New fixtures and display pieces have allowed Greenhouse Garden Center to expand all of our gift lines and add new ones. Browse in a beautiful setting of rich fall colors and enjoy selecting that perfect gift for any occasion. We have one-of-a-kind accessories for your fall entertaining that will truly make your parties memorable and special.

CHRISTMAS IS RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER!

Throughout October, Santa's helpers will be busy getting Greenhouse Garden Center ready for its November 1st opening. This year we are featuring 19 all-new theme trees, ornaments, custom wreaths and centerpieces, and entertaining accessories galore, including all-new Mark Roberts fairies. Don't forget to keep us in mind when shopping for that special someone on your Christmas list. Select the perfect gift from our new jewelry and purse lines, Aromatique candles and scents, Arthur Court, and Golda and I fine chocolates.

Don't forget, we also will be selling cut Noble Fir Christmas trees in a variety of sizes, as well as fresh wreaths. Reserve yours now.

As a kid, the arrival of Indian summer was the last summer hurrah! It was still light enough to play outside after dinner, and warm enough to wear shorts. Even though school had begun, you still had a couple of weeks of warm summertime fun. Well, now I realize that it was also a couple more weeks of summertime flower color for my parents to enjoy in their gardens! Somehow, I think they must have planned ahead to ensure the gardens were beautiful.

That's right. Now is the time to tuck into your garden beds and patio paradise containers some of your favorite late summer and fall blooming perennials and shrubs. This list of flowering plants includes just about every flower color that you can imagine. You may be the type of gardener who has a complete plan of colors, sizes and shapes in mind. Or you might be a gardener that loves just to collect plants of all colors, sizes and forms. You know who you are and what your style is.

There are plenty of late summer and autumn bloomers to choose from. View our gallery here for some examples. Our plant selection is a veritable treasure chest of Indian Summer colors. Come into the garden center and begin choosing today. Don't forget to pick up some Bumper Crop to amend your native soil. Oh yes, and to promote the non-stop blooms, feed with Dr. Earth #6 Flower Garden Fertilizer.

Then sit back on that Adirondack chair, chaise lounge, or hammock--and enjoy your Indian Summer garden in full bloom!

One of the easiest ways to add more interest to a garden is by adding plants with different colors, textures, shapes and sizes. Different textured plants can also help create an illusion of space and add "flavor" to any garden design.

Texture is frequently associated with foliage. However, the woody structure of a tree or shrub is also part of the texture. Fine texture is associated with small leaves and thin branches. Coarse texture is achieved with larger leaves and thicker, sparse branches.

Coarse textures are more appropriate for larger landscapes, while fine textures are more appropriate in a smaller landscape. A small area can be made to look larger by using finely textured plants, whereas coarsely textured plants make great accents in larger landscape designs.

Examples of coarse-textured plants would be hosta, sedum and lamb's ears. Examples of fine-textured plants would be artemisia 'Silver Mound', berberis, ferns, buckthorn 'Fine Line' , cerastium and lavender. You can add color to a garden by adding plants like the new 'Tiger Eyes' sumac, which combines both texture and color.

You can create a greater sense of depth in your garden by placing darker colored, rough textured plants to the front of your planting areas and put light colored, fine textured plants towards the back. Also, remember to keep smaller growing plants in front so they won't be hidden by the taller ones. If you have the space, try to place textured plants in small groupings for extra impact.

Adding textures and elements of interest to your garden will create more visual and sensory experiences for you and your guests. And the more experiences, the more memorable your garden will be. But don't get too carried away. Try to limit yourself to two or three different colors or textures along with green for the perfect effect.

We have many unique plants that will stand out in any garden setting. Our staff of nursery professionals will be happy to show you their favorites and help you find the best choices for your garden.

Grasshoppers are among the most difficult insect pests to manage in the garden. When numbers are low, they can be hand-picked and squashed. Floating row covers and other protective covers provide some protection if their numbers are not high. However, grasshoppers will eat through cloth or plastic row covers if they are hungry enough.

Most grasshoppers are general feeders, but they prefer young, green plants, especially lettuce, beans, corn, carrots, onions, and some annual flowers. Grasshoppers do their damage by chewing and can remove large sections of leaves and flowers in one sitting, sometimes devouring an entire plant. An odd grasshopper here and there is nothing to be alarmed about, but should you face a full invasion, there are some steps you can take to combat this destructive pest.

The best way to control grasshoppers is to apply a bait containing carbaryl around the borders of your garden. Make sure to re-apply baits after any period of rain. For non-edible plants, you can also use a spray directly on the plants. It usually helps to do a repeat spray every couple of weeks until they leave your garden. Make sure to spray late in the evening or early morning when bee activity is lower; you don't want to kill our important pollinators.

Many homeowners revel in the glory of their garden in spring, only to be disappointed when plants start to dry out and look stressed in the heat of summer. The natural reaction is to pour more water into the garden to "moisturize" the plants. This in turn can lead to root rot and/or the continuous lowering of soil temperature to the point that plants aren't stimulated to grow--or just plain die (overwatering is one of the main causes of plant death). But these problems can be greatly reduced or, in many cases, prevented by summer mulching.

The goal of summer mulching is not only to reduce summer heat stress on plants, but to create an environment for plants that will be conducive to good growth. Mulch is to a garden what a roof is to your home. We couldn't heat or air condition the home without the roof. The same seasonal temperature variance occurs in your garden. A 2" layer of mulch not only retains moisture in the soil but it maintains a cooler temperature in the summer and a warmer temperature in the winter.

Mulching also brings many other benefits to the garden. It gives the garden a tidier appearance and greatly improves the growing conditions for plants. Mulch helps suppress weeds and helps to conserve moisture. It creates an environment where earthworms can thrive and enhance the soil's condition. Nature provides this for us in natural settings; when we apply mulch to our garden, we mimic what is naturally done on the forest floor.

The strategy is to stimulate the growth of good soil bacteria, which in turn digest plant foods that the plant will recognize as nutrients and absorb. By keeping moisture in the soil you will attract earthworms and beneficial microbes and bacteria. The earthworms loosen up the soil, easing compaction, while the beneficial microbes help digest nutrients more efficiently, making them more readily available to the plants. Maintaining "moist" soil as opposed to "wet" soil keeps the temperature of the soil at a more consistent level for optimum growth. Mulch also provides a blanket to the soil that protects against soil crusting, as it decomposes and adds humus to the soil.

We recommend spreading a 2" inch layer of mulch or bark over the top of the native soil. There are many mulching materials available. Color, particle size, and nutrient exchange are considerations when choosing your material. Non-organic decorative mulches such as rock or gravel may be an attractive addition in gardens but give nothing back to the soil. Note: make sure not to place mulch right up against plant stems or tree trunks.

When mulching is incorporated with a good organic fertilizing program, the plants in your garden will not only survive the stress of summer and winter, but will thrive in it. Mulch will also give your garden a more "finished" look, adding to its overall beauty.

RESERVE YOUR SPOT for David Ruf's annual workshop "Landscape Design For The Homeowner," starting January 12, 2008. Spaces are limited to 16 participants.

David Ruf is also offering a "Pond Installation Workshop For The Homeowner," starting January 20, 2008. For that workshop, spaces are limited to 20 participants.

To reserve your spot and for details call Greenhouse Garden Center at 882-8600.

Contact us for more information.