Prepare Your Garden Now for Great Rewards Later

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Tips on How to Prepare Your Garden Soil this Spring Before You Plant

prepare your gardenMarch and April are the right months for gardeners to do some literal groundwork. Now is the time to prepare your garden soil so that when you’re ready to plant your vegetables, herbs and flowers you will have the choicest environment for producing a bountiful yield all summer long.

Stir things around. If you’ve let the vestiges of last year’s garden sit idle, now is the time to “dig” out the shovel and start turning those dead plants under. If small weeds and plants have managed to creep into your hallowed ground – turn them under too. Work all that vegetation into the ground and then frost your new-turned soil with a healthy layer of rich compost. Experts suggest one-half to one inch of quality compost material be worked into your garden soil.

Loosen things up. Now that you’ve stirred some nutrient-rich compost into the soil, you want to keep a good thing going. If this is your first year gardening in this spot, be sure to remove all rocks, pebbles and other debris from the soil. If this is a repeat performance spot, make sure to loosen the earth well. Winter freezes, pounding rains and other forces spent the last few months hardening the ground. To prepare your garden correctly, you’ll need to loosen all the tough, hard places until the ground is nicely broken up and aerated.

Pour something good in. The closer you get to planting time, the more you’ll need a fertilizing plan. Where you’re planning to set out plants with greedy appetites (think corn) you’ll want to prepare a deep trough for lots of fertilizer. Trenching works well. In areas where you place plants with lighter appetites (think lettuces) you can just pour fertilizer into the top inch or two of soil. Most summer vegetables like easy access to their vitamins. For big plants (think tomatoes) pour a mix of compost and fertilizer right into the planting hole.

Last, but not least, you’ll want to prepare your garden by clearly identifying where each plant is located. At Kincaid Plant Markers we sell only the best plant markers. We have prices to suit every kind of gardener. The key to great rewards later is proper groundwork now. Be sure that your groundwork is well marked with Kincaid Plant Markers. Order yours today.

Combine the Fun of Gardening and Identifying Flowers With a Little History

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Identifying Flowers for History’s Sake

identifying flowersIf you didn’t enjoy history class when you were in school it could be because you’re more of a “hands on” learner. If you’re a gardener, that’s almost certainly the case! So why not use your love of digging and growing to help someone else find a way to be interested in history by introducing heirloom flowers into your garden this spring. Use markers for identifying flowers and make a stroll through your garden akin to a stroll through history.

Why Heirloom Flowers?

Heirloom flowers provide a way to gain a connection with the gardeners who came before you. Some heirloom flowers go back to ancient civilizations. How incredible is it that you can plant a flower seed or bulb that is directly connected to those put in the ground by an Aztec gardener, for instance? Or the same tulips that graced the White House Rose Garden or tuberoses that adorned the famed walks of Versailles?

Planting heirlooms also helps keep these wonderful flowers alive and vital. Sadly, many heirloom flowers have faded from the scene over the years. These heritage plants are not re-created by synthetic means. They need to be planted in the earth by human hands in order to survive. Planting and identifying flowers from bygone years is a way to preserve history.

What are Some Good Choices?

If you are a spring gardener you could try some heritage gladiolus, dahlia, daylilies or iris flowers. These flowers are all hardy and fairly easy to grow. They also provide some fun background stories.

Dahlias: Dahlias come in fabulous colors and continue putting on a show even after other summer flowers start to fade. They look great in cut flower arrangements and the good news is that the more you cut, the more you’ll grow. These dazzlers were grown by the Aztecs and first introduced to Europe in 1789. They became popular in American around 1840.

Gladiolus: These tall, striking flowers were favorites of Victorian gardeners. Impressionist painter Claude Monet found them enchanting. The blooms are long-lived even after cutting and are true drama queens wherever they’re found.

Tuberoses: The tuberose hails from sunny Mexico and this flower likes it hot! You may have to start this one indoors if you live up North, but the heady fragrance you’ll be breathing by late summer will be well worth the added effort. These flowers are favorites with perfumers.

You can also find heirloom seeds for beauties like the tall larkspur, China aster, prickly poppy and tickseed sunflower just to name a few. Choose flowers loved by famous poets (think Emily Dickinson) or famous presidents (think Thomas Jefferson). You can choose your heirloom flowers for their color, country of origin or the people in history who enjoyed them. It’s all up to you.

At Kincaid Plant Markers we enjoy helping gardeners make history year after year. We make the markers used for identifying flowers in professional gardens and in home gardens just like yours. We hope you’ll enjoy combining history past and present this year by planting at least one heirloom bloom. Then enjoy sharing history with someone else in your garden.

The Benefits of Gardening

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Mental and Physical Health Benefits of Gardening

benefits of gardeningWhen you want to relax and unwind, what do you do? Curl up on the couch with a good book? Sit back and watch a movie or television? Listen to music? Another great choice is to step outside and spend 30 minutes digging in the dirt. Time spent in the garden can improve your body and your mind. In fact, the health benefits of gardening make it a smart move for everyone.

The idea that working in the garden is good for body and soul is hardly new. George Washington once said “I had rather be on my farm than be emperor of the world.” The attraction of gardening is one that crosses all time periods and culture barriers. Humans find rest for their spirit when they are surrounded by green and growing things.

Physical Health Benefits of Gardening

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that two and a half hours per week of gentle exercise can provide many physical health benefits. Low-intensity exercise can lower blood pressure, protect against obesity, heart disease, diabetes and even some forms of cancer. The CDC states that gardening qualifies as the kind of gentle exercise which can offer all of these health benefits. It is a total body form of exercise that can keep you living longer and healthier.

Mental Health Benefits of Gardening

If the Father of our Country knew about the delights of gardening so, too, did the father of modern psychology. Sigmund Freud said “Flowers are restful to look at.” Since that endorsement, many other mental health experts have added their voices to sing the mental health praises of gardening. Time in the garden has been shown to lower tension and stress. Potting around in the soil can alleviate symptoms of depression and many ailments linked to stress such as headache, stomachache and agitation. Some mental health professionals believe that the fresh air and exercise gained in the garden can ward off some symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Community Benefits of Gardening

The benefits of gardening are so evident, that many cities and towns have instituted community gardens. Trees clean the air and rid it of pollutants so effectively that they are sometimes called the lungs of the community. Community gardens provide spaces of rest, places for creativity and opportunities for productivity. Furthermore, property values near gardens have been shown to increase markedly. And, good for the public budget, community gardens are more economical to maintain than park land.

Kincaid Plant Markers believes in the power of the garden to do all these things and more. It’s why we decided to make a career out of providing gardeners with the quality tools that make a garden complete. Our stainless steel plant markers will clearly identify each flower, vegetable or plant and look terrific doing so year after year. Please visit us and order your own set of markers. We’d love to see everyone benefitting from the good that comes in a garden.

Identify Wildflowers From Your Region and Add Them to Your Garden

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How to Identify Wildflowers That Will Thrive for You

identify wildflowersWhile the clipped hedges and patterns of a formal garden are lovely in their own way, wildflower gardens boast an easy, breezy beauty that shine also. Best of all when you identify wildflowers indigenous to your area and incorporate them into your garden, they can thrive. Here are a few tips on how to identify wildflowers that will thrive for you with minimal effort on your part:

1. Find Wildflowers Truly Native to Your Area
Just because a flower grows wild in your area now doesn’t mean that the flower is indigenous to the region or even to North America. There are flowers, like Queen Anne’s lace, which escaped cultivation to go rogue. Even though they grow like weeds across the country, they are not true wildflowers. The best way to identify wildflowers that are truly wild and native to your region is to pick up a wildflower handbook.

2. Find the Best Source for Wildflowers
Once you’ve discovered which flowers are native to the region you can obtain them in one of two ways. You can order them as mature plants from a professional nursery or you can order wildflower seeds and grow them yourself. It may be cheaper to purchase seeds, but far less work to obtain them through the nursery.

3. Decide Where the Best Place to Plant Your Wildflowers is
As with any flower, you want to choose a location that is suitable to your plant’s needs. Does the flower require full sun, partial sun, dry soil or a damp environment? Native wildflowers are perfectly adapted to certain conditions in your area…provide those conditions and your flowers will require very little attention from you. If you think about it, these flowers are programmed to thrive in specific situations. Plants which grow in heavy shade, for example, will often produce blossoms in the early spring before towering trees leaf out and block the sun needed to create a flower. Go with what’s natural.

4. Integrate or Segregate – That is the Question
The last question to be answered is whether you want to integrate wildflowers into your existing flower beds or segregate them into their own carefree garden space. The answer is entirely a matter of personal taste.

Once you’ve made your wildflower plans, be sure to check out Kincaid Plant Markers so that you can order quality garden markers to properly label your beauties. Visitors to your garden will enjoy learning the proper names of indigenous plants. You’ll enjoy knowing that by using native flowers you have aided local wildlife who depend on local species and you’ll really enjoy how easy they are to nurture. Now, while it’s still early, identify wildflowers from your area and make a plan for adding them to your landscape.

Share Your Love of Gardening With Children (and Don’t Forget to Have Garden Markers on Hand)

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Garden Markers Are Just One Way to Include Children in Your Favorite Hobby

garden markersYou reap lots of pleasure and personal satisfaction from your time spent in the garden. You could be enjoying it even more by sharing it with the kids or grandkids in your life. Sharing your hobby with young children is a great way to bond with them and, at the same time, increase your own enjoyment. Spring rains will soon be here softening hard winter Earth and getting it ready for another growing season. To help you involve the children in your life we’ve got some ideas for making gardening a kid-friendly activity at every stage from seed to garden markers.

1. Start Them Now With Inside Prep
Before it’s warm enough to work outside you can have kids help you inside. Let them accompany you as you select seeds whether you do it via catalogue or the Home and Garden Center. Have the children take part in starting your seedlings indoors. You could start seeds in containers you make yourself with newsprint or even in cardboard egg cartons. The point is that they can start helping you right now.

2. Have Them Help With Getting the Garden Established
Once it is time to work outside, be sure to give children an active role. You can let them be part of making the rows – have them hold the string, create the furrows, put seedlings into the ground. Show kids how to use plant markers so they can properly identify plants before they grow large enough to become recognizable. Older kids can write the names on plant markers while younger tikes can have fun poking them into the soil.

3. Give Them Their Own Area
If you don’t think they’ll have the diligence to help you in your full-sized garden, why not section off part of your garden and let older kids have autonomy over their own planting and growing space. Let them choose the plants, prepare the soil and be responsible for their own garden in miniature.

4. Let Them Enjoy the Benefits
Whether you have children assist you with an herb garden or a vegetable patch, be sure they have the fun of harvesting and working in the kitchen with what they have grown. This could be chopping their own basil for spaghetti sauce made with home-grown tomatoes or using several peppers and tomatoes to create their own salsa. The point is that they experience the fun of using what they’ve grown to create delicious foods.

Why not start young introducing the kids in your life to an enjoyable lifelong hobby they can share with you? At Kincaid Plant Markers we believe in the good of home gardening. We make plant markers suitable for professional gardeners but we make markers ideal for the home gardener as well. Have some family fun in the garden this summer and when you do, we hope you’ll be using Kincaid Plant Markers.

Identifying Flowers With the Children in Your Life

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Sunflowers Are a Great Project to Share With Your Children as You Teach Them About Gardening and Identifying Flowers

identifying flowersAre you looking for a fun outdoor project to share with your children or grandchildren this spring and summer? Look no further than the all-American sunflower. A full-blown flower or vegetable garden can require too much attention when you’re busy with little ones. But growing sunflowers is quite another thing. With them, you can share the pleasure of growing and identifying flowers, attracting wildlife and even making an afternoon snack.

The Right Spot

Sunflowers need what their name suggests – plenty of sun. Find a spot in the yard which gets at least six to eight hours of bright sunshine every day and this is where your sunflowers will thrive. The soil should be rich, but not too damp. Once the flowers are established they’ll just need a good once-a-week soaking. Enriching your soil with compost is always a good idea.

The Right Variety

There are more varieties of sunflower than you might imagine. You’ll want to choose the right variety to suit your purpose. Better yet, choose several varieties and introduce children to the pleasure of identifying flowers in the garden. Here are a few to consider:

For Cut Flowers

If you’re looking to cut the flowers and bring them indoors then consider Soraya. Soraya stands six feet tall and the strong stems support fabulous cut flower blooms that won’t droop and fall over. Italian White also produces pretty blooms – an abundance of them. The plant will reach five to seven feet in height and produce delicate four inch blooms. The Giant Sungold variety offers lush double blooms that are eight inches wide atop six foot stems.

For Attracting Wildlife

Birds, bees and butterflies all enjoy sunflowers. Some are especially attractive to pollinators. Lemon Queen, for instance, is very popular with bees. So, too, is Super Snack Mix which produces gigantic seeds ideal for eating whether you are a bird, a bee or a little kid. Talking with children about supporting the endangered bee population and watching them come to visit your sunflowers would be a great summer project.

For a Splash of Color

You can plant several varieties of sunflowers and enjoy a number of different colors. The Little Becka variety stands just three feet tall and shoots out fabulous six inch blooms with petals that start out golden then become burnt orange before fading back to gold on the edge. Strawberry Blonde sunflowers start out rosy at the base and fade to yellow at the tips.

For Height Alone

A chief delight of sunflowers can be their enormous height. Children especially enjoy these towering beauties. If you want to astound kids with a giant variety, choose Mammoth Russian sunflowers which soar nine feet and over in the air and produce fabulously large seeds.

As you can see, growing sunflowers with the children in your life can be fun, educational and beautiful. Most varieties grow quickly so little kids don’t have to wait long to enjoy the rewards of planting. Be sure to take time identifying flowers with nameplates so that children can have the pride of properly naming each and every variety you plant.

When you choose sunflowers, you may be looking for different things. When you choose plant markers, however, you’ll always want ones that look great and last. At Kincaid Plant Markers, that is precisely what you’ll find: great looking plant markers that look great season after season. Visit us online and order yours today.

Identifying Plants in Your Succulent Garden

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Selecting and Identifying Plants That Require Little Care and Still Look Great

identifying plantsDo you enjoy green, growing things but your thumb is far from green? Or perhaps you are a trend-watcher and you see what’s hot in home decorating. If you answered yes to either of those questions then succulents are what you’re looking for. Because when it comes to selecting and identifying plants that require little care, it’s hard to beat succulents. And they are about to enjoy a major role as the next hot item to make your home look cutting-edge.

Succulents are a category of plant that encompasses cacti and other plants that thrive in less-than-ideal conditions. These hardy plants boast thick leaves that store water, which explains how they can thrive in dry, sandy soil under a relentless beating sun. Cacti come in a variety of sizes and shapes, but many people are put off by their prickly exterior. However, there are a large number of succulents with interesting colors, accommodating shapes and NO spikes. No wonder they are fast becoming the darling of home decorators across the country. Take a look at the pages of your favorite home magazine and you will see that succulents are everywhere.

Sempervivium
Sempervivium or always living plants are known by a handful of names of which House Leeks and Hens-and-Chicks are just two examples. These sun-loving plants can be purchased in a variety of colors, sizes and shapes. Some are a luxurious green and resemble a fully-opened blossom. Others resemble tight-bound rosettes. The Hens-and-Chicks variety boasts one momma plant the size of a salad plate with many coin-sized chicks tethered to her by underground runners.

Echeveria
Echeveria is another succulent that comes in a staggering selection of color and shape choices. Afterglow echeveria is subtle with powder pink leaves while Lipstick echeveria offers gorgeously tipped leaves in a palette of tempting colors including bold red. These succulents look especially fabulous against drab surroundings. Briar Rose grows green waxy leaves edged with red in a shape resembling – you guessed it – a rose. Choose several varieties and use name plates when identifying plants.

Paddle Plant
This succulent looks like a relaxed rosette with pale, green leaves whose edges have been tinted with a rusty red. The leaves are rounded and full and provide interest and color all year round.

Succulents are low care plants with an eye-catching appearance. They require little more than soil with adequate drainage and a bit of sun. They do well in pots or in the ground and can withstand neglect. These hardy plants not only survive infrequent watering and fuss, they are prolific in such conditions. They are great plants for snipping and sharing with friends and family.

You want plants that are easy to care for. You should expect the same from the name plates you use for identifying plants. At Kincaid Plant Markers our nameplates are constructed from stainless steel. They don’t need to come in for winter and don’t require spiffing up each spring. Ignore them and they’ll keep looking great for years to come. Order yours today.

A Low-Care Container Garden With Quality Plant Markers is the Perfect Match for a Busy Life Style

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Choose Plants, Pots and Plant Markers That Will Demand Less Time But Give More Pleasure

plant markersIt doesn’t matter if you’re single, young married or an empty-nester – a busy lifestyle is normal today. Indoor floor plans reflect a desire for less formality and maximized together-time. Outdoor spaces are following the trend. People want low-maintenance garden areas where it’s comfortable for friends and family to gather. Container gardening is an answer to this demand, but before you buy your plants, pots and plant markers, be sure that what you choose will look great with minimal time investment.

Choosing Pots

Plant containers come in many different forms. You can buy wood, metal, clay or synthetic planters and they all look great and come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They each need some kind of preparation however, from season to season.

Scrub terra cotta with dish soap and warm water if you are re-using last year’s pots. This will protect new spring plants from being infected with last season’s disease or pests. You’ll want to do the same with your synthetic pots before filling them with fresh soil. In addition, you’ll want to soak your terra cotta pots immersed in water before potting so that the clay doesn’t leach moisture from the soil.

Wood containers are attractive but will need to be emptied of soil and treated with a non-toxic preservative to prevent moist soil from damaging the planter. You can also line the wood planter with plastic and poke holes in the bottom to ensure adequate drainage.

Stainless or galvanized steel containers should stand up to weather without rusting. However, if you drill any holes in the metal be sure to apply an anti-rusting agent all around the area.

Choosing Plants

The easiest care plants are those native to your region. Choose plants that match your amount of shade or sunlight. And while everyone enjoys lovely colored petals, you can choose plants for their interesting foliage and still get a big wow factor. It’s also nice to repeat plants or shapes – even containers – in your potted garden. Think about what makes for a pleasing fresh or silk flower arrangement and carry those concepts over into your container garden.

Choosing Plant Markers

If you want a low-care garden spot, you’ll want low-care plants and pots and even low-care plant markers. Since the plant marker you purchase from Kincaid Plant Markers is made of galvanized or stainless steel you can be sure that it will be looking terrific from season to season. Whether you’re married or single, have kids or just have a full social calendar what you want is more time enjoying and less time worrying about your garden. That’s exactly what you’ll get with a Kincaid plant marker.

Identifying Shrubs That Fit With Your Landscape Design

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Use Placards for Identifying Shrubs as Well as More Exotic Garden Inhabitants

identifying shrubs
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When an artist is composing a painting, they first imagine how the completed work will look. Then they roughly brush in the major components. The artist typically works from the background forward, filling in minute details at the very end. This approach is a good roadmap for garden design as well. Shrubbery can be used to create an interesting backdrop or used to fill in blank spaces as a minor detail. Identifying shrubs that will work well in your landscape design can therefore help you at all stages of the creative process.

Identifying Shrubs for the Background


Maybe you want to create an attractive privacy hedge. Perhaps you want to mask an unattractive foundation area. You might be looking for a way to paint a wall of green against which your other plants may shine. Shrubs can perform this task with ease. Evergreens such as holly or boxwood are popular because they offer delightful green leaves all year long and make an eye-pleasing showcase for your other plants. Hardy juniper grows close to the ground and is ideal for creating a pop of green in blank spaces that will last even in winter.

Identifying Shrubs With Flowers That Stand Out


Sometimes you want your shrubs to do double duty – add some bulk to the landscape AND put on a bit of display. There are flowering shrubs that can do it all. Forsythia, with its long, lovely stems that burst into yellow flower each spring is a great shrub in this way. The tall shrub will give you three seasons of lush, green height and an admirable early spring display. These shrubs work great to create private spaces or to hide unsightly areas.

Azaleas or rhododendrons are also able to give you the green as well as provide delicate blossoms. Colorful blooms of white-pink-purple will grace the bushes in late spring and summer and can boast waxy green leaves when much of the other color has drained from the landscape.

Hydrangea produces gorgeous rounded blooms of white, pink or blue-violet in summer. Lilac bushes offer slender foliage and deliciously-scented blooms. Rose shrubs also combine heft and fragrance.

Identifying Shrubs That are Appropriate to the Space


Whether you’re planting a tree or a shrub, you always want to consider the mature size and shape before placing it in the ground. Many shrubs can be trimmed and shaped to the spot, but you might be making a needless sacrifice. Forsythia, for instance, deserves a place where it can be allowed to reach graciously skyward. If you want a lower hedge, opt for handsome boxwood instead.

Some shrubs are evergreen and some shed their leaves seasonally so consider what you need your shrubbery to do in each season of the year. In fact, you might want to consider putting some of your shrubs in large decorative pots to be moved according to need. This allows you to create attractive clusters in some seasons and create focal points in others.

Shrubs offer an important element in your landscape painting. They deserve recognition right along with other more exotic garden inhabitants. We invite you to order your plant markers from us at Kincaid Plant Markers where every garden will get only the highest quality marker able to withstand season after season of artistic display.

A Gardening Resolution: Incorporating and Identifying Native Plants

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This New Year Make Identifying Native Plants and Adding Local Beauty to Your Landscape a Goal

identifying native plantsHave you noticed that when you travel, you can usually find many of the same stores and restaurants wherever you go? Yet most travelers highly value those unique gems where the food or merchandise is different and indigenous to the region. The mom-and-pop restaurant, the artsy boutique, the club where regional music is celebrated. Your garden will be equally interesting and visitor-worthy when you introduce native plants. Furthermore, identifying native plants helps grow an appreciation for what makes your part of the country distinct and beautiful.

Here are some reasons to consider incorporating native flora in your garden plan.

1. Native plants are easier to care for. Plants native to your area have already adapted to your climate and soil conditions. This may not be the case for those plants you pick up at the nursery. Most of the time native plants will be the hardiest and easiest to grow. They’re not as likely to be affected by pests or disease as non-native hothouse plants. If you’re looking to minimize gardening issues – go native.

2. Native plants are problem-solvers. Perhaps you have a problem area in your garden. The soil may be too wet, too dry, too rocky or that spot gets too much sun. Native plants know how to make themselves at home in the natural terrain. Identifying native plants in your region will allow you to choose something that is both visually appealing and a natural-born problem solver. They are the perfect solution to your trouble spot.

3. Native plants help resolve environmental problems. If you appreciate green, growing things then you know how city expansion can disrupt the native ecology and environment. With rampant urbanization many animals who once flourished in your area are being crowded out. Acres of concrete and fewer acres of green mean that wildlife has few places to find food and even less room for shelter. Planting just a portion of your garden with native plants can help restore some balance. Put in some native plants and see how small animals, birds, butterflies and even deer respond. Environmental issues aren’t insuperable especially when we all decide to do our small part.

4. Native plants celebrate variety. If you spend some time identifying native plants and adding them to your landscape it’s one way to celebrate your home. Everyone doesn’t live in the southwest, the northeast or the deep south so why not plant a garden that honors what makes your region special? A garden is a fabulous platform for highlighting regional variety.

If you are ready to go native, order some of our Kincaid Plant Markers. Clearly identify the plants that are indigenous to your area and help grow some appreciation for variety, environmental-friendliness and gardening ease. We offer plant markers in a variety of price points to match every level of gardening passion.