living and dying in 3/4 time
I don’t remember when I heard my first Jimmy Buffet song, but I do remember when I knew I was a fan.
It was early in my college years, and I was on a road trip. There were three of us and we were headed to Yellow Stone National Park to see some friends. We were traveling in an old Chevy pickup with a camper shell on the back loaded with of our gear.
The truck had a cassette player, and we had three tapes to help pass the time the 20-hour drive, George Strait’s Ocean Front Property, James Taylor’s Greatest Hits, and Jimmy Buffett’s Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.
Changes in Latitudes… I was hooked.
Like so many, I was saddened by the recent news of Jimmy Buffet’s passing. There’s just something special about his music. His lyrics are easy to connect with and his laid-back island sound… well, it’s easy to fall in love with.
One of my favorites has always been One Particular Harbor. I was listening to it the other night on YouTube. One song led to another, and before I knew it, a couple of hours had passed, I found myself deep down the Jimmy Buffet rabbit hole. It was a fun journey. I enjoyed an endless string of concert performances intermixed with the occasional interview on Johnny Carson, Dave Letterman and Jimmy Fallon. When you’ve been making music for over 50 years, you tend to get around.
Cameron Rees, General Manager
It was during a recent appearance on Jimmy Fallon that I heard Jimmy Buffet say,
“Fun is important in this world.”
I thought that pretty much summed it up... Jimmy Buffet’s music is just fun, and we do need that in this world.
You know what else is fun? Gardening! We’ve got lots to check out for this fall gardening season. If you need anything, come see us.
—Cameron Rees
Fall Color
Fall is quickly approaching, and with the much-welcomed cooler mornings and evenings, it gets us thinking about the colors of fall. With the brutal heat we had the last few weeks it has left most summer annuals looking a tad “tired.” Now that the temperatures have gone down, we can focus on re-vamping those pots and filling them with some fall color. Mums, celosia and flowering cabbage/kale are great plants to swap out for those summer annuals. Next week, the pumpkins and gourds will arrive ready to deck out your front porches and surrounding areas!
—Misty Brown, Lath House Manager
Cooler Weather is Here!
This is the perfect time to start that fall lawn seeding. Whether you’re a pro or new to the game, we want to give you the best chance for success. I have gathered some tips and tricks that you can use to help ensure just that—success!
First and foremost, and possibly the most important decision, choose the right grass seed for your lawn. That is our Gard’n-Wise Premium Tall Fescue Blend. It’s been carefully selected to offer the best in appearance and durability.
Start by mowing your lawn down to about 1-1 ½ inches and rake or bag up all that debris... but, don’t throw it away! Use it in your garden or put it on your compost pile. Don’t have a compost pile... well, it’s time to start!
Once your lawn is clean, you should use a verti-slicer to begin to prepare your lawn. These can easily be rented from rental companies all over town. Work over your lawn, going in the same direction over the whole yard, and cleaning up all the loose debris when done.
Now the fun part! Once you have prepped your lawn, you are ready to spread grass seed. You want to spread the seed at the recommended rate. That’s 3-4 pounds of grass seed per 1,000 square feet if you are overseeding into an existing stand. Double that if you are seeding onto bare ground.
It is important to understand, more seed is not be better. That’s a myth. Think about it like a glass of water. You want to put the right amount of water in the glass for the glass to be full. More water isn’t going to make the glass fuller, it’s going to overflow the glass. More isn’t better. It’s the same for grass seed. Too much grass seed will cause the grass to compete for resources and seedlings will struggle and often fail.
Next, apply a good starter fertilizer. We recommend Fertilome New Lawn Starter. Put it down at the same time as your grass seed, but in separate applications.
Once you’ve completed seeding and fertilizing, you want to go back over the lawn with the verti-slicer again, making sure to go in a perpendicular direction to the original pass. This time leave the clippings covering the seed that you have now worked into the soil. This is beneficial to the seeds as it protects them while they germinate.
The final step... water, water, water!!!!
Watering is very important. How much and how often will determine how successful you are when seeding. Try to avoid any pooling of water as this may wash away grass seed and prevent those germinating. Remember, your goal is just to keep the top inch or so moist, so you’ll be doing frequent light waterings. Use a good sprinkler or invest in a water timer for when you’re at work. Keep watered 2-3 times per day until your first cut, typically around 4 inches of growth.
That’s about it. I’m sure your thinking, “I got this!” And if you are, that’s great. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, stop in today and ask any one of our friendly staff to help. As always, we are here to help. HAPPY PLANTING!
—Melissa Anderson