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Last Month's Newsletter
Visit Us At Our Website
Great information and our weekly ads are there!
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And A Gold Star Goes To...
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Bruce Kirkendall. Bruce was the first to submit the correct answer to our January Trivia Question: "U.S. production of asparagus is concentrated in what three states?" The correct answer is: "California, Michigan and Washington."
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Bruce won a $15.00 Wedel's gift card and you could too! Just be the first to respond with the correct answer to our monthly trivia question.
Congratulations, Bruce!!
(ed. note - We would like to ask contest winners to pick up prizes within 90 days to avoid forfeiture.)
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Join Wedel's new Green Thumb Club now! Click here for a brochure that explains what the club is about, how you can join and for a list of upcoming seminars and events at Wedel's. |
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February
Shopping List
Valentine's Day flowers
Garden seeds
Potting soil
Pots
Seed starting supplies
Firewood
Suet
Ice melter
Bird seed
Snow shovel
Gift certificate
Bird feeder
Gardening book
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A Thought
From the Garden
"Late February days;
and now, at last,
Might you have thought that
Winter's woe was past;
So fair the sky was
and so soft the air."
- William Morris
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Mom Tested And Approved
Perfect Cherry Pie
Once they taste this pie, you'll buy frozen cherries just to make it!
Pastry for 2-crust pie
3 c. pitted tart frozen cherries
1 c. tart cherry juice
3 tblsp. sugar
2 tblsp. quick-cooking tapioca
1 2/3 tblsp. cornstarch (5 tsp.)
1/8 tsp. almond extract
Thaw cherries until most of the free ice has disappeared. Drain off the juice; measure 1 c. juice and stir it into mixture of sugar, tapioca and cornstarch in saucepan. Heat rapidly until thickening is complete. Boiling is not necessary. Set aside to cool.
Add cherries and almond extract to cooled, thickened juice. Pour filling into pastry-lined 9" pie pan. Cut vents in top crust; cover pie, seal and flute edge.
Bake in hot oven (425 degrees) 30 to 35 minutes, or until nicely browned. For a brown undercrust, bake on lowest oven shelf.
Note: Proportions of sugar, tapioca and cornstarch are based on 5 parts cherries frozen with 1 part sugar.
Farm Journal's
Country Cookbook
Enjoy!
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Just for Grins...
and  Groans
Some people say "If you can't beat them, join them". I say "If you can't beat them, beat them" because they will be expecting you to join them so you will have the element of surprise.
Les Clueman
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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 - $5.00
- Loppers - $5.00
- Lawn mower blades - $6.00 (sorry, no reel mowers)
- Mulching mower blades - $6.00
- Hedge shears - $5.00
- Electric and cordless hedge shears - $10.00
- Hoes, shovels and trowels - $3.00
- Larger items - we will quote a price
(We don't sharpen chain saw blades.)
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Volume 8, Number 11 February 2016
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It's February.
Let's Get Started!
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(ed. note - The following is a message from George from a few years ago. Get inspired to begin gardening!)
February is the time to start slow growing flower and cool-season
vegetable seeds. The average date of the last frost in our area of Michigan is May 15. Counting back from there tells us it is about time to plant: Alyssum, Coleus, Impatiens, Lobelia, Pansy, Petunia, Poppy, Snapdragon and Sweet Pea. The vegetable seeds we can get started are: celery, leeks and onions. Going to have your own herb garden this year? Here are some things you can get a head start on: catnip, chamomile, chives, mint, oregano, parsley and thyme. Visit Wedel's to see this area's largest selection of fresh flower and vegetable seeds. We'll help get you off on the right foot, at the right time.
Wedel's has all of your seed starting supplies in stock including; flats, trays, heat mats, grow domes, seed starting soils, vermiculite, plastic and clay pots, peat pellets and fiber pots. It has been widely reported that spring fever has arrived in our area so come by the garden center where we have everything you need to treat it.
If you are thinking about growing your own produce this year but need a little encouragement, consider these facts. Fresh is best. Leafy vegetables can lose 30 to 60% of vitamins within 8 hours of harvest. Won't it be nice to enjoy fresh picked tomatoes that
taste like a tomato should and not like a pink tennis ball? Another reason to have a garden is your family's health; there's more to life than junk food! Gardens in small spaces can yield succulent, tasty produce AND gardening provides good exercise and fresh air.
Now is the time for deciduous tree and shrub dormant pruning. The keys to successful dormant pruning are:
Proper Timing
Correct Equipment for type of plant
Proven Methods that the pros use
Timing: Late winter and very early spring (before any new growth begins) is the ideal time. Without leaves the plant's branch structure is easier to observe. All deciduous plants can be pruned in February and March but keep in mind early spring bloomers like flowering crabapple and cherry trees, pruned now, will be less spectacular this spring. You will be rewarded with better tree form and more blooms in (2016). Early spring flowering shrubs like forsythia and lilac can be pruned later in the spring, after they bloom. Evergreens should be pruned in June.
Equipment: A razor tooth pruning saw is a must. I use a short 8" hand model and a pole type saw, a by-pass hand pruner and a by-pass, short handle lopper.
Methods: Before pruning begins, step back from each plant and visualize the desired shape you want your plant to look like after pruning. First remove internal, crossed, damaged and dead branches. Step back and again "size up" the shrub or tree. Then prune to the desired shape and size. I apply pruning sealer to all cuts larger than the width of my thumb. Some plants, such as Butterfly Bush (Buddleia), should be pruned back to live wood every year in late March. For more pruning information, visit with one of Wedel's ten Michigan Certified Nursery Specialists. Wedel's also sells about 10 titles of books on best pruning practices.
Spring is just around the corner and that means everyone at Wedel's is busy getting ready for it. Spring Expo is only about six weeks away! But don't wait until then to come by. It's always a pleasure to see our green-thumb friends.
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Wedel's Rose List
For 2016
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Roses are a flower gardener's favorite and, year after year, Wedel's offers a selection of the most beautiful varieties available anywhere. This year is certainly no different.
How about something quite different? Consider adding the Zephirine Drouhin to your garden. This is new to our list and is a large- flowered climbing rose, with the added benefit that it is thorn-less! The 4" blooms are deep rose-pink, with a strong damask fragrance.
Click here for the full list of roses you'll find at Wedel's this year.
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Forest Pansy Redbud
Cercis canadensis 'Forest Pansy'
Little is more welcomed in springtime than beautiful blossoms and  beautiful springtime blossoms is what you will have displayed in your landscape with this month's Garden Native. Forest Pansy Redbud (Cercis Canadensis 'Forest Pansy') produces rose-pink to purple blossoms held tightly along bare branches. Red to deep purple and green heart-shaped leaves, 4-8 inches in length and 2-4 inches in width, emerge from zigzagging branches by early summer. This deciduous tree can be used effectively as an anchor in an area with more delicate flowers and shrubs, as an eye-catching centerpiece among lower growing plantings and is spectacular in mass plantings. The attractive spring blooms and bold, colorful, coarse foliage will be sure to attract attention no matter its use.  The tree usually branches low on the trunk and could require some pruning at an early age to develop a strong structure by eliminating some of the larger branches. It has a somewhat irregular growth habit that forms into a rounded or vase shape as it matures. Click here for more information about a Garden Native that offers season-long beauty and interest and one that will help showcase your entire landscape.
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Mark Your Calendar
Wednesday, February 10
Ash Wednesday
Friday, Febuary 12
Lincoln's Birthday
Saturday, February 13
Brooks' Sport Card Show
9:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m.
Sunday, February 14
Valentine's Day
Monday, February 15
President's Day
Monday, February 22
Washington's Day
Monday, February 29
Leap Day
Thursday, March 17
Opening Night
Wedel's Spring Garden Expo
Friday, March 18
Wedel's Spring Garden Expo
10:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, March 19
Wedel's Spring Garden Expo
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
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Store Hours
Monday - Saturday 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Friday 9:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m. Closed Sundays Special Valentine's Day Hours
February 12 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m. February 13 8:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Celebrate Valentine's Day.
Order Valentine's Day flowers/arrangements.
Set out roosting pockets in trees or shrubs.
Have mower blades, pruners, loppers, hedge shears sharpened.
Have mower tuned up.
Begin planning this year's garden.
Plant cool season crops.
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Did You Know?
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3. Broccoli is technically a flower.
4. Dandelion leaves and flowers are a good source of iron, vitamin A and potassium.
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Save $5
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on your Valentine's Day
roses, orchid plants, mixed
bouquets or any Valentine's
flower of $40 or more at
Wedel's!
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Offer Expires: February 14, 2016
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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.
Listen for "Over the Garden Fence" to return
in spring, 2016! 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
The flowers of late winter and early spring occupy places in our hearts
well out of proportion to their size. ~Gertrude Smith Wister (1905-1999)
Happy February! Happy Valentine's Day! Spring's a comin'! We've had a mild winter so far and it might be a little hard to tell but have you noticed that spring's advance team has been in the area a time or two? There are tell-tale signs but you have to be aware to notice them; days with unusually mild temperatures, the times you glance to see if there might be snowdrops or a crocus beginning to appear and, probably subtlest of all, a very slight scent of spring in the air. They've all been here and will soon be escorting in all of the rest of spring!
Wasn't it nice to hear from George again in one of his archived articles!? He is here at the garden center every day as usual and, like the rest of us, is getting excited at the prospect of spring 2016 and a wonderful new growing season. And, like a lot of us, if not all of us, he is counting down the days to spring training and a new Detroit Tigers baseball season. There will be some changes this season and I have to say, this could be the year!
There are some exciting changes at Wedel's too! As promised, seeds for the new year arrived and are now on display (and on sale) and, more than once, I've taken a little time to look at all of the images on the packets. I'm not sure where all of the seed packets came from but I am sure everyone who handled them before they arrived here were infected with spring fever. As I'm sure you know, that's one of the most highly contagious diseases known and the only disease with such pleasant symptoms. I think I caught it around the second week in January and it has intensified since then. It is an occupational hazard of being at a garden center. (Hazard = Benefit)
Other exciting changes include all of the new displays we are planning and getting set up, not to mention all of the new products we've found for you. As always, we will have some brilliant new products and, right along with them, the tried and true products that were once new and have become trusted standbys. You can tell our sales floor, floral department and annuals and perennials greenhouse have an "under construction" appearance but don't let that stop you from coming by. You can still find the products you want and, who knows, you might even get a first peek at some of the new things.
Speaking of new, take a look at the new Wedel's Green Thumb Club. There's an announcement about it above and a link to the brochure that describes it and has a list of seminars and events that you might want to transfer to your gardening calendar. There is so much to see and do coming up and we want you to be a part of all of it!
Ready for another trivia question? Here we go! "A dish served 'A la Crecy' is garnished with what?" The first reader to respond with the correct answer will win a $15.00 Wedel's gift card. The gift card 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
"Come when the rains
Have glazed the snow and clothed the trees with ice,
While the slant sun of February pours
Into the bowers a flood of light. Approach!
The incrusted surface shall upbear thy steps
And the broad arching portals of the grove
Welcome thy entering."
- William Cullen Bryant, A Winter Piece
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