3 Must-Do’s to Add to Your Summer Gardening Checklist

gardening tipsSpring has sprung, and the first official day of summer is weeks away. You’ve likely been busy in your garden since March, but the work isn’t done yet. For many, it’s just beginning. But don’t worry – your hard work to keep your garden healthy will be extremely rewarding.

Consider the following summer gardening tips to keep your garden bright and healthy:

Pull Weeds

You may see an influx of weeds in your yard during June because weeds LOVE the warm weather that summer brings. But, if you spot them early when they’re still small sprouts, they’re easy to pull. Make sure you pull them at their root, so they can’t grow back.

Mulch Your Garden

If you have a garden, spreading mulch over your soil is one of the best ways to keep your soil healthy. The mulch provides a much-needed barrier from intense weather conditions and pesky animals. A two-inch layer of mulch is the perfect amount to spread over your soil.

Watch for Pests

Throughout the summer, many critters will want to make a home in your garden. (Can you blame them? Your garden is beautiful due to the jaw-dropping plants you bought from our nursery.) So, make sure you keep an eye out for pests that may harm your plants. Take the appropriate measures to ward them off or eliminate them if they invade.

At Whispering Springs Nursery, we are dedicated to helping our customers make the garden of their dreams. Let us know if you have any questions. One of our team members will gladly assist you!

3 Ways We Can Help Beautify Your Outdoor Space

backyard careThe random bouts of cold weather have officially subsided, and the warm weather has finally arrived. Spring and summer are two of the best seasons of the year because it’s backyard season! All of your TLC during fall and winter will show as flowers start to bloom and trees stretch their branches.

If you are looking to add an extra touch of beauty to your yard, we can help. Here are a few of many ways we can help beautify your outdoor space:

Landscape Design

Do you want to transform your yard into a backyard oasis? Through our landscape design and installation, our team can do just that. You can choose from a variety of options – lighting systems, hardscapes, and softscapes are just a few of many. We can even plant more trees and shrubs, if needed, to add more dimension and color to your future oasis.

Yard Maintenance

Yards, just like our homes and vehicles, need regular maintenance to keep them in prime condition. Our professional team members can prune your shrubs and small trees to ensure optimal growth. If you have planting beds, we will remove leaves and weeds that threaten to choke the seasonal plants. Additionally, if you have ponds or water features, we will maintain and clean those areas.

Water Features

To add extra oomph to your oasis, allow us to install a water feature to enhance the look of your property. Our expert team members work with your current lawn to ensure the new feature blends well with what is currently there. Beautiful hardscape options you can choose from include waterfalls, ponds, rock gardens, dry creek beds, and drainage creeks.

At Whispering Springs Nursery, we take pride in beautifying the beautiful mountain land in which we live. If you’d like to beautify your landscape, contact us today.

Repellex: Your Chewed Up Plant Solution!

We’ve got a lot going on this November, and we’re excited to share it with you! Here’s a few of our deals and a product we’re featuring for hunting season; Repellex!

repellex

November Deals

  • All perennials are buy two get one free, excluding the Tiarella and Heuchera perennials. These two are buy three get 1 free.

Featured Product

One of the great products we have this season is Repellex. Repellex is a pest repellent for plants, so the winter critters won’t chew up all your hard work! Many businesses like ours will push you to buy plants that animals aren’t typically attracted to. But with Repellex, you can buy anything you want without the worry of pests!

Repellex comes in a variety of different products, including the original deer and rabbit repellent, fruit and vegetable animal repellent, mole, vole and gopher repellent, dog and cat repellent and squirrel repellent.

These repellents work because they last from 60-90 days. You can find out more about all Repellex products on their ingredients on their website.

Visit Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, GA for all your plants, perennials, landscaping services and more! Check us out on our Facebook page for updates on products, services, industry news and more. You can also give us a call at 770-893-1254 for more info.

 

How to Start a Herb Garden

herb

We at Whispering Springs Nursery know that every gardener is different; some enjoy tending to indoor plants, some like to get their hands dirty outside in their landscape weekly, while others may prefer growing edible gardens as opposed to only visually appealing flowers and plants. Regardless of the kind of gardener you are, we all have to cook ourselves a meal once in a while (well if you cook!), so why not try out an herb garden?

Herb gardens are a great way to get started as a gardener. They are easy to start and require a small amount of maintenance and a little bit of sunshine, and often can be grown indoors as a kitchen garden. Herbs can grow in pots, but like most plants they like to spread out so being in the ground is always best. Some of the most popular herbs to grow (and cook with) include: cilantro, basil, oregano, parsley and mint.

The first thing to consider when you start your herb garden is location. Consider the environment that the herb grows best in. Most prosper in full sun, however if the temperature is consistently over 90 degrees then that can be a problem. With Georgia’s summertime heat, we would suggest that you plant the herb in an area that gets some sort of shade during the day. This could be afternoon shade or “filtered sunlight” which is where the Herb is planted under a tree and the sun shines through the leaves. Either way, check periodically to make sure the herbs are getting at least 4 hours of sun per day.

When planting begins, make sure that you give each one the correct amount of space to grow (we can help with that, just ask!) and this depends by herb, typically 1 to 4 feet in diameter. Ensure once you begin to plant that the soil is turned and loosened so that there is proper drainage and room to grow. This step is crucial to a thriving herb. Make sure and check the soil for dryness often. Water the herb when the ground appears to be dry and remember more water is not better! This can lead to a variety of issues and even inhibit growth.

Now, the fun part of harvesting comes. Make sure and cut close to a leaf on an older branch. This will make sure that it grows back quicker and makes room for newer branches.

We can always answer any specific questions about starting your herb garden or a particular plant you wish to grow. Our Whispering Springs professional staff would love to help you any way we can. Please feel free to stop by our Jasper, Georgia nursery sometime and speak with us in person!

basil

Basil in salad is the perfect addition! Enjoy!

Springtime in the South

lily

August Lily

April is here and along with it comes spring, Easter and Gardening Month! Of course, at Whispering Springs Nursery in Jasper, Ga. we like to think of gardening every month, but springtime is when many get into it due to the fabulous weather! Below we have a few suggestions for you to consider for your spring garden, but we also have plenty of great container plants at our nursery for you to dig in to all year long!

Fragrant Plants

Are you looking to enjoy the beauty of flowering plants from your porch or patio, but want a delightful fragrance too? Below are some plants that do well in most areas of the south and that are sure to delight your senses in the upcoming warm seasons.

  • Carolina allspice (Calycanthus floridus): This plant is actually a shrub that can grow up to eight feet tall! At first it may not appear as pretty as your Easter tulips; however, this deciduous shrub is hardy and produces lovely two-inch, apple-strawberry-scented, maroon blooms in the summertime. It could be a great shrub to put around your landscape.

  • August lily (Hosta plantaginea): Producing foliage in two-foot tall clusters, this plant offers four-inch long white blooms that appear in late summer. Uniquely the blooms open in late afternoon, allowing a scent similar to honeysuckle to be enjoyed all evening long.

  • Fragrant olive/sweet olive/tea olive (Osmanthus fragrans): This evergreen of many names appears more like a tree than a small plant. However, it’s tiny white flowers emit the sweetened scent of apricots during early spring and again in early fall.

Gardening Month 2015

Are you looking for something fun to do in honor of gardening month and springtime? Check out some of these great events at the Atlanta Botanical Gardens this April:

  • Herb Society Plant Sale: Saturday-Sunday, April 11th-12th from 9-5pm.

  • Garden Envy: An Auction of Rare Plants & Garden Treasures on Tuesday, April 21st at 6:30pm.

  • Earth Day: Wednesday, April 22nd from 10am to 1pm.

Not feeling like going into Atlanta? Visit Whispering Springs Nursery instead! We can help you get pick out everything you need for your spring garden and provide you with advice for taking care of your plants too! Need an Easter gift? Come pick out some container plants to make a lovely container for your friends and family. We look forward to seeing you!

Creating Privacy with Plants

privacy bushesChances are if you purchased a home with a large screen space, you probably had plans to enjoy using it and being outside at some point. Unfortunately, with the growing sizes of homes and the smaller lots they are being put on in neighborhoods, enjoying your yard can be a spectator sport for your neighbors! To help add some privacy to your yard, Whispering Springs Nursery of Jasper, Ga. has a few tips for you.

Privacy Solutions:

  • Hedges – instead of opting for fence try planning on your property lines with tall, fast-growing evergreens like Italian Cypress. These shrubs can be planted 12 inches apart, and quickly create a green privacy fence that blocks out views and some noise to your yard.

  • Container Gardens – Container plants are a great way to showcase your favorite plants or flowers, but they can also be another easy way to give your deck a little privacy!

  • Pergolas, Arbors & Lattice – Build the feeling of privacy within an enclosure like a wooden pergola or with a lattice screen filled with flowers and vines. While these structures may not keep out the noise of neighbors, they will at least make your yard feel more private.

  • Water Features – Traffic and other noise can be a problem if your home backs up to busy areas. Install a water fixture to alleviate some of this noise with the soothing sounds of flowing water instead.

  • Layered Planting – Plan and plant a mix of deciduous or evergreen trees, shrubs, and perennials in a staggered design; perennials in front, shrubs in the middle, and trees/hedges behind them. This will make for a stunning landscaping move and reduce visibility and noise pollution from entering into your yard. Plus, you can make some beautiful arrangements with the plant selections you choose!

Of course, traditional privacy options like a tall fence are always a good choice too! It just depends on how you want your yard to look and feel. Whispering Springs Nursery can help you create a wonderful privacy landscape design and installation it with our nursery’s fabulous selection of plants. Contact us today to learn more at 770-893-1254.

No Pets Allowed

petsThere’s nothing like going out on a nice day and playing in your garden; but the last thing you want is help from your dog or cat! Whispering Springs Nursery, located in Jasper, Ga.,  understands that you don’t want your hard gardening work trampled on, eaten, or dug up by your sweet pets. So we would like to share these tips from HGTV on how to keep your pets from becoming pests in your green space.

Basically when dealing with pets one must look at the situation through their eyes (like with a small child). Many of these steps are like baby proofing a home! Once you understand their motivation to mess up your garden, it’s easy to prevent your small furry children from running amuk in your gorgeous green space. 

Staked- If you have a dog who likes to use your flower bed as a well… a bed, simply driving a few short stakes in the ground throughout the bed should help. You can also put in decorative lawn or garden signs or ornaments. The thought here is that your garden will still look beautiful (the stakes usually are under the plant/flower height), but won’t allow for a comfortable napping place.

Wiring- Although chicken-wire is not the most pleasant thing to look at, it definitely will keep your pets out of your garden space. A good tip for using this material, is to use stakes with it, so it can easily be unrolled around gardens perimeter when your pets are out for long periods of time. Then simply roll it back up and hide it behind your garden, to prevent it from being an eyesore.

Cat-tastrophe- Certain pungent herbs and plants naturally keep cats away. You can plan these in or around your garden beds to discourage from coming around them. Herbs such as Rosemary and Sage are great the plant, and Coleus Canina is an annual plant that can also be used for the same purpose. If you prefer not to plant anything to discourage cats from coming into your garden, you can always use coffee grounds around the garden bed to keep them away.

For more great gardening tips, speak with our experts at Whispering Spring Nursery. We will help you decide what plants you should take home to your garden and we can even help you design your garden space! Contact us at 770-893-1254 or visit us in person. We look forward to speaking with you!

Landscape Emergency!

overgrown yardWhispering Springs Nursery knows all too well how difficult an overgrown landscape can be to work with. However, we are also experts at turning out-of-control plant situations into beautiful masterpieces, much like ‘plant emergency room doctors’ transform the ill. Whether you feel like your property needs some minor ‘surgery’ or a complete landscaping overhaul, we are always here to offer you our services. 

Generally, when dealing with an abundance of plants on an unmanaged or overgrown property, landscape architects use an inventory system to decide which plans should be removed, protected or transplanted. While these inventories are usually done by professionals, check out the details below of how you can get prepared:

  1. Boundaries: Get out your property plans, because it is important to know exactly where your property line is. Altering vegetation outside of your line could cause some stressful legal woes, especially if it turns out to be something on public property!

  2. Hire a Professional: Unless you are a professional landscaper, horticulturalist or arborists, chances are you’ll need the help of a qualified professional to take care of your inventory. Every plant, grass, vine, etc. will need to be documented and identified for this process. Then it will be used to decide which plant stay, go or simply get moved.

  3. Treehuggers: Trees that are healthy and noninvasive are super important to keep! These lovely things take decades to grow, add property value and provide important environmental benefits. Think twice before you decide to ditch your backyard giant.

  4. Bye, Bye: Say goodbye to invasive, exotic plants. These nasty plants will try to ruin your new landscaping if they aren’t removed completely by herbicide treatment or mechanical removal.

  5. For Keeps: Many native shrubs and small trees are great to keep, but may not fit in with your landscaping plans. These are usually (depending on the species) great candidates for removal to be transplanted somewhere else in your yard.

Overhauling a yard can be tough, but it can be done! Try to hold back the urge to bulldoze and remove everything; starting fresh may actually damage soil quality, plus you probably have plenty of native plants to work with, without needing to purchase too much more!

If you are interested in turning your messy yard into a sprawling paradise, please contact Whispering Springs Nursery. Also, follow us on Facebook!

The Value of Your Landscape

landscapingIf you are a homeowner, chances are you’ve heard about or had to deal with the increases and decreases of property value for your home. Generally the norm is a slight decrease in value as the years go by, but did you know that landscaping can actually make your property value rise? Whispering Springs Nursery of Jasper, Ga. knows exactly what it takes to make your landscaping go from okay to stunning, so here are a few tips to increase your property’s value.

  • Structures: Have permanent structures like retaining walls and terracing can really give your home some curb appeal, which boosts your overall value. These structures can also help with unused slopes of ground, add texture and help to control erosion in your yard. Other great structures you can add are walkways, stairs, arbors, pergolas, ponds, fencing and more!

  • Trees: Did you know that the red maple is the most popular tree in the United States? Trees like the red maple are used to calculate the annual benefit they give to your city by using the National Tree Benefit Calculator. These trees can increase your property value as well as your neighbor’s!

  • Native Plants: If you are interested in gardening, you may already know that using native plants that thrive in your particular region are best used for your landscaping needs. These plants are preferred because they adjust more readily and can save you time and money with upkeep (plus save money on a lawn service). They can also make you more money if you try to sell your home.

  • Lighting: It may seem strange, but outdoor lighting is a huge concern for many home buyers. The NAHB actually lists outdoor lighting as essential for 41% of buyers! Consider adding some nice solar torches to your walkway and other outside lighting to your home if you haven’t already. When you light up your home, you may also prevent intruders from targeting your home!

We at Whispering Springs Nursery are skilled to help you add value to your home with our excellent landscaping services and structure building experience. Please give us a call at 770-893-1254 today to make your specialized landscaping plan and add some value to your property by spring!