Bird of the Week - Northern Cardinal

Basics: Male Cardinals are easily spotted by their red plumage while female cardinals have lovely red highlights in their fawn colored feathers.

Housing: Enclosed housing may not be appealing to this species. Platform housing is best for Cardinals. The planting of thick berry producing plants and evergreens are also very beneficial for this species to roost and nest in.

Food: Black Oil Sunflower seeds, and safflower seeds are two of their favorite foods!

How to attract: Provide food, water, shelter, and nesting sites

Fact: Keeping warm bodies is a number one priority during winter, a snug place to roost overnight is just as important as a full belly.

Tip: Choose larger, heavier feeders that will not sway, or placing feeders on sturdy poles rather than hanging them to provide more stability when cardinals are feeding.

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Bernie’s Blend Birdseed

25# Bag, Regular $19.99

Just $15.99

Good through 1/9/19. Not good with any other sale, coupon or discount or on previous purchases. 

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Houseplant of the Week - Cyclamen

       The flowers on Cyclamen are valued for the up-swept petals and variably patterned leaves. Even the foliage is attractive, often having silver marbling on the top sides of the leaves. The florist Cyclamen, which come in several variations of pink, red and white, is the best know species in this genus. The small flowers of this plant are very sweet smelling. These are tuberous plants with the common heart shaped leaves. Cyclamen have a good transpiration rate, and therefore will add to the humidity in your home.

       Plant Care: Cyclamen are great flowering plants to add interest to the home in winter, as they do best here from December through March. The plants prefer a cool location with good air circulation! Temperatures that are too high will cause the plant to begin to yellow, and the flowers will fade rapidly. You will also need to make sure that your cyclamen is properly watered. They are sensitive to both over and under watering. Make sure the plant has excellent drainage with a potting medium that holds water well. Water your cyclamen plant only when the soil is dry to the touch, but do not leave the plant in this dry state so long that it shows visible signs of not being watered, such as droopy leaves and flowers. Water cyclamen from below the leaves so that the water doesn’t touch the stems or leaves. Water on the stems and leaves can cause them to rot. Soak the soil thoroughly and let any excess water drain away. Only fertilize once every one to two months with water soluble fertilizer mixed at half strength.

       To keep plants blooming, remove flowers as they finish by cutting the stems near the base of the plant. Sometimes the petals will fall off and leave a round seed capsule that resembles a flower bud. Remove these, too. In the spring, let the soil dry out and keep the pot in a cool dry place for the summer. The plants will look dead, but as long as the tubers remain hard and plump, they are only resting. Begin watering in the early fall and put it back into a cool, bright window for another season of bloom.

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20% OFF Cyclamen Plants

 Good through 2/9/19. Not good with any other sale, coupon or discount or on previous purchases.
Mention this offer at the checkout counter.

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Gorgeous Christmas Items at Hillermann's

SOOO MANY BEAUTIFUL CHRISTMAS DECORATIONS & NOVELTY ITEMS
are available for your Christmas decorating and gift list needs!
Come see us this weekend - 12/15/18 and 12/16/18 and SAVE...

Wrap up Christmas Savings Days!
Wrap up your Christmas Gift List and Decorating with these great savings!
December 15 and 16, 2018: 20% OFF Christmas Items!
Flower Shop items, fresh Christmas trees, fresh greens items, poinsettias and houseplants excluded. Not good with any other offer or on previous purchases.

Check out the pictures below! Click here for more pictures.

Great Gift Ideas at Hillermann's

Christmas is just days away! We have many, many gift ideas for all ages and personalities to fit all budgets! Check out these pictures and come visit us to find many items to shorten your list! Check out this photo gallery for just a small sampling….

Click here for more pictures.

Garden Solutions - December 2018

The month of December brings the holiday season and warm thoughts of family, friends and community. I would like to say “Thank You” and wish you and yours a “Blessed Holiday Season” with all the best in the New Year!

Winter officially arrives this month. Trimming or pruning of some of your trees and shrubs can be done now. Resist the urge to cut back everything. Most perennials benefit from adding a layer of mulch or dead leaves. Keep your ornamental grasses up until mid-March.

Plants get “chapped lips” too. Cold, dry winter winds and bright winter sun make our skin chapped and unhealthy. Those winds have a devastatingly similar effect on your plants too. No wonder your evergreens don’t look so great come spring. This drying effect is called desiccation. To fight desiccation, choose the right plants for windy, dry areas. Make sure to water your evergreens well through early December, before the ground freezes. Mulch your plants for winter to retain soil moisture as well as soil temperature. Use an anti-desiccant like Wilt Stop by Bonide. These products coat leaves and needles to slow down the loss of moisture.

Here are a few tips on winter houseplant care. Flowering plants need at least half a day of direct sunlight. The ideal temperatures for foliage plants are 68-70 degrees during the day and slightly lower at night. Remember, windowsill locations are much colder during the winter and plants may need to be moved to prevent them from getting chilled. The amount of water and fertilizers the houseplants need declines during winter. 

Use caution when spreading salt or calcium on ice or snow packed walks or driveways. Salt can damage lawns and plantings, calcium is much safer to use. Be sure to designate areas to for piling snow from plowing in advance to prevent damage to trees, shrubs and lawns. 

Continue to feed our fine feathered friends and place heated birdbaths with fresh water out for them.

Again, I wish you and your family a very Blessed Christmas season.  Let’s get to work on planning that beautiful garden scene for next year!

See you in the Garden…
Sandi Hillermann Mcdonald

Garden Solutions - November 2018

            It is hard to believe we at the end of another summer and fall season. Below is a list of things you can do on warm fall days to prepare for winter.  Dig into these tasks listed below and enjoy the outdoors as much as you can!

• An important step is to make sure all plants are well watered throughout November to insure adequate winter food reserves. That final soaking before the last frost is essential.  Soak evergreens and new plantings again in midwinter during a warm spell if moisture is not abundant.

• Mulching is an important step to keep soil temperatures from fluctuating so much.

• Protect the trunks of transplanted or young trees to minimize frost cracks.  White plastic roll covers and paper wrap are good choices.

• Till up the vegetable garden to expose many insect pests to winter cold and reduce their numbers in next year’s garden.

• Apply Winterizer fertilizer to the lawn to strengthen plant stems and roots and early spring green up.

• Plant tulips and other spring bulbs now through December.

• Dig and store tender bulbs planted this spring such as Dahlias, caladiums, and elephant ears.

• Start paperwhite and amaryllis bulbs indoors now thru December.

• Take steps to prevent garden ponds from freezing using a floating garden heater in the pond.

• Set up bird feeders. Birds also appreciate a source of unfrozen drinking water.

• When feeding the birds, set up tube feeders that are good for songbirds, platform feeders that are good for cardinals and larger birds, and suet that is a great source of fat and energy for woodpeckers.

• Winter houseplant care: reduce fertilizer until spring, shorter days mean slower growth, slower growth means less frequent watering.

• Leave ornamental grasses standing tall for winter interest in the garden and for feeding the birds. Cut them down to 2-4” in early spring.

Time to go….See you in the Garden....
Sandi Hillermann McDonald