It’s Never Too Late to Start an Herb Garden!

Herb gardening is fun and easy. It can provide a great variety of foliage, texture and it doesn’t require a lot of space! You can start an herb garden in a small garden bed, in a patio pot or even in a hanging basket.

If you can ever remember a time that you’ve gone to the spice rack/drawer/etc in your kitchen and realized you were out of a certain item, then it might be beneficial to start an herb garden! Herbs can be grown from seed or you can purchase herbs from your local nursery, such as Lynde Greenhouse & Nursery. We carry a wide variety of herbs: basil, chive, cilantro, dill, lavender, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, spearmint and thyme.

This is a picture a customer sent us of her herb garden. She has oregano, cilantro and basil in a patio pot on her deck. Notice the mulch in the pot. This will really help her out on hot hot summer days when she forgets to get out and water, the mulch will help to keep the soil cool and prevent it from drying out faster. Also notice the little flowers on the oregano, in the top left of the picture, time to pinch that oregano!

Herbs do not need a lot of fertilizer. Plant your herbs with a good fertilizer mixed in with the soil at the beginning for best results. Keep in mind that the more fertilizer that is added, can change the oils in the plants which give them their flavor. Be sure to check the individual plants for watering specifications, but generally most herbs prefer a dryer soil, unlike a tomato that prefers to have moist soil.

Harvest your herbs in the morning, to avoid warm weather shock. Plants should only be harvested when there is enough remaining foliage to maintain growth. Regardless of if the herbs will be used fresh or dried to be used later, they should be washed in cold water after being pinched off of the plant.

If you are looking to dry your herbs, hang them upside down after washing to allow the water to evaporate. Remove the lower leaves from the stems and tie the bunch together with a rubber band or twine at the stems. Be sure not to overcrowd your bundle of herbs, as they need proper ventilation to be able to dry out. You’ll want to find a dry and dark place for the herbs to dry out, a place that is temperature warm but not humid. Herbs need between 1-3 weeks to fully dry out. The herbs are done drying out when you can crumble a leaf between two fingers.

Store your dried herbs in an airtight jar. Remove the leaves from the stem and place them in the jar. They can be kept whole or finely crushed between your fingers. They can be kept for about a year. Happy Herbing!

Earth Day!

Celebrating Earth Day, better late than never. Rather than celebrating Earth Day on the traditional 2011 date of April 27, this Coon Rapids middle school chose to celebrate it closer to the end of the school year with warmer weather. We were along for the ride to help with green tips, gardening tips and the actual planting of the flowers and shrubs on the property. Each class period throughout the day had a different activity to participate in. Some groups planted flowers, pulled weeds around the building and picked up brush and debris from a nature trail. Other groups picked up trash on the premises and prepped and planted shrubs.

All in all, it was a very fun and successful day. The weather stayed clear and beautiful and all of the students stayed involved in the task at hand. They even learned quite a bit about planting flowers! Below are some pictures of our day..

Our planting area in the first steps.
Baskets and pots had to be weeded and new soil was mixed in.
Students getting involved in the planting process.
Breaking up roots and planting at the correct depth for success!

The science class had started some plants from seed.
We pulled mature plants from the classroom indoor garden and planted them outside.

Our finished products!

Hanging baskets as well as pots are among the fern and iris already in the ground

Nearing the end of our day. Weeds are pulled and the mulch around the tree area has been raked up. Colorful flowers fill the planters and hanging baskets. Students added additional mulch to the planters to prevent soil from drying out over the weekends.

Baskets filled with impatiens, begonia and lobelia.
Thanks for letting Lynde be a part of your day!

Maple Grove 5K & Half Marathon

We recently were at the Maple Grove 5K & Half Marathon as a sponsor! The weather wasn't the best, but we had a blast being out in the community at this event. We brought some bright blooming flowers to brighten up the gloomy day and a whole slew of pictures of our projects. Below are some pictures we snapped throughout the day!

Our Sponsor Area

Flowers!

Our Participants!

Random Candid

The Time For Planting Is Here!

Planting time is here and we at Lynde Greenhouse have a huge variety to choose from.

The annual flowers are blooming and are something most gardens can't be without. They provide color all season long in both garden beds, hanging baskets and pots.

The perennials are plants that come back year after year. There have been those few that are not doing that this year as I myself am experiencing to my dismay. Daylilies, Peony, Iris, Hostas, Astillbe, Coreopsis and the list goes on are classified as perennials. These plants, although they do not bloom as long as the annuals do, come back each year. Mixing seasonal perennials (those that bloom in spring, summer fall) with annuals are a very popular trend for successful bed gardening.

The trees and shrub planting time is here and we have an array of them to fill your yard with. We also have Fruits to fill your yard; Blueberries, Raspberries, Blackberries, Strawberries, Grapes, Currant, Gooseberries and Serviceberry. Also 5 varieties of apples to choose from (Honeycrisp, Sweet 16, So Sweet, Harolred and Fireside). Northstar Cherry and Mt Royal Plum, 2 varieties of Pears too.

Lots to choose from. Please stop on in and check us out. If you have questions don't hesitate to ask.

Plant now for long term enjoyment.

Donna

Herb Seminar at Lynde

Earlier this week, the North Suburban Cooks Association came to Lynde Greenhouse and had their monthly association meeting and then had an herb seminar where they learned about herbs and then planted pots of herbs!

There were many attendees and the event was a huge success!

Important meeting stuff..

Busy planting up pots!

Intense decision making

Some completed pots

Mother's Day is Sunday!

Are you still searching for the perfect gift for Mother's Day? Well search no more! Lynde Greenhouse has a plethora of great gift options! Happy shopping!

Begonia hanging baskets are great for partially shady areas

Fun thumbergia in both yellow and orange

Patio geraniums are always a classic, solid choice

A fun twist, a hibiscus tree


Very popular, climbing mandevilla

Patio pot of double impatiens

Lots of color varieties of coleus

Pillar geraniums offer loads of blooms and color

Lynde Design patio pots all have unique recipes

Maybe decoration is more her style?

Whatever you are looking for, you're sure to find a great gift that she will love at Lynde. Locally grown and maintained for over 100 years. We're celebrating our 40th anniversary in Maple Grove this year! We hope to see you soon!

Spring is Almost Here!

Hey! I thought this was May. It was snowing on my way into work this morning. As much as we are all antsy for nice weather, we really need to be patient this year. As much as I want stuff out of the greenhouse so I can space other plants, the weather is not cooperating. The last thing you want to do is take a plant out of a 70 degree enviorment and put it right out side with 40 degrees and wind. Not a good combination. Yes, this year is a little colder than usual but for the most part it is closer to how are Springs are. So don't rush into putting plants out just yet, especially tropicals. Hold off on your veggie gardens also, unless youre doing cold crops. The tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, eggplants will not be happy with you. Remember the old saying, "do as I say not as I do." Even I'm not doing any planting right now or any big pots just yet. I may seriously wait till the end of the month. At least till the night temps stay in the 50-60s and the day temps stay above 60. Other than that the plants look awesome this year and they'll be here waiting for you when the weather warms up.