Ladies' Night Out at Greenleaf Landscape and Gardens

As the men are gearing up for hunting season, the women are heading to Greenleaf Landscape and Gardens on Thursday, September 27th, from 6-10 p.m. for a night of fun and entertainment. An admission fee of $7.00 at the door will include an evening of wine tasting, food sampling, salon treatments, massage therapy, make-up artists, jewelry and accessories, local artists displaying many unique items for sale, and more.

Along with live music by a local musician, there will be attendance gifts for all those who come and chances to win door prizes. Join the fun and opportunity to participate in a variety of crafts being made that evening, with portions of money raised going to the National Breast Cancer Foundation. Greenleaf Landscape and Gardens is located on the corners of Highway 96 and PP or call 864-7778 for more details.

One of the great things about the fall season is that it presents the opportunity to enjoy the vivid color of chrysanthemums, helping gardeners to achieve four-season interest in their gardens. Chrysanthemum flowers are also a favorite of florists for arrangements, due to the longevity of their blooms.

Chrysanthemums were cultivated in China as a flowering herb as far back as the 15th century BC. The flower was introduced into Japan in the 8th century AD, and the Emperor adopted the flower as his official seal. Today there is still a "Festival of Happiness" in Japan celebrating the flower. Mums were brought to Europe in the 17th century and the rest of the world has enjoyed them ever since.

Modern chrysanthemums are much more showy than their wild relatives. The flowers occur in many flower forms, and can be daisy-like, decorative, pompons or buttons. Chrysanthemums come in a wide variety of colors, including white, off-white, yellow, gold, bronze, red, burgundy, pink, lavender and purple.

Chrysanthemum plants can grow to be 2-3 feet high, depending on the cultivar and growing conditions. There are "hardy mums" and "florist mums." Hardy mums put out stolons. Florist mums put out few or no stolons, which makes them less likely to over-winter in cold regions.

Mums look best planted in a mass--but for good health don't overcrowd them, since good air circulation reduces the chance of disease.

Plant chrysanthemum flowers in full sun and well-drained soil, enriched with a soil conditioner such as Waupaca Annual Prennial Mix. Chrysanthemums are "photoperiodic," meaning they bloom in response to the shorter days and longer nights experienced in fall. Therefore, do not plant chrysanthemum flowers near street lights or night lights: the artificial lighting may wreak havoc with the chrysanthemums' cycle.

We invite you to visit us and take some hardy mums home for your garden to brighten up your autumn garden. Chrysanthemums also make great housewarming gifts--and your friends will thank you for thinking about them. So remember, mum's the word!

Autumn is a good time to prepare your lawn for the year ahead, and the best time to tackle any long-term improvements. Tasks such as raking out lawn debris, eradicating moss, feeding, and aerating will improve the quality of your lawn greatly if carried out on a yearly basis.

Under some conditions, grass clippings and debris can form a thick "thatch" on the surface of your lawn. This affects growth of the grass and should be removed with a lawn rake. Raking also removes moss.

If grass growth is poor, aerate the lawn. You can do this by pushing the prongs of a fork about 15 cm (6 in) into the ground. Brush a soil improver into the holes made by the fork. Use sand or a mixture of fine soil and sand if the ground is poorly drained. Alternatively, use peat, a peat-substitute or very fine, well-rotted compost if the ground is sandy. Reseed as necessary with Spring Valley 12-12-20 with iron and minerals; fall is an excellent time for reseeding.

If your lawn is in poor condition and needs reviving, apply an autumn lawn feed. It is essential that you use one formulated for autumn use, as spring and summer feeds will contain too much nitrogen. If the grass contains a lot of moss, apply a moss killer. Use one recommended for autumn use; the mixture known as lawn sand, sometimes used to kill moss, contains too much nitrogen.

You can (and should) tidy an uneven edge whenever it's necessary, but doing a full job of it in autumn will relieve the pressure at busier times of the year. Hold a half-moon edger against a board held in position with your feet.

Fall is the time to plant spring blooming bulbs for that wonderful first show of spring that we all love! When you think of spring, daffodils (Narcissus) or maybe crocus come to mind, but there are many other bulbs for fall planting to bring gorgeous color to your spring garden. Some of these even have bloom times that extend into the early summer. These bulbs are originally from all parts of the world. Aren't we lucky that we can grow them here, too!

Preparing your soil for bulb planting is simple. Amend with a good planting mix like Green Select Peat Moss where you intend to plant your bulbs. As you dig each hole for the bulbs, add a bulb food like Bulb Booster. Each bulb, corm, rhizome or tuber requires a different planting depth. Follow the packaging instructions or ask one of us for help.

Following this preparation and giving your bulbs the sun/shade and watering that they require will bring you a vividly colorful spring garden.

Click here to see our gallery of some of our spring-blooming bulbs.

Garden club prepares for end of growing season

Closing out the garden for the year was the topic of the meeting at the Ready, Set, Grow Garden Club. Members shared advice on why it is important to cut back and clean up certain perennials, which ones to leave for winter interest, winterizing mums, and how to revive plants after a frost. Tips on various methods of protecting plants in winter, how to collect seeds from the garden, ways to clean and protect garden tools, and information on picking and using apples were discussed. Recipes were given out to help use up the vegetable garden harvest.

Plans for the garden club journal included Lori Kabat presenting different ideas for the cover, Jacki Fischer with the monthly calendar and journal lay out, and President Sue Resop collected information to include in the book. Fund raising ideas were discussed and plans are under way for the next meeting on October 18th.

Stephanie Van Vreede passed on the "visiting vase" to Andrea Benton and upcoming events at Greenleaf Landscape were announced. A spring bulb planting class is scheduled for Wednesday, October 10, at 7 p.m. and a bird feeding and suet making class will be held on Saturday, November 3rd, at 1 p.m. Call 864-7778 for reservations or sign up at Greenleaf Landscape and Gardens.

Holiday cacti are not hard to take care of, if you remember not to overwater them; getting them to bloom on time is a bit more complex.

Here's how to do it:
In order for these plants to form flower buds for holiday blooms, they need extended darkness for at least four weeks.

Place the plant in a dark room or keep it covered (under a box or bag works fine) for at least 12 hours a day.

When buds appear (it usually takes around four weeks), the darkening schedule can stop.

As the buds get larger, move the plant gradually to where it will be displayed for the holiday, avoiding extreme temperature or lighting changes.

Continue to water and feed while the plant is budding and blooming. Water only when the soil is completely dry--these plants do not like soggy roots.