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May 2019
Issue 115
Hello Great Gardeners,

Mother's Day is hard for me even though I am a mother myself. My mom passed away 18 years ago from breast cancer, and there is not a day that goes by that I don't wish that she was here to talk to and see her granddaughter grow up. This year is especially hard because her birthday was May 12th.

My mom loved to garden. Every spring both my grandma and her would drag my brother and me to their favorite garden center.
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Unfortunately, I can not remember what the name of that garden center was for the life of me. I do remember how bored I was. They would spend hours there, and as a kid, I can remember begging them to leave. How coincidental it is that I now work at a garden center.

My mom passed on her love of gardening to me. I don't get to spend as much time as I use to in the garden, but I will be forever grateful to her for cultivating that love. I hope to one day pass it on to my daughter.

For all the mom's, soon to be moms, and dads who are both have a Happy Mother's Day!
As always, if you have any questions, comments or suggestions, hit reply. I would love to hear from you. Have a great-gardening day.


Sincerely,
Holly
Hummingbird Attracting Plants
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Horsechestnut 'Ft. McNair'
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Crabapple 'Royal Raindrops'
Trees:
  • Horsechestnut
  • Crabapples
  • Weeping Cherries
  • Redbuds
  • Serviceberry
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Azalea 'Tradition'
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Azalea 'Gibraltar'
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Weigela 'My Monet'
Shrubs:
  • Weigela
  • Azaleas
  • Lilacs
  • Rhododendrons
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Bee Balm 'Sugar Buzz Cherry Pops'
Perennials:
  • Agastache (Hyssop)
  • Aquilegia (Columbine)
  • Delphinium (Larkspur)
  • Digitalis (Foxglove
  • Heuchera (Coral Bells)
  • Kniphofia (Red Hot Poker)
  • Penstemon
  • Physostegia (Obedient Plant)
  • Saponaria (Soapwort)
  • Lobelia (Cardinal Flower
  • Monarda (Bee Balm)
  • Phlox
  • Alcea (Hollyhock
  • Ascelpias (Butterfly Weed)
  • Buddleia (Butterfly Bush)
  • Crocosmia (Lucifer)
  • Dicentra (Bleeding Heart)
  • Hemerocallis (Daylily)
  • Hosta
  • Liatris (Gay Feather)
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Zinnia 'Magellan Coral'
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Salvia 'Rockin Fuchsia'
Annuals:
  • Alstroemeria
  • Canna
  • Petunia
  • Pentas
  • Nicotiana
  • Salvia
  • Lantana
  • Zinnia
  • Snapdragon
  • Gladiolus
  • Nasturtium
  • Fuchsia
Preparing A Syrup Solution
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If you wish to make your own hummingbird solution, use the recipe below (taken from the Ortho Book, How to Attract Hummingbirds & Butterflies) --- Do not substitute any ingredients.
· The standard syrup solution for feeding hummingbirds consists of 1 part white sugar to 4 parts water.
· Begin by stirring the sugar into the water
· Bring the solution to a boil over low heat--two minutes is long enough
· Boiling is important as it kills mold spores and bacteria and, through evaporation, reduces any chlorine or fluorine that may be in the water. Prolonged boiling is unnecessary--over boiling will remove too much water, making the solution stronger than a 1:4 ratio.
· After the solution has been allowed to cool, it is ready to be placed in the feeders.
· Refrigerate if any excess solution for future use.
Cleaning Your Hummingbird Feeder
Feeders should be cleaned every 3 days in hot weather and every 6-7 days in cool weather. Leaving your solution for any longer can give a cloudy appearance (a closer inspection would show harmful mold/bacteria beginning to form on the inside of your feeder. *This harmful bacteria & mold present health risks to                               hummingbirds & could kill them*
1. Empty leftover solution and rinse with warm water before refilling
2. If mold has already begun to form you will need to clean more thoroughly:
1. Mix vinegar, uncooked rice and hot water in feeder
2. Shake vigorously to loosen mold
3. Rinse well with warm water
4. If mold remains you will need to use a bottle brush, or other scrubbing device, to thoroughly scrub all molded areas.
5. Rinse again and repeat until all mold is removed.
*It is always a good idea to start with a small amount of solution in your feeders, so that you do not waste too much when it comes time to refill with a clean batch.
Creating A Hummingbird Haven
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Provide food, water and nesting sites.
Although migratory, hummingbirds will remember your garden location if you provide a consistent source of food. Hummingbirds are extremely active with high calorie requirements. To maintain their rapid metabolic rate, they must feed often. Food is obtained from nectar rich flowers, feeders filled with a sugar water solution and protein in the form of tiny insects.

Plant a hummingbird garden.
In addition to providing them a natural diet, a hummingbird garden is an excellent way to attract birds to your feeder. Hummingbirds’ inquisitive nature will quickly lead them to investigate any possible new food source. They follow regular routes and feed by sight, this process is called “traplining”. If you plan carefully and select a variety of plants that flower throughout the season, you will be rewarded with happy hummers. When designing your garden, remember that what is pleasing to our eye is also great for catching theirs. Arrange plants with variation in heights from shortest to tallest and group varieties and colors together for the biggest impact. 

Supply “liquid love” in hummingbird feeders.
Even the most nectar rich plants may not be able to fully deliver the amount of nectar required by hummers. Providing a sugar water solution in a special feeder can supply an unlimited food source. Hanging feeders will also bring these dazzling beauties into easy view from a window or deck. Hanging a red ribbon near the feeder early in the season will help attract hummingbirds until your flowers begin to bloom. (You do not need to add red food coloring to the sugar water solution. Doing so is potentially harmful to the health of the hummingbirds.) 

Lay off the chemicals.
Remember that hummingbirds eat insects. They need more than your nectar sources to survive. Do not use pesticides to wipe out the bugs in your yard. Tiny spiders and tiny flying insects might not appeal to you but they are "meat and potatoes" to a hummingbird. In addition, hummers might directly ingest pesticides sprayed onto flowers, which could sicken or kill the birds.  If you are thinking about attracting hummingbirds to your backyard, your first step is to cease using chemicals.

Present a place to perch.
Although hummingbirds appear to be active every minute of the day, they actually spend around 4/5ths of each day perched in trees or shrubs near nectar and other food sources.  Plants with dense foliage offer protective shelter from weather and predators, providing a safe place to roost for the evening. If you are lucky enough, you may even encounter females incubating eggs on the nest they have built!
Special
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Early Bird Gets The Worm
Monday, May 6th
through
Saturday, May 11th

7 am - 9 am Only
20% Off
All Regularly Priced Plants

See our website for more details
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Night Owl
Thursday, May 9th
5 pm - 7 pm Only
20% Off
All Regularly Priced Plants

See our website for more details
Nectar Dots
Nectar Dots are handheld hummingbird feeders.
In Stock!
$5.99
Hummingbird Feeders
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Feeders are a great way to attract hummingbirds to your gardens. There are some risks when using feeders so be sure to read the below paragraphs on Avoiding Feeding Risks, so that your hummingbirds will be a continuation of your garden landscape for years to come!

Avoid Feeding Risks:


From time to time mixtures other than sugar water have been proposed for feeding hummingbirds. All of them present unacceptable risks. This is especially true of honey-water mixtures. Not only is honey an unnatural food for hummingbirds, but it spoils much more quickly than sugar water and contains a bacteria that causes a fungal disease on the tongue. The disease is always fatal.

White sugar, on the other hand, is a sucrose sugar like the sucrose in flower nectar. The strength of 1 part sugar to 4 parts water closely approximates the strength of flower nectar. Stronger concentrations have been found to adversely affect the liver of captive birds; weaker concentrations are less attractive to the hummingbirds.

Other mixtures that are unsafe and that should be avoided are those made with artificial sweeteners and those that contain nutritional additives. Hummingbirds supplement their nectar diet with foods they find in the wild, therefore protein supplements are unnecessary; they are also potentially harmful.

The same is true of red food coloring. An artificial dye, red food coloring is often added to mixtures so that hummingbirds, with their well-known affinity for red, will quickly be attracted to the feeder. The safety of red dye has been questioned in regard to its use in foods for human consumption. Nearly all commercial  feeders already are decorated with red plastic flowers or tinted with red. Therefore, the addition of red food coloring is unnecessary as well as potentially harmful. Once hummingbirds discover a feeder, they continue to come to it regardless of its color.

Placement & When To Put Up:
· Feeders should be placed outside for arriving hummingbirds in mid-late April; and should left up through September.
· Place feeders within 10-15 feet of cover plants (trees, shrubs, and vines)
· Once you start feeding hummingbirds you should continue every year after; hummingbirds will return
each year expecting you reliable food source!
· Place near nectar producing plants to help hummingbirds find your feeders; you can move them later if needed.
· Placing feeders in shade helps to keep your solution from spoiling rapidly.
· You can use ready to mix solutions or you can make your own (see recipe on next page)
· Clean your feeder(s) every 3 days in hot weather; 6-7 days in cool weather. (See cleaning details on next page)
· Use bee guards or slippery substances; such as petroleum jelly, salad oil, or mineral oil to keep unwanted pests from your feeders.
· Do Not Use Pesticides to control unwanted pests. The hummingbird and small insects they need for food could be adversely affected.
Upcoming Events
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The Crazy Kernel Kettle Corn Company
May 6th - May 11th:
9 am - 8 pm
May 12th:
10 am - 7 pm
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Mason's Food Truck
May 11th & 18th:
9 am - 5 pm
May 12th & 19th:
10 am - 5 pm
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Little Sprouts:
Stepping Stone

Sunday, May 19th
Time: 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
Cost: $15.00 per child
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A Walk Among The Roses
Saturday, June 1st
Time: 10:00 am
Cost: $5 to reserve spot
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Flower Pounding
Sunday, June 2nd
Time: 1:00 pm
Cost: $14.99 + tax
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Oh, My Bloomin' Back
Saturday, June 15th
Time: 10:00 am
Cost: $5 to reserve your spot
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CONTACT US
STORE HOURS
FIND US ON
Wilson's Garden Center
10923 Lambs Ln.
Newark, Ohio. 43055

740-763-2873
740-763-2874 (Fax)

office@great-gardeners.com
May 6th - May 12th:
Monday - Saturday:

7 am - 8 pm
Sunday:
10 am -7 pm

May 13th - 26th:
Monday - Friday:

9 am - 8 pm
Saturday:
7 am - 8 pm
Sunday:
10 am - 7 pm

Memorial Day:
7 am - 5 pm
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ABOUT US
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We are a family owned and operated garden center specializing in plants that thrive in Central Ohio

For more information about our store please
Visit Our Website