At Rekker’s we have a reputation for helping our customers with all their garden problems - we try, at any rate! We get questions in person, by phone, by facebook message and by email. We do our best to answer them all but we often need a little extra help finding just the right answers for you. And what we generally turn to for help these days is, of course, the internet!

If you like to do your own research you can run a google search and then try to sift through all the results to find the answer that is both legit and helpful - often very time-consuming. So to help you, here are just a few of our favourite websites, blogs, YouTube channels and facebook groups that we find useful for gleaning more info and turning us into better gardeners.

Perennial plants & shrubs info:

Heritage Perennials

Connon Nurseries

Gardening info and articles:

Gardening Know How

HGTV

Old Farmers Almanac

Plant toxicity to pets

Durham Master Gardeners

Ask an expert:

Royal Botanical Gardens

Toronto Master Gardeners

Master Gardeners of Ontario Facebook Group

Blogs & YouTube Channels:

Houseplant Journal

The Laidback Gardener

Garden Answer

Plants, Pots & What-Nots

37 days and its officially spring! That is certainly something to look forward to. Even though it is officially labelled the spring equinox, it doesn’t mean the weather may jump on board and it will feel like spring. But you can do something to make it feel like spring indoors: force branches into early bloom!

Cutting and bringing in a few branches of forsythia, pussy willow, cherry, plum, apple, flowering almond and even lilacs and magnolias where you can enjoy their beauty and fragrance weeks ahead can sure do a lot to ease the winter blahs.

Pick a warmer (above freezing) day to prune branches to ease any shock of going from cold to warm indoors. Choose thinner branches that won’t change the aesthetics of the plant when removed. Look for branches with lots of buds. Fatter round buds tend to be the flowering buds. With sharp pruners cut 1 ½ to 2 feet long on a sharp diagonal to increase water uptake. Crushing the ends a bit will also encourage it.

Place in room temperature water and place vase in a bright room away from direct sun and heat. Give them a fresh cut every 3-4 days. Depending on the variety of branch, they will start blooming anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks. Have patience, it can take time!

Tip: once they are blooming, move them to a cooler location to prolong the flowers.