Pruning your Endless Summer or Mophead Hydrangea
Finishing up the endless summer hydrangea!
Pruning Paniculata Hydrangea (late summer hydrangea)
Finishing up pruning late summer hydrangea!
And how it looks later that summer!
Watering Container Gardens
DIY Irrigation Kit
Hanging Basket Tips
When is it time to repot?!
Ok, now what pot?
Adding humidity during Winter Months
Seasonal Watering Changes
Lighting Guide.
Bright Direct Light:
The most intense light and exposes plants directly to the sun.
3 or more hours each day.
South or West Facing windows
Bright Indirect Light:
A location that has 1 hour of direct or 3 hrs of indirect light.
East Facing rooms or Southwest windows with sheers
*Most plants thrive here.
Medium Indirect Light:
Bright light with no direct sun.
1 to 2 hours of exposure
South or West facing rooms- 6’ away from window
Low Light:
A location 6ft or more away from windows with very little natural
light. Less than 1 hour of light.
*Plants benefit with supplemental grow lights.
Corners of rooms
North Facing windows
Most Low light plants can tolerate MEDIUM light if indirect.
May need to change location at certain times of year esp. summer.
Troubleshooting
Not enough light: Plant growth is stunted, leggy and stretched
stems. Yellowing or dropping leaves can indicate poor light.
Too much light: Leaves sunburned where light hits foliage.
Brown, crispy leaves especially the tips.
Lighting Guide- what is bright, indirect light?
Our Ultimate Watering Guide!
Fiddleleaf Ficus Care
Don’t forget to clean your plants!
Fertilizing.
Selecting a pot for your new plant baby.
Basic Pruning Tips
Welcome to our Video Library. Over the years we have created some great, informative videos for our customers to learn from, covering many areas of plant care and gardening.
From this page, you can find our best videos on the most popular topics.
INDOOR HOUSEPLANT CARE.
Click for videos on “Troubleshooting Insects & Disease“.
“Basic Care topics- watering, light and cleaning.”
OUTDOOR PLANTS AND GARDENING TIPS.
“Hanging Baskets, Container Gardens- basic care etc”
From cut flowers to plants!
The floral and gardening industry as a whole is far from perfect, but we are making leaps and bounds. Many great companies are working hard to make things better in recent years and we want to make sure you know everything WE are doing to support a more sustainable industry. From native plants and eco-friendly containers, to upcycling and donating past bloom perennials.
Locally Grown.
Over 80% of our garden center plants are considered locally grown, meaning they are grown and transported within our region.
For more information, please ask an associate! We’re happy to show you which plants are locally grown.
We also have several locally grown cut flowers in our walk-in cooler, most notably our tulips, peonies, iris and sunflowers…and now we’ve gone hyper local with stunning cut flowers supplied by Eighth Acre, right here in Darien, available on a seasonal basis!
While it is true we get many of our beautiful cut flower varieties globally, we do collaborate with vendors that have a commitment to sustainability, fair-trade labor and are always seeking to improve their business practices just as we are. Our European partners hold themselves to the high standard set by the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative.
“Since 2013 the Floriculture Sustainability Initiative has enabled exchange between leading organizations and businesses in the floriculture sector on sustainability, helping them to progress on this important agenda.
In continuity with what has been the members focus since the start, the FSI2025 ambition is centred around three pillars – responsible production & trade, responsible conduct and integrated reporting – plus the FSI governance framework, providing a comprehensive approach to supply chain sustainability.” Please visit their website for more information. https://www.fsi2025.com/
Native plants.
Over the past 5 years, we have increased the native plants and pollinators that are available in our garden center. Look for the marker, signage or speak with one of our team members to get started on your pollinator garden.
Packaging.
Several years ago, with the introduction of recyclable bags in the town of Darien, we also removed all excess packaging from our flower arrangements and converted our cut flower bouquet wrapping to completely recyclable or reusable products. All of our boxes and tissue can be recycled, and we encourage you to reuse the ribbon!
Growers Pots.
Did you know that CT Mixed recycling accepts growers/nursery pots as long as they are white, red or green?? The only ones that aren’t accepted are the black plastic pots.
Past bloom plants/older houseplants/cut flowers.
Rather than disposing of our seasonal plant material that is simply past bloom and needs a little love to come back next year, we are donating them to local organizations who can distribute them to those with less resources. This includes cut flowers that may not last long but are still lovely. We work with the Darien Senior Center, Person to Person, local schools and S.T.A.R in this program.
Fair trade labor
When we are not able to bring in locally grown cut flowers or plants, we work with vendors that are committed to positive employment for their farm workers and laborers.
Many of the farms we work with internationally also have water recycling programs in place and programs to offset their carbon footprint. You can find more information about these certified farms here: https://www.florverde.org/en/home/
“Florverde® Sustainable Flowers (FSF) is an independent social and environmental standard which ensures that flowers certified under this scheme have been responsibly produced.
This requires flower growers to adopt measures that will protect and enable worker’s rights, implement best environmental practices, and comply with national regulations. FSF also helps safeguard quality by requiring the proper care and handling of flowers.”
We had the privilege of being asked to create a Valentine’s Day installation with a message of love and positivity at the Darien High School by the DHSPA. Here is what our talented designers came up with! It is so important to spread a message of supporting mental well-being in our communities.