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Winter Hours

Monday - Friday, 8 AM - 5 PM
Saturday  8 AM - 4 PM
Sunday   CLOSED UNTIL SPRING

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Lawn 

Lawn Care Guides

Weather Forecast

Forest, VA
Chance Rain Showers, Probability Of Precipitation: 80% Tomorrow: Chance Rain Showers
70°F | 41°F
Chance Rain Showers, Probability Of Precipitation: 40% Friday: Chance Rain Showers
63°F | 51°F
Mostly Sunny Saturday: Mostly Sunny
48°F | 30°F
A New Year

NEW ARRIVALS


Fruit Trees, Blueberries & Camellias

Pottery, Birdbaths, Statuary, Fountains


Come in and check out the Bird Supply Area


The End of One Year and the Beginning of a NEW Year!

The year is fast beginning to wind down.  Only a month left in 2011.  As the country music song says, “My how the time flies”.  For us, as a business, this has been a good year but not a great year.  In our case the weather has been more of a problem than has the economy.  Ten weeks in the spring accounts for 48% of our year’s business.  This year eight weekends out of the ten was cool, misty and just plain nasty.  Our sales were off by half during this period.  It took all year but we made up some of the loss.  We did not make up all of it.  With all that said we had a very good year and for that I am most appreciative.  We have much to be thankful for.

Now what will happen next year?  Who knows?  There are two big factors that we have no control over.  One is the weather and I have learned to let Mother Nature have her way and not worry about what she decides to send.  The other factor is the economy.  That is controlled by politicians who in many cases are just plain first class nuts.  I worry about what they will do.  I guess I don’t have any more control over what they do than I do over the weather but I still worry.

2012 has the potential to be a great year and we are making plans accordingly.  The demand for our products is there and people seem to be willing and in fact wanting to spend. Projects that have been put off for the last couple of years are ready to be implemented.  If we can get some favorable weather and above all some stability in the economy 2012 will be a great year.

 
Maintenance Tips for Winter

Gary's Lawn and Garden Maintenance Tips for Winter

Things are beginning to slow down now, but there is still work to be done to maintain a nice looking landscape.

  1. The fall has been so mild that a last mowing may still be in order.  You want to leave the lawn cut nice and even at a height of about 3 inches.
  2. If you are doing the 3 fall application program you still have plenty of time to do the last application.  If you have not put down any fertilizer you still have time to apply either 1 or 2 applications.
  3. Continue to keep leaves and debris out of your beds through the winter.  They are the perfect habitat for insects and disease to overwinter.
  4. As long as the soil is workable you can plant shrubs and trees.  Professional landscapers work all winter - weather permitting.
  5. Shrub pruning, mulching and liming can all be done anytime the weather permits over the winter.
  6. If you have a vegetable garden, I suggest you cut the dead vegetation and burn it.  Again, it is a perfect place for insects and disease to overwinter.  If you put it in a compost bed you are asking for trouble.
  7. Whether you rake, vacuum, mow or mulch, the important thing is to get those fallen leaves off the lawn as quickly as possible.
  8. Gather all your scattered garden tools in one place.  Wash all the dirt off, sharpen blades and spray with WD40.  This will prevent rust and the tools will be where you can find them and ready to go in the spring.
  9. Make compost.  Compost requires a carbon source (brown stuff) and a nitrogen source (green stuff).  The challenge is to have brown stuff and green stuff at the same time.  A good trick is to use rabbit pellet food as your nitrogen source (green stuff) and dead leaves as your carbon source.  Alternate dead leaves, rabbit food and water in a compost pile.  Table scraps can also be added to the pile.
  10. Clean your perennial beds.  Leave seed heads that might be appealing to birds at least until time for new growth.  Mound mulch or leaves around tender perennials to offer some winter protection.  Remove any weeds from beds and mark them so you can find them next spring.
  11. Read a good book on gardening in Central Virginia or take a class that might help you in 2012.
  12.  Last but not least plan for next year.  Design beds over the winter, jot down what needs changing in the landscape.   Now is the time to decide what you will plant in 2012.  Planning ahead will vastly improve the looks of what you do as well as save you money.
 

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Plant of the Week - Aloe Vera

Aloe Vera 


ALOE VERA

Grow these succulents in full sun to parital shade and in a well-drained soil.  These succulents are drought tolerant plants ONCE ESTABLISHED.  Sword shaped, often grayish-green, leaves grow in rosettas and are sometimes studded with white flecks.  Sharp teeth run up the edges of the leaves.

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