MILL CREEK  NURSERY  &  GARDEN  CENTER
 Summer 2006 NEWS

JULY & AUGUST 20% SUMMER MADNESS SALE!
 

Mill Creek is proud to announce the Summer Madness Sale happening during the months of July and August! This will present a great opportunity for our Newsletter customers to save even more on all their plant purchases - seven days a week! During this sale different items will be on special each day of the week. 20% off pricing will be in effect during weekdays (Monday thru Friday), and Saturday and Sunday will have unadvertised Surprise Specials. Listed below are the sales specials, by the days of the week:

These sales specials are for Newsletter Members ONLY! To take advantage of these savings Members must bring their copy of the Newsletter when coming to the Garden Center. These savings are good every time you come in, with your Newsletter in hand! Sales specials apply only to plant purchase costs and do not include any related delivery or installation costs, or other labor costs provided by Mill Creek Nursery & Garden Center. Specials apply only to above-ground plant material in the Garden Center sales yard.

Also, during the months of July and August, bring in this issue of the Newsletter to receive your free Perennial Surprise! Show us your copy of this Newsletter and get a free perennial! This is our own small way of thanking you for being a Newsletter customer here at Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center! (Limit: One free perennial per Newsletter address / household during this promotion.)

AQUATIC GARDENERS TAKE NOTE . . .

Our water garden plants have arrived! We have a very nice mix to choose from this year: Water Lilies, Water Hyacinths, Parrotsfeather, Variegated Sweet Flag, Marsh Marigolds, Pink Pickerel Weed, Bloody Dock, and much more!

Mike Greco has installed quite a number of ponds and natural waterfalls for customers in recent years. His clients have all been more than delighted with the finished product, once it's fully installed and planted up. The demonstration waterfall and pond installed at Mill Creek Nursery has helped many customers envision what results could be achieved in their own yards, at their homes. Michael custom designs the water features with the client's needs and personal lifestyles in mind.

In addition, he also provides maintenance service to customers who already have existing ponds that may need to be re-vitalized with new plantings in and\or around them. Or perhaps a client may just be too busy to properly maintain their own ponds with the difficult schedules their lives often demand. Mill Creek Nursery staff can provide these necessary services as well.

Stop out at Mill Creek at your earliest convenience, but shop now for the best plant selection. This year we have larger plant sizes available if you're going for that immediate, established effect. Come early, and start planting your pond now, so that you can enjoy it throughout the summer!

GARDENING QUESTIONS and ANSWERS

As horticultural enthusiasts agree, there's a lot more to gardening and proper plant care than meets the eye. As a person continues to learn more about plants they quickly come to realize that there's always room to learn even more. In this issue of the Newsletter we're going to cover some backyard basics, in the form of FAQ'S (frequently-asked-questions). Look at the questions and answers and see how they match up to your own plant knowledge. Maybe you know all this, but then again, you might be surprised to learn even more!

1. When should I prune my flowering shrubs?
   
   That depends on the type of shrub. The flower buds of many shrubs are grown and set in place, so- to-speak, on the previous year's growth. Plants like Lilacs, Viburnums, Rhododendrons and Witchhazels grow in this fashion. They produce flowers based on flower buds that the shrub put into place during last year's growing season. The best time to prune this type of shrub is right after they finish flowering during the current year. Each year these plants flower first, and then they begin to put on new growth and start growing flower buds in anticipation of the next year. These types of shrubs are referred to as blooming on old wood, or last year's growth. If a person prunes a plant like this in July, August, or any time thereafter, they are actually cutting off next years flower blossoms, a procedure generally undesirable to the plant's potential aesthetic beauty for next year.
   
   Other plants, such as most of the Spireas, most of the Hydrangeas, Summersweet, and flowering Hibiscus (Rose-of-Sharon) first begin their vegetative growth in the spring of each year, and then, secondly, begin to grow flower buds for the current year, and proceed to flower, all within the same year. These types of plants are referred to as flowering on the current year's growth. As regards pruning timing, these shrubs are more versatile. They may be pruned in the spring (April-early May) as new growth is just beginning, in late summer after they've finished flowering for the current year, or even in the late fall (November-December). Since these shrubs produce flowers on the developing growth of the current year, a person simply needs to know when each of these varieties flowers. Then be sure to avoid pruning them for 2 to 3 weeks before the expected bloom time. Let them provide you with their yearly flower display, and then, if need be, prune them after they've flowered.
    

2. Is soil preparation really necessary for Perennials?
   
   YES! A well thought out perennial bed planting can be a thing of beauty, lasting all summer long, with different flower shapes and colors coming into and going out of bloom. Good bed design provides an ever-changing pallet of colors and visual textures and points of interest. An attractive planting bed requires thinking, foresight, planning, a strong knowledge of the multitudinous varieties of perennials available, and the care each differing species requires for optimal performance.
   
   But before the first plant is ever set into place, soil preparation is mandatory. Even if Mother Nature has provided you with the best soil on her good, green earth, you still need to adjust the soil mix in different parts of the planting beds. Not all perennials are created equal, and not all plants have the same needs. Some plants, such as Peonies, require a rich humus, loamy soil content. Other plants such as Yarrow (Achillea) don't have such nutrient rich needs and can withstand a higher clay content soil. Hostas perform best in soil that is consistently moist, but not soggy, whereas plants in the Sedum family must have very well drained soil, and will rot in soil that is consistently wet.
   
   Preparing and adjusting the soil types and consistencies before the plants ever go into place is of the utmost importance. This is the prime opportunity to materially affect the health and longevity of your perennial bed planting. Once plants are installed into a perennial bed it becomes very time consuming and expensive to make alterations to the growing medium a plant requires.
   
   An old nurseryman's adage sums it up succinctly: "Don't stick a $50 plant in a $5 hole." You can have the best intentions, plants, and perennial bed designs, but if your soil is poor, impoverished and lacking what your perennials need, you're wasting your time and money. Take the time, spend the money, learn what soil requirements each of your perennials need and do it right the first time. Your perennials will thank you for it by flourishing for many years to come!
   
   In our next issue of the Mill Creek Newsletter we'll discuss the value of proper mulching (as well as some of the myths) and also the importance of correct watering, especially in years of low rainfall.
   
   

LANDSCAPE DESIGN CONSULTATION SERVICES

Thinking of re-doing a portion of the landscape in your yard, yet you don't want to go with "full blown" blueprints and the total costs and time associated with all that? Consider calling Mike Greco, owner of Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center as well as being the owner of Mike Greco Landscaping, Inc.

Michael has an actual license, granted by the state of Illinois, to be a registered Landscape Architect. That's totally different from someone calling themselves a landscape designer. My Aunt Martha and Uncle Fred are landscape designers. Anyone who wants to can assume that label for themselves, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they have the knowledge to start re-designing my backyard.

Mike Greco has over 15 years of experience as a Landscape Architect. He works with clients to provide on-site consultation, sketching or design analysis; everything from brief hand-drawn sketches, to complete master plan designs. On-site consultation calls are only $150, and all sketches, drawings, notes, etc. become the property of the Homeowner to use at their discretion in their own time frame.

Michael's passion for his natural walkways and patios, enhanced by artistic garden lighting, are often complimented by his naturalized ponds and water features. Before long an intimate retreat has been created solely to fit that customer's needs. His personal involvement with each customer thru the course of the design and implementation process results in very high levels of customer fulfillment.

One of the great benefits of working with Mike Greco is his ability to provide the customer the opportunity to personally select their own plants from his 50 acre nursery and garden center. This provides the customer the ability to stroll thru the peaceful, meandering pathways viewing a wide range of plant material.

Michael has already gone on numerous Consultation calls for many clients this year. To these people he extends his thanks, for allowing him to come into their yards, meeting with him, and allowing him a chance to provide many valuable insights to them. He has a very creative, astute and perceptive eye when it comes to customizing a landscape that bests reflects a Homeowner's style and needs. Call him at 847 - 838 - 0501, to discuss how he may be of service to you.

MAPLE TREE LORE . . .

The Maple tree has been used for many purposes. In the early 1970's a good many New England Maples crossed the Pacific Ocean in response to the Japanese bowling-alley boom. The trees that furnished lanes and pins for the neophyte bowlers of Tokyo were Sugar Maples (Acer saccharum). There are thirteen maple species native to the continent of North America, and some two hundred species in existence worldwide.

The early American colonists preferred using maple wood for small housewares: rolling pins, bread bowls, butter prints and molds, ladles, spoons, and chopping blocks. Quality cabinetmakers prized maple wood for constructing furniture, especially when building chairs.

What first leaps to my mind at the word "maple" is the thought of fall-colored leaves: the scarlets, crimsons, oranges, and yellows for which most displaced New Englander's grow homesick in the autumn. When talking about maple trees another wonderful thought comes to mind, and that's the sweet, slow moving syrup it produces. Probably one of the first "tappers" of maple trees were the Scirus carolinensis, the gray squirrel, whose ability to zero in on food supplies has confounded human observers for centuries.

All this being said, I patiently wait for the Sugar Maple to show off its riotous autumn display of colors in its foliage, and to taste the sweet sap that runs in the spring of each year.

For additional reading and credits, see Red Oaks & Black Birches by Rebecca Rupp.

NEWSLETTER MEMBERS
APPRECIATION PARTY !

During the month of September Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center will be hosting an invitation-only party for our Newsletter members which will be offering many one-time-only sales specials, as well as plant prizes to be awarded. Watch for details in the next issue of the Mill Creek Nursery Newsletter !