Even if the dog hasn’t bitten and the bee hasn’t stung (as the song goes), it’s always nice to think on your favorite things. Here are a few of our favorites.

Stephanie’s Favorite Flower:

Sundrops/Oenothera

This flower is part of the business’s namesake, so I must love it! Also known as Evening Primrose, Oenothera plants have large, usually yellow flowers that open in the late afternoon. The plants are low-growing and begin to bloom in early summer, then bloom nearly continuously for the entire season. These plants can be kind of aggressive. They have a spreading growth habit and they set an abundance of seeds. The seeds are contained in interesting x-shaped seed pods. These seed pods, when ripe and dry easily blow in the wind and drop seeds along the way. So, you might find some “volunteer” Sundrops in your yard if any neighbors grow them. Most varieties of Sundrops are xeric (low-water use) and are generally low-maintenance. They will continue to bloom even if they’re not dead-headed but you’ll see more flowers and less seeds if you remove the spend blooms and the seedpods.

Chesney’s Favorite Flower:

Shasta Daisy/ Leucanthemum x superbum 

With the white petal and yellow-orange center, Shasta Daisies are going to give you the traditional, simple daisy look that everyone loves so much.  They get nice and tall (sometimes two feet or taller!)  and are so beautiful when they sway in the summer breeze. Shasta Daisies bloom a long time, usually around late June through August, especially if you can stay on top of dead heading them. They are the happiest in full sun.  These daisies also make great, long lasting cut flowers. They are also fairly xeric, once they have been in the ground and established a while, and deer resistant, perfect for growing on the Front Range. Once they are done blooming for the year, you can prune them down about two to four inches above the soil and next year they will bloom even more prolifically.

Stephanie’s Favorite Fertilizer:

I am often asked what brand of fertilizer I like best, and the answer is “it depends.” It depends on what I’m fertilizing! For container gardens of annual flowers, which are heavy feeders, I always sprinkle in a slow-release fertilizer granule when planting and I prefer Osmocote Plus “Outdoor & Indoor.” Four to six weeks, later I like to use a water-soluble fertilizer for my containers and my preferred brand is Fertilome “Rooting and Blooming Solution.” For my perennial flowers, raspberries, and the shrubs in my yard, my preferred method of fertilizing is to scratch some compost into the top of the soil early in the spring. Since this involves moving the mulch out of the way, scratching in the compost with a hand rake, and then moving the mulch back, I’m not good about doing it every single year, but I do try to fertilize my flower beds every 2 to 3 years. Tomato plants are also heavy feeders and although I do try to sprinkle fertilizer around them every month or so, I don’t have a brand I really love for the tomatoes. If you have a tomato fertilizer you love, let me know and I’ll give it a try!