We just found out the bulk of the 2004 Bare Root Fruit Trees will be here Monday Jan 5, 2004. Don't get here too soon after because it does take a couple of days to get them ready for sale. We will for sure have them ready by the weekend.

This time of the year we get lots of frost protection questions.

These are the ways I have found to be the best and easiest.

There are a few ways we recommend:

A product called Cloud Cover, sold ready to use or concentrate,

I recommend this on plants that are too large to bring in the
house, or to cover, such as a ficus tree you have put on the patio in the summer, a Queen Palm that is young.

Cloud Cover is a product that holds moisture in the leaves and reduces
cell damage. It has to be applied before each freeze.

Another way that we protect our frost tenders at Scenic Nursery is
covering the plants on freezing nights (temperatures dropping below
32 degrees) with a cloth called Seed Blanket. This is a plastic cloth that
has holes (like a blanket) to allow air, sun, and water through but holds
the heat in, I find this very effective on a new planting of pansies that
you want to keep prime for a special event, or to cover that beautiful
bouganvillea. You simply drape the blanket over the desirable plants
before the expected freeze, and take it off the morning after.

Remember that the time of an expected freeze is a few days after
a rain when the air and ground is drying out, and the sky is clear.
Also be sure there is moisture in those frost tender desirables.
A freeze will do far more damage to a plant if there is not adequate
moisture in the plant.

There all special cases, different situations so if you need some
professional advise on how to protect your frost tender plants please
call one of our certified nursery professionals at Scenic Nursery.

So with all of that said, enjoy this winter, and we wish you a very
Happy, Healthy New Year!

This is the time to make New Years Resolutions. When you do, don't forget your garden.

My resolutions follow below:

1) Don't forget to fertilize. Here I am often suprised when I do fertilize and plants start to grow. Gee, I guess what I tell my customers does work.

2) Don't forget the Iron Plus. With our climate and soil and water Iron often gets chemically tied up. To cure this it takes additional iron and an acidifying agent. Iron plus has 40% Iron plus Humic Acid and it really makes a diference. Plus, it doesn't cause iron stains on concrete or paint.

3) Adjust my sprinkler system during the changing weather so as to not over water. Since the start of timed sprinkler systems we see more over watering than under watering. Remember too much water drives oxygen out to the soil and roots NEED oxygen to grow.

4) For my Design and Refurbish clients keep looking for interesting ways to develop our small yards. It is always fun to discover new ways to create interesting yards for people. Ways they would not discover on their own. I am going to be looking at more garden design magazines for ideasw to share.

These are my resolutions I know you can come up with some of your own.

Jungle Jim

During the rainy weather we don't have to water our gardens! Right!

Well maybe.

You have to remember those plants under the eaves or in containersw on the patio. You need to occasionally check those plants for water even during our rain season.

During cold weather below freezing you also have to check for water. Here, it's evergreen plants that loose water out of their foliage during the freeze period and then have it evaporate during the daylight hours. In the nursery we check evergreens (plants that still have foliage, not just evergreen conifers) every 2-3 days when the weather drops below 30F. Forgetting to do this can cause a lot of frost damage.

Christmastime is finally here! I hope everybody got those new pair of Felco Shears they were hoping for!

Scenic Nursery will be closed on Christmas Day and Boxing Day (the 26th). We will be reopening on Saturday the 27th. Happy Holidays everone!

If you have been reading the newsletter over the last few years you may remember my talking about the old Kay’s Collectable triangle at the start of Scenic Drive. There was to be a fountain and Scenic Nursery was donating the landscaping. It’s two years later and it’s finally planted.

Bill York donated the fountain design and supervision of the fountain installation. Vintage Pools donated a large portion of their cost in building the pool, Reed construction donated the boulders, Ryan Dickerson an Eagle Scout candidate and his scout group plus some additional help installed the sprinkler system and planted the plants and Scenic Nursery donated the planting design and the plants.

The city spent $32,000 for a project done mostly by volunteer labor and donated materials that could have cost $250,000 . Volunteer projects always take longer than you might expect.

We used Marina Strawberry Tree, Starry Night landscape roses, Shore Juniper, Barberry, and 3 different grasses to create a natural landscape with lots of seasonal interest.

I guess this might be a case of good things come to those that wait. The official ribbon cutting happened Saturday Dec. 13.

The city of Modesto and all the donors invite you to drive by the downtown end of Scenic and watch the fountain go off. We do recommend you pay attention to the traffic also!!

Welcome to the new Scenic Nursery Website! Expect to see a lot of changes over the next few days, as we fully implement the new weblog system, and get the design set up and running. For now, please enjoy our main weblog!

Also, check back often, we'll be adding a number of new things:
Specials & Sales
Our Monthly Newsletter Online
Tips & Tricks