If you’ve kept up with some of the posts of projects we’ve done at Oak Street Garden Shop, you might realize we enjoy creating fun things as well as helping customers with plants and gardening. Our latest project started life as an old table…one that perhaps had seen better days. We’d all discussed creating a […]
With the spring planting season approaching, the nursery will be a plant lovers dream, filled with the best of everything we can find. These include fragrant, ornamental, and edible herbs, including the popular oregano ‘Kent’s Beauty’, sun and shade loving perennials for your garden, bright, flowering annuals for pots and planting beds, and shrubs expressly selected for […]
Found objects…Have you ever come across something unexpected or in an unlikely place? Or turned a common object from one thing into another, transforming its former use into something completely different? The first happened to Jamie. On a walk she found two small concrete pipes…from what we’re not sure, but they […]
There are many unusual varieties of staghorn ferns, but the most common, and the one you’ll see most often, is Platycerium bifurcatum. Staghorn ferns in their natural habitat grow in trees as epiphytes, getting their nutrients from tropical rains that wash nutrients onto their growing base. They’re native to the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Indonesia, Northern […]
January in the greenhouse is a quiet time. Sure, there are folks coming in for a houseplant for a pot, or to pick up a few pansies to fill in their winter weary containers, but for the most part there’s plenty of time to work on projects of all sorts. This month, Jamie, Pinkie and […]
Oh my goodness…last week the first shipment of new miniature garden pieces came in – and what a delight! There will be even more in the weeks to come, but now we will content ourselves with brand new miniatures of weather vanes, picnic tables, tiny metal wagons and even the smallest bottles of wine for […]
The last post on these cork bark pieces was an inspirational hit for many of you, and, since we’re having so much fun with them, I wanted to share some more photos. We’ve reordered them a couple of times because they’ve become so popular. And what fun to plant!! The first post focused on […]
These cork bark pieces are so organic and natural…we love them and wanted to pass on just a couple of ideas for planting them. Actually, they were one of those happy accidents – one wrong stroke of the keyboard, with a different item number ordered than planned, and, voila, these cork bark pieces arrived the other […]
Fall is almost here (wish it would hurry up) and we’re all ready to finally start putting up our fall decor! And nothing says fall quite like pumpkins. We have our faux pumpkins in stock and I’ve already made a few arrangements that I’m very excited to share. Our variety this year includes some cool […]
So, with the sun cranking up the heat and heat advisories doing their rounds in the Southeast, I wanted to talk about keeping safe while working outdoors. Many dermatologists insist on proper sun protection. The sun’s ultraviolet (UV) rays can cause lasting damage to your skin, ranging from sunburn to more serious conditions. Sunscreen is […]
That’s when we look at each other and say, “We are so lucky to work outside!” We’ve been looking forward to this, and with the arrival of pumpkins, gourds, and fall decorating staples, we are willing the temperatures to fall. The hanging “platforms” shown here a couple years ago were used to […]
You’re no doubt familiar with the brightly colored bracts and strap-like leaves of bromeliads. Extremely long lasting and colorful alternatives to orchids and other flowers, they can’t be beat for a touch of tropical beauty and their ease of care in our homes and offices. These bright plants are distinguished by their rosettes of leaves […]
Spring is for planting in the garden and in pots. Flowers, herbs, perennials, shrubs, and vegetables are all players in the annual game of “What will grow in this spot?” or “What can I plant in this pot?”. Now that summer is here though, the pace is slower with fewer questions as […]
I have a tiny oak tree out back that used to be on its way to attaining an impressive size – until Hurricane Ivan hit and toppled a huge hickory tree onto it, effectively topping it. I know I should have taken it down when the tree company came to clear out the downed hickory, but […]
It was a spring Saturday in April, and the day before Easter, a steady, busy day with all sorts of customers, everyone in good spirits. There were young couples with children, husbands and wives out and about on the holiday weekend getting plants for projects, an elderly man with two relatives helping him select his […]
I’ve talked before about creating beautiful combinations using primarily foliage as a starting point and adding flowers to complement leaves. While this post is about choosing interesting plants for containers, the design concepts are used by the best garden designers for beautiful landscapes too. Plantings in pots are much less intimidating, though, and are a way to […]
Early spring in Birmingham….the temperatures fluctuate up and down, and it’s still early to be planting the real heat lovers like caladiums and vinca in the ground – oh, but your fingers are itching to dig in the garden again… Happily, you can begin planning […]
Recently on a weekend off I spent a bit of an afternoon doing some necessary chores in the garden and much of the rest simply piddling. I enjoy observing my plantings, checking buds on shrubs and trees, and scratching through the leaf litter looking for signs of life from perennials I know are there […]
Kokedama: Kokedama is a Japanese bonsai planting technique, dating back hundreds of years. These unique hanging gardens are also called string gardens or moss balls and are incredibly easy and fun to create. Almost any plant can be used, so it’s a great project for experimenting with different plants. A kokedama garden is created […]
Do you forget each year exactly what you planted the year before or have trouble keeping track of how many plants you used in a planter or bed? There’s an easy answer, and it’s probably in your pocket or purse right now. Our phone cameras are a great gardening tool. I use mine to take […]