We now offer landscape  Lighting services to further enhance your outdoor living areas.  Increasingly people are looking to make the most of their time outside and/ or enhance the look of their home.  We can do that!  If you’ve been wondering what type of lighting is out there and how to make it work for your place, we’re here for you.

AutoCAD

The end of the landscape season marks the beginning of continuing education season at Winona Nursery.  In December, 4 of our employees (Dana Coulter, Ed Becker, Dan Filla, and Becky Benson) attended a 12-hour AutoCAD Civil training course through Minnesota State College–Southeast Tech in Winona.  Brushing up on our design software capabilities makes us even more efficient and ready to work with you on YOUR project!

Japanese Garden, Bloomington, MN. photo by jpellgen

Right on cue, the beginning of the month ushered in winter, and snow blanketed the Southeastern Minnesota landscape.

Yay for all the plants!  The layer of sparkly whiteness does more than ensure Christmas shoppers feel more festive and, therefore,  feel more like opening their wallets.  It insulates plants and “tucks them in” for winter, so to speak.   That’s good news as far as we’re concerned!

The holidays being here is more good news, and we wish everyone a beautiful Christmastime.

New Tree Owner's Manual

Finally someone has put together a comprehensive yet entirely readable tree care manual!  We have had various attempts over the years, as have others, but this is clearly superior…thanks, USDA Forest Service!

• Did you know that tree branches conduct electricity?
• Did you know that first tree roots (those first found under the surface and are bigger around than a pencil) should not be under more than 4″ of soil?
• Did you know new trees need you to monitor their watering needs for 3 years?

Get smarter.  Download and read about all this and more! Or contact us, and we’ll be happy to mail you a copy.

Cheerful, Simple Daylily Combinations Coordinate with House

Always looking to pick up a new idea or two, Bonnie again headed up to the Cities in July to scout out the MNLA Landscape Tour.  Although not quite on par with last year’s, she still thought it was worthwhile.  Some of her observations are as follows:

Native and oldie-but-goodie plants (read: dependable!) seem to keep gaining momentum, and the landscapes on the tours reflected this trend.  For instance, so easy to do but an often-overlooked option:  a simple collection of bright, long-blooming daylilies next to a front door entrance helped pull the color off the railings and trim of the house.  They complemented and contrasted so nicely you can’t help but smile at how great it looks.

And not something we do, but Bonnie was intrigued by this stamped concrete that had a little extra touch (click right image for a closer look)…..

Stamped Concrete with Shell Pattern

Compass-Inset Driveway

Everyone liked this driveway (left) with the compass inset–again, a relatively simple idea with big impact.  The designer hit upon something unique and completely in keeping with the style of the house.

One of the metro Watershed District offices also set a great example of native plantings working as parking buffers, swale softeners, and rainwater sponges.

So while no earth-shattering, ground-breaking design ideas were uncovered during this year’s tour, some interesting combinations and tips were gleaned from the day…all things we can use to make our own designs better!

“Can you believe who won Best Drama Series on the Emmy Awards last night?”  ” Can you believe the Packers lost and the Vikings won yesterday?”  All normal workplace water cooler talk.

courtesy of kennymatic, vancouver

But if you want to know what the buzz is around our water cooler, the topic is RAIN.  Or rather, the lack thereof.  It’s getting serious too…looking at the Palmer Drought Index map, you can see that our corner of Minnesota is in a moderate drought (http://drought.unl.edu/DM/DM_midwest.htm), which simply means we’re down on precipitation.  We will need many, many nice soakers in order to catch up, and this isn’t the first time in recent memory we’ve gone through extended dry periods.  Soooo, where does our conversation lead us?

• It leads us to think even harder about installing more native-type and xeriscape plants, plants that can get their own moisture through extensive and long root systems and through natural drought-tolerance.
• It makes us even more excited about the latest water conservation advancements in sprinkler system heads and controllers.
• It motivates us to get out the word that trees, shrubs, and perennials need to go into the winter with adequate moisture.  Even trees that have been in the ground for a while would benefit from a weekly deep watering until rain starts falling again (”deep watering” consists of letting the hose trickle gently at the base for 15-20 minutes).

More horticulture than pop culture, but still buzzworthy we’d like to think!

new White Diamond Hydrangea with Black-eyed Susans

There are big ones, little ones (relatively speaking), tree ones, blue ones, pink ones, etc, but they all have one thing in common: BIG, show-stopping blooms that easily mix with other plants.

Swoon!

Our Current Top 5 Picks:

1.  Limelight Hydrangea–gorgeous blooms that start out lime-green, progress to white, and then eventually fade to pink.  We just used them in the landscape overhaul at Winona National Bank on Main Street.  Hope they don’t stop too much traffic!

Limelight Hydrangea with Nepeta and Iris

2.  Annabelle Hydrangea–also known as “Snowball” or “Old-Fashioned” Hydrangea.  Gigantic round flowers still impress even with all the new youngster hybrids on the block.

3.  Endless Summer Hydrangea–actually it’s a love-hate thing with these…they can do really well or they can break your heart.  The beautiful blue blooms are like a siren’s song  though–they simply can’t be ignored–so we’ve found that if you site them properly and try to keep them evenly moist, they can be a reliable part of the landscape.

4.  Pink Diamond Hydrangea–gi-normous creamy flowers turn a lux shade of pink.  These have held up well even on tough commercial sites, so we’re believers.

new Twist-n-Shout Hydrangea with Sum and Substance Hosta

5.  Twist-n-Shout Hydrangea—hmmmm…really?  Well we’re crazy about this  brand-new variety’s exotic lacecap look, and the lilac flower color is simply spectacular with chartreuse-y/ yellow foliaged companion plants.  And check out the red stems.  Definitely a winner in the looks department.  But will they be tough enough?  Are they more than just a pretty face?   Stay tuned…..

Proud to support the fair and 4-H

We know our landscape crews work hard and well.  But this past weekend, we got to set landscaping aside for a while and see another hard working bunch–the 4-H kids of the Winona County Fair.  They really are what makes the fair tick, and this year was no exception.  They get the grounds and facilities ready (yes, we noticed the pretty flower plantings and that the bathrooms had a fresh coat of summer-y colored paint!).  They care for their animals and exhibit multiple projects.  They man one of the busiest food halls.  They get the work done.

Winona Nursery attended the fair’s 4-H Livestock Auction on Saturday and got treated to a fine display of animals and owner showmanship…we were proud to purchase Trianna Douglas’s market goat and Candi Jo Holets’s market swine and support local 4-H chapters.

Way to go, guys, and good luck to all those of you going on to the “Big Show”–the Minnesota State Fair!

Edward Becker, Winona Nursery, plants a tree at Sauer Memorial Home

We lucked out and got sunny, beautiful days both times: May 1, an Autumn Blaze Maple went in for Sauer Memorial Home.  It was a little chilly so no residents came outside , but they were watching from the windows!  One woman even clapped her approval, really making our day.  Since this maple is a fast grower, the residents can watch it put on the inches this summer, too.

A circle of Ridgeway School K-4th graders watch as their new oak tree is prepared for planting...

And the Ridgeway School planting on May 8 was a ton of fun.  We weren’t the only outdoor attraction that day:  we had to compete with the cute baby calves in the nearby corner and ice cream sandwiches on the playground, but the students were focused and energetic.

...and the graduating 5th graders each take a turn at scooping out dirt and leaving their legacy

First we talked about the Swamp White Oak that was going to be helping to shade their new playground–did I mention these kids are smart as a whip, too; they answered all my questions perfectly!–and then everyone pitched in for the work.  K-through-4th graders gathered compost to enrich the soil, and the outgoing 5th grade class did the actual digging of the hole.  When asked if the graduating 5th graders would still come check on the tree to make sure it’s being watered, etc, they said all answered a resounding YES.  And I know they will.

PS–If your not-for-profit organization would like to be considered for a tree donation next May, please contact us at info@winonanursery.com.