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Last Month's Newsletter
Visit Us At Our Website
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Nancy McCaslin. Nancy was the first to submit the correct answer to our March trivia question: "What nation produces two thirds of the world's vanilla?" The correct answer is "Madagascar."
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Nancy won a $15.00 Wedel's gift certificate and you could too! Just be the first to respond with the correct answer to our monthly trivia question.
Congratulations, Nancy!!
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A Thought
from the Garden
 "The peace and beauty of a spring day had descended upon the earth like a benediction. " - Kate Chopin |
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Mark Your Calendar!
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Friday, April 27
Arbor Day
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Just for Grins...and  Groans
A cardboard belt would be a waist of paper.
- Rich Wittington
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| Did You Know? |  | |
1. Birds need gravity to swallow.
2. Goldfish can see both infrared and ultraviolet light.
3. The word laser stands for 'Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation'.
4. The dot on top of the letter 'i' is called a tittle.
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Mom Tested And ApprovedThis is an ideal side dish for your Easter dinner. It is very easy to prepare and will probably find a place on your Thanksgiving and Christmas table as well!
Candied Sweet Potatoes
6 Medium Sweet Potatoes 1/2 Cup Sugar 1/4 Cup White Corn Syrup 2 Tablespoons Butter 1 1/2 Cups Water Few Grains Salt Nutmeg or Cinnamon Pare sweet potatoes. cut in halves lengthwise. Place in baking dish. Add sugar, syrup, butter, water and salt. Sprinkle with nutmeg or cinnamon. Cover. Bake in moderate oven (400 degrees F.) until tender and a thick syrup is formed. Baste frequently. Server hot. 6 servings. The Household Searchlight Enjoy!
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| Volume 5, Number 1 April, 2012 |
Arbor Day
Friday April 27
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J. Sterling Morton
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In 1854 a young man and his wife moved from Detroit to the Nebraska Territory taking with them their love of nature. One of the first projects at their new home was planting trees, shrubs and flowers. The man's name is J. Sterling Morton who's efforts as a newspaper reporter and editor resulted in the declaration, on March 12, 1874, that celebration of the first Arbor Day would occur on April 10, 1872. It was estimated that more than one million trees were planted in Nebraska on that day. To read the fascinating story and see photographs of J. Sterling Morton, his family, colleagues and the history of Arbor Day visit the Arbor Day Foundation site by clicking here.Because of the desire of a man and his wife to promote the benefits and beauty of tree planting, the Arbor Day Foundation, founded in 1972, recognizes more than 3,300 communities through the Tree City USA program which honors cities and towns that are committed to planting and nurturing trees. Western Michigan University's Landscape Services was one of 29 campuses to earn the designation of "Tree Campus USA" by the Arbor Day Foundation in 2008 (the first year of this award). National Arbor Day 2012 is April 27. To join the celebration along with multiple thousands of organizations, clubs, societies and individuals make plans to plant one tree, or many trees, this month. If you'd like some help choosing the right tree for your landscape use Wedel's Plant Finder, print out a list of options and come by the garden center to chat with our experts. What a great opportunity to involve the whole family in a project of lasting significance! |
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Coming Soon To A Butterfly Bush (Buddleia) Near You
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courtesy MaryJane Hames
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This photo was sent to us by MaryJane Hames. She said, in her e-mail, "Thought you'd enjoy seeing this picture I took on my butterfly bush last summer." And right she is! What a beautiful shot. If anyone needs a reason to add a Butterfly Bush to the landscape, look no farther than MaryJane's photo. The Butterfly Bush's alternate name, summer lilac, gives you a hint to what an asset this shrub is.
Click here to get all of the details about this valuable garden plant and why you can expect scenes like above in your own yard. Thanks, MaryJane! Keep your camera handy and enjoy your summertime visitors.
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Garden Natives
Nannyberry
Viburnum lentago
The "nannyberry" (Viburnum lentago) is a garden native that grows as a tall and narrow shrub or small tree. It's small, white flowers appear as flat-topped clusters in late spring. The dark blue fruit hang in drooping clusters in the fall and stay on the plant all winter if not eaten by fruit-eating birds such as bluebirds, cedar waxwings, and thrushes.
 Leaves of the nannyberry display a medium to dark green and are glossy when they emerge, remaining shiny and attractive throughout the summer months. Buds are very long and grayish in appearance. Like all viburnums, the leaves are arranged in opposing pairs, oval, 3/4 in. to 2 in., broad and wedge-shaped.
 This shrub is a great addition as a special border for your lawn or landscape and will help block those spring and fall winds. It will add beautiful greens and whites to your flowerbed as well as gorgeous red leaves of various hues and deep, dark fruit to your autumn landscape.
Click here for information on more ornamental features, landscape attributes and plant characteristics.
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Store Hours
Monday - Friday
9:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday
9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
To Do In April
Plant peas, onions, beets, turnips, potatoes, radishes, kale, lettuce, spinach.
Feed roses.
Have mower blades, pruners, loppers, hedge shears sharpened.
Have mower tuned up.
Have the pH of your lawn and garden soil tested.
Make sure all lawn and garden tools are ready.
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Look SharpFeel Sharp
Be Sharp
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Did you know that you can have your blades sharpened at Wedels?!
Take a look at these prices!
- Pruners - $4.00
- Loppers - $4.00
- Lawn mower blades - $5.00 (sorry, no reel mowers)
- Mulching mower - $5.00
- Hedge shears - $4.00
- Larger items - $5.00
(We don't sharpen chain saw blades.)
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April Shopping List
Garden seeds Seed starting supplies
Repellex Mole and Gopher Repellent EZ Seed grass seed
Lawn spreader
Scotts 4-Step (rebate in effect) Suet Gift certificate Gardening book Gardening magazine
Ortho Home Defense Max
Hummingbird feeder
Hummingbird nectar |
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Saturday Mornings
Birdwatch 8:07 a.m.
with host Roger Taylor answering all of your birding questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Over the Garden Fence 9:07 a.m. with host Andy Wedel answering all of your landscape and gardening questions
Call in at 382-4280 or 877-382-4280.
Visit our web site at www.wedels.com for archives of previous Birdwatch and
Over the Garden Fence programs!
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Note from the Editor
"Play ball!" Like the sound of a robin's "cheep" or a lawn mower roaring in the distance or the friendly, "Welcome to Wedel's Expo!" the signs of spring are all around us. Even though we seemed to have skipped spring and enjoyed a few days of summer-like weather recently it's spring and that means it's time to get busy.
The Tigers are back at it and we're going to have fun watching them win the Series. (If you, somehow, happen to not be a Detroit Tiger fan replace the bold face type with the name of your favorite team.) Hope springs eternal especially in...well...spring.
It is hard to imagine how Wedel's Expo 2012 could have been better. (Every year we try to improve on the last so we'll have to wait until next March to find out how we do that.) The turnout this year was most impressive. In the 3 hours before noon on Friday over 500 arrived at the garden center and in the 3 hours before noon on Saturday the number was over 900. In all, over 2,500 of our Wedel friends took part in the festivities during the 2 days of Expo. As they used to say in the society section of my old, hometown newspaper, "A good time was had by all!"
Of that number we have well over 300 new subscribers to Wedel's News! So, to all of you who are receiving this newsletter for the first time we'd like to say, "Welcome!" This is a friendly place where we get to keep you up to date with all that's new and important here and where we hope to hear, from you, ideas, thoughts and suggestions about how to make Wedel's News more entertaining, enjoyable and a better resource for all of your gardening and landscaping needs. In other words, don't be shy. Drop us a line (or a few bytes) whenever you'd like.
As far as getting busy is concerned, you long-time gardeners and landscapers have already begun a new season of projects. Even though it is still early for some of the biggest chores it is easy for those with experience to find ways to stay busy outside this time of year. If you are new to all of this and have done no more than decide that this is the year you want to get out there and make your yards and gardens something to be proud of keep one thing in mind; we're here to help. We'd much rather help you out with advice and recommendations than stock shelves or sweep walkways or wash windows! Give us a break. Bring your gardening questions or problems in and let us set the broom and wash cloth aside. Friends old and new, come by soon!
Ready for another trivia question? One of the most important drugs known to man is obtained from the dried bark of an evergreen tree native to South America. What is it? The first reader to respond with the correct answer will win a $15.00 Wedel's gift certificate. The gift certificate must be picked up here at the garden center and remember, you are eligible to win once every 90 days. Good luck and have fun! 'Til next time, Jim Here's the link to track the migration of hummingbirds back to our area. Take a look...they're here! www.hummingbirds.net
jimdavenport@wedels.com
If you want to build a ship, don't drum up people to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. Antoine de Saint-Exupery
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