This Weekend!

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

Here are a couple of samples...

An exciting hardy Hydrangea from Holland, 'Limelight' has unique bright chartreuse blooms in mid-summer that hold bright and refreshing color right into autumn when the blooms change color to a rich deep pink. Use 'Limelight', either fresh or dried, in bouquets to make a unique floral design. This is an easy-to-grow plant with reliable flowering and flower color, regardless of soil pH or winter temperatures.

An exciting new improvement to ninebark, 'Summer Wine®' combines the fine texture and compact branching of Physocarpus 'Nana' with the dark foliage of Physocarpus 'Diabolo®.' Smaller than other ninebark varieties, 'Summer Wine®' is an easy way to introduce wine colored foliage into the home garden. It is fast growing and has few, if any, pest problems.

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

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Summer is upon us and so is the hot weather. We can choose to be miserable and suffer through the heat, or we can be smart and make a difference. One way to be more comfortable is to turn up the air conditioner and enjoy the arctic air. This works well until the utility bill comes. Energy rates have increased rapidly in the last few years, making the arctic air solution not very practical.

There is one solution that not only makes you more comfortable, but can also save you money or even make you money. The key to comfort lies in the landscape. With properly placed trees and shrubs, you can reduce your energy bill by up to 50%. When plants, especially trees, photosynthesize, they release a large quantity of water into the air resulting in natural evaporative cooling. Research has shown that an environment that is shaded by plants will have an air temperature that is 3 to 9 degrees cooler than non-shaded areas.

When planting trees and shrubs you should be careful where you plant or you will actually waste more energy than you save. You want to reduce the summer sun as well as allow maximum warming winter sun. Placing trees on the east and west sides of the house has maximum summer cooling effect. These shade the walls and windows when the sun is low in the morning and evenings. If you place trees that shade southern winter sun, you may well have an decreased energy bill. To create maximum savings, you need to select a large shade tree such as a Chinese elm or a camphor tree that will grow large enough to shade the southern roof in mid summer and lose its leaves in winter to allow the needed heating. Shrubs and vines also provide sun protection and increased insulation and result in significant energy savings.

Proper placement of trees and shrubs not only saves you money, but can also make you money. There is nothing that has a higher return on home resale value than the landscape. On the average, landscaping returns 110% of the investment and continues to increase over time.

So get out and make your summers more comfortable and more affordable by planting trees and shrubs in your yard today.