A 35-foot linden provides instant impact, even when planted in December.
Special delivery: A linden tree, weighing 15,000 pounds, 35 feet tall. |
It's hard to sell trees in the fall. Just ask a landscaper or anyone who works at a garden center. Customers seem to think fall planting is risky. After all, winter is coming. And planting in December? In Vermont? That seems even more foolish.
But it's not. To wit: Our Vermont garden center arranged delivery of a 15,000 lb., 35-foot linden, which was planted on Dec. 2 in Montpelier, VT. Brian Mitchell, who coordinated the delivery, says it's the largest tree we've ever brought in (from a grower in Massachusetts).
Why is it safe? Because the tree has already gone dormant for the winter. "In simple terms," Mitchell says, "the tree is asleep."
So, if you find a late-season bargain, it's not necessarily too late to plant. There are some things to be aware of, though:
The new linden, at home in the lineup. |
- Make sure the tree or shrub you've chosen a species that's known to be reliable in late-season plantings. The landscape company that planted our linden knows it to thrive—even when planted at this time of year in this area. Some species, such as birch and red maple, are better off when planted in spring.
- Make sure the root ball has been protected from freezing. This tree was in the ground up until two days before transplant, so it was well-protected. However, an exposed root ball is likely to suffer damage, especially if temperatures dip into the 20s and below.
- Make sure you can dig the hole, and that you have soil available for back-filling.
- Large specimens are best planted by professional landscapers, who have the equipment to handle the plant with care.
-David Grist
Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
Let the scents of summer take you back to the garden.
The rose harvest in a warehouse in Turkey. |
This time of year is always difficult for gardeners. The days grow short, the garden is covered with snow and winter settles in. It's too early to start seeds—the catalogs have only just begun arriving. What's more, it seems like you just finish lunch, and the sun starts going down.
Flowering houseplants and pots of forced bulbs are sure to lift the spirits, but there's another way to get relief: aromatherapy. The sense of smell is so powerful, it can take you back to the garden. Just a close your eyes and inhale.
We've always carried a line of aromatherapy products, but I've recently broadened my horizons with Know Your Source, a fellow Vermont-based company.
The goal at Know Your Source (KYS) is the same as the company name: to know where their products come from, how they are made and what makes them sustainable.
When browsing products on the site, you can get thorough details on each product and the people who make it. For instance, KYS offers an essential oil made from roses that comes from a company that sources oils from small-scale distillers around the world. The rose oil comes from Turkey, where it takes 60,000 roses to create a single ounce of the essential oil. One whiff is sure to take you back to the garden.
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As "green" products become more and more common, it's harder to tell what the term means. KYS provides plenty of specific information, making it easy for shoppers to make thoughtful choices. For instance, products are marked with icons for "sustainable", "handcrafted", "vegan", etc., but the company takes it a step further by explaining what is meant by the icons. Their definition of "sustainable" includes the following: "The designation indicates that the raw materials used in the product are from relatively sustainable sources … It’s all relative, of course. A hybrid car is better than a SUV but not as sustainable as a bicycle."
-David Grist
Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
Having a live tree requires extra effort, but the result can be rewarding.
 A live tree makes a lovely indoor display, but it requires a little extra effort.
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So, you want to have a live tree in your house for the holiday. It's a lovely idea, but you need to commit to ensuring the tree's survival after the tinsel is gone. A live tree cannot remain in the house for longer than a few days — any longer and the tree will break dormancy and is unlikely to survive. If you want an indoor tree that you can enjoy for a few weeks, choose a fresh-cut tree instead.
The key factors in choosing a live tree:
- Keep the time indoors short
- Be prepared for the tree's move outdoors
Ideally, the tree is indoors for just two or three days. Be ready to move the tree outside as soon as you can after your celebration. The most important chore is to keep the root ball from freezing. If you plan ahead, you can dig the hole while the ground is not frozen. Save some dirt for back-fill and put it in a place that won't freeze, such as a garage. If you've got a hole but no soil for back-fill, you can still move the tree into the hole and use bags of leaves or bark mulch to protect the root ball. Another option: buy several bags of soil and compost (unfrozen) from a garden center.
The goal is to protect the root ball from freezing — just as it is when it's in the ground. It's best to have a hole for your new tree; however, you can provide adequate protection by "planting" your tree (pot and all) in a mound of soil, straw and/or bulk mulch. When spring comes, you can move the tree to its final location.
Having a live tree requires a little extra effort, but the result can be a lasting addition to your landscape. For more detailed information, read Caring for a Live Christmas Tree.
-David Grist
Online Content Coordinator, Gardener's Supply
Desktop gardens make delightful gifts for office-mates.
Desktop gardens make delightful gifts for office-mates. |
Combining my passion for plants with a desire to craft some of my holiday gifts inspired me to make a set of “horticultural cocktails” for my work mates this year. For the containers, I paid a visit to ReCycle North, our local reuse and thrift store that’s filled with inexpensive household goods in need of new homes. A half-dozen martini and wine glasses and a couple of brandy snifters at 50 cents apiece filled the bill.
Each glass holds only about a cup of potting soil, so finding tiny plants can be a challenge. But, being a major plant geek, I had plenty to choose from in my light gardens at home. Some of the glasses hold tropical paradise themes and others lean toward the Southwest. Succulent plants with finely textured rosettes of leaves and fleshy blue-gray foliage fit the low-water tableau.
For the rainforest look, I chose newly started African violet plantlets with foliage the size of little-finger nails. Selaginella (spikemoss) thrives in moist soil. Some types vaguely resemble palm trees. Dwarf sedge (Acorus minima), tillandsia air plants, oak-leaf creeping fig, baby’s tears and dwarf ferns made good additions, too.
I look for suitable terrarium plants whenever I travel or visit local shops. My favorite web sources include Black Jungle Terrarium, Rob’s Violets, Tropiflora, and Logee’s Tropical Plants. The best terrarium plants have small foliage, fine texture, and grow slowly. Relatively low light requirements and ability to tolerate high humidity are bonuses, too.
Succulent plants, half-inch plastic lizards and a pebble-sized boulder set the scene in a southwest-themed martini terrarium. |
To assemble the terrariums, I put a tablespoonful or two of coarse gravel in the bottom of each glass, then added a cup or so of loose, crumbly Transplant Mix potting soil. It’s important that the soil holds plenty of air space so that the plant roots don’t sit in soggy, densely packed soil, which promotes root rot. I used the same mix for both tropical and arid-climate terrariums.
Personalize tiny terrariums with tropical-themed accents. |
A chopstick proved helpful for placing the plants and pushing their roots into the soil. Being a designer at heart, I made sure that each glass had a variety of textures, colors and shapes. As a final touch, I personalized the terrariums with tiny plastic and confetti critters, pebbles, driftwood, shells and sea glass.
Caring for the miniature habitats is simple. All they need are few tablespoons of water every couple of days and 8 to 10 hours of filtered light a day, such an east-facing window or bright office lighting. Fertilizing two to three times a year with a low-strength natural fertilizer, such as Terracycle Plant Food, is sufficient.
Happy, crafty holidays—and cheers!
-Ann Whitman
Horticulturist, Gardener's Supply
Rechargeable batteries are better for the planet — and less expensive in the long run.
Americans throw away 3 billion batteries a year. |
My parents and grandparents lived by the adage, “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Our generation’s version lacks the frugal connotation, but we reduce, reuse and recycle in their footsteps.
The recycling-to-trash ratio in my household is about 3:1 because we consider the environmental costs as well as the dollar price when we shop. I find it interesting and gratifying that the more sustainable choice is often less expensive in the long run. Batteries are a good example.
Our family goes through a lot of AA alkaline batteries. Smoke detectors, remote controls, wireless weather stations, clocks, computer keyboard and mouse, game devices, and flashlights all need routine battery replacement. They really add up, too; my wireless keyboard and mouse alone use 30 AA batteries per year. At Costco battery prices, that’s about $6.25 per year plus 30 batteries’ worth of chemicals, metal housing, and plastic packaging. When I consider the total number and impact of battery-operated devices in my house, the monetary and environmental bottom lines quickly start to climb.
Rechargeable alkaline batteries offer a new and more sustainable alternative to disposable alkaline batteries. Unlike rechargeable NiMH (nickel metal hydride) and NiCd (nickel cadmium) batteries, the new alkalines don’t contain toxic metals and they have a very long shelf life without losing power. The batteries hold their charge for years in storage, making them ideal for hard-to-reach and infrequently used devices, such as flashlights and remote weather stations. They can be recharged hundreds of times.
Obviously, the rechargeable alkaline batteries are better for the environment than disposables, but price is definitely a factor, especially since we need so many of them. So, I did the math. My keyboard/mouse combo burns through $1.25 worth of disposable batteries about every 10 weeks. That’s 150 throwaway batteries and more than $31 in five years. Six alkaline rechargeables, on the other hand, will set me back only $19.50 and will last the entire five years.
Rechargeable alkaline batteries are better for the planet and easier on my pocketbook. Sounds like a win-win to me.
-Ann Whitman
Staff Horticulturist, Gardener's Supply
Customers share opinions in online reviews—more than 18,000 online now!
Reviews are featured with each offer, right below the picture of the product. |
I agree that the best gardening advice comes "across the fence" from neighbors and fellow gardeners. If you want to grow potatoes in your back yard, who knows better than the guy next door who harvests them by the bushel every year?
The same can be said for gardening stuff, whether it's plants, tools or other products. I've always valued the opinion of other Gardener's Supply staffers when it comes time to purchasing one of our products. This fall, I bought a Deluxe Electric Leaf Shredder based on rave reviews from Leslie, one of my co-workers. She gave me the lowdown, and I knew it would do what I wanted.
In the same spirit of "across the fence" advice, we launched online reviews last summer, and it's been a big success. After an e-mail call for entries, we received more than 13,000 reviews within a few days. My shredder earned an avarage rating of 4.5 stars. So, when you look at a product in our online store, you can see what's being said by the folks who bought it—both good and bad. Mostly good, though: Our average rating is four stars (out of five)!
Reviews appear right on the product page. |
So, if you're about to buy, check out the new reviews. A Gardener's Supply employee-owner reads each review before it appears on our website, and our merchandising team studies the reviews to inform product enhancements or identify new items we should be carrying. Our customer service team reaches out to customers who noted product dissatisfaction in their review, but did not report the problem otherwise.
If you've bought something recently, share your thoughts in a review. We'd love to know what you think—and so would your fellow gardeners.
-David Grist,
Online Content Coordinator
Gardener's Supply
Some birds, especially those that mainly eat insects, simply aren’t interested in seeds.
Mockingbirds prefer suet to seeds. |
To entice the widest variety of birds to your feeding station, you’ve got to offer more than seeds. Some birds, especially those that mainly eat insects, simply aren’t interested in seeds. Discerning mockingbirds, bluebirds, and wrens will flock to suet, however.
Attract insect-eating woodpeckers with suet feeders. |
Birds that cling to tree trunks or hang upside-down while feeding also enjoy suet. These include woodpeckers, flickers, chickadees, titmice, nuthatches, warblers, juncos, kinglets and goldfinches. Larger bluebirds, robins, jays, starlings, orioles, catbirds, and cardinals also love suet if it’s offered in a feeder with a perch or on a platform.
So what is this highly desirable food? Suet is hard beef or mutton fat that’s found in the animals’ kidney area. It’s readily available in raw form in the meat case at the grocery store or butcher shop. Stores and catalogs that offer bird-feeding supplies sell processed or rendered suet , usually mixed with seeds. Rendered suet has a shelf life and remains solid at higher temperatures. It’s easy to make your own custom suet recipes. Here’s how:
1. Grind or finely chop raw beef suet. The butcher may grind it for you, if you ask.
2. Heat the ground suet slowly in a heavy pan until it’s melted. You may want to do this outdoors to keep the greasy smell out of your house, or run the exhaust fan over the stove.
3. Strain the liquid fat through cheesecloth to remove all the solid bits and then allow it to cool.
4. Melt and strain it a second time. This step hardens the suet to the right consistency and improves its shelf life.
5. Add seeds, cornmeal, oatmeal, peanut butter, or chopped dried fruit after the second melting as the fat begins to cool and solidify.
6. Fill muffin tins, tuna cans, or a loaf pan with the mixture, or roll it into balls. Line pans with plastic wrap to make removal and clean up easier. Insert wire or twine hangers before the suet hardens.
Choose a suet feeder that matches the preferences of the birds you want to attract. Small, clinging birds like suet feeders that are enclosed on all sides except the bottom. This type of feeder excludes starlings, jays, and other large greedy birds. For woodpeckers and nuthatches, drill holes in a short length of cedar post or other rough-surface log and fill the holes with rendered suet. You can also simply smear the suet directly on the bark of trees.
Birds aren’t the only creatures that love suet, however. Dogs, squirrels, bears, and raccoons can become a real nuisance. It’s important to hang suet out of the reach of dogs because they'll take off with the whole feeder. Use bird feeder baffles and barriers to keep squirrels and raccoons at bay. If bears frequent your neck of the woods, wait until they go into hibernation before putting out suet and take it down before they wake up in the spring.
For suet recipes, visit the Baltimore Bird Club, The Nutty Birdwatcher, or Sialis websites.
For more information on birds and birding and to join Project FeederWatch, visit the Cornell University website.
For more articles, see Attracting Bug Eating Birds and Choosing a Birdfeeder.
-Ann Whitman
Staff Horticulturist, Gardener's Supply
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