Last weekend to spend your Mania Money!
Hello, again!
Sometimes it’s tough to make the seasonal color change in our flowerbeds at this time of the year. Many of our annuals are at their peak now and it’s tough to remove them and add fall color. My lantana looks pretty good now, but my purslane and salvia are finished. Maybe they were just tired, but the hail earlier this month also did a number on them.
I’m ready for all things autumn, now that it’s officially fall. With fall garden mums, bulbs and pansies, I’ll have three seasons of color. Having a red brick home as a background, I’m always on the lookout for bright colors for my plantings to show up well. My go-to has been purple and white in the past, but this year I’m going with yellow garden mums, yellow pansies and violas. To complement the overwintering hardy annuals, I’ll go with Golden Apeldoorn Darwin Hybrid tulips with their giant blooms. Select your own color combination of hardy annual pansies and violas. Add in spring flowering bulbs as well for color now through next spring.
Our locally grown pumpkins are now in stock as well. Combining these colorful fruits with fall color plants adds so much to any porch or patio. We have our Fall Porch Decorating Package specially priced at $59.99. This easy, fun fall package includes mums, gourds, pumpkins, ornamental kale, corn stalks, and a straw bale.
Or let us come to your place to deliver, design and set up a large, customized pumpkin package. It’s perfect for parties or anyone who has always dreamed of stepping out into a pumpkin patch every fall morning.
Another fall tradition for me is my New Mexico Pumpkin Bisque for cool days. You know I’ll add a bit of Hatch chile to about anything and pumpkin bisque is no exception. Prepping a pumpkin is pretty easy. Cut the pumpkin in half, remove the seeds, coat the outside with EVOO (Extra Virgin Olive Oil) and bake until the meat is soft - about 45 minutes. At the end of the bisque recipe, just add ½ cup pureed green chile.
We still have green chile at the stores, from mild to extra hot. Pick up a supply to keep in the freezer to enjoy all year long. Our 2025 Hatch Habit recipe book has our favorite recipes plus a few new ones to try. Stock up now on green chile, as the season is finishing up. We are currently roasting chile at our West 13th Store and bushels of roasted chile are BOGO! Chile is easy to save for the year. Just place the roasted peppers in freezer bags. They’ll be ready to clean and enjoy all year.
Don’t forget that Pansy Mania runs through this Sunday the 28th. Find your Mania Money and spend it now!
Your friend in the garden,
Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Centers
