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Greeetings!
September has arrived, meek and mild, and we hope you and your family are enjoying this fabulous weather as much as we are! Here at Collier's we are welcoming the first signs of the fall gardening season as mums, marigolds and croton fill the greenhouse with colors as vibrant and crisp as the weather.
In this month's e-newsletter you will:
- Find out what to do in your landscape this September
- Get a glimpse of exciting improvements made at the nursery this summer
- Take a peek at new plants and products for fall
- Learn how to create a lush hanging basket for your fall and winter garden
- Read about an iconic garden insect, the dragonfly, in the second article of a series spotlighting beneficial insects
- Get familiar with the idea of sustainable design in the second article of a series entitled "Design 101"
- Missed the first articles of these two series? Click here to read the August e-newsletter
- If you are new to our e-newsletter and would like read previous ones click here to peruse our newsletter archives
- Enjoy 10% off a new outdoor rug with the e-mail exclusive coupon at the end of this e-mail!
Happy Gardening!
*We will probably be open on Labor Day (Monday, September 7th) but if you plan to come shop please call us at 205.822.3133 to make sure we are open. |
September Garden Checklist
September is a transitional stage in the southern garden, which makes it a great time to freshen up, plan for and begin your cool season plantings. Here are a few ideas of things to do in your landscape this month:
- Trim back leggy annuals to encourage bushy new growth if you plan to keep them until frost. Dead-head blooming annuals for renewed bursts of color.
- Dig up, divide and replant perennials if needed.
- Plant fall perennials such as mums, aster, sedum, ornamental grasses, heuchera, astilbe, autumn and holly ferns.
- Dead-head knock-out roses to encourage blooms through most of November!
- Prune dead, diseased or broken branches from trees and shrubs. Avoid pruning trees and shrubs heavily now, as this could encourage new growth that might be damaged by an early cold snap.
- Apply fertilome All Seasons with Barricade (red and yellow bag) to zoysia, bermuda and st. augustine lawns.
- Pull weeds from your garden beds. Cut down on future weeding chores by pulling up warm-season weeds before they set seed and cool-season weeds as they begin to germinate.
- Fall can be a very dry season, so even though temperatures begin to drop be diligent about keeping all your plantings well-watered.
- Certain insects and diseases overwinter in plant debris and mulch. Remove dead plant material and old mulch, and replace with fresh, before planting for fall and winter.
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| Welcome Fall Color
Into Your Garden!
 Are your flowerbeds and containers looking tired? If so, make a fresh start with beautiful fall blooms and foliage!
Marigolds, petunias, zinnias, alyssum and croton thrive in cool weather and will be happy until frost.
Plant snapdragons, dianthus and nemesia for blooms this fall and again next spring.
Plant foxglove now for blooms next spring.
Mums are here! Remember, mums are perennial, so use them in pots and then plant them in the ground and enjoy them next fall too! |
We've Made Some Improvements!
If you have not been by in the past month then you will be happily suprised by two new additions to the nursery! Hot summer days give us a chance to tackle projects and we made good use of our time this year by adding a beautiful pergola adjacent to the greenhouse and a much anticipated playground that overlooks the creek! Come by and peruse our displays under the shade of the pergola and let the kids discover their new play area!
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New for Fall!
Monrovia Topiaries & Patio Trees
Come browse our selection of Monrovia plants, including elegant topiaries and pretty patio trees! Make a bold statement with evergreen topiaries such as juniper, boxwood and waxleaf privet. Or, dress up a pot with a patio tree. Choose from tree-form gardenia, knock-out rose, cranberry cotoneaster, sweet bay, waxleaf privet or kumquat. Other interesting Monrovia selections include stunning pyracantha, variegated dwarf euonymus and the much-sought-after Meyer lemon!
Outdoor Rugs Our new outdoor rugs are made from 100% recycled plastic threads that are surprisingly soft to the touch. They don't absorb water, won't mildew and can be easily rinsed off when needed. We have three new styles in great colors for you to choose from!
Containers and Accessories
We also have several new lines of containers, in many sizes and styles, as well as new garden accessories to choose from. We are excited to offer our customers fresh garden treasures to discover this fall! |
Holey Hanging Basket!
An Inexpensive and Easy Idea for Cascading Color
This molded fiber hanging basket ($9.99 each, unplanted), with planting holes in the side, is a sure-fire way to a dramatic, cascading garden creation! Ivy, angel vine, creeping jenny and vinca vine are trailing plants that thrive in cold weather; tuck these in the side openings and add fall and winter blooms and foliage to the top for a lush, cool weather planting.
Fiber pots are biodegradable and made from 100% recycled paper. They can be planted right into the ground, composted or recycled after use. Also, fiber is more insulating than plastic and helps protect plants from cold temperatures. These inexpensive and enironmentally friendly containers are a great addition to your garden or a friend's. More styles and sizes are arriving soon so stop by and check them out! |
Tread Lightly
Dragonflies
 There is perhaps no other insect as iconic to the garden as the dragonfly. Stylized in stained glass and storied by cultures for thousands of years, dragonflies are at once alluring and fearsome predators. With two sets of wings that move independantly of each other, which allows them to move forward, backward, side to side and hover, dragonflies are a formidable force to be reckoned with in the insect world. Dragonflies can be found in the garden from June to October and are most likely to be spotted near fairly still, non-chlorinated water. In North America they range in size from 3/4 to 5 inches and rest with wings spread (this distinguishes them from damselflies, which rest with wings together). Juvenile dragonflies, called naiads, live in water and feed on mosquito larvae and other aquatic insects. Adults prey on mosquitoes, gnats and other flying insects but pose no threat to humans. The fact that they work to rid our gardens of pesky mosqitoes and gnats, and put on a good show of it to boot, is why dragonflies are beneficial and we should protect their environment and encourage their presence.
Even the most cursory look into the world of dragonflies reveals their widespread and varied reputation in world cultures. In European culture and myth they are considered sinister and given fascinating names such as devil's darning needle, ear-cutter and Hell's mare. A traditional southern myth dubs them snake doctors, as, according to the story, their job is to follow snakes around and stitch them back together if injured. In Native American and East Asian cultures dragonflies are looked upon more kindly, symbolizing things such as swiftness, renewal, courage, strength and happiness. In Japan, the dragonfly symbolizes late summer and early autumn, and it is considered good luck for a dragonfly to land on you.
*If you would like to read the first article in this series (Tread Lightly: Busy Bees) click here |
Design 101
Sustainable Design and Microclimates
This is the second article in a series focusing on basic design ideas that you can use to improve your home landscape. This month's article introduces sustainable design, that is, design that works with the natural environment rather than against it and requires minimal amounts of human energy and resources over time. In the long run, using just one or two sustainable design ideas can save you time and money.
One main focus of sustainable design is microclimate, or the environmental conditions of a small area of the landscape. A microclimate is created by the accumulating effects of sun and wind exposure, temperature, humidity, drainage and existing plants and structures in a given area. Identifying the different microclimates in your landscape and using each to its full, natural potential is one of the main ideas of sustainable design.
By identifying your landscape's different microclimates you can choose the best use for each area and select appropriate plants that will thrive with little effort on your part. Keep in mind that microclimates are also effected by topography, lot and home orientation, home size, pavement, walls and fences.
Sun and wind have the greatest effects on microclimates; maximizing and minimizing their effects as needed, by strategically placing plants and structures, can dramatically reduce your heating and cooling bills. For the homeowner, this is the main advantage of identifying and utilizing microclimates.
The following is a very general look at microclimates based on orientation around a house (areas on the north, south, east and west sides) that you can use to begin to observe your landscape's microclimates and the best ways to use specific areas of your yard. October and November's "Design 101" articles will focus on how to utilize sun and wind exposure to save money on energy bills and enjoy your landscape at its fullest potential.
North Side of Home
- Receives no sun for most of the day
- Receives summer sun in early morning and late evening
- Directly exposed to cold wind
- Coldest, shadiest and dampest area throughout the year
South Side of Home
- Receives the most sun
- Shaded in the morning and late evening
- Warmest area in winter
- Protected from cold wind
- Has the longest growing season
East Side of Home
- Most moderate area
- Receives morning sun and afternoon shade
- Protected from cold wind
West Side of Home
- Receives morning shade and afternoon sun
- Windiest area
- Hottest and driest in summer
*If you would like to read the first article in this series (Design 101: Landscape Evaluation) click here | |
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