Garden Center at Cottleville #3022

The Home Depot Mother's Day Sale
When you're searching for Mother's Day gardening gifts, check out the bargains on our planters, flower pots, and garden decor. Our Mother's Day Sale is your solution for the perfect present. You can even surprise her with new patio furniture. If you're debating what to get, a gift card always works. It's easy to shop the sales that run from May 2nd to May 12th on our mobile app or at your local store.



On those beautiful days, clean up the yard before everything blooms in earnest. Lawn care is often a priority, as well. Planning your garden lets you make the most of your time and space. You can also add beauty and interest with hardscaping, stonework, and water features. No matter what outdoor projects you choose to tackle, The Garden Center in Cottleville can help you enjoy your spring activities to the fullest.

Plant Hardiness Zones Explained
The first thing you should know when planting veggies, spring flowers, and other seeds is your planting zone. Every location in the U.S. and its territories is sorted by climate. Find your zone on the USDA planting zone map and learn when to plant seeds.

For example, you could plant bell pepper seedlings outdoors in mid-March in Zone 10, but not until the end of May in Zone 4. For best results, choose plants in your zone number or less. In other words, a Zone 6 garden can support plants listed as Zones 1–6. The timeframe to direct sow outdoors in your garden is often around a month later than the indoor start date. Be sure to read your seed packet for details. If you start them a little later than recommended, it's not ideal, but it will even out as time passes.

Gardening in Your Growing Zone
This area is primarily in Zone 6, with Zone 5 starting in Central Illinois, slightly north of Peoria and Bloomington-Normal. The outdoor growing season doesn’t begin here until mid-March or even April, although you can plant some veggie seeds halfway through February. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers, squash, and other classic garden crops will thrive in this region, and most of them can get an early start indoors before spring really moves in.

Also, check out cruciferous veggies and certain herbs if you’re ready to get planting. This includes broccoli, kale, and cabbage. Greens like spinach, artichokes, and fragrant herbs, including parsley, basil, and oregano, also don't mind an early beginning. The main concern is waiting until the frost has passed for the season, so planting seeds outdoors as direct sow is later here compared to farther south.

Plant Seeds Outside With Direct Sow
Planting seeds into your garden soil, or using the direct sow method, is an alternative option. It doesn't give you as much organized planning in terms of space and reliability as starting indoors. However, if you like to go with the flow, follow the instructions on your seed packet and try it out.

Prepare to deal with whatever hand nature deals you: You may have no germinating seeds. A critter may munch the tender seedlings for a snack. All the seeds you plant in each hole may sprout, so you'll need to choose the most robust sprouts to survive in a process called thinning. Heavy rain might wash away the seeds. But if you're lucky, you'll get strong sprouts that are ready to grow all spring.

Start Seeds Indoors
If you're eager to get growing or would like more control in the care and feeding of seedlings, start your seeds indoors instead. In general, you can plant seeds indoors about a month before you can do it outside. Like direct sow, you push the seeds into the soil as directed on the seed packet, but that's where the similarities end.

You're responsible for giving them quality substitutes for rain and sunlight. Keep your seeds cozy with warming mats and grow lights, water them carefully with a mister or watering can, then thin them as they germinate in groups of three. Give them a boost with a gently blowing fan as they lengthen into sprouts if you'd like. Harden them off to get them used to outdoor conditions, then transplant them into your garden when they're big enough.

Transplant Young Plants Into Their New Homes
By now, your plants have 3 or 4 real leaves — they'll look different from the miniature seedling leaves. When you're not expecting soaking rain, and the ground is warm, look into transplanting your small plants into their new outdoor home. These large seedlings that are ready to be planted can also be called "transplants" or sometimes "starts." In cases where you direct sowed, you may still want to shuffle plants around for the best spacing and sun. That's also a transplant situation, as is repotting plants into larger pots.

Protect Your Garden With Mulch
Finish it off with compost and mulch. Mulch controls weeds and keeps the soil moist. Compost enriches the soil so your garden can grow even better. It may help foster larger plants that bear more flowers and fruit. Mulch and compost can be purchased in-store or created at home. The next time you're looking for "mulch near me," stop by the Garden Center to get the perfect amount.

Greet the Spring
Early spring is an exciting time in the world of gardening. Don't miss a minute of growing season. Prepare to fertilize your lawn, plan your garden and landscaping, and browse our garden center pages to find inspiration on which spring flowers to plant when the weather warms. Shop for the fertilizer, seeds, and soil you need in the aisles of your Cottleville Garden Center, online, or on our mobile app. Let's get growing together.