Roses are by far one of the most popular flowers for gardeners. They come in varieties by the thousands that vary in color, size, bloom time, growth type, and preferential growing conditions. Some roses can be relatively hardy and maintenance free, while others are susceptible to disease and attack by insects. Whispering Springs Nursery has some tips for you on how to encourage the best growth from your roses. 

Disease

Most roses are susceptible to powdery mildew and black spot. Black spot manifests itself as black spots on the leaves of the plant. The leaves will turn yellow and fall off which can lead to severe defoliation. Powdery mildew appears as a white-grey powdery substance on the leaves. The foliage and flower buds can be distorted as a result. There are two options for control: Buy rose varieties that are resistant to these diseases or treat with fungicides labeled appropriately.

Insects

Aphids are the most common insect that you will see feeding on your roses. They suck out the moisture from the undersides of leaves and attack buds before they open. They are easily controlled with insecticides for roses.

Fertilization

Roses should be fertilized once a month, March through September with about three tablespoons of general purpose or 10-10-10 fertilizer. If your roses are larger than 5′, feed them with 5 tablespoons of fertilizer.

Now is the time that you should be applying your last round of fertilizer to the roses in your Canton, GA landscape. Apply now to encourage another flush of blooms in the Fall and to help protect them from Winter damage. If you have questions about maintaining your Canton, GA landscape, give us a call or come visit today!

Fall is in the air. Even though it’s still August, up here in the north Georgia mountains you can almost taste the crisp Fall air starting to blow through the pines in the mornings. Along with campfires, hot chocolate, and changing leaves, Fall brings with it the time for planting once again. Now is the time to spruce up your patios and outdoor seating areas so you can enjoy them when the cool weather is finally here to stay. One of the easiest ways to make your outdoor areas beautiful is to add hanging pots and containers. To help you add beauty to your Jasper, GA deck or patio, Whispering Springs Nursery has found a few tried and true container recipes. 

The basic container recipe is easy. All you have to do is choose a filler, thriller and spiller. From that basic formula, there is an unlimited combination of plants you can choose to make the perfect container that shows off your personality and coordinates with your garden.

Black mondo grass, (Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’), bishop’s weed (Aegopodium podagraria var. variegatum) and pink oxalis (Oxalis crassipes).

Fall Grasses

Growing grasses in the fall is a surefire way to add color to your gardens. This container recipe combines blue fescue, Chrysanthemums, strawflower, and purple fountaingrass for a container that is not only colorful but combines several different textures as well.

Soft Flowers

On the other end of the texture aspect from the hard edges of grasses, you can choose these soft flowers and dark colors to invite Fall to your patio. Linaria, pandsies, and plox look great together in a small, 12-inch container in complimentary colors of dark purple, burgundy, and a soft white.

Do you need help figuring out what to plant in your containers? Bring them with you to Whispering Springs and we will help you find the perfect plants for the Fall.

Img via Flickr. 

Summer was high time for your vegetable garden, but just because the days are getting shorter doesn’t mean that your veggie crops have to dwindle, too. With creative thinking and planning, your gardens can yield a great crop of cool weather plants. Whispering Springs Nursery offers advice on how to get the most out of your Jasper, GA garden through the cooler months.

A Starting Place

The place to start when planning a Fall garden is with your region’s estimated first frost date, which in Jasper is somewhere between November 1st-November 10th. From there, you will plan backwards. Find the number of days to harvest for each vegetable you wish to plant. This can typically be found on the seed packet or online. Use that number to subtract back from the first frost date then add two more weeks. The additional time accounts for the slowing of growth as days shorten.

A Variety of Crops

What kind of crops can you look forward to harvesting this Fall? Stick with crops that do will in the cooler temperatures, and grow quickly. These include lettuce, spinach, cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, radishes, turnips, onions, carrots, and more. Buying some of these as pre-grown seedlings will help you get a jump start on your Fall garden, but others such as the lettuce, radishes, and turnips grow quickly and will do well if you sow them directly in the ground.

Whispering Springs hopes that you continue to grow a great veggie garden throughout this Fall. If you need help figuring out what or when to plant, just give us a call! We’ll be happy to help!

August is one of the hottest months of the year here in Jasper, GA and the increased temperatures mean that you need to pay special attention to your plants and their needs. Even with the frequent rain that we have received, it is important that you water your gardens when they are looking dry. Often times, we think that it has been raining for days on end and when it finally stops, it takes us a week or more to realize that the skies have finally cleared. During this week, while you may think that the ground is wet and your plants should be fine, what is actually happening is that their roots and the soil have begun to dry out. To help keep your gardens alive through the sweltering heat of August, here are some tips from Whispering Springs Nursery. 

Watering Established Plantings

Your established trees, shrubs, and plants do not need daily, light watering. Instead, these plants benefit most from one deep watering a week. The amount of water your established plants need each week should amount to about an inch including the rainfall in your area and irrigation. If you water these plants frequently and lightly, it encourages shallow root systems and high water loss through evaporation. Deep, infrequent watering encourages deeper rooting and stronger, healthier plants.

Watering Annuals and New Plants

If you have chosen annuals for your gardens that are not drought tolerant, you need to be especially thoughtful with your watering. Make sure to water your annual beds early in the morning to reduce evaporation and give them plenty of moisture to make it through the hot day. These beds will probably need more than one inch of water a week, so just keep an eye on their leaves and the soil moisture to know when they are ready for more water.

With these simple tips, your gardens should do well through the rest of the hot summer months. When you’re ready to plant again this fall, make sure you come by our garden center in Jasper, GA – we’ve got the plants you’re looking for!

How is your yard looking these days? Overgrown with weeds or completely eaten by deer? Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA can help! We provide yard maintenance services and landscape design services – specializing in creating deer resistant gardens. 

Our yard maintenance package includes everything you need to keep your yard looking well cared for.

• Expert pruning of shrubs and small trees
  • All trees and shrubs need to be pruned to help promote their natural beauty and keep them at a reasonable size within your landscape. We can prune your trees, shrubs, roses, and more in a way so that they are able to grow healthy and strong, yet not overtake the look of your yard.
• Clean up of planting beds
  • Garden beds are beautiful when they are first planted, but as they grow, they need to be regularly cleaned and maintained. We will perform weed control, mulching, fertilization, leaf removal, and seasonal maintenance of plant material such as dead-heading perennials. These services keep your garden beds clean and tidy throughout the year.
• Maintenance of ponds and water features
  • Whether you have a pond of your favorite fish, a water fall, or other water feature, each of these require specific maintenance duties year long to keep them fully operational and keep their flora and fauna healthy. Ponds in particular that contain fish require special attention during the colder months to help your fish stay healthy until the freezing temperatures lift.

Our yard maintenance services are offered on a schedule that fits your needs. Call us today to schedule a consultation and take your landscape from blah to beautiful!

In the North Georgia mountains up here around Jasper, GA, trying to get grass to grow is almost as difficult as trying to make a water lily grow on dry land. When Whispering Springs Nursery does landscape designs, instead of using grass for groundcover, we like to use one of these several options as a beautiful alternative to grass.

Thyme – Not only does this plant cover ground, it makes your space beautiful with its pink or white flowers in the spring or summer and fills the air with its fresh aroma.

Sweet Woodruff – This is a great plant for groundcover that you won’t have to worry about becoming invasive. It forms in well mannered clumps about 12 inches tall and when crushed smells like freshly mowed hay.

Brass Buttons – If you need a groundcover that you can walk on, this is a great option. It grows tiny, bronze colored flowers and only grows about 6 inches tall. It likes full sun and well-drained soil.

Bishop’s Weed – For a shade-loving groundcover, look no further. Bishop’s weed loves full shade and well drained soil. It also grows quickly so make sure it has plenty of space to wander.

Lamium – This groundcover is easy, peasy. It blooms through the summer with pink or white flowers, and even when it’s not blooming it still provides visual interest with its silver foliage.

Epimedium – If you have one of those places that is shady, yet dry, this is a great option for you. And it sprouts interestingly shaped purple or pink blooms.

Lily-of-the-Valley – One of our all time favorites, this plant is one of the easiest growing ground covers and will fill your yard with a wonderful fragrance.

These are just a few of our favorite groundcovers for both sun and shady areas. Do you need help creating a landscape design for your Jasper, GA yard? Give us a call! We’d love to help!

Water features create a beautiful centerpiece for your landscape, and provide the tranquil, relaxing sounds of running water. But, many people shy away from water features because they have heard about how high maintenance they can be – skimming, scrubbing, filling, and carefully balancing the ratio of fish to plants to try to keep the water healthy. But, all of these hassles only come with water features that include some sort of pond. Have you thought about installing a pond-less water feature? Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA brings you the 3 benefits to going pond-less.

1 – Less Maintenance

When you have a pond-less water feature, you don’t have to worry about balancing the water conditions, the health of your water plants, or your fish. You will never have to empty and scrub out your pond, or worry about its water level, because you won’t have one to deal with! Once pond-less water features are installed, they are virtually maintenance free.

2 – Safer For the Family

Without a pool of water for a child or pet to fall into, you don’t have to worry about them playing in the yard. You will still get the benefits of the tranquility that a water feature can provide to your outdoor living space, without the safety hazards of someone, or something, falling in.

3 – No Space Too Small

When you are working with a pond-less water feature, there is virtually no space too small for an installation. Simply select a design to fit your desired area and let the installation process begin.

James Gyrno specializes in water features. Not only will he design and install a feature for your Jasper, GA garden, but he will spend extra time adjusting stones and water flow to create the perfect music of trickling water through your landscape.

If you are interested in a water feature for your landscape, give us a call today! We look forward to seeing what we can create for you!

At Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA we do more than just grow beautiful plants and install them to make beautiful landscapes. James Gyrno, our owner and operator, has a history of carpentry that he brings to our customers to help make their backyards into an oasis escape. He can custom build a deck for your home, create a pergola, or seating area just for you. But why should you add these unique features to your home? These are 3 main reasons why you should add a deck to your Jasper, GA house.

#1 – Adds Entertainment Space

When the sun finally goes down in the summer time and the fireflies come out to light up the night, the outdoors is the perfect setting or entertaining. Adding a deck into your outdoor living space creates a whole new venue for you to host your next dinner party or family gathering.

#2 – Creates Interest

If all you have on the front or back of your home is a door leading outside to a set of stairs or small concrete slab, adding a deck to your home will create a new look and add interest. Adding a deck porch gives your home a whole new meaning to the term “curb appeal”. And what better way to spend a cool afternoon then reading a book in your adoradak chair while you sip some sweet tea?

#3 – Increases Home Value

Outdoor living improvements are one of the renovations that you can do to your Jasper, GA home that are practically guaranteed to increase your home’s resale value. If you think that you could be putting your home on the market in the future, keep it in mind when you are designing your deck. Create a space that anyone could love, life, and entertain in. These are just a few of the great added benefits that you get with installing a porch on your home. Give us a call at Whispering Springs Nursery and ask to talk to James and he will be happy to assist you with the design and installation of a deck on your Jasper, GA home!

July is Smart Irrigation Month so here at Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA, we are bringing you tips on smart watering to keep your landscape healthy while limiting your water usage.

Tips on Watering Plants Over Summer

• Water in the mornings. This helps keep your plant leaves dry so they don’t develop disease, and limits evaporation. 
• Don’t water everyday. Typically, your established landscaping will do just fine with every other day watering.  If it has been raining, keep this in mind and don’t water your plants again until the soil has dried.
• Water deeply, and infrequently. The rule of thumb that gardeners have used for years is one  inch of water per week, if it was not provided by rain.
• Only water when your plants need it. If your annuals are looking wilted, go ahead and give them a deep watering. Established perennials only need watering when they stay wilted overnight into the next day.

Why is Smart Watering Important?

It is important to water smartly for the health of your plants. Just as much damage can be done to plants that are over watered as those that are enduring drought. Limiting your watering also helps to limit runoff. When you over water your soil, it becomes saturated and instead of absorbing the moisture, the top layer of your soil can wash away. Lastly, limit your watering to save your water bill and reduce stress on the planet. During July, landscape water usage increases by 80%. There is already limited amounts of fresh water supply available, so the less you can use on your landscaping, the better.

Whispering Springs Nursery in Canton, GA hopes that you keep these tips in mind this July and throughout the summer to conserve water and help your landscape grow healthy all season long.

At Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA, we have a little bit of a different idea of landscaping than many of the companies who are located in Canton, Woodstock, or Atlanta. When we do landscape design or installation around Big Canoe or other surrounding areas, we work to make our projects blend into and beautifuify the natural landscape, rather than altering it. Our woodland garden landscapes are typically low maintenance and use species that grow easily in moist, shady areas. Grass is not one of our top players, so we wanted to show you the options that we use for groundcover, other than typical turfgrass.

Mulch

Mulch is a great natural alternative to grass. As it ages and biodegrades, it benefits your plants by creating a richer and more nutritious soil. To install mulch as a ground cover, you first want to put down a layer of landscape cloth. This will prevent weeds from growing up through your mulch and will help to retain moisture. Mulch is relatively low maintenance, of course it does not require weekly watering and mowing, but once or twice a year you will need to put down a new layer of mulch to keep it thick and looking fresh. To create a path through your mulch yard, simply lay down pavers or stones on the landscape cloth and mulch around them.

Fill in with Groundcover

There are many ‘toe tickler’ ground covering plants that you can use to cover your yard. Thyme, chamomile, or Corsican mint are all great groundcovering plants that will feel good on your bare feet and release a scent as you walk across them. These are recommended to be used in an area that has light foot traffic. While they will hold up to being walked on, they are not nearly as hardy as grass and can be damaged with too much traffic.

Stone

Instead of covering most or all of your yard with plants, you could instead use gravel or stones to cover the majority of space, and simply add in a few of the groundcover plants to add a softness to your design and fill in the empty edges. Flagstone, brick, and many pavers are great options for creating large ‘flooring’ areas, or you could create concrete pavers of your own with a little ingenuity and patience.

These are a few options that Whispering Springs recommends if you are looking for an alternative to grass for your woodland garden. Call us today if you would like to schedule a landscape design consultation or if we can help you install the yard of your dreams!

Img from Flickr.