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M I L L C R E E
K N U R S E R Y &
G A R D E N C E N T E R
S U M M E R 2 0 0 5 N E W S L E T T E R
This year it seems our spring has gotten off to a very cool start, even by our regular spring standards. Should we be surprised? Considering we live in the Midwest, I suppose not.
And, as of late, we’ve finally gotten a little of those spring rains that Mother Nature promised us way back in April. Now we’re all waiting for summer to arrive and bring us the warmer temperatures that we dreamed about during those long, gloomy wintry days.
Summer is coming – we just have to sit tight and wait it out!
FUN SUMMER SALES SPECIALS !
Mill Creek Nursery would like
to help heat up your June and July with savings. We will be
featuring different daily sales specials, based upon the day of the
week. Bring along your copy of this newsletter to take advantage of
these specials. These summer savings are for newsletter members
only, and are not available to the general public.
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Mondays: |
Get 10%
off all Perennial purchases of $50 or
more! |
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Tuesdays: |
Get 10%
off all Shrub purchases of $75 or
more! |
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Wednesdays: |
Get 10%
off all Ornamental Tree purchases! |
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Thursdays: |
Get 10%
off all Shade Tree purchases! |
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Fridays: |
Get 10%
off all Groundcover purchases! |
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Saturdays: |
Spend $150 or more and
get a discount of $20! |
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Sundays |
Get 10%
off all Broadleaf Evergreen purchases
of
$75 or more! |
With these Summer Sales Specials you save money every day of the week! Who can beat that? Don’t miss this opportunity to stock up and save, while you’re dressing up the yard!
NEW TAGGING PROGRAM AT MILL CREEK
This year we
have some of the largest trees to offer our customers than we’ve
ever had available before. Many of our tree and shrub crops are
maturing and are now nice, good-sized trees at 3” to 4” in trunk
diameter. We also have many beautiful 12’ to 14’ evergreen Spruces
available at this time. Don’t wait too long to come in and make your
selections!
But – for those of you who may wait too long, or have landscaping
plans for the fall of the year, we now have a new alternative to
offer you. Starting in July we will be implementing a new program
that allows you to tag a tree or shrub of your own selection, in our
fields, for planting in the fall.
It’s simple – We will have many larger trees ready to be released
for fall digging. They can be tagged in July and August to hold them
for you, with a deposit of 50%. We will then call you when they are
ready to be safely dug, at which time the balance will need to be
paid, and we will dig your tree. Remember to cut out and bring along
your coupon (listed below) when you come to select your tree!
This option puts you, the Customer, in the driver’s seat. It works
to your advantage. Our larger trees quickly get sold to wholesale
customers and other contracting companies that install them in
municipal plantings, private schools and universities, and other
residential settings. By tagging them for yourself during July you
can reserve the larger, specimen trees for your home, and get a
prime selection from the thousands of trees we grow!
If a customer should change his/her mind and not want to purchase a
tree that they have previously tagged, there will be no refunds. A
credit memo, in the amount of the deposit, will be issued toward the
purchase of other plant material.
COUPON GOOD FOR $50.00 OFF THE
PURCHASE
PRICE OF ANY TREE PRICED
AT $350.00 OR MORE
FOR
MILL CREEK NURSERY TREE TAGGING PROGRAM
( MUST PRESENT COUPON - 1 PER ORDER ONLY )
Coupon honored from July 1st thru August 31st 2005
for selection of in-ground trees only.
Coupon honored July 1st thru July 31st 2005 for selection of above-ground trees only.
This offer good only to Mill Creek Newsletter members of record, at the time of mailing this newsletter.
AQUATIC PLANTS ABOUND !
The water plants have arrived and look great. We have at least
200 plants to choose from, and as a service to our customers, we can
place special orders for those of you with larger ponds. They are
all cared for in our water-display tray at the Garden Center. Our
previously planned Pond-less waterfall installation at the Nursery
has been delayed due to the need for a much larger outdoor area, and
is now scheduled to be installed in the fall.
PLANTS THAT ARE LOOKING GREAT !
Despite the discomfort we have experienced with such
a cool spring, the trees and shrubs have been enjoying the weather!
We have more trees, shrubs, and perennials available in our sales
yard than ever before! Here are some of the especially nice plants
we have available for you:
AUTUMN BLAZE MAPLES:
Big, beautiful 3” and larger diameter trees available. A tough, fast
growing,
medium-sized shade tree with superb fall color that can easily rival
a Sugar Maple.
TINA SARGENT CRABAPPLES:
This tree works very nicely in entryway and Patio gardens. With a
very horizontal, layered branching habit, it’s a gorgeous tree -
even in the winter when the tree has shed all its foliage. And with
the abundant white flowers in the spring – who could ask for more?
UPRIGHT CAPITATA YEWS:
These are very hard to come by, in this size! Nice, upright,
pyramidal shaped Yews, ranging in height from 6’ to 8’ tall. These
make excellent foundation plants, or a great evergreen hedge plant
for shady areas. You have to get one – they won’t last long!
CONTORTED FILBERT:
This shrub is a real eye-catcher! The canes and branches (and even
the leaves) on this plant are all twisted and contorted, and full of
character! Mill Creek has them ranging in size from 2’ to 5’ tall.
Plant one of these in your yard, and people can’t help but notice
it! A real conversation piece!
DEBORAH, SUPERFORM, AND
EMERALD LUSTRE NORWAY MAPLES: These have grown quite
a bit in the last 2 to 3 years. With trunk sizes of 3” to 4” and
larger, these will provide an excellent shade tree for your yard!
‘Deborah’ has a nice dark green to bronze-purple foliage color.
‘Superform’ and ‘Emerald Lustre’ have a nice green color during the
summer and a nice, clean, bright yellow fall color as well. Don’t
wait too long to make your selection! Buy one now and enjoy it all
summer long - and all fall too!
MORE FUN STUFF
I have always been attracted to Oak trees. For this
reason alone, Mill Creek Nursery
grows 8 different species of Oaks.
The bark of an Oak tree is a sort of “botanical armor plate” which
is a plus for a tree, protecting it from temperature extremes,
dehydration, and insect damage. Bark is formed by the vascular
cambium, a busy sheath of actively dividing cells that are
responsible for a tree’s annual increase in girth.
As a family, the Oaks evolved about 90 million years ago, probably
in Asia. According to HORTUS III, the ultimate in
botanical reference books, there are about 400 to 450 species of
Oaks worldwide, 68 being indigenous to North America.
The average mature Oak (50 to 75 years of age) produces
approximately 5,000 acorns annually, with a bumper crop every 3 to 4
years. Most Oaks begin producing acorns by about 10 years of age.
Acorns, like beechnuts, hazelnuts, and sweet chestnuts, are true
nuts.
Finally, one study, cited by Richard Ketchim in “The Secret
Life of the Forest” tracked the fates of some 15,000 acorns,
borne of one spectacularly prolific tree. Of these, 83% were eaten
by deer, squirrels, and other animals, 6% were attacked by weevils
and insect larvae, and about 10% were “naturally imperfect.” Less
than 1% actually sprouted, and of those that did, over half died as
seedlings.
Maybe that is why I find Oaks to be so special. The very few that do
manage to live, and become sizeable trees, had to fight long and
hard to get there, and in the end they do, indeed, become a thing of
beauty!
CONTRACTING DIVISION NEWS UPDATE
Our
Contracting division of Mill Creek Nursery has been very busy this
spring with pond installations, continued gardens from the previous
year’s work, and several new projects helping to meet our customer’s
specialized landscape needs.
“Year after year (30 of them so far) I get excited as I visit
customer sites for consultation and design work,” says
Michael
Greco, owner of Mill Creek Nursery
and Mike Greco Landscaping. “It
amazes me how I’m drawn to the surrounding landscape, and then I
make every effort to blend these features into a customer’s
property. Each visit has different challenges, and each household
has vast differences in their lifestyles, which dictates sizes of
patios, play areas, sensory gardens, etc. I would like to thank all
of the wonderful people that I’ve been associated with over the
years, helping me keep my creative juices flowing!
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.
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