Cottage garden   Creating a beautiful garden space is not just about the plants and flowers. It is also about how you decorate that space. Unique home decor can transform your garden into a personal oasis. Whether you have a small balcony or a sprawling backyard, the right decor can enhance your outdoor experience. The Home & Garden Store is here to help you achieve that goal. In this post, we will explore various ways to add unique touches to your garden. From whimsical gard

The Home & Garden Store firmly believes that pruning is an essential gardening skill that will help in maintaining the health, appearance, and safety of your garden. Proper pruning encourages strong growth, improves fruit production, and helps in preventing disease. However, pruning can be intimidating without the right knowledge. This guide will walk you through expert tree pruning techniques that every gardener should know to keep their trees thriving. Understanding Tree Pr

Slugs can be a gardener’s nightmare. These slimy pests feast on leaves, stems, and fruits, leaving behind holes and damage that can ruin your plants. If you want a thriving garden, controlling slugs is essential. Fortunately, there are many effective ways to keep slugs at bay without harming your plants or the environment. This guide will walk you through practical and proven slug control methods to protect your garden and enjoy healthy, vibrant plants. If you need further he

Maintaining a great-looking landscape Recently, someone asked about the typical size of a Bruns Spruce. We provided the size range from the sales tag, which stated that the Bruns White Spruce typically grows to a height of 7 to 9 feet. This range is often used by nurseries to give buyers an idea of what to expect when buying a plant. However, the discussion became intriguing when she mentioned visiting another nursery where the same Bruns Spruce was listed with a much larger

Milkweed – A Monarch Butterfly's Best Friend Each year, The Home & Garden Store sees customers requesting milkweed. But what makes this plant so favored by enthusiastic gardeners? Milkweed contains a toxin called cardenolides. Caterpillars store these toxins in their bodies. This makes them unpalatable to birds, offering protection to both the caterpillar and the adult butterfly. Additionally, milkweed supplies the nutrients needed to sustain a healthy environment. Before cat

As the days get warmer, our thoughts turn to the blossoms of summer. It's the perfect time to get your hands dirty in the garden! Whether you're an experienced gardener or just starting out, summer still offers a wealth of opportunities to sow seeds and grow vibrant plants. This guide will provide you with essential insights and tips to make your gardening experience enjoyable and productive. Summer Gardening Advice Summer is the season of renewal, and it's also the time to p

The Home & Garden Store - A small garden center with lots of variety   Petunias are one of the most popular annual plants we sell at The Home & Garden Store.  They thrive in full sun and are quite easy to grow and care for.  To obtain good blooming and keep them looking as they are here at the garden center, there are a couple of things that we suggest. 1.       Petunias like full sun and adequate watering!  This isn’t just important for petunias, but for many sun plants.  2.

Improper care of a lawn can lead to fairy ring.

Sunlight can add beauty to any landscape  Of great importance is the amount of sunlight plants receive throughout the day. Plants such as rhododendrons and azaleas can not tolerate our intense, hot afternoon sun and needs to be in the shade no later than 2:00, preferably sooner. On the other hand, trees such as maple or honey locust need a full day’s sun to look great. Some plants grow reasonably well in either sun or shade, examples are limelight hydrangeas and ice plant. Th

Natural Guard "DIATOMACEOUS EARTH" It’s the time of year when gardeners are seeing their garden being riddled by insects and we have an effective yet safe method of controlling many of the insects found in the garden. Our nursery manager has over 49 years in the nursery industry and he certainly recommends Natural Guard Diatomaceous Earth as an effective way to control crawling insects. It’s a natural contact insecticide that works by causing abrasions on insects as they com

Our 4 step IFA program: Step 1.  Crabgrass Preventer, Step 2.  Weed & Feed, Step 3.  Spring & Summer,  Step 4.  Fall & Winter. Get Ready to Fertilize If you don’t remember how much fertilizer you need or haven’t calculated how much fertilizer your yard needs, start by  determining the square footage of your yard  then divide that number by 200 to get the number of pounds of fertilizer needed to cover your lawn. Yard width (ft) × Yard length (ft) ÷ 200 = lb. = number of pounds

We realize you have many choices when deciding where shop for your gardening projects and other services; of course, there are other nurseries around Boise as well as several large box stores and most nurseries will have a few knowledgeable staff members as well as those who may be in training.  The box stores likely will have no one with any real experience regarding plants and gardening products but will have good prices, giving you the option of deciding where and how to i

Do you need an expert to remove a tree that's outgrown its space, or are you looking to prune trees and shrubs this fall to prepare your garden for spring? Look no further than Climbing Sammy, an Idaho company with extensive experience. The owner, Sam, is highly skilled, and now is the perfect time to consult with him. Contact them at 208-409-1035 (Cami/Office Manager). You'll find their prices competitive and their quality of work exceptional. The Home & Garden Store has en

Poison Hemlock This toxic plant can be found in Idaho and is extremely poisonous to humans as well as animals! All parts of this plant are poisonous; this includes the flowers, the seeds, the leaves and the fruit of the plant. The stems are hollow and can be quite large at maturity. It is often recognized by its mottled purple spots on the stems and leaves. You should never touch or handle any part of the plant as the poison can rub off onto the hands or other parts of the

This is one of the most common perennial plants found in most parts of Idaho. Field bindweed is also one of the hardiest weeds and one of the most difficult to eradicate. This plant can put roots down as deep as 10 to 15 feet while nearly all chemicals will only kill roots within the top few feet, if that. Lateral roots typically form within the top 12 inches of soil. The roots have the ability to penetrate even our poor clay soil. Field bindweed grows close to the grou

This noxious perennial seems to thrive well in our Idaho soil and can be found growing from spring through fall. One thing about Canada thistle is that it can produce beautiful pinkish-purple flowers, but touching the leaves on this plant can be quite painful. As with most flowers, bees and butterflies are attracted to this plant. Although the flowers are quite attractive, they produce an abundance of seeds (up to 5000 seeds per flower) that create even more thorny foliage.

Slugs are often a problem in our area, especially in shady, damp areas of the garden. If you have slugs or snails, we have the products to control them. One way is to apply Natural Guard "Diatomaceous Earth", or you may wish to stop by our garden center and let us help you control the insects that is destroying your landscape.

Boise and the surrounding area is infested with billbugs each year, however the damage they create does not show up until the weather gets hot, usually about the first to the middle of July. By then, the damage is done and your lawn suffers damage for the later half of the year. And yes, they not only create an unsightly lawn, but they can kill your beautiful lawn. There are two products that are sold to control billbug damage. One lasts for a very short period of time an

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