KEEP UP TO DATE BETWEEN NEWSLETTERS AT
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WE RECOMMEND:
Ruchelle Gee for Landscape Design
Old South for Installation
Focal Point for Water Features
PS Designs for Hardscapes
Call us for a referral 803-359-9091 or send an email
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We had such fun accepting your 800 poinsettia trade-ins last month. I hope your primrose is doing well. There seems to be a thirst for indoor, flowering plants. So, after much searching...since we ran our suppliers dry from the trade-ins, we found a supplier with some primroses, which we brought in for Valentine's Day. We also have Amaryllis, Miniature Roses, Cyclamen, and blooming Azalea Topiaries. Come in the Gift Shoppe to see them. Give a living plant - it's the love that keeps on growing!
Once again, for those of you who responded, thank you for your candor in the survey last month. It's always helpful for us to know your thoughts about your experiences with us, and your ideas that we can put into action.
I'm still trying to get good at Facebook. Seems like I'm the slow poke, but we've got Wingard's on it, so "friend" us. Since the newsletter comes out monthly, we plan to actively use Facebook to keep people aware of new things that may be going on between newsletters. Watch for photos of new, cool plants that we receive, demonstrations and special promotions.
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ANNOUNCING OUR 2011 SPRING
WORKSHOPS & EVENTS!
Limited Space Vegetable & Flower Gardening - Saturday, March 12, 10:00 am
 Join Dale Miller, Wingard's own edibles expert, to learn about the "Square Foot Gardening" concept and planting in the new Earthbox gardening system. If you live in a patio home, or have limited space, or just want to downsize the dimensions of your vegetable garden this year, you'll enjoy this informative session. Admission is $25 and you'll receive a $25 certificate towards the purchase of any item at Wingard's, valid until April 12th. Space is limited so call 803-359-9091 to register, or wait until our new on-line registration system is up and running. I'll email to let you know.
Southern Plantings -
Saturday, March 19, 10:00-11:00 am
If you're new to the Lexington area and want to learn about our USDA Hardiness Zone, what grows best and in which type of soils, this workshop is for you. There is no charge for this workshop.
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Every Southern Landscape Needs Crape Myrtles! |
Organic Fertilizers & Pest Management Workshop - Saturday, March 26, 10:00-11:00 am
 Perhaps you have purchased different "Tone" fertilizers manufactured by the Espoma company, such as RoseTone, PlantTone, EarthTone, etc., from us or elsewhere. Wingard's is delighted to have Bonnie Satterwhite, from Espoma, with us to discuss organic fertilizers and pest management. Admission is $10 and you receive a $10 gift certificate good for purchase of the Espoma product line. Space is limited so call 803-359-9091 to register, or wait until our new on-line registration system is up and running. I'll email to let you know.
Bonsai Workshop - Saturday, April 2, 10:00-12:00 noon
Chip Dutton, local Bonsai enthusiast and expert will be conducting this workshop. More details to follow.
Rose Workshop - Saturday, April 16, 10:00-11:00 am
Tom Seibert, from Weeks Roses, will be joining us to discuss the various types and care for roses. Whether you're an experienced rosarian or just beginning your journey, come learn from an expert. There is a $10 charge for this workshop and you will receive a $10 Wingard's gift certificate to use on April 16th. Space is limited so call 803-359-9091 to register, or wait until our new on-line registration system is up and running. I'll email to let you know.
Carolina Wildlife Care Kid's Day -
Wednesday, April 20, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm
School's out the week of April 18, so if you're looking for a fun, educational experience for your kindergarten or elementary age children or grandchildren, join us for our 6th annual fundraising event for Carolina Wildlife Care and see and learn about the rehabilitation of injured wildlife from Joanna Weitzel and her team. Be sure to ask her about the Bobcat Cubs, taken in last summer, and seen on national television. Receive a free tomato plant, hotdog, chips and a drink, and have your child enter our "Tomatomania" tomato growing contest. The first 200 children will be able to make a bird house to take home. Donation for the entire event is $5.00 per child (pay upon arrival), and all proceeds go to Carolina Wildlife Care. You may also bring much needed supplies for CWC to use in caring for the animals. A list of desired items is found on the CWC website wishlist. This year, we're pleased to have Love Chevrolet join Wingard's as a sponsor.
Creative Containers Workshop
Saturday, April 30, 9:00 am - 10:00 am
Join Susie Long and Vickie Barfield, our dueling container building duo, for creative container garden ideas, from the simply elegant to the colorful combo. Bring your own container or purchase from our wide variety and make your own container garden to take home for Mother's Day. The only charge is for materials is you choose to make a container.
Mamapalooza - Saturday, May 7, All Day
The day before Mother's Day is always fun at Wingard's. Stop in and purchase a beautiful rose or any of the many other plants that are in bloom, or check out The Gift Shoppe for that special gift for Mom. Surprise specials will be available - you have to come in to find out what they are! While you're here, enjoy a complimentary lunch (11:00 am - 2:00 pm).
Daylily Tour - Saturday, June 11, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm
Secluded Gardens is a certified Hemerocallis garden, owned by Wayne and Gail Wingard Buff, adjoining Wingard's. This year, they will host the regional daylily tour for the North and South Carolina Region of the American Hemerocallis Society. Come stroll among some of the most beautiful gardens in the Midlands. Park at Wingard's, and we'll direct you. Daylilies we've propagated from those prize-winning plants in Secluded Gardens will be available for you to purchase, and we'll take orders for ones that will not be available until Fall.
Perennials Workshop & Tour
Sunday, June 12, 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm
If you can't make the Daylily Tour on Saturday, join Susie Long, from Wingard's for an enjoyable Sunday afternoon stroll through the beautiful Secluded Gardens, adjoining Wingard's. This workshop is intended to show the many different combinations of perennials at work in the garden, along with information about each. While you're here, wish my dad and founder of Wingard's Nursery, Judson Wingard, a happy 88th birthday! There is no charge for this workshop.
Lake Murray Day - Saturday, June 18, 10:00 am
Want to learn more about Lake Murray's history, about it's construction, the B-25's, Bomb Island, the Purple Martins and more? Join Mr. Randall Shealy, a Historian on Lake Murray at Wingard's on the Saturday before Father's Day. There is a $10 fee for this seminar, but you will also receive a $10 gift certificate good for purchase of "Lake Murray" products. Space is limited so call 803-359-9091 to register, or wait until our new on-line registration system is up and running. I'll email to let you know.
Wingard's "Blues" Festival
Saturday, June 25, 10:00 am
Wingard's has the "blues"...blueberries, blue containers, blue daze, agapanthus, salvia, Nikko Blue Hydrangeas, etc., oh well, you get the idea. We're still working out the details on this one, so stay tuned and we'll have a good time in the garden on this day!
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Art in the Garden VI
Save the date! Friday, October 7th, 2011
Rumor has it a big name rock star or two might be with us this year! Stay tuned for more info!
Art in the Garden has become a very popular community cultural event. As you can imagine, it is a costly endeavor to provide a catered meal, wine and beer, and a top rated musical performance for approximately 1000 people. We have tried to keep the ticket price as low as possible to make this event affordable for all, while at the same time raising a substantial donation for a local charity, Lexington Interfaith Community Services. We are grateful for the number of individuals and businesses who have helped us by sponsoring this event in the past. We are hoping all of you will continue to be a part of this endeavor. This year, we are looking for an individual or business that would be interested in partnering with us to be a signature sponsor. This sponsor would be represented on all of the advertising and would play a key role in developing the event and marketing it along with Wingard's Nursery & Garden Center. If you are interested, or you know someone who might be, please contact Wally at the nursery by email or phone, 803-359-9091. Thanks! |
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February Reminders . . .
- Apply Lime Sulfur Spray to roses and other shrubs prone to fungus. This is a great preventative measure and can only be applied in cold weather.
- Prune fruit trees now before the buds push green. Click here for more info.
- Prune crape myrtles and roses by February 14th. For crape myrtles, we recommend just clipping off the seed pods. For shrub roses, like Knockouts, wait until they have completed their second growing season to prune. Remove any dead branches as well as branches growing sideways. Shape as necessary. Rather than making a straight cut across the top of the bush, make cuts at different levels throughout the body of the plant and cut ends of "leggy" branches. For hybrid tea roses, watch this video.
- Apply preemergents now to prevent spring weeds. We have products for both your lawn and your landscape beds.
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Cold Winter Can Be A Blessing For Plants
 Think about it. When we have a warm winter, the plants don't get a break. The warm weather keeps them awake. They think they're supposed to work on developing roots and pushing out new growth. No rest for the weary. It would be like us trying to sleep night after night with the light on. The light is telling our body we're supposed to be awake, even though we're exhausted and trying to get some sleep. When daylight comes, we limp along with our daily tasks, but not at full speed.
A cold winter for plants is like a good night sleep for us. Even though they may look bad now, some of them will come out hardier and healthier when Spring arrives. The damaging insect population suffers through the winter and presents fewer problems for plants when warm weather arrives. Some plants need a certain amount of cold to set buds. Apple trees ought to be fruitful this year, and for those of you "Yankees" residing in our midst, the peonies should bloom nicely this year!
Not to be too Pollyanna, there are plants which have suffered winter damage. We've noticed it on some usually very hardy species, wheeler's dwarf pittosporum, dwarf gardenias, confederate jasmine, azaleas and dwarf yaupons. Some of the stems on these plants froze and cracked open. This will typically kill off that branch, but not the whole plant. You probably won't notice it until summer. But if whole branches die off on some of your plants, this may be what happened. Just cut off the dead branch, and the rest of the plant will fill in. And of course, the plants that are borderline hardy to our zone, such as oleander and sago palms, have been hit. The foliage is brown in a lot of cases. Just wait for the new growth to appear in the spring and then cut back the dead branches. |
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We're Proud to Announce . . .
 Wingard's Nursery & Garden Center was once again selected by Today's Garden Center Magazine as one of the 2011 Top Revolutionary 100 Garden Centers in the United States. The winners of this award were invited to attend a three-day roundtable discussion last month. We came away from that forum with loads of new ideas. So watch out! We've got lots of tricks up our sleeves this year! We are also pleased to have been selected the Best Garden Center, by Lexington Life Magazine. Thanks to all who voted for us. And thanks to all our customers. It is because of our opportunity to serve you that we have been recognized in these two publications.
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Roses Are Coming!
Our roses will be arriving any day now. We buy them bare root and pot
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Wingard's Roses Last Mother's Day |
them up. They'll be ready for your purchase by first of March. The list of varieties we will be offering is available on our website, under Products and Services.
For years, we have sold Jackson Perkins roses. Some of you may know that Jackson Perkins, along with owner Park Seed Company, went bankrupt last year. They no longer provide roses to retailers. They only sell JP roses on-line. What? You can't get JP roses at Wingard's? They're the best! What you might not realize is that generally, Jackson Perkins did not grow any of the roses they sold. They were simply a marketing conduit for rose growers. They would contract with independent growers to provide their roses. What made the JP roses that we sold so good, was that we only bought premium grade plants, and we potted them correctly and babied them for you.
This year we will be selling Weeks Roses. The ironic thing is that Weeks actually grew roses for Jackson Perkins. So the roses you bought in the past under the JP name might have actually been a Weeks rose. The key is getting the premium grade roses. And we'll have those once again this year, and we'll pot them in our special Lake Murray Mix, and take good care of them, same as always. |
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The State of the Industry
The Jackson Perkins bankruptcy brings to mind two South Carolina nursery businesses that have had difficult times. Park Seed, in Greenwood, which owned Jackson Perkins, declared bankruptcy and was sold to an investors group. Carolina Nurseries, in Moncks Corner, got caught up in the housing expansion and loaded up on inventory to sell to landscapers. When the housing market dried up, so did their business. Carolina Nurseries had 700 acres of unsold inventory when the bank called their loans. They closed their doors in December.
Fortunately, we have been dealing primarily with medium size suppliers that were diversified enough to weather the storm. So our primary suppliers are still healthy and supplying us with great nursery stock. But we do anticipate that there may be shortages in the industry this year as so many growers have shut their doors. And when the recession hit in 2008, growers cut way back on the amount of plants they put into production. Some plants take several years to get ready for sale, so a slowdown in production in 2008 and 2009 translates into less ready-to-sell plants this year. The moral of this story for you is, if you see something you want this Spring, you ought to buy it. We've been told supplies may be depleted early in the season, and it takes a certain lead time to bring on a new crop. "Not tryin' to be pushy or anything; just statin' the facts."
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There's Always Something Building At Wingard's
Last Fall we built a new pergola on the right side of the house to provide a little bit of shade to our perennials. And we're getting ready to pour a new cement walkway between the tables under the pergola, as well as around the back of the house and down the path between the shade pavillion and the sun shrubs. That perennials section can get brutally hot in August and unpleasant for shopping, so we wanted to make a more comfortable environment for you and for the plants. And the new walkway will give us a full circle around the house and make pulling or pushing that cart full of plants much easier for you!
We also refloored the front porch of the house. Now we don't have to worry about it collapsing under you!
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Lake Murray Ornament Generated $244 Donation
 In 2010, our Lake Murray Ornament commemorated the history of WWII bomber training flights over the lake. In honor of our WWII veterans (my Dad served in England for three years), we promised to donate $1 to a military service organization for every ornament sold. We are proud to announce that your purchases enabled us to give $244 to the local USO Center. Thank you! If you were not able to buy one before Christmas, we still have a good supply available. You can learn more about the history of the lake, including the bomber training flights, on "Lake Murray Day", June 18th, when local historian Randall Shealy will give a presentation at the nursery.
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Master Gardeners Get 5%
We are happy to announce that we donated $184.00 to the S.C. Midlands Master Gardeners Association based on your purchases at Wingard's in 2010. I have a sneaky suspicion , we could have donated a lot more, if only you all had given us your valid master gardener member number to put into our computer system. If you are a master gardener, we will donate 5% of every dollar you spend to the SCMMGA. Don't forget to show us your membership card the next time you're in! Also, the most recent edition of the master gardeners newsletter, "Sow Forth", contained an article about Earth Boxes. Just wanted to let you know that we sell them and will be offering a workshop on using them on March 12th, called "Limited Space Vegetable and Flower Gardening." |
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The Lexington County Choral Society
In Its Fifteenth Season Presents
"Spicy Salsa Sounds"
with special guest
"The Dick Goodwin Quintet"
March 4 and 5, 2011
7:30 pm at Saxe Gotha Presbyterian Church
$15.00 Adult $12.00 Senior $5.00 Student
Tickets are available at Wingard's Nursery & Garden
Click here for more info on LCCS
803-359-8794 |
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WE'VE MADE A SECTION IN OUR RETAIL AREA FOR
OVERGROWN, OVERWORKED, OVERSTOCKED SHRUBS
THEY JUST NEED TO GET OUT OF THE POT!
50% OFF - ALL SALES FINAL
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INDIAN RIVER FRUIT
Citrus sales are over for this season. The cold weather in Florida has reduced our supplier's crop. But those great Indian River oranges, grapefruit and tangerines will be back next Fall! We'll let you know when to expect them.
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As I am closing this newsletter and getting ready to email it, I received a phone call from David McNinch, one of our staff who took the exam today to become a "Certified Nursery Professional". The test is given in two parts. The first is a written test on topics that include plant development, soils, irrigation, plant nutrition, plant propagation, pest management, nursery production, greenhouse production, turf grass installation, landscape maintenance and much more. The second phase of the test is the identification of over 120 plants, by their Latin names. We always knew David had a wealth of knowledge under that feathered hat; now it's official! And, two more staff members, Vickie Barfield and Dale Miller, completed the written portion of the exam, and will become certified next year, after they memorize all those Latin names! Congratulations David, Vickie and Dale!
From my Grandmother's Garden to Yours,
DeloresWingard Steinhauser
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