• 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.
• We will continue to offer our daily sales specials to our Newsletter Customers.
• FLOWERING SHRUB SALE DISCOUNT: During SEPTEMBER, ON WEEKENDS ONLY - When purchasing 5 or more flowering shrubs, of like kind, each shrub will be discounted by $5.00 each!

FLOWERING SHRUBS - SO MUCH MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE !

Mill Creek has many interesting and unique flowering shrubs to choose from when you are planning the fall plantings for your yard. Consider Myrica pennsylvanica, commonly known as the Northern Bayberry. It‘s attractively semi-evergreen in its foliage habit. Its fruit, Bayberries, are the actual source for the essences used in candle making and potpourri mixes.

Or take a look at Calycanthus floridus, commonly known as Sweetshrub or Carolina Allspice. Its dark red perfumed flowers appear in early June with a fragrance reminiscent of a blend of ripening melons, strawberries, pineapples, and bananas. Along with a good yellow fall color this plant is truly an old-fashioned heirloom variety.

A newer introduction, Physocarpus opulifolius ‘Diabolo,’ commonly known as Diabolo Ninebark has very striking dark purple foliage. An excellent alternative to the over-utilized purpleleaf Sandcherry, it has a nice upright growth habit with off-white flowers in June, followed by a dark red berry set in later summer. Along with exfoliating, peeling bark to add a spark of winter interest in the landscape, this is a definite contender for any sunny space!

Do you enjoy a nice naturalized, peaceful country feel in your landscape? Then you might want to incorporate the Salix purpurea ‘Nana’ commonly known as the dwarf Arctic blueleaf or purpleosier Willow. With its narrow, silvery-blue leaves on fine wispy stems, and a gentle breeze blowing around it, this native shrub is very relaxing to just sit back and enjoy, almost hypnotically, like an ornamental grass blowing in the breeze.

Having trouble finding a shrub to grow in that steep bank in the front of your yard, by the culvert? Consider trying Rhus aromatica ‘Gro-Low’ commonly known as Gro-Low Sumac. This unassuming, low-growing, spreading shrub is commonly planted on steep hillsides where erosion can be a problem. It is extremely adaptable to varied, poor soil conditions and withstands sun or shade. When grown in full sun it changes to a nice orange-red fall color.

Want something for winter interest? Look at Ilex verticillata ‘Red Sprite’ commonly known as Red Sprite Winterberry Holly. A small, deciduous member of the Holly family, its red fruits stand out vividly against new fallen snow!

Going after a hedge effect? You might want to try Viburnum dentatum ‘Autumn Jazz’ also known as Arrowwood Viburnum. It colors up nicely in full, fall sun, but also tolerates in excess of 50% shade, and still looks great!

Whatever your choice, Mill Creek Nursery has all these and so many, many more interesting shrubs to brighten up and add year-round interest to your yard. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination!

COLORFUL & CLASSY SHADE TREES

Are you finally ready to take the plunge and add a nice shade tree to the yard? Mill Creek Nursery has trees for both the Tree Connoisseur and the average landscape. Due to all the rain we’ve received this summer, as well as the slightly cooler growing conditions, the trees are looking fantastic!

The scope of our fall offerings for your yard is diverse. Our Superform Norway Maples have filled out nicely and will be available at 3” caliper. The Autumn Blaze Freeman Maple have nice, full, lush green heads on them and will be available in 2 ½” and 3” sizes - Just wait until they start up their fall color display - you’ll have to get one!

For the Tree Connoisseur at heart, come take a look at our Turkish Filberts and our Kentucky Coffeetrees’. The branching and bark habit on both of these trees is so very pronounced and visually tactile; definitely specimen, showpiece choices! These are available in 3 ½” and 3” caliper sizes, respectively. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to check in on the Hackberry trees too!

Each fall, in the canopy of trees, the landscape is draped in burgundy and purple colorings, and most likely what you’ve seen (whether you knew it or not) is the Autumn Purple White Ash, showing off amidst it boring yellow “neighbors.” A strong, large shade tree, its glossy dark green foliage looks just as nice during the rest of the growing season. We will have 2” caliper up to 3.5” caliper trees available for your selection.

All of these trees, and many more too numerous to mention, may be personally selected in our fields. Come out and claim one for your own yard!

CONIFERS - NO YARD IS COMPLETE WITHOUT THEM !

Deciduous shade trees and some of the ornamental trees can offer wonderful fall color that, as the saying goes ‘Can knock your socks off !’ But, during the gray, overcast cold days of winter nothing can be prettier than a nice big, fat, full Evergreen, with a light, fresh coat of snow! And when you see the Cardinals, Blue Jays, Finches, and Sparrows going into the inner branches of the evergreen to escape winter’s chills, then you know for certain that you definitely did choose the right tree to plant in your yard!

Evergreens, in one form or another, are something that no yard is complete without. For obvious winter interest purposes in the landscape, or as a shelter for different forms of wildlife, or even to act as a windbreak to keep the snow from drifting across your driveway, there are MANY reasons to include them in your yard!

To that end, Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center is proud to be offering the following this fall:

• Colorado Blue and Green Spruce - starting at 8’
• Eastern White Pine - starting at 9’
• Scotch Pine - starting at 7’
• Austrian Pine - starting at 6’

At present we do have some sizeable Colorado Spruce, 1 or 2 large Eastern White Pine, and a nice selection of Scotch and Austrian Pines. Once the weather cools down we will be digging more of these.

Currently, we also have 4 different varieties of Arborvitae available, ranging from 4’ to 10’ in height. We also have a few nice, upright Capitata Yews ready-to-go, as well as many Boxwood and different forms of Yews and Junipers.

If you find your yard to be wanting, when it comes to all the benefits that Evergreens have to offer, now’s the time to start making plans. Stop out and discuss it with us, and see what Mill Creek Nursery has to offer your yard!

PERENNIAL COMPANION PLANTS - MIX & MATCH !

How to go about designing a nice perennial planting is a mystery to many people. There are many variables to consider when you’re in the design process. For now, let’s discuss the concept of "Companion plants.”

Companion plants are plants that accent or visually work well off of each other, even when they’re not in bloom. The logic behind this expression is that there are many different Visual Textures in plants.

Some have 1) broad, expansive foliage such as the Gingers, the Hosta family, or the Ligularias. A different group of plants are those with 2) fine, lacy foliage such as ferns, Bleeding Hearts, Russian Sage, some of the Meadow Rues, or many of the Astilbes. Others, such as the ornamental grasses, daylilies, and Liriopes have a 3) very vertical, blade-like narrow foliage form to them. Another class yet would be 4) those with variegated foliage such as the Pulmonarias and many of the Heucheras, or Coralbells as they’re more commonly known. One further analytical way to subdivide plants is by the Physical Texture of the foliage - Those with 5) smooth, glossy leaves, versus those with 6) pubescent or fuzzy, hair-like covered foliage.

By mixing and matching these similar and different physical and visual forms, the solid with the variegated, or the broad and wide foliage-type set opposite a plant with fine delicate foliage, one creates “companion plant” combinations. They offset each other’s textures very nicely and add more detail and interest to a planting. Examples of companion plantings might include some of the following:

Example no. 1 - For Shade:

Mixing 2 or more Hosta varieties (big bold leaf types) with a purple-leafed type of Ligularia, and just for a contrast, consider adding a variegated-leaf type (green and white) of Pulmonaria with them.

The Hosta and Ligularia varieties have smooth foliage, while the Pulmonaria is pubescent, or fuzzy. The purple foliage on the Ligularia would contrast or nicely compliment both the Hosta and or the variegated foliage of the Pulmonaria.

Not only do the plants complement and contrast nicely with each other, but in this particular scenario, you also wind up with plants of varying heights - another perennial planting design concept. The Ligularia would be the tallest at around 3 feet in the back of the planting space, next the Hosta ranging anywhere from 18” to 30” as a mid-bed plant, and for the front the Pulmonaria would be somewhere between 10” and 16” high.

Example no. 2 - For Sun:

Planting Stella D’Oro daylilies along with some “Sunny Border Blue” Veronica as well as incorporating some taller Sedum such as “Brilliant” or the ever-popular “Autumn Joy”.

Here you have three different foliage types: the vertical, glossy daylily blade-like leaves perhaps in the front of the planting bed, with the glossy, slightly undulating leaves and upright bushy habit of the Veronica, finishing with the thick, fleshy, succulent-type gray-green foliage of the Sedum in the back of the planting bed.

Again, you have varying plant heights, as well as different blooming times, with flower colors that will complement each other, to the degree that the bloom times overlap. The colors of the foliage are in differing shades of green. The foliage textures, both visual and physical, provide interest and detail, to the eye and to the touch.

This has been a very brief overview of some of the variables and concepts to consider when you are trying to come up with combinations or companion plants to put in your own perennial bed plantings. If you’re still having a hard time coming up with plant combinations, feel free to stop in at Mill Creek Nursery and talk to our Nursery Manager, David Sheppard, or Mike Greco, our Owner and a licensed Landscape Architect for design consultation and installation service information.

THINGS TO DO IN YOUR YARD DURING AUGUST AND SEPTEMBER

LAWN CARE: August is typically a hot month during which most lawn grasses go dormant. If you stop watering the lawn, it may go dormant altogether. As a result, you can ease up on the frequency of cutting it, and give yourself a brief rest too.

Once the weather cools down and the fall rains begin the grass will begin to grow again. Annual weed seeds are no longer sprouting and burning sun is no longer such a threat. You may even wish to consider lowering the lawnmower blade a notch or two; it will be much easier to rake leaves off shorter grass as the fall wears on.

TRIMMING DECIDUOUS SHRUBS: In late August to early September you can give a final trimming to most deciduous hedge plants and they’ll be all set until next spring. Prunings of the past spring and summer will have produced a rich flush of new growth from the sides of cut stems and twigs, but at this time the plants have pretty much finished growing for the year. This would be a good opportunity to do some final ”shape pruning” before the cold weather officially sets in.

You may also wish to look at your other deciduous trees and shrubs and remove any cross-branching growth, where two or more canes are conflicting with each other, being in direct contact and rubbing against one another. On occasion you may notice a branch growing off a cane and growing totally across the plant, either horizontally or at a strong upward angle, attempting to grow out the other side or aiming for the upper regions of the shrub. Branches such as this are not exhibiting good structural growth and should also be removed. Also consider some selective pruning, attempting to remove old over-grown canes or perhaps any branches that grow in towards the center of the shrub. Good structural branching of a tree or shrub should always allow ample spacing between the primary and secondary branches and ample room for future growth.

NURSERY TOURS STARTING IN LATE AUGUST

Starting on Saturday, August 30th, and for each Saturday thereafter during September and into October, Mill Creek Nursery and Garden Center will be offering 2 separate tours.

The 1st tour will begin at 10:00 A.M. sharp, and will last for approximately one hour. The Owner of Mill Creek Nursery, Mike Greco, will present this portion. Mr. Greco is an Illinois licensed and registered Landscape Architect and has been doing Residential Landscape design and installation for over 25 years. Each Saturday he will be presenting and discussing different shade and ornamental trees and flowering shrubs for use in residential landscape settings.

The 2nd tour of the day will begin at 1:00 P.M. sharp, and will also last for approximately one hour. Mill Creek’s Nursery Manager, David Sheppard, will present this portion. David has been in the retail end of the Nursery and Garden Center business for almost 10 years now. His tour will cover the perennial plants grown at Mill Creek and he will be presenting and discussing some of his favorite herbaceous plants for use in residential gardens.

These two inservices will be very beneficial to those in attendance. Insightful planting, maintenance, and pruning tips will be offered as well as discussing the importance of using the right plant for the right location in your yard. Please feel free to call the Nursery at 847 - 838 - 0501 for any questions you may have regarding these upcoming events.

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.