Tips for the Garden - May 2021

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Isn’t daylight savings time a wonderful thing!!!!!  Enjoy the fruits of your labor and spend time outdoors.  Extend your living quarters to your yard and garden.  It is easy to do…hang a hammock in a tree, set a bistro set in the perennial garden, or put benches in your Hosta beds.  Now invite friends over and have a cookout.  Let the nature in your yard tickle your senses with the sounds of birds, smells of flowers, sound of running water, and splashes of color.

And while you are enjoying your yard, and I hope that you are, here are some items to put onto your gardening checklist.  Begin planting summer annuals to add color and spice to the landscape.  And don’t just stop with the flower beds.  Container gardening is becoming a trendy thing.  The many choices, styles, shapes and colors of containers make great accent pieces for inside or out.  Let your imagination soar and express yourself.  Use imaginative containers you pick up at flea markets and auction yards.  Learn to mix annuals and perennials for great combinations.  Try hostas with begonias and impatiens….or hydrangeas with groundcovers.  These containers can make great accent pieces on the front porch, the back deck, in a flower bed, around the pool or at the end of the driveway.  Containers aren’t just plain anymore!!!!

Take your houseplants outdoors once the evening temperatures will remain above 50`.  Gradually move sun loving plants (hibiscus, gardenias, mandevillas, etc.) to sunny locations, as they have not had full sun in your home and will need to be acclimated to those conditions.

Plant summer bulbs now and fertilize with bone meal or bulb food.  Pinch garden mums now till July 4th to insure proper fall blooming.  Treat slugs in your garden with organic diatomaceous earth. This is a powder product, 100% safe and is good for the treatment of slugs, ants, fleas and ticks outside, as well as roaches and ants indoors.  This organic product is very safe to use and good to have on hand.

Other insects to watch for this month are pine sawflies, aphids, scale crawlers, cucumber beetles, and grubs, to name a few.  Permethrin is the product on the market today.  Permethrin will work a large variety of insects on plants, in the soil and in the home.  It comes in many formulations and strengths.  See a professional for questions of use of this product.

Keep helping the wild birds in your piece of heaven on earth and help the pollinators as well.  Plant more natives and use organic products when needed.



Until next month…see you in the garden….

Sandi Hillermann McDonald

 

 

 

 

Late April FREEZE 2021

A late April freeze is never what a nursery has in mind to break up their spring business. We have to give great credit to our employees for doing all they can to protect the plants we sell and love! Here are some pictures of how we are trying to get through this record breaking weather with freezing temperatures. Thank you to our staff for such great efforts!

Tips for the Garden - April 2021

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           Vegetable gardening is making a comeback and a contributor to this fascination is the fact that more and more people are concerned with what they put on the family table. When you grow it yourself, you control what goes in the soil and on the plants, and you get to pick a much broader selection of vegetable varieties. They taste a whole lot better when they’re home grown.

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            If you’re thinking of growing a vegetable garden this year, you are not alone. Start small and expand as your interest and time permit. No summertime garden is complete without tomatoes. Also, bush cucumbers will fit in small gardens, and so will the bush summer squash varieties. They can be planted in nontraditional garden areas like flowerbeds or as a small addition to the landscape. You can interplant lettuce plants with your impatiens and harvest them long before the impatiens covers the area. You’ll get some salad greens and kill two birds with one stone. Taking care of the impatiens ensures the lettuce is never neglected. In short, a vegetable garden can find its way into every area of your home’s landscape - whether it’s confined to its own area, combined into the annual or perennial gardens that you already have, or planted in containers on your deck or patio - it will provide the ultimate in fresh vegetable taste, and the safest vegetables you can produce for your family table.

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            Hang out your hummingbird feeders the first of this month. Use a solution of 1-part sugar to 4 parts water for the nectar. Change the solution frequently to keep it from fermenting. Food coloring is NOT needed or recommended. And keep your bird feeders full as nature’s harvest from last fall is long gone for the birds.  Birds are beginning to reproduce now, and food is very important.  Mother Nature must regrow and reproduce before they can feed the birds. I it is up to us!!  So please do your part.

Asparagus and rhubarb harvest can begin!! Keep your hoe sharp. Start cucumber, squash, and cantaloupe and watermelon seeds indoors this month. The last week of April is a good time to try an early sowing of warm season crops in the garden such as green beans, sweet corn, etc. You can begin to plant transplants of tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and sweet potatoes outdoors now. This can continue through the month of May. This is truly the year of the garden. So, reap your own harvest and enjoy the scrumptious flavors of your own produce. Remember, that Natural Gardening will keep your family safe, so check out what organic options are available to you! There are many.

 

Enjoy!  See you in the garden…
Sandi Hillermann McDonald

Tips for the Garden - March 2021

            March welcomes ‘Spring’, and it will be met with open arms this year!! This is the month to open the gardens and get things in shape for the new growing season, which means there is plenty that can be done. To name a few; mowing time is upon us; have you sharpened those mower blades?  

To keep that lawn looking fantastic, it is time to add Fertilizer with Crabgrass Prevention. If you feel you need to over-seed the lawn, check with the professionals on proper steps for spring treatments.

            Clean up those perennial beds and cut down all Liriope and Ornamental Grasses to about 3-5” above the ground. Once this has been done, it is time to re-mulch your shrub and flower beds. Top-dress these areas with a slow-release fertilizer as well, such as Osmocote. Top dressing beds with organic compost is beneficial as well.

            Nesting boxes for Bluebirds and Purple Martin houses should be put out early this month. Purple Martins return to our area between St. Patrick’s Day and the end of the month. So now is the time to be prepared. Bluebirds generally stay around all year, but new babies will be coming along soon.  Sign up for our weekly, educational newsletter at www.hillermann.com to learn about tips and articles of these great birds.

            Are you considering doing some vegetable gardening this year? Well, there is no better time than now to start those preparations. You can start seed in the house for plants such as tomatoes, peppers, and eggplants. Plant or sow seed for cool weather crops outside this month. Set out broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, and pansy transplants now. This month is also good to set out fruiting plants. It is likely we will continue see an influx of home gardening this year. It can be done in containers on the patio, as square foot gardens, or large plot gardening. There is nothing better than a home-grown tomato!!

It is truly an exciting time of year to “wake up” the senses.  Trees are beginning to set buds, and wildlife is getting ready to multiply.  Enjoy every day, as everyday will continue to change.

 

            Now it is time to go, so we will “See you in the garden!”

Sandi Hillermann McDonald

 

Bird of the Week 2/23/21 - Purple Martin

Purple Martins

Graceful in flight, musical in its pre-dawn singing, this big swallow is one of our most popular birds. Purple Martins migrate to South America for the winter, but before leaving, they may gather to roost in groups of thousands in late summer.

Characteristics: Large, broad-chested swallows. They have stout, slightly hooked bills, short, forked tails, and long, tapered wings. Adult males are iridescent, dark blue-purple overall with brown-black wings and tail. Females and immature Martins are duller, with variable amounts of gray on the head and chest and a whitish lower belly. Purple Martins fly rapidly with a mix of flapping and gliding. They feed and roost in flocks, often mixed with other species of swallows. They often feed higher in the air than other swallows, which can make them tough to spot. Songs and calls include a liquid gurgling warble and a penetrating tee-tee-tee.

Diet: Insects. They feed on a wide variety of flying insects, including many wasps and winged ants, some bees, mosquitoes, flies, beetles, moths, butterflies and dragonflies. They also eat some spiders.

Nesting: Males return to nesting areas first in spring to establish nesting territories. Natural sites are in cavities, such as old woodpecker holes, in trees. They usually nests in colonies, especially in east, where almost all nest in multiple-roomed nest boxes put up for them. At least 4 housing cavities should be offered and 6 to 12 is a great start to attract a colony. Aluminum, thick plastic, wood, and natural gourds are all suitable materials for martin housing, provided that the exterior of the house is white in color to reflect heat and keep the housing cooler in hot temperatures. Martins prefer housing that is placed in open areas with clear flyways. Choose the center of the largest open spot available, at least 40-60 feet from trees and within 100 yards of human housing (they like houses to be near human activity with flyway space). In the southern half of their breeding range, martins may accept housing that is placed within 25 feet of trees, but open areas are always best. Housing should be lowered, sometimes on a daily basis while getting established, to remove competitor nests and to monitor the nests. Therefore, it’s helpful if the housing is on a pole that has a telescoping, pulley, or winch system to raise and lower the unit. Recommended height is 12-18’.

Note: Purple Martin numbers have declined seriously in parts of the west, and currently declining in the east. Reasons are not well known, but competition with other bird species for nest sites may be involved.


Visit Us for These Purple Martin Favorites!

Bird of the Week 2/17/21 - White Breasted Nuthatch

White Breasted Nuthatch

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Basics: The Upside-down bird! This species often climbs upside down on tree trunks and branches. These birds have clean black, gray, and white markings. Song is a rapid series of low-pitched nasal sounds: “whe-whe-whe-whe-whe.” The call is nasal yank or “yank-yank” and is lower-pitched than the red-breasted nuthatch. They can be found in mature deciduous trees, in forests, woodlands, parks, and suburban areas.

Housing: These birds typically nest in a natural tree cavity or in an old woodpecker hole, although they may use a birdhouse. Leaving some dead tree trunks in wooded areas can be helpful for nesting.

Food: In our backyards, Nuthatches will eat sunflower seeds, peanuts and peanut butter, and suet.

How to attract: Offer the foods mentioned above, water, shelter and nesting sites.

Fact: With a little patience, you can get nuthatches to eat from your hand. Let them get used to you by a feeder, then hold out your hand with sunflower seeds in it.

Tip: They can be quite aggressive at feeders. With wings spread, they will swing from side to side to keep other birds away.

Visit Us For These Nuthatch Favorites!