Adding color to our lives is often why we garden in the first place. Color can excite and stimulate, can soothe and refresh. Perhaps most importantly, the colors of our garden are a reflection of who we are. Merely gazing upon a riot of color can move the artist in us all, and inspire us to use the artist's palette to combine tints and hues in exciting and dramatic floral illustrations. Warm yellows, oranges, and reds excite and give a sense of exuberance and exhilaration. A soft path swathed with lemon marigolds, deep red snapdragons and carmine petunias leads us to explore further and further afield. Cool blues, greens, purples, and pinks calm and reassure us and create a peaceful setting. The heart of a quiet garden might be a slate gray Victorian urn spilling sapphire lobelia and gentle white baby’s breath at our elbow as we pause for a reflective moment on a bench surrounded by soft gray lambs ears with amethyst flowers or fragrant silver-leafed sage. White, the most versatile color of all blends with other colors and lightens the garden.
When planning your colors, consider some of these combinations:
Color is a superb way to complement other
elements in the garden such as the house, a fence or a planter. A gray weathered
fence is a spectacular backdrop for peach and salmon foxgloves and delphiniums.
A red brick patio cries to be adorned with silver and white mealycup sage and
fragrant flowering tobacco. A white windowpane trellis or white picket fence is
exquisite when draped with creamy peach sweet peas and periwinkle blue morning
glories. From dusky orange moss roses to mahogany marigolds striped with gold,
from pale cream nasturtiums and pearly petunias to antique rose impatiens and
raspberry geraniums, the color invites us to be participants in our gardens to
enjoy beautiful colors through the seasons.
(Excerpted from the National Garden Bureau newsletter).
May is here and many gardeners have their planting for the spring season. We’ve been spoiled this year by a mild winter and an early spring. Mother’s Day and graduation are right around the corner, followed quickly by Father’s Day, not to mention an occasional wedding and birthday. Gift selecting goes on throughtout the year and we try to make it interesting. A new collection of Randy Martin Victorian style bird houses has arrived. These are so unusual they will certainly be a conversation piece for any garden and make a charming home for your bird friends. Margie has chosen a wonderful new collection of celadon porcelain containers. There is a great variety of designs and this wonderful soft color looks great in any decor. Be sure and check out our new collection of North Side music for CD’s and tapes of delightful instrumental favorites. What a perfect item to tuck in with a basket of plants or gardening supplies. If you’re looking for some soft music in the garden, we have the new Harmony House bell wind chimes. Several designs and sizes to choose from. For some really unusual terra cotta containers, check out the new chimney pot containers. They are a great contemporary garden accent. Add a beautiful copper butterfly or dragon fly garden stake and you have a super gift for yourself or someone else. The floral department has a great new collection of Burt’s Bees - Farmers Friend gardeners Soaps, Lemon Grass insect repellents, hand salves and Poison Ivy soap. These herbal products have always been very popular with our gardening customers.
Lovely Victorian floral pins offered by the floral department are crafted from the handles of silver knives. These would make a great Mother’s Day gift. Be sure and take the time to browse the Book Nook for the perfect book.Our garden book selection is larger and better than that of most book stores. There are several new selections in the following catagories: Feng Shui gardening, Roses, and Texas Gardening. A North Haven Gardens gift certificate is always a welcomed gift and can be purchased in any amount. See you soon for a wonderful shopping adventure.
Useful Water Gardening Tips
Chart to calculate what size pump
you will need for waterfalls:
|
Thin Film of Water
|
Bold Film of Water
|
|
| 4 inch lip |
200 gallons per hour
|
400 gallons per hour
|
| 6 inch lip |
300 gallons per hour
|
600 gallons per hour
|
| 10 inch lip |
700 gallons per hour
|
1200 gallons per hour
|
| 16 inch lip |
1300 gallons per hour
|
2100 gallons per hour
|
| 24 inch lip |
3000 gallons per hour
|
4000 gallons per hour
|
Note: When selecting a water pump the gallons per hour is rated at one foot of height.
Example: if you need 200gph at 2’ high then you would probably need a 350-400 gph pump.
It is important to know your ponds volume when applying water ammendments.
Use the following to get your ponds volume:
Formula 1:
Multiply length by the width and height
in inches to give you the cubic inches. Then divide by 231(this is the number of
cubic inches in a gallon of water). This will tell you the number of gallons of
water in your pond.
Formula 2:
Multiply length by the width and height
in feet to give you the number of square feet in the pond. Then multiply that
number by 7.5 (this is the number of gallons in a cubic foot). This will give
you the total number of gallons.
Water gardens are a wonderful form of gardening to get immersed in. They can be as small or as large as you want. Small water gardens can be done successfully in containers and tubs. If something larger is desired, North Haven carries a wide range of preformed pond liners. The pond liners are made of a strong plastic material that makes them long lasting investments. Remember that a pond liner looks smaller after being installed, filled with water and landscaped around it.
There is a wide range of aquatic plants that can be grown.
One of the most popular is the water lily. It
is a wonderful plant that comes in a wide range of colors and sizes.
There are both hardy and tropical varieties.
The lily pads spread out and float on the water surface, providing shade for
fish and help preventing algae growth.
To create a natural look, add some bog plants to the edges of your pond.
These are plants that grow in shallow water along the waters edge. North Haven
carries an assortment of both tropical and hardy bog plants.
One of the easiest bog plants to grow is Pickerel (Pontederia cordata). It is a fast growing perennial that sends up
stems that end with narrow heart shaped leaves. In late summer, pretty blue
flower spikes are sent up from the stem above the leaves.
Another nice bog plant is the Water Clover
(Marsilea). This is a perennial fern with leaves that either float on the
surface or stand just above the water.
Mint can be grown as a bog plant. There are
several varieties that will work in a water application. The taller ones, such
as Spearmint, are generally better.
To prevent mosquito problems fish can be added to the pond. Use goldfish, koi
or small mosquito fish. These fish love to eat mosquito larvae. If you’re
not wanting to add fish North Haven carries a product called Mosquito Dunks.
This is an organic product containing Bacillus thuringensis, which kills the mosquito larvae. This product will not
harm fish or birds.
No matter what kind of water feature you choose, North Haven Gardens has the products and advice to insure your water gardening success.
Ever take a look at the yard and say, "I need some help", but don’t know where to start. It might be helpful to take a brief look at what you can expect from the professional in the garden industry.
Landscape Architect: Is a degreed professional who posses a wide range of creative and technical skills from site analysis to working drawings. Working drawings show construction and planting details about grading, irrigation, driveways, walks, walls and other features. Architects sometimes solicit bids from landscape contractors, help in selection and on site supervision as the work is installed. A landscape architect must hold a special graduate degree in Landscape Architecture and a state license.
Landscape Contractor: Does the installation as designed by the landscape architect. Some provide only softscape while others can provide hardscape elements such as constructing walks, walls and other garden features, installing turf, and irrigation.
Residential Design Build: Is a company that offers both design and installation services. They provide a seamless transition for the homeowner between the design and installation phases. As both services are offered, designs are often less costly. North Haven Gardens is a design build company.
Garden Center: Supplies the do-it-yourselfer with well maintained plants, hard goods and advice needed to successfully complete their garden projects. Garden centers are generally locally owned and operated by people who are interested in plants. Some garden centers, like North Haven Gardens, have professional landscape services available.
Home Centers: Also supply the do-it-yourselfer with plants and hard goods. They generally carry the more common plants and focus on materials for constructing garden features.