March 17, 2011 Newsletter

Spring is every gardener's favorite time of year. With daylight lasting until 8:00, there is plenty of time for after-work gardening therapy! Starting this weekend through Mother's Day, Kerby's is open until 7:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays to make sure you get all of the beautiful plants you need to create a lovely landscape. Some great new arrivals came into the nursery this week, including beautiful plants from the Southern Living plant collection like Obsession Nandina and Purple Diamond Loropetalum, as well as colorful daisies, pentas to keep those butterflies happy and foxgloves (pictured) for bold spring flowers. It's spring, so let's get gardening.

It's already an exciting year at Kerby's. Check out the event calendar for the fun workshops and events we have planned, including our first ever kids event, the Easter Egg Hunt and our tantalizing Tropical Fruit workshop. It's a great year to Discover the Fun of Gardening.

Happy Gardening,
Kim, Joey and Mark

In This Issue
Contain Yourself

Upcoming Events

Contain Yourself

Make your patio, pool or porch pop this season with a beautiful container garden. Kerby's has lots of beautiful pottery in cool molten colors as well as Caribbean blue and fiery reds, oranges and yellows. There is a color for every style. And the boardwalk is bursting with colorful plants that will make your container gardens really catch people's eyes. Just try to Contain Yourself!

The easiest way to think about container gardening is in three parts: thriller, filler and spiller.

First, you want a Thriller. This is the focal piece for the container garden and it is usually a taller plant. A colorful croton, or a wispy grass makes a great centerpiece.

Second, select the Fillers. These are plants or flowers that take up the middle height of the container and make the garden full. Try an assortment of winter annuals for beautiful, seasonal color.

Lastly, choose a spiller. This is a plant or plants that cascade down the front or sides of your container and add an extra dimension. Some of our favorite spillers are wire vine or ivy.

To plant the garden, start by filling your container with a good planting soil about two-thirds full. We use either Kerby's Planting Soil or Fafard Complete Planting Mix. Now arrange the plants on top of the soil until they are just right. Fill in the spaces between plants with soil and add a good control-release fertilizer. Make sure that you remove any air pockets by pressing down on the soil. Water in well.

Container gardens have endless possibilities. Create simple, easy themed gardens by choosing plants of the same color or with a particular theme. Why not create a pizza garden, with bright red petunias, oregano, basil and a tomato plant or a Jurassic garden with ferns, ivy and impatiens. Let your imagination go wild, but always try to contain yourself!

Upcoming Events

Kerby's has lots of fun planned for the garden in 2011, including workshop favorites on vegetables, herbs and roses, as well as some new kids gardening events that will get the whole family involved. 2011 will be a great year to Discover the Fun of Gardening.

Workshop: Classic Southern Gardens
Saturday, March 26th at 10:00 am

Want to create a classic southern garden with camellias, gardenias and azaleas. Come out and learn about the best way to plant, prune and care for these classic shrubs.

Kerby's Kids Gardening Activity
Saturday, April 2 from 10am - 2pm

Little hands, a little dirt and lots of fun; it's the first ever Kerby's Kids event. Come out with the family for this fun event that will let everyone get there hands a little dirty. The kids will get to learn a little about plants, and create their own masterpiece to take home and watch grow.

Workshop: Tropical Fruit Trees
Saturday, April 9th at 10:00 am

Juicy and delicious, there is nothing like picking fruit from a tree you've grown and eating it on the spot. Whether you like mangos or jakfruit, kiwi or papaya, or jaboticaba and custard apple, there is a fruit to fit every taste. After the workshop, you'll be able to sample some of the delicious fruits that can be grown in our area.

Kerby's Kids Workshop: Butterfly Gardening
Saturday, April 16 at 10am

The delightful flutter of butterflies in your yard - it's like nature is trying to show off. Come out to this workshop to learn how to create your own beautiful butterfly garden. The workshop will include a demo planting and will be kid-friendly, so bring the whole family for a little fun in the garden.

Kerby's Kids Event: 2nd Annual Easter Egg Hunt
Saturday, April 23rd at 10:00 am

Bring your Easter basket and get ready for a whole lot of fun . . . it's the 2nd annual Easter Egg Hunt at Kerby's. Starting right at 10:00am, be ready to hunt and see how many Easter Eggs you can find amongst the beautiful flowers.

Workshop: Growing Roses
Saturday, April 30 at 10am
Presented by the Tampa Rose Society

A rose by any other name . . . can grow in your garden. Discover everything you need to plant and care for beautiful roses at this workshop presented by the Tampa Rose Society.

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