March09 Newsletter

March 25,2009

Well, here we are finally entering spring of 2009 and it's time for the March09 newsletter. Now is the time to take advantage of all the spring time bargains being offered. Several of our affiliates have great deals right now. Many of the flower and plant companies are offering deals on early orders and many of the other affiliates that offer furniture, garden items and water features are discounting purchases to spur the spring buying market.

Here, in the great lakes area, the time to start planting seeds is arriving soon. I like to plant my seeds around Easter depending on the current year conditions. This year is looking to be a typical year and I intend to plant Easter weekend. Keep in mind the seeds take about 4 to 6 weeks to grow. This would mean that the flowers will emerge around the end of May. If you plant in a rich soil they will grow quickly once they appear. I like to use a slow release fertilizer that I mix with the current soil and peat moss. 10-10-10 or Miracle grow granules are a good choice. Miracle grow also has organic options now. For a complete planting guide please see www.totally-flowers.com. If you intend to plant already grown flowers or vegetables, then I would suggest waiting until the middle of May or later. You must be sure there are no chances of frost before planting. Even if the plants make it through frost, they will be severaly stunted. I have made this mistake many times as a result of my own impatience and as a result I had to wait well into July to achieve healthy full plants. Plants like evergreens, trees and shrubs can be planted much earlier. It's best to plant these items before the growth starts. Once these items are planted be sure to mulch to protect the roots from possible frosts or freezes.

Water features, like standing fountains, should also be delayed until the threat of freeze is gone. Even a slight freeze can cause expansion of the water which will either destroy the pump or crack the water feature itself. Sometimes you can add a piece of wood to the feature to help absorb the expansion and lesson the risk of cracks.

I also like to wait on furniture until frosts have subsided. Although the new finishes are much better, the repeated exposure to freeze and thaw can take a toll on furniture finishes. Another issue is wind, here in the Great Lakes region we have extreme wind in the spring. I like to wait until the weather stabalizes before I put my furniture out to prevent any damage that may occur.

This year I will be doing something a little different. As I am notified of spring sales I will be adding them to my blog with links to go to specific sites. We have already purchased a Gazabo for the patio through one of these sales. It is a metal Gazebo with a screened curtain. We anchored it to the cement pation with 3" cement anchors. We were careful to do a lot of research and we picked one that can hold up to the winds. Things to look for are the corner posts and how they anchor, the top bars between posts and the roof structure. Last year we had a neighbor that put one up and two days later, when high winds hit, it was twisted into knots. All prefab metal gazebos will want to lift in wind and if the structure is not strong enough it will just twist into a mess.

I will also be adding and changing many photos as spring progresses. Ofcourse, I have already been out doing what I can for this time of year. I look forward to a good growing year since we had plenty of moisture over winter. I look forward to bringing you all some great plant photos. Happy spring everyone and enjoy the upcoming summer!