Bald is Beautiful
On March 11, alert Russell's staffer Carlos Hernandez spied an American Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), high in a tree above the Nursery yard. John Hubbard ran for his camera and shot this picture, at 50x zoom.
Nearby sat a juvenile eagle-we think!-and a crow fluttered about. They stayed for two hours, so everyone got a good look.
See another photo, on the Sudbury Valley Trustees' sightings page (thanks to Jack Russell).
|
|
Spring Cleaning is for the Birds
Just like you and me, our
feathered friends look forward to a spruced-up nest in the spring.
Consider these pointers as you welcome robins and local species back to
your yard:
♦ Clean out nesting boxes and feeders now, to keep your bird visitors healthy for the coming nesting season.
♦ Provide nesting materials in your yard. You and your family will enjoy watching the birds find and use them.
♦ Install
a window-mounted or observation-type nesting box, so children (and you)
can watch the nesting process without disturbing the birds.
♦ Provide
suet with calcium and other high-energy foods now. Natural food sources
are depleted at the end of winter, and birds need energy for the
egg-laying season.
Bird Shop
x316
|
|
Get Ready for Summer Blooms with Bulbs
Begonias, dahlias, caladium, callas, cannas, and elephant ears-you
can start the bulbs of these varieties indoors, now, to get a head
start on the season. After the danger of frost has passed, plant them
in your garden or in containers.
You'll get better results if you start Lily of the Valley, bleeding hearts, daylilies, and trillium indoors now, then gradually
acclimate them to the cool spring temperatures before planting in the
ground.
Oriental and Asiatic lilies, liatris, and crocosmia are hardy: you can plant these out before the threat of frost has passed.
For all types of bulbs, wait for the soil to warm
and soften (see the next article) before you plant them out. Hardy bulb varieties can be left in the ground year-round.
Bulbs and Perennials x303
|
Early Spring Greening for Your Lawn
Lawns are very wet this time of
year, due to snowfall and early-spring rains. Avoid heavy foot traffic;
delay your spring clean-up until the lawn dries out enough so that it
does not feel soggy underfoot.
Due to our heavy, lingering snows this past winter, your lawn might have developed areas of snow mold.
This fungus is not treatable in spring; if it has been severe for
several years, you can apply a fungicide in late autumn. However, you can
help the lawn recover, by raking matted areas lightly with a leaf rake,
to improve air circulation around the crown of the grass plants.
more info on snow mold
If you had a crabgrass problem
last summer, the best time to apply a pre-emergent crabgrass control,
in our area, is mid-April through the first week of May. Our Garden
Shop staff can advise you on the type and amount to use.
Treating crabgrass and reseeding simultaneously
in spring requires that you use compatible products, because grass
seedlings are as susceptible as crabgrass seedlings to most
pre-emergent controls. To let your new grass survive, select a
synthetic product that contains the active ingredient Tupersan or
Siduron. (There is no organic crabgrass-control product available that
can be used when seeding a lawn.)
When the snow finally melts, many homeowners notice a network of
tunnels and tracks running through the lawn and garden. This is caused
by voles, not moles. Without snow cover, voles move underground, so it
is not necessary to try to eradicate them. Most tracks fill in on their
own, but you can mix grass seed and good-quality topsoil or seedling soil in a bucket, then spread the mix right into the tracks, and tamp them lightly, to fill in the larger gaps more quickly.
Garden and Lawn Shop x316
|
Bird Seed Sale
15% off: 25-lb. bags of sunflower kernels and black oil sunflower seed; and 10- and 25-lb. bags of nyjer seed (the finches' favorite).
On sale through April 8, in the Bird Shop.
|
|
|
It Won't be Long Now...
Fresh nursery and perennial stock-such as hydrangeas, dogwoods, maples, birches, boxwoods, rhododendrons, and more-is arriving daily!
And of course, our violas and pansies are starting to bloom; they are ready to be hardened off, then planted in your yard, to announce the coming of spring.
|
Contact Us
508-358-2283
|
Flower Shop - fresh, arrangements, and silks (lower level) x312 |
|
|
Garden, Lawn and Bird Shop (upper level) x316 |
|
|
Houseplants (lower level) x363
|
|
|
Nursery - shrubs and trees x316 |
|
|
Plant Shop (lower level) x315 |
|
|
Think spring,
Elizabeth Russell
|
|
