or white heart-shaped charms that dangle from long, curved stems. They do best in moist, fertile soil. Early- to mid-spring is their moment to shine; after the flowers are gone, the foliage remains until about mid-summer when it, too, fades away. Columbine. This is another delicate, early-spring blooming plant that thrives in part to light shade. Aquilegia flowers may be red, yellow, pink, purple, white or bi-colored, and a bed of color combinations planted in masses can look like a party. A downside is that they may be susceptible to leaf miners, tiny insects that burrow into the foliage. They are also short-lived, and may need to be planted every few years. Hellebore. Not only is Helleborus good for shady spaces, it has the bonus feature of being evergreen and blooming in the winter when everything else is taking a break. You may know of it as Lenten rose, referring to its’ blooming generally around the religious season of Lent – and in our region, much earlier. The sturdy foliage supports nodding flowers that are available in a range of shades from creamy white to lime green, yellow, pink, plum, purple and black. Another bonus: after flowering, those blooms, though fading, stay on the plants well into spring.
These perennials love light shade
Hosta. There are hundreds of varieties of Hosta, from very small to very large, in various shades of green and gold to deep green, blue-green or variegated, with spreading or upright habits. All prefer moist soil, some tolerate a moderate amount of sun, as well, as long as they get sufficient water. Their flowers are tall, sometimes fragrant spikes, but really, it’s hosta’s foliage that stands out in a landscape. Hostas also grow well in containers. Heuchera. This shade-lover, also commonly called coral bells and alumroot, is another perennial that is a reliable presence in Middle Tennessee gardens. The flowers in late spring are small, but it’s the foliage of Heuchera sanguinea that provides the most interest. The plant grows in mounds of pretty leaves in shades that range from metallic silver to purple to chocolate brown. Heuchera thrives in rich, moist soil in that light shade; too much sun during summer will cause those colors to fade. Solomon’s Seal. In early spring, upright colonies of Polygonatum blooming with rows of tiny, creamy white bell-shaped flowers is a charming sight. After the flowers fade, you still have handsome, sturdy plants whose green leaves with white margins stand out in a shady bed. As summer moves into fall, the leaves slowly fade to lemon yellow, and by winter, the stalks and leaves disappear but return reliably the following spring. Note: Solomon’s seal that is native to the U.S. has solid green foliage; the variegated species that you find in most garden centers is from Asia.
These are fine in full shade
Aucuba. If we can include one shrub in this list, let it be Aucuba japonica, an evergreen shrub that has large, glossy leaves dusted with yellow-white splotches. Aucuba grows fairly quickly, can reach 4 to 8 feet, and tolerates dry soil. If you like the look, it’s a good choice for foundation plantings and informal gardens. Ajuga. This plant, commonly called bugleweed, is a good groundcover for a full-shade area. Ajuga reptans will spread by runners to form a low-growing carpet of foliage and send up whorls of tiny blue-purple or white flowers each spring. The most attractive for landscapes has glossy purple or copper-colored foliage, adding another layer of interest. Ferns. In an area that’s not only shady but moist, ferns are a solid choice for adding texture and interest to the landscape. There are several species of hardy ferns that are perennials (don’t confuse them with ‘Boston’ or ‘Kimberly Queen’ varieties, which will not survive winter outdoors). Holly fern (Cyrtomium falcatum), Japanese painted fern (Athyrium niponicum var. pictum) and Autumn fern (Dryopteris erythrosora) are three that return and grow year after year. Visit the Gardens of Babylon Garden Center to find a wide selection of perennials for you shade garden, and for sunny spaces, as well.
by Gloria Ballard | Apr 5, 2023
Every spring, I’ve been putting the same tired geraniums on the porch near the front door. This year I decided I needed something different – I mean, don’t we all? – and I’ve chosen to go all-in on a mixed container planting to bring a shot of color to the doorstep. And while I have my own thoughts about what I like in a container, I wanted to get some fresh ideas and pointers that I can pass along. I called on Dana Stein, Gardens of Babylon’s procurement director, who was more than eager to share her knowledge of how to put together successful containers.
Before you begin
You may already have a container, or you may be in the market for a new one. Check out this article for suggestions on how to choose the best container, then fill it with good, high quality planting mix. “Don’t skimp on the soil,” Dana suggests. “Remember that you get what you pay for.” Then let the fun begin.
“The first thing to consider is if your planter will be in sun or shade,” Dana says. That, of course, will determine what you will put in it. A pot on a porch that receives sunshine all day will need sun- and heat-tolerant plants; a porch in dappled or full shade needs plants that don’t need as much sun to thrive. It’s important to know the conditions on your doorstep.
“Go to a good garden center and you’ll find sun-loving plants in one location, shade plants in another,” Dana says. Walk around and think about what you like: “Think about colors. Do you like warm colors? Bright? That will help you narrow it down.” And think about how to put them together for the best look, and what excites you: “Just do a gut check – what makes you happy?”
Thriller, filler, spiller
It’s an old but valid rule for putting together successful container plantings: Start with something tall and bold – a “thriller” plant. Add a mid-size “filler” or two, something that is eye-catching, adds color and texture, and fills the bulk of the garden space. Finally, finish with a “spiller,” something that will trail over the sides to add softness, more texture, and more interest.
“Everyone knows about this; all the pros know it,” Dana says. “Use this formula, and that’s going to make you look like a professional.”
When you plant, begin with the thriller, and consider the angles from which the garden will be seen; if it’s out in the open, place the tall plant in the center of the container and fill in all around it. If the container will be against a wall or other backdrop – as mine will be – place the tallest plant at the back of the pot, and let the fillers and spillers take front and center.
What’s the ideal number of plants to use? As many as it takes. “Pack them in!” Dana suggests. “Make it instant gratification. You want the end result to look like it’s already grown and spilling over, even after it’s just been planted.”
Care and maintenance
Plants are growing, living things, so you have to be attentive to their needs, Dana says. A container garden needs frequent watering, sometimes daily during extremely hot weather. “Put your finger in the soil two inches deep, just to check. Every day,” Dana says. “If it’s over 90 degrees, definitely containers will need to be watered every day.” Ideally, the pot is lifted a bit off the ground with pot feet or risers, she suggests. “When you water, you want to see water come out the bottom of the pot.”
The garden will also need nourishment. “Plants in containers are heavy feeders,” she says. When you water, the nutrients will leach out the bottom.” A good organic fertilizer is a must-have part of the regimen. “It’s like a healthy diet for the plants. They’ll look better if they’re being fed well.”
A bit of cosmetic attention is also necessary. “Just like we need to get haircuts and trim our fingernails. Every so often they need to be deadheaded, clipped and trimmed, especially if things start to get leggy. Get a good pair of pruners and tidy things up a little bit.”
What’s trending in container plantings?
“People are getting out of the box with their containers,” Dana says. Tropical selections that we usually think of as houseplants – snake plant, for instance – are showing up in summer container gardens, and make big statements in a planting. “Also, the oldest plant known to man, reed plants, have been really popular.” This upright, architectural bit of greenery can be an excellent “thriller,” and something a little unusual for a container.
Lower-growing annuals, grasses, and plants that provide texture as well as color are also popular choices for mixed containers, she says. Ivies, thyme and other trailing plants are the “spillers” to look for. “Just think about what makes you happy,” Dana says.
For the container at my doorstep, which will be in dappled shade most of the day, I walked around the garden center and remembered how much I like the more unusual varieties of begonias. I’d planned to start with the tall, architectural vibe that a reedy plant provides – in this case, Equisetum hyemal, or horsetail – but was drawn to the tall, sometimes spiraling growth of Juncus ‘Twisted Arrows.’
I chose two different begonias for their large, showy flowers, Hiemalis ‘Amstel Batik Orange’ and a tuberous variety, ‘Nonstop White.’ To those I added cuttings from two pass-along begonias already in my collection, an angel-wing variety and a type with large frilly leaves – official names unknown. A new, purplish creeping Jenny — Lysimachia ‘Midnight Sun’ — and the bright green Lysimachia variety that I dug out of containers I’ve had for years, spill over the rim of the pot in my new begonia garden.
If the spot for your container garden is sunny, Dana suggests a variety of sun-loving plants: container-size sunflowers, black-and-blue salvia, ‘Million Bells’ petunias, dwarf zinnias, a selection of kitchen herbs – the choices and combinations are endless.
“Remember the ‘thriller-spiller-filler’ rule, and go for the look that makes you happy,” Dana suggests.
Click here to watch Dana Stein demonstrate how to plant a container garden in “Container Planting 101.” Browse the Gardens of Babylon Garden Center, 900 Rosa L. Parks Blvd., for containers and for ideas of what to put in them.
by Emily Vogler | Nov 10, 2022
The holiday season is full of events and celebrations but also can be very stressful while you are trying to find a unique and special gift. Orchids are a perfect holiday gift for your family, friends, host or hostess of the party you are invited to. Watch as Brennan walks you through orchid care tips and tricks to help them stay happy and blooming after you receive one as a gift (or treat yourself to a new plant)!
They are a long blooming gift.
Orchids can bloom anywhere from weeks to months
Striking, elegant, exotic and unique – perfect gifts!
These plants are stunning and you can arrange them quite nicely to become an extraordinary and very impressive gift!
Orchids need very little care.
They’re very low-maintenance plants and need watering once every week or 2 to stay happy. Fertilize frequently during the growing season. Orchids thrive in bright, indirect sunlight. If you’re growing your orchids indoors, place them near a east- or west-facing window. One of the most common mistakes people make when caring for orchids is overwatering. Orchids don’t like their roots to sit in water, so it’s important to let the potting mix dry out between waterings. Water your orchids about once a week, or when the potting mix feels dry to the touch.
Safe for pets and people!
Orchids don’t have loose pollen grains and it makes them a safe gift for allergy sufferers. Also, orchids are safe for pets.
These plants make truly unique gifts that any plant lover would surely love to receive. We have tons in stock right now!
Bleeding Heart.
Heuchera.
Solomon’s Seal
Ajuga.
Visit the 
