Have you ever actually been kissed under the mistletoe? Have you ever wondered where this little holiday tradition originated from? Today, Whispering Springs Nursery has the facts on mistletoe’s origination. Make sure you don’t forget to string up some of the stuff before the big day next week!

• With over 1,300 species across the world, there are only 2 species of mistletoe that grow in the US.
• The direct translation of mistletoe is not as romantic as its story. Translated directly in Anglo-Saxon it literally means “dung twig.”
• The tradition of stealing a smooch under the mistletoe is proposed to be of Greek descent, as the believed that the plant has the power to give life and bestow fertility.
• In the 18th century, the English began using mistletoe in beautifully decorated Christmas balls under which a lady could not refuse to be kissed.
• If a lady found herself standing under the mistletoe and did not receive a kiss, the story goes that she would spend the next year unmarried.
• Mistletoe is an essential part of healthy forest ecosystems.
• It’s toxic to people! But, the leaves and berries are a source of high-protein food for many animals.
• The tradition of mistletoe kissing has no connection with the religious history of Christmas.
• Not to be confused with holly, mistletoe has thin, rounded leaves and white berries.

Whispering Springs wants to know, do you plan on getting kissed under the mistletoe this holiday?

Img via Flickr.

“The stockings have been hung by the chimney with care, in anticipation that St. Nick will soon be there.”

By now, your Jasper, GA home is probably full of Christmas cheer – the Christmas tree has been set up and decorated, your doors are all hung with fresh evergreen wreaths, and you’ve started to fill up your tree skirt with gifts. If you still want to add a little something to your home right before your guests arrive to make your home welcoming, bright, and cheery, Whispering Springs has 3 easy ideas to add just a touch more of Christmas to your home.

1. Candle Lit Walkways

Luminaries have long been used to light the weary traveller’s way, and the tradition carries on today. Create luminaries simply out of paper bags weighted with a little sand or stones, and a tea light candle. For a more permanent option, Get large glass candle holders, fill them with fake snow and a layer of cranberries, set them atop a bed of fresh greenery, and set a large candle right in the center of each one. Light your luminaries at dusk, just before your guests arrive to make their walk up to your home from the driveway just a little bit more magical.

2. Give it Some Green

Here in Jasper, you have pine trees galore at your fingertips. Cut some lush branches and use wire to wrap them around your handrails up your front steps. Finish them off with a big red bow and you’ve added some style and some delightful fragrance to your front porch.

3. Make a Burning Bush

Where did you put that string of Christmas lights that was so tangled you just couldn’t use them? Don’t throw them away! Lay the lights on top of some soil, then insert some dried twigs, branches, and weeds to make a bush-like appearance. When you plug the lights in, it will look just like a burning bush!

These are just a few more fun ideas for your Christmas decorating. We still have ball and burlap trees available at our Jasper, GA nursery so if you haven’t put up your tree yet, these are a great option that won’t just die after the holidays. Plant it in your landscape to remember Christmas 2013 for years to come!

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This season, Whispering Springs invites you to join us at our Jasper, GA nursery to start a new holiday tradition: choosing one of our ball and burlap Christmas trees to let your family’s 2013 Christmas spirit live on for years to come. Choosing a ball and burlap Christmas tree allows your family to plant the tree in your landscape after the holidays have passed so that you can remember Christmas 2013 forever. If you are used to choosing a cut tree or if in past years you have gone with a fake tree, you’ll need to know these tips about ball and burlap Christmas trees to keep them alive and healthy before you plant them in your landscape.

• Always carry the tree by the root ball, not the trunk. Carrying it by the trunk can damage the roots. Be prepared to ask for some help to move your tree – it will be heavy!
  

  A small Norway spruce in a planter.

• Try to keep the tree as cool as possible. Even letting it rest in your unheated garage or basement for a few days before bringing it inside will help it adjust to going indoors.
• Keep the root ball moist! It is important to give the tree enough water, but not drown it. Just water it thoroughly so that the root ball is moist, and water again a few days later when the water is almost gone.
• Dig the hole for planting your tree as soon as you buy it, not after the holidays. This is so you make sure that you have a place to plant your tree when Christmas has passed, just in case the ground has frozen at that point.

Choosing ball and burlap Christmas trees is a fun way to keep Christmas alive all year long. Once you plant your tree in your landscape after the holiday, you’ll always be able to look at it and remember the fun and memories that you made this Christmas. Whispering Springs Nursery is carrying Norway spruce trees and Deodar cedars as ball and burlap Christmas trees, both of which grow great in Big Canoe, Bent Tree, and Jasper, GA areas. 

Img via Flickr.

Thanksgiving brings to mind two things for us here at Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA – turkey and Christmas trees!

We are ready for you to come by on Friday after Thanksgiving and pick out your family’s Christmas tree. While we don’t carry the traditional frasier firs, we’ve got something even better. Our Christmas tree lot is full of Norway Spruce, Deadora Cedars, and Hemlocks all with root balls wrapped in burlap. We think that the best way to do Christmas trees is by adding them to your landscape after the holiday is over. If you’re going to pay upwards of $100+ for a tree that will loose all of its needles in just a few short weeks, why not pay for a tree that will be beautiful for years to come?

When you pull up to Whispering Springs Nursery you may notice that our entire landscape is peppered with Hemlock trees. That’s because for years we had the family tradition of buying a live, ball and burlap, Hemlock that we potted and decorated as our Christmas tree. After all of the presents had been unwrapped, the ham was eaten, and the kids were happily playing with their toys, we all gathered outside and chose a special place to plant our tree. This way, we were able to remember that Christmas for years to come as the hemlock grew and became a beautiful addition to our landscaping.

Start a new family tradition this year, and purchase a live Christmas tree from Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA! We can’t wait to see you after Thanksgiving!

Img via Flickr.

Most of the soil here in north Georgia is our wonderful red clay. It you aren’t knowledgeable about the proper types of plants to install and don’t provide them with the correct soil amendment and fertilizers, you’ll have a tough time trying to create a beautiful landscape. Thanks to the University of Georgia Extension office, you can get help with understanding the mineral content of your soil and what types of fertilizers you’ll need to bring it to the proper concentration to encourage plant growth.

Why Test Your Soil

Soil testing is free to everyone – whether you are just a backyard gardener or a commercial landscaper. Getting your soil tested is as easy as reading the instructions on the UGA Extension office website and mailing in your sample. You’ll hear back from the office in a about 10 days and you’ll have clear instructions on what types of fertilizers you should be adding to your soil to help make your landscaping efforts a success.

Who Should Test Their Soil

Everyone should take advantage of this cheap and extremely helpful resource provided by your local extension office. Whether you are planting a vegetable garden, installing sod, or trying to grow a food plot to invite wildlife closer to home, all of you can benefit from getting your soil tested. The test results will help you apply the correct amounts of fertilizers and lime so that you aren’t over spending on supply costs, or causing more damage to your soil.

Whispering Springs Nursery recommends soil testing to all of our landscape design customers. If you’re ready to turn the backyard of your Big Canoe home into an oasis, give us a call! We’d love to come out and work with you to create the perfect garden for your afternoon escape.

Img via Flickr.

Winter can be cold, grey, harsh, and downright dreary. When the temperatures turn to freezing, most of us will stay cuddled up inside near our fireplaces with a good book and a hot cup of coffee. That time of year is when you can really appreciate a pop of color in your home or landscape. Bring the beauty from the outdoors in by forcing bulbs indoors. Whispering Springs has the tips on how to make beautiful bulbs bloom in glass containers in your home.

Types of Bulbs That Can Be Forced

Many types of bulbs can be forced, but some will have to go through a chilling time in the refrigerator. Smaller bulbs like crocus, grape hyacinths, miniature daffodils, iris, and tulips are easy to force, but they’ll need several weeks of chilling depending on their variety. Others  such as the amaryllis or paperwhites don’t need this simulated winter and can be potted up according to the package directions, watered, and set in a bright spot to grow and bloom.

Growing in Water

Paperwhites and gladiolus can be forced without soil, in just water and some rocks. These make for a really unique center piece or unique holiday gift for a fellow gardener. To force these bulbs, start with a a few rocks in the bottom of a vase. Add one bulb per vase, setting it on top of the rocks. Pour a small amount of warm water into the vase, to just below the bottom of the bulb – you don’t need to get the bulb wet. In a few days, the bulbs should start putting out roots and as the roots take up water, continue to add a little water at a time to the vases. Now, just watch your bulbs grow and flower! Don’t forget to keep providing them the water that they need.

Looking for more great ideas on planting bulbs? Come see us at Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, Georgia! We’d love to help you get creative with your garden this winter so that you have a pop of color all season long. 

Img via Flickr. 

Most of your landscape will go dormant this winter which means that it is a perfect time to prune your trees and shrubs, both for their health and to maintain their shape, if necessary. Whispering Springs Nursery has tips for you on the plants that you should and shouldn’t get your clippers out for when the weather turns cold.

Fruits

North Georgia is wine country. Many people have grapes growing in their backyard, whether for wine making or just for fun, and the benefit from a healthy dose of pruning in the winter. Training the plants to develop a main stem with several lateral arms is best for their health and production. Prune close to the lateral arms to produce the best fruit later in the year. Your amount of pruning should be relative to the amount of growth the particular grape variety typically produces.

Blue berries and other bush berries produce best on stems that are three years old or less. Each winter, cut about a third of the oldest stems off at ground level to encourage new growth.

Your deciduous fruit trees should be pruned midwinter. You’ll be removing some of the blooms, but allowing more light into the plant to produce a better crop of fruit. To prevent disease while pruning, dip your garden shears into rubbing alcohol.

Roses

Leave your roses to fend for themselves until after their spring bloom. This is the only time that they should be pruned to prevent damage.

Hydrangeas

Most veteran gardeners know that hydrangeas bloom on old wood, so if you prune them in the winter or early spring you’ll be removing flower buds. The best time for pruning is before midsummer, unless you’re growing an Endless Summer Series in which case the timing of your pruning is less critical because they bloom on both new and old growth.

Summer-Blooming Trees and Shrubs

Crape myrtles, butterfly bush, and potentilla produce their flowers on the new growth from the current season. This fact means that winter is a great time for pruning while the plants are dormant. You can even cut them all the way to the ground in late winter and they’ll still bloom in the summer.

Do you have a question about how to prune a particular plant in your landscape? Give us a call at Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, Georgia. We’d be happy to talk you through what your plants need from you this winter. Or, schedule us to come out and take care of your landscape maintenance for you and all you have to do is appreciate your freshly trimmed plants!

When it comes to landscaping, your yard can look drab in the late fall and winter if you haven’t planted accordingly. Many times, this happens to novice gardeners in the Jasper, Georgia area because they don’t know how to choose plants and shrubs that look beautiful year round – with or without flowers. Whispering Springs Nursery carries all types of shrubs, bushes, and trees that look great all year, and add color to your landscape with their beautiful foliage.

Right here in the Big Canoe area, we have a large population of deer – as you probably know. To keep our landscapes intact, you must be careful to choose plants that hopefully the deer and other wildlife will ignore in favor of more delicious indigenous species. The wine and roses weigelia is a great option that will add interest to your landscape through the fall and the deer don’t seem to like it very much. It has dark purple foliage from spring to fall and is speckled with pink flowers in the spring and summer. It also holds up well to drought.

Barberries are beautiful, but thorny. You don’t want to plant these bushes in front of anything that you’ll need to get to on a regular basis like a propane tank or electric meter. The ‘Rose Glow’ barberry has purple foliage that is splashed with pink and white. There are many other types of barberries with various colored leaves, and you can surely find one that matches your landscaping theme.

A few other options that look great in your landscape all year long are: Spirea, beautybush, dappled willows, and the variegated false holly. Take a picture of your Jasper, Georgia landscape and bring it with you to Whispering Springs. We will help you pick out the perfect plants to take your yard from drab to fab! Feeling overwhelmed? We do professional landscape design and installation too! Just give us a call to set up a consultation.

Img: Spirea via Flickr.

When it comes to Fall planting you will hear over and over again recommendations to plant pansies and violas. If you didn’t know better, these beautiful, cool season flowers would appear exactly the same to the uneducated eye. Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA wants to let you in on the secrets about this flowers so you can know the difference, and make an educated decision when you go to plant them in your pansy/viola flower beds this weekend.

Pansies

Pansies have bigger blooms than their viola counterparts, but they also have fewer blooms. They take a bit longer to spread, but are certainly cold hardy. We have some experience with the new variety of Wave Pansies and we have mixed reviews about them. While they will explode in the Spring, spreading up to two feet wide. They look beautiful if planted in a container, trailing over the edge and spilling out a cascade of color. This year, the breeders have introduced even more colors in the Wave variety, as last year there were only two colors to choose from. The problems we’ve seen with the Wave pansies is that if they are not planted correctly at the right time in the Fall, they grow too leggy and fill freeze in the winter. While they will come back in the Fall, it defeats the purpose of planting cold weather hardy pansies in the first place.

Violas

If a client asks us which we recommend, we will always lean towards violas. While the general public tend to choose pansies because they have those larger faces, violas have more blooms, perform better, fill in faster, and look better earlier than pansies.  The ‘pansy’ name is way more common in the market than violas, but Whispering Springs Nursery encourages you – the educated consumer – to reach towards violas for your landscape. They are proven to perform better in your landscape every time!

Img via Flickr.

Your warm weather plants are just about done for the year. What are you going to do in your landscape or container garden to keep the color going throughout the winter months? Plant a selection of annuals! Pansies are the go to choice when it comes to adding color in the winter months, but primroses are gaining in popularity. Whispering Springs wants you to know more about this versatile plant so you can add it to your collection.

Where to Plant

Primroses are technically considered a perennial, but because they often don’t make it through the hot summers – especially here in Jasper, GA  – they are more often treated as an annual. They prefer to be planted in a semi-shaded area in loamy soil, but will also tolerate average to poor soil conditions. If they are planted in a particularly moist, shady environment, they might hold up throughout the summer.

Choosing a Primrose

The primrose family consists of about 400 varieties. They have dark green, crisp leaves and brightly colored flowers. They don’t mind rain and they won’t be attacked by slugs either. Some common species include fairy primrose, German primrose, and English primroses. Some stand tall, near 8 inches, while others stay closer to the ground, blooming on stems that are only 3 inches long.

In addition to primroses and pansies, if you’d like to add a wider variety of colors and selections to your winter landscaping, select ornamental kale, snapdragons, and calendulas. We’ve got lots to choose from here at our Jasper, GA garden center, so we hope to see you visiting soon!