Gardening with Cheryl

How to Save Money in the Landscape

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:46:00 +0000

Ways to save $$$ in your landscape:

Plant quick growing shade trees for future summers (poplar hybrids, willow hybrids & lombardy poplar for examples)
Choose younger bare root shrubs and trees (saves money and water)
Mulch with shredded bark mulch or aged compost/manure mix (keeps the ground cool over the roots reducing water needs)
Select perennials over annuals (plant once and grow for years – also perennials require less water than annuals)
Plant spreading perennials and ground covers in bare areas (their shade limits weed growth)
Watering lawns every 4 to 5 days saves water and allows the roots of the grass to grow deeper
Incorporate herbs into your landscape for cooking
Raise the setting on your lawn mower
Use drip hoses for most gardens and landscaped areas
Select the proper plants for difficult areas such as full sun or full shade
Remove dead plants immediately
Deadheading many shrubs and perennials encourages new blooms

Related articles

Color in The Summer Landscape (gardeningwithcheryl.com)
Planting a Small Sized Garden (gardeningwithcheryl.com)
Selecting and Planting Ground Cover Plants (gardeningwithcheryl.com)

Greenwood Nursery Announces Facebook Plant Give-A-Way Contest

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:44:00 +0000

Greenwood Nursery Announces Weekly Contest for Plant Give-A-Way

Beginning the week of May 16th, Greenwood Nursery is holding a weekly plant give away for members of their Facebook Fan Page. Each Saturday one lucky member will receive a plant or garden product. Contest to be held weekly through June 25th.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

PRLog (Press Release) – May 24, 2011 – Greenwood Nursery, McMinnville, TN announces their weekly plant and garden product give away. Beginning the week of May 16th through June 25th, they will draw a name from their Facebook Fan Page Membership. Drawing will be held on weekends and announced at that time. The winner will receive one of Greenwood Nursery's Proven Winner plants or one of their gardening products such as The Gardener's Hollow Leg fabric gardening sack, African market baskets, or wildflower seed kits.
For an opportunity to win in this contest, visit the Greenwood Nursery Facebook Fan Page and Join or Like their Fan Page. The winner must reside within the continental United States as prize will only be shipped within the contiguous U.S.
GreenwoodNursery.com is your one stop online garden center for trees, flowering shrubs, ground covers, flowering perennials, organic lawn care products and more. Rated a top 5 online nursery by About.com. Find your next plants at their online plant nursery.

# # #

Rated one of the top 5 online nurseries by about.com, Greenwood Nursery offers a wide selection of shade trees, flowering trees, flowering shrubs, evergreen shrubs, ground covers, perennials, and gardening supplies.

Landscaping around Decks, Patios and Porches (gardeningwithcheryl.com)
Planting a Small Sized Garden (gardeningwithcheryl.com)

Planting a Small Sized Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 00:34:00 +0000

When you don’t have the budget or inclination to do the landscaping projects you really should do, downsize. Downsize with smaller landscapes and smaller plants. Small sized gardens can be used effectively to enhance bland foundations, corners, and entrances as well as add color, fragrance and interest to patios and other sitting areas.

Small gardens use small scale shrubs and perennials. Anchor shrubs should mature around 3 to 4 feet tall and are typically placed in the back 1/3 of the area. Planting one or two evergreen shrubs makes a good base. Colorful small shrubs and shrub-like perennials are other good choices.

Small garden anchor plants:

Karley Rose, Prairie Dropseed, Karl Foerster and Adagio are some of the more striking ornamental grasses that are attractive as single specimens and can be used in lieu shrubs as anchor plants.

Plant perennials of varied heights keeping within 12 to 40 inches tall for added interest. Some of the friendliest and brightest varieties are:

Lo & Behold Blue Chip Buddleia
Lavender (Munstead, Hidcote & Kew Red)
Pineapple Sage
Walker’s Low Catmint
Echinacea Day Dream (yellow) & Hot Lava (orangey red)
Purple Dome Aster
Heucheras Plum Pudding & Mystic Angel
Gaillardias Arizona Sun & Burgundy
Monardas Fireball & Blue Stocking
Veronicas Red Fox & Sunny Border Blue
Little Spire Russian Sage
Hostas
Ferns

Small scale ground cover plants are the last touch for small gardens.

Select from:

Use spreading plants that have a spreading habit to fill in over several years such as:

Red Drift Rose and Apricot Drift Rose
Beauty Bush Dreamcatcher
Rudbeckia Autumn Colors
Moonshine Yarrow & Summer Pastels Yarrow
Shasta Daisy Crazy Daisy
Dianthus Firewitch

How to plan a small sized garden for your enjoyment:

Select at least one small scale shrub to anchor the garden
Choose 3 or more perennials in varied heights
Use one variety of groundcover for the front most part
For even more interest add a butterfly house, bird house or whirligig just off the center point

For more ideas on small sized gardens, visit Greenwood Nursery.

Landscaping around Decks, Patios and Porche s (gardeningwithcheryl.com)

Greenwood Grower visits with Martha Stewart

noreply@blogger.com (Love the Home Life) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 04:23:00 +0000

Greenwood Grower visits with Martha Stewart

Selecting Plants for Borders and Edging

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Fri, 05 Nov 2010 04:03:00 +0000

Selecting Plants for Borders and Edging

noreply@blogger.com (Love the Home Life) — Fri, 29 Oct 2010 12:07:00 +0000

Selecting Plants for Borders and Edging

Tips for Fall Plant Care

noreply@blogger.com (Love the Home Life) — Wed, 20 Oct 2010 05:21:00 +0000

With fall in sight, there are a few projects which need to be done to move the garden and landscape into the next season. A little planning and some late summer maintenance can encourage a new burst of growth and color that will last for weeks, depending on where you are located maybe months, beyond the new equinox.

Here is what I do to extend my gardens energy:

• Deadhead- both annuals and perennials- if you have a hedge trimmer, it makes this so much easier, especially for wide spreaders such as Shasta daisies and lavender

• Pull out all annuals and perennials that have died or are on that path

• Stake all taller growing perennials

• Deadhead/prune knockout roses for gorgeous late summer growth

• Pinch blooms from herbs. After most herbs bloom, their leaves begin to lose flavor, so pinch the blooms to encourage last minute growth.

• Continue watering container plants regularly

• Apply a fresh layer of aged compost mix to enrich the soil over winter

• Weed- no one likes to hear it, but hand weeding is the best and safest way to control the situation in most gardens. Regular weeding walks through the area can help to keep them in check.

• Note what annuals, perennials and shrubs performed well over the season and what colors/plants would be good for next years gardening

Here is a listing of shrubs and perennials that perform at their best from late summer through fall. This is the time to mix a few of these into your garden or landscape for more color and texture. Plant coneflower, sedum, black-eyed susan, shasta daisy, Russian sage, Knockout Roses, Anemone, Ornamental grasses, asters, rose of sharon, herbs, salvia, yarrow, butterfly bush, carolina allspice, smoke tree, viburnum, american bittersweet, Japanese maples or chokeberry.

I clip tiny branches from my herb plantsto display in my tiny bud vases all during summer. With basil in the kitchen, rosemary in the bathroom and thyme in the bedroom, what a way to tickle the senses.

If you have herbs in your garden that will be maturing over a few weeks time, you will definitely want to harvest and dry or freeze the leaves for fall and winter cooking.

These are just a few chores to perform on a beautiful weekend. You'll get exercise, feel great and your garden will look amazing. Why not open the windows to air out the house while you work in the garden. Then the house will have that wonderful outdoor smell!

Top 7 Trees For Best Fall Color

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:29:00 +0000

After a long hot summer, it all begins to change. September reveals cooler weather. The air develops a crisp note. Leaves on the trees are just starting with their hibernation process, which will leave us with their magnificent fall color.

Here are my picks for the top 7 trees for the best fall color:

• Kousa Dogwood
• Sourwood
• Tulip Poplar
• Japanese Red Maple
• Birch
• Pin Oak
• Red Maple

Planting one or more of these trees in your landscape will provide you with great splashes of fall color.

The leaves on the Kousa Dogwood change from a glossy green to a purple/red shade. With its more compact growth, it is an easy tree to add to any garden or landscape.

The Sourwood is a U.S. native tree with gorgeous red to orange fall color.

When we think of fall foliage, many of us think of the orange and golden colors of New England. Need to add some yellow into your fall landscape? A poplar or birch will be the perfect addition.

For foliage in variations of red, plant Japanese red maples, scarlet red maples or a pin oak for the deepest red fall leaf color.

Share your favorite plants for fall color with your comments then visit Greenwood Nursery to purchase your fall color trees.

Gardening with Allergies

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:15:00 +0000

Gardening with allergies can be a wonderful experience with some planning.
The low allergy garden is full of beautiful plants that have one thing in
common. They are insect pollinated plants which eliminates wind blown
pollen. There are many, many trees, shrubs and perennials that are
pollinated by insects that the low allergy garden is well rounded.

All herbs, including rosemary, lavender, thyme, oregano, sage, mint and
chives, are welcome here as well as vegetable and fruiting plants.

Ground covers are used most effectively here. Covering the soil with
creeping plants reduces the dust in the garden and landscape. Wise choices
are creeping thymes, Corsican mint, ajuga, pachysandra, phlox and vinca.

Eliminate damp areas and reduce the use of natural mulch (wood chips,
shredded bark, compost, manure mix, etc.) which produce wind borne mold
spores. Instead use creeping ground covers or gravel. Xeriscaping gardening
is a great alternative.

Choose perennials and shrubs that produce brightly colored blooms used to
attract hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and other insects. Selections
include yarrow, dianthus, Echinacea, hypericum, Russian sage, daylilies,
tiarella, heuchera, veronica, salvia, hosta, monarda, roses, sambucus,
weigela, viburnum, hibiscus (rose of Sharon), and hydrangea.

Low allergy trees include apple, plum, magnolia, dogwood, red maple and
cherry.

Mow the lawn area frequently keeping it shorter than normally required.
Grass that is mowed to 2 inches is less likely to produce seed. It is
generally too short to catch wind blown pollen.

Walk your garden or landscape regularly to pull or spray out weeds. Weeds
are often the cause of more allergy issues than garden plants.

Hedges can pose a problem for allergy suffers as they collect dust, mold and
pollen. Keep them pruned and thinned out to reduce such as build up.

Some plants that will wreck havoc with allergy suffers are ornamental
grasses, most lawn grasses (mow frequently), conifers, aspen, oaks, ash,
elm, birch, walnut, and willow, evergreen varieties and broad leaf
evergreens. One exception to this is boxwood. As long as boxwoods are pruned
hard so that they don't flower, they can be added as low allergy plants.

Visible pollen isn't irritating as it comes from insect pollinating plants
and is too heavy to be carried by the wind. The lightweight, invisible
airborne pollen is the pollen that causes allergies.

When in doubt about selecting plants for low allergy gardening, go with
plants that produce brightly colored blooms so that they attract birds and
insects. When plants are noted as being female, choose it. Male sexed plants
produce airborne pollen.

Here is a link to the University of Vermont Extension site with an article
on Gardening with Allergies. It may be short, but this article is full of
useful information for the allergy suffer who wants to garden.

http://www.uvm.edu/pss/ppp/pubs/oh71allergies.htm

We hope you are finding it simple to use our new Greenwood Navigation System
to narrow down your plant selections. It's easy to use and results are
immediate.

Check out our videos on Youtube on Tips on Growing Lavender and Learn the
Basics for Planting Container Grown Plants.

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

See you on Facebook!

Until next time...Cheryl

Feel free to email me at cheryl@greenwoodnursery.com

Bringing Balance to Your Garden

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:14:00 +0000

Bringing the four elements to the garden can open up many avenues into
oneself. Just as Feng shui corrects the positive and negative influences of
interior placement, incorporating the elements of Fire, Water, Air and Earth
can bring balance and peace to the garden.

The first element of Fire, representing the South, opens the flow of chi to
the head, neck, shoulder and arms. Its color is commonly red and can be
found in the fire from a fire pit or candles, Knockout Double Red Roses,
Japanese Red Maple, Weigela Wine and Roses, Echinacea Tomato Soup,
Gaillardia Burgundy, Monarda Fire Ball, Pineapple Sage, Arctic Fire Dogwood,
Nishiki Willow and the Cotoneaster Coral Beauty. Presence of Fire in the
garden can increase Productivity.

The second element of Water, representing the West, opens the flow of chi to
the abdomen and human emotion. Its color is commonly blue which can be
applied to a water fountain, bird bath, blue reflection ball, Russian Sage,
Nikko Blue Hydrangea, English Country Aster, Veronica Royal Candles,
Hibiscus Blue Satin and Hibiscus Blue Chiffon. The presence of Water brings
Serenity.

The third element of Air, representing the East, opens the flow of chi to
the chest and lungs. Although yellow is the color commonly used, air can
also be found through the use of whirligigs, wind chimes, windsocks and
fragrant plants such as Lavender, Lemon Thyme, Rosemary Arp, and Mock
Orange. Yellow can be found in the plants Lilium Painted Pixie, Yarrow
Moonshine, Forsythia, Sungold Cypress, Knockout Sunny Roses, Angelina Sedum,
Echinacea Mac-n-Cheese, and Black-Eyed Susans. The presence of Air in the
garden brings Happiness.

The fourth element of Earth, representing the North, opens the flow of chi
to the feet, legs and lower abdomen. Earth is green; the color of nature,
but can also be found in objects taken from Earth such as rocks/stone for a
path or wood from a fallen tree might be used to build a bench. Green can be
found in plants such as Heuchera Lime Ricky, Ornamental Grasses, Hostas,
Ferns, Spartan Juniper, Emerald Green Arborvitae and Boxwood Wintergreen.
Build Confidence with Earth in the garden.

The fifth element, and most forgotten, is Akasha. This element will open the
flow of chi to the human aura and the brain. Akasha, the center of the
universe, is the only element that we can't see, feel, smell or touch. It is
energy or inner spirit. The colors of white and/or purple are the associated
colors for Akasha. Center your garden with Mock Orange, Hibiscus Violet
Satin, Hydrangea Incrediball, Anemone, Shasta Daisy, Echinacea White Swan,
Black Knight Buddleia, Old Fashion Lilac, Persian Lilac, Hibiscus Diana,
Hibiscus Morning Star, White Profusion Buddleia, Viburnum Japanese Snowball
and Lavender. Akasha in the garden creates harmony with the mind, body and
spirit.

Yes, I do have Russian sage in the Western area of my garden, Moonshine
Yarrow in the East, ornamental grasses in the North, Japanese Red Maple in
the South along with Mock Orange for Akasha and those are just the
beginning. Maybe that is why Steve and I feel so centered when we retreat to
our garden.

Whether you get your compass out and place the elements to their
corresponding colors and directions or just include these colors within your
garden or landscape, you can still reap the benefits of their presence. To
keep the positive/negative balance, place at least one corresponding plant
in each of the corresponding elements direction. This will allow the
elements to work together in unity.

Other ways to make your garden magical is to bring in plants that provide
fragrance and plants whose leaves or blooms will reflect the moonlight.
Fragrant plants will include: Lavender, Rosemary, Lemon Thyme, Oregano,
Spice Bush, Roses, Mock Orange, Old Fashion Lilac, Persian Lilac and
Sweetbay Magnolia. Plants whose leaves or blooms will reflect moonlight will
include: Variegated Solomon's Seal, Burgundy Lace Fern, Limelight Hydrangea,
Incrediball Hydrangea, Russian Sage, Pink Muhly Ornamental Grass, Pee Gee
Hydrangea, Heuchera Mystic Angel, Fire & Ice Hosta, Patriot Hosta, and the
Nishiki Willow.

Our countdown to Valentine's Day continues with one week left to go. This
week's suggestion is our Herb Collection. This is the perfect gift for any
Valentine Chef, as the beginnings for a kitchen garden or to add a little
magic to any garden. The Greenwood Herb Collection includes Chives, Bay
Laurel, Oregano, Rosemary Majorca Pink, Pineapple Sage and Lemon Thyme all
for $21.95. Book now and your Valentine will receive a lovely hand written
gift card alerting them to their gift and when it will be arriving at their
door. The perfect gift for the chef in your family!

Week 2 on our Valentine's Day Countdown was our Knockout Rose Sampler at
$56.95 which is a $9.00 savings over individual costs. Week 3 offered
special Valentine's Gift Certificates with week 4 being our popular Lavender
Sampler.

New items are being added to our Monthly Value Page this week for the month
of February. Be sure to check them out. If you are looking for great new
perennials to add to your garden or landscape, you will want to take
advantage of these new specially priced items.

Visit Greenwood Nursery on YouTube. You will learn the basics of planting
container grown plants and tips for planting lavender and other herbs. As we
progress into spring, we will be adding more instructional videos.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

Check us out on Facebook!

Until next time.....Cheryl

Questions? Email Cheryl at Cheryl@greenwoodnursery.com

Growing Knockout Roses

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:13:00 +0000

What can you plant in your landscape that will bloom beautifully from spring
through fall? Hands down, the longest blooming period goes to the Knockout
Roses! Here in middle Tennessee, they start blooming around early April and
continue on to late fall. This past fall, my double reds continued with
blooms until Thanksgiving which was many weeks beyond hard frosts and
remained in leaf through early December.

Plant these gorgeous specimens in well drained, fertile soil in full sun.
With little attention, they will put on a spectacular show for months on
end. The Knockout Roses are smaller shrub plants maturing around 4 feet tall
with about a 3 foot width. They are easily maintained as an even smaller
size with regular shearing. Space the roses 3 to 4 feet apart for a dramatic
hedge. To keep maintenance to a minimum, prune them back anywhere from 6 to
12 inches above ground in late winter or early spring while dormant making
certain to prune out any broken or damaged branches. Mulch with organic
matter such as aged compost or aged manure mix. Spread the mulch at least 3
inches deep around the plant leaving a welled area at the immediate base of
the plant of around 3 to 4 inches wide so the mulch doesn't touch the bark
of the plant. Apply an organic fertilizer designed for roses as directed on
the label.

As with other roses and plants with thorns, deer are not really drawn to the
Knockout Roses, so they do make dazzling color in areas where deer may be a
problem. The Knockout Rose Family has shown great resistance to the most
common problems of other roses such as black spot, mildew and rust.

With 2 weeks until Valentine's Day, this week's gift suggestion is the
Knockout Rose Sampler. Our Knockout Rose Sampler consists of one Double Red
Knockout, one Double Pink Knockout and one Sunny Knockout at $56.95 which is
a $9.00 savings over individual costs. Book now and your Valentine will
receive a lovely hand written gift card alerting them to their gift and when
it will be arriving at their door. The perfect gift for the rose lover in
your family!

Week 3 on our Valentine's Day Countdown is our special Valentine's Gift
Certificates with week 4 being our popular Lavender Sampler.

Check us out on Facebook!

Until next time.....Cheryl

Questions? Email Cheryl at Cheryl@greenwoodnursery.com

Growing Lavender

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:09:00 +0000

If you have never grown lavender in your garden or landscape, you are
missing out on the most fragrant plants available. My experience with
lavenders is that they are ever dedicated to making my garden a mysterious,
magical wonderland and me a better person because of it. This may sound
pretty far out there, but if you have lavender in your garden, you know what
I mean.
We have a small sitting area on the perimeter of my garden (next to the
house) where Steve and I sit looking out over our garden. I have lavender
growing along the fence (its amazing as a low hedge) and in groups on the
berm in front of the sitting area and lavender plants sprinkled throughout
the garden.
During summer and early fall evenings, we enjoy this enchanted world right
in front of us. A soft summer evening breeze brings entrancing smells of
lavender as nature comes to life. Bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds are
all attracted to the lavender buds. If a garden were an amusement park then
lavender would certainly be the roller coaster.
Greenwood has lots going on with lavender this spring. We are offering some
wonderfully new varieties. In addition to our regular English Lavenders of
Munstead and Hidcote, we are adding the Jean Davis which is has blooms so
soft pink they almost look white. The Kew Red blooms look like tiny
pineapples which is typical of the Spanish Lavenders. Grosso and Provence
are amazingly fragrant French Hybrid Lavenders.
The English Lavenders are early bloomers beginning in mid to late spring.
Once they complete their first round of blooming, they begin again. So if
you want all season blooming, plant Munstead, Hidcote and Jean Davis. The
Hidcote Lavender grows especially well in cooler climates.
Spanish Lavenders typically bloom around mid to late spring. They are also
referred to as Rabbit Ears or Butterfly Lavender because of the petals at
the top of the bloom. The blooms are not as sweet as other lavender
varieties so they will not attract swarms of fliers, yet honeybees seem to
enjoy them. This variety is note worthy, also because it performs better in
humid areas than other lavenders.
French Hybrids are cultivars of Lavandin (lavandula x intermedia) which are
cultivated mostly in France for their oils. Both Grosso and Provence are
excellent choices for strong fragrant buds and for craft projects such as
drying for bouquets and wands. Grosso is especially cold hardy.
The favorite edible varieties are Munstead, Jean Davis and Provence.
Here is a short video that I have put together with tips on growing
lavender. A little advance planning makes Lavender really easy to grow and
even easier to enjoy.
http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery
What better way to enjoy the fruits of your labor once your lavender begins
blooming than to toast to your plants with a glass of wine. A red table wine
would be perfect as it also carries the taste of lavender in the wine.
Mmmmm, delish!
All of our lavender varieties will begin shipping the first week in March.
Book your order now and take advantage of our Lavender Preview Sale saving
you 20% off the regular member pricing. This offer is good through Sunday,
January 17th and available only to our Greenwood Gardener's Club Members
which means you do have to be a member to access the Monthly Value Page
section.
See you on Facebook.

Until next time.......Cheryl

Growing Blackberrys, Raspberrys and Muscadines

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 15:21:00 +0000

All blackberry and raspberry plants are self-fertile or self-pollinating.
Although they don't need a pollinator, planting another variety nearby will
increase their fruit production. Erect plants should be planted 3 to 5 feet
apart in full sun in soil with a pH level of 6.0 to 6.5. Keep the root
collar or crown (where the root mass begins) no more than ½ inch below the
ground's surface. Trailing varieties need spacing of 8 to 10 feet between
plants and will need to be trellised. Our plants typically bear fruit in 2
to 3 years, after which they generally yield 2 to 4 quarts per plant.

Our erect or upright blackberry plants are the Apache (which is probably the
sweetest in flavor), Arapaho and Ouachita while our erect or upright
raspberry plants are Anne, Heritage (an ever bearing) and Nova Summer Red.
The Triple Crown and Cumberland are trailing varieties.

Without knowing which plant variety has been planted, it is often difficult
to tell raspberry and blackberry plants apart until harvest time. When ripe,
raspberries come off with the core remaining on the plant. This leaves a
hole in the top of the berry making it hollow and quite perishable. This is
why raspberries are pricey at the market.

Don't plant raspberry, blackberry or strawberry plants where potatoes,
tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, or other berry plants (including other
strawberry, raspberry or blackberry) have grown in the past 3 years. Fungus
disease and insect pests may still be in the soil in those areas.

Here is a quick link to our planting and care information for blackberry and
raspberry plants as well as links to recipes for the fruits, including wines
and jellies:

http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/Documents/PlantingBlackberry.pdf

A fun fact on muscadines is that all varieties bloom at the same time even
though they may bear fruit at different times. So, when you see them noted
on their description pages as early or late season, that means the time of
growing season that their fruit will be ready for harvest. Typical harvest
times often begin as early as late August (for early) through October (for
late).

Muscadines are either female or self-fertile. Female vines must be planted
within 50 feet of a self-fertile muscadine vine to bear fruit. The more
pollinators you have nearby the more fruit the female plants will yield,
although one self-fertile muscadine vine will pollinated up to 3 female
vines.

Quick info on the muscadines is:

• Black Beauty-female-late season-black berry
• Darlene-female-early season-bronze berry
• Ison-self-fertile-early to mid season-black berry
• Tara-self-fertile-early to mid season-bronze berry
• Late Fry-self-fertile-late season-bronze berry

Regardless of which self-fertile pollinator you choose, it will not affect
the color or other characteristics of the fruit from the female plant.

Muscadines, as with most fruiting plants, require full sun and a pH level of
6.0 to 6.5. Space muscadines 15 'apart with 10' rows for home gardens.
Muscadines will need to be grown on trellises. Sawdust, cottonseed mote or
peat moss will either slow down growth, damage or kill the plants. Do not
use manure of any kind around young muscadine plants.

Typical yields for female plants are 60 lbs. per vine with the self-fertile
varieties producing 80 lbs. per vine. Our plants should begin bearing fruit
in 2 to 3 years.
When reading the plant descriptions, you will see the term dry stem scar on
these plants. This refers to the plant varieties that are used in commercial
production. It means that the berries of these varieties do not tear or
separate easily from the cluster giving them excellent holding or storing
quality.

To kick off the addition of our muscadines, we have assembled a Muscadine
Starter Kit Early Season and Muscadine Starter Kit Late Season. Each kit
includes 2 female vines with one self-fertile vine at a special sale price
of $44.95. This special price is good through February 3rd only to our
Greenwood Gardeners Club Members.

For complete growing instructions along with links to jelly, wine and other
recipes for muscadines, click here:

http://www.greenwoodnursery.com/Documents/PlantingMuscadines.pdf

Order your Blackberry, Raspberry or Muscadine plants by February 3rd and
take advantage of these sale prices. We will begin shipping these bare root
varieties in early March so book now to avoid disappointment.

Whew!!!! That's a lot for one newsletter.

Our countdown to Valentine's Day is 3 weeks and this week's Valentine Gift
suggestion for you is our Gift Certificates. Through Valentine's Day, we are
offering a Gardner's Club special on Gift Certificates. Spouses, moms, dads,
sweethearts, even older children with their own home would appreciate this
gift and with our Valentine's Day Promotion, the additional amounts make it
even more special.

You can still book your lavender plants and Lavender Sampler for spring
shipping as they will begin going out the first week in March. Here is our
video on Tips for Growing Lavender:

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

I'd like to thank everyone for taking the time to email me on the videos.
The most frequent comment is about my garden cats. About 6 rescued kitties
make their home in my garden (and yes they have been fixed!). Two of them
are quite friendly and very outspoken as you can hear. I think they are
offering suggestions to the camera operator. What do you think?

When checking out the Lavender Tips video, be sure to view our other one as
well which will offer you the basics on planting container grown trees,
shrubs and perennials. It's so simple!

http://www.youtube.com/user/GreenwoodNursery

Let's be friends on Facebook, too!

Until next time……..Cheryl

Fall Foliage and Fall Web Cam

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:12:00 +0000

Fall shipping is well underway here at Greenwood. I visited the shipping
department on Monday afternoon to check out the bare root plants. The first
plant that caught my eye was the Burning Bush Tree Form. This year, they are
running approximately 3.5 foot tall and are just gorgeous. Of our flowering
shrubs, the bare root Hibiscus always looks great, tall and multi-branched.
Lucy is the most favored of the Hibiscus in both shrub and tree-form.
Everyone adores its reddish/pink long season blossoms.

We are still shipping our ground covers. The evergreen ground covers such as
vinca, purple wintercreeper and blue spruce sedum are popular sellers right
now. Over the past few weeks, the sourwood tree and barberry shrubs (Crimson
Pygmy and Royal Burgundy) have become choice items with our customers.

If it's evergreen shrubs that you are looking for, my favorites are the
Emerald Green Arborvitae, Winter Gem Boxwood, Nandina Dwarf Firepower,
Sungold Cypress, and the Cotoneaster Coral Beauty. These varieties are
excellent selections to add color, texture and winter interest to any garden
or landscape.

For our warm weather customers, such as zones 9 and mid/lower 8, we will
continue shipping most of our plant varieties (container plants and ground
covers) over the winter months. Winter planting in these warm weather
regions allows plants to fully establish before mid/late spring arrives with
extremely hot temperatures. This is something to keep in mind when planning
your plant list.

Fall Foliage is under way in the United States. Beginning weeks ago along
the US/Canadian border, fall foliage is moving southward leaving amazing
colors of reds, oranges, yellows, purples, greens and browns in its wake.
This link to About.com is to one of their forestry pages with links to
webcams all over the U.S. and the Canadian Rockies. Technology is so great
that now we can watch foliage happen all over. Again, I find this amazing!
If you don't have time to click onto all of the links, at least take a
moment to view Glacier National Park, Banff Alberta, Acadia, Great Smokey
Mountains and Fall Foliage Cams-Entire USA (this one comes up as a
scrollable page with thumbnail pictures for quick viewing).

http://forestry.about.com/od/fallcolor/a/fall_web_cams.htm

I have this as a shortcut on my monitor so I can take my break while viewing
what colors are happening north of here and wait, in anticipation, for it to
come home.

Check out our Falltacular Sale Page for seasonal specials. See you on
Facebook.

Until next time..Cheryl

Protecting Plants Over Winter

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 20:16:00 +0000

Close out items are going quickly. If you have been looking at any of those
varieties, you will want to go ahead and order, as we will be sold out of
the remaining ones over the next couple of weeks.

New items are being added weekly to our Falltacular Sale Page. When our
growers are able to offer us special deals, we can pass the savings on to
you.
It is so great how one of our growers can call us up and let us know that
they are discounting a particular plant for only a short period. Then, we
can quickly list it on sale for everyone to take advantage of. I still find
that amazing.

Most of the country is just now hitting fall planting time. But, some areas
of zone 5 and colder are already into winter temperatures. I thought this
would be a good week to remind everyone to prepare their plants for winter.
Fine Gardening Magazine still has the best article, which includes pictures,
showing how to protect trees and shrubs for winter by Steve Silk.
http://www.finegardening.com/print.aspx?id=80908 For convenience, I have
provided this article link in ready-to-print form.

And don't forget plants in containers. Marie Iannotti at About.com gives us
good advice on over wintering container plants in this link:
http://gardening.about.com/od/containergardenin1/a/Winter-Pots.htm?p=1

Here are a few other tips for protecting container plants during winter:

. Water during dry spells-dry soil that freezes will damage roots and
container
. Group containers together in the garden with largest on the outer
edge
. Mound sawdust, mulch, straw or hay around containers
. "Plant' containers in the ground to utilize free heat
. Wrap containers with blankets, newspaper, burlap or bubble wrap

Some of the new additions to the Falltacular Sale Page include Siberian Elm,
Hansen Rose, Lombardy Poplar, Cotoneaster, Skyrocket Juniper, Bare root
Ferns, Russian Sage, Hameln Grass, Sedum Autumn Fire. We are discontinuing
the Bamboo Green View, which is available in 1 and 2 gallon containers, and
the Iris Lily of the Kings.

See you on the Greenwood Nursery Facebook Page.

Until next time.... Cheryl

Compare and Save!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 15:17:00 +0000

With the economy so out of hand over the past year, more people are now
price shopping. Here at Greenwood, we, too, are consumers and want to save
money and cut corners where we can. Greenwood Nursery offers great plants
that are the perfect size for landscaping and gardening at reasonable
prices, as well as excellent service and contact our customers. When you
phone Greenwood, you are actually speaking with one of my staff, and
sometimes it's me, ready to take your order or answer your questions.

Today, let's talk about how to compare. Then, I want to share with you how
to save even more with Greenwood Nursery. Keep reading……..

Compare sizes as well as prices: A couple of days ago, I was talking on the
phone with one of our long time customers, taking their fall order and
answering questions as I do. One question that they posed to me was that
from time to time they also order a few items from another nursery (name
withheld, but a good nursery). They had noticed that the new Cityline
Hydrangea Rio was 2 dollars less on the other nursery's site compared to
Greenwood's.

Well, while I was on the phone with them, I checked this out. This is the
perfect situation to note that when you are comparing prices; you really
need to make sure you are comparing the same size plants being offered.
Greenwood offers the Cityline Rio as a one gallon (trade size) plant, while
the other nursery was offering the Rio in a 3 ½ inch pot. Greenwood's plant
is considerably larger, older and better established than the smaller plant.
Be sure that the prices you compare are for the exact same item. Otherwise,
there really is no savings.

The Good Ole Days: Years ago, when we shipped mostly bare root plants, we
offered free shipping on orders. As we grew into shipping larger container
grown plants, packages became quite heavier and UPS charges drastically
increased, so we had to charge shipping. Our shipping charges may be a
little more than some of the other nurseries. As you have seen when your
orders arrive, we take pride in prepping and packing our plants so that they
arrive to you healthy, happy and ready to plant.

How Greenwood Ships: Here's an example: customer orders 4 plants that are
one gallon sized.

• Greenhouse department pulls and thoroughly checks plants
• Containers are wrapped securely with stretch wrap to hold soil
• Plants travel down to shipping department
• Shipping department manager picks plants according to order
• Complete order is directed to available shipper
• Shipper selects proper box for order, cuts bamboo stakes to size &
inserts them into containers
• Plants with stakes are placed securely in box and checked for
stability
• Shipper fills void spaces with shredded paper, places order info on
top, closes and secures box
• UPS picks up box and order is on its journey home

Now, how you can save with Greenwood.

Steve and I have talked this matter over with everyone here at the office to
see if we could figure out how to keep the same size plants we offer and yet
still be able to do help with shipping costs. Well, Brenda came up with a
wonderful idea to help our customers by offering ½ off shipping, for a
limited time, which would come close to putting the charges back to where
UPS had them a few years ago.
So, that's what we're doing.

Fall back to the good ole days when shipping charges weren't so expensive.

With a 50% savings on shipping costs, we're meeting our customers halfway!

Compare our prices and plant sizes with other online nurseries, then come
save with Greenwood. For years, Greenwood has been listed as one of the Top
5 Online Nurseries on
http://forestry.about.com/cs/catalogs/a/best_seedling_s.htm .

We truly appreciate your continued support.

Until next time…….Cheryl

Fall Garden Party!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 19:07:00 +0000

Since last week's newsletter, fall has arrived! I can feel the difference.
Steve and I spend some of our favorite moments sitting outside in the
evenings after work just talking and enjoying our garden. This has to be the
perfect time of year for outside dinner parties. Invite a few friends and
celebrate fall.

Just like when you entertain indoors, entertaining outdoors requires some
sprucing up as well. Take an objective walk through your garden area and
decide where you want everyone to congregate. The garden or landscaping
should be the backdrop for this spot.

You will need to pull out large weeds, clip out dead branches, remove dead
plants, repair, remove or replace anything damaged and dead head plants with
spent blooms. Just like inside, adding a few well placed splashes of color
such as newly planted containers, mums that you just found at the farmer's
market or sunflowers in tall containers or baskets will make a huge
difference. If you can't find fresh cut sunflowers, don't feel worry about
picking up some silk ones from your local craft store. The newer silk ones
are looking quite real these days and it's the color and atmosphere that
you're going for anyway.

Sweep or hose off any stone, wood or concrete walkways, patios or decks the
day of the gathering. If you don't have time to put down a fall layer of
mulch, pick up a large bag of aged compost from the hardware store a day or
two before and put a few handfuls here and there where the ground is
visible. This will give the garden or landscape a fresh, well kept
appearance and will really make the plants stand out more.

A folding table or two will be perfect. No tablecloth? Use an old sheet or
burlap and tie off the corners at the table legs. Quilts work nicely too.
Some potted herbs on the table make for interesting and wonderfully fragrant
mini-centerpiece spread throughout the table.

What to serve. Keep it simple and quick. Fall is the time for singe pot
dishes such as chili, hardy soups, coq au vin or beef daube. A few
garnishes, bowls and spoons allow the guests to help themselves. And, what
better way to end a hardy fall meal than brownies, apple pie, pumpkin rolls
or spice cake? Hmmmmm. I am such a foodie.

Here are a few suggestions for bringing to life some of your empty flower
pots. All you need to do is select one plant from the first group, one to
two plants from the second group and one to two from the third group. Do be
mindful of your selected colors when pairing though. Try to select plants
with contrasting colors and textures.

Group 1 (Spotlight Plant): green giant, Hameln ornamental grass, Karley Rose
ornamental grass, Morning Light ornamental grass, Magnolia Jane, Barberry
Sunjoy Gold Pillar, Boxwood, Russian Sage, Nandina Firepower, Japanese Red
Maple, Sambucus

Group 2 (Filler Plants): Hellebore Ivory Prince, Heuchera Lime Ricky,
Heuchera Hollywood, Heuchera Plum Pudding, Autumn Brilliance Fern, Japanese
Painted Fern, Ameria, Sungold Cypress, Spiraea Magic Carpet, Dianthus,
liriope (both variegated and solid), Ogon Grass

Group 3 (Draping Groundcover): Angelina Sedum, English Ivy, Baltic Ivy,
Creeping Rosemary, Elfin Thyme, Golden Thyme, Corsican Mint, Red Creeping
Thyme

Especially in Group 1, these suggestions are based on younger plants. After
a couple of years in the container, they will be ready to be transplanted
into a permanent location.

Oh, and don't forget to add some twinkle lights. The clear ones with a
golden tint are almost like candlelight. And a few well placed candles are
also great. Put some tiny gravel or sand in the bottom of some old glass
jars and then steady some chunky candles in them. If becomes a little
breezy, they won't blow out.

I hope this gives you a few ideas on making your garden and your fall
evening special.

Don't forget to visit our Falltacular Page for specially priced plants on
grower's surplus and close-out items.

See you on the Greenwood Nursery Facebook page!!!

Until next time...Cheryl

Desert Gardening

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:22:00 +0000

Well, finally, the "new" site is up and running smoothly. We will be making
tweaks and additions to it over the next few weeks. Next up is a makeover
for our sister site www.landsteward.org .

Ground cover plants are just beginning to ship out for fall planting. We are
now offering vinca, pachysandra, ivy and purple wintercreeper as bare root
plants. Bare root ground cover plants make a more economical purchase and
when planted properly establish just as quickly as the more expensive potted
plants.

A few of our low growing shrubs that are quite popular this fall are Spiraea
Magic Carpet, Nandina Dwarf Firepower, the City Line Hydrangeas and the
Crimson Pygmy Barberry. Two of our more popular evergreen shrubs this fall
are the Bamboo Sunset Glow and Sungold Cypress.

This week, it seems I am responding to a lot of questions about gardening in
the desert areas. The University of Nevada Extension site offers a wonderful
article that covers everything from explaining the soil and composting to
fertilizer use, planting, lawn care, raised beds, mulch, and watering. All
geared toward the desert garden.
http://www.unce.unr.edu/publications/files/ho/2001/sp0115.pdf

Here is a listing of Greenwood plants that will grow in many of the desert
regions:

Fruit Trees-Apple and Peach
Russian sage
Yarrow
Buddleia
Herbs-Thyme, Rosemary, Chives, Lavender, Oregano
Black Eyed Susan
Dianthus
Gaillardia
Phlox
Lilies
Shasta Daisy
Asters
Salvia
Vinca

I hope everyone finds our site's new look friendlier and easier to use.

Don't forget to visit our Falltacular Sale Page and Landscaping Ideas
Slideshow. We have some great items featured on both the Falltacular Sale
Page and our Homepage so be sure to check them out.

See you on Facebook.

Until next time...Cheryl

Garden For Your Health

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:21:00 +0000

How we can reduce stress and anxiety, and, at the same time make our homes
more pleasant to come home to? Gardening! Have you ever noticed that some of
the calmest people are dedicated gardeners? Most of them don't have large
gardens, but they are committed to being outside in their "space" on a
regular basis.

Gardening is one of the best kept secrets around for a complete workout. I
hear you saying, "But, Cheryl, how does it work?" No expensive equipment
required. A hoe, a rake and a desire are mostly what are needed to start.
Thirty minutes and longer of continual gardening is equal to a good workout
at the gym. You will get in your aerobics, weight training, running, and
stretching.

Gardening, also, allows for a wonderful level of meditation which is like a
spa for your mind. Don't forget that being in the sunshine provides your
body with vitamin D and helps to maintain bone mass.

A couple of things to remember: Apply sunscreen and wear a hat and work
gloves. Bend from the knees when raking and lifting anything to reduce the
stress on your back. Drink lots of water to stay hydrated. If you feel
tired, it's time to take a break and rest for awhile.

The first thing to do is to remove clutter, so anything that you really
don't need or want should be thrown out. Whether it's broken furniture,
brush piles, or dead plants, toss it! Now you can go in and begin raking
leaves, mowing the grass and hoeing around plants to break up the compacted
mulch. Once all of this is done, look around and decide what new plants you
can add this fall that will provide your garden with new spring color and
fragrance. For long growing season color look at plants such as the Double
Red Knockout Rose, Nishiki Willow and the new Incrediball Hydrangea and for
fragrance, why not add in some thyme, rosemary, chives or oregano, which
will also do double duty in recipes.

Take a portable radio or cd player outside with you and play your favorite
music while you are gardening. Nature provides its own music, but sometimes,
especially if you are new to gardening, the quiet might be awkward. So
adding the music is a good way to move into gardening comfortably.

Be cautious, though, taking up gardening and reducing clutter in your
landscape might create a chain reaction and before you know it, you'll be
reducing clutter in other aspects of your life. All of a sudden that corner
of the room filled with boxes of items you haven't seen in years, may find
itself remade into a relaxing reading area.

Gardening can be the beginning in helping to create a simpler, more
enjoyable lifestyle.

Don't forget to visit our Falltacular Sale Page for specially priced plants
on grower's surplus and close out items.

Until next time...Cheryl

Leaf Spot

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:20:00 +0000

Recently I have received a lot of emails from people with the same issue and
I thought it would be a good topic for this week. Leaf spot seems to be a
big problem this growing season. It seems to be on mostly older more
established trees.

What is leaf spot? It is a disease caused by a fungus or bacteria that forms
spots on the foliage. Color and size of the spots will vary and holes can
develop. Often leaves will turn yellow and drop before fall.

How is leaf spot prevented? You will want to avoid crowding your plants
(trees and shrubs). When an area is heavily populated with trees and shrubs,
thin out the branches to create better air flow. Plant an assortment of
plant varieties. In fall, rake up the leaves to compost or burn. Fertilize
in spring with a complete timed release fertilizer. Water deeply during dry
periods.

How to control leaf spot - If leaf spot continues for several years, then it
is time for fungicide use. However, you will need to identify the particular
leaf spot disease that is attacking your trees. Take several leaf samples to
your local agricultural extension agent for identification. Timing is
everything with the fungicide applications. Follow the directions on the
fungicide label.

Here is a link to the University of Missouri Extension site with an article
on leaf spot which includes pictures and detailed information on this
problem.
http://agebb.missouri.edu/pdc/diagnosticreports/leafspot01.htm

Don't forget to visit our Falltacular Sale Page and our Landscaping Ideas
Slideshow. We have some great items featured on our Homepage and New
Additions Page so be sure to check them out, too.

Visit us on Facebook for more landscaping and gardening tips.

Until next time...Cheryl

Fall Planting

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 19:19:00 +0000

July was quite hectic for us here at the nursery. I am still working with
Steve on our project for Africa, so I'm not back to the nursery full time
quite yet. If you have planting questions, drop me an email or phone the
office. Brenda and Indy are there full time and will be happy to be of
service.
Considering we are only a month away from fall, I thought it would be the
perfect opportunity to talk about fall planting. I know, I know. Some of you
are skittish about this very topic and may even cringe at the mention of it.
But, for most areas, (except the Deep South, who should wait for winter
months and northern areas, such as zones 3, 4, and some spots of zone 5),
planting in fall is truly the best and safest time.
Fall planting perennials, shrubs and trees will give them a stronger and
larger developed root system to kick off with new spring growth. During
September through early November (for zones 8, 7, 6, and mid/lower 5), the
ground remains warm allowing a freshly planted plant to produce new root
growth before the cold weather of winter hits. As the weather phases into
the cooler temperatures of fall, the plants will go dormant. However, the
root system will continue to grow until the ground begins to freeze. Once
the ground begins to thaw and warm in spring, this newer developed root
system will kick off with even more growth much earlier in the season.
Indy has been visiting with our growers and found some new items that we
will be adding over the next couple of weeks. Just to give you an idea, we
will be adding several varieties of trees, such as white dogwood and green
ash, which we will be offering as individual plants in a 2 to 3 foot height.
Fast growing trees in a size that are easily planted. Much easier and more
affordable!
Speaking of fall planting, we will also be adding a couple of Asiatic Lily
varieties such as Stargazer. They will be offered as bare root bulbs and
will be available on the site within the next week. These will begin
shipping in mid/late September and, unlike most summer flowering bulbs need
to experience the coolness of winter in the ground.
Our perennials, ornamental grasses, container-grown trees & shrubs and bare
root ground covers will all begin shipping in September. Bare root trees and
shrubs begin shipping in late October/early November. Our strawberry plants
will be available for shipping mid/late October. Other fruiting plants
(fruit trees and berry shrubs) will be available mid/late February for early
spring planting.
We keep planting instructions on the web site; so if you should need to
refer to them or see what's entailed before hand, check them out. You will
find them under the tab Plant Tips. Our site will be getting a fresher look
later this month. We've been working on it for a while and hope you find the
newer look cleaner and easier to mover through.
I hope your summer is going well and your garden is thriving. Our Greenwood
Team has been working hard over the past month and you will be seeing many
new and exciting plant varieties and tools on our web site that will help
make your landscape amazing. After all, whether it's on a farm, in a
subdivision, or an apartment, our homes are the only real sanctuary we truly
have.
Until next week.... Cheryl

End of Spring Shipping Season

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:39:00 +0000

We are quickly approaching that fine line of where spring officially becomes
summer. Spring was certainly cooler for most of us and now it's confusing
with the intermittent warmer days thrown in with some of the still cooler
ones. This still makes for good planting. With the Clearance prices that we
have on our surplus bare root stock time remains to plant those fruit trees
or get that hedge started.

Our last week for shipping this summer will be the week of June 29th. Our
office will be closed during the week of July 6th. We will be popping in
briefly several times during that week to check emails and confirm new
orders.

July and August are always busy months here as we are visiting with our
growers and selecting the plants that we will have available for you. Also,
I am searching through my personal library for interesting topics that we
can talk about in our fall and spring newsletters. Since time will be quite
limiting, we may only send out one updating newsletter over July. But, come
August/September, we should be getting back to our weekly communication with
you.

I truly enjoy interaction with all of you. There are two more newsletters
before our July break and I will miss that contact, but as I read and
research, I will come back for fall newsletters with lots of interesting
material. If there is anything in particular that you would like for me to
address, I'd be happy to look into it. Just drop me an email at
chery@greenwoodnursery.com.
During this time, we will still be adding in pictures of our garden (plan to
get initial pictures up on the slideshow tomorrow).

Check out our Facebook page for even more landscaping and gardening tips as
well as an album on Steve's trips to Africa. He was quite busy on his last
trip to Africa a couple of months ago, but did have time to take more
pictures, so I will be adding new ones to his album soon.

Until next time........Cheryl

Bare Root Plants

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 15:22:00 +0000

You know the most frequent question I get is what is the difference with the
bare root plants? Well, the biggest difference is always going to be price
(bare root plants are typically less expensive), but let me explain what
exactly bare root is.

Seed is planted and it grows the seedlings or cuttings are taken from
cutting stock and rooted after which some plant varieties are sold at this
stage, which means that the seedlings are dug, counted into bundles and
shipped without any soil just as cuttings are pulled, bundled and shipped
bare root. You've probably heard the term liner. It is used for any young
plant whether it is a seedling or cutting. For our larger bare root plants,
the liners (seedlings or cuttings) are then taken to the field for another
year to two years of growth. After going dormant, they are dug (depending on
when they are scheduled to ship out) and kept as dormant as possible before
shipping. The soil is shaken from the roots so that there shouldn't be any
on the root system when they are being prepped for shipping. In many cases,
a bare root transplant will be huskier or beefier in caliper (the size of
the trunk) than one of the same age in a container.

Our planting instructions can always be found on our web site under the tab
"Plant Tips". Once clicking onto Planting Care and Instructions, then click
onto the type of plant you will be planting. Some plants, such as shrubs and
trees, are divided into Planting Bare Root and Planting Container with step
by step directions.

There isn't any more of a risk in planting bare root than container plants
and depending on the plant, some are better off as bare root transplants. It
has been 2 years since we have had an End of Spring Clearance. As many of
you will remember last spring, we sold out of a lot of our plant varieties,
so to combat that we probably did purchase a few more as to not disappoint.

This is a wonderful time to take advantage of some of our great clearance
prices.

Be sure to check the homepage from time to time as Indy will be featuring
the container items that she needs "thin out".

We appreciate your continued support.

Until next time...Cheryl

Home Vacations!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Mon, 11 May 2009 20:00:00 +0000

Vacationing at home sometimes is as much as much fun as going away for a
week or so. Vacations at home can vary from setting up a portable pool in
the backyard for yourself and the kids pretending you're at the beach to
taking day trips enjoying local sites.

Some years, Steve and I didn't take the kids away for an extended vacation,
so we improvised. Truth be told, sometimes being focused on working and
everything here at the nursery, we actually forgot to get away and that
isn't good. Recently, it has come up in conversation at our house about this
concept of vacation this year, but for sure nothing has been decided. (Sh!
Sh! My secret thought is that if I keep putting it off, it'll go away.)
Again, that's not good, so I thought it would be a fun change of pace to
talk about things we can do in our own areas that can create that same fun,
exciting feeling we get when on vacation.

My group has never been much into water sports or hanging out on a beach, so
when we have or do go on vacation, there has to be interesting things to
visit. We really enjoy historic homes and gardens, nature gardens/walks, and
museums. Our children grew up visiting many of the historic homes and
gardens east of the Mississippi and actually enjoyed it and afterwards, we
always discussed the way of life at that time.

Over late spring and summer is the best time to take advantage of garden
settings as they are in full bloom. My philosophy in visiting gardens open
to the public is that most have landscape architects or professionals who
design these gorgeous landscapes. Not only am I able to enjoy their efforts,
but I can take the design concepts home with me to apply to my next
landscape project or offer as a suggestion. Landscape ideas free to me! (Or
relatively free).

Below, I have included links that will help you find historic gardens (and
homes), botanical gardens, arboretums, nature walks, as well as links to
some of the Jones' favorite haunts that we visit time and time again when we
are in those areas such as: Biltmore Estate, Winterthur Gardens, Longwood
Gardens, Bellingrath Gardens, Monticello, Mt. Vernon, Williamsburg, Newport
Mansions and Mohonk Mountain House. I know Mohonk Mtn. House is a resort,
but they do offer day passes for the public to enjoy the grounds. Pack a
picnic lunch and have a great day from hiking to enjoying their mediation
points.

For those who don't have children at home (or if you do, hire a babysitter),
take a tour at a vineyard in the area and don't forget the tasting
afterwards! A bottle of wine, some cheeses, fresh fruit and sweet nibbles
have the makings of a perfect picnic.
In planning your home vacation, do the same things you would plan before any
other get away such as clean the house, do the laundry, mow the lawn, etc.
The computer and cell phones should have a break, too. Let the answering
machine or voice mail catch those people who don't know you're on vacation.
It's a getaway time, no work! Why not make it a themed vacation and visit
the party store to pick up inexpensive regional decorations such as netting,
shells, leis, little umbrellas for drinks, etc for a beach look.

Don't forget vacation smells for the house such as our dryer sheets in beach
days and lavender. Also, keep an open bottle of inexpensive sunscreen.
Nothing says vacation like the smell of sunscreen. Treat yourself to a
beautiful market basket and carry it with you everywhere with a large beach
size towel, which also works in pinch for picnics, straw hat, small bottle
of sunscreen, and snacks.

Here are other fun things perfect for a home vacation:

. Schedule a massage or facial
. Eat out or order delivery
. Hire a sitter for the kids and have a date night
. One day have a DVD marathon (especially good if it is a rainy day)
. Create a theme by renting DVD's set in specific areas
. Extended family cookout
. Read a book
. Keep coffee, juice, water and snacks on hand
. Visit a nearby museum or zoo
. Go for a drive and eat out
. Visit stores/shops that you don't usually visit
. Check out your area to see if there are any community activities
going on-such as free concerts, openings, and don't forget to check out the
library for story time
. Check to see if your area offers outdoor dramas or ghost tours-the
last link below is to find outdoor dramas
. Take a cooking class and show off your new skills at home by
preparing those dishes

Below are links to help you find local gardens and nature walks in your
area:

http://www.gardenvisit.com/gardens/in/usa

http://www.gardenguides.com/resources/walks/states.asp?c=US

http://www.visitnewengland.com/current_category.77/current_advcategory.567/c
ompanies_list.html

http://www.newportmansions.org/

http://www.history.org/history/CWLand/

http://www.monticello.org/

http://www.bellingrath.org/

http://www.biltmore.com/

http://www.winterthur.org/visiting/visiting.asp

http://www.longwoodgardens.org/

http://www.mountvernon.org/

http://www.mohonk.com/gardens/gardens.cfm

http://www.publicgardens.org/Custom/GardenSearch.aspx

http://gosoutheast.about.com/od/historicsitesculture/a/outdoordramas.htm

Just as you are preparing the inside of the house for vacation, don't forget
the outside. The week before vacation, mow and weed the landscape. Sweep the
walk, patio and/or deck. Put a little fresh mulch or aged compost mix around
some of the plants at the front door and at the back entrances. Plant some
new perennials at the entrances as well and along the walk. This makes it
look clean and new and will give you a different frame of mind when coming
and going about your home vacation.

Outside checklist for week before vacation: Green Tek ECO, Perennials,
Herbs, Hostas, Liriope, Ornamental grasses. These are things that can be
applied or planted that will make big impact with little effort.

Remember, no working on vacation!

Mother's Day is this Sunday. Don't forget our Mother's Day Special!!! When
you purchase plants to be shipped to your mom for her special day, Greenwood
will include a $10.00 Gift Certificate that she can redeem on her next
purchase this season. So, at no additional charge, mom will also receive a
$10.00 Gift Certificate in her card which will be included with your gift
for her. What a special way to say "I love you, Mom"!!!!! This special will
continue with gift orders through Monday morning (May 11th).

Be sure to check out our Monthly Member's Value Page, Member's Only Spring
Bonus Plants, and Landscaping Ideas Slideshow.

Check out our Facebook page for even more landscaping and gardening tips.

Have a great time and see you when you get back!!!!!!!

Until next time....Cheryl

Raised Beds

noreply@blogger.com (Greenwood Nursery) — Thu, 07 May 2009 16:58:00 +0000

Building raised beds for vegetable or flower gardens are a great way to
combat the problem of having an area that drains poorly. I want to share
with everyone this project which Cydney (you can see her picture with Baby
Charles as one of the rotations on our homepage) and her husband Dave did
last Saturday. They live in an area which is a newer development so as you
can imagine they have terrible drainage. They are on the lower side of a
slope with a drainage ditch nearer the back/side area of their lot. After
heavy rains, the area in the back stays wet. We discussed it and it would be
quite costly to attempt to amend the soil in such a large back yard. So, Cyd
came up with this solution.

Even during their earlier years together when apartment living, Cyd and Dave
planted tomatoes and peppers in large pots. Now that they are into their 3rd
year as homeowners, they are ready to take the plunge and set out a
vegetable garden.

(Sorry-pictures of the raised beds were shown with original newsletter and
didn't transfer to this blog.)
With the raised bed idea, she planned it out and at their local hardware
store purchased 3 boards for each bed (2" X 10" X 8'long) cutting one in
half for the ends. They already had 3" deck screws and the white paint from
other projects. She highly recommends the screws as they will add more
stability. Because their backyard is mostly flat, Cyd and Dave didn't have
to dig out to level the bed. Including the topsoil for the beds, they spent
a total of $91.00 for their 2 raised beds.

Once they leveled out the topsoil, they planted their favorites, tomato and
pepper plants, as well as seeds of squash, zucchini, cantaloupe, lettuce,
peas, and beans. They planted marigolds around the tomato plants for bug
control and as Cyd says, "It's pretty!"
Cyd and Dave have a couple of outside projects scheduled for this spring
and, if she'll share more pictures with us, we'll watch their progress.

In landscaping around their new home over the past 2 years, Cyd has used
such plants as the Russian Sage, rosemary, bamboo, lavender, pineapple sage,
chives, and oregano. She has the herbs planted in raised beds around the
patio. She and Dave enjoy sitting there on summer evenings taking in the
aroma of those wonderful herbs.

I hope you find this information helpful. Changing the levels of your
landscape can be so easy. Just as easy as a few boards screwed together.
Each week, I receive emails from many of you with drainage problems. To
solve the problem long term, amending the soil and/or diverting water run
off is the best way, but for an immediate, and usually more temporary,
solution raised beds can be a yard saver.

I hope all of you are taking a moment to enjoy the new pictures in rotation
on our homepage, www.greenwoodnursery.com . Many of us may never get the
chance to actually meet, but with putting faces to our voices, makes it a
little more familiar. Don't miss our new Gift Ideas Department with
wonderful plant collections that will delight your favorite person as well
as our popular Gift Certificates after all, Mother's Day is approaching
quickly.

Be sure to check out our Monthly Member's Value Page, Member's Only Spring
Bonus Plants, and Landscaping Ideas Slideshow.
Check out our Facebook page for even more landscaping and gardening tips as
well as an album on Steve's trips to Africa.

Until next time...Cheryl