Fine Gardeners Blog

Fall Container Gardens: Creating Season Containers

Paul Marini - Marini Fine Gardeners - Tuesday, October 16, 2018

Fine Gardeners, Brookline, Newton, Needham, MAContainer gardens offer four seasons of pleasure, fun and creativity. Fall is here and the holidays are fast approaching. Make use of this opportunity to be creative and plan on changing out the plants in your containers. Gorgeous containers bursting with colorful arrangements are a focal point and should always look their best.

The amount of time and money you want to spend on your containers will determine how many times each year you want to change the plantings or add additional plants. It may mean completely changing some pots with each season or just changing a few plants in each pot.

Fall

Fall color schemes revolve around oranges, deep golds and rich reds. Mums are the classic standby, but calendulas, pansies, ornamental kales, diascias, snapdragons and edibles such as beets and Swiss chard make great fall containers.

Winter

In winter, seasonal container gardens can be filled with boughs of evergreens. Some foliage plants, such as springerii, can be left to dry in the containers making a decorative display all winter. Hardy trailing plants including vinca and ivy can remain in the container all winter. Woody plants offer interesting textures in winter and broadleaf evergreens such as holly, daphnes, boxwood, ivy topiaries and small conifers offer interest all winter. Arrangements of red twig dogwood and evergreen branches make a delightful seasonal display in urns near entrances.

Containers with Foliage Plants

Foliage plants and woody plants will work best for containers and planters used as screens and space dividers.

For more information on seasonal containers for your home or business, contact Paul at Fine Gardeners.

extension.illinois.edu

Window Boxes and Outdoor Container Gardens for the Holidays

Paul Marini - Marini Fine Gardeners - Tuesday, December 05, 2017

Fine Gardeners, Brookline, Newton, Needham, MADid you think outdoor garden season is over? It's not. You can still make your home more beautiful for the holidays or just for the barren winter season with a gorgeous, but smaller garden. Seasonal window boxes and outdoor container gardens make a home stand out.. Paul Marini, owner of Fine Gardeners, is "making the world a more beautiful place, one garden at a time."

Fine Gardeners specializes in garden design and installation; ornamental pruning of trees and shrubs; seasonal containers; and lawn and garden maintenance. We have been very busy installing winter container gardens for our clients this week. The materials we use include evergreen boughs, colorful twigs, pine cones and red winter-berries to name a few. No artificial products are used!

We bring the materials to you and install them on site in your containers. Our goal is to create festive, colorful arrangements with contrasting textures for a natural look. Special requests are welcome and some of our clients don't celebrate Christmas, so they prefer to avoid a red and green theme.

Seasonal flowers for container gardens placed on your front steps, main entrance or in your window box will not only enhance your property, but will create a welcoming effect for visitors. We are looking for homeowners, restaurants and shop owners in the Needham/Newton/Brookline areas who want to stand out and make their space beautiful.

For more information on container gardens and window boxes, contact Paul Marini at Fine Gardeners.

The Right Expertise and Flowers for Container Gardening for Gorgeous Seasonal Containers

Paul Marini - Marini Fine Gardeners - Wednesday, November 08, 2017

Fine Gardeners, Brookline, Newton, Needham, MAContainer gardening services need to bring aesthetics and knowledge together to create lovely container gardens.

Container gardens are a vital part of home aesthetics and are a valuable addition to patios, decks, and entryways. A custom container garden adds sophistication and allure to your home.

Fine Gardeners offers exterior container garden design. We blend various fall plants and gorgeous containers that reflect your taste for the perfect container garden for your home and lifestyle.

Container garden plantings bring life to your home. They can and should express your style and create an inviting atmosphere. And, container gardens can fit into whatever space you have available, giving the perfect splash of texture and contrast to your entryway, deck, patio or indoor living space. They can bring a burst of color to a boring or flat space.

We choose plants and containers after an analysis of your environment, seasonal sun-exposure, surrounding architecture, landscape, and personal style.

A beautiful container garden starts with experience and knowledge for a perfect arrangement of movement and color. For more information on seasonal container gardens, contact Paul Marini at Fine Gardeners.

Great Plants for Fall Container Gardens

Paul Marini - Marini Fine Gardeners - Thursday, October 12, 2017

Fine Gardeners, Brookline, Newton, Needham, MAMums and asters are all over the place in the fall and they are great plants. But there are lots of other contenders that can sail through the cold temps of fall, looking awesome. Many garden centers don't carry a lot of the plants that are mentioned for the fall. But...

Here are some favorites.

Heuchera aka Coral Bells

Coral bells, also known as heuchera, are an all-time favorite container plants. They come in a mind-blowing assortment of colors and leaf textures and they are a very good-humored plant – almost impossible to kill. Some heuchera are happy in full sun, shade, or anything in between. Most are hardy down to -25 °F and perennial in zones 4 to 9. They are mounding plants and look great on their own or paired with either contrasting plants or in shades of the same color.

Coral bells can look great with gourds, mums and ornamental grasses. Choose a dark, almost black leaf, like 'Dolce, Licorice' or choose the lighter, 'Dolce, Peach Melba' for a terrific fall plant that works well with many fall decorations.

Verbena

Verbena is a prolific bloomer and will look good from spring well into fall. Many verbenas are hardy down to 15 °F and will continue flowering even after the first frost. They look great either on their own or filling in spaces and spilling over the edges of garden planters, window boxes or hanging baskets.

Colors range from brilliant reds to deep, dark blue to purples and pinks. They are drought tolerant and only need an average amount of water. They do need good drainage and, like most flowering annuals, verbenas need to be fed every couple of weeks. Though deadheading isn't necessary for most common varieties, your plant will look much better if you cut off the blooms after they fade. If your plant gets leggy, you will want to give it a serious haircut, pruning it way back, so it will fill out.

Oxalis or Shamrock

Oxalis is elegant and, at the same, time kind of cheerful. It is exceedingly easy to grow and likes partial shade to full shade. It is hardy to 15 °F and is an annual except in zones 8 to 10. Oxalis is a mounding plant and grows to be 12 to 18 inches high, making it a good plant to use in filling out a container. It comes in several colors including a really dark, almost black, ‘Charmed Velvet,’ and my favorite, a burgundy color called ‘Charmed Wine.” Another plus about oxalis is that you can bring it inside to overwinter.

Make sure you get Oxalis vulcanicola, which is not invasive.

Decorative Cabbage and Kale

Decorative cabbages are delightfully chubby and cheerful plants, while the kales are all spiky and radical looking. However, both of these plants will take you well into fall with style and beautiful sagey greens with pinks and purples. As a bonus, flowering cabbage and kales' colors only intensify as the weather gets colder, especially after a frost.

They also can bring some great color and texture to mixed container gardens. Kales can look great in funky shallow baskets, window boxes or modern metal planters with clean lines. These are really bold plants, so don’t be afraid to put them in unusual containers or combine them with unlikely plants.

Sedum

Sedum, also known as stonecrop, is a classic fall plant for container gardens because that’s when it looks its best. Blooming in late summer to early fall, sedum is easy to grow in containers, preferring good drainage and full sun, though most will tolerate some shade. There are a vast array of sedums with different textures and flowers.

Sedum is a particularly good choice of plant for a fall container that you want to leave out all winter, because the dried flowers can look beautiful, especially covered with snow or frost. Sedum is hardy to a whopping -40°F and is a perennial in zones 3 to 9.

Some sedum can get pretty tall so it’s great to use in the center or back of a container.

Rudbeckia hirta.

Several great varieties such as Cherokee Sunset, Cherry Brandy, and Indian Summer are excellent, very showy additions to Fall planters. These sell out very quickly at garden centers, so shop early for them!

These plants will also survive the cold with style and class.

  • Wirevine
  • White Clover
  • Creeping Jenny
  • Sage
  • Lambs Ear's
  • Calibrachoa

Don't feel like creating your fall planter yourself? No problem, contact Paul at Fine Gardeners, we'll take care of it.

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Creating Curb Appeal in a Day

Paul Marini - Marini Fine Gardeners - Wednesday, July 05, 2017

Fine Gardeners, Brookline, Newton, Needham, MAA new season is here. We often change the décor inside our homes as the seasons change. Maybe it is time to change the outside of your home? Making your home welcoming and attractive can boost your mood and make it fun to come home.

If your home's curb appeal makes a great first impression, everyone -- including potential homebuyers -- will want to see what's inside. Here are some curb appeal improvements that you can do in a day, a week, or a month.

Create an instant garden

Container gardens add a welcoming feel and colorful curb appeal to any home exterior -- quickly and affordably. You can buy ready-made containers from garden centers or create your own with your favorite plants. For most landscapes, a staggered, asymmetrical arrangement works best to create a dynamic setting.

Garden for Curb Appeal

Use these five easy curb appeal ideas to take your landscape to the next level.

Install window boxes

Window boxes offer a fast, easy way to bring color and charm to your home's curb appeal. Choose boxes made from copper or iron for a traditional look, or painted wood for a cottage feel. Mix and match flowers and plants to suit your lighting conditions and color scheme.

Renew planter beds

Get garden beds into shape by pruning growth, pulling weeds, planting flowers, and adding new mulch to restore color that was taken away by sunlight and harsh weather. If stone or brick borders your bed, consider cleaning and resetting any pieces that are soiled or dislodged. If your border is old or tired-looking, try upgrading to stone or a decorative cast-concrete edging system for improved curb appeal.

Add arbors or fence panels

Arbors, garden gates, and short sections of decorative fence panels will enhance your garden and the value and curb appeal of your home. These amenities can be found in easy-to-build kits or prefab sections you simply connect together. For best results, paint or stain these items with colors already on your house.

Add outdoor art

Give your yard a little spunk and curb appeal by adding weather-resistant artwork. Choose pieces that complement your home's natural palette and exterior elements. Birdbaths, metal cutouts, sculptures, and wind chimes are good choices for outdoor art. Water sculptures not only function as yard art, but the burbling sounds soothe and make hot days feel cooler. Place fountains on level ground in optimum hearing and sight vantage points. Avoid spots in leaf-dropping range.

Create a new planting bed

Add contrast and color to your home exterior adding a new planting bed with beautiful garden design. Prime spots for curb appeal are at the front corners of the yard, along driveways or walkways, and immediately in front of the house. When creating a new bed, choose features that will frame your home rather than obscure it. Opt for stone or precast-concrete blocks to edge the bed. Include a mix of plant size, color, and texture for optimal results.

For more information on improving your home’s curb appeal with garden beds or container gardens, contact Fine Gardeners.

Home and Gardens

Fine Gardeners Enhancing Gardens

Paul Marini - Marini Fine Gardeners - Friday, April 21, 2017

Fine Gardners, Brookline, MAWelcome to the Marini Fine Gardeners blog! Here you will find out about the latest in container gardening, garden and lawn maintenance, unique garden designs and tree pruning for ornamentals.

At Fine Gardeners, we cater to the unique needs and desires of our discerning clients in Brookline, Needham and Newton. From container gardens to unique garden designs, we pay close attention to detail that this sets us apart from a more traditional “landscaper.” We consider it an honor to work on your property so we treat it with the respect and care that it deserves. We know that each garden is as unique as its owner so never take a cookie-cutter approach.

We can help you create a yard that will be the envy of the neighborhood, bursting with colors with natural and native plants that thrive in our climate and region. We have the expertise and the knowledge to make your home, garden and patio beautiful. We are happy to work with you and share with you our extensive knowledge to make your garden an oasis. We will be posting regularly so please check back in. For more information, contact Fine Gardeners. Happy Spring.


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