"Before the reward, there must be labor. You plant before you harvest. You sow in tears before you reap joy." - Ralph Ransom
Once the temperatures warm after a long dreary winter, we gardeners burst outdoors to clean up and inspect all the new greenery that is popping up out of the ground!
In your excitement, it is easy to get ahead of yourself and get started tackling those spring chores without the right tools. So before you make things more difficult than they have to be, take a deep breath, do a few stretches to warm up, then get yourself the right tools for the job!
The breadth and span of human ingenuity have created more than one type of each kind of garden tool! Having the right tools can make or break your garden to-do list, and even your back! What might be a five-minute chore can become an irritating hours-long task with the wrong equipment.
1. The Right Pruning Tools
Also known as loppers or trimmers, pruners are tools that are good for pruning stems and breaking down larger branches for the compost bin or yard waste. But each has its own specific or best uses in the garden. Anything too large will require a saw or a power saw/tool.
Opt for something that is hardened steel, stainless or carbon steel, or titanium. Always choose an ergonomic, cushioned handle. Learn how to sharpen your blades and sterilize them between cuts and keep the mechanisms oiled with some WD-40 to prevent rust for longevity.
Anvil Pruners
Crushing cuts by pressing a sharp blade against a flat anvil. Ideal for dead or hard branches ¾-inch in size. Not for live plant limbs since these essentially mash fresh material as they cut.
Straight Blade
Slender, sharp garden shears that work for lighter pruning and smaller branches. Garden scissors and garden snips are great for light pruning, spot-snipping of smaller branches, and branch tips, and are great for deadheading! Pointed and narrow blades can easily get between tight spots, among flowers, branches, and twigs for precision cuts.
Rachet-Style
With an assisted action-cutting mechanism that lets you make cuts in stages. These are great for gardeners without as much hand strength or mobility issues. By cutting in steps, you reduce hand strain with these strength-boosting shears. For trimming larger branches around 1-2 inches.
Telescopic Pruners
With adjustable handles, these pruners are good trimming for shrubs and trees up to 2 inches thick. Allowing you to change up the length/height you are pruning at and saving you from reaching, stretching, or bending.
Bypass Pruners
For clean, close cuts on live branches up to ½ - 1 ½ inches, these have blades like scissors that pass by each other. Often having a sharp blade and an unsharpened blade, they result in a nice sharp cut.
Pole Pruners & Pole Saws
For tall trees and large shrubs 2 to 9 inches, Pole pruners often have a trigger or cord that you can pull to cut branches far overhead. Remember head and eye protection and watch for falling debris while using these tools. Many have a saw attachment as well for double-duty tree pruning.
Hedge Shears
With longer blades, Hedge pruners or loppers, are good for removing a clean, even swath of smaller plant material for a sheared look. Great for small jobs and not larger ones, these pruners work great on soft tender new growth on formal hedges, deadheading flowering shrubs like Spiraea, or shearing tender new growth on small shrubs during the growing season. And a great tool for cutting down old foliage on Ornamental Grasses and perennials in late winter or early spring before they start to grow in spring. For larger jobs, it’s best to get a powered trimmer.
2. Types of Weeders
Weeds are ever-present and weeding will be one of your most routine and mundane of garden tasks. There is a ton of options and each has a specific purpose. Available in short-handled and long-handled versions for a wide variety of mobility inclusiveness. Choosing higher-quality materials and keeping your tools clean, sharp, and sanitized will benefit you and your plants in the long run.
Garden Hoes
Used for tilling, cultivating, chopping, general garden soil moving, and scraping weeds off at the soil surface. These can be long or short-handled and are available in a wide variety of shapes - in fact, there are about 50 types of garden Hoes! Digging and tilling hoes move soil with a chopping action, Draw hoes for weeding with a pulling/scraping, Reciprocating hoes that move, weed with a forward/backward action, Flat hoes weed with a push-pull action, and Sweeping hoes that act using a sweeping motion. There are names like Cobra, Forks, Sporks, Swan Necked, Cape Cod, Winged, Hula, Grub, and Circle, so it can become confusing when trying to pick out the right one! Choose a strong handle and quality blade material, and again, keep it clean, oiled, and sharp.
Dutch - The old-fashioned standard with a wide, sharp blade, sometimes jagged blades, or serrated teeth. Used only
for pushing through the soil.
Draw - For cultivating, chopping, and cutting out weeds
Digging - With a more plow-like blade, these are for chopping and deeper digging or breaking up soil compaction, creating trenches, and tilling.
Loop, Stirrup due to the shape, or Oscillating Hoes, are open-ended with a blade flat on a pivoting arm that can be pushed/pulled through soil, also known as Reciprocating, Action, and Hula hoes. Undercut weeds below the surface while allowing the soil to pass through the blade unobstructed. Fixed, non-moving versions look like flat, sharp golf clubs known as Sweeping Hoes.
Shaped - Called Warren, Pointed, Diamond, Hooke-n-Crooke, and more, they can be in many shapes and sizes. Heart-shaped, Angled, and V-shaped heads for getting through compacted soil and for making trenches for seeds or furrows. Also great for edging.
Forked - A cross between an iron rake and a hoe, often with 2-plus prongs, these dig holes, break up hard-pan, dig deeper taproots, and general planting. Also called Cultivators.
Wire Weeders - Great for smaller weeds, these are not sharp and are meant to pull through the soil just below the surface and actually pull out baby weeds instead of cutting them. Great for use around irrigation and disturbs less soil.
Dual Head - Swiss Army knives of the Hoe world, often two to three tools in one!
Hand Tools - From trowel and garden knife versions to just smaller versions of the above. Garden claws and garden hooks too!
Multi-Purpose Garden Knives
Want to feel like you are on a jungle expedition and chop through weeds while letting out some aggression? From small pocket knives to Kukri and Hori Hori-styled blades, to full-on machetes, there is every combination of a hand trowel and knife for multi-purpose gardening, cutting, weeding, cutting twine, and digging.
Choose options that fit in a pocket or on a belt for easy retrieval. Others are great for planting, have a V or U-shape for digging, include measurements for depth when planting bulbs, and can even have serrated edges! Other weeding knives have an angled end for getting between pavers and gaps to root out weeds where they hide.
Dandelion Weeders
For anyone that has to often dig out lots of taproot-type weeds like Dandelions, Burdock, or young weed trees, these slender tools have a forked or pronged tip that cuts and pulls the weed
out root and all. Some larger versions have double handles and a pedal for you to step on for deeper/larger roots. Usually slender to get at deep weeds without disturbing your lawn and other plant roots in the process. There are of course long and short-handled versions!
Stand-up weed pullers
Fishtail Weeder
Dandelion Diggers
Leveraged
Cobra Head
Step and Twist Types
Garden Weasels
3. The Right Rake
There are tons of garden rakes available in an equally dizzying variety, but again, every tool has a purpose! There are wood, steel, fiberglass, bamboo, and plastic. Choosing the lightest weight best and highest quality you can get will make all the difference. Sometimes, the simple cleanup may be best done with a leaf blower!
Iron rakes - Long row of hard metal tines, at a nearly 90-degree angle from the handle. Best for leveling soil, moving around mulch and gravel, breaking up hard soil, and aeration. A great multi-purpose tool for the gardener. Also called and used as Shrub Rakes, Stone rakes, and Lake Rakes (for ponds, pools and algae).
Leaf, Lawn, and Landscape Rakes - The well-known fan-shaped rake made from metal or plastic, sometimes wood and bamboo. Also used for leveling soil and mulch, sand, and covering larger areas per sweep. Lawn rakes are typically metal and leaf rakes are usually plastic. Some have a curved edge for scooping up debris and leaves for the yard waste bag or compost bin.
Thatch Rake - Similar to an iron rake, have shaper blades that cut through lawn turf to pull up thatch.
Hand tool versions - Great smaller-sized versions of the above for removing leaves and debris from around - and inside - shrubs, between plants, and for small garden patches.
4. The Right Shovel
There are specific shovels for each garden chore as well. Look for high-quality shafts, ergonomic grips, and a rugged collar and kick plate on the blade for the easiest use and no broken tools. Some of the major 12 types of shovels are -
Edging - A shallow, wide blade for cutting broad, straight-edged slices into the soil
Trench or Ditch - A long, narrower, and straight blade for deep digging. Sometimes tapering, mostly used for landscaping
Flat Blade - Also called Scoop shovels, obviously used for scooping, often with a square edge - not best for digging.
Digging - Also called spades, usually with pointed edges, good kick plates, and a sturdy collar and handle. Rounded blade shovels are for softer soil types.
Post Hole Diggers - Two cylindrical-shaped blades that are connected by a scissor-action fulcrum. Also known as a double shovel. For trees, fencing, and posts.
Snow - Broad, scooped, and lightweight, with flat, sharper edges, used for scooping. Some have a metal edge for chipping away at ice.
Hand Held - Better known as trowels, hand shovels, and hand spades, for general-purpose gardening.
Other garden and landscaping must-haves to keep you safe, and clean, and make light work of any garden chore!
A very good pair of garden gloves! Choose a heavy-duty pair of leather gloves for working with brambles and sharp sticks and twigs, and a more lightweight pair for dexterity and keeping fingernails clean. Ensure they cover wrists and have reinforced fingertips. Clean after use and hang to dry.
Other essentials that will make or break your gardening experience include -
Eye protection - dirt, leaves, or a sharp stick in the eye never ends well
Garden hat that covers your neck and shades your eyes (or even shoulders too!)
A good pair of waterproof shoes/boots with good traction
A good Wheelbarrow, easy-to-maneuver, narrow enough for garden paths, has strong handles and is easy to use
A leaf bag/yard waste bag holder - there are many options available but all make it SO much easier to fill those troublesome bags!
A workbench/potting bench - not a must-have but very helpful indeed! Something with shelves, cubbies, and a work surface. Gives you a place to store everything. Bonus if it has a pegboard for tools and a sink/hose area to clean veggies, herbs, and hands.
Don’t skimp on the garden hose winder, a garden hose that won’t kink and is easy to wind, and quality nozzles. Splurge and get quick connect, and a shutoff valve for fast changes between nozzles. A good watering wand and watering can are nice too!
Comfy kneeling bench, kneeling pad, or knee pads - save your knees when digging and keep you clean! There are even seated and rolling gardener chairs with pockets and handles to help you stand up.
An area to hang/store tools so they are easy to access, can be kept dry and clean, and out of the way. Tools stored out of the elements last much longer too!
Some kid-sized versions of your tools so the youngins can help out and feel helpful!
A plan! Don’t wade into the weeds without one! Divide up chores and spread them out over time so you don’t scurry to get it all done at once.
Keeping Tools Clean and Sharp
After use, always remove excess dirt and moisture from your tools, you may need to pressure wash them clean after larger, muddier jobs. A putty knife scrapes off stubborn dirt. Sandpaper or steel wool keeps surfaces clean and removes dried-on clay and mud. Sharpen tools once a year - metal rasps and files or wet stones and grinders.
A bucket of oiled sand is a simple and straightforward way to maintain tools after use. Clean sand and some food-grade or WD-40-type oil mixed in a 5-gallon bucket. Stab shovels, pruners, and hand tools into the sand a few times to clean the blade and oil the mechanisms. This keeps them moving freely and stops rust in its tracks.
To sanitize your tools between cuts - dip or wipe them with a mixture of 1-part Chlorine Bleach and 9-parts water, or 70% isopropyl alcohol to wipe, dip or spray on your tools. Killing possible cross-contamination between affected parts and healthy tissue.
How to Choose?
Which should you choose? At least one long-handled and a hand tool of each kind to start. Because their use involves blunt force removal of hard stems and branches, digging in the mud, and in near-constant contact with moisture - don’t skimp on these tools! Pay the money now the first time and you’ll get years of use instead of replacing them each year. Look for tools with a warranty and keep those receipts!
Also look for tools that are ergonomically designed, easy for you to use, and suited for the right job. Find a tool that is lightweight so you don’t get worn out just using it - heavy duty shouldn’t mean heavy! You will also want to choose a tool you can easily maintain. If a tool has all the bells and whistles, how much maintenance will it need? A well-maintained less-expensive tool will last as long as an expensive tool that is never taken care of.
Keep your tools sanitized, and keep them sharp for the best health of your plant! Look for tools that don’t have tons of parts or moving parts, you’ll save time looking for lost pieces or replacement parts.
Don’t fall for cheap tools or gimmicks on TV - choosing the right tools for the job and maintaining them will make or break your garden chore list (and your chiropractor will thank you). Tools that feel hefty without being heavy, feel well-made, and don’t feel flimsy or uncomfortable are important. Don’t feel silly about giving it a few swings in the store before you buy it.
Lastly, stay hydrated and break up chores into 10-15 minute intervals. Choosing the right tools for you and for the job is essential for your health, reducing stress on your body, and for the health of your plants and landscape, NatureHills.com is here to help you through every step of the way!
Heat-tolerant broad-leaved evergreens, California Lilacs are the hot growing zones answer to the flouncy old-fashioned Lilac plants found in cooler climates! Remarkably adaptable to drought, saline, and hot growing conditions. These members of the Ceanothus family are easy to grow and will delight you with years worth of fragrant blooms, butterflies, hummingbirds, and rugged beauty!
Heat & Sun Loving Blooms!
California Lilac Varieties
California Lilacs in the Landscape
California Lilac #ProPlantTips For Care
Cool, Calm & Collected California Lilacs!
Heat & Sun Loving Blooms!
One of the biggest disappointments for many gardeners that move from cooler to warmer climates is the loss of the old-fashioned Lilacs (Syringa) offered for those cooler climates, but won't grow in the warmer regions because of the lack of chill hours. But Nature Hills is here to relieve your suffering by introducing the next best (or maybe better) thing!
These members of the Ceanothus family are breathtaking flowering ornamental plants that generally flower in blue and purple in color and are sweetly fragrant. Try a few blooms in cut flower arrangements, but leave the rest outdoors for the bees! There are many different species of California Lilacs (Ceanothus) which can be deciduous or evergreen, tolerate drought and coastal conditions, and can be upright or spreading.
These are also nitrogen-fixing plants, that like Legumes, create nitrogen at their own roots, and help everything around them grow a bit greener! Plus they are vital resources for pollinators in your area!
The Ways California Lilacs Are Wonderful!
A North American Native Plant
Full Sun and Partial Shade loving Shrubs
Wide Range of Hot Climates & Conditions
Bloom Times Ranging from Mid-Spring Until Winter
Drought Tolerant, Saline/Coastal Climate Tolerant, & Deer Resistant!
Attract Pollinators and Hummingbirds
Some can handle clay soil
Wide-spreading plants great for groundcovers and mass planting
Some varieties can be used as small ornamental trees!
Check out the amazing variety available here at Nature Hills Nursery!
California Lilac Varieties
Also known as Mountain Lilacs, Wild Lilacs, Buckbrush and Blueblossoms - the 60 species of California Lilacs can be found all over the warmer, arid parts of the US but most are found right in the great state that is their namesake.
California Lilac
The original California Lilac, also known as the Point Reyes Wild Lilac (Ceanothus gloriosus) or Point Reyes Ceanothus, is the true native found on coastal bluffs and adjacent flats from Point Reyes, CA to 80 miles north. It can reach 1-3 feet in height but sprawl 6-10 feet wide once mature! Fantastic groundcover and wonderful for cascading over walls and slopes, these plants fill themselves with deep blue to lavender flowers all spring long! The effect of the blooms over the glossy evergreen foliage is breathtaking! Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 7 to 10.
Ray Hartman California Lilac
Ray Hartman (Ceanothus x 'Ray Hartman') is a cultivated hybrid of Ceanothus arboreus and Ceanothus griseus. It originated by chance and was released under the name ‘Blue Sky’ but in 1954 it was introduced by the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation and renamed 'Ray Hartman' after one of the Foundation's founding members. It was discovered in Ray Hartman's garden in the 1940s. It produces 6-inch long blue-flowered clusters all over a large, more upright-growing Ceanothus. Blooming throughout late winter and early spring. Unlike the native California Lilac, Ray Hartman is a more tree-like or large shrub in form, growing 12 - 20 feet in height with a multi-trunk form that can spread 10 - 20 feet wide. Hardy throughout USDA growing zones 9 and 10, it’s a fantastic broadleaved evergreen with textured, drought-resistant and considered one of the easiest California Lilacs to grow!
Skylark California Lilac
Skylark California Lilac (Ceanothus thyrsiflorus 'Skylark') is another soft lavender blue flowering variety that grows to a mid-sized shrub 4-6 feet in height but still has its native spreading abilities that can reach 6-7 feet wide. Very fragrant and joyful flowering plants and the color has been described as cerulean. Skylark explodes into bloom a bit later than others in the species, flowering late spring but continuing into summer. Another broad-leaved evergreen, the long-lived Skylark keeps its native hardiness as well throughout USDA growing zones 7 to 10!
Concha California Mountain Lilac
Concha California Mountain Lilac (Ceanothus x 'Concha') is one of the oldest and best-spreading cultivars and can get to 4-8 feet high and wide, but is easily maintained smaller. It was originally found at the Bee Line Nursery in San Dimas. However, Concha makes up for the smaller flowers with pure blue intensity! Its abundant clusters of deep blue flowers in late spring and early summer. Wildlife, especially mockingbirds, finches, and quail, love it for both the cover it provides and the seeds it produces. Deer, on the other hand, seem to find it pretty unappetizing. Also widely adaptable to USDA hardiness zones 7-10, Mountain Lilacs tolerate sandy soil and are a wonderful xeric, broad-leaved evergreen variety!
Victoria California Lilac
Victoria California Lilac (Ceanothus impressus 'Victoria') is another water-wise and adaptable member of the family that has a mid-sized 6-8 feet tall and wide form! Great as hedges and for mass plantings, Victoria is also tolerant of coastal conditions. Use this low-maintenance choice to decorate sea walls with wind-tossed blooms. And those blooms! The clusters are fragrant all spring to summer in a hazy deep indigo blue to pale purple hue! Thriving in both full sun and even partial shade throughout USDA planting zones 7-10.
Deciduous California Lilacs
While the above big brothers and sisters of the Ceanothus are all evergreens, a few like the Marie Bleu™ and the native New Jersey Tea are deciduous, smaller options for slightly cooler climates of zones 6 and up. Both have misty blooms in pale blue to white or even pink! They stay under 4 feet in height and width. Also called Soap Plants, these smaller family members are more shrubby or wildflower-like, but keep the family’s drought-tolerance, hardiness, and fragrant flower clusters.
Native New Jersey Tea plants (Ceanothus americanus) are a white flowering species. Used in a wide variety of medicinal and folk cures, the leaves have been used to make a caffeine-free tea substitute. But we think they look better in the garden than in the cupboard!
California Lilacs in the Landscape
California Lilacs are water-wise and Xeric despite the heat and sun! Not only that, these are vital nectar and pollen resources for butterflies and bees, but also fantastic cover and the seed heads provide food for bird-friendly gardens!
California Lilac can be an important plant to help protect your property from the ravages of wildfire. This native plant is recommended for use as part of the defensible space near homes and structures. We recommend calling your state forestry agencies and local fire protection district to request a region-specific property assessment.
The California Lilacs with a wide-spreading nature naturalize very well and spread like living, flowering mulch! Fill large swaths of ground in low-maintenance beauty, including hard-to-mow, eroding slopes and hillsides. They are especially striking when planted in mass plantings in the home or commercial settings. For quick fill, plant the California Lilac 5 to 6 feet on center and let it fill in together naturally.
Shrubby and tree-form California Lilacs are fantastic specimens and focal points in the garden, but also incredibly as hedges, privacy and screening, backdrops, and foundation plantings where their year-round green leaves really shine!
California Lilac #ProPlantTips For Care
Ceanothus are very low maintenance once established and they don't need or like any coddling or fussing. In fact, too much water and too-rich soil is a surefire way to kill them.
Give these sun-lovers at least 6 hours of direct light a day. Though tolerant of some shade this will greatly affect the flowering and density of the plant.
Give young plants low amounts of regular water during their first season only. This will help their roots establish themselves in your soil. However, they truly thrive on low water and barely require summer watering once established. They are truly perfect for the xeric garden and drought-tolerant landscape!
Adapted to a wide range of different types of soil and thriving in poor soil, in fact, California Lilacs do their best in lean soils that have great drainage!
If your soil holds water, you'll need to use raised beds or plan to mound up. Add additional soil in a mound 18 - 24 inches high, and plant directly in the mound.
Prune right after blooming to remove spent flowers and to keep your plant looking even and full.
Cool, Calm & Collected California Lilacs!
Satisfy your need for fragrant fluffy flowers and early spring blooms with the amazing California Lilac! You’ll enjoy year-round beauty and ultra-easy-to-grow landscapes that suit even the busiest or newest gardeners! Head over to Nature Hills and discover the perfect Ceanothus variety for your needs today!
Happy Planting!
One would think that if you googled summer a picture of a Gardenia should come up. In the dictionary, if you looked up the word summer there would be a description of the fragrance of a Gardenia flower. Gardenia flowers have a sweet, heady, fragrance that really just says summer. That is why everyone wants to have Gardenias in their landscape, as cut flowers, and as popular bridal bouquets. The foliage is deep, dark, shiny green and evergreen, wow!
How Do I Use Gardenia Plants?
What Is the Best Way to Care for Gardenia Plants?
Pruning Is Simple and Not Excessive
Gardenia Plants Are Typically Hardy From Zones 7-9
How Do I Use Gardenia Plants?
Did you know there are over 250 different species of Gardenias? That means one for every situation. Most people buy Gardenias so they can smell the flowers. That translates to using them close to where you will be spending time in your home or landscape. Walkways, front entrances, patios, and let's not forget foundation plantings so when your windows are open you can smell them. They make great smaller hedges with that incredibly elegant evergreen foliage so even with not bloom, they rock. Keep Gardenia plants up close and personal by growing some in containers that can be moved to where you are.
What Is the Best Way to Care for Gardenia Plants?
It seems the best way to keep Gardenia plants happiest is to be sure their soil pH is lower (a bit more acidic). Our growers make sure the plants you get are going to be shipped with soil that has a lower soil pH to insure great health of the plants. It is a great idea to keep your Gardenia plants happy by using an Azalea or Camelia fertilizer (or other acid liquid fertilizer) in March to maintain healthy plants with dark green foliage color. Another application of fertilizer 4-6 weeks after the spring application will really help the flower power. Keep in mind that Gardenia plants love even moisture (meaning they should not dry out, or they should not sit in water). Consistently even moisture, with a well-drained soil well keep them happy and keep the flowers coming. They are very shallow rooted so limit digging around the base of the plants, plant them a bit high, and use a good organic mulch like shredded bark to keep the soil evenly moist and prevent weed pressure. It may seem a bit fussy, but the wildly handsome plants sport the most incredible flowers with the best fragrance you can find anywhere. A regular spring feeding of a good acid fertilizer, and even moisture, and a sunny location will keep Gardenias happy.
Pruning Is Simple and Not Excessive
Basically, removing the flowers as they fade (as they transform from a pure sparkling white, to a not so pretty - brown). Removing spent flowers and shortening up any wild new growth to keep everything in check is an easy chore really. If you are using Gardenias as a more formal hedge, or a bit more natural in habit, remember that all pruning needs to be complete by late July to allow next year's flower buds to form and develop. Young plants may need some help training new growth inline as the plants mature.
Gardenia Plants Are Typically Hardy From Zones 7-9
Nature Hills has done our best to offer you plants that work out beyond these zones and have come up with one that is hardy as low as zone 6, and another that works way up into zone 11. Check out the selections that our nurseries are growing. Flowering typically starts in May and will continue for weeks, and many will produce another flush of flowers later in summer. It is imperative that pruning cease by late July or early August for keeping those plants producing flowers for the next season.
Happy Planting!
“Of all flowers, methinks a rose is best.” – William Shakespeare, The Two Noble Kinsmen
What do you call a Rose by any other name? What about one that smells divinely? Or one with no smell at all?
Unless there’s a bee inside, the first impulse we have when we see a big, voluminous Rose bloom - is to stick our noses in it! The power of fragrance! It can make or break the decision regarding many things! Roses being among them!
Anyone that has recently received a bouquet of flowers from a florist can attest to how little smell they have these days.
In our search for bigger, more colorful, fuller, and faster growing Roses, we may have inadvertently bred out this highly desirable trait!
The Science of Rose Fragrance
Why Roses Are Losing Their Perfume
How to Best Preserve Your Roses Fragrance
Ensuring The Best Perfume and Performance!
Stop And Smell The Roses!
The Science of Rose Fragrance
Long before humans began mixing Roses to create the dizzying array that is available to the consumer these days, Roses had a single layer of petals, and pretty green foliage, but more importantly - most of them smelled wonderful! Enough to spark the imaginations of artists and poets alike for centuries.
Roses and all flowers that have scent do so because of volatile oils. Volatile, not because they may burst into flames at any moment, but because they quickly evaporate in the heat of the sun and when exposed to air. The aroma is due to a gene that triggers an enzyme called RhNUDX1 and this chemical makes cells in Rose petals produce a chemical called monoterpene geraniol.
Roses and other flowers produce scents mostly to attract pollinators for that ever-important purpose of pollination! The time of day and age of the bloom will affect how strong the fragrance is. Some Roses have a stronger scent due to the presence of more of these chemicals and other naturally produced essential oils, produced within glands on the undersides of the petals. While some of the smell comes from the stamen as well.
The smell can range from damask and floral, maybe fruity like berries, or musky to citrusy, from honeyed and sweet, to licorice, spiced and herbal, to just plain fresh. They can be violet-like, or described as smelling like orrisroot (Iris rhizomes), sweet clover, or fresh hay.
Why Roses Are Losing Their Perfume
While some Roses have been bred specifically for their fragrance, others have been bred for other characteristics such as size, disease resistance, specific colors, and other factors that may inadvertently switch off this gene that makes them create those enzymes and fragrant chemicals.
The way a Rose or fragrant flower is handled after picking it can also affect how they smell. Rose breeders in the floral industry need big, showy blooms that can handle being transported for days after being cut. They’re also breeding Roses with fewer to no thorns, can last longer in the vase and have longer stems and larger blooms. Unfortunately, the trade-off is that luxurious fragrance!
Plus, the more (much-needed) disease resistance that is being bred into these blooms, the more we’re seeing a decrease in their smell.
So is the trade-off worthwhile?
How to Best Preserve Your Roses Fragrance
Rose breeders are also making a point to get back to basics. Creating new breeds and improving old ones, so we can enjoy the best of both worlds! Wild-Rose scent and hardiness, old-world beauty, and combined with modern resistance!
Luckily, modern and antique Rose bushes that are grown in your own garden, especially if you do not spray them with lots of artificial fertilizer and pesticides, still have a great scent!
Check out all the fragrant Roses available at Nature Hills, including many that are considered among the most fragrant like Scentimental, Mr. Lincoln, Tiffany, Rugosa Roses, Chrysler Imperial, and Fourth of July Climbing Rose, just to name a few.
Choosing a Rose bush that is fragrant is only half the battle. Roses can smell stronger or weaker depending on the time of day, depending on the age of the bloom, and even smell better or stronger from year to year as weather, temperature, moisture, and nutrient availability also come into play.
Clues a Rose Will Smell Good!
Besides buying a Rose that is well-known for its scent, here are a few other indicators that may let you know that the Rose you are about to stick your nose in will be fragrant!
More petals = more scent. Remember, the glands that make the oils are in the petals
Darker Roses often have increased perfume
The Rose color can often determine its fragrance profile.
Red and pink generally have a more traditional Rose smell
White and yellow are often spicy, licorice and citrus
Many orange and peachy Roses are very sweet and/or fruity
Plus, there may be some truth to the saying “The most beautiful Roses sometimes have the sharpest thorns” because these more wild and defensive shrubs have something worthwhile to protect!
Smelling, Snipping Cut Flowers, and Harvesting Rose Petal Do’s and Don’t’s
Whether you are outside for a stroll through your garden to smell the Roses, snipping flowers for your bouquets and floral arrangements, or harvesting the blooms and petals for potpourri, Rosewater, for health and beauty, making tea or preserves, for crafts, and dried décor, follow these few simple tips to enjoy their scent at its highest.
All About Timing
Smell, snip blooms, or pluck petals when the buds are just beginning to open
The strongest fragrance is around mid-morning to very early afternoon
Wait to pick or harvest after the dew has dried
Sometimes It’s The Weather
Choose a warm, clear, sunny day
Get out in the garden before the hot midday sun causes the oils to evaporate
Rain and chilly, damp weather can decrease fragrance
Good Scent Sense
Snip with clean shears to stop the spread of disease from one bush to another
Roses affected by disease or powdery mildew tend to lose their fragrance temporarily
Drought and insufficient moisture will greatly decrease the fragrance
Use organic fertilizers and pesticides, and avoid spraying the blooms
Avoid getting the flowers and leaves wet when watering - water at the roots
Mulch over the root system helps prevents soil born diseases
Preserving Fragrance in Cut Flowers & Petals
Remove any foliage that will fall below the water line cleanly
Cut the stems at an angle and plunge them immediately into cool, clean water
Harvest cut flowers or petals after the morning dew has dried
Keep cut flower water very clean, refreshing it every day
Keep petals and blooms out of the sun and away from heat
Dry petals right away in a dehydrator or other method, don’t wait
Ensuring The Best Perfume and Performance!
In addition to the above tips and tricks, the best way to enjoy the most fragrance from your Rose is to keep it happy and healthy!
While Roses of old were considered fussy and difficult, it really comes down to proper site selection in the first place!
Plant a Rose that is rated for your climate and USDA growing zone
Situate the Rose in full sun, with a focus on receiving morning sun to quickly dry dew
Choose a location with good Air Circulation
Plant Roses in enriched, highly-organic, well-drained soil that never gets soggy
Provide a 3-4 inch thick layer of compost and/or arborist mulch chips over the roots
Give them regular moisture access. Nature Hills recommends the ‘finger-test’ method
Don’t let Roses suffer through drought or hot summers without supplemental moisture
Water only at the roots and keep their area clean and sanitary
Fertilizer regularly with a quality organic, slow-release fertilizer.
Avoid high-nitrogen fertilizers, like those for lawns. Keep them far away from Roses!
Stop And Smell The Roses!
There are Roses… and then there are ROSES! Every shrub has a purpose in todays landscapes, and choosing the right shrub for your needs is almost as important as how it smells. While those garden workhorses and landscaping Shrub Roses serve their purpose as edging, color, backdrops, hedges, defensive barriers, and property definition, there’s nothing quite like having one frou-frou fragrant Rose that is there to just look - and smell - pretty!
Check back often and visit your garden at different times of the day and on different days to find when your Roses smell and look the best! Then visit NatureHills.com on a regular basis to see all the exciting new Rose cultivars that are being made available as growers are tirelessly working to breed the perfume back into our most beloved flower - The Rose!
Happy Planting!
There’s an amazing, dizzying, and incredible array of Roses out there! So many it may be difficult to narrow down which one you want! If only we had the room and an army of landscapers, we’d not have to choose!
But if you have to choose just one (or just a few) Nature Hills is here to the rescue! Here are the many different types of Roses and how they each have an advantage over the others for your specific garden needs!
Wonderful Rose Varieties Explained
Elegant Hybrid Tea Roses
Floriferous Floribunda Roses
Grand Grandiflora Roses
Versatile Landscaping and Shrub Roses
Grow Vertical With Climbing Roses
Sweet and Petite Miniature Rose Bushes
Low-Growing Garden Gems - Groundcover Roses
Go Big With Tree-Form Roses!
Nearly Infinite Choices!
Detailed Rose Care and Support
Wonderful Rose Varieties Explained
What exactly do all these Rose varieties mean for your landscape? Where is best for each type to grow? Nature Hills is here to explain the difference between each of these fantastic types of Rose bushes!
Elegant Hybrid Tea Roses
The fragrant, full, and posh English Rose garden beauty of Hybrid Tea Roses displays elegant single-borne blooms on long stems that just beg to be snipped for bouquets! Often taller shrubs, you can enjoy the beauty and smell of these spiraling buds that open into high-centered blooms from pointed buds. Often fragrant and continued reblooming, these large flowered shrubs feature high petal counts and a wondrous array of colors.
The notoriety of Hybrid Tea Roses has also been enhanced by the practice of naming Rose plants after famous people. In addition to the Amelia Earhart hybrid rose plant, you’ll find roses named after Betty White, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Dolly Parton, Princess Diana, and other flamboyant personalities.
Hybrid Tea Roses in the Landscape
Must-haves for the Cut flower garden
Taller Garden Specimens
Rose Garden standards
Lovely in containers and planters
High petal count and repeat bloom
Solitary, large flower borne atop a long stem
Floriferous Floribunda Roses
Floribunda Roses are a hybrid cross between Multiflora (aka Polyantha Roses) and Hybrid Tea Roses. Revered for their long-lasting flowers and extended season of bloom, these Roses keep their Multiflora roots by forming clusters of multiple flowers at a time!
Often fragrant, this variety is fantastic in the cutting garden, as lower growing garden accents and available in a striking array of colors, Floribunda Rose bushes are easy to grow and bloom from late spring until frost in fall!
Floribundas in the Landscape
Flowers held in clusters
Bloom late spring through fall
Borders and Edging
Low-Hedges and Backdrops
Striking Mass Plantings
Extended Season Color
Grand Grandiflora Roses
Grandiflora Rose bushes are a cross between a Floribunda and Hybrid Tea Roses, keeping the full flower clusters of the Floribunda side of the family, but having the Tea Rose long stems and big flouncy blooms! Fantastic in bouquets as they are consistent rebloomers, Grandiflora Roses come in a wide range of sizes, colors, forms and scents. Often hardier in cold than Hybrid Teas, these are fantastic for bursts of garden color and as focal points in the landscape.
Grandifloras in the Landscape
Garden Accents and Focal Points
Versatile Additions - Wide Range of Size Options
Reblooming
Hardy Roots
Large, Full Flowers held in Clusters
Versatile Landscaping and Shrub Roses
The workhorses of the Rose family, Landscape and Shrub Roses act as living hedges and large-scale garden displays. Including the formidable Rugosa Rose, Landscaping Roses fill large areas and form thickets that birds adore. Fantastic nectar and pollen-laden resources for bees and butterflies, Shrub Roses are gorgeous leafy backdrops, often have fall Rose hips, and are fantastic for hedging and privacy anywhere in the sun!
Landscape Shrub Roses in the Landscape
Backdrop and Hedge Roses
Larger-Sized Mounding and Thicket-Forming Barrier Plantings
Landscape Definition and Structure
Very Rugged, Durable and Easy to Grow
Free Flowering and Pollinator-Friendly
Great in Containers and Perfect for Rows, Groupings and En Masse
Grow Vertical With Climbing Roses
Fast-growing and with long, flexible, sturdy canes, the Climbing Rose is available in a wide range of colors, sizes, and forms! Either upright or rambling, Climbing Roses are able to grow from 8 to 20 feet tall and can be easily trained to grow on a trellis, drape over an arbor, romantically clamber over a pagoda or create vertical walls throughout the garden! They can even be left to cascade and ramble over the ground as groundcover and en masse filler. Climbing Roses typically flower on old canes first, and the new flowers are formed on new growth in summer. They will need to be attached to structures to keep them in place.
Climbing Roses in the Landscape
Acrobatic Climbers or Rambling Groundcover
Strong Flexible Canes Easily Train onto any Structure
Wide Range of Sizes, Styles and colors
Vertical Garden Interest
Includes Grandiflora, Hybrid Tea, Floribunda and Landscape Rose in Climbing Form
Sweet and Petite Miniature Rose Bushes
Pint-sized versions of the other above Rose bushes, Miniature Roses may be small, but they have just as much impact on the garden when it comes to color and variety! Perfect in containers and planters, anyone with or without a yard can still enjoy Roses! Small-scale landscaping at its best, balcony and Container Gardeners in a wide range of growing zones can experience the beauty of a Rose bush in a fraction of the space.
Ideal as edging and front-of-the-border accents, en masse plantings of these versatile, mini flowering shrubs fill your landscape with drifts of reblooming color! From single-borne to clusters, the often perfumed little blooms are darling little pops of color and great gift plants!
Miniature Roses in the Landscape
Small-Scale Blooms are Big on Impact
Containers, Planters and Balconies
Lovely In Drifts, as Edging and Groupings
Fantastic Gift Plants
Dizzying Array of Colors and Sizes
Low-Growing Garden Gems - Groundcover Roses
Another form of Hardy Landscape Roses, hardworking and low-growing Groundcover Roses are the living mulch and finishing touches for your landscape! Often spreading much wider than they grow tall, but brimming in clusters of blooms from late spring until frost, these types of Rose bushes require the least amount of maintenance and fuss. Available in an equally dizzying array of colors and forms, from single to double, scented to unscented, Groundcover Rose bushes fill large swaths of area in lush greenery and drifts of colorful flowers! Often with remarkable disease resistance and cold/heat hardiness, we’re sure there’s a Groundcover Rose to match and enhance your landscape in our inventory.
Groundcover Roses in the Landscape
Low-Growing Garden Bed Definition, Edging & En Masse Color
Vibrant and Free-Flowering Spring til Fall
Very Tough, Hardy and Disease Resistant
Low Maintenance
Great as Spillers and Fillers in the Landscape and in Container Gardens!
Perfect for Low Hedges, In Rows, Groupings, and as Facer Plants
Go Big With Tree-Form Roses!
Super special Rose Trees feature everything you love about Roses, and then elevated! The same big, bold, beautiful blooms you love - only now held up higher for your inspection and closer to the nose to enjoy their fragrance! Go ahead and gaze at these eye-level Roses of all types listed above. From Miniature Rose Trees to Grandiflora Rose Trees, we’re sure there is a Tree Form Rose to match your favorite Rose shrub!
Expertly grafted atop a 2-3 foot tall standard Rose trunk that is straight, sturdy, and elegant! Over time, your beautiful Rose Tree will grow into a showy specimen. No one walks past a Tree Rose without stopping to take a long look! Container and planter ready, your Patio Garden can have a crowning jewel, the front porch or front garden gain a boost of amazing curb appeal, and back seating areas gain fragrant conversation pieces!
Rose Trees in the Landscape
Captivating Specimens
Container Accents & Garden Focal Points
Expertly Grafted Rose Bushes On Top of 2-3 foot tall Rose Standard Trunks
Floribunda, Miniature, Grandiflora, Shrub, and Hybrid Teas on Tall Straight Stems
Curb Appeal, Conversation Pieces, and Supreme Visual Interest
Nearly Infinite Choices!
Need help narrowing down your options? Check out these more Rose options to help you fill a specific garden requirement! There is an old-fashioned garden antique, hardy native Rose, or effortless-to-grow Modern Rose out there for you!
Maybe you are looking for the most Fragrant Roses Nature Hills has to offer, or perhaps the most deer-resistant Roses that feature fragrance and thorns that can even keep deer at bay. Though when desperate, Deer will have a nibble at the new growth.
Narrow your search first by Plant Hardiness Zone, and further fine-tune it based on height, color, and sun needs! Check out these Roses that bloom in partial shade or Roses that are incredibly cold-hardy! There are Roses that bloom in the hottest climates as well! Can’t decide on one color? Check out multi-colored Roses!
Looking for a specific brand? Nature Hills Nursery is proud to offer Easy Elegance® Roses, Drift® and Knock Out® Rose bushes, Proven Winners® and First Editions® brand Roses! Plus a large selection of Nature Hills’ Choice Rose blooms for you to choose from!
Detailed Rose Care and Support
The Nature Hills #ProPlantTips Garden blog has tons of information available to you so you can learn how to give your new prized Rose bush the very best of care! From finding the right Rose fertilizer to support these blooming machines. To the right methods of Pruning Roses. Since Roses are deciduous shrubs, you need to know all about winterizing your Roses and un-wintering Roses in spring!
Do you still need help with your Rose bush? Our helpful and knowledgeable customer service and sales department is here to help you grow the perfect Rose bush for your garden!
Nature Hills is committed to partnering with expert growers, and providing quality plant material and mature rootstock to guarantee the Rose you receive is of the highest quality! Plant breeders and Rosarians are constantly developing new and exciting varieties of Rose bushes to suit every possible garden niche out there!
So check back often to see what the future holds for Rose bushes and fill your garden with these elegant plants that have captivated humanity for centuries!
Happy Planting!
Want your Herb plants to do more for you than taste good? Hold onto your socks because the world of Herbs is blurring the lines between useful edible medicinals and ornamental plants! Now you can enjoy them for more than just tasty garnish and seasoning around the garden and landscape!
Flavorful and Scented Landscaping!
Decorating With Herbs in the Landscape
Decorating With Herbs on the Porch and Patio
Decorating With Herbs Indoors
Easy To Grow Herbs!
Scented, Flavorful & Double-Duty Herbs!
Flavorful and Scented Landscaping!
Don’t hide your herbs in the vegetable garden or use them as strictly Kitchen Garden herbs! Today’s newest Herbs are dressed up and ready for their close-up in your front yard and flower gardens!
No longer needing to be utilitarian plants, these beauties will kick up the edible landscaping scene with their pollinator-friendly and cut flower-worthy blooms, enhanced sizes, and forms, and heightened aromatics to improve your garden experience! Stimulate the senses and inject some aromatic greenery anywhere into your world with Herbs!
Decorating With Herbs in the Landscape
Edible landscaping means turning garden beds and landscaping borders into multi-purpose planting sites that not just look great, but also feed and perfume your world! Herbs are fantastic for bringing in butterflies and beneficial pollinators, filling in the gaps between plants, and their aromatic foliage even drives away pests!
Great Edging & Filler
Got some xeric spots that need to be filled? Maybe a garden bed that needs a lacy and eye-catching facer plant to hide the bare stems of larger plants and shrubs? Herbs are a fantastic way to add fresh bright greenery to your garden and ease the transition between lawn and garden. Try the lacy charm of Late & Spicy Cilantro as a filler and flowering plant!
Create frilly drifts of fine-textured Dill or accent small spaces with Chamomile.
Try a row of Sage instead of flowering Salvia
Use Highland Cream Thyme and Creeping English Thyme along garden edges.
Fill Rock Gardens with Rosemary or Lavender plants, and Oregano.
The spiky interest of Lemon Grass fills your garden and helps keep mosquitoes away!
Marjoram, Catnip, Catmint, and Lovage look gorgeous in groupings
Tall Herbs like Rue, Borage, Fennel, and Comfrey dress up the back of the border
Scented & Flowering Accents
Basil's big leaves and Parsley’s frilly foliage are wonderful skirting and fringe to use throughout the flower and shrub garden! Use Mints and Thyme as edging along pathways and sidewalks to perfume your garden strolls! Bee Balm, Lemon Balm, and Cat Mints are fantastic edible and medicinal landscaping plants that have drifts of unusual flowers.
A Hi Ho Silver Thyme or Chocolate Mint form dense clumps of perfumed greenery and blooms, plus they look fantastic in a garden of the senses and as edging along the edges at the front of the border. Creeping Thyme are traditional plants in cracks and crevices, happily rambling between the stones of your pathways and in rockery gardens and retaining walls!
Double-Duty Beyond the Herb Garden
Mints, Pineapple Sage, and Chives are wonderful for bringing in the butterflies and bees! Want more pollinators and beneficial insects? Then you need to include Herbs everywhere! Ladybugs, dragonflies, and more are highly attracted to these plants! But oddly enough, pests seem discouraged by the volatile oils in their leaves. Borage looks pretty in a salad or your drink and attracts a wide variety of beneficial bugs!
Many Dill plants like Late & Blue, or Parsley plants are host plants for the caterpillars of Swallow Tail butterflies and other butterfly larvae! Plant a few extra to feed them for flying flowers each year!
Anise Hyssops, Pineapple Sage, and Chive flowers even attract hummingbirds!
Fill Rock gardens with Tansy and Tarragon, or try a Tri-Color Sage
Sensory garden plants are fragrant and flavorful from top to bottom like Mint and Sage!
Many Herbs are great Companion Plants
Go big with a Bay Laurel tree or Kaffir Lime tree on your poolside patio for shade and double-duty culinary foliage!
Decorating With Herbs on the Porch and Patio
You don’t even need a yard to enjoy these space-saving aromatic beauties! Any sunny porch, balcony, terrace, seating area planter, or window box can house plenty of Herbs!
Container & Planter Fillers, Spillers & Thrillers!
Create a barbecue side planter with Rosemary and Dill within arms reach for the grill, or a planter of Mint by your poolside bar for fresh Suntea, Mojito, or other refreshing drink additions and garnish! A planter of Parsley and Basil in the middle of a bistro set means edible garnish and fresh salads pick-me-ups that also act as table bouquets and décor!
Why buy an annual flowering plant as fillers or spillers in mixed planters on your front or back porch, when a Basil or Parsley will look just as pretty? Let Creeping Thymes spill over windowbox edges, or add spiky height and drama with the unique blooms and foliage of a Pink Flowering Chive.
Include some pesticide-free edible flowers too! All Herb flowers are edible, and so are many other varieties of flowers that are more than just pretty faces!
Balcony, Porch & Patio Gardens
Hot front porches and balconies in the sun look better with a Mediterranean Tuscan Blue Rosemary or one of the many varieties of Lavender perfuming your reading nooks and gracing your pots either as formal or informal decorations! These space-saving plants are natural for growing in tight spots! Use a Cascading Rosemary as a spiller, or a Tall Dark & Traditional Oregano as an upright filler.
Many trailing and creeping Herbs even do great in hanging baskets!
Decorating With Herbs Indoors
Throughout the growing season, many Herbs offer up a wide variety of ways for you to decorate indoors too! In addition to flavoring your food and preserves, drying them as a seasoning, or using them as a garnish, Herbs have a ton of uses indoors!
Cut Flowers
Dill, Lavender, and Chive blooms look fantastic in the cut flower garden, and many in the Mint family like Spearmints, Sages, and Catmints do too! Try using the fine-textured foliage of a Burgundy & Late Fennel, Purple-Leaf Basil, or Curly Leaf Parsley in your bouquets as greenery! You’ll create gorgeous and aromatic bouquets and flower arrangements with an unexpectedly chic and country flair by including Herbs among the other more expected blooms!
The perfect centerpiece for a relaxed dinner or outdoor dining set, both living and cut Herb stems set the stage for a bohemian dining experience!
Houseplants
These plants even do fantastic in a sunny, indirect windowsill or sunroom, so as soon as the season is winding down, many of these plants can be brought in as houseplants for the winter, or kept year-round as windowsill gardens!
Dried Décor!
Instead of bringing in the last Herbs as houseplants for the winter, harvesting the entire plant before a frost and drying them is a great way to preserve your harvest and extend the enjoyment of the garden all winter!
Gather bundles of the plant and tie them into little bouquets. Hang them upside down as kitchen decorations that can be used as a seasoning, or use the dried flowers and stems in botanical bouquets and wreaths.
Great Gifts!
Herbs are easy-to-grow gift plants that anyone will enjoy receiving!
Easy To Grow Herbs!
The best location to grow Herbs outdoors is anywhere in the garden that has at least 6 hours of sunlight and enriched well-drained soil and consistent moisture to support their vigorous growth. Indoor grown Herbs need all day, bright but indirect sunlight and very close attention to moisture levels.
Full Sun
Well-drained soil - Never soggy
Enriched, highly organic medium & regular fertility
Regular moisture needs
Pinch back or snip plants for Branching & Keeping them bushy
Cut back most Herbaceous annual and perennial Herbs in autumn (or bring them indoors before frost)
Scented, Flavorful & Double-Duty Herbs!
It’s time to think outside the vegetable garden and use Herbs everywhere! These flavorful, aromatic, and beautiful plants deserve to be in your home’s spotlight! Check out all the amazing flowering Herbs, convenient 3-Pack Herbs, and unique varieties available today at NatureHills.com!
Happy Planting!
for pushing through the soil.
aeration. A great multi-purpose tool for the gardener. Also called and used as Shrub Rakes, Stone rakes, and Lake Rakes (for ponds, pools and algae).
or steel wool keeps surfaces clean and removes dried-on clay and mud. Sharpen tools once a year - metal rasps and files or wet stones and grinders.
replacement parts.
