Our Cottage Grove location is open Monday-Friday 9-7, Saturday 9-6 and Sunday 9-5.

Lucy the Apprentice Plumber
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That thing that the water comes out of needed to be fixed. It’s been acting funny for a while now.  How do I know that if I can’t see up that high, you ask?  Well, every time my mom would turn the water on the tone in her voice made it very clear that something was wrong.  But she seemed to be managing okay with it.

That is UNTIL the day my mom turned the water on, and water sprayed all over!  And I do mean all over!  The cupboards and floor got sprayed and the kitchen wall waaay across the room got drenched.  It all happened so fast.  My mom hollered for my dad (or maybe it was at my dad, hmmm, gotta think about that one.)  Anyway, my mom stood there dripping wet and my dad real quickly got a bunch of towels and was wiping the wall down and then he left in his car.

Now, my dad can fix anything, but that day I sensed that he needed my help. So, when he returned, I offered my assistance and we tackled this water monster together.

It’s funny the things you learn on-the-job. Here I thought I knew everything about my dad, but I guess not. My dad is bilingual!  How did I find that out?

Well, when my dad was lying on the floor halfway inside the cupboard I heard him speaking an entirely different language.

~Lucy

Our Container Garden Workshop is this Saturday and Sunday, April 26-27, from 10 – 4 PM. The workshop starts at 10 AM and is ongoing throughout the day till 4 PM.  Come in anytime between those hours.  After you have shopped for your plants, flowers, and containers pick your spot in our designated workshop area and let the fun begin! 

It’s a hands-on experience, so be sure to bring your garden gloves. If you forget them, don’t worry, we have a wide variety of reasonably priced gardening gloves to choose from.  Our knowledgeable and friendly associates will be happy to assist you while you do the planting and will help with any and all plant or design questions.

We do ask that if you are bringing in containers from home, please empty all soil from them before bringing them to our greenhouse.   We will provide fresh and FREE potting soil for your creation and we will also clean up the mess.

If you are bringing in large containers please bring in packing peanuts, chunks of Styrofoam or Styrofoam egg cartons to help fill the bottom of your container.  It makes the container a whole lot lighter for you to transport back home and also, easier to rearrange in your garden if you want to change your outside decor. 

Do you know?

To have a successful container garden there is some information that you’ll need to know before hand.  Such as, where are your containers going to be located; in the sun, in the shade or a little of both?  Different plants and flowers have different needs.  Do you want to just water them and watch them grow or are you okay with periodically removing the dead blooms from the flowers? It is this kind of information that will allow you to choose the right plant or flower for your situation.  Our container garden designers will be here to answer any and all of your questions.

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For those of you who would like to have a beautiful container garden, but due to your busy schedule can’t participate in a workshop, we can help.  Our designers have created a wonderful variety of pre-made containers so you can just pick the one you like and grab and go!

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…our talented design team, led by Sharon, who create the beautiful container gardens at our greenhouse. 

Our staff will custom design and plant your containers at our greenhouse and will deliver them.  If you have permanent container structures at your home or business our designers will come out and plant on site.  In fact, we can do this for each of Wisconsin’s four seasons.

Containers come in all sizes and shapes and we can design and plant them all. Why not give us a call 608-222-2269, and get started on creating your own spot of beauty to enjoy each season.

Remember, life is better when surrounded by beautiful flowers and container gardening makes it all so easy.

Let your creativity run wild!
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Hey, kids do you want to paint a T-shirt with your hands?  Our Educational Coordinator Deb Stevens, will show you how on Saturday, April 26th, from 10 AM – 2 PM.  Bring in your own T-shirt or buy one of ours for $4.00.   Deb will show you how to magically grow bean seeds without soil.  And, we’re saving the best for last, kids.  You can make seed balls which is a Native American tradition, using terra cotta clay and cow poop!  You’ll make seed balls with Marigold seeds.  And don’t worry, parents, the clay and cow stuff will be in a plastic ziploc bag.  The kids will not be touching it.

These grow up to look like this, and someday like this

In honor of Arbor Day we are giving a free White Spruce seedling with each purchase while supply lasts.  Limit one per family.

Wasps, mites, and nematodes, oh my!!! It sounds like the intro to a scary movie, but at our greenhouse, these are the good guys!

We are the only greenhouse in the area using beneficial organisms to control our pest insects, which is part of our Integrated Pest Management program (IPM). This is our fourth season implementing an IPM program and it’s allowed us to greatly reduce our pesticide use, thus providing you with safer and more environmentally friendly plants! When we do occasionally need to spray, we are sure to use safe, minimal impact sprays whenever possible.

As the biological control specialist, I’m actively scouting for insects to find them before they become a problem and in order to prevent infestation. I release a variety of insects each week, including wasps (which are about the size of a gnat), midges, mites, nematodes, lacewings, and even ladybugs. These bugs merrily go about their business eating other insects and are of no bother to humans or pets. So the next time you see a bug in your garden and before you swat that bug on your arm, remember, they could be good bugs!

One of the most frequent questions we get is, “Can I start planting yet?” 

The answer depends on what type of planting you are talking about.  If you want to plant your containers, the answer is yes.  In fact, our first Container Workshop of the season is this weekend. See above for more details.  Our only caution is that you may have to bring your containers in at night if temperatures drop below the comfort zone of the plants you choose.

If you are talking about digging in your flower beds or vegetable garden, however, there is more to the answer than the weather forecast… [Click here to read the rest of this article from our April 25, 2013 newsletter]

What’s so funny about this is that he was never there! 

Please accept Marty’s apology for another hacked email occurrence.

America’s Best Flowers wants to help you succeed in your gardening efforts. If you have gardening questions send an email to our Operations Manager, Al Lunde, at abflunde@yahoo.com. Al will get back to you promptly. Let America’s Best Flowers be your go-to greenhouse for answers.