MILL CREEK NURSERY AND GARDEN CENTER
OCTOBER - NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER

It’s hard to believe it’s fall again. The calendar says so, but here we are experiencing our “Dog Days of summer” at long last. All the school-age kids are resentful of the weather - they should have had this back in August when they could still enjoy it! I don’t blame them in the least! Despite the somewhat convoluted weather patterns, it has still been a nice summer!

Now people are getting geared up for a change of seasons, with the usual expectations that fall brings: Crisp, cooler days and nights, changing color of the foliage on the trees, Halloween, and Thanksgiving in the not too distant future.

For those of us in tune with the great outdoors, we know there is still plenty of time to work in our yards. Autumn is here - Let’s get out and enjoy it while we can!

FABULOUS FALL COLORS !

Now is the time to get in on the fall color display right in your own yard! If it’s bright yellow fall foliage you’re after consider the thick, full Superform Norway Maples we have available in 3”, 3½”, and 4” caliper trunks.

If a fast growing shade tree with red and orange fall color is more to your liking, take a good look at the Autumn Blaze Maple. It’s breath taking in its vibrant foliage color display! With annual growth averaging 2’ or more every year, you’ll have a nice landscape tree in no time! A wide selection of 2 1/2” - 3 1/2” trees are available to select from!

Need a tree that colors up a rich burgundy-purple to offset some yellow fall color? Don’t miss out on getting a gorgeous Autumn Purple White Ash or Cimmaron Green Ash tree! They are available from 2” - 3½” caliper trunks.

All of these trees can be observed growing in our fields and can be hand-selected on the spot, when you find the tree that’s just right for you! Mill Creek is the only retail nursery in the area that can offer you this great opportunity!

FALL SALES TIME IS HERE !

During October and November Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center will have Sales Specials for NEWSLETTER MEMBERS ONLY, that you won’t want to miss:

• All shrubs in our Sales Yard will be discounted 20%, 7 days a week, until they’re gone! This special pricing excludes plants growing in the fields, and pertains ONLY to all existing shrub stock up in the Sales Yard.

• PERENNIAL PURCHASES: Buy 4 - Get the 5th one of equal or lesser value ABSOLUTELY FREE! This includes all perennials, in all pot sizes, in multiples of 4 each.

• Aboveground trees will be priced from $25 to $75 off, based on tree species, size, and quantity purchased.

Beginning October 1st we will be offering our Customers a selection of spring blooming Tulip and Daffodil bulbs for planting in their own yards.

Take advantage of all these great sales items! There’s still plenty of planting time left this fall!

MILL CREEK FIELD NOTES

We pride ourselves on the fact that the trees and shrubs we offer are grown here at the Nursery, in northern Illinois. This is a significant factor when you are making an investment in plants for your yard. Our plants have been grown in our local climate, so they are already used to our temperature extremes, both hot and cold.

Some plants at home improvement or discount “box” stores may be imported plants that have been grown elsewhere, such as the Carolinas’ or Kentucky or Tennessee. These plants are in for a rude awakening when they meet our winters. They may not die the first winter out, but undoubtedly there will be some dieback resulting in a stressed-out plant the following spring. After several winters like this, most likely the tree or shrub will die. Why roll the dice and take a chance at losing plants, time, and money, when making an investment in one’s own yard?

Our plants have also been grown in our fields where the clay content in the soil is rather high, just like the soil found in most of your yards. When stores import plants grown elsewhere there is often a problem with what is known as a soil interface. Basically, a plant may be used to growing in a much sandier, looser growing medium. Once they get planted into our high-clay-content soil they have great difficulty re-establishing themselves.

Suffice it to say that “you get what you pay for.” Acquainting yourself with some of the variables involved in purchasing healthy nursery plants that will flourish in your yard is very important. The plants grown in “our back yard” will have very little, if any problems growing in “your back yard” for years to come. We here at Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center will be happy to answer any questions you may have regarding selecting healthy plants for your landscape.

CONSULTATION SERVICES AVAILABLE

Do you need help with certain landscape design aspects of your yard? Not exactly sure how to go about tackling a particular planting and design feature? Don’t wish to spend $2,000 to $3,000, or more, for a “Master Plan” Blueprint?

Mike Greco, of Mike Greco Landscaping, Inc. offers Consultation Services to assist you in coming up with a design that fits your needs. With over 30 years of Landscape design and installation experience, Michael can guide you in coming up with decorative, low-maintenance solutions to your landscape needs.

With a minimal investment of only $100 per hour, Michael will come out to meet with you at your home, at your convenience, and discuss options for addressing your landscape requirements. He will review the area with you, alert you to potential drainage concerns, make recommendations for any needed soil amendments or alterations, and provide you with landscape design sketches for your intended project(s). All designs and field notes will be left with the Customer for their own use to implement in their own time frame.

The average Consultation design visit can usually be concluded in less than two hours time. With his expertise Michael can aid a homeowner in saving potentially hundreds of dollars, by coming up with a professional design which utilizes plants appropriate to individual settings and growing conditions. Give Michael a call at 847 - 855 - 0590 and set up an appointment with him today! The results will be a professional landscape, at a minimum investment - well worth the time and money!

WATER, WATER, AND WATER AGAIN !

This spring we received quite a bit of rain. The growing season started out nice with cooler temperatures and plants got off to a good start for the summer. However, the last 2 ½ months have been VERY dry, with insufficient rainfall. The forecasters are calling for an earlier Fall due to the dry conditions we are experiencing. If all these conditions persist, as they most likely will, the year will conclude with water tables at a low level going into the winter, and plants with insufficient moisture in the root-zone to adequately get them through to next spring.

SO - This means that it’s time once again to get out there with the hoses and keep up with the watering. Not only new trees or shrubs that you have installed this year, but things that may have been installed over the last 5 years or more, as well. Trees have been somewhat stressed for moisture as of late. Here at the Nursery we have been running our irrigation system for trees and shrubs for approximately the last six weeks.

Root growth on a plant will continue as long as the soil is 38 degrees Fahrenheit, or above. The rule of thumb is to water your trees and shrubs, especially the evergreens (Pines, Spruces, Yews, Boxwoods, Rhododendrons, etc.) right up until the time the ground freezes. This can happen anywhere between mid-December and mid-January.

Don’t over-water the plants, but do keep the soil moist. Now that the temperatures are slightly cooler, trees and shrubs are not growing as actively as they were during the hot summer months. Calculate that these woody plants should be receiving approximately ½” of rain / moisture per week and set your watering schedule accordingly.

FEATURE PLANTS OF THE MONTH

We have discussed this tree several times already, in several previous Newsletter issues. It is still one of the best as far as fast growing, low-maintenance, excellent fall coloring shade trees go. Some of the trees above ground here at the Nursery are already beginning to change color. The color ranges from shades of orange into nice, deep reds. Maturing at approximately 50’ tall by 40’ wide this tree has a lot going for it! Available from 2 ½” to 3 ½” caliper trunks, this is a definite “must have” tree! We currently have 4 of them available aboveground, in a 3” caliper trunk size, priced at $25.00 off the regular price, while they last!

This tree is excellent when used as a specimen or accent in the landscape. While it has enough visual “oomph” to stand alone as a potential majestic, classic specimen tree, it also works well as a green backdrop to other ornamental trees and colorful or sizeable shrubs that you may wish to plant in front of it. And with a fresh snowfall of 1” to 2” gracing its branches in winter it can be very photogenic and a visual plus to any landscape it is installed in. Additionally, it serves as a hiding place or protected location for birds and wildlife during the winter months.

Growing to anywhere between 50’ and 80’ in height by 20’ to 40’ in spread, a well-grown, mature White Pine is without equal among the firs, spruces, and other pines. We currently have 10 of these available in the 8’ to 9’ tall range at $25.00 off while they last! Don’t miss this opportunity!

This is not just your average ornamental crabapple. This is a Sargent form, which encompasses many of the dwarf type crabapple trees. It has a very horizontal, layered, stratified branching habit. Great profile tree in winter too!

It stays small in overall size maturing at approximately 6’ to 8’ in height, with a spread of only 8’ to 10’. Red flower buds open to ¾” single white flowers in the spring, followed by a small ¼” red ornamental fruit, as summer progresses into fall. Tina is highly resistant to many of the ailments that affect other crabapples. This tree has a wonderful, predictable and very easily contained growth habit. It’s great for under planting with annuals and perennials too!

Mill Creek has them growing in the fields at 1¾” to 2” caliper, single-stem form, with hundreds to choose from!

TREE PRUNING SERVICES – SIGN UP NOW !

Late fall and winter is the perfect time for pruning many trees and shrubs. We do the majority of our pruning here at the Nursery during the winter. We also offer pruning services to our Customers.

Trees and shrubs can develop bad branching and growth habits if they are not periodically pruned or trained to grow correctly. Often times shrubs can get away from you, growing MUCH LARGER than you ever expected or desired them to, at the time you initially planted them. As a result, even plants need a “haircut” from time to time!

We are starting to develop a schedule for winter pruning for a number of our customers. Please feel free to call us and we can discuss scheduling a time to come out to attend to your landscape’s pruning needs!

PONDS AND WATER FEATURES ACTIVITIES

Our crews have been busy this summer installing ponds and waterfalls for customers. The new pond and waterfall that was installed here at the Nursery, back in May, is doing just fine. Many of you have seen it and commented on how nice it is, during your visits here. As many have observed, a well-designed water feature can aesthetically add so much to any urban landscape setting.

For those of you who haven’t yet paid us a visit, this year, come to the Nursery and see for yourself how relaxing and peaceful the pond is. And remember, there is still plenty of time remaining for us to design and install a water feature for your yard this year!

THE MONTHS AHEAD . . .

This will be our last issue of the Mill Creek Nursery & Garden Center Newsletter for this year. We appreciate the input from our Customers regarding Newsletter content and questions they wanted addressed. We hope we’ve answered most of the questions and concerns. If not, please keep “talking” to us!

During the winter months ahead please keep an eye on our Website at www.millcreeknursery.com . We have plans to embellish and grow the site, and provide new information for our readers. During January we plan to post a list of the many new shrubs and perennials we will be growing during 2005, on our Website. We hope this will give many of you a jump-start to planning many of your plantings for next year. We anticipate our first issue of the 2005 Newsletter coming out in mid-March to April.

Although the physical Nursery and Garden Center itself will be closed during the winter months of December through February, we will be available to meet with Customers wishing to discuss landscape designs and plans for next spring. We may be reached at the Nursery’s telephone no. of 847-838-0501, or Mike Greco Landscaping, Inc. at 847-855-0590. Completing landscape designs and plans during the winter months insures that these Customers will be some of the very first people to have their landscapes attended to, once we open in the early spring.

THANKS FOR 2004 !

We would like to take the opportunity, in this final newsletter for this year, to thank all the Customers who have given us a chance to be of service to them during 2004. Thanks to you we grow, and are constantly making changes in our product, plant and service offerings to you, our Customers.

In 2005 we anticipate another year of growth as we continue to get more input and feedback from you. Changes in the Sales yard layout, its pathways and plant displays, as well as space allocations for growing more unique and unusual perennials and shrubs are all to be up and coming during this next year.

We want to make Mill Creek a more enjoyable place for you to come to and experience, while you browse through all sorts of interesting and unusual plants, perhaps even getting new ideas on how to improve your own back yard!

Thanks also to our customers who allowed us to come into their yards and install Ponds and Water features for them! It’s always an exciting design process working with Homeowners on a Water feature addition to the Landscape - it offers a totally new dimension and perspective to any landscape design, and is enjoyable for all involved! We look forward to providing these Water Feature Design Services for more of you during 2005!

Happy Holidays to all, and check us out at our Website this winter. We’ll be waving at you!

If you should have any questions regarding any of these topics, please feel free to stop in at Mill Creek Nursery and ask any of the Sales staff - they’ll be more than happy to help you. Also, please take a moment and stop by our Growing Tips page for more helpful information on plants & gardening.