The Longfield Gardens Blog

In December, the color experts at Pantone announced that “Illuminating”, a bright and cheery yellow, was their pick for the 2021 Color of the Year. The more we thought about it, the more we had to agree that yellow is a perfect choice. 2020 was such a dark and difficult year. It’s time for an about-face. Bring on the yellow!

Will you be planting dahlias this spring? We are offering four new dahlia collections, composed by floral-designer Alicia Schwede of FlirtyFleurs.com

It’s December. Have you ordered your dahlias yet? Planting season is still 4 months away, so it may seem early. But dahlia lovers know that the best varieties sell fast.

No matter what the reason, there’s no question that the color red rules the holiday season. Even flowers toe the line. During November and December, it’s hard to find much of anything other than red poinsettias and red amaryllis. While there’s no denying the beauty of velvety red flowers, amaryllis now offer some truly spectacular alternatives. Here’s a quick look at some of the options for the holiday season and beyond.

Raking leaves may not be your favorite thing to do on a beautiful fall day. But rather than thinking of it as a chore, think of it as harvesting! For gardeners, shredded leaves are the season’s most valuable crop. Read on to learn how you can use this free and abundant resource to improve the health and beauty of your garden.

In the 18th and 19th centuries, hyacinths were the world’s most popular spring-blooming flower bulbs. Yet today few people plant them. Learn why these easy, sweet-smelling flowers are finally making a comeback.

Add unexpected beauty to your spring garden and seasonal bouquets by planting some lesser-known daffodil varieties. There's a surprising range of colors, flower styles and bloom times to choose from.

Crocus, daffodils, tulips, hyacinths, alliums and other spring-blooming bulbs are planted in the fall. This can happen anytime from late September through December, but it varies by location and the type of bulbs you are growing. Read on to to learn how to adjust planting times so your bulbs get off to the best possible start.

Wish you had room for a spring cutting garden? Find out how two Seattle-area gardeners and floral designers are using corrugated steel agricultural troughs (also called a stock tanks) to grow a bountiful supply of tulips.

Some tulips have special super powers. They open one color and gradually change to another. Others can produce flowers in multiple colors. In this blog post, we show you five of our favorite color-changing tulip varieties: Sundowner, Double Gudoschnik, Artist, Creme Upstar and Apricot Foxx.

Fall is officially here and if you haven’t already ordered your spring-blooming bulbs, now is the time! Read on to learn about some of this year’s new varieties, mixes and bulk buys.

Like every other public garden around the world, Holland’s Keukenhof display garden closed its gates to the public last spring. But a handful of people with connections to the bulb industry were allowed inside to take pictures. Get inspired by what they saw.

Our newly expanded Planning Guide for Alliums makes it easy to visualize how these plants will look in your perennial gardens and other landscaped areas.

Dahlias are available in an astonishing range of flower sizes, styles and colors. This incredible diversity is part of what makes them so much fun to grow. But the dahlia’s variability can also produce some puzzling effects. Find out why dahlias can both delight us… and keep us guessing.

One of the reasons our Flirty Fleurs collections are so successful is that they are grown and arranged by a home gardener. To give you a window into the process, we asked Alicia Schwede to talk with us about how she created this year’s new Flirty Fleurs Brussels Collection.

Dahlias are vigorous plants that are born to bloom. They have an astonishing amount of flower power, yet are not invincible. If you suspect your dahlias are being attacked by a pest or disease, this article can help you identify the problem and figure out how to resolve it.