The Early Bloomer September 2013

The Early Bloomer seven acres of inspiration

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER

SEPTEMBER 2013

From the Garden to the Table in this issue From the Garden to the Table Hardscapes and Landscapes: A More Perfect Union Sunny September Picks Mark Your Calendar How Does Your Garden Grow?

It Pays to Engage

Vegetables and Herbs available this season at Rock City Gardens Offered in 6" or 1 gallon pots 44 varieties of herbs and the following vegetables: Eggplant Black Beauty Broccoli Major Hybrid Pepper Garden Salsa Pepper Sweet Banana Pepper King Arthur Hybrid Cherry Tomato Sungold Cherry Tomato Sweet 100 Grape Tomato Sprite Tomato Early Girl VFF Hybrid Tomato Cherokee Chocolate Tomato Celebrity VFFNTA Hybrid Tomato Florida 91 VFF Hybrid Tomato Superbeafsteak Tomato Burgess Stuffing Tomato Mortgage Lifter (heirloom)

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gardening

From the Garden to the Table Vine-ripened tomatoes, sweet corn on the

plants? Each fall, their horticulture experts

cob, fresh asparagus and beautiful beets –

grow more than seven varieties of robust

there’s nothing quite like vegetables and fruits

tomatoes, beautiful varieties of lettuce,

handpicked from the garden, prepared with

colorful peppers and more. The height of

love and served the same day. It doesn’t get

the vegetable growing season in our coastal

any fresher, tastier or healthier! A bountiful

community is October through April, so now

crop means friends and family also enjoy the

is the ideal time to start preparing. Whether

fruits of your labor.

it’s an ornamental lettuce bowl, fragrant pots

Tom and Rhonda Lowe, owners of Rock City Garden, know the benefits that a vegetable and herb garden can produce. Tom spends much of the summer at their home in Waynesville, NC tending to and cultivating a large vegetable, fruit and flower garden. Juicy heirloom tomatoes, aromatic dill, jalapeños, asparagus, kale, cucumbers and blueberries are just a few of their favorites. Here’s a

of fresh herbs or a few tomato plants, you can easily enjoy healthy, organic veggies throughout the winter months. Spend a few minutes with Shirley at Rock City Gardens and learn what we are growing that will be available later this month, and what best suits your personal taste. Soon you can start enjoying the freshness of vegetables straight from your garden.

secret: you haven’t had a pickle until you’ve tasted Tom’s crisp, homemade dill pickles.

Delicious! © Zbigniew Kościelniak | Dreamstime Stock Photos

You know Rock City Gardens for the thousands of fresh flowers that they grow every year in their on-site green houses and flower houses. But did you know they also grow an abundance of fresh vegetable

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hardscapes

Hardscapes and Landscapes: a more perfect union We knew when we expanded our services and launched our hardscape division in 2012 that it would likely be a natural fit for our nursery. Anytime you install a new paver driveway, pool deck, sitting wall or outdoor kitchen, your attention immediately turns to the landscaping around those areas.

We now make it even easier to plan, design and install hardscapes and landscaping in your outdoor living areas – all within a budget that fits your need.

We have experienced tremendous success with our new hardscape division, and many of our clients share with us that we’ve exceeded their expectations. Much of that is due to our talented team, including Wade Baxley, General Manager. He brings more than 15 years of hardscape and landscape experience to the table. Clients are discovering the benefits and pleasures of working with our team of hardscape designers and horticulture experts. They love what they do, and it shows.

If you haven’t visited Rock City since our installation of the hardscape area adjacent to our Garden Center, it’s worth another visit. While you’re there, stroll through our green houses, where we grow more than 20,000 geraniums each year. Visit the flower houses where you’ll find an abundance of sun and shade annuals, and discover our native plants area.

We promise you won’t be disappointed. You’ll be inspired!

For a personal consultation, please contact Wade at 772.589.5841.

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Special One-Day Belgard Event October 19th Join us for this one-day event featuring Belgard’s mobile showroom. From outdoor kitchens and living rooms to patio pavers and walkways, this will be the ideal opportunity to get design ideas and see the latest hardscape styles and colors.

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container garden of the month

Sunny September Picks We all know that September is usually hot and humid in Florida.

Just as we deal with the wilting humidity and heat in our daily routines, your plants are enduring the same. So we chose these gorgeous tropicals for our container garden of the month.

These heat tolerant plants are ideal for this time of year and include Heliconia ‘Andromeda’, Croton ‘Petra’, mahogany fern, neanthabella palm and Alocasia ‘Polly’.

Heliconia ‘Andromeda’

neanthabella palm mahogany fern

Croton ‘Petra’

Alocasia ‘Polly’

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special events

Mark Your Calendar Watch for Rock City’s upcoming special events in our emails, newsletters, website and Facebook postings. You will not want to miss our seminars and events, including:

Special One-Day Outdoor Living Event October 19th Join us for this one-day event at Rock City Gardens, featuring Belgard’s mobile showroom. From outdoor kitchens and living rooms to patio pavers and walkways, this will be an ideal opportunity to get design ideas and see the latest hardscape styles and colors.

Medicinal Herbs Seminar October 26th Local herbalists, InTune, will present the benefits of medicinal herbs.

New Garden Center Hours To better serve our customers and landscape professional clients, we’re expanding our hours of operation. Starting Monday, September 30th Rock City Gardens’ hours will be as follows: MONDAY – FRIDAY 8:00 am – 6:00 pm SATURDAY – SUNDAY

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9:00 am – 5:00 pm

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Growing culinary herbs in the garden is ideal for health conscious people and for those who relish the delicious flavor of fresh herbs. It is also a beautiful and natural decorative element. Also called ‘cooking herbs’, the leaves of the culinary herbs are used either in the fresh or dried form for cooking. Basil, chive, dill, oregano, parsley, sage and thyme are some of the most common varieties.

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It Pays to Engage For quick updates and garden tips, follow Rock City Gardens on Facebook. It’s a great way to engage with other garden enthusiasts and to see what’s happening at the Gardens. Mention our Facebook page when you visit Rock City during the month of September and receive 20% off your total, one-time purchase. It’s our way of saying thanks for “liking” us!

seven acres of inspiration

9080 U.S.. Hwy 1, Wabasso, Florida 32970 772-589-5835 RockCityGardens.com

The Early Bloomer © Rock City Gardens