The best time to amend your soil is when you’re building a new garden. If you have flower or veggie gardens that haven’t been producing strong plants with great foliage, prolific flowers, or good harvests, then it may be time to amend your soil. Soil Testing The only real way to tell what your soil needs is with a soil test. Soil tests look at the texture, pH, and nutrients present in your soil. pH If you remember back to high school biology, pH measures the alkalinity and acidity of something; in this case, our soil. pH is a critical aspect of soil health because without proper pH plants cann ..read more

It’s cold out in our area right now, so jumping outside to do yard work probably isn’t front of mind for most folks, but Winter is actually a great time of year to prune many trees and shrubs. Pruning has a lot of benefits in generally, like maintaining an attractive shape, removing dead or crossing branches, reducing the risk of pathogens, and encouraging flower and fruit production. The benefits of winter pruning are that while the plants are dormant they are easier to work with and the pruning cuts aren’t at risk  of infection by insects, bacteria, fungus and other pathogens. There are ..read more

Allium, dogwood, and native grasses give beauty to all seasons… When we plant, we love to plant with all seasons in mind. The first growth in spring is exciting and green, the colors of flowers and foliage in the summer are always delightful and bold…then autumn hits and there’s a shift, vibrant towards subdued and we still love the textures and movement of the landscapes. And today, on the longest night of the year (shortest day), we can enjoy the quiet and stillness, and the landscape blanketed by snow. Our plants still show off their winter looks with textures and playful snow caps. Their s ..read more

Looking for a cozy event this winter? The Quilt Show is back at Sargent’s! The show will be put on by Plum Creek Quilters and will feature our greenhouse full of hundreds of quilts, quilting vendors, and and a whole lot of fun! $5 Admission The Plum Creek Quilters, established in 1987 , is primarily made up of women from Pierce & Pepin County. Over the years, they have given comfort quilts to many families in the surrounding area who have lost their homes to fire, or who find themselves in crisis. Some members also created personalized Memory Quilts for the families of service men and wome ..read more

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  Holiday Hours Monday-Saturday 9AM-6PM Sunday 10AM-5PM Thanksgiving Day (November 25, 2021) CLOSED Black Friday and Small Business Saturday (November 26 & 27, 2021) Open 9AM-6PM Christmas Eve Day (December 24, 2021) Open 10AM-3PM Christmas Day (December 25, 2021) CLOSED New Year’s Eve Day (December 31, 2021) Open 10AM-3PM New Year’s Day (January 1, 2021) CLOSED ..read more

October 21, 2021 Protecting Houseplants & Annuals Widespread frost is likely for the next few nights, as temperatures fall into the 30s in Red Wing, so that means it’s time to get serious about cold weather prep! If you happen to have any houseplants still sitting on your porch or patio, you’re going to want to bring those in today to avoid damage or worse, death. Most folks have likely taken steps to protect their indoor babies and moved them indoors a week or more ago, but if you haven’t, get after it! For those who are limping their summer annual planters along, like I am, yo ..read more

We’ve had several curious folks reach out to us and ask why the lilacs near the middle school are blooming now… After all, it’s October and lilacs bloom in May in Minnesota! So what’s going on here? Because of the intense heat and drought of this summer, the lilac shrubs entered an early dormancy to help the plant protect itself from those harsh elements. Now that the weather has cooled off and we’ve had some good rains, the plant is ready to jump back into action. Kind of like how lilacs bloom in the spring after a long winter dormancy, this condition-forced dormancy tricked this plant into t ..read more

We love Boxwoods. They are wonderful landscape shrubs that are deer-resistant, easy to care for, and stay green all winter long.  Anything that can bring color to home landscapes during the bleakest of winters is okay with us!  While Boxwoods are easy to grow and care for, we want to remind our Zone 4 folks in the Red Wing area that it’s important to continue watering your Boxwoods, especially those newly planted this season, up until the ground freezes in early to mid-November. Watering for winter prep is as easy as giving your shrubs at least a couple gallons–the total wi ..read more

Hardneck garlic bulbs are now available! These garlic bulbs have 8 or more cloves each, and each year’s harvest can provide next year’s cloves for planting! (Like one of those sourdough starters you had during 2020.) It’s a great investment! Learn how to plant fall garlic and overwinter in the link below! Garlic Planting Video   ..read more