Rain Gardens

 Garden Center, Landscape Design  No Responses »
Apr 302012
 

Brian SullivanBy 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.

 Rain Garden Plants

Control the Spread of Emerald Ash Borer

 Garden Center  No Responses »
Apr 282012
 

John HenningBy 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
 

Cheryl HowardCindy Munn

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 for Prom Season

Orchid Corsage

 

Gerbera Daisy 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.

Prom Ribbons for Cosages

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

Prom Flowers

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.

Wristlets for prom

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
 

Janalyn Fleming

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.

Berm in a Landscape

Let’s Brighten Up Your Shade

 Garden Center, Landscape Design  3 Responses »
Apr 162012
 
Let’s Brighten Up Your Shade

By Janalyn Fleming, Landscape Designer, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping No, I’m not talking about cutting down a few trees to brighten your shade areas, although a little judicious pruning is a good way to shed some light on the situation.  What I have in mind is taking a look at some of the many perennials [...]

New Garden Center Products for Spring

 Garden Center  1 Response »
Apr 122012
 
New Garden Center Products for Spring

By Gill Landis, Sales and Marketing Manager, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping   Spring is the time of year when all of us in the garden center are excited for sun, warmth, plants and new stuff.  Nothing symbolizes this more than our Annual Spring Expo coming up this Saturday and Sunday, April  14th and 15th.  With [...]

Combat Drought with Spring Watering

 Garden Center  1 Response »
Apr 052012
 
Combat Drought with Spring Watering

By Vicki Trattar, Social Media/Website/Graphics, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping   I saw the sprinklers going at a local business while I was on my way to work today.  April 5 and we already need the sprinkler systems up and running in Plymouth, Minnesota.  What an amazing spring.  It doesn’t look like we’re in a drought [...]

Do NO Maintenance Landscapes Exist?

 Garden Center, Landscape Design  1 Response »
Apr 022012
 
Do NO Maintenance Landscapes Exist?

By Sarah Lloyd, Landscape Designer     Unfortunately there are no such things as a no maintenance landscapes.  Bummer!  The best we can do is LOW maintenance.  This is accomplished by good design, plant selection, and correct installation. The best landscapes use a variety of materials, both plant and hardscape.  It is best to have [...]