We have gotten in a number of new and exciting Proven Winner shrubs!

Here are a couple of examples...

Coppertina is a new hybrid between Dart's Gold and Diabolo that flushes an attractive copper in spring and transforms to a rich red in summer.

Coppery-orange foliage is a whole new look for this shrub. Dotted with pinkish-white flowers in summer.

Little Lamb is a sweet, compact hardy hydrangea from Belgium. Little Lamb is unique because its flower petals are the smallest and most delicate of any hydrangea.

These little flowers are held in tight, but delicate, flower heads that look like dancing lambs floating on this compact shrub.

Would you like to see more of our great plants from Proven Winners? Check out our gallery - or come in and take a look!

We at Westwood Gardens Nursery & Garden Art wish you all a very happy — and safe — Independence Day!

We will be closing at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, July 4th, so that we can enjoy the day with our families.

Great Recipes for the Fourth of July:

1. Barbeque Sauce
2. Guacamole
3. Fresh Fruit Kabobs
4. Pork and Onion Kabobs
5. Picnic Fruit Punch
6. Fresh Strawberry Pie
7. Summer Watermelon Salsa 
8. Lemon Fruit Dip

Please click here for printable recipes

It's Topsy-Turvy!

Thanks to a whole new direction in growing tomatoes, your crop will be bigger, better tasting, healthier, and easier to grow than ever before. You can water, feed, trim and harvest without bending or kneeling —and since your crop is upside down and will never touch the ground, staking, caging, bacteria, ground rotting, fungus and small animals become problems of the past. Best of all, you won't have to dig any holes or pull weeds!

It's the perfect gift for any gardener. All you have to do is plant it and hang it up. It's great for those in apartments or small backyards and perfect for patio, balcony, terrace or tree. Hang it from a hook on a deck or balcony and you'll work standing up. Water and fertilize through the built-in top funnel; trim and harvest at chest height!

Topsy-Turvy is also wonderful for growing cucumbers, peppers, flowers and more. Just add your soil and plants.

The Topsy-Turvy Planter makes it easy to grow tomatoes and vegetables because it eliminates the need for a backyard garden plot.

It's the easiest way ever to grow vegetables or flowers.

A well maintained yard (including lawns) can add 15% to your home's value. Lawns help muffle noise, moderate temperatures, reduce dust and pollen, control erosion, improve soil, improve air quality by reducing CO2 levels, cushion the legs, and, though some may disagree, help keep dirt out of the home.

Maintaining a healthy, vigorously growing lawn is the best way to prevent a severe disease outbreak in a turfgrass. A 5,000 square foot lawn contains about four million turfgrass plants, each requiring optimum amounts of water and fertilizer, the right mowing regime, and an aerated, well-drained soil. About 75 to 85% of common lawn diseases can be avoided altogether just by optimizing these practices to avoid stressed grass, which is much more susceptible to disease outbreaks than healthy grass.

Proper Watering:

Water as infrequently as possible, but make sure you water enough. Watering infrequently but deeply will encourage the roots of the turf to go deep.

Water for as long as possible to get deep soil penetration (up to 30 minutes). It may be necessary to cycle irrigate if runoff occurs after just a short time. To cycle irrigate, water until runoff occurs, then stop and wait for the water to penetrate (usually 1 to 2 hours), then repeat.

Water as early as possible - first thing in the morning. Do not water between 4 pm and 4 am.

Do not water areas in the shade as frequently as the areas of your lawn that receive full sun.

Fertilizing:

Fertilization timing, amount, and type depend on the turf you have and your soil type. Unless your soil is very nutrient-poor, fertilize sparingly, as you can actually over-stimulate plant growth, making the lawn more susceptible to dry conditions and disease. Our professionals can help advise you on the best fertilizers to use.

Mowing:

It's very tempting to set the lawn mower very low so that you don't have to mow as often. Don't do it. If your lawn looks like astroturf, you are mowing it much too short. Lawns mowed at 2-3" tend to have deeper roots, fewer weed problems, and look much better. On any given mowing, you should be removing about 1/3 of the grass blade.

If you are mowing regularly, let grass clippings stay on the lawn; they will readily decompose and return nutrients to the soil. If you have just inherited a meadow, and don't have a mulching mower, you can get the same effect by remowing several times, thus slicing up the long clippings that are lying on top.

Spot Care:

If there are brown spots in your lawn and you have ruled out fungus and insects, it could be a simple case of the soil's being too compacted. Try aerating the area and adding some grass seed; if it is very bad (dead turf) remove the turf, turn over the soil and amend with a good soil amendment. If you reseed, lightly cover with a good organic topper. The seeds must be kept moist (not soggy) continuously for the first two weeks or they will die.