home prev up next
	To optomize for viewing speed we have limited each page to 10 gardening plant selections. To view more gardening plant selections in this group please click the next link. If you would like to view a new gardening plant group just hit the home link and choose a new plant group. To read Today's Gardening Article just scroll down For a new Gardening Article visit us daily Trees American Arborvitae Thuja occidentalis, 'American' American Beech Fagus grandifolia American Hornbeam Carpinus caroliniana American Sycamore Platanus occidentalis Aristocrat Flowering Pear Pyrus 'Aristocrat' Austrian Pine Pinus nigra Autumn Blazer Red Maple Acer fremanii, 'Autumn Blaze' Autumn Flame Red Maple Acer rubrum 'Autumn Flame' Autumn Olive Elaeagnus umbellata Autumn Purple Ash Fraxinus americana, 'Autumn Purple'	The Water Lily Albida, Nymphaea 'Albida', a spring water planted tuber, produces beautiful white flowers and is the perfect addition to your water garden. Water lilies have floating leaves. The leaves are nearly circular in shape, and they are notched to the center. The leaves arise on stems from long rhizomes in the mud. Water lilies usually live in water that is rich in oxygen and receives a lot of sunlight. Give your water garden a tropical look with Water Lily Albida Although called the "Common Lilac" there is nothing common about the Syringa Vulgaris. The Lilac is sought by gardeners all over the world for it's beauty and it's enchanting fragrance. The Lilac actually has the most powerful frangrances released by a plant! The Lilac can be used as an individual focal point or grown as a hedge. When used as a hedge the Lilac can be seen in the most affluent yards and it's fragrance can often be smelled before the lilac can be seen. The Lilac makes a spectacular though short lived cut flower for vases. Extremely hardy in cold climates, the Lilac will often be seen in the most northern of climates. The Lilac can be pruned for a manicured look or left to grow on it's own for that wildgarden look.  The Lavender Perfection Dahlia is an incredible spring planted bulb and is a perfection of beauty. The Lavender Perfection Dahlia produces velvety lavender flowers and produces masses and masses of huge blooms from July until frost. The Lavender Perfection Dahlia is perfect for container gardens, patio gardens, as cut flowers and we the best in drained, rich soils. No other dahlia plant is as showy as the Lavender Perfection Dahlia. A true Perfection!

Today's Gardening Article
Want to see a new Gardening article?
Please visit us tomorrow

When is the Best Time to Fertilize the Grass?

You bought a new house in the fall. Winter came and went and now it’s time to haul out the lawn mower. As you’re doing laps in the yard, you can’t help but notice all the interesting patches of pseudo-grass. You have crabgrass; you have weeds; you have clover; you have a boatload of dandelions. Contrarily, your neighbor’s yard looks like a golf course. Sometimes you sneak over there sans shoes just to run your tootsies through the lush greenery. No worries; can you turn your sparse excuse for grass around in one season; and it won’t cost you a fortune. Put the yellow pages away, you’re not calling a service. If you fertilize at the right time of the year, you can have your own gorgeous thick green grass.

Let’s cut to the chase. The optimum time to fertilize your lawn is in the fall. The time of year when most people are considering putting away their lawn mower, is when you should be getting out the spreader. It’s also the time of year when you can get an accurate picture of your lawn’s health. After the summer stresses, you will be able to see where the dead brown grass is and where the crabgrass is. Changes in lawn appearance in October can reveal whether appropriate lawn care is being practiced. Properly fertilized lawns tend to improve in appearance, while the opposite takes place for improperly fertilized lawns.

A November application is ideal. Although the air temperatures will have cooled considerably by this time, soil temperatures will remain warm enough for some primarily-root and tiller-grass growth. This late fall fertilization facilitates winterizing the grass and sets the foundation for the grass to make a quick start in the spring. Although be prepared that fertilizing at this late date can result in an additional mowing. However, the payback is that the grass will have a dark green color going into winter that returns early in the spring.

Many new lawn aficionados are under the false impression that spring is the best time to fertilize their grass. Actually, fertilizing at that time may be detrimental to the long-term health of the lawn. Sure you’ll get expedited top growth and a beautiful lush appearance, but at what cost? Spring fertilization discourages grass from storing food reserves for the hard times to come during the summer. Akin to having a chocolate snack in the afternoon to perk you up; it works for a short while, but then you crash, and crash much harder than if you would have maintained your blood sugar throughout the day.

Not only will the chocolate cause your glucose levels to sky rocket and plummet, it’ll also wreak havoc on your teeth. Same holds true for the grass. Not only does March-April-May fertilization discourage storage of food reserves, the lush top growth also provides an environment conducive for diseases to take hold and sweep through a yard. Therefore, when summer comes, the spring-only fertilized lawns are often more susceptible to the summer stresses of disease and moisture stress. Not exactly the look you were going for.

The irony of lawn care is that at the end of August when the appearance of one’s lawn hits an all time season low, it is actually the best time to fertilize or renovate a lawn. By then grasses have endured the summer stresses and the coming cool fall temperatures will provide an opportunity for recovery. Fertilizing in the fall also encourages the plant’s recovery by providing nutrients when the plant really needs them to build food reserves going into the winter. As a rule of thumb, Labor Day weekend is a good time to make the first fall fertilization to lawns, as the cool temperatures are soon to come.

Though it may be spring and you’re envious of your neighbor’s yard, don’t try to take a short cut and apply a boatload of fertilizer just to jump start your lawn. Ignore your seasonal urges and follow responsible soil management practices. Just do it. Then start fresh this fall. This time next year, you’ll be the envy of your neighbor on the other side!