Our 2013 comprehensive planting guide will give you the "how to" on planting annuals to perennial trees and shrubs. Just Click on the image below or follow the link to our PDF, printer-friendly version. Happy planting!
PlantingGuide2013 (printer-friendly PDF version)
Hello everyone, and happy Sunday! All of us at Garden Supply would like to wish you dedicated, hard-working, fabulous dad's out there a wonderful Father's Day.
The greatest gift I ever had Came from God; I call him Dad! ~Author Unknown
We appreciate each and every one of you!
Also a big thank-you to everyone who attended our Annual Auction yesterday. We had a wonderful turn-out, lots of lovely garden items up for auction, and food and fun for everyone. A good time was had by all, and we couldn't have done it without you.
Today I would like to share with you a few care tips for your June lawn and gardens. For those with fescue grass, June is the month to treat and prevent brown patch which appears as a browning area in the lawn typically in the summer months when conditions are favorable. Brown patch is caused by a fungus, and if your lawn is showing signs, you will need to treat with a fungicide. We recommend that you apply Hi-Yield Lawn Fungicide to prevent brown patch. Two applications may be necessary if rain has been heavy.
While brown patch does cause patches of dead grass, other things can cause the same symptoms. If the area is poorly drained and water stands on a spot for more than 24 hours, the grass roots will rot, causing a dead patch. Also, in areas where the sod has rooted poorly, brown patches will develop as dry weather sets in. So what are the true symptoms of the disease? True brown patch spots are small to begin with but in warm weather they can enlarge rapidly. Seen from above, the patch will look like a doughnut - a ring of tan grass having a patch of green grass in the center. Individual grass blades will be brown down to the crown - where the blade emerges from the ground - but the crown will be green. Early in the morning during hot, damp weather you might see a white fungal web at the edge of the dead grass patch.
Never water in the evening. The best time to water is in early morning. Fescue is much more susceptible when it has lush, green growth plus warm nighttime temperatures. The second step is to water at the right time. Since brown patch needs 14-16 hours of wet leaf surface to reproduce itself, water only after the dew has dried in the morning. An alternative is to water after nightfall. Since the grass is wet with dew anyway, watering in the dark does not unnecessarily extend the wet period.
So what if you have brown areas in your sod or planting beds due to poor rooting mixed with our hot summer temperatures? We have help for that, too. Garden Supply owner,Keith Ramsey, recommends treating with Drought Defense by Soil Logic to reduce water consumption and enhance growth.
Drought Defense reduces the amount of water needed to irrigate lawns, groundcovers, trees, and other plants. This soil moisture management product helps prevent plant-available water from evaporating or draining past the root zone. It is super-concentrated, long-lasting, helps lower watering bills and is safe for use on fruit and vegetable plants. Drought Defense is environmentally friendly and is safe for use around children and pets.
This easy-to-use concentrate is ready to go. Simply connect the sprayer to your hose and spray evenly over measured area. Be sure to irrigate all treated areas after application to wash the product into the soil. After two applications of the product, normal watering time and quantity can be reduced up to 50%!
For those of you with warm-season grasses like Bermuda, Centipede and Zoysia, June is the time for over-seeding your bare spots and laying down an application of fertilizer.
We have everything you need down at the Garden Center, and our experts are standing by with answers to all your lawn care questions. Stop by and pay us a visit and get your June lawns and garden looking in tip-top shape in no time.
Thanks so much for stopping by! I'll be back soon with more snippets from the garden.
Good morning everyone! We sure are getting a spot of rain this weekend, aren't we? It's a bit gloomy for us, but just think how happy the dry landscape is right about now. I know that my grass was feeling the strain of the heat already. Last post I shared with you all a few tips on selecting the right pots and potting mixes for your outdoors containers. Now that you've gotten started, here are a few hints on basic design principles to create a stunning impact with your pots.
For a good basic design, just remember three words- thriller, spiller and filler. Combine an upright plant, a trailer that spills down the pot's sides, and a filler to add fullness and color.
Good choices for your thriller plants include yucca, cannas, fountain grass, and the 'spikes' shown here, among others. Try ferns, hostas or heucheras for your shady container garden.
False Dracaena 'Spikes'
'Spikes'
Options for the spiller feature include creeping jenny, sweet potato vines, calibrachoa, and bacopa, to name a few.
Callie Brights Calibrachoa
Calibrachoa, available in multiple color choices, provide an abundance of brightly colored blooms all season long. They are easy to grow and very rewarding. Perfect for all kinds of containers, including window boxes, hanging baskets and combination planters.
Giant White (suteracordata) Bacopa
Hundreds of beautiful flowers cover the bacopa trailing plants all summer. The Giant White variety continues to bloom even after other bacopas have stopped, making it another perfect choice for your containers.
Filler plants are available in all different color choices and foliar interest. Look for flowers in the annuals section, any number of which will be perfect for the filler feature.
To make a real impact with your container garden, remember there is power in numbers. Combine three, five, or even more pots in varying sizes and styles on steps, in a corner, or at an entry. Containers that are unremarkable by themselves take on greater impact in groups.
If you're looking for a real star of the show, know that pots with single plants can be stunning accents. Choose a larger container and a plant with striking features, and this stand-alone will take center stage.
Hope these basic design tips help you create the container garden of your dreams. Remember that our helpful experts are on hand seven days a week to assist with all your planting needs, including tips on choosing the right plants for your containers. I'll be back soon with hints about TLC for your newly planted pots. See you all soon!
Good morning everyone! Today is Earth Day, and it's the 40th anniversary of the holiday. It's a great time to learn about our planet and how to take care of it. Think you can't make a difference? Not so. Little things- like using a cloth shopping bag, or tossing potato skins and eggshells into a compost bin- can help the environment. Teach your kids now, and they will develop good habits that endure throughout their lifetime. Together we can see, just one person can make a difference. Here are a few ways you can go green this Earth Day, and every day.
REDUCE ELECTRICITY: Explain to your children that lights, televisions, computers and furnaces all use energy, and that energy is in short supply. Turning off the lights when leaving the room or switching off the TV when you're done watching will save energy.
Also, appliances like coffee-makers, DVD and CD players, toasters, and hairdryers do use energy, even when turned off. Unplugging your devices from the electrical outlet is the way to conserve energy when not in use.
RECYCLE: Every bottle and can that we use is waste, and will end up sitting in the town dump unless it's recycled. The Town of Cary has a wonderful curb-side recycling program and yard waste collection making recycling a snap. If there's no recycling collection in your area, find out where you can drop off items.
COMPOST: It's easy to collect your own food scraps and garden waste and turn it into healthy compost for your yard. Get your kids involved in a little craft project to create a compost container, like this cute one here.
photo courtesy of Kaboose.com
This project isn't only fun- it's great for the environment and your garden too. With just a minimum of effort, you can help reduce waste and produce rich, healthy soil to spread around your yard. Too see step-by step instructions for creating this project, as well as other fun Earth Day kids crafts and activities, check out this wonderful website.
TAKE SMALL STEPS:
PLANT A TREE: Trees not only will beautify your yard, they also help remove pollutants and dust from the air. They also act as natural insulation-enough to cut your heating and cooling bills by 10 to 30 percent. Planting a tree can commemorate a special event or anniversary and also acts as a natural jungle gym. We have tons of trees to choose from down at the garden center. A nice choice for this time of the year is the Fringe tree, in full bloom this week.
Fringe tree or Old Man's Beard is a beautiful, small tree when it is in full Spring bloom. It can grow nearly anywhere in the continental United States and it's white flower color kicks in just as the dogwood blooms are fading.
The upright oval to rounded form of Fringe tree adds dark green color in summer, bright white flowers in spring. The pure white, slightly fragrant flowers hang in long, spectacular panicles which appear to cover the tree with cotton for two weeks. As with other white flowered trees, they look best when viewed against a dark background.
I planted this Fringe Tree from Garden Supply in my own yard two years ago for Earth Day. What a spectacular addition to my landscape!
If you're looking for some additional activities for this Earth Day, join us this evening at Cary's all green McDonalds on Kildaire Farm Rd. for a fun-filled schedule of events.
Thanks so much for stopping by everyone! And don't forget that you, too, can do your part to help save the environment, today and everyday!
