Spring is here, and people are anxious to start their home gardens, but the weather in the high country can be unpredictable. Mustard Seed Market founder, Danielle Stewart, has spent 31 years in the nursery and gardening business refining the spring planting season. Here are some tips and tricks of the trade to ensure success for all gardening methods this spring!
Cool-season annuals such as pansies, violas, creeping jenny, etc. can give you color in the garden and containers. The best method for up here is to use containers since the ground is cold and wet. These plants will take you into June no problem, and they can handle light frost and other daunting spring weather.
We also mix cool-season annuals with perennials coming out and breaking dormancy. These perennials can handle cool weather and give texture and interest to your pots!
You also don't have to wait for warmer weather to get ferns. We have a great selection of fern hanging baskets at the Mustard Seed. Ferns can be kept outside during the day and brought inside at night to give your exterior a pop of lively green color. Early spring is a great time to buy larger ferns which usually sell out quickly once warmer weather hits.
It is most important to know if a plant can handle a hard freeze or not and whether you can bring it in and protect it if we get a season freeze. The last frost day is typically the middle of May, but as anyone who has lived here for more than a year knows, you need to be prepared to protect things through the end of May.
It is also the perfect time to plant deciduous trees and shrubs while still dormant but looking to bloom soon. Early spring is an excellent opportunity to get an early jumpstart on spring color and enjoy the blooming process.
For more tips, tricks, and inspiration, visit the Mustard Seed Market from 9am-6pm on Monday-Saturday.
About Danielle:
Danielle Stewart started the Mustard Seed Market in 1992 and has spent the past 31 years providing a curated selection of home goods, plants, flowers, and all forms of greenery to the high country. As a Blowing Rock local, Danielle has researched and experienced the proper techniques, tricks, and tips for successful growing and gardening in the mountains of Boone, NC. Danielle is an avid plant lover, floral designer, mother of three children, four dogs, and two mini donkeys with a background in interior design and horticultural studies.