Greetings Garden Center Friends!

Hope everyone is having a great summer of fun and relaxation!

For those having "staycations" this year, be sure to check us out, as we are running many specials to brighten up your outdoor living spaces!

In His Love,

Gary and Julie Bridenbaugh

hen in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

Click here to read the entire document.

Most gardeners try to fill shady spots with sun loving plants that look fine in the shade at first but eventually deteriorate into leggy, woody specimens. For a successful shade garden, it's best to choose your plants carefully. Although you may be drawn to sun-loving flowers, there are so many shade-loving plants that you are sure to find some favorites.

Compose your garden beds with an eye toward variations in height, texture and color. Looking at the garden bed, you will want to plant at least 2 to 3 tall growing varieties for the back of the bed, 2 to 3 plants that grow to a medium height and 2 to 3 low growing plants for the front of the bed. You are welcome to use 4 or more kinds of plants in each layer, but be sure to keep the ratio roughly the same in all three general growth habit categories for a balanced appearance.

Providing contrasts in texture and color also provide interest and life to the garden. Imagine shiny leafed camelia japonicas with their showy, rose-like blooms growing behind lacy ferns and bright, delicate impatiens spreading at the front edge of the garden. Using complementary flower and foliage colors brings a vibrance and energy, while a monochromatic color palette tends to bring a simplicity and understated elegance to the landscape.

There are so many shade loving plants and flowers to choose from. Taller shade shrubs for backgrounds include tree ferns, pittosporum, Japanese maples, abutilon, camellia japonicas, laurel, evergreen viburnum and podocarpus macrophylla.

Mid-sized shrubs include brunfelsia, hydrangeas, low ferns, camellia sasanquas, fuchsias, shade azaleas, calla lilies, gardenia augusta, loropetalum, nandina, clivia and snow bush.

Taller perennials include hybrid calla lilies, astilbe, hosta, aspidistra, aquilegia (columbine), caladium, foxglove, bleeding heart, helleborus, liriope, saxifragia, Chinese foxglove and Asiatic lilies.

Lower shade perennials and annuals include helichrysum, bacopa, lamium, glechoma, coleus, campanula, heuchera, violas, vinca major and minor, tiarella, cyclamen, New Guinea impatiens, double impatiens, and begonias.

Choose plants from each height habit (if space allows) and plant them in groupings; not only will your garden look more natural than when specimens are planted in a row, but plants will crowd out weeds and establish themselves better when grouped. Make sure to amend your soil with a good acid planting mix , because most shade plants love acidic soil. It's also a good idea to work in a decent quantity of peat moss for extra drainage, since wet roots tend to foster pests, and add 2-3 inches of mulch to retain moisture and protect the roots that have not yet established themselves deeply under the soil.

Maintaining your shade garden is simple. Feed monthly with an acid fertilizer, and water 2-3 times a week. You'll have it "made in the shade" by mid-summer with a cool, colorful shade garden that brings years of lasting beauty to all those shady spots you thought would never be a showplace!

In these times of economic distress, food-safety issues, and a country that is moving towards a re-emergence of old-fashioned values, we can all find a reason to follow our new First Lady’s example and grow our own food. And doing so side-by-side with our children not only makes them more aware of the positives of eating home-grown food, they will enjoy a sense of fulfillment in having been an important component of the process of providing the family’s sustenance.

And it’s so easy! If you’ve never created a Victory Garden before, it doesn’t matter what size it is; if the idea overwhelms you, just begin with a few veggies. To make it even easier, why not create a raised bed? This allows you to control the quality of soil into which you’re planting, and is easier to weed, feed, and harvest. You can make it by simply using landscaping timber and raised bed corners, which can be found at most garden centers, to ensure a sturdy, squared corner. Add high-quality soil and amendment, and you’re ready to begin planting!

Since we're already in early summer, for veggies it will be best if you buy starter plants from the garden center.

• Lettuce, for example, can be planted by seed in the cool weather, so be sure to use starters now that our temperatures have begun to warm up. They like partial shade and need frequent weeding as their root system is shallow and can’t compete with deep-rooted weeds. Leaf lettuce has a lot of different varieties and is a quick, easy grower that likes warmer weather. When harvesting, cut the leaves off an inch or two above the ground and you’ll enjoy a second crop.

• Select only certified seed potatoes for your garden; certification means that they are disease- and insect- free and have not been treated with a growth retardant. Cut in pieces, bury them, and you’ll be eating new potatoes in June. When harvesting, leave the “mom plant” to continue growing more and bigger potatoes.

• Carrots are fast growers that can be harvested when only finger size; in fact, the smaller ones are juicier and more tender. They will last until winter in the soil if you don’t want to harvest all of them at once. An added bonus? The green tops attract swallowtail butterflies!

• Sugar snap peas are juicy, crisp, sweet, and crunchy: all the sound, feel, and taste that most appeals to kids. They’re wonderful when just enjoyed fresh from the garden, uncooked. They will need some kind of support as they grow, so consider planting dwarf varieties. Or incorporate a trellis into your raised bed.

• Whether you’re growing bush beans or pole beans, there are few recipes that aren’t enhanced by their addition. However, if you opt for pole beans, they will need a support put into place at the time of planting, so as not to interfere with the roots. And if your support is in the shape of a teepee, don’t be surprised to find it a favorite hiding place in July!

• Tomatoes are my personal favorite part of a BLT. And growing heirloom tomatoes will not only provide a richer, fuller flavor, they come in a wide variety of colors that will delight the young ones; they range in color from purple to orange, green, white and even black.

• Want a real treat for yourself? Watch the enthusiasm with which your children eat the broccoli that they helped plant. A member of the Cruciferae family, its relatives include cauliflower, cabbage, and Brussels sprouts. Broccoli was cultivated in Italy and France in the 16th century, and was commercially cultivated for the very first time in the United States in the state of New York during the 1920s. What a terrific excuse to slip in a little history lesson!

• Sunflowers are both flowers (which attract birds) and vegetables, which produce seeds that can be dried and eaten as a healthy and delicious snack. Their name will remind you that they love sun, so plant accordingly. And let the giggles come when they grow even taller than Dad!

• The zesty taste of radishes may be somewhat off-putting to children, but if you appeal to their innate impatience, these healthy veggies are ready for harvesting in as little as three weeks after planting. Kids will love the rainbow colors of the radish skin, which include red, pink, purple and white.

• Pumpkins will not only provide jack-o’-lanterns at Halloween, they shouldn’t be planted in our warmer climates until late June to prevent rotting; this provides you with the excuse to re-energize your children’s interest in the garden. They love sun, so plant them by the sunflowers. And keep them well watered. When you’re ready to cut your pumpkin plant from the vine, leave a long piece of the stem on the pumpkin; this will aid in slowing the rotting process.

While we may at times bemoan the shortened growing season of the northern garden, the variety of plants that are available to us as perennials is astonishing in its vastness and diversity.

Take, for example, the intoxicating Weigela florida ‘Alexandra’ Wine and Rose, bred by Herman Geers of Holland.  Winner of a Gold Medal from the Pennsylvania Horticulture Society and a Silver Medal from the Boskoop Royal Horticulture Society, it is the only weigela to receive each of these awards.

Its rich dark burgundy foliage, much darker than that of older varieties like Java Red, contrasts beautifully with the rosy pink flowers that are copiously produced in spring, and that re-bloom throughout the summer.  Trumpet shaped, these flowers are an attractant to hummingbirds, our Harriers of the garden.  They are also irresistible to butterflies, but not, fortunately, to deer, who will avoid them.  After the first few weeks, they are drought tolerant, and these upright beauties will grow to a height of 4-5’ with an equal spacing as they mature to ten years. 

They love full sun, are not fussy about their soil as long as it’s well-draining, and are hardy in USDA zones 4-8.  Whether you use them as shrub borders, grouping, mass plantings, specimen plants, or as container plants, the weigela 'Wine and Rose' provides three full seasons of glorious color.  In early spring, its foliage emerges as green flushed with purple, and quickly takes on deeper burgundy tones.  In early summer the deep rosy-pink tubular flowers line the shrub’s gracefully arching stems, and in fall the foliage deepens to its signature glossy dark burgundy purple.

Planted en masse for monochromatic impact, it also blends well with lavender and blue-green colored plants such as perovskia or caryopteris. The weigela foliage bursts like a fountain from a base grouping of tall sedums.  And don’t hesitate to introduce yellow by combining this verdurous victor with coreopsis and coneflowers. 

Some will say that the previously listed flowers are zone 5, but this zone 4 gardener has extremely harsh winters, and extreme luck with all of these plants.

Weigela 'Wine and Roses' is truly a Proven Winner® for any garden.

Product Spotlight: Isabel Bloom® Sculptures

For more than fifty years the sculpture of Isabel Bloom has warmed the hearts and brightened the homes, gardens and offices of art lovers and collectors throughout the United States.

Isabel, a Native Iowa artist, who once studied under the watchful eye of American master Grant Wood, favored artistic subjects ranging from playful children to friendly creatures of the air, land and sea. Cast in concrete and hand-finished to resemble weathered bronze garden sculptures of the Victorian era, Isabel's artwork fits comfortably into virtually any home or office decor and is, of course, a beautiful addition to garden and patio settings.

Today the creation of Isabel Bloom sculpture rests in the talented hands of designer Donna Young, Isabel's protégé and artistic collaborator since 1986. Preserving the unique style that survives Isabel's passing in May 2001, Donna has designed many of the most popular sculptures in the Isabel Bloom collection.

We invite you to stop by and see these handcrafted sculptures in person.

Spring brings with it beautiful blossoms, fresh air, warmer temperatures . . . and bugs!  Ants, gnats, tent worms, none of which are pleasant.  Ah, but spring also gives us ladybugs and lady beetles (Hippodamia convergens), which are the best-known garden predators available.  There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide, 400 of which live in North America.  In fact, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Tennessee have adopted the ladybug as their official state insect!

As legend has it, in Europe, during the Middle Ages, the crops were being destroyed by insects, so the farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help.  The ladybugs came, ate the pests, and saved the crops!  The grateful farmers began calling the ladybugs “The Beetles of Our Lady” which eventually morphed into “Lady Beetles.”

With aphids, mealy bugs and mites being their favorite food, ladybugs are some of our most beneficial bugs; an adult ladybug can eat over 50 aphids a day.  These small, oval-winged insects are usually red with black spots, and are less than ¼ inch in length.  As they age, the color of the spots will fade.  If a bird, the primary predator of the ladybug, threatens a ladybug, she will play dead.

Some more silly facts about this delightful and advantageous visitor to our forests, fields, gardens, and yes, even our homes:

• Ladybugs chew from side to side and not up and down like people do.
• A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs.
• A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.
• The Asian Lady Beetle can live up to 2-3 years if the conditions are right.
• In Sweden, it is believed that if a ladybug lands on a young maiden’s hand, she will soon be getting married.
• In England, finding a ladybug means that you will have a good harvest.
• In France, if you are sick and a ladybug lands on you, when it flies away, it will take the sickness with it.
• If you find a ladybug in your house in the winter you will have good luck!

Get to know your beneficial insects. They can be very useful in keeping the pests away and reducing the use of chemicals. And remember--when you do need to use chemicals in your garden, read the instructions carefully and consult with one of our nursery professionals, who can advise you on the best one to use for your particular problem.  

How often should I add mulch to my garden and how much should I use?

Answer:
Most types of mulch take a few years to break down and decompose. How much you use--and how often--depends on why you are using it.

• If you are just looking for aesthetics, maintain at least a 1" layer of mulch over your native soil.
• If you are also trying to suppress weed growth and want your soil to retain more moisture, we recommend maintaining a 2-3" layer of mulch around your plants.
• Always make sure to leave a little space around the stem base of bushes or tree trunks. This prevents rotting and allows your plants to get more oxygen.

Product Spotlight: OKA b.® Shoes

From teens to working women and fashion-conscious men, OKA b.® offers unmatched comfort in footwear without sacrificing a sense of style.

OKA b.® shoes are antimicrobial, washing machine and top-rack dishwasher safe to keep feet clean and healthy. Their reflexology-inspired, ergonomic design is one-piece, fully molded construction for cushioned, lightweight, flexible foot support with stability and durability.

Made with Microplast® technology to resist odors, mold and mildew, OKA b.® shoes have a massaging footbed to pamper feet with each step. Proudly made in the USA outside of Atlanta, GA, OKA b.® shoes are non-slip, non-marking, colorfast and fade-resistant.

OKA b.® cares about feet and fashion, and offers more than just footwear – they create "Shoes That Love You"!

The romance of a water feature in one’s garden is indisputable.  The soothing sounds, the delight of a bird dipping in for a quick drink of water, the plop of an amphibian, the sight and texture of the plants you’ve chosen to live in, amongst, and around the water are well worth the effort of creating and caring for your water garden.

However, many of the same pests that attack ornamental and vegetable gardens will threaten the plants that you’ve planted as the adjacent backdrop to the water.  The pesticides that you might normally use to rid these pests in your gardens may harm or even kill the fish, amphibians, and desirable insects in your pond.  Some water plants also are open to damage or death by pesticides commonly used on non water-garden plants. 

Water garden pests include China mark moth larvae, caddis fly larvae, and water snails.  The latter leave irregular holes in the leaves and stems of your plants, and are fairly visible on underwater growth.  Small jelly masses of snail eggs are also visible on underwater surfaces.

Caddis fly adults resemble small moths and are attracted to night lights.  The Caddis fly adults, with one yearly generation, lay their eggs underwater.  Their larvae create protective cases out of available materials such as leaves, sticks and sand.  Difficult to spot, they eat water lily plant roots, stems and leaves. 

China mark caterpillars also feed on water lilies and other water plants.  They can cause extensive damage, eating large holes along the margins of the leaf, and sometimes burrowing into the leaf stems.  The females lay egg clusters on the undersides of leaves in later summer. 

But there are pest management strategies available to you: 

• Natural controls:  The fish that you add to your water garden will constitute the primary control measure.  They love most of these pests!  And don’t discount the efficacy of the beneficial insects and amphibians that are a natural part of a water garden.
• Mechanical controls: Carefully inspect your plants on a regular basis and hand-pick the pests.  Use a strong spray of water to knock them off of the plants and into the water, and the fauna will take care of the rest.  Remove and destroy infected leaves; this is particularly effective in reducing miner and leaf roller infestations.
• Plantings: Do your research, and choose the most pest-resistant species and cultivars.
• Night lights: These are a definite no-no when placed close to your pond.  They attract pest adults, thus increasing the pest levels significantly.
• Care:  In the fall, doing thorough clean-ups and weed elimination reduces over-wintering pests.  Follow up with a spring clean-up as well.

We guarantee that the effort involved in keeping your water garden pest-free is well worth the pleasure that comes with adding a water feature to your own private Xanadu.