 Should I wrap my shrubs with burlap for the winter? Like most topics these days, there are different opinions. So I'll go out on a limb and state my opinion.....Some yes, and some no! For hardy woody shrubs -burning bush, privet, yew, forsythia, spirea, viburnum, for example, I see no need to wrap them. Certainly wrapping will keep the deer and rabbits from chewing on them, but from first hand experience, even if this happens, the shrub will grow back just fine. It might look wonky for a year or two until it fills in, but it will. Conversely I've been wrapping my evergreens since before rap music was even invented. I do this to protect from drying winter winds as much as varmint protection. Whether you wrap or not, do your shrubs a favor and give them a nice bucket of water right now. They'll take up this water before there's a snow cover. One last tip...I use safety pins to attach rope to my top layer of burlap as seen in the second picture here. Happy Thanksgiving Everyone! 
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Heeling In. I've had questions from folks about what to do with potted perennials and shrubs for the winter. The absolute best way to overwinter them is to heel them into the ground. Here, I unpotted some daylily, dug a trench and put them in, and covered the roots up with the soil and mulch. EASY! They are all tucked in for the winter and will do just great. In the spring, I'll just pop them out and repot them. This process can also be used if you're not ready to plant out extra plants in the summer. It keeps the roots moist, cool, and happy! So Heel'm In!  Many have asked how I prepare my beds for the growing season. The process actually begins now. I'm in the process of pruning back most of my shrubs and perennials, and chopping off my hosta. I then top dress all my beds with a layer of my personal compost followed by a healthy layer of chopped leaves. The remaining leaves go into my now empty compost bins to start the process for next year. Let's hope we have another month of good weather to be out in our Gardens. Keep those hands in the dirt!   Like it or not, it's time for thinking late blooming Fall interest in your garden. There are lots of plants and ways to add interest this time of year. Those coral bells are still looking great! One of my favorite fall plants is Sedum. Mine that are growing in pots are just beginning to show their colors. The bees and butterflys just won't leave them alone. What is your favorite fall bloomer?
Sedum Autumn Fire Sedum x 'Autumn Fire' • As the name implies, this fall long- bloomer will attract the butterflies and brighten your garden on a warm September day • Rosy Red blooms that turns to salmon color then bright red • Prefers sandy, rocky full sun dry conditions, grows in upright clumps reaching 15” H x 18” W • Easy to grow, tolerates drought Photo by Walters Gardens Inc. Here's another shrub you can grow that is very, very deer resistant due to it's thorns and yet provides a beautiful flowering display each year. Probably best planted in a low traffic area of your yard due to thorns and it's a big shrub that if left unattended, will form a thicket via runners. Take that you local deer herd! Woods Rose Rosa woodsi • Woods Rose or Wild Rose is a very hardy shrub that delivers colorful flowering to go with the toughness • Full bushy shrub that often forms a thicket on the edges of woods • 60” H x 48” W • Prefers moist conditions in full sun to partial shade but very adaptable to most soils • Often used to prevent erosion • Very Deer resistant and small bird friendly   This is Piper of Piper's Project - the girl Can. https://www.facebook.com/pipersproject/. She picked out some nice plants and walked out with our returnables! Great young lady! We still have a lot of inventory - including lots of 3, 5, and 7 gallon shrubs. Perfect for your fall landscape project.
This Friday & Saturday – July 31st and August 1st 9:00 to 5:00 each day. Sale held at Mt Holiday Ski Resort, 3100 Holiday Road, Traverse City MI 49686. Really easy to find. Heck, I don’t think I’d even need Google Maps to tell me how to get there. 1,525 plants over 100 varieties of perennials and shrubs must be sold this weekend! This is the last big sale of the season. Perennials for $5.97, Shrubs starting at $6.97. These are all potted and ready to go into your yard. Heck, if you’re willing to wander through all the plants, you’ll find some at $3.97. HINT: Look for the big yellow Asiatic Lilies in Bloom! DOUBLE HINT: Look for the plants in quarts started from seed this spring. Are you tired of seeing zero or very limited selections at the big stores? Has your plant nursery closed for the season? We have a large selection to choose from! This is “The end of season plant sale” you’ve been waiting for. You and your friends better drive separate so you can each take home a carload of plants! How many plant sales do you know that offers zip lining while you buy some plants? Here’s a partial list of Perennials – LAVENDER, Cardinal Flower, Nepeta, Butterfly Milkweed, Hollyhock, Dianthus Fire Witch, Black-eyed Susan, Cheyenne Spirit, and Purple Coneflowers, Liatris, Balloon Flower – Sentimental Blue – new flowers opening every day on these, Cherry Brandy Daisy, Tall Garden Phlox, Obedient plant, Pink Swirl and Luna Red Hibiscus, Salvia, 8 varieties of Coral Bells including the popular Electric Plum, Totem Pole and Karl Forester Tall Grasses, Allium, Japanese Painted Fern, 5 varieties of Hosta, 4 varieties of Astilbe, Penstemon, 2 varieties of Sedum – a terrific fall bloomer, daylilies and many more. Still arguing about Green & White or Maize & Blue at your house? Don’t worry, we’ve got both. For the record, more green & white. Get to Mt. Holiday quickly. These won’t last long. Here’s a list of Shrubs – Purple Smoke Bush, Diervila, 3 varieties of Butterfly Bush, Snow Dwarf Mock Orange, Purple Sandcherry, Japanese Maple, Red Twig Dogwood, 5 varieties of Weigela, Andorra Juniper, New Hampshire Forsythia, 3 varieties of Viburnum, 3 varieties of Ninebark, Spirea of all shapes and colors, Winterberry, Willows, Rose of Sharon, Magnolia Trees, Sunjoy Neo Barberry – noninvasive, Blue Star Juniper, 4 varieties of Lilac, Summersweet – will grow in that shady spot, and many more. We’ve got 6 varieties of Hydrangeas ranging from $6.97 to $19.97. Sorry, no $30 hydrangeas available like you find in other stores. These aren’t the mamby pamby varieties either. Tough plants that will bloom each year. We’re featuring the Proven Winner Limelights and Invincibelle Ruby Hydrangea. Gorgeous re-bloomer yet small enough to fit under that front window. Don’t worry, your husband will help you plant these, he knows dragging around bags of soil in 90-degree heat is good exercise for him. Lots of natives, pollinator friendly, and deer resistant plants. Get to the sale. Gotta get some edibles right? Crabapple trees, 2 kinds of Blueberries, 2 kinds of ELDERBERRY, Thornless Blackberry, Raspberry, Concord Grapes, Whew, you get the picture. Like I said, over 100 varieties. Plants range in size from quarts to 7 gallon pots. Too many to list all of them. Just come to the sale to see. We won’t be able to respond to Facebook inquiries during the sale as we’ll be helping customers. I apologize for that, but all I can say is come to the sale. We’re happy to help you at the sale. We’ll be open 9 – 5 this Friday & Saturday at Mt. Holiday Ski Resort. Plenty of parking, and we’ll even load your car for you without having to page someone over the loudspeaker. We will be wearing masks for protection and have hand sanitizer available. Cash or Credit Card accepted. The credit card is a touch-less transaction! Now grab Mama, get in the car and come out and get yourself some $5.97 plants. Come on, you ain’t doin’nothin’ anyway. Now get in the dag blamed car and make mama happy! Some Photos courtesy of Proven Winners Inc., Ball Horticultural, Spring Hill Nursery and Walter’s Gardens Inc.  This is my first year growing this plant so we're still in the awkward stage of our relationship. We talk every day, but still are leaning a lot about each other. She's GORGEOUS and I think I want a long term relationship, but not ready to take the plunge. Signed, a hopeless plant romantic... Blackbeard Beardtongue Penstemon 'Blackbeard' • Eggplant Purple foliage, with dark purple stems, with trumpet like lilac purple flowers, makes me purple with envy • Upright perennial 28” H x 24” W • Prefers full sun and can take drought conditions • Native to North America, very disease and bug resistant. They are hummingbird magnets with the trumpet flowers. Photo by Walters Gardens Inc.   Plum Pudding Coral Bell Heuchera Plum Pudding • True plum purple foliage with deep purple veins. The softer tone is very pleasing to the eye in mass • Forms a flowing clump that can be used as a groundcover • 14” H x 26” W • Prefers partial shade to partial sun Photo by Terra Nova Nursery |
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