Okay, I admit it. I love my job! I get to buy a lot of fun stuff for us to offer to you. Besides buying for our Christmas Shop, I also buy for our Fairy Garden area.
This January, while in Atlanta shopping for Christmas, I happened to see the Melissa & Doug Showroom. As many of you know, I am the proud Oma (grandmother) of a 2 year old boy! Some of his very favorite toys I noticed come from Melissa & Doug. Of course, in I went and found they have a whole line of toys for outdoors, which they call "Sunny Patch!" Aaron's birthday was on St. Patrick's Day and I went a little overboard and picked up this great lawnmower and kick ball. (along with a few more things) Finally, on my "Thursdays with Aaron" last week (when I babysit), the weather was nice enough to head on outside! Oh, the fun we had! The laughter and the giggles never stopped. He was so excited to get out there and 'MOW' the lawn, and play kickball and catch. I had to share some of the photos I took that day. Oh--and that last one? Why he is my little tree hugger! Gotta start them young!
I hope with days getting nicer and nicer you too will have time to get outside and play with your kids, grandkids, nieces and nephews. Please share your photo memories with us at #behnkes or send me an email at [email protected].  Our Melissa & Doug Toys are only at our Beltsville location for now.

 

Bayberry with winter burn. Photo thanks to the Missouri Botanical Garden.

 

Winter damage appears as drying along the edges of the leaves, the entire leaf, the death of the younger shoots, or even the entire plant.

The damage occurs when the evergreen plant is losing water through its leaves faster than it can replace it from the soil. During the winter, this occurs when the weather is cold and windy, the ground is frozen, and the plant is unable to take up water. When the weather is warmer, the plant takes up water through the roots so that the leaves are better able to sustain water loss. If the soil is dry and the plant can't take up water during warmer periods, then the damage is more severe.  This past winter, it was so consistently cold for so long, that there wasn't much opportunity to rehydrate.  

How do you prevent  or reduce winter damage? Water broadleaved evergreens in the fall during dry spells, especially those that are newly-planted.  You may need to water once or twice during the winter when the ground is thawed, more regularly if the plants are in containers. Particularly sensitive plants such as camellias should be planted in sheltered locations, out of the wind.

During our open house, Rich Poulin from the Perennial Farm/Treadwells demonstrated the versatility of this great line of perennials.

"Treadwell Plants" is a brand of perennial ground covers which give the gardener relief from the boredom of lawns. Don't get me wrong: if you have large expanses of ground to cover, grass is great. But if you want something for the base of a mailbox or birdbath, between stepping stones, or along a garden path, then Treadwells are terrific. Most of them will take a bit of foot traffic, unless you go by the name of "Moose."

They are also great in containers for spreading or draping over the side, in outdoor Fairy Gardens, in vertical plantings, and on living roofs. There are Treadwells for sun or shade, and many are quite drought tolerant. What they all

Allan Armitage & Larry Hurley talk about Treadwells

have in common are: they are short, they are tough, and they grow well in our climate. The Perennial Farm, the Maryland nursery that produces Treadwells, worked with perennial expert Allan Armitage to fine tune the selection and provide great gardening information. Each pot has a label with a QR code unique to that variety of Treadwell: scan it with your smart phone, and it will take you to a short video by Dr. Armitage. Speaking of videos, check out this one.

Another great group of plants we offer is the STEPABLES� Collection. What are STEPABLES�, you ask? STEPABLES� are tough, earth-friendly, easy-to-maintain perennials that take foot traffic. These little green heroes can liberate your landscape from that not-so-green mower, cut down on the use of chemicals and create lovely beds of color! Plus, they're quick to foster friendly habitats for all kinds of great beneficial critters. Smaller carbon footprint, anyone?

For those of you looking for what is on sale (and really, who isn't), we have a weekly sales flyer that we hand out at both of our garden centers. You will find them in the mailbox by customer service in Beltsville and at the registers in Potomac. Our sales now go from Monday to Sunday, and while some sales last longer than a week we change our website to reflect the sales every Sunday night. Also you can download the sales flyer from our website. Just look on the left sidebar of our website's home page for 'Sales Flyer'. This E-Newsletter will of course mention a few of these sales: however; your best bet is to download it using the "Quick Links" you will find at the bottom of each E-Newsletter we send out.

 
We have a beautiful selection of Easter Flowers, Easter Lilies, Forced Hydrangeas, Indoor Azaleas, Tulips, Hyacinths, & Daffodils.

The Life of flowers