August Newsletter

Plant of the Month

Anemone x hybrida

Anemone x hybrida

We do not do many shade plants as the plant of the month but here is a real gem of a late summer blooming, long lived perennial for part shade. So many of the shade plants bloom in spring but this beauty starts showing color mid-July and goes into September. The dark green lobed leaves form an attractive clump with the flowering stems rising two to four feet above the foliage. Flowers can be white or shades of pink, single or doubles, depending on variety. The taller blooms often need staking.

Anemone x hybrida

Anemones are on the deer resistant list and are poisonous if ingested. They can be slow to establish but if conditions are right the can actually be invasive. Plant in good soil with plenty of moisture in morning sun or filtered shade. They are perfect with ferns and hostas.

August Specials

GreenAll Firmulch- Buy 3, get the 4th FREE

Plant of the Month- Anemone x hybrida- $2.00 OFF regular price of a one gallon pot.

Spring blooming shrubs- 30% OFF

• Lilacs
• Rhodies
• Camellias
• Azaleas
• Quince
• Snowball
• Forsythia
• Spireas

Ongoing:

• Buy 3 Roses or fruit trees and get a 4th FREE
• Fill-a-flat
• Baker’s Dozen

Subscriber Coupon for August
Get a third one for FREE when you purchase any 4” annuals (plants priced between $1.99 and $2.99) or 6 pack annuals (priced at $4.19)

August 2012 Newsletter

August already! How can that be? It seems like I was just getting the July newsletter out and here I am again. So far we have been lucky with the weather and although it is 100 degrees as I write this, all in all the summer has not been as hot as some.

Starting in August, Star Gardens will be open only 6 days a week and closed on Wednesdays. I hope this does not inconvenience any of you. We will still be watering first thing in the morning so if you can get us in a charitable mood or it is an emergency you could still get lucky early Wednesday. I for one am going on vacation in August which left only Debbie to man the show. One of our local residents, Alejandro, who has tons of nursery experience from Whiting Nursery will be filling in to give Deb some time off while I am gone. He is super nice and knowledgeable so I am confident I am leaving you and the nursery in good hands.

I stocked up on fertilizer for the July coupon but very few of you took advantage of it. I’m still encouraging you to feed and groom your roses and other fall and long blooming perennials if you want them to keep performing. Firmulch is still on special, if you buy 3 bags you get the 4th FREE. I received a call from someone who use to shop at Highlands. She was looking for Firmulch. She said she had tried other places in Lake County and no one had it. She said her garden is terrible this year because she could not find it, has always used it and has always had success.

I hope most of you are having good fruit set on your vegetables. I have not had as many complaints this year so either you have all been turned on to the calcium sprays, added calcium to your beds or it isn’t as bad a problem as last year. Maybe all the ants (and it seems like they have been particularly bad this year along with flour moths for me) have been pollinating our vegetables for us.

Speaking of where time goes, bulbs like saffron crocus and bearded iris arrive at the end of the month followed by more in September and a few in October. This is also the month to start thinking of the fall garden. It is time to start your broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage and the like from seed. Towards the end of the month and into September you can start your peas, beets, carrots and lettuce right in the ground. Did you leave space in your beds for fall? Are you sick of zucchini and ready to yank it? We have begun to think about it here and are getting a limited selection of cooler season starts in and will be doing a fall seed order in the next week or so.

The nursery still has plenty of selection and we are fast approaching prime planting time in Northern California. Check out this list of prime blooming plants for fall available now.

Happy Gardening,

Tanya