LaValley Home & Garden

06/14/2026

✨ Native Plant of the Week ✨
WILD QUININE (Parthenium integrifolium)
🚨 THREATENED SPECIES 🚨
Available now at LaValley!

A tough, sun‑loving prairie perennial with striking white, button‑like flower clusters that look almost sculpted. This beauty once thrived across Wisconsin’s prairies and savannas—but habitat loss has pushed it onto the state’s Threatened list. Every garden that includes it becomes a tiny act of restoration.

🌱 Why It Matters
• 🌼 Pollinator Magnet — Its long bloom season feeds bees, butterflies, and beneficial insects.
• 🦋 Supports Biodiversity — A key species in prairie ecosystems.
• 💪 Resilient & Hardy — Handles drought, poor soils, and full sun like a champ.
• 🌾 Prairie Heritage — Planting it helps preserve Wisconsin’s ecological history.

🌎 Growing Tips
• ☀️ Full sun
• 🌱 Dry to medium soils
• 🧡 Give it space—this plant grows tall and proud
• 🐝 Leave stems standing through winter for overwintering insects

06/11/2026

🌼 🌺 🦋 🐝 GARDEN CENTER RESTOCK!

Several favorite and new varieties now restocked and available now!

Open Tuesdays through Fridays, 10am - 4pm. Saturdays, 10am - 3pm.
Closed Sundays and Mondays

06/10/2026

✨ Native Plant of the Week: Blue Cardinal Flower (Lobelia siphilitica) ✨

Available now at LaValley

Meet a true late‑summer standout — the Blue Cardinal Flower, a moisture‑loving perennial that brings electric blue color and nonstop pollinator action.

💙 Striking blue blooms — Tall spikes of tubular, two‑lipped flowers from July–September

🐝 Pollinator magnet — Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds flock to it

🦋 Hosts a number of moths and butterflies including: Pink-Washed Looper Moth, Lobelia Dagger Moth, Red-Banded Leafroller Moth, and Greater Black-Letter Dart Moth.

🦌 Deer resistant — A big win for woodland‑edge gardeners.

🌧️ Moisture‑loving — Perfect for rain gardens, pond edges, and moist areas

⛅️ Prefers part shade but can handle up to 6 hours of sun a day

06/08/2026

06/05/2026

Although we have some rain in the forecast, here is some important information on how to care for your newly planted native plants. With drought conditions developing in parts of Wisconsin, newly planted native plants, trees, and shrubs will needs additional water help them establish deep roots. Over-watering can be a problem though! Don't drown them. Here are some guidelines:

Overall, deeper watering less frequently (i.e. weekly) is going to have the best outcomes.

-For newly planted plugs, watch for signs of distress and water as needed. If it's hot and they're in full sun, that might be daily or every other day in the first few weeks. However, dig down in the soil a few inches and feel for the moisture first. Only water if dry.

-Newly planted trees and shrubs should get a deep watering once per week. Consider watering any tree or shrub that has been in the ground less than 2 full years. Set a hose at the base of the tree and run at just above a trickle for 20-30 min (depending on the size of the tree) once per week; 15 min for shrubs. 1 good soak is better than many shallow waterings.

-Established plants: some plants may droop in the hot sun, but if they recover once they're in the shade or after the sun goes down, no watering is needed. If they continue to look drooped, you may consider watering.

-Sprinkler watering: One option for established plantings or for older trees with large canopies is to start a sprinkler and put out a tuna can in the area to catch the water. You're looking to water enough to equal 1" of rain (about the depth of a tuna can). Do this once per week. Even established trees can benefit from this during drought conditions.

Yes, native plants are much more drought tolerant than many non-native plants but drought is still stressful to them. Stressed plants are more susceptible to insect damage or pathogens. Often, established native plants will be totally fine without additional water.

06/03/2026

Native Plant of the Week
✨ Downy Wood Mint - Blephilia ciliata ✨

Available now at LaValley

💜 🩵 Fuzzy stems boast fragrant foliage and pale blue-lavender flowers bloom in clusters during spring and through summer

🐝 🦋 Pollinator magnet! A favorite of the federally endangered Rusty Patched Bumblebee and is pollinated by native specialist bees

✅ Short stature, reaching 12 - 18”, this is a great alternative to Hyssop where space is limited. Great choice for container gardening!

☀️ 🌤️ Highly adaptable to many growing conditions - full sun, part shade, poor soils. It cannot tolerate flooding, however.

🪴 spreads slowly via rhizomes and makes an excellent front border or ground cover perennial.

05/29/2026

Almost opening time! Farmers Market will be open from 10am until 2pm today:
Puerto Rican Food Truck
Sacred Grounds Coffee
Lone Oak Homestead
Gray House
Joe & Linda’s Soft Cashew Brittle
My Handmade Craft
Wenzel’s Hilly Lane
Golden Acres

05/29/2026

It's a great day to visit LaValley!

Stop by to enjoy a cup of coffee, shop the farmers market, our store and the new greenhouse, and grab lunch at the food truck!

05/28/2026

Two full loads later, the garden center has been restocked! Open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10am until 4pm and Saturdays from 10am until 3pm. It’s a great weekend to plant some native perennials!