Burlington Garden Center

July 15, 2011

Dear Gardening Friend,

Kudos to the gardeners who opened up their gardens for us to enjoy on the garden walk this past Sunday and to the Burlington Area Garden Club for coordinating it all. The gardens were beautiful and inspiring. You can see a few pictures here .  

It seems like there was a Japanese beetle invasion overnight! Leaves are laced as the beetles munch away on their favorite plants. Be sure to read our "Japanese Beetle Strategy" below for a plan to save your plants.   

Congrats to Karen Cooper, our facebook new friend winner. You can catch our daily garden tips online - all you need to do is set up a facebook account which is super easy! Really! We are posting tips that will help you with all kinds of gardening - vegetables, flowers, herbs, pruning, fertilizing, even birding. It's timely and it's local - it's what's going on in our gardens right here and right now. Check it out.

Last Saturday was our "Lovely Lavender" class. If you missed it, here a recipe that we sampled. A BIG thankyou to Abby Lippmann from Serenity Soap Works and Marge Koenecke for sharing their lavender know-how.    

By the way, it's "Feed-em' Friday". Give your plants a good nourishing drink of a water soluble fertilizer (20-20-20) today - they'll reward you with more flowering and new growth. If they are looking stressed from the heat, clear water will be better for them - it's best not to fertilize a stressed plant.   

Happy gardening,

Tracy Hankwitz

More Bugs in the Garden - this one is serious!         

                        

Japanese beetles are back and their huge appetites are lacing leaves overnight. There is hope, but it requires quick action. Here's a rundown of options for your defense strategy:

For trees & shrubs -  We recommend a systemic insecticide like Bayer's or Fertilome's Tree and Shrub Systemic Drench that lasts for up to 12 months. This may take a few weeks to work it's way through the tree, so in the mean time dous the beetles with Bonide's Beetle Killer (lambda-cyhalothrin) which shoots 25' in the air when hooked up to the hose.    

For roses & flowers -  Bayer's All-in-One is a very effective systemic insecticide (it also feeds and protects from diseases). Use Sevin (Carbaryl) for a quick kill.  

For fruits & vegetables -  Organic options include Captain Jack's Deadbug Brew (Spinosad), and Triple Action Plus (Neem oil), and handpicking (great fun!). Options safe for fruits and vegetables are Sevin (Carbaryl) among others. Read the label for the number of days til harvest after application is made.  

Traps - Traps are very effective, perhaps too effective. Their purpose is to lure the beetles away from the plants they love, and trap them in a container/bag they can't fly out of. Be sure to place traps 10 feet away from their desired plants. Traps used last year will need new bait (pick yours up at BGC). Check traps daily and empty them in a bucket of soapy water. They make great feed for chickens and fish.   

Read all instructions and follow them carefully.  

Butterfly Weed 

                            

One plant really stood out in several gardens on last Sunday's garden walk. It was big, orange, and beautiful and known as Butterfly Weed or Butterfly Flower (Aesclepias tuberosa).  

Butterflies love this hardy, nectar-producing perennial that favors dry, sandy soil and full sun. Hummingbirds, and bees are also attracted to this native plant. It has a long bloom time - from June to September on older plants. It's also a member of the milkweed family.  

New plants in full bloom have just arrived this week. Remember that these are babies, and it will take about 3 years for the plant to fill out to it's mature size.    

Great Star Hydrangea  

  

There are many recent introductions in the Hydrangea family, but one is definitely a rising star. Great Star Hydrangea hails from the celebrated woodland garden of Princess Sturdza in Normandy, France. It's most outstanding feature is it's unusual graceful display of large, starry white blooms.  

This hydrangea typically reaches 6-7 feet and nearly as wide in full sun or partial shade. It flowers from midsummer until the first hard frost. It's elegant habit and low-maintenance nature makes it worthy of it's royal heritage.    

Our fruit special continues. Don't miss out on this great opportunity to grow your own fruit!

All Small Fruits  

20% off

+ t-shirt discount

Now is a good time to plant small fruit trees, blueberries, grapes, raspberries, gooseberries, and currants - don't wait for fall. You can grow your own fruit and it's all on sale!   

Patriot Blueberries

Chippewa Blueberries 

Concord Seedless Grapes

St. Croix Grapes

Marquette Grapes

Edelweiss Grapes 

 Bristol Black Raspberries 

Heritage Red Raspberries (pictured above) 

Black Ice Plum Trees

Toka Plum Trees

Zestar Apple Trees

Red Lake Currants

Pixwell Gooseberries 

Tiny Plants for Fairy Gardens       

There's something about gardening with miniatures that brings out the kid in all of us. Whether it's tiny benches or a wee wheelbarrow that catches your fancy, all fairy gardens need fairy plants. We have gathered a collection of miniature plants that any fairy would love. Here's a few that your's may find delightful:

* Astilbe 'Sprite' grows 8" tall with pink blooms

* Eryngium planum 'Blue Hobbit' (Sea Holly) reaches 12" 

* Thalictrum kiusianum (Meadow Rue) stays tiny at 4-6"

* Salvia 'Blue Hill' grows to 10" 

* Creeping Baby's Breath

* Hostas - 'Blue Mouse Ears', 'Lemon Lime', and 'Pandora's Box' are all itty-bitty.  

Of course every fairy needs a bed a moss or creeping thyme to nap on under the shade of a fern.  

Kids' Nature Walk Next Saturday   

Kids' Nature Walk & Craft

Saturday, July 23 at 10 AM

Kids of all ages are invited to go on a nature walk here at BGC led by staff members of Bong Nature Center. After the walk, we will make a nature craft. We ask that children be accompanied by an adult.     

Cost for the craft is $5 per child. RSVP at 262.763.2153 or burlingtongc@sbcglobal.net.  

July Hours

Monday - Friday

9 AM - 5:30 PM

Saturday 9 AM - 4 PM

Sunday 10 AM - 2 PM 

"Ah, summer, what power you have  

to make us suffer and like it. "

                                      ~Russell Baker