Free beer!
Spring is here... at least I think it’s mostly here!
The calendar now says it’s spring and the weather is looking better, so I’ll take it! The grass is starting to green up, and the flower buds on trees are swelling up... a few are even showing some color. We’re headed in the right direction.
We’re bound to see a few cool nights yet; it’s still too early to think we passed all that. Our average last freeze date is mid to late April, so we still have some time yet before we start planting summer crops like peppers and tomatoes, but as for everything else... it’s time to go for it!
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been starting new crops and receiving loads of new plant material. With the colder temps we just went through, however, we’ve held off bringing things out onto our sales lot. That’s all changing this week!
We’re going through a major transformation right now, and plants are coming back out onto the lot... finally! Just like spring growth, our plants are starting to peak back out. And the timing couldn’t be more perfect, because this weekend is our Spring Kick Off Weekend.
Cameron Rees, General Manager
This Saturday and Sunday we’re celebrating the new season! There will be all kinds of great plants, all kinds of great gardening products and lots of staff on hand to answer questions and offer inspiration. We’ll have some snacks to enjoy, and our friends from the Norsemen Brewing Company will be on hand on Saturday serving up some of their finest... that would be beer. And trust me, they brew great beer!
There will be some weekend specials, free issues of our new Garden Guide catalog, and we’ll have lots of things for the veggie garden — like asparagus, strawberries, onions, potatoes and early spring transplants, as well all kinds of garden seed. There will be a lot to check out!
We’re excited spring is here, and we’re looking forward to celebrating this weekend. We hope you can join us.
Cheers! 🍻
-Cameron
What’s New?! Hellebores
Misty Brown, Lath House Manager
As I’m writing this, we are coming off of a day where is rained then proceeded to snow. Today it’s 43 degrees and we just had a 2-minute snow shower and tomorrow night the low is 15. As your reading this now it is probably 70 degrees outside, maybe some rain… Mother Nature sure is a strange lady when it comes to spring in Kansas.
Anyways, spring even though the weather is crazy it does bring some beautiful blooms. One in particular is Hellebores a.k.a. Lenten Rose a.k.a. Winter Rose a.k.a. Christmas Rose — which, actually, isn’t a rose at all. It is a shade perennial that shows up in early spring with gorgeous cup shaped flowers. Some flowers are upward facing while some hang like bells off of the stem. Lenten Rose come in shades of pink, white, lime green and, sometimes, near black. They make a great addition to any shady garden and add a pop of color when everything else is just starting to wake up.
“Thymely” Advice
Low Maintenance Landscape Beds
Springtime is garden clean-up time. And just like any other gardening project, there are easier ways to do things and harder ways to do things… I’m a big fan of easier!
Through years of gardening, I’ve picked up a few tricks. I’ve also learned some ways are easier. Some ways produce better results. And, if I can accomplish both at the same time... well, that just makes good sense!
So, here are a few things that make my gardening work easier while also producing better results.
Chop and drop.
Springtime brings a lot garden “clean-up.” Ornamental grasses and perennials are being cut back and that creates a lot of debris. Don’t throw that away! In my garden, all that material—along with all the tree leaves that have blown in—go right back onto my landscape beds to function as mulch, eventually recycling back into the soil and feeding my plants. I chop it up small so it filters down into place. Sometimes I even bring my push mower in if the project is big enough. My spring clean-up is quick and easy, and my garden grows better because of the process.
Touch up mulch.
Even with the “chop and drop” method above, I still have areas in my garden that need a little more. Aim for about 3” of shredded wood mulch. That keeps weed growth down to a minimum, dresses things up, eliminates mud in the garden, and makes plants happy. Mulch should be in place year-round, but from time to time, it will need to be top-dressed as it decomposes. This time of the year is a good time to give your mulch a spring “tune-up” if needed.
Apply a pre-emergent.
If you want a little extra help with weed prevention, use a pre-emergent in your landscape beds. Hi-Yield Turf and Ornamental Weed and Grass Stopper—applied now, following label directions,—is the help I use. Applying it late winter/early spring and again in late summer/early fall provides an extra layer of weed protection, and fewer weeds means less maintenance.
Feed plants.
I like to fertilize landscape plants late in the fall and then again in the spring, like now. Use Fertilome Tree and Shrub Food for all your woody plants and Fertilome Gardener’s Special for your perennials.
Fill in gaps.
If you have areas that still need to be planted, get them filled in. Spring is a great time to plant as well as a great time to divide and replant perennials. Remember, the fewer gaps you have, the less weed pressure you’ll be fighting. If you need help figuring out what you should plant, come ask us!
Prune things.
If trees or shrubs in your landscape need some corrective pruning, do that now before new growth starts. Nothing grows exactly the way you need it, so plan on pruning, and plan on doing it on a regular basis. All gardens need a little “adjustment” from time to time.
There you go, those are my tips for making my spring clean-up a little easier and a lot more successful. Now, give them a try in your own garden.
Good luck!
-Cameron Rees
Red Bag Reminder!
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Red Bag Reminder! *
Don’t forget to get your “Red Bag” — Fertilome For All Seasons Crabgrass and Weed Preventer, applied and watered in soon... unless you like crabgrass!