Tips for the Garden - October 2020

            Fall is the perfect time to evaluate the garden for improvement to your home’s curb appeal, and it is also the perfect time for planting. The cooler crisp days of October make it a great time to care for your yard and garden with the following tips:

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•         YOUR CURB APPEAL can be enhanced by decorating with pumpkins, gourds, corn stalks, mums, pansies, kale, and the great selection of Fall plants that are available.

•         Lawn seeding should be finished by October 15th this month to insure growth yet this fall. Choose a seed mix for your specific lawn area; sun, shade, sun/shade, play, drought, etc.

•         Winterize lawn mowers before storage, by draining gasoline from the tank and the gas line.

•         Apply a Winterizer fertilizer on lawns anytime from mid October through November to promote green growth in early spring, the BEST of the neighborhood.

•         The average first frost usually arrives sometime between October 15th and October 20th.

•         You can gain a few degrees of frost protection by covering tender plants with sheets or lightweight fabric row covers. DO NOT USE PLASTIC; this tends to “draw in” the cold temperatures.

•         Dig up Cannas, Dahlias, and Elephant Ears after frost nips their foliage. Before storing them, allow the plants to dry under cover in an airy frost-free place. Store in a cool, dry area, such as a basement, in paper sacks with peat moss.

•         Plant flower bulbs (Tulips, Daffodils, Crocus, etc.) for spring bloom. Plant them into groupings for a massed effect of spring color. To fertilize them, use bone meal or a complete bulb fertilizer at planting time.

•         October is an excellent month to plant trees, shrubs and perennials. This gives the plants a great start in the warm soil and cool weather of fall, with plenty of moisture in the spring to become established before the harsh summer heat and drought arrives.

•         Continue to water all your plants, especially evergreens, when soils are dry. Until the ground freezes, the plants need moisture for root growth even if they are going dormant.

•         After beds have been cleaned and raked, refresh them with bark mulch for the winter months.

•         Towards the end of October, trees should be fertilized with tree spikes at their drip line. Use one tree spike per one inch of tree trunk diameter. This will make for beautiful foliage next spring!

•         Harvest gourds when their shells become hard or when their color changes from green to brown.

•         DO NOT take hummingbird feeders down before mid October. The bird’s biological clock tells them when to migrate south. IT IS NOT dependent on how long we leave our feeders up. Stragglers migrating from areas that are more northern may also find your feeders for some needed nourishment.

            Enjoy your yard and garden in every season!

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

Tips for the Garden -September 2020

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The weather has been quite different this year compared to last year’s drought, heat, etc. It was a nice change considering normal summer weather for our area. If you like to garden, now is the time for Fall gardening. Now is also the time to add color into the fall landscape with the cheerful faces of winter hardy pansies and violas, gorgeous garden mums, and unique varieties of ornamental cabbage and kale. Transform the entrance to your home into a welcoming, colorful fall display with plants, cornstalks, ornamental grasses, an assortment of pumpkins and squash, and maybe a scarecrow set on a hay bale.
Don’t forget spring flowering bulbs. Now is the time to get the best selection of varieties and colors. Fall bulb planting varieties include Tulips, Hyacinths, Daffodils and Crocus.
September is perfect lawn renovation month. Aeration helps control thatch, improves the soil structure, helps create growth pockets for new roots, and opens the way for water and fertilizer to get to the roots of your lawn. Aeration is the process of removing thousands of small cores of soil 1” to 3” in length from your lawn. The holes in the soil created by aeration make perfect pockets for catching fertilizer and water.
Once aeration is accomplished, it is a perfect time to over seed your lawn. Fescue grass seed blends are most common here in the Mid-Missouri area. Fescue blends take our summer heat and drought conditions better than Bluegrass seed mixes. Fescue lawn mixes tolerate heat, drought and traffic from kids and pets better. Over seed Fescue lawns at a rate of 2-3 lbs per 1,000 sq ft if you have a 50% stand of grass. After seeding, top dress with a starter type fertilizer, and you are ready to enjoy a beautiful green lawn for fall and spring!
The Fall of the year is perfect timing for tree planting. Proper sun exposure, soil moisture, and the available growth space needs to be assessed to help with tree selection. So, plant a tree this fall. You will help the environment, lower your electric bills, and enhance your property value.
Here are a few other quick tips for this month. Begin to adapt your houseplants for winter indoors. Check for pests and treat if necessary. Houseplants should be brought indoors at least one month before the heat is normally turned on. Sow fall vegetable crops through mid September. Harvest herbs now to freeze or dry for winter.

Stay engaged with nature…
Sandi Hillermann McDonald

Fall Plants, Items and Displays Available NOW!

We are approaching the FABULOUS FALL SEASON! This season has so much to offer with gardening, planting and decorating. It is a favorite around the Garden Center and Nursery. It gives us an opportunity to re-plant vegetable and flower gardens with fresh cool-season varieties. It’s a time when the ever popular garden mums are abundant. Fall is also a time that we can bring vivid colors and textures into our decorating. We have some great selections available now to get you started on fall planting and decorating. Check out the pictures below for items available for you NOW!

Fun Fall Decor - Come check out these displays and take some items home to help celebrate the FALL season at your home!

Fall Flowers and Ornamental Plants - that will give your flower beds and containers a fresh fall twist! Create some unique combinations or grab some of our pre-planted fall container Gardens to bring an extra fall touch to your curb appeal! There are many great gift ideas too!

Hardy Garden Mums - in many varieties and many sizes from small 4” containers to huge plants in 14” containers! Additional shipments will arrive through October.

Cool Season Vegetables - Nothing is fresher than what comes from your own backyard! plant these varieties and harvest vegetables through the first hard frost!

Great Displays - are coming together in our open bay and nursery lot! These will change and take on more color as the mums bloom and colorful fall items arrive. Come see us now though fall to see all the great displays and colorful plants and items that adorn our sales areas!

Start Your Fall Gardens

       Now's a great time to change out your fading summer vegetable and flower gardens with cool season plants. You can have flowers and veggies through winter's first hard freeze will cool season varieties. Fall Vegetable and Flower Plants are arriving now! See the photo gallery below for our recent arrivals!

Tips for the Garden - August 2020

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            Our summer continues with a lot on unknowns and questions still left unanswered. But the garden will welcome your every visit. Enjoy the opening of every new flower and every new bird or butterfly to visit.

            Your main tasks for this month begin with the letter W. Weeding and watering. Both tasks are pretty self-explanatory. If you let weeds get ahead of you and they go to seed, you are going to have hundreds more to deal with this fall and next spring. When using herbicides be sure to read and follow all label directions thoroughly. They are written for your protection. Generally, it is best to pull weeds that are growing in and immediately around your desirable plants, and spray those that are “in the open”. 

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            As far as watering goes, August is usually an extremely low moisture month, so slow deep watering at the base of desirable trees and shrubs on a weekly basis is very important. Try to eliminate drought stress on your plants. When the weather is dry, please take care of your desirable plants with slow soaking waterings. If you have questions, do not hesitate to give us a call.

            Mowing the lawn is another task that continues in August. Due to the usually hot and dry conditions that are the norm in August, you may be able to space your mowings further apart. It is also beneficial to let the grass grow longer to help shade the roots.

            If you are thinking about a new addition to your landscape this fall, now is the time to talk to your favorite landscape designer. Your designer can discuss your needs with you, design the changes or new additions, and get you on the schedule for a fall installation.

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            If you tried your hand at seasonal vegetable gardening this spring, here are a few ways you can enjoy a fall garden. Carry Tomatoes, Peppers and Basil over in your fall garden. Direct sow Beets, Radishes, Peas, and Spinach now where other spring crops such as Broccoli and Cauliflower have come and gone for this year. It is best to replant nursery starts of Broccoli and Cauliflower, and not sow them from seed this time of year. The possibilities are still quite many, so carry that garden adventure out a little further into the fall. You won’t be disappointed!

See you next month……….in the garden
Sandi Hillermann McDonald

How will you spend your Hillermann Bucks?

      Hillermann Bucks Redemption Days are coming soon on August 1st through August 15th! Match your Hillermann Bucks dollar for dollar with real cash, for up to 50% of your purchase. Use them on any in-stock merchandise in the Garden Center, Nursery, and Greenhouse. Holding or Tagging is NOT allowed for Hillermann Bucks, so if you've got your eye on a perfect piece of pottery or a beguiling bird bath, come in and get it before it's gone!