Lawn maintenance through the seasons and different weather is tough to manage. Lawn care is especially tricky during the unpredictable Georgia winters! We’ve gathered 8 steps you need to take to ensure your lawn is ready for the winter.

Here are 8 steps for Georgia lawn care and maintenance in the winter:

• Fertilize Your Lawn – Be sure to apply fertilizer with a spreader. You’ll want to be sure you’re following the instructions on the fertilizer package and applying only the recommended amount as too much can burn your grass.
• Aerate Your Lawn – Aerating your lawn provides some extra air to the grassroots. To do this, use a spade to take out spikes of soil across your lawn to make holes for planting seeds.
• Spread Cool Weather Grass Seeds – You’ll want to purchase grass seeds that specifically say “cool season” or “cool weather.” Most fescues can be considered cool weather seeds. You can spread the seed over your lawn with the same spreader you used for the fertilizer. Be sure to spread the seeds evenly so you won’t be left with clumps of grass once it grows.
• Rake and Water Your Lawn – Rake over the lawn to break up any soil clumps and cover the seeds, and then water the lawn. Be sure to always keep the soil moist and not to let it dry out.
• Clean up Your Lawn – It’s very imperative to not leave debris, leaves, or toys out on your lawn. They can smother the grass, create disease conditions, and invite damaging pests.

• Lower the Height of Your Mower – Be sure to lower the height of your mower by a notch or two. You’ll want to be sure that your grass isn’t too long but also not too short, as either extreme can cause damage.
• Be Aware of Traffic – Dormant grass will tolerate a moderate amount of traffic, but a heavily worn path will be slower to turn green in the spring.
• Monitor Weather Conditions – Certain conditions can be very harmful to your lawn in the long term. If you know a winter storm or deep freeze is approaching, it may be worth the effort to chip away at the exposed ice in a low spot.

If you need help making sure your lawn is up to par all winter long, give us a call at Whispering Springs today!

The rose holds a special place in our culture, evoking love, romance, and elegance. But roses aren’t just common motifs of art, music, and literature; they’re also show-stoppingly gorgeous additions to your garden! 

Roses come in a profusion of colors and sizes, from delicate miniature roses to fragrant magenta “knock out” roses, to stunning, richly-colored hybrid tea roses. If you’d like to plant a cutting garden to supply your home with fresh flowers, or just want to add a few pops of vibrant color to your landscaping, read on to learn how to plant roses and visit our Jasper garden center and nursery to find the best rose bushes for your garden. 

How to Plant Roses

Set the stage.

When selecting a place to plant roses, it’s important to take into account how much sun and shade the spot gets. For most roses, you’ll want to plant in a location that gets 6 or more hours of full sun per day and has well-draining soil. If you have a swampy, perpetually damp area of your yard, that’s not the place to plant your rosebush.  

Pick your roses.

Certain varieties of roses are hardier than others in various climates, so look for roses that are rated for your region. We’re happy to help you pick the best rose varieties for your yard, so contact us if you have any questions! 

When buying roses, look for strong canes (the main branches of the rose bush) and healthy buds. If the canes have started sprouting offshoots or the plant looks shriveled, choose another. 

Start planting!

• If you’re planting a bare root rose, dig an 18” square hole and mix your compost of choice into the soil, forming a small mound. 
• Place the rose on the mound of soil, and spread the roots out around it. 
• Make sure the “bud union” (aka the knobby part between the stem and roots) is just barely above ground level. 
• Fill the hole back up around the roots and lightly pat the soil into place. Give your rose bush a nice, deep watering.
• Planting a potted rose is almost the same, but you’ll typically need to excavate a larger hole—about twice the width of the root ball and six to eight inches deeper than the container.  

Remember, we’re here to help with all of your gardening and landscaping needs, so give us a call! We’re always happy to answer questions and share expertise with our customers to help you achieve the landscaping of your dreams. 

Whether you’re growing herbs on your kitchen windowsill, flowers on your balcony, or a vegetable garden in your backyard, gardening is a wonderfully rewarding hobby. In fact, there’s even some evidence to support that gardening lowers stress. If you’re a beginner gardener, welcome to the family! You’ll quickly see how addicting it can be, especially with some tips to help you get the best results possible. 

One of the most important things to know if you’re learning to garden is how to water plants. Sure, you can just pour some water on certain plants and they’ll probably make it, but for the best results, you need to water strategically to avoid pitfalls like root rot or dehydration. Check out these plant watering tips from Whispering Springs Nursery to get your garden off to a good start. 

How to Water Plants

Get to the root of the problem.

When watering your plants, take care to water the base of the plant, not the leaves. Watering from above is not only a waste of water (depending on how the foliage of the plant is structured, the water could end up not even reaching the ground), but allowing water to sit on the leaves can also make your plants susceptible to fungus. 

Don’t be shallow.

Or rather, don’t water shallow! For most plants, it’s better to water less frequently but more deeply, allowing the water to reach the roots of the plant, than to splash a little water on them more frequently. Frequent, light waterings can cause your plant to grow weak, shallow roots in a search for the moisture that’s not making its way down into the soil. 

Give different plants what they need. 

Plants that are in the ground will typically need to be watered less frequently than plants in containers. Flower pots and planters retain heat, which disperses through the relatively small amount of soil they hold and dries them out much faster than the ground around plants in your flower beds. 

To check if your container garden needs water, all you need is your pointer finger. Stick it in the dirt up to your second knuckle. If it feels dry all the way through, your plants want a drink. If not, you can hold off on watering for another day or so. 

Cover your bases.

Nope, not those (baseball) bases. Covering the bases of plants with mulch can make a huge difference in water conservation, allowing the soil to absorb the water instead of evaporating into the air. Mulching your garden beds and containers will also help to protect the soil from baking in the hot Georgia sun, and can even discourage weeds from invading your flower beds.

Name that movie: “Exercise gives you endorphins and endorphins make you happy.”

We may not need Elle Woods to tell us that physical activity is good for us. Did you know gardening is also good for you? Well, beyond the physical benefits (planting flowerbeds is a pretty good workout!), gardening is amazing for your mental health. With all of this craziness, we know we need some good mental health practices so we figured we would share what we know.

Top Mental Health Benefits of Gardening:

1. Practicing acceptance. This does not mean giving up on something that’s not going your way, but rather learning to accept what you can and cannot control.
2. Moving beyond perfectionism. No matter how much you try to plan to make the perfect garden, there will always be elements outside your control like deer or worms that eat your plants or bad weather to ruin the plants. Learn to accept these things and love your garden regardless.
3. Developing a growth mindset. What is thinking with a growth mindset? Knowing that we are constantly growing and learning. When things do not go our way, a growth mindset will help you realize this was just another opportunity to learn and grow.
4. Connecting with others. This is so important, especially now. We may not be able to meet and plant together at this time but there are several avenues to connect with fellow gardeners right now. Chat with our experts at Whispering Springs Nursery. Connect with us (and your local gardening community) on Facebook. Ask your inner circle if they’ve discovered a green thumb while sheltering in place. Gardening and chatting with others is a great way to feel connected while we are all stuck at home.
5. Connecting to your world. This may sound weird but there is just something about planting, harvesting, and feeding yourself and your family with food you grew and cared for yourself that makes you feel like part of something bigger.
6. Forest bathing. This comes from a Japanese term which paints a beautiful picture of yourself being completely immersed in nature. Benefits from just being out in nature include: less anxiety/depression, better stress management, faster recovery from surgery, and many other health benefits.
7. Being present. Many find a centering effect while gardening. Mindful presence is tied to many health benefits including less relationship reactivity and more relationship satisfaction.
8. Physical exercise. Regularly moving your body leads to less anxiety and better general mood.
9. Reducing stress. If you’ve ever sat in a sunny garden and let your mind drift, you know it’s an instant mood-lifter.
10. Healthy Eating. Growing your own food isn’t just satisfying when you’re digging up carrots. It’s also great for giving you important nutrients in a time when produce shelves at the grocery store are sparse.

If these are not enough reasons to get out and garden, here is one more: what else do we have to do right now? Whispering Springs is open and just waiting for you. We have knowledgeable employees that are willing to help with anything. We’re also offering curbside pickup due to popular request. Want to order ahead? Give us a call and we’ll have your order ready to go. Even if you just want to get out of the house for a drive, we would love to see a familiar face (even at a six foot distance).

Now is the time for us to rally together and support each other. We would love to help you create your favorite new backyard sanctuary.

Mulch is a great addition to any landscape, but only when used correctly. Without proper application, it can even do more harm than good! Fortunately you’re in the right place for any and all North Georgia landscaping questions. Here at Whispering Springs Nursery, we don’t just sell plants; we also offer landscape design, yard maintenance, hardscaping, and softscaping, with special expertise in deer-resistant plants and native woodland landscaping. If you’re interested in learning how to mulch like the pros, keep reading for our best mulching tips and tricks. 

How to Mulch Like a Landscaping Pro

Prep the area.

Before you bring any mulch onto the scene, make sure you’re starting with a properly prepared blank canvas, so to speak. Remove sticks, leaves, pinecones, weeds, etc. from the area where you’ll be applying the mulch. If you’re mulching around trees or shrubs, be sure to prune them first so you don’t have to clean debris out of the mulch later. 

Select a place for your delivery of mulch to be deposited, keeping in mind that you don’t want to damage grass or existing plantings. (Avoid choosing a location that is wet or muddy. Not only can this damage the mulch, but you can also get stuck attempting to drive a truck on unpaved land.)

Finally, you should prepare for mulch by edging along flower beds and paved areas like your driveway and sidewalk. Create a trench about 4 inches wide and 2 inches deep to create a crisp line between the grass and the bed. For paved areas, dig a slightly deeper trench so you have plenty of room to insert the mulch and have it be flush with the paved surface, rather than overflowing onto it. If you have a lot of area to prepare, consider renting a tiller or bed edger. 

Apply the mulch. 

Take it from experienced landscapers, these tips will make applying mulch much easier. 

• Use a pitchfork to move mulch.
• Load your mulch into a large wheelbarrow so you don’t have to make as many trips.
• Place small piles of mulch around the area you’re working on to help you apply an even coat.
• Spread the mulch out with a rake. You’ll need at least 2 inches of depth but no more than 4 inches in order to provide the maximum benefit. 
• Never mound mulch up around the trunk of a tree or shrub. This can invite pests and make the tree vulnerable to diseases. 
• Finish up by using a leaf blower to blow excess mulch back into the bed. 

Benefits of mulch

Congrats! Once you’re done installing mulch, you can rest assured that your landscaping is one step closer to perfection. The benefits of mulch include: 

• Moisture retention
• Erosion prevention
• Soil remediation (as mulch breaks down it affects the soil ph)
• Pest control (cedar or cypress can help keep fleas, gnats, and other insects away from your home.)