We at Skillin's sure hope you have had a Happy Thanksgiving!
This post contains a few gardening tidbits that have built up over the last few days.
Garden Thoughts
One of my cherished Thanksgiving traditions is to spend a few quiet hours in the yard prior to the big meal. I am not much of a Thanksgiving cook; we usually visit others for Thanksgiving so we get to bring a few goodies as our part.
Since I don't have a big meal to worry about and since I am always behind in my gardening; Thanksgiving morning in my yard is one of my most cherished times of the year. This year worked out great. I was able to trim back quite a few perennials and clean out a couple of perennial beds. The clean out involved raking out wet soggy leaves and then pulling some weeds (easy to pull right now) from the late summer. This left some nice clean beds and I was able to cover the beds with some nice natural Pro Gro by North Country Organics. The Pro Gro will settle into the existing soil and bring always appreciated organic matter and nutrients to the soil. My plants will really benefit next year!
There is still some time for you busy gardeners to do the same thing in your perennial beds if you have not been able to yet.
We are going to be running into some cold nights and when that ground is good and crunchy from a few cold days and nights, then it will be the perfect time to get some mulch over and around your perennials, roses and other tender plants. The object is to keep the ground cold and frozen so the root systems of these plants do not get heaved around by Mr. Winter's roller coaster temperatures. Compost, bark mulch, straw, pine needles and fir boughs are all materials that make good mulches!
Gardening celebrity P. Allen Smith reminds us that we live in a cold climate that is sure to get bitter winter storms, don't wait until one is predicted to protect your evergreens. Take the time to complete this task now. Your trees may need to be shielded from more than just wind and snow: Use burlap to cover evergreens located near a road that will get salt sprayed. Burlap is a time tested material that is very insulative of evergreens that are exposed to high winds and/or road salt.
We at Skillin's recommend using Wilt Pruf or Wilt Stop for broad leafed evergreens such as rhododendrons, azaleas and hollies to protect from wind damage. Burlap can be used for the broad leafed evergreens as well as the evergreens with narrow needles like junipers.
I have been filling my bird bath every day now to keep the water fresh for our feathered friends. Remember that winter is a time when available water is very valuable to the birds; so much water gets frozen that birds can get thirsty. I keep an available fresh supply for them and I have noticed some good traffic at the bird bath. I keep the water from freezing by maintaining a bird bath deicer in the bird bath. Bird bath deicers are available right here at Skillin's and they work very well. Merely plug them into an electric source and drop the coil portion into your bird bath water. Because they only operate to keep the water temperature above freezing, they do not use much electricity at all.
Looking for a wonderful gift idea OR an excellent bird feeder to add to your collection? We highly recommend either the Squirrel Buster Classic feeder or Squirrel Buster Plus feeder that we sell here at Skillin's. Check out http://www.bromebirdcare.com/ for some great pictures and descriptions of the product. We sell the Classic feeder for $39.99 and the Plus feeder for $79.99 and either is a great deal. I have used the Classic feeder for almost two years in my yard; the birds love it and the squirrels can NOT get into it. Dozens of happy customers agree with me about both feeders; they are top notch and simply the best feeders we have seen in years. The Classic feeder will not attract cardinals but the Squirrel Buster Plus will. I need to add a Plus to my collection at home--Christmas is coming; maybe if I am good will receive one!
Tom Atwell of the Maine Sunday Telegram recently wrote in his gardening blog called The Constant Gardener that he advocated raking the lawn with a 24" rake instead of a 30" rake. I kind of scoffed at that as I have always wielded the bigger 30" variety thinking I could cover more ground with that. But during a recent early morning raking as the sun rose before it was time to go to work, I grabbed an old 24" bamboo rake and I will say the samaller rake provided a more deft and probably a more efficient experience. I was much better able to move in between shrubs and also dropped less leafs back to the ground as I emptied my rake into the waiting leaf bags. Thanks Tom for the recommendation; I think I will keep using the 24" variety. Bigger is not always better!
Garden Talks
Now onto some recent email gardening questions. Feel free to email us your gardening questions at info@skillins.com. We love to answer your questions and we may well post them in the Gardening Log for fellow gardeners to see! We always keep your name confidential so ask away!
Question: Does allowing my rosemary to flower, alter the taste at all. It looks so pretty flowering on my kitchen counter. I've always heard not to let chives flower if you plan to use them in dishes but don't know if the same hold true for other herbs,
Answer: I have inquired of a few folks and done some checking around and I cannot find any thought anywhere that allowing rosemary to flower will alter the taste.
I think this is probably so because rosemary is usually used in a dried form anyway so it would be a little older than a chive plant which might be more mature and therefore “tougher” as a plant that gets to a flowering stage.
Question: This past spring, I purchased 2 Oak Hill Reblooming Hydrangea plants from Skillins.
Could you please give me some advice on how to care for the plants over the winter months?
Should I fertilize at this time? Prune? How should I protect them over the winter months?
Answer: Once the ground freezes up I would mulch around the base of your hydrangeas to keep the ground frozen and prevent the heaving that may occur to your still young hydrangea plants.
I would clean any dead leaves from around the base of the plant (not only hydrangea leaves but oak and maple leaves) and I would trim back any growth that is dead or dying. Once the ground is nice and clean I would sprinkle some natural fertilizer like Holly Tone around the base of the plant if you have not done so in the last few months. The active ingredients from the Holly Tone will not be used by the plant now that it is dormant BUT the Holly Tone will be nice and available in early Spring when your plants will need a boost!
Water your plants well if you have not done so lately, they can use the moisture before the ground freezes.
Mark Your Calendar
Every Tuesday is Mature Gardeners Day at Skillin’s! Those customers who qualify will receive 10% off all regularly priced items. (Sale items and volume restrictions do not usually apply and some other restrictions may apply).
Every Friday brings Flower Power Happy Hour where we offer fresh cut flower stems and bunches at 30% off their regular prices. The Happy Hour lasts from 4 PM until we close at 7 PM!! Every Friday!
Thanks for reading the Skillin's Garden Log; email us any comments @ info@skillins.com or feel free to join in on the garden conversation by clicking on "comments" at the end of this post,
Mike Skillin
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