May day! May day! Spring is sailing along and it is hard to believe that it is already the first day of May. The spring gardening window is closing fast and in a short time it will be Mother's Day. What better way to make Mom smile than with a gift of plants she can enjoy for a whole summer rather than a gift she can only enjoy for a day or week. Cottage Farms Direct has plenty of great plants ready to ship so be sure to check our new daily feature, the Gardener’s Pick of the Day, for special savings that will help your budget as well as give you some excellent gift-giving ideas.

The question that many of you are asking us is "is it too late to plant"? For the colder areas of the country now is the perfect time to plant. For most areas of the country, temperatures are still moderate and plants can be easily planted without fear of water or heat stress. They also have time to acclimate before temperatures reach hot summer levels. In the southernmost part of the country, you still have time to plant but you need to make sure the plants are properly hydrated and have plenty of water to survive the transplanting process. And, remember, when you order your perennial plants from Cottage Farms Direct they are guaranteed for one year and annual plants are guaranteed for 90 days. There is no risk! If you are not happy, we are not happy!

With Mother's Day just around the corner, let us help you with your gift ideas. From fruits and vegetables to roses of all shapes, sizes, colors and types, to blooming annuals, Cottage Farms Direct has just the right gift for your special Mom. When ordering, feel free to drop us a line to let us know that this is a gift for Mom and we'll include a Mother's Day greeting for her.

Speaking of annual plants, this is our first season to offer high performance annuals and the demand has been tremendous. These beautiful plants will provide your beds, landscape, and containers with color and texture the entire summer. We still have a great selection, including 'Blue Moon' Torenia, 'Desert Shine' Calibrachoa, 'Peach Sunrise' and 'Red Bandana' Lantana, plus many others. We chose many of these annuals for their performance in heat and drought situations knowing that most of the country has experienced some form of either or both over the past few summers. Keep these annuals in mind when shopping for Mom this Mother's Day and provide instant color for her garden.

As mentioned, annuals add so much to container gardens. Container gardens are a great way to add color, contrast, and texture to your landscape or patio. When you have a few moments, check out our Container Planting recipes that give you great ideas on how to use different types of plants together to create an attractive and amusing container garden. These recipes include the plant names, where to place them in our container, and all the information you need. All of the plants in our recipes are available on our website and are just waiting for you to ship to Mom to create her own special garden.

We have also seen an increased demand in our Heirloom Tomatoes category. The option of growing your own fruits and vegetables is gathering momentum in gardens across the country with the driving forces being the great taste and the healthful benefits of growing your own fresh produce. Just this week we added individual variety purchase options of some of our best Heirloom tomato varieties including Cherokee Purple, Green Zebra, and Abraham Lincoln. Mom is sure to enjoy growing her own tomatoes and we have all the tools available to help her have a successful tomato garden.

Roses always send a passionate message when sent as a gift and what better way to send a heartfelt message than with roses. To help you send your special message, check our Garden Shop for the Annual Tree Rose Sale and the Super Saver Miniature Rose Collection which includes eight beautiful plants in 2.25" pots that can be planted in containers or in the landscape. Each of these offers will produce roses all summer long so that each time Mom sees them she will remember you as the best child in the bunch!

Be sure to look over our home page that highlights a garden pick of the day, a specially priced offer just for you. We have so many new items and great savings to offer, we wanted to feature them on our home page.

We hope you have had a great gardening season and if there is anything we can do to help, please let us know!

Thought for the week!

~ Old English Rhyme ~