The Most Fun You Can Have With Your Bibs On!
Variegated Liriope (Liriope muscari ‘Variegata’) is one of my all-time favorite plants to use as a border around a planting bed or along a sidewalk or even a driveway. They are colorful, low growing and they flower in mid-summer with purple flowers on short spikes about 12″ tall. Probably closer to 8″ tall. Unlike hosta,… Click here to read more…
Hydrangea pruning! When is the best time? When is the correct time? I promise to make this easy once and for all. You can grow and sell plants just like this and people will go crazy over them. Getting started is easy. Start right now! Hydrangeas are confusing, to say the least, but in this article,… Click here to read more…
I wrote an article about Weed Barrier Fabric and lots and lots of people said; “Hey Mike, if weed control fabric isn’t good, how do we control weeds? So here’s the low down on weeds and how they think. Think about weeds and what they need. They need water, nutrition, and sunlight to thrive. Since… Click here to read more…
In my opinion, and I have plenty of experience to back it up, weed barrier fabrics and weed barrier cloths do not work! How about black plastic? Black plastic doesn’t work either. I’ve spent most of my life working in the landscaping industry. I’ve landscaped well over 500 homes. Many of those were re-landscapes. In way too… Click here to read more…
What are we doing to our trees? They treat us well, provide us with shade, fruit, and beauty. Why are we so mean to them? I’d like to take a moment and call out Arborist Blair Glenn for the work that he has been doing to educate America about the proper care and pruning of trees. If you… Click here to read more…
This latest mulching technique that is detrimental to trees has been nicknamed “Volcano Mulching” for good reason. I’m not sure where or how this started but it is destroying trees in landscapes across America. Probably beyond our borders as well, but I don’t know for sure about that. Take a look at these two photos. Notice… Click here to read more…
My father would be so proud to see the three generations of McGroarty Nurserymen. I’d love to add at least one McGroarty girl to this crew but so far we have three little boys in the family. We’re counting on Kevin and Grace to add the girl or girls to the mix. Time will tell. EDIT… Click here to read more…
Weeping Nootka Cypress, Chamaecyparis nootkatensis ‘Pendula’ I’m not sure I can explain why, but the Weeping Nootka Cypress is one of my favorite evergreens. I guess because it can be considered a non compliant evergreen because it has it’s own style and it’s own personality. Like Willie Nelson. They need little pruning, however I do… Click here to read more…
I get a lot of questions from gardeners in Canada who would like to get started Growing and Selling Small Plants from Home. But the one thing that seems to hold them back is not being able to buy plants from my wholesale sources in the United States to start their Backyard Nurseries. It is… Click here to read more…
What? How can mulch set a house on fire? When I first read this story in the newspaper, I thought to myself, no way. Mulch, spread out in a flower bed, is not deep enough for it to spontaneously ignite. I realize that any organic material that is moist, piled high and compacted will heat up… Click here to read more…
Aluminum plant tags that don’t fade really are permanent. Most of us who garden and tag our plants for future reference learn pretty quickly that permanent markers are not as permanent as you think when out in the sun and other elements. I’ve tried permanent markers, industrial markers, paint markers and even “plant” markers. They… Click here to read more…
Friends, I’ve been growing and have had Java Red Weigela in my landscape for years and I promise you, this is a very, very nice plant. Like almost all flowering shrubs it should be pruned at least once a year to maintain a nice shape, but the nice thing about Java Red is that it… Click here to read more…
If you want to do something that’s really fun in your yard, give this a try. The art or technique of air propagating, commonly known as air layering, has been around for years. But my friend Hong has created a little plastic device that makes the process simple. Watch the video… Air-layering is a method of… Click here to read more…
Heuchera, ‘Coral Bells’ will wake up your yard. Your neighbors will be envious! I’ve written about Coral Bells before but I’ve got some new pictures that I just have to share with you. These are some of the coolest (I know, saying “cool” shows my age) plants that I’ve ever added to a landscape. And… Click here to read more…
An Open Letter to Small Business Owners. Thank you! and a promise from me. Please share this with every small business owner that you know. They deserve it more than you know. Dear small business owner, I know you. I know who you are and what you stand for. I think everybody in America and… Click here to read more…
Golden Curls Willow, Salix matsudana tortuosa The Golden Curls Willow, also called Corkscrew Willow by some, is a fun and interesting tree with an elegant and graceful appearance. This Golden Curls Weeping Willow is in my front yard. At the end of the growing season, I always trim it up about as high as I… Click here to read more…
I love this tree! -Mike McGroarty The Lavender Twist Weeping Redbud tree is an awesome specimen that everybody should have in their yard. The photos you see here are The Lavender Twist that I had in my front yard of the house we just sold. Redbud trees have an interesting way of displaying… Click here to read more…
Is it too warm too soon. How will it affect our plants. I am not going to sugar coat this. I am deeply concerned about this really, really warm weather this early in the year. It’s beautiful outside. Spent some time on the porch yesterday. It was really, really nice out. Pam, my wife, had… Click here to read more…
I wrote this article about Zoysia grass and sent it to my newsletter list. Living in the north I truly am not much of an expert on Zoysia grass so I did a little research to write this article. But once I sent the article I received feedback from my subscribers. Some it very positive… Click here to read more…
Somers Point and Mays Landing, New Jersey Holbrook Acres Nursery LLC Halfway between Somers Point and Mays Landing, New Jersey on Route 559, Mays Landing Somers Point Road. Shrub Sale $4.97 We have 4″ pots, half gallon and gallon shrubs and trees ready to go! Also Rooted Cuttings (RC’s). Abelia (Edward Goucher, Glossy, Rose… Click here to read more…
