Mother’s Day is a spring holiday set aside to honor people who shape our lives in amazing ways. Spring flowers, cards, breakfast in bed, classic hallmarks of Mother’s Day that share the love we have for the moms in our lives. Mother’s Day also denotes a critical passing of final frost dates: May 15th. For gardeners, this is the time of final preparations before planting. This Spring, give a gift that grows with you by giving a garden for Mother’s Day!
Rather than a store-bought bouquet of mums and carnations, a garden can provide fresh flowers all season long, not to mention flavorful produce. Giving the gift of a garden requires a few key ingredients, just like making a pie. You need a solid base for your garden, rich soil to support healthy growth, and a hand-crafted nutritional plan made with organic amendments (and, of course, just a pinch of love). Create a custom garden setup with your own selection of materials or spend the day with a gift card from your favorite independent garden center! Get set up with new garden tools, fresh soil, or compost, and all the supplies you need for a beautiful Spring. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get started.
First things first, start with your base! This can be anything from in-ground gardens, raised garden beds, or even a beautiful planting container. Even a clay pot filled with herbs is a perfect miniature garden for any indoor or outdoor growing space. Knowing the container size you need is incredibly important. If growing tomatoes or peppers in a pot, you’ll want to grow them in at least a 5-gallon container. Lettuce can grow in almost any sized space, so long as their container is at least 4-5 inches deep. Do some research on what your plants need before getting started!
What to give:
- Decorative Pots
- Raised Bed Kit
- New Window Boxes
The next thing you’ll need is the right soil (if you’re growing in an in-ground garden bed, we recommend moving to the next step). Your growing media should be selected based on your plants, growing method, and individual needs. Raised garden beds and other deep containers, for example, rely heavily on moisture retention in the hotter summer months. Our Raised Bed Mix is a rich blend of compost, pine bark, and peat, optimized for moisture retention in raised bed setups. Activated Potting Mix is another dense soil blend that is perfect for flowerpots and containers that need additional hydration. If growing in a container, our All-Purpose Veggie Mix is perfect to support any need, from herbs to houseplants. Even vibrant blooms are easy to grow in this hearty soil blend! Worried about your heavy feeding container plants, like tomatoes and mums? Look no further than Purple Cow IndiCanja. This nutrient rich soil mix is designed to support heavy feeders without the need for additional nutrients.
What to give:
Growing an in-ground garden, or looking for organic amendments to return essential nutrients to the soil? Our selection of fertilizers and soil amendments are designed to go beyond feeding your plants, but they feed the soil too! Activated Compost, our #1 selling product, is a premium plant-based compost that is inoculated with essential nutrients and minerals. Activated Compost also contains diverse broad-spectrum biology, which works in the ground to improve the soil at a deeper level. The living element of your soil is what allows plants to take in nutrients and grow. Without bacteria and fungi in your soil, your plants can become stunted and will be lacking in essential nutrients, even if those nutrients are present in your soil.
All-Purpose Fertilizer contains mycorrhizae, which is a family of beneficial soil fungi that makes water and nutrients more available to your plants. Our All-Purpose Fertilizer also contains robust nutrients that are easily available to your growing space.
Looking to transform your soil’s ecosystem, without adding bulky material? Try Purple Cow CX-1 paired with BioActive Supercharger! The biological benefits of compost, paired with immediately available nutrients, is an easy recipe for supercharging plant growth. The partnership between biology and nutrients is the driving factor for healthy soil. This is what allows organic farmers to achieve brighter colors, better flavors, and more nutrients in the food they grow.
New garden tools are a fantastic gift to get you started for Spring. We’ve all been in that situation where we’re getting our Spring supplies together, and your favorite gardening gloves have somehow developed a hole in the thumb over the winter. If your shovel is cracked, or needs a new handle, it’s the perfect time to get that replaced. If you want the benefits of organic compost but want to try your hand at making it yourself, build your own compost pile or checkout a compost bin! You can now turn plant scraps, weeds, and crop residue into a rich plant compost. Use BioActive Supercharger and CX-1 to jumpstart the biology in your compost and support the breakdown of organic material.
While tools and supplies are excellent gifts, the most important tool in a gardener’s arsenal is knowledge! “Why did my tomatoes suddenly split open overnight?” “How do I get rid of the different pests in my garden without using harsh chemicals?” Gardening is far from intuitive, and there are so many solutions for common problems that need a little extra knowledge. Check out a book on organic gardening and arm your gardeners with the latest tips and tricks from the experts. There are plenty of amazing organic plant care resources such as “Organic Gardening for Beginners” by Lisa Lombardo, or “Garden Alchemy” by Stephanie Rose.
What to give:
- New Tools
- A Compost Bin
- Organic Gardening Guide
Looking for a garden style that is as unique and beautiful as the gardener in your life? Get rid of traditional growing standards and try something new! Build a living garden wall filled with fresh herbs and microgreens. Explore the world of stylized bioactive terrariums. Try your hand at miniature indoor gardens. You can even use common materials such as wooden pallets, rain gutters, or a hanging pocket organizer to build a vertical garden that adds life and beauty to any growing space. Click here to find a garden center near you, and chat with the experts on how to get started. Your garden is only limited by your imagination!
What to give:
- Funds for the fun
- An afternoon to design and plan your garden
The greatest gifts given are the ones that grow with you. Rather than giving chocolate and a card this Mother’s Day, try giving the gift of a garden to the special people in your life! A garden is so much more than fresh herbs and veggies, it’s a colorful pallet that reflects the beauty of the world around us. With love and care, you can turn any simple garden bed into a masterpiece that lasts all season long.
Contact us here for more information on our mixes and amendments and give a garden that gives back!