Happy Father's Day to all you Dads out there in Skillin's Country and Happy Summer to all of us! I know the heat has been cranked up the last couple of days (and I have been right out there in it at Skillin's!). I am enjoying this warm weather however. I have remarked to more than a few customers that the warm air feels "good to my bones"; one customer wryly told me back that I am "betraying my age". I guess so!
We are humbled to announce that Skillins will be named Best Nursery in Maine in the readers poll in the July issue of Downeast Magazine! What a great surprise and we thank all of our customers and staff for this great award. We love what we do and we love you too--we work hard and recognition like this makes "going the extra step" very rewarding!
Thanks too for all the nice words I heard about last week's email. It is NOT too late to get your vegetable and flower garden in or to add to it! Click HERE to check out last week's encouraging email and garden tips if you have not read it yet!
It is good to being sending you a gardening email and hopefully you will find some helpful information here. IF you want more frequent and timely gardening advice, just check out our Skillin's Garden Log found at www.skillins.com!
Skillin's Garden Log! |
We post to the Garden Log on a regular (quite often daily) basis with some very timely and we think helpful information. So make the Garden Log one of your "Favorite" hangouts!
Also follow Skillin's at www.twitter.com/skillins. We "tweet" all types of Skillin's news and announcements that you need to know. Chances are when something goes on sale, or we get excited about a particular plant or flower, we "tweet" about it first! Also we send out frequent short audios and videos right here from Skillin's--and pictures of our colorful flowering plants as well!
Color, Color, Color!
Speaking of colorful flowering plants, we sure have them! Some establishments that happen to sell plants as well are rushing to put bunches of baked plants on sale because they realize how bad their tired plants look. And they think you want theior tired plants in your garden? We know you are smarter than that--and who really has the time to rehab bunches of "bargain" plants that are in awful shape.
We are growing fresh plants daily right here in Maine and in most cases our prices are the same now as they were two, three and four years ago! For staters for a mere $3.99 you can purchase at least 6 (many cases 9) flowering or vegetable plants in a flat. These plants are flowering and ready to go! I have had several customers thank me this Spring for the fact we do offer plants in packs of 6 or 9 or 12. I am being told this traditional option is hard to find. Wow! Not at Skillin's!! Not now, not ever!
Great Color!! |
Why color? Because we want to enjoy our summer. Color in the garden or in deck containers or pots by the door rightly give us a positive feeling of accomplishment. We can point to great flowers and say "I nurtured those plants; I helped them to flower! They belong to me and I belong to them!" What a great feeling! Our world is too black and white as it is! Go for some soul!
We firmly believe this will be the best gardening year EVER and what easy and better way to enjoy a vegetable garden than with flowers as well (and flowers help bees to pollinate those vegetables!). Dress up those shrubs and fill in around your perennials for just a few dollars. We spend a lot of time at our home; let's make home more bright and comfortable!
More GREAT color!!! |
*Want butterflies and hummingbirds? You can easily have them! We have dozens of flowering plants (big and small) that can be easily grown (hey check our Butterfly bushes!!).
*We have an incredible array of new hydrangeas that will give your garden season long blooming! What a way to define and highlight areas of your yard with blues, pinks, reds and creams! Oh my!
*Need a backdrop plant that can tolerate some moisture! The dappled willow should be for you! Click HERE to see!
*Ornamental grasses don't generally flower but the colors of the foliage can be riveting! Same for euonymous, japanese maples and other reliable shrubs.
*Blueberries give berries in the summer and gorgeous leaf colors in the fall.
*Annual flowering plants flower ALL summer and also for weeks and weeks in the fall. My favorites? Portulaca, gazania, cosmos, zinnia and marigolds for the sunny areas. Torenia, non stop begonias and any of about a dozen color choices of impatiens for the shady areas. These choices start at just $3.99!
*Perennials come up year after year and so many provide brilliant color for weeks and weeks! Monarda (particularly the red) bee balm, the Joe Pye plant, and Rudbeckia Black Eyed Susan are just 3 of many "Mike Must Haves!". For shade try reblooming tiarella, Ligularia or the brilliant foliage of brunera or bugbane (more Mike Must Haves!). We also feature pre-done shade or sun perennial designs by Chad Skillin our landscape designer. Our perennial plants start at just $4.99!
*Vegetables offer color: try some purple peppers, yellow summer squash, red lettuce, beans that flower nicely or sun gold tomatoes! I love to mix purple peppers (yes a deep purple) with yellow fun flowers like zinnias or marigold!
Garden Talks!!
It is dry out there! We have had a few rainy days but the rain we have received has been more than countered by warm temperatures and breezy days. Take extra time today in this nice weather to give your 2010 planted material a nice slow soaking as there is no consistent rain being forecast over the next few days. This would apply to vegetables, annuals, perennials, and certainly shrubs and trees! New outdoor plantings require at least two quality waterings per week. A steady rain of an hour or more qualifies as a quality watering. A "quality watering" is defined as a slow soaking of your plant's roots. This can be accomplished by letting water run slowly out of a watering can or the end of your hose into each plant's root system or by having a soaker hose at work for several hours twice a week. In "non soaker hose situations", pause on your watering if the water starts to run off; let the water soak in and then begin to water again. Repeat this process several times and move onto the next plant. For larger trees and shrubs (and if you do not have a soaker hose) merely set a hose against the tree or shrub for at least 15 to 20 minutes and let the water almost trickle into the ground and down into the plant's root system. Again if there is runoff, pause and let the water soak in.
Let us know if you have any watering questions!
*Slugs are out in abundance; living under larged leafed plants by day and chomping and tearing on fresh plants by night. Slugs can eat incredible amounts; your leaves will look torn. Slugs can easily be controlled by all natural Slug Magic (safe for pets and wildlife) sold right here at Skillin's.
*The neighborhood woodchucks are now out in abundance and those cute waddling woodchucks can devour a lot of freshly planted vegetables and flowers in your garden! Customer Nancy wrote the other day about woodchucks and here is how the conversation went:
Nancy asked:
" Do you have any ideas about getting rid of woodchucks/groundhogs and keeping them from cleaning out the young veggies and flowering plants?"
Here is my reply:
"Nancy, I have battled woodchucks with many methods over the years and most have not worked.
The method that HAS absolutely worked for me is a battery operated tube now called the Mole Mover (old name Go-Pher It). The Mole Mover is powered by 3 C batteries and emits a long beep every 28 seconds. The key is to know approximately (within 30 feet) where the woodchucks den is. Woodchucks typically live under sheds, decks, porches, croppings of stone, "other sides" of berms, someplace with a feel of shelter or protection.
They love to be in their dens so it is key to stick this tube in the ground as near (again within 30 feet) of their den as you can. After about a week of hearing this consistent beep every 28 seconds they and their family typically leave your area. If you are not sure of where they live, keep an eye on where they run to when you startle them above ground. They typically waddle straight for the den.
Other customers have their methods-fox urine, human hair in panty hose are two favorites. They may work for a time but I have found at the worst moment when the fox urine may be depleted or the hair scent is not there that they strike.
The tubes worked and are still working for me and for many other customers. I hope they work for you...let me know if you have any more gardening questions!"
It may be time to thin some seedlings started in your vegetable garden. Some of these seeds might be carrots, beets, radishes or even beans you may have started early. By the end of June, you may be able to harvest beets (they taste great when they are small). And those peas we talked about planting in mid April should be getting ready for harvest. My stomach is rumbling just thinking about it!
If you have not planted bean or corn seeds, sunflower seeds or squash or cuke seedlings do not despair! The soil is just warming up and anything planted now and for the next couple of weeks or so will catch up in no time!
This is a GREAT time to plant a crop of lettuce seedlings; plant this crop in a shadier setting (actual shady spot or underneath tomato or pole bean plants that will shade them). The hot summer sun tends to cause our little lettuce friends to wilt--they will grow great and taste better with quite a bit of shade! We have brand new lettuce seedlings now and will have another fresh crop in August!
It is just about time to cover your blueberry and dwarf cherry trees to protect the fruit from birds. We sell plastic netting at Skillin's that is perfect for the job! The mesh can last for years if stored over the winter in a dry place.
Many flowers of spring blooming perennials are passing by or are about to pass by. Take a few minutes to cut back these plants. In many cases (bachelor button, lupine to name a couple) a good sharp cutback will generate new growth from the plant and may well encourage some reblooming just a little later this season. In the case of lupine, a shorter lupine will give less of a home for pesky aphids that just love lupine as a summer home.
If your garden plants have not had a good feeding yet this Spring; it is far from too late. We generally recommend a good granular feeding of all natural Plant Tone by Espoma or Plant Booster Plus by Organica. These are great all purpose foods that will very much improve the quality of your soil!
Thanks for being a friend and a customer!
Mike Skillin
Let us know if you have any gardening questions!
Our store locations and contact information are as follows:
Skillin's Greenhouses, Brunswick, 422 Bath Road, Brunswick ME 04011 442-8111, 800-339-8111
Skillin's Greenhouses, Cumberland, 201 Gray Road, Cumberland ME 04021 829-5619, 800-348-8498
Skillin's Greenhouses, Falmouth, 89 Foreside Road, Falmouth ME 04105 781-3860, 800-244-3860
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