Oct. 25 Newsletter, Get Fall Chores Done
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Hey Bird Feeders and Miniature Gardeners… We Have Some Fun for You
 Check out our full line of miniature garden furnishings. We’re delighted to announce we’ve incorporated an entirely new product line in the last couple of weeks and have reintroduced a former line due to popular request. Stop by and check out Miniature Gardens and Wild Bird Feeding supplies.
 Here's our miniature garden display. We are in the process of installing a large miniature garden display and we have all of the supplies (with more to come) you may want in order to build your own in a pot. Now is a good time to plant a miniature garden because then you can continue to play in the dirt all winter. When spring comes you can move your mini garden outside or even add one in a favorite nook or cranny. Some people use these tiny landscapes as Fairy Gardens to attract the luck of the fairies. See more on our Facebook page. Thanks to all of you who’ve encouraged us to get back into providing  Food and feeders for wild birds. food, feeders and supplies for wild birds. We have basic and unique feeders for the beginner or experienced wild bird enthusiast. For those of you who are new to bird feeding, know how much your help can mean to songbirds over the winter. Feeding seed and suet in wintertime, and even providing fresh water, can sometimes mean life of death to small birds on cold nights. We also have classes upcoming featuring both lines. Click here for the schedule. Upcoming Classes… Take one of our upcoming classes and give your doorstep and interior a lift this holiday season. Click for all of the details.
Believe it or not, we’re preparing for evergreens delivery now and can’t wait to show you new ideas with spruce tops and get to making spruce top pots. Come to Jesse’s class on Saturday, Nov. 12 to learn more about his ideas. You can make your projects here that day and we’ll do the clean up! |
Protect the garden before winter strikes - WATER! This tops the list because of the super dry conditions we’ve had this fall. Get an inch of water a week, until the ground is frozen solid, on your lawn, perennial gardens, trees and shrubs. I know this is a pain because we’ve been hauling the hoses in at night and out during the day but it’s really worth it!  Fall color on Johnson's Blue Cranesbill backed by chrysanthemums. Plants are working now to store energy that will allow them to burst to life in the spring. This includes setting leaf and flower buds and preparing to fruit. Providing water now is very critical no matter how wet the spring may be. This step is important for evergreens too so their needles are charged with moisture so they can withstand winter’s dry winds and bright sun. - Wrap Younger Trees We recommend newly planted trees  Here's a wrapped tree in spring. Note the bark chewed by animals. be wrapped with white protective tree wrap late in the fall to help protect against sun scald and rodent and rabbit damage during winter. This practice should be continued every year until the bark begins to roughen. The wrap should extend from the ground up to the first tier of branches. Fiber reinforced tape works best to hold up the wrap. Click here for a longer description. You can use the white plastic tree guards. Just remove them, wrap and replace them. Never use black guards as they will heat up and damage the tree. Remove the wrap around April 1. So, as we say, “Get your trees dressed for Halloween and naked for April Fools Day, or Tax Day.” - Repellent Spray on repellents to deter deer and rabbits  Colorful pussy willow buds. need to dry on rather than freeze on so use what you can now before the weather really gets cold. These repellents are made of natural products and won’t hurt your plants or the animals. You can use granular repellents on top of snow if you encounter problems in the winter. You can also soak rags in repellent and hang them on trees. This idea is explained on the resource listed at the bottom. - Protecting Tender Evergreens Wilt Stop is an antidessicant product you can spray on tender evergreens to help prevent burning in winter. Make sure you complete the watering step mentioned above or this won’t help much. Spray on Wild Stop when temperatures are above freezing. It will not harm your plant. You can also wrap tender evergreens in burlap or make a shield with burlap and fence posts. Here are some more tips from the University of Minnesota. - Ready the Pond You can also pull your large pump out of the skimmer any time. Remember to store it indoors in water over the winter. Now is the time to be feeding your fish fall/winter food if they are wintering in the pond. In this case, go ahead and set up a small pump in the pond to provide aeration for the fish. Test and make sure your floating deicer is working properly so it’s ready to use when it’s time. If you will store the fish indoors for the winter, start the move now and remember to use Stress Coat and Pond Salt in your indoor tank. |
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Call today for our spade tree promotion |
Wait a week or two for dormant seeding If you still have a lawn seeding project to complete this fall you can do it as a dormant seed. The key is to put the seed down late enough that it won’t start growing this fall. So, wait a bit and don’t hesitate to ask us for more details on how to dormant seed grass. When you dormant seed you use the very same seed you can use any other time of year. You spread the seed this fall and it will get covered with snow over the winter. As the snow melts, the seed will germinate long before you could seed in spring.
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Fall is for Planting Great Deals on Trees & Shrubs Right now find all of our trees and shrubs at half price. This includes the Dakota Pinnacle Birch shown at left. We often urge customers to take advantage of clearance prices and do some plating in fall. And, we are often met with doubt when we encourage this practice. But the truth is that it’s a sound practice. In the fall, the warm soil encourages root growth. Roots continue to grow until the ground freezes even if all the leaves have fallen off the plant. After the ground thaws in spring, roots begin new growth right away. If the same plant installed in spring, it gets a slow start due to cool soils while the the fall-planted trees and shrubs are becoming well established. When summer arrives, the fall-planted plant is far better equipped to deal with heat and drought, largely due to its well-established root system. Fall can have more dependable rainfall, cooler weather and fewer pest and disease problems. We still have beautiful fall decor Even though we are talking about the holidays we have not given up on fall and Thanksgiving! You can still get wonderful fall decorations from us including straw bales, corn shocks, ornamental corn, gourds and pumpkins. We also have a nice selection of decorations for inside the home. |
Please come to Take a Break Thursday, Nov. 3 over your Lunch Break
Stop by during your lunch break for our Take a Break next Thursday. We will have the coffee, tea and popcorn on with more snacks provided by representatives from the Girl Scouts of Minnesota and Wisconsin River Valleys. Can you guess what their snack may be? Girl Scouts are turning 100 years old in 2012 so meet Kayla Schmalz and Heather Ballman from the Girl Scouts council and find out about the centennial activities happening locally and council wide. So, stop by and check out what’s new at the Take a Break. |
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Drummers Decorate A Tree Contest to Benefit Area Non-Profits Shown below is a poster announcing our new Christmas tree decorating contest. Click on it to see a larger version. We’re asking you all to participate and have a great time viewing the trees. Voting begins at our Holiday Preview for Growing Rewards Members on Thursday, Nov. 17. Come and check out your favorite organization’s tree and vote early and often.
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Vase Recycling Continues
Caring Rose Week Begins Nov. 11
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