Grow-How Blog - Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

Straw Bale Gardening

Garden Center, Vegetable Gardening No Responses »

May 102013

Barbara Whipple, Dundee Horticulturist

Straw bale gardening has been around for a long time, but has recently been rediscovered. I used straw bales to grow potatoes, hoping to fool the Colorado Potato Beetle, way back in the ‘70’s. It worked very well for a few years.

Today what appeals to many people is the raised bed aspect of gardening in a bale of straw. Raised beds save the back! For other people, with very few sunny spots in their yards, putting the bales in a driveway or on a deck, gives them the opportunity to grow fresh tomatoes when they thought they didn’t have the proper conditions. If you’ve thought you couldn’t grow your own vegetables, maybe straw bale gardening will change your mind.

The first step is to place the bales where you want them. They will not be moveable once you begin to water them. A bale could even tear apart if you tried to move it.

Now you can prepare the bales. The easiest way is to just water them for 3-4 weeks. You want the inside of the bale to begin decomposing and as it does so, it’ll heat up, enough to kill off any plants in it. So you have to wait until the bale has heated and cooled before you can plant.

If you want to speed up the time from acquiring to planting the bales, you can sprinkle a high nitrogen fertilizer such as blood meal on the bales and then water them very well. This method results in a wait of about ten days for the bale to cook and then cool. Each day for the first week sprinkle about a half cup of the fertilizer on each bale and water it in. On day seven cut back to one-fourth cup of fertilizer. On day ten, quit the fertilizer but continue to water the bales. From day eleven onward, stick a fist into a bale to take its temperature. Hot! Not ready. Cool? You are safe to begin planting.

If you want to start seeds, you must make a seed bed about two to three inches deep on the top of the bale with seed starter mix. Then just follow the directions on the seed packet for that kind of crop.

If you are planting transplants, make an opening in the bale and insert a small amount of potting soil. Then arrange the transplant in the opening, up to its third and fourth leaf. Ease the roots apart just as you would when planting in garden soil.

You can grow whatever you want in straw bales, but you must water. Straw bales dry out faster than other kinds of containers, especially in hot weather. Through the middle of summer, expect to water twice a day, morning and evening. You’ll also need to fertilize since the bales provide no nutrition. Choose a balanced garden fertilizer such as 10-10-10, which provides all the nutrients plants require. You can also fertilize with products such as fish emulsion, kelp extract and compost tea.

The hardest part of straw bales gardening is hefting the bales into place. The best part is, as with all gardening, the crop: juicy, flavorful tomatoes, fresh herbs for every meal of the day, green beans so delicious a three-year-old begs for them. And don’t forget about the flowers! Grow a few of them too.

Fairy Garden Ideas at Dundee

Fairy Gardens, Floral, Garden Center, Miniature Gardens No Responses »

Apr 152013

Barbara Whipple,

Dundee Horticulturist

When I was ten years old, I knew where every fairy, elf, troll, gnome, and general practioner of magic lived in my neighborhood. Regularly I visited certain rocks, tree galls, bird baths, lily-of-the-valley colonies, shrub borders, and flower pots. While I never actually caught a fairy, let alone a troll, I often saw the edges of a tiny pale pink dress, or the heel of a shoe made from hosta leaves. And then I grew up and forgot all about that kind of magic.

A wonderful event comes to grown ups eventually: they get grandchildren and an opportunity to recover lost magic. My granddaughter is now ten years old and with her, I can create a miniature fairy garden wonderland, welcoming to gnomes and elves too. We can make a little garden in a pot, or a much larger one in a raised bed planter or right in a corner of the garden, depending on how many magic creatures you want to attract.

Through the winter our fairy garden has grown indoor types of house plants, from African violets to grape-leaf ivy to peperomia. Any plant that will enjoy the light quality in your home, will do well in a indoor fairy garden. If the fairies you want to attract need flowering plants, the begonias, kalanchoes, cyclamen, and bromeliads will do well indoors.

Once you can create an outdoor garden, whether in a container or the ground, you’ll find all kinds of tiny flowers, shrubs, evergreens, and miniature trees available in our greenhouse and garden center. All of these will grow nicely in a general purpose potting soil, or your garden soil amended with some peat moss.

Of course, beyond the plants, there are many, many accessories available at Dundee to make your garden welcoming. There are many different kinds of structures to house the fairies and we even have an outhouse (I think that’s for the gnomes!). There are chairs and benches for them to sit in, pathways and bridges for them to walk along, trellises, and tiny pots, and shepherd hooks, and ducks, pigs and cows to play with them. There’s even a waterfall which will surely attract fairies, who love the sound of running water more than anything else except new morning dew.

While we all wait for spring to arrive outside, why not bring a little bit of it into your life, and the lives of some magic people, with a fairy garden in a pot. Just like plants, it can be transplanted outdoors once the season settles. Dundee has everything you need to get started today.

Japanese Beetles

Garden Center No Responses »

Jul 122012

By Barbara Whipple, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

Japanese Beetle image courtesy USDA

I dread the first-of-the-season baggie or jar full of Japanese beetles that somebody brings to the Information Desk for me to identify. With Japanese beetles, once they start, they go on for six to eight weeks. And it’s that time, again…so-o-o, here’s what to do:

1. You’ve got a few beetles on a few plants. In this situation, just shake them off the plants into a bowl or pail of soapy water, or pick them off if needed. The presence of a few beetles draws more so check your plants regularly.

2. You have infested plants, a tree or vine or rose garden covered with beetles. First, take your hose and spray as many beetles as you can off the plants. Then come to Dundee for an insecticide such as “Eight,” a permethrin that kills insects on contact.

“Eight” is available as a ready-to-use, as a concentrate for use with your own sprayer, or as a concentrate with a hose-end spray attachment. Check the plants regularly for new infestations because Japanese beetles fly in from anywhere up to 1,000 feet away.

3. Every plant in your yard is infested with Japanese beetles. See 2. above. You might also be interested in a lists of plants the University of Minnesota says Japanese beetles are attracted to:

American linden

Mountain ash

Apple and crabapple

Birch

Norway maple

Cherry and plum trees

Roses

Hollyhocks

Grapes

Raspberries

Englemann and Boston ivy

If your yard is full of these plants, you might want to consider making a few changes to the following plants that the University says seldom attract Japanese beetles:

Oak

Red and Silver maple

Boxelder

Green ash

Poplar

Arborvitae

Fir

Hemlock

Juniper

Pine

Spruce

Yew

American elder

Common lilac

Euonymus

Rhododendron

While you aren’t going to cut down a beautiful, mature tree because it attracts beetles, you also don’t want a yard full of nothing but beetle attractors. Roses need not be grouped together, making them easier for beetles to find, but may be mixed among other plants less attractive to the beetle. Japanese beetles don’t like any evergreens, so think of ways to incorporate a variety of them in your landscape. The insects may be more plentiful, but we are smarter. We can use our knowledge to lessen the irritation insects present.

Hydrangeas at Dundee Nursery 2012

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Jul 062012

By Nate Hellzen, Nursery Supervisor, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

Most people remember hydrangeas from their childhood, but today we’re falling in love with them all over again. Over the last couple of years hydrangeas have made a large come back in the green industry. Many new plants have been developed with larger, more colorful, and more profuse blooms. Hydrangeas have become ideal shrubs for homeowners wanting to add an ornamental centerpiece to their landscapes.

At Dundee Nursery we have seen this excitement for new and improved hydrangea plants build over the last couple of years. This is why we have added numerous varieties of hydrangeas to our nursery lot, allowing customers to choose from a larger selection and find that unique plant that will fit perfectly into their landscape plans.

Most hydrangeas do well in partial shade locations and like protection from the hot afternoon sun. All hydrangeas need adequate moisture in order to thrive. Hydrangeas can grow in full sun locations, but will require more moisture to deal with heat.

Some of the newest hydrangeas Dundee Nursery has added include the Endless Summer Series, which includes the ‘Original,’ ‘Twist-n-Shout,’ and ‘Bella Anna’ Hydrangeas. Each of these provides customers with, as the name “Endless Summer” implies, blooms lasting throughout the summer ranging in color from light blues and purples to vibrant pinks. Other new hydrangeas include some paniculata varieties. Paniculatas are named for their panicle-shaped blooms. The blooms develop vibrant pink hues as they age. Some new paniculatas include ‘Quickfire,’ ‘Pinky Winky,’ ‘Fire and Ice,’ and ‘Little Lime’.

Many people have heard the saying “Oldie but Goodie.” The Annabelle Hydrangea fits this perfectly, having been around for many years and providing homeowners with those large, can’t-forget, white flower heads. The ‘Incrediball’ Hydrangea is a new hydrangea that has been developed to have stronger, sturdier stems so they don’t flop over as much as the Annabelle. It’s also good to mention that the blooms could reach 12” across providing larger blooms then the old fashioned Annabelle.

With numerous hydrangea varieties available today, feel free to stop into Dundee Nursery today and ask our friendly staff to help find the perfect hydrangea for your landscape.

Creating a Planter That Reflects You!

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Jun 212012

By Laura Hughes, Greenhouse Supervisor, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

Creating beautiful annual planters is not a science, but rather a work of art that reflects you! I always start by determining my light conditions (sun vs. shade) and the color scheme I want to use. Then I consider the symmetry to use by asking myself if the planter will be viewed from all sides or only from the front. Once these questions have been answered, it’s time to begin creating using the “Thrill, Fill, and Spill” method. Imagine the letter “A” when thinking “Thrill, Fill, and Spill.” It’s tall in the middle and widens and fills out as you go down.

Thrill yourself with something dramatic in the center of the planter – something tall and eye-catching. Depending on the light conditions this “thrill” can be anything with height (i.e. grass, dahlias, or guara, to name a few.)

“Fill” plants can provide variety and texture to your planter. Two of our most popular “fill” plants are euphorbia and coleus. Euphorbia, with its dainty, airy white flowers, provides a nice contrast to other darker colors. Coleus can provide interest and texture through its vivid colors and patterns.

Don’t forget the “spill!” There are so many vibrant trailing plants that can be used for drama and contrast that it will be hard to choose. A few of my favorites are ipomoea (sweet potato vine), torenia, lysimachia, calibrachoa (million bells), ivy, and verbena.

The key elements of any beautiful planter are height, texture, and color. Don’t be afraid to experiment when you’re shopping. Using your shopping cart as your planter, pick plants that you love. Arrange them on the cart as you would in your planter. Doesn’t look quite right? Reposition them, change colors, add or subtract until you have the combination that express you. If you’re still not sure, find one of our friendly, knowledgeable staff. We are always available to help with ideas! Most of all have fun and don’t be afraid to explore the possibilities.

In the following photo, the fountain is the “thriller” and gives dramatic height to the arrangement of flowers. The fountain is “filled” on the top level with torenia and on the lower level with petunias and grasses. The “spillers” are ipomoea and lamium.

In the next photo, we have bold, gigantic colocasia (elephant ears) as our “thriller” with light pink impatiens as “fillers” and ‘Silver Falls’ dichondra as the “spiller.”

These matching arrangements feature carex grass as the “thriller” with New Guinea impatiens and their pink and red flowers as the “filler” and lime green lysimachia as the “spiller.”

Landscape On a Budget

Landscape Design No Responses »

May 032012

By Sarah Lloyd, Dundee Landscape Designer

Now that I have my ideal landscape design can I have it installed in stages? Can I do some of the installation myself?

Installing a landscape plan in phases is a fantastic way to get the yard you ultimately want while working within your budget. The important thing is to make sure that each phase is part of a master plan. This way, each area is sure to blend in with the rest and look continuous. A professional Landscape Designer will help you create a master plan that fits your desires, needs, and budget. You can landscape on a budget!

Each phase can be as large or small as you want it to be. It usually works best to start in one area and work your way around the house in terms of priority level. This might mean starting with your front entryway, then the back patio space, then the sides or perimeter, and so forth. Starting with the front of the house is always a good idea because it can set the tone for your day. You see this area every morning when you leave for work and every evening when you get home. If you have a great front landscape it can help put a smile on your face. The back patio or yard space is often a second area to complete because it may be a primary view from inside your home or be your relaxing, free-time destination.

If completing one entire section is too much strain on the budget, consider installing the area itself in stages. One example of this is installing the planting beds (edging, rock/mulch, berms) in one stage and the plants in the second stage. If your budget allows, think about installing a few key plants right away and supplementing with the other plants as you are able.

Your landscape designer can help you determine the best, most efficient order for installing your plan. Your designer can also recommend which tasks would be easiest to install yourself and which might be better off installed by a professional installation crew. Either way, one of the most important bits of information you can give the designer is your budget, initially AND long term.

Rain Gardens

Garden Center, Landscape Design No Responses »

Apr 302012

By Brian Sullivan, Landscape Designer, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

You may have heard about a recent trend in landscape design that incorporates rain gardens as an element in the landscape. Rain gardens are shallow depressions that are designed to capture rainwater runoff from the yard and impervious areas such as your driveway and roof. The rain garden acts as a filter, capturing contaminates and fertilizers from these surfaces before they enter our streams and lakes. Rain gardens also reduce the speed with which water leaves the property. Another benefit is increased wildlife habitat.

Rain gardens are planted with perennials and shrubs that filter contaminates and encourage infiltration of water into the soil. Plants are chosen based on the soil types and exposure. Generally rain gardens are planted to look like native systems, but I think that purposeful selection and placement of plants can result in a design that works in settings that range from the formal to rustic. The design of a rain garden can be composed to reflect the surrounding environment and the tastes of the homeowner.

There are several consideration in the design and placement of the rain garden. Rain gardens are generally 3 or 6 inches deep and sized between 7 – 10% of the area that is supplying water. The rain garden will be located in an area where it can capture the water and needs to be far enough away from your home to prevent the intrusion of water into your home. Remember to avoid underground utilities. The basin of the rain garden should be loosened to a depth of 12” to encourage the infiltration of water. Add composted leaf litter and till into bottom of the garden. Shredded hardwood mulch is used to help prevent the evaporation of water and inhibit the growth of weeds.

When designed correctly the rain garden will drain in two days. The rain garden will help in preventing the degradation of our environment, provide additional wildlife habitat, and add some beauty to our lives.

Control the Spread of Emerald Ash Borer

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Apr 282012

By John Henning, Buyer, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

Hello again! I hope the change to normal spring temps has not discouraged anyone from continuing to enjoy your yards and gardens.

Something we should remember to do again this spring is to try and control the spread of Emerald Ash Borer. We don’t hear much about it in the news during the winter, so we may tend to forget about it until we have more infestations reported. This borer is not going to go away. Just ask the people in states like Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and others who have lost millions of Ash trees since the discovery of the borer in 2002.

We here in Minnesota have been able to slow the spread so far, because we have been proactive on removal or treatment of infested trees. Preventive measures are a better and cheaper way to control the infestations. The cost of removal and replanting other varieties of trees is expensive, plus you lose the beautiful trees that you watched grow and shade your yard over the years.

Prevention Tip #1 We need to remember not to transport wood from one area to another even if it we intend to be burn it. This insect may have originally arrived in the USA in packing material from Asia. That tells me that the insect is willing to travel any way it can and as far as it can. State parks and many private campgrounds will not allow you to bring your own firewood anymore. Don’t take the wood “up north” to burn at the lake home. You may unwittingly be transporting the Emerald Ash Borer to a new location.

Prevention Tip #2 If you have not treated your Ash trees for the Emerald Ash Borer yet, or do not remember when you last applied treatments, it is time to get started. Once you do, mark it on your calendar to remind yourself to do this again next year. That’s right – just once a year is all it takes. With the new products on the market, home owners can treat their own tree in about 5 minutes with no spraying. Bayer, Bonide, Fertilome, Optrol and others package a concentrated formula that you only need to mix in one to two gallons of water and pour around the base of the tree. If you have rock, wood mulch and fabric at the base of the tree you will need to pull it back before applying the chemical treatment. Be sure to follow each product’s instructions to determine the proper amount to use, because each product may have different concentrations of the active chemical (imidacloprid).

Don’t be fooled by the cost, those with the heavier concentration require less actual product. In the long run, you use less and pay less per tree.

Hey, if you do not want to do it yourself, there are many companies out there that will do it for you with different techniques and some treatments only need to be done every 2 years.

I hope this helps you. For more information stop in and see me or other members of the staff. You can also learn more by checking out our Dundee Fact Sheet on Emerald Ash Borer.

Now get back to the your yard and enjoy what this spring has to offer.

Time to Chose Your Prom Flowers

Floral No Responses »

Apr 262012

By Cheryl Howard (l) and Cindy Munn (r), Dundee Floral Designers

Prom season has arrived! The girls are picking out their dresses and the guys their tuxes. Don’t forget it’s also time to chose your prom flowers! Early ordering insures you get the type of flowers you want in the colors you want to compliment your style.

Bright colors with lots of glitz are the trend this year. Bright jewel tone flowers like the gerbera daisy (shown below) with vibrant ribbon accents are hot. Sweetheart roses are a wonderful choice for a classic style. Feeling exotic? Go with orchids in vivid colors.

Orchid Corsage

Gerbera Daisy Corsage

A ribbon in the corsage can be used to accent the flowers or match the dress. We have a large selection of ribbon and will do our best to match, but if you have a special ribbon, bring it in and we can use it in your corsage to make it just what you want.

We can add a little or a lot of extra sparkle with rhinestone accents, available in several colors.

Wrist corsages are still the first choice for most of the ladies going to prom. Remember the plain silver wristlet? We still have them, but the selection of colors, designs, and styles has expanded so much that the wristlet can be a major accent to any dress. Depending on the style you select, you could have a keepsake or a bracelet to wear on other occasions.

At Dundee Floral we’re here to help you find just what you need to make your prom a memorable one. Stop by and talk to us about what you want and look through some of the work we have done. Remember to order early to get the perfect combination of flowers, colors, and add-ons to make your corsage and boutonniere sensational. Some of the HOT trends go fast!!

To Berm or Not to Berm…

Landscape Design 2 Responses »

Apr 232012

By Janalyn Fleming, Landscape Designer, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

To berm or not to berm, that is the question. Whether tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageously flat landscapes, or take arms against them and create “The Berm.”

I usually berm almost every garden I plan. I can’t help it, I really like the appeal of a planted mound of earth, whether large or small. It always shows off the plants to their advantage.

In case you’re wondering, a berm is a raised garden area, like a small hill, for the purpose of creating interest or height. With the right placement and plantings a berm can have many functions. A berm can help block an unappealing view and be planted with shrubs or evergreens for a privacy green screen. Or it can be a more subtle feature, useful in small garden areas, such as near foundations or along walkways. These mini berms are raised slightly, less than a foot, and often planted with smaller stature perennials, shrubs, and dwarf evergreens.

I’m of the natural-looks-better mindset for these raised garden areas. When planning a berm on a flat property, a long, undulating shape that gently rises out of the ground, looks more natural than a pimple-like bump in the lawn. A berm should have some peaks and valleys rather than all the same height and will also appear more natural by blending or connecting to an existing slope. And placing outcrop boulders in a steep-sided berm makes an interesting contrast for plants growing over and around the hard shapes, while helping to control erosion. One more thing I’d like to mention about shaping a berm; it’s important to be aware of water drainage, so that water runoff isn’t trapped in an unwanted place.

Apart from the aesthetics, another nice berm benefit is that many perennials perform better when growing in the looser soil of a berm than when planted in the compacted soil of the typical suburban yard. I like to use a garden mix soil, which is a blend of black soil and peat moss, then rake and shape the berm before planting. If possible, I plan a full garden, spacing so plants will be touching each other when mature, mimicking plants growing on their own in nature, but with a designer’s hand. Later on, this plant spacing will require less mulch coverage… oops, now I’m wandering into a different topic.

If something is rotten in the state of Denmark – or in your landscape – consider adding a berm. It is a much more pleasant subject to contemplate than poor Yorick’s skull.

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