Posts Tagged ‘Lawn and Garden’
Come Get the Blissful Summer Blues!
Friday, July 8th, 2011
We are trying to think “cool” here at the nursery as we transition into the crazy heat, so we have put all of our favorite “blue” flowering perennials on sale this week for you to enjoy.
Are you never sure of which blue or purple is you? Well now is the time to try them all! At 50% Off, you can’t go wrong (until 7/15/11).
Artists and gardeners use blue to show perspective. Blue gives a feeling of distance. It allows us to look beyond and increase our perspective outward. Plants that have blue, violet or lilac flowers are said to be soothing on the eye and hence the soul.
Blue Energy: Blue is considered beneficial to the mind and body. It slows human metabolism thus producing tranquility and calmness. It symbolizes trust, loyalty, confidence & wisdom.
Put some blue in your life when you want:
- calm and relaxation to counteract chaos
- to open the flow of communication
- to broaden your perspective in learning
- solitude and peace
Come visit for the cure of the summertime blues!
planting for the future.
-By Maggie Oldfield Thayer Nursery
Frantic About Fungus?
Friday, July 1st, 2011
Is There A Fungus Among Us?
The roller coaster weather pattern we experienced this spring switched back to prolonged wet and chilly weather last week. While the moisture was needed as soils were quite dry, the constant wetness creates ideal conditions for disease causing organisms. Disease causing organisms are natural inhabitants of the soil and infect grass plants when the environmental conditions are favorable or the plants become weakened by poor growing conditions. The pathogen is favored by warm, humid weather, wet or compacted soil, drought stress, and low mowing heights.
The spores of these parasitic forms of plant life are spread by wind, air, water, animals, people, insects and mowing.
Important steps to manage plant diseases include proper soil preparation, proper selection of grass seed including ones with a natural genetic resistance to diseases, and application of proper cultural practices.
If you have a fungus, spraying now with Dr. Earth Natural & Organic Fungicide effectively combats a broad spectrum of fungal diseases found in your lawn, on your vegetables, flowers & shrubs. Dr. Earth can be used both as a foliar spray for your plants or a soil drench for your lawn & trees.
Once you have sprayed the fungicide, you should then fertilize your lawn & your plants with Fire Belly Bio-Blast to reintroduce beneficial mycorrhizal fungi.
Healthy soils that have the ability to fight off disease causing pathogens increase the chances of plant survival and thus control the pathogens so they will not multiply in great numbers. Beneficial microbes fill up the available spaces in the soil so that pathogens cannot become established and destroy healthy plants.
Most lawns recover with changes in environmental conditions and proper cultural practices. For severe cases due to poor soil, poor grass selection, or excessive thatch, the best solution may be renovation. Please give us a call with any questions or to schedule a courtesy consultation for a lawn renovation.
planting for the future.
-By Maggie Oldfield Thayer Nursery
Fall Fashion Plants at Thayer Nursery
Saturday, September 18th, 2010
Starting September 24th and going through October 1st, ‘Boston Fashion Week has served as a fertile proving ground for fashion talents and now is the ideal time of year for locals to explore new ideas and express themselves.’
This season, the Thayer Nursery Fall 2010 collections include:
Conservative Glamour: ‘return to quality and classic style- that have real staying power. streamlined simplicity in a muted color palette.’
Echinacea ‘summer skies’, Pennisetum ‘karly rose’ &
Heuchera ‘marmalade’
Eccentric Ladylike: ‘not afraid of color — lots of bold ones paired together in seemingly off combos that as a whole work wonderfully. quirky combinations with mixed prints. mixing of patterns …and pulling together disparate motifs. A perennial muse who, even in the most minimal of moments, pops up somewhere unexpectedly.
Rudbekia ‘indian summer’, Aster ‘henry 1’ & Dryopteris ‘autumn’
Bohemian Rhapsody: ‘like a posh Stevie Nicks minus the frayed edges. flowy, flowery frocks. an artier take on boho with tons of froth, frills, layers and anything that will flutter in a light breeze.’
Buddleia ‘pink delight’, Hibiscus ‘brandy punch’, Lavender ‘munstead’ & the fairy Rose
Urban Warrior: ‘prefers minimal to more, and who definitely loves a little luxe.’
Pennisetum ‘maudry’, Heuchera ‘Beaujolais’ & Echinacea ‘fatal attraction’
stop by and check out our Newest Arrivals and
make your garden one of this falls Best Dressed.
53,600,000 results for organic gardening
Wednesday, August 18th, 2010
Just now, when we googled “organic gardening”, there were 53, 600,000 results!
We think there is an easier way: Dr. Earth. Go straight to Dr. Earth. Do not pass go, do not take any detours.
This company, founded 17 years ago by plant biology expert, Milo Shammas, is the best source, we feel, for knowledge, products, and inspiration. You will discover the root of organic integrity and along the way, the best garden of your life.
The Dr. Earth products are the very first to combine beneficial living soil organisms, (microbes), with organic fertilizers, to create a bio-technical breakthrough that is revolutionizing the gardening and landscape industries.
At Thayer Nursery Landscaping and Garden Center, we’re proud to offer the Dr. Earth line of products.
Most Un-Wanted: Cedar–Apple Rust
Sunday, August 8th, 2010
Wanted For: defoliating apple leaves & for just being gross!!
Description: bright yellow-orange-red spots on apple leaves and orange galls with ‘horns’
Hangout: juniper (eastern red cedar) & apple trees including crabapples
Kryptonite: Lime –Sulfur Spray, Home Orchard Spray
The fungus that causes this disease moves back-and-forth between Eastern red cedars (actually junipers) and both fruiting & ornamental apple trees. In order to complete its life cycle this fungus must spend part of its life on both. Therefore, it is possible to eliminate the disease by eliminating the cedars within the given area of the apple tree. However, the spores can be wind borne up to 2-3 miles, so eradication of the disease is often impossible or impractical. Nonetheless, if cedars are not too numerous on your property, the removal of junipers around the immediate apple tree can certainly reduce the spores reaching the apple foliage & fruit.
The spores drift through the air mostly at night and early morning. If it lands on the apple’s leaves & fruit and remains wet for 4-6 hours, the spores infect the leaves of the apple tree. After several weeks, yellow spots develop on the infected apple leaves and fruit. By mid-summer the spots appear slightly raised and light-colored & are visible on the underside of the leaf. Spores are released and the wind carries them to nearby junipers. Infected juniper needles and twigs show no symptoms of infection initially. Inspect them closely the next spring for small, green swellings (immature galls). The galls reach full size by the end of the next growing season but do not mature and develop the orange gelatinous tendrils until the following spring (about 20 months after infection.) This bizarre-looking structure is actually the fruiting stage of the fungus. The “horns” release the spores that infect the apple trees.
Many sulfur fungicides are effective against rust. Begin spraying in spring and repeat throughout the summer as needed. Spraying the juniper is not recommended because cedar-apple rust rarely causes significant damage to this host. Prune dormant galls from juniper during the fall, winter and early spring before the orange tendrils begin to erupt from galls.
planting for the future.
-By Maggie Oldfield Thayer Nursery