If you have read this blog for any time now, you probably know that one of the specialties at Mankin and Sons Gardens is landscape design and landscape implantation. We love creating beautiful landscapes for people’s yards; we believe that a wonderful landscape can give you peace and happiness as you return home. However, from time to time we also so other different style projects. We completed one of these projects this week at an elementary school here in Abilene. You could even say we completed our first school project of the school year.

This school needed some help getting a flower bed cleaned up so that it could display some of the student’s own school projects. You see, as part of the campus-wide “Leader In Me” program the 3^rd graders at the school have reading buddies in the kindergarten classes. These 3^rd graders get together to help the kindergarteners with their reading skills and help them feel more connected with the older kids at school. One of the books they read was called You Be You. In this story, some of the characters create a rock garden. As a project while reading the book, the students at Austin also painted rocks and displayed them in a flower bed. Unfortunately, over time the flower bed grew up to where you could see the rocks as well.

Luckily, we love helping people enjoy and use their flowerbeds so this was right up our ally. While the kids were on Winter Break we went up to their school and cleared out all that undergrowth so that everyone could see the great art projects the students made. We hope that when the students come back, they will be super excited to see their rocks and to show them off to their friends, family, and others.

That being said, we understand that not everyone needs help the full size school project. If your personal flower beds and landscaping are looking a little overgrown this winter, now is a great time to get them cleaned up for spring. Give us a call or stop by our store on North 1^st and Willis. We would be glad to help get you geared up for spring.

Here are some photos from our school project

This week’s blog will be different than our normal blogs. Usually, we try and provide information that is helpful to you when it comes to making your landscaping has nice as possible. We talk about the weather, the soil, and the water that specifically affect our landscapes here in the Big Country. We hope this information is helpful and in return you think of us when you need professional advice or specific equipment for your outdoor adventures. We also try and keep this community informed about the new trees, plants, flowers, and sod we get in throughout the year. We hope to provide information that is easy for you to find and give a little bit more in-depth information about our products.

However, today is not one of those blogs. Today we just want to say Merry Christmas. For all of us in the garden and outdoor department to you, our amazing customers. We hope it is a holiday that is spent with friends, family and loved ones.

Other times in the blog we try and here from our retail side of the business. We try and keep Abilene informed on the great selection of farmhouse décor that we provide. We try and let you know when we get special holiday decorations or trinkets. At the same time, we hope to provide some “beyond the description” information of our more popular products. A lot of our products have interesting origin stories. Maybe not Marvel worthy but interesting none the less. We also understand that it is becoming more and more important for people to know where the products in their homes are from. Both for the safety reason but also for the “here is an interesting story for you” reason.

Whatever the reason, we hope you will continue to come back every week to see what is new with Mankin and Sons Gardens. Also, the retail section of the team would like to thank our customers for an amazing year and holiday season and wish everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays.

 

Merry Christmas from Mankin and Sons Gardens

I do not know about you but Christmas has kind of snuck up on me. I do not know if it has to do with it being on a Sunday (I am not sure why that would matter but that seems to be the most logical answer) or that I am just extra busy this year. Whatever the reason, I am really starting to feel rushed and worried I will not get everything done I need to do. Maybe you are like me and have nothing done, or you might be like my friend that has had everything done since the great Black Friday Sales. Either way, take some time of your day to stop by Mankin and Sons Gardens to get the final touches for your Christmas. We obviously have great trees and last week you heard about our great stocking stuffer options. However, we also have some great decorations that are sure to put your home over the top this season.

We have talked a few times about our farmhouse décor selection in the retail space but we have really gone all out with Santa, snow, and reindeer this season. No matter what Christmas decorations you are looking for we have you covered. We have beautiful pictures, subtle ceramic table toppers, and comfortable outdoor pillows (if we ever get temperatures above the 40s before Christmas). Our retail space will surely put you in the Christmas spirit, and if you are looking for that great Christmas smell to go along with these crisp cool days just step outside into our Christmas tree forest.

Do not forget about Christmas Parties

If you are like me and have a number of Christmas parties to drop by or need something for your office secret Santa, you might want to grab them some Christmas decorations from our selection. Quality Christmas decorations are a sure fire way to make that friend or co-worker smile this time of year. And with all of the stress that unfortunately follows this time of year, you might make their day or week.

 

Christmas Decorations at Mankin and Sons

Christmas is my favorite time of year. Mainly because it is not just Christmas but it also includes college football, cold weather, and friends and family. However, with everything going on, it is easy for things to fall between the cracks. Every year the things that most often fall are stocking stuffers. I am good at picking our gifts for friends and family, but I often forget to make sure I pick up fun little things to put in someone’s stocking (to give Santa a little help). Luckily, we have everything you need for stalking stuffers here at Mankin and Sons. Check out these great ideas for the holidays.

 

Amazing Stocking Stuffers Ideas

Small-Batch Jams

At Mankin and Sons we offer private label games and pickled jars. If you looking to be the person that puts the cool and interesting gift in stockings this year, these would be a great fit.

Elegant Soaps and Lotions

We have talked before about our vast selection of Michel Design Works soaps and lotions. These make great little trinkets that everyone will love and use, which is great because who wants to get something that no one will use.

 

Poo Pourri

Looking to make a statement and give the fun and different gift. Want to have everyone ask “Where did you find that?!?” look no further than Poo Pourri. This spray helps keep your bathroom smelling great no matter how many people are at your home these holidays.

 

No matter what you are looking for, Mankin and Sons is sure to have the perfect gift for your group this holiday season.

Also, don’t forget about our vast selection of custom flocked and unflocked live Christmas trees. We even have a selection that will last well past December 25, so you can have that great Christmas smell last even longer.

It may seem crazy but Christmas time is officially here. In my family, Christmas starts the morning after Thanksgiving, and not a moment before hand. Every family has different traditions but for our family, nothing happened Christmas related until after Thanksgiving was over. Often, we would put up our Christmas lights on our house before Thanksgiving but we never turned them on before the day after. What are some of your family Christmas traditions? Let us know in the comments below.

At Mankin and Sons we want to provide you with the best Christmas decorations we can and that all begins with the tree. Specifically, I wanted to talk to you today about flocked Christmas trees. These trees are incredibly beautiful and are one of our specialties at Mankin and Sons. As a matter of fact, we even flock our own trees. Check out this video:

Thank you. That is really what this post is about. So often in life, we get to running around 90-to-nothing and do not take the time to stop and realize what we have and what we have accomplished. Luckily, every so often when have little moments that make us stop and smell the roses. Today is one of those days, today is Thanksgiving. We hope that you are able to spend it with friends and/or family. However, we wanted to go out of our way to say thank you to you, our customers, friends, and neighbors. Thank you.

This last year has been amazing. We have been able to accomplish so many incredible things, and meet a lot truly remarkable people. Every day, we come to work with one goal in mind. We want to provide the people of Abilene and the Big Country with the best selection of landscaping supplies and decorations possible.

We also know that while selection is key, our friends and neighbors are looking to work with people that truly want to help them and give them the best advice possible. We strive to understand the latest trends and techniques so that when you are ready to improve your landscaping we will be ready. Thank you for making this year and all the years before it so memorable.

Luckily, the year is not over. After enjoying Thanksgiving with our friends and family, we will be back to work better than ever. Remember, just because it is winter time does not mean that your landscaping and gardens have to look bare. We have a great selection of greenery that will bring your yard back to life during these winter months. But that is for a for another day, today we give thanks. Thank you for making Abilene and the Big Country your home and thank you for letting us play our part.

 

Happy Thanksgiving 2016

One of the best things about this time of year is all the tradition. Family tradition, school tradition, and city tradition. Nothing brings large groups of people together quite like the holiday season. I can hear you now…”Holiday Season?!?”, it is way to early for you to be thinking about the holiday season but if you look behind you, that Halloween (and it was a week ago). That means Thanksgiving is only two Cowboys games away. That being said, Thanksgiving is really just the start of all out tradition season. Mankin and Sons Gardens is gearing up to provide you with the holiday decorations you need to make the next major holidays a huge success.

Holiday Decorations Now Available

The first thing you will need is a great Thanksgiving celebration. For that, we have got new flour sack towels in stock. We have told you about our selection of flour sack towels and what makes them great, here. However, this time of year we really kick it up a notch. Stop by and take a look at our “Recipe” flour sack towels. Not only do they come in handy in keeping your kitchen from looking like a scene from a newspaper cartoon strip. They will also provide you with a simple recipe to help with dinner or lunch (everyone calls it something different). You cannot go wrong with one of these towels.

If you are already had Thanksgiving planned for a month and want to start looking toward Christmas, we have your holiday decoration ready too. One of the things we take pride in with our retail space is, we provide our customers with great looking decorations for both the city home and country home. Christmas time is no different. We have decorations that will look great no matter your normal home decoration style. In fact, our selection is so wide and diverse that we could not fit them all in this post. We will create a completely separate post on all the selection, as we get closer to December.

Last be certainly not least if you are ahead of the game and are looking for a Christmas Tree for your home this season. We have a small section of non-light Christmas Tress on sale right now. They won’t last long, so stop by today.

We love this time of year. Let us help make this season one to remember. Stop by the store and let our team help you find the perfect holiday decorations for your home.

Halloween 2016

Everyone knows what today is right? What role are you playing today? Are you staying home to pass out candy and treats to the little ones that stop by your house? Or are you hitting the road to join the millions of other parents taking their kids and the costumes you have spent weeks planning for to beg for candy? Halloween is more than just every kid’s second favorite holiday. It is also one of the favorites for all of us that LOVE spending time making our landscaping look amazing. We take our family trigger treating and get to look at and admire others beautiful landscaping.

If you are one of the lucky ones that will spend the night walking your neighborhood or the neighborhood that gives out the best candy (every town has one or two), we have a tip for you. Look around. Taking kids trick-or-treating is a great time to look at how other people are using their landscaping to tell the story of their home. You may have driven past these houses hundreds of times, but tonight you will be going at a much, much slower pace.

Use this time to get ideas. What do you like? What don’t you like? Trick-or-treating this Halloween is not just for the kids anymore. Now we get to get inspired and motivated. Take mental notes and put together some ideas of how you can use what you saw and implement those aspects in your own landscaping. There is no better time than tonight to stop and look around and appreciate the beauty around us.

Once you get your ideas, come down to Mankin and Sons on North 1^st. We will help take your new ideas and implement them in the perfect way. That way next year, you will want to be the one staying at home so you can show off your amazing landscaping.

We have talked a number of times about our great team that handles lawn care here at Mankin and Sons We are always willing to help make your lawn as great as it can be, by taking care of all your lawn care need. However, we understand that a great many of you really enjoy the time spent taking care of your landscaping yourself. WE CANNOT BLAME YOU FOR THAT!! We love it too. That being said, we thought this would be a great place to put together a couple of lawn care tips to make sure you’re getting the most out of the time you spend outdoors. Use one or both of these tips to take your lawn to the next level.

Lawn Care Tips for Abilene and the Big Country

Cut Your Grass Differently Based on Season

Mowing your lawn to the correct length, based on the season, can have a HUGE impact on the help of the grass. During the hot summer months you actually want to let your grass GROW LONGER. Your grass can actually give itself shade and keep your watering from evaporating too quickly. On the other hand, in the winter you want to cut your grass a little shorter. This allows the sun to reach the ground without burning the grass or the soil.

Correctly Fertilize Your Yard

When we talk about correctly fertilizing your yard, we don’t mean using the right technique. What we are really talking about is using the correct fertilizer and not fertilizing too much or too little. You really want to fertilize your lawn twice a year. This helps give your yard the nutrients it needs without keeping the lawn dependent on the fertilizer. You also want to make sure you use the correct fertilizer for your specific lawn. Luckily for those in the Abilene area, Mankin and Sons Gardens has help great a specific lawn food for our area. This is our go to lawn fertilizer. However, it is always good to double-check with our team to make sure your lawn is not a special case.