Casino Connection Atlantic City

Spring Garden Success

Selecting plants you will have the time to properly maintain offers the best chance of a showplace garden

by Sally Burke

It’s that time of year again. Drive through Atlantic City and the casino properties are exploding in color, with summer annuals, perennials and flowering shrubs.

A tremendous amount of planning and work goes into making the properties look so great. Just ask the people at Parker Plants, who are responsible for planting and maintaining thousands of plants and annuals each summer season within the resort.

In about three weeks time, between April and May, Parker’s employees are busy transforming Atlantic City’s casino properties into the showplaces you see as you drive through town—and they make it look easy.

The most popular question asked by patrons passing by as a Parker project is taking place: “When you’re done here can you come to my house?” The answer is sure, if you live in Hawaii and pay for the trip! (Parker only services large, upscale commercial properties.) But if that doesn’t work for you, here are some simple steps Parkers recommends to help you turn your yard into the neighborhood showplace.

The first step is planning. Pick an area to concentrate on. Mass plantings of color create the most impact. Entrances, containers on decks, or an area you will see through a window from inside your home are good places to start.

Once you have decided on the location, determine its microclimate. Is it shady, sunny, wet, dry? Now is the time to turn over the soil and add top soil where needed. Make sure containers have good drainage.

On to the fun part, shopping! At first, you will want to buy everything you see—it’s all so pretty. But remember step one. Look for plants that will fit your area. Read the labels and make sure the plants you purchase will do well in the location you have decided on.

If you limit your choice to two to three plants that will work and repeat them through the planting, you will create more of an impact than choosing one of everything. Be realistic. Don’t choose fussy plants if you don’t have the time to work with them. Plants with simple maintenance can be just as showy, and can give you more time to enjoy them.

Go to a reputable garden center or nursery and buy the best quality plants you can find. You don’t want to spend the summer waiting for a bargain plant to “get better.”

Once you bring your plants home and plant them, proper maintenance becomes key. Keep them well-watered. You can fertilize them every two to three weeks with a soluble fertilizer, like Miracle Gro, or give them a slow release treatment like Osmocote once or twice during the summer.

Periodically remove old blooms and trim overgrown areas to promote the production of more flowers. Take notes on what does well and what doesn’t. Use this information next year to constantly upgrade your overall design. Now, sit back and enjoy.

Sally Burke has headed Parker Interior Plantscape’s Atlantic City casino operation for over 20 years. Richard Parker, president of Parker Plants, is also vice president of the Atlantic City Hotel Lodging Association. If you have any questions on your landscape you can submit them to rich@parkerplants.com or visit www.parkerplants.com