Your summer activities of going to the beach, playing golf and family barbeques has dramatically slowed. You may be out in the yard doing your fall clean-ups and notice the beautiful colours that are present. Why not add to those and plant a tree, shrub, or perennial that will not only fill that empty location but improve the amount of fall colours! Plus Fall is well known to be one of the best times in the year to plant as the weather is cooler and will create less transplant shock for your tree or shrub.
We have tons of great items that will do this for you. Linden trees are great at adding golden foliage to your landscape, just like the one featured in the photo above. Not only do they do this, but they also are one of the best shade providing trees out there. Maybe you’re looking for some red to really make a corner pop. This is where we would add an amur maple tree or shrub. These add wonderful amounts of red/ rusty orange colour just like the gorgeous example at the top of this email.
If you still want some flowers to hold out until late fall think of adding some perennials such as perennial mums or sedum. These plants add late flowering interest and make fall a little more bearable for those of us desperately trying to hold onto that last bit of “summer”. Also this time of year is when those hydrangeas can really start to show their true colours!
Fall is still a fabulous time to plant! We have fall sales running for our Trees, Shrubs and Perennials. It is a progressive sale – but come early and get the best available options!
What do the numbers on fertilizers mean and how do they work for your plants?
NPK – Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium
Whether you have Inorganic or Organic fertilizer the 3 sets of numbers give the same nutrients to your plants.
When you have an All Purpose 20-20-20 Inorganic Fertilizer, the first number represents 20% Nitrogen which helps with the top growth of the plant, promotes lush green growth and is a good choice for leafy vegetables. The second number is 20% Phosphorus which helps with the roots of the plant, making them strong and healthy. Phosphorus also helps with blooming and is necessary for fruit and flower development. Blooming plants like tomatoes, peppers and other ornamentals benefit from higher phosphorus especially when they are ready to set buds. The third number is 20% Potassium and is necessary for stem growth and overall plant vigor. Potassium is especially good for root crops such as carrots, potatoes and beets.
Now if you add these percentages together you get 60%, the remaining 40% is salts. This applies to inorganic fertilizer.
For Evolve Organic Fertilizers such as an All Purpose Plant Fertilizer 3-1-2, when you add (NPK) together you get 6%, the remaining 94% is made up of best compost available.
Oakridge carries a wide variety of fertilizers….Organic, Inorganic, liquid, water soluble, dry granular and spikes.
Dry granular fertilizer is great to use in your flower or vegetable garden or among your trees and shrubs . It releases nutrients over a long period of time. In general you want to apply this fertilizer at least once, in mid spring, and possibly two or three more times over the course of the late spring and summer depending on the weather and what the recommendations on the packaging says.
Tree and Shrub Spikes are another way to fertilize. Pushing these spikes into the ground around the drip line of your trees will allow the nutrients to release slowly throughout the season. You may apply these in mid spring then again in mid summer and the instructions on the package will tell you how many spikes to use per tree and how often to reapply.
Liquid or Water Soluble fertilizer is an instant feed. If your flowers, trees, shrubs or vegetable gardens appear to be stressed and are in need of nutrients, these fertilizers may be your best option. Follow the package directions for mixing instructions. It is very important not to mix stronger than it calls for. You will need to apply liquid plant food several times over the course of the growing season, once a week or every 2 weeks is optimal.
Evolve Rage Plus 0-4-0, is an organic fertilizer that can be used throughout the whole growing season. Whether your plant is trying to produce leaves, flower or fruit or develop bigger stronger roots, this fertilizer is the fuel your plant needs! It works really well on plants that are suffering or on plants that look good but you just want to give them a boost. This fertilizer increases the metabolism of your plant by 100 times and will work on all stages of your plant. It’s great for helping plants that have had a hard time throughout our cold, windy winters. A good example are cedars that are brown in the spring. Rage Plus will help your plants in the fall to store up sugars in the root zone for winter survival. It is great for indoor and outdoor plants as well!
Just a snipped about fertilizers, feel free to come and talk to Theresa about fertilizers, it’s her specialty!
4:30pm – Winter Fairy Garden
Bring your child or grandchild and make your own fairy garden with magical details. One adult per two children please.
TUESDAY WORKSHOPS
6:30pm – Traditional Holiday Urns or Festive Welcome Planters
Create a front door container in either of the top two styles with your choice of colours, decoration and ribbon.
6:30pm – Table Centre Pieces
Create a centre piece in either a cool contemporary or warm traditional style with your choice of colours, decoration and ribbon.
SATURDAY WORKSHOPS
9:30am – Outdoor Wreaths
Make a wreath out of fresh fir, cedar and pine, and decorate with pinecones, berries and ribbon.
11:00am – Hanging Baskets
Create a festive basket using fresh greens in your choice of a whicker cone or flat bottom basket.
1:30pm – Table Centre Pieces
Create a centre piece in either a cool contemporary or warm traditional style with your choice of colours, decoration and ribbon.
3:00pm – Traditional Holiday Urns or Festive Welcome Planters
Create a front door container in either of the top two styles with your choice of colours, decoration and ribbon.
SATURDAY KID’S WORKSHOPS
11:00am – Grinch Trees
For children age 5-12 with one adult per child. Make your very own Grinch tree.
1:30 PM – Winter fairy garden
Open to all ages. Make your own fairy garden with magical details
5 or more people – we can specialize a class just for you!
We have all of our dates confirmed for our spring workshops and events. Finally – this gets us so excited for spring to come, even if it is still January!
Check out our events page for all of the specific details – dates, times, cost, etc.
Here are some of the highlights – Succulent Container Workshop, Fairy Gardening, Our Spring Kick-off and Annual Plug Sale, Junior Gardeners and Pot Parties!
If you have any questions or would love to register – call us at 204-326-1015, stop by or email us at info@oakridgegardencentre.com
Once again our Christmas Workshops are starting here at Oakridge! Have a girls night out, date night, staff party or bridal shower. Dive into the Christmas spirit, get your creative juices flowing using our fragrant live greens, birch, dogwood, holly and berries! Call 204-326-1015 for more details and to book your spot! Remember, we always accommodate groups of 5 or more, if the prescheduled dates don’t work for you!
Wreath Workshop – Create your own live wreath and adorn it with bows, berries and ornaments. $25 base price includes the wreath and bow.
– EVERY THURSDAY @ 630pm & EVERY SATURDAY @1030am
Centrepiece Workshop – Wow your Christmas guests…make it now and it’ll last through your Christmas season.
– $25 base price includes the container, live greens, berries, and pine cones.
– EVERY TUESDAY @ 630pm and EVERY SATURDAY @ 1030am
Here we go everyone! Spring is here! Announcing our spring workshops! Call to sign up. 204-326-1015
Thursday, April 17@7pm – Succulent bowls and hanging balls
Saturday, April 26 – Annual Plug Sale – 9am-5pm. Includes many greenhouse and giftware items as well.
April 26@10:30am & 2pm – Hanging garden workshop
Saturday, May 3@10:30am – Growing veggies in pots
May 3@12pm – Sheldon Gissell of Dirt n’ Grow , the developer of Evolve, our line of organic fertilizer will be here! He is a great source of information
on growing organically.
Saturday, May 10@10:30am – Tropicals in patio pots
May 10@2pm – Growing and harvesting herbs. – Taste some great appetizers created by our cook using our fresh herbs!
Pot Parties! – As always! Every Thursday at 7pm – Create your front door containers or deck pots! Or plant up your herb or veggie containers, all with the help of our staff. If you have a group of 6 or more….we’ll book a time that suits you!
Check out our events page for more details and call us to reserve your spot!
At Oakridge, we are well into the swing of Christmas. Being one of our favorite times of year, we get so excited to showcase our vision and celebrate with you! Our Experience Christmas at Oakridge last Friday was a great success and we thank all of you who came out to support our soup kitchen in town “Soups On”.
We have a few special events coming up that we’d love to share with you. This week we are starting our Christmas workshops. We run them every Wednesday evening and Saturday morning. On Wed. at 630pm and Sat. at 10am. Our creative staff will help you design and finish your outdoor container, front door wreath/swag or indoor centerpiece. We use a variety of fresh greens, including balsam, fir, and pine. We also carry holly and large pinecones to add the special finishing touches. Bring your own finishes such as ornaments, stars, berry picks and bows. Really, anything goes! We love to see how your vision transforms into each beautiful personal rendition of Christmas. We’ll also accommodate a larger group of 5-6 or more on any day of the week….just give us a call for details! Bring your girlfriends for a great night out, finishing it with an eggnog latte and cheesecake! While you’re here…check out our 12 doors of Christmas to give you some awesome ideas!
On Saturday, November 23rd, we are having our Greenhouse Grand Opening showcasing our live Christmas Trees, poinsettias and our 12 Doors of Christmas. We have painted 12 doors to give you different ideas for outdoor containers, swags and wreaths. Get excited and deck out your front door, it’s amazing the impact it can make! Enjoy free apple cider and cookies and workshops! After, browse the Garden Store and shop for great Christmas gifts for anyone on your list.
