Garden Blogs

In 2007, the US Senate dedicated one week in June as National Pollinator Week. This effort raised awareness of the declining pollinator populations and helped to educate people internationally about the importance of pollinators in the ecosystem.

Americans have a lawn addiction.

Drive through a typical U.S. suburb, and you’ll see dozens of lush, manicured, weed-less yards, watered by clicking sprinklers. The fixation has spread across the nation — estimates suggest that between 30 and 40 million acres of U.S. land are devoted to turfgrass, and we spend roughly $40 billion annually on seed, sod and the chemicals we need to care for them.

Whether you already have a perfect yard or you’re trying to get one, you’ll probably have to invest in lawn products. Vibrant green grass doesn’t weed itself, so we douse it with herbicides, pesticides and fertilizers.

In fact, we apply 90 million pounds of fertilizer and around 80 million pounds of pesticides on our lawns every year, which is about ten times the amount spread over farmland. Because we use so much of them, conventional pesticides and fertilizers impact more than our yards — they affect both our health and our ecosystem.

We’ve gathered the details on how — and why — you should care about the type of lawn products you apply to your lawn, along with some tips on how to make the switch from conventional to organic supplies.

When it’s time for some perennials to go dormant it’s time for others to come out in all their glory, and now is the time for fall perennials to shine. Make sure you incorporate a seasonal interest in your yard, blending bloom times so you will have continuous color and appeal throughout the seasons with little effort.

Whether you need foliage or flower, have sun or shade, dry soil or clay; there is a plant for you.  Fall perennials massed together make a statement by adding a border or interspersing splashes of color to keep your yard alive with color as it transitions into cooler weather.

After months of work, you finally have the backyard of your dreams. Maybe you’ve paved a new patio and set out chairs perfect for relaxing in, or maybe you’ve landscaped an immaculate garden and draped glowing string lights from trees.

There are a few tips and tricks to keep mulch looking fresh and vibrant, regardless of weather conditions. In this post, we’ll show you how to care for mulch year-round, so your garden will withstand cold winter days and be ready to bloom in the spring.

Warmer seasons we most associate with gardens and gardening, but fall and winter are just as crucial to making your garden beautiful. Check out our tips for prepping your garden for a successful fall.

In our plastic-taxed world today we need to find a way to shrink our man-made footprint! At Patuxent Nursery, this has been on our minds for several years. We have been working towards a biodegradable pot that can be planted in the ground and will break down in the soil leaving the soil in better condition.

Keeping potted plants alive is a learned skill, and there is no reason you can’t learn to do it, too. To help you out and get you started on your plant-care journey, we’ve put together this tutorial on everything you need to know about how to take care of potted plants. By the time we’re finished here, you’ll be ready to put these skills into practice. So grab your gardening gloves and potting soil and let’s get started.

Looking to add annuals to your garden this year? Use these tips on how to plant annuals to find the best ways to make your annuals thrive.

Keep your lawn green all summer long with these tips for maintaining healthy grass that can stand up to summer weather.

It is that time of year again and one of the most common questions we get is how much mulch do I need? We have the answer – learn more!

During the colder weather here in Maryland, birds have to find their own food. Berries, seeds, and habitats in protected tree limbs are not as plentiful as they are during the warmer summer months. But, there’s an easy solution to this problem: planting trees and shrubs for birds to get sustenance from throughout the cooler weather.

We’ve always been told to plant in spring and fall but warmer temperatures are still a good time to add interest to your landscaping beds. It only takes a little extra attention and a few simple techniques to help new summer plantings thrive.

When we walk outside into our yard it is always nice to have a little privacy.  But not everyone likes the expense or the look of traditional fencing. Over the years, we have had countless customers looking for creative ways to add privacy to their yards with trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs create a natural barrier that not only looks beautiful, it is also functional. Here are some of our tried and true tips for adding screens to your yard with fast growing privacy trees and shrubs: