Landscaping Newsletter
and Garden Tips
July, 2016 Volume 141
A Personal Message
We have BIG news about our tick repellent contest. We gave away a FREE $500.00 tick repellent service on June 17th. The winner is Robyn Kealy of McDaniel, MD! We randomly selected her name from over 125 contest entries received during the past two months. |
| Most people said they heard about the contest through this sign in front of our offices
or on WCEI radio (96.7 FM). |
Congratulations to Robyn and thanks to everyone who was interested in the contest. We'll host another drawing again soon. Contests are interesting and fun for our staff. We really enjoy reading the entries. Some are funny. Others touch our hearts with their poignancy. So many people have fallen ill from tick bites. The tick repellent service is obviously beneficial to those who win. And everyone who receives this treatment may benefit from the reduced tick population on their proeperty. We're able to help protect people from tick bites...a very real threat here on the Eastern Shore. This spring's contest was one of the best received drawings we've ever had. In other news...
We were LATE LATE LATE planting our gardens this year. In fact, some of the usual routines didn't get done. The vegetable garden was hit the hardest. It was so rainy that we replanted green beans from seed 4 different times. They still didn't grow as they should. But, the containers fared better than most. And look at Melissa's new potting bench!
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| These herbs are resting on yet another potting bench in our yard. My Dad made these benches from old pallets he found. They're waist high, so no bending over! And yes, that's lettuce peeking out from the shade under the bench.
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Still, we miss the usual items we plant in our vegetable garden. Our Mammoth Sunflowers fell by the wayside. I'll miss seeing their huge round heads next month. So will our local bird population.
Tomatoes won't be available as early as usual. But, OH how the zucchini seem to love this rainy weather!
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In all my years of gardening, I've never seen zucchini blossoms this large. I've grown very large zucchinis before, but these blossoms are incredible!
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Here are the whopping heads of broccoli that seemed to have grown up overnight. We've had trouble with broccoli worms in the past, so we'll be very careful when picking these vegetables.
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Thanks for allowing me to share our fun times with you this month. Hope you're having a wonderful summer!
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July Garden Tips
* Summer is definitely here, and hopefully, your gardens are bursting with life. If you've been growing vegetables and fruit, then you'll probably start to harvest the first of your crops this month. Hooray for summer!
* Let's hope that you've also been enjoying cut flowers from your garden for some time. We researched the best way to keep flowers fresh. And, we found a doozy of a non-scientific test by FTD (the real flower people.)
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| | Here's a picture of the FTD bouquet they used for these tests. |
They started with five vases of the same FTD floral arrangement. In each vase, they put one FTD flower food packet along with 2 cups of lukewarm water.
Then, each vase received one of the treatments: Vodka, Sprite, Apple Cider Vinegar & Sugar, Aspirin or just the refrigerator.
The results are really fun and very interesting. Check out their blog at this link: https://www.ftd.com/blog/create/mythbusters-keep-flowers-fresh-longer
* A garden needs about one inch of rain or water each week. Early morning is the best time to water. Evening watering is less desirable because plant leaves that remain wet through the night are more susceptible to fungus diseases.
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| We found this picture on the internet and loved it because their technique is spot on.
The sprinkler for this formal garden is perfectly set.
This photo was taken around 7:30 AM,
which is the best time for watering landscape gardens. |
* Remove old flower heads from annual flowers to keep them blooming continuously through the summer.
* Give tomatoes extra support as their trusses grow heavier. Help reduce unnecessary stress and pinch out new growth as the season progresses.
Just look at this beautifully staked tomato. This is the stuff of my dreams. Unfortunately, I usually fall a little shy of this level of perfection.
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Stakes, cages, trellises and tables are some of the possible options when you're deciding whether a plant needs support or to go vertical.
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Tick Repellent Program
The tick repellent program I offer is extremely effective, affordable and may help prevent a tick-borne illness.
I know a lot about tick borne illnesses. My family and I have sustained several health issues as the result of tick bites.
Five years ago, my Dad contracted Lyme Disease. Dad is a retired tree surgeon. We worked together for many years and we know how to take care of ourselves outdoors. Checking yourself for ticks is a fact of life for people who work outside.
However, Dad missed one. The deer tick that bit him was so tiny that it must have been undetectable. And, they're everywhere in the state of Maryland.
Dad developed Lyme Disease that kept him in the hospital for 10 days. After his release, he was so frail that he was unable even sit up for more than an hour or so at a time.
I like to provide this type of background to let people know just how dangerous a tick bite can be. This area of the country is a breeding ground for ticks and tick-borne illnesses.
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| We're treating a property with a heavily wooded area here. We drift the spray back into the woods for maximum protection.
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| Bill will spray the entire lawn and all the landscape beds during this treatment. We don't leave any surface area untouched.
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Our tick repellent service was developed as a result of Dad's illness as well as problems I suffered as a result of bites.
I offer a guarantee with my service. If you find a tick on yourself or your pet, I will return and retreat the area where you found the tick AT NO CHARGE. You must allow me to treat your property twice a year for this guarantee to be in effect.
(And there's a $25.00 off coupon below!)
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