Southern Homes & Gardens Blog

Designing a border for your landscape doesn’t have to be hard. Just follow a few simple guidelines to create a dependable yet showy border with season-long color and minimal work.

Consider Colors Select perennials and shrubs with matching or complementary flower colors. When plants flower at the same time, you’ll wan them to mix well.
Arrange by Size Place taller plants to the back, low plants in the front. For a natural appearance, avoid rigid symmetry and straight lines.
Remember the Seasons Include plants with spring, summer, and fall color for great looks all season.
Look for Interesting Foliage Include plants with a variety of leaf texture and color to sustain interest even after blooms fade.
Incorporate Annuals Maintain pockets in flowerbeds for annuals and bulbs, which help bridge the gap between bloom peaks. Replace them with each change of season.
Put the Right Plant in the Right Place Choose sun-tolerant plants for sunny sites, shade-tolerant plants for shady sites, and drought-tolerant plants for dry sites.
Add Shrubs to the Mix Shrubs expand your plant palette and provide structure and interest when other plants are dormant.

Care and Feeding Even the best-designed bed will look shabby if poorly maintained. Here’s how to keep beds looking great all season.

1. Mulch soil after planting to control weeds, conserve water, and keep things looking neat.
2. Fertilize annuals every 2-3 weeks; feed perennials annually.
3. Remove spent blooms weekly and regularly trim unruly or damaged stems for a tidy look.
4. Water as needed, not by a schedule. Irrigate plants when dry, but hold off during rainy spells.

Russell Brown, General Manager

There is no April-Foolin’ that Spring has arrived, so here are some great reminders of what to do this month:

As always, if you have questions about your garden or what to do - we are always here & ready to help!  Happy Spring Planting!

February is here & that means a new list of plant-care musts!

• Prune fruit trees prior to new growth starting.
• Don’t forget your sweetheart for Valentines Day, roses are always a favorite but blooming azaleas, hydrangeas and tulips are also beautiful.
• Apply first application of crabgrass preventer to control grassy weeds in all types of lawns.
• Now is the time to prune Roses, Ornamental Grasses and other Deciduous Shrubs.
• Fertilize pansies
• Apply lime and well-rotted manure as needed to vegetable beds.
• All trees can be pruned when dormant, if needed.
• Prune crape myrtles.
• Cut back liriope.
• Remember to feed the birds.
• You will get more out of many dormant plants like shade trees, fruit trees, shrubs, roses and vines by planting them now before they bud out.  This gives them time before spring to become established in their new home. 
• Now is the time to begin preparing your plants for new spring growth.  Begin by pruning away all the diseased or dead leaves.
• Your perennials, trees and shrubs are beginning to awake and are hungry.  Feed them with a balanced slow release fertilizer or for an organic solution use Espomas Plant-Tone.  Fertilize from the drip line of the plants.  This is the vertical line from the edge of outer most branches.
• Now is the time to prune the canes of your hydrangeas that are not showing signs of growth.  After pruning, fertilize your blue hydrangea with aluminum sulfate and your pink hydrangeas with garden lime.

Russell Brown, General Manager - Southern Homes & Gardens

Santa has come & gone, & now 2009 is here!  So stick to your resolution of staying on top of your to-do list…we’ll help you check off those items one at a time!

• Time to take down the Christmas tree. Great time to practice recycling.
• Use Insecticidal Soap on the tops and undersides of houseplant leaves if insects are detected.
• After freezes check beds for heaving.
• If weather gets cold, be sure tender plants, such as pansy beds or emerging bulb foliage, are mulched well with pine needles, bark or leaves.
• Continue moving perennials as long as ground is not frozen.
• Plant trees that have winter interest. Some great choices are River Birch, ‘Natchez’ Crape Myrtle and all hollies.
• Prune hardwood trees now. Don’t prune early spring blooming trees like Dogwoods and cherries, wait until after they bloom in the spring.
• Prune fruit trees now. Remove dead limbs and any vertical sprouts.
• Continue planting or transplanting shrubs and trees.
• When working in the garden watch for poison ivy. Although leafless, the stems can still cause quite a rash.
• Now is a good time to service lawn equipment.
• Remember to feed the birds we have a great selection of top quality bird feed from Coles available in stores now! 

Russell Brown - General Manager, Southern Homes & Gardens

An Auburn University study sheds new light on just how valuable shade trees are in reducing homeowners’ electricity bills during hot summer months.

Professor David Laband in the Auburn University School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences says electricity usage and costs will be 11.4 percent less if a house has just 17.5 percent heavy shade coverage. This is compared to a house with no shade.

“The keys are heavy foliage and late afternoon shade,” Laband said. “The savings can be very significant for homeowners. Over the years I had read statements that shade trees reduce electricity consumption, so we wanted to put a dollar amount to it.”

His office conducted a yearlong study of 160 houses in the Auburn area to determine the annual energy savings provided by shade trees, primarily looking at the months of May to September. He analyzed power bills, calculated shade coverage and surveyed the homeowners about household makeup, electricity-usage habits, square footage, type of air conditioning, appliances, roofing, exterior material and other factors.

“We looked at the amount of shade in the early morning, early afternoon and late afternoon,” Laband said. “If you have trees on the west side of your house, you will have a much lower power bill.”

Using local power company rates for kilowatt hours per day, Laband said the 11.4 percent savings would equal $31 to $33 per month. The study, which categorized types of shade into light, moderate and heavy, also found that a house covered with 50 percent of light shade will save 10.3 percent.

Thermostat settings were important as well. “For each degree you raise your thermostat, you will save 3.3 percent on your power bill,” he said. “We also found that children under age 12 are the major power consumers in the home. They watch television, play games and leave lights on.”

Laband hopes the study will encourage real estate developers not to cut down all the trees on new lots.

“Many older houses have large trees around them because the owners did not rely as much on air conditioning then,” he said. “Houses today often do not have shade trees because it’s easier to run an air conditioner. This study shows how much can be saved when trees are used in yards.”

Auburn’s study was funded by a $116,000 grant from the USDA Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry Program and a matching $116,000 grant from Auburn’s School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences.

Laband has briefed USDA officials on the results and has presented seminars in Australia at the Tropical Forest Research Institute, the University of Melbourne and the University of Adelaide.

“It gets very hot there, too,” he said. “They are interested in doing a similar project.”

Laband, who earned his Ph.D. in economics from Virginia Tech in 1981, conducts research and teaches on topics related to economics and policy, with a focus on natural resources. He joined the Auburn University faculty in 1994 and the School of Forestry and Wildlife Sciences in 2000, where he is a member of the Center for Forest Sustainability and the Forest Policy Center.

(Written by Charles Martin.)

Contact: Charles Martin, (334) 844-9999 (marticd@auburn.edu), or
Mike Clardy, (334) 844-9999 (clardch@auburn.edu)

Russell Brown, General Manager - Southern Homes & Gardens

Fall is here & you can feel it in the air - here are some helpful reminders for the month of October:

• Plant Spring flowering bulbs like Daffodils, Hyacinths and Lilies and apply a light, complete fertilizer such as Espoma Bone Meal or Pennington Bulb Food.
• Divide overgrown clumps of perennials, such as Daylilies, Daisies, Hostas and Coneflowers. Replant divisions or give to friends as “pass-along” plants.
• Plant Snapdragons, Violas and Pansies for fall and winter color.
• Still time to plant Ornamental Mustard and Ornamental Cabbage.
• Fall is the time to plant or transplant shrubs. Water newly transplanted shrubs thoroughly.
• This is a good season for improving the soil by adding organic amendments - such as Soil Conditioner
• Add vines and ground covers to your garden such as Clematis, Mondo Grass, Creeping Raspberry and English Ivy.
• If you move plants inside from the patio, make sure they get the best light possible. Also, check for insects. You may need to use an insecticidal soap prior to the big move.

Russell Brown, General Manager - Southern Homes & Gardens