Burlington Garden Center

June 24, 2011

Dear Gardening Friend,

Thanks to all of you who participated in our first "Plant Your Junk" Contest last Saturday. We will be announcing the winners in next week's BGC Garden Notes. There still is time to vote for your favorite - until tomorrow (Saturday) at 10 AM. It's hard to pick just one from all the creative entries!   

Oscar would also like to thank those of you who stopped by to wish him a "Happy Birthday" and for all the presents. Special thanks to BGC customer Lauren Rich for clearing up the mystery of Oscar's heritage. Apparently he is a Norwegian forest cat - also known as a "wedgie". Thanks, Lauren!

How many of you are faithfully feeding your plants? How many of you are too busy or just forgetful and haven't fed them since you planted them? I tend to be one of the latter but am determined to become a faithful feeder. So I have designated Friday's as Fertilizer Friday.  At least now my vegetables and container gardens will get a decent meal once a week. By the way, we would love to know how many of you are using organic fertilizers. Please let us know what you use to feed your plants (organic or synthetic) at burlingtongc@sbcglobal.net, and we'll report the results next week.   

Seems like we spend a lot of time looking down - at the flowers, at the lawn, at the weeds, .... today take a moment and look up - look at the trees around you. They provide shade and shelter to wildlife; they flower and offer fruit; they have a presence and give the garden structure; they breathe and grow; they weep and stand tall. Appreciate their beauty and longevity.  Walk among them and grow taller.    

Happy gardening,

Tracy Hankwitz

Japanese Tree Lilac    

"What's that white flowering tree?"  This has been a frequent question the past couple weeks here at BGC. Most flowering trees have their shining moment in the spring. Crabapples, flowering plums and pears, redbuds, and magnolias are all spring beauties. There is one that waits for the warmer days of summer to release it's heady fragrance - the Japanese Tree Lilac.  

This lovely tree-form lilac (Syringa reticulata) is a native of Japan and is hardy to zone 3. We like the variety 'Ivory Silk' for it's shorter stature (25 feet) and for it's heavy bloom even as a young plant.    

Be sure to check out a few other unique trees in our nursery such as the Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus), Persian Ironwod (Parrotia persica), Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternafolia), Stewartia (Stewartia pseudocamellia), Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum) and Korean Maple (Acer pseudosieboldianum).  

If you've ever questioned the value of trees, here is a unique website that will figure out the value of any tree of any size. For example, a young Japanese Tree Lilac with a 2" calibur in a Burlington, WI landscape will intercept 18 gallons of stormwater runoff this year and will conserve 6 kilowatt/hour of electricity for cooling.  Pretty cool!  Try it for yourself.       

Tree Peony      

"The lofty position of the peacock among birds is just like that of the peony among flowers." Arno & Irene Nehring described well the beauty of the peony. But no peony can compare to the exquisite tree peony.

The Chinese tree peony is the national flower of China and at one time only the emperor was allowed to grow one. The tree peony is actually a shrub, not a tree, and grows to be 4-5 feet tall. It has a woody stem and does not die back to the ground. The blooms are larger than a peony bloom reaching up to 10 inches! They are slow growers but live a long life if sited well.

Plants prefer rich, moist, well-drained soils in partial shade to full sun. Tree peonies bloom best in sunny sites, but flowers last longer in shady sites. Although hardy to zone 4, they do require some protection from our winter winds. Choose a site with eastern exposures or close to buildings.

This year we are offering three tree peony varieties: 'Shimadajin' (pictured above) is a purplish-red satin-like flower; 'Yachiyotsubaki' is a double pink ruffled flower, and 'Taiyo' has dark red flowers. Don't you need a peacock in your garden?

Black Ice Plum 

Plums aren't always reliable or easy to grow in Wisconsin, but a recent selection has changed all that. BlackIce (Prunus 'Lydecker') was developed in Wisconsin at UW-River Falls by Dr. Brian Smith and named for the late UW River Falls chancellor, Ann Lydecker.  

BlackIce is a cross between a cherry plum and a Japanese dessert plum making the fruit larger and giving it  superior winter hardiness. It's compact growth habit makes it easy to manage in a backyard setting (6-10'). It's delicious fruit ripens 2-4 weeks earlier than other plums.   

Plums need a pollinator, and BlackIce is no exception. We carry Toka which is has a rich flavor and ripens mid August.  

Fairies have Arrived     

There is something about gardening with miniatures that brings out the kid in all of us. Mini plants, petite furniture and pocket-size doodads are all part of creating miniature landscapes and fairy gardens. And what's a fairy garden without a fairy?  

Fairy sightings have been reported here at BGC - Flower Fairies to be exact. These delightful magical creatures are from the collection of Cicely Mary Barker, an English artist and author. Born in 1895, art and gardening greatly influenced her work. Her father was a partner in a seed supply company as well as an amateur artist. Cicely was surrounded by the flowers that inspired her drawings.

Each Flower Fairy is inspired and named after a flower, and she wrote a poem to go along with each Flower Fairy. If Cicely didn't have a flower that she needed, the staff at Kew Gardens helped her find it. Dorothy, her sister, ran a kindergarten from their home and Cicely used the children as models for the flower fairies. She even made a costume for each "fairy" to model in.  Learn more here at this fun site.   

Join us on Saturday, July 16 for our Fairy Garden Workshop. Create a fairy garden in a basket for only $20. We have two sessions - 10 AM and 11 AM. Please RSVP by calling 262.763-2153 or emailing us at burlingtongc@sbcglobal.net.

Small Fruits on Sale       

Oscar's Birthday specials continue through this weekend (Sunday June 26). All small fruits and fruit trees are 15% off. The sale also includes Bella Anna Hydrangea, Senorita Rosalita Cleome, and all 4 1/2" perennials.  

Wear your 2011 BGC discount t-shirt to get an extra 20% off! 

Daily Garden Tip on Facebook   

We are excited to announce our daily garden tip on facebook. Every day you can learn a useful tip for growing herbs, vegetables, flowers, and fruits or it may be a birding tip. These tips are timely, pertaining to what is going on in our gardens here in the Burlington area.  

You can receive the BGC daily garden tip by becoming our fan on Facebook. You will need your own Facebook page which is easy to set up. All you need is an email address.  

Become a new BGC fan on facebook between now and Saturday, July 9 and we'll enter your name in a drawing for a $25 BGC gift certificate! Read today's tip here.  

June Hours

Monday - Friday

9 AM - 6 PM

Saturday 9 AM - 5 PM

Sunday 10 AM - 4 PM 

"Today I have grown taller walking with the trees."

                                      ~Karl Baker