Simple Stress Relievers

Ugh! That about summarizes this economy. What’s a person to do? Relieve stress by connecting to flowers and plants--the original “green” things! Here are some simple tips:

Buy some herbs

Even a couple of small pots can brighten your day. Rub your fingers through them anytime for a “pick me up.” Suggestions: basil, rosemary, any mint, thyme. Or your favorite. Use in cooking too!

Enjoy houseplants

Select a blooming plant or a houseplant for your desk or an area where you spend a lot of time. Even before its warm enough to plant outside, there are indoor plants to be found. Or create a terrarium.

Get some seeds

…and grow a couple pots of anything. Honestly, just watching a green sprout of anything poking its head out of the soil is fun. Don’t overdo it. Even a small little plastic microwave meal tray can hold a few seeds. Get one pack of seeds and a small bag of soil. (Use fresh soil; save the rest of the bag for your spring containers.) Follow the instructions on the seed pack. The main ideas are: plenty of light and moderation in watering.

Dry some flowers

Check out details on line, but basically put them between layers of paper towels and leave between the pages in a weighted down phone book for three days, or dry them in your microwave. (Basically between paper towels weighted down with a casserole dish.) Check every 30-seconds. May take 3 minutes or so. Error on under-drying. Dried flowers can be saved in a favorite book or affixed to a window, or glued to a blank card for a special note for a friend.

Edible flowers

Grow or buy some edible flowers (nasturtiums, pansies, or rose petals) and toss them on a salad. Or use for garnish for a dessert. You can make candied petals too. Use clean petals and simple syrup.

Take a class

Take a drawing or painting class from a friend, community college or community art center. Even if you “can’t draw a straight line,” a good teacher will open your eyes to really seeing the complexity and awesome beauty of the trees and plants in nature.

Take photos

Take photos of the your garden spaces and your trees. With the leaves and petals on -- or without them -- you get a new idea of the spaces you are working with. Bring your photos to Hoerr Nursery and the Garden Experts can help you plan out how to have a beautiful garden!

Visit Hoerr Nursery!

Stroll around Hoerr Nursery and enjoy all the beautiful plants. (New spring “cold tolerant” plants arriving mid-March; warm weather plants will follow.) The GardenHouse will have many fountains and a constantly arriving inventory of plants. Last likely freeze date in Central Illinois is around Mother’s day – so we are a long time off, but come in wander and absorb the beauty and find something Spring-ish for inside your home!
 

Sprucing Up Your Fall Containers

Fall is just around the corner, and it’s the perfect time to update your summer planting containers! By reusing some of your existing plants and adding some new fall colors, you will have a fresh new container to last through autumn.

To start, cut back any existing plants that have become overgrown. This will prevent them from upstaging your new plantings. Next, use a knife to cut out any annuals that look unhealthy or weak. Prune other plants as needed to create a planting hole large enough for your new annuals.

Now it’s time to select your new plants! Look for annuals and perennials with great color, like flowering cabbage and kale, ornamental grass, mums, aster, and rudbeckia. Kale can endure light frosts and adds fullness as it continues to grow. Plant ornamental grasses towards the center or back of your container to provide movement and height.

Chrysanthemums (or “mums”) are iconic fall bloomers. They come in a wide variety of colors and will produce flowers for weeks. Purple Aster comes in several different heights, and can also be planted in the garden as a perennial. Rudbeckia, perhaps better known as Black-eyed Susan, has vibrant yellow flowers that create a great color impact.

Finally, add some pumpkins, gourds, or decorative corn to incorporate fall décor into your container. You can even add interest with artificial silks like colorful fall leaves or bittersweet stems. With a little imagination and some fresh foliage, you can breathe new life into your containers and embrace the colorful bounty of fall!
 

Are we going to have an early Fall?

Nobody can predict the weather with 100% certainty but given the unusual weather we have had this summer, we might just have an early fall. Our horticulturalists have been guessing when we might see the first frost of the year, and someone predicted it to be October 4th. She says it's based on the sounds of crickets and when we will have a full moon. We'll see...

What does that mean for the average gardener? Well, fall color is based two things: length of day and temperature. We could see the trees turn color earlier than usual, and even see some green leaves drop if we have a hard early frost. Here are some things to keep in mind as the cooler temperatures move in.

• Update your garden containers with fall plants – mums, grasses, pumpkins, etc. Mums are in full bloom and will last six weeks as will ornamental grasses and flowering kale.

• There are still some insects hanging around, but the annual fall grub population is sparse and will not cause much harm to lawns. You can still treat grub problems with Bonide Grub Beater Granules, available at Hoerr Nursery.

• Aerating your lawn is one of the best things you can do for it! Aerate in the fall to loosen soil, promote root development, and control thatch. If you’re interested in aeration, we can help! Contact Todd in Lawn Maintenance: (309) 691-4561

• The weather is perfect for starting some fall yard work. Remember to get those weeds out before they seed, and cut back fading foliage from peony, iris, daylilies, etc.

• PLANT!!! There’s no need to stop planting when summer ends! You can safely plant trees, shrubs, and perennials until the ground is frozen. Stop out today - we're here to help!

Enjoy these early days of fall!

Ella Maxwell

Fall Tree Care Tips

As trees are preparing for their fall color display, you can help them prepare for a long, chilly winter. Follow these fall tree care tips to keep your tree healthy and strong:

• Mulch! Surround your trees with a layer of organic composted mulch to hold in moisture and reduce temperature extremes. Your trees will thank you for it! Apply mulch in late fall after the ground has frozen.

• Get out the pruning saw and remove out dead branches now to prevent issues in the winter.

• Wrap young or newly planted tree trucks with tree-wrap paper to prevent sun-scalding over winter. Wrap in late fall and remove in early spring.

• Evergreens lose water from their foliage all winter, since they keep their needles year-round. Water them thoroughly before the ground freezes, and don’t forget the mulch!

• Diseased leaves can re-infect a tree even if they have fallen to the ground. Remove leaves from around trees as they fall. Healthy leaves make excellent compost and can be shredded and raked over existing garden beds. Diseased leaves, however, should be disposed of rather than composted or burned.

Enjoy the beauty of fall!

Ella

Time to Plant Spring Bulbs!

If you’re like me, you’re already dreaming about your early spring garden! Now is the perfect time to plant spring flowering bulbs like tulips and daffodils.

When to Plant
Spring flowering bulbs are only available in the fall, and you can plant them until the ground freezes. The roots will develop until the ground temperature drops to below 45 degrees, so planting now will give them a head-start.

What to Plant
Pick firm, unblemished bulbs. Bulbs that feel heavy for their size are the best choice. Keep in mind that bulbs are tasty treats for squirrels, chipmunks, deer and rabbits. If wildlife is an issue in your yard, consider planting only daffodils or hyacinths which are distasteful to animals.

How to Plant
The best method for planting is to dig and loosen the soil of the entire bed to a depth of 8 to 10 inches. Mix in some bulb fertilizer with the soil, press the bulbs into the planting bed and cover with soil. Plant with the nose of the bulb upward and the root basal plate downward.

A good rule of thumb is to plant the bulb 2 to 3 times as deep as the diameter of the bulb. Daffodils, tulips and hyacinths are some of the larger bulbs and are typically planted 6 to 8 inches deep while the smaller bulbs like crocus or grape hyacinths are planted 4 inches deep.

Water thoroughly after planting to settle the soil around the bulbs and provide the moisture needed to begin rooting.

Where to Plant
Bulbs can be planted neatly in clumps or rows, or in a random manner to give the appearance of naturalizing. Large bulbs are impressive in clumps, and small bulbs look best when they can be planted next to a pathway for close viewing.

*Note: To help you remember where you planted your bulbs, plant a single grape hyacinth bulb with each clump of bulbs. It produces foliage in the fall to mark where your bulbs have been planted!

Remember that for bulbs to perform well year after year they should be planted in full sun to light shade. Bulbs planted in full shade may bloom well the first year but seldom return. The last bit of advice is to allow the foliage to yellow and die in late spring so the bulb stays healthy and maturing.

Happy (fall) planting!

-Ella

Seven Tips to Jumpstart Your Lawn for 2010

October is here and it is not too late to work on your lawn! Fall is an excellent time to renovate the lawn and get a jump-start on a beautiful spring yard.

1. Aeration is one of the best things you can do for your lawn. Aerating in the fall will loosen soil, aid in root development, and control thatch. If you’re interested in aeration, contact the Lawn Maintenance unit at Hoerr Nursery (309) 691-4561.

2. Plant new seed to introduce a better quality grass to your lawn. Fall is a great time to lay down new seed, but be sure you get it planted by October 15th!

3. To start the new grass off right, apply a starter fertilizer like Fertilome's New Lawn Starter. To ensure establishment, you must make sure the seed comes in contact with the soil. Apply “topdressing” (a thin layer of soil) over your new seed to make sure it gets the necessary contact. Great quality grass seed for shady or sunny areas can be found at Hoerr Nursery.

4. Bring a soil sample into Hoerr Nursery for a pH test. If the test indicates a need for lime or sulfur to change the soil's pH, fall is a great time to apply. It will be worked into the soil by rain and the freezing and thawing of winter.

5. Get a jump on weed control by applying a liquid spray like Weed Be Gone or a "weed and feed" granular fertilizer like Fertilome's Weed Out.

6. You can continue mowing your lawn until the grass stops growing. Whenever your daily average minimum temperature (normal low) drops below the freezing point, the grass won't be growing appreciably and you can go ahead and do the final mow. You definitely want to get it done before the winter snows start falling!

7. Apply a Winterizing fertilizer to the yard any time between Halloween and Thanksgiving. It will provide a greener, thicker lawn in fall, quicker green up next spring, and increased root development to handle winter stress.

Love your lawn this fall and it will love you back in 2010!

Ella

Preparing Young Trees for Winter

Young trees need a little extra protection during the chilly winter months – the trunk is actually the most susceptible to problems. “Sunscald” is when the trunk is actually burned by the sun and can put the tree in danger of developing frost cracks which can harm the tree. No worries! Applying tree wrap is a quick, easy and inexpensive method to protect your tree investment this winter.

Installing Tree Wrap
• First, pick up a tree wrap product at the Garden Center. Begin by wrapping the base of the trunk and working your way upward, overlapping the wrap as you go. This allows the wrap to shed water away from the trunk and prevent water from running down the inside of the tree wrap.

• Continue to wrap tightly until you reach the first horizontal branch. Cut the wrap and secure with twine at the top. Avoid using nylon twine or wire.

• When spring arrives and warm temperatures return, carefully remove the tree wrap. Don't forget! Leaving it on during the warmer months can provide a habitat for harmful insects.

Protection from Animals
Trees are also susceptible to harm from rodents, rabbits, and deer throughout the winter. To prevent problems from small animals, be sure to wrap young trees tightly. Deer love to rub their antlers on the trunks of small trees, so create a barrier of chicken wire around the trunk, and secure it to T-posts in the ground at a height of 3 to 4 feet.

Liquid Fence
For a little extra help, apply a chemical repellant called Liquid Fence to your young trees. This liquid spray can be applied all winter when the temperatures are above freezing, and it will guard the tree against animals.

Take a little extra care to tuck your young trees in for the winter, and they will thank you for it in the spring!

Ella
 

Save Your Plants from Heavy Snow

Do your plants look like these arborvitae? The wet snow can have a severe impact on the shape of your plants - here's what you can do to help:
1. VERY carefully wipe off as much snow as possible, then shake the branches carefully. (If the temperature is in single digits, or below zero - wait until it warms up)

2. It may be necessary to tie the plants together to help support each other. Use a soft tie - a soft material or some old pantyhose will do the trick - and tie the inside of the trunks together.

3. During the warmer months, remove the tie and see if they are strong enough to hold up on their own. If not, retie them. Gradually begin loosening the ties and replace as needed so the ties do not choke the trunks.