Dear ##firstname[Friend]##,

Crystal Rennicke

It’s official…spring is here! After an especially long winter here in Wisconsin, I’m excited to see a little green outside my window. Plus, this spring, we’re offering $1,500 in prizes to our Garden Club members in our Great Garden Giveaway. You can win free plants, gift certificates and even cash! Click here to see the prizes you can win.

Have you voted for your favorite name in our “Name This Plant” challenge? Terra Nova nurseries has asked Birds & Blooms readers to name a beautiful new coreopsis.
Cast your vote today!

If this newsletter was forwarded to you, please use this link to sign up for yourself.

Happy Gardening!
--Crystal

READ ON TO DISCOVER...

• Plant of the Month
• Yard Smarts
• Question of the Month
• April Regional Checklist
• Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month

Plant of the Month

Green Envy™ Purple Coneflower
Botanical name: Echinacea purpurea Green Envy™
Hardiness: Zones 3 to 9.
Size: 30 to 36 inches high; 18 to 24 inches wide
Light: Full sun to partial shade.
Soil: Moderate-fertility, well, draining.
Features: Jade-green petals with a deep-green cone-shaped center. Great for cut-flower arrangements. 
Growing advice: This flower can be grown in many soil types and is heat- and drought-tolerant, requiring little care.

Click here for more information.

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Yard Smarts

Easy Watering
Plants that sprawl in the garden—squash, pumpkin and cucumber—are hard to care for because you don’t know where to water. I put a plastic pole near the roots when I plant them, so I always know where they could use a drink.  –Liz McCain, Florence, Oregon

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Question of the Month

Redbud 911
Q: What is wrong with this redbud tree? –George Poe, Kingport, Tennessee

Melinda: The greenish gray, flaky growths on the redbud trunk and branches are lichens. They are fungi that live in conjunction with green or blue-green algae.

You can find them growing on stones, trees and shrubs. They are not parasitic and do not cause disease, and therefore are not harmful to the redbud tree. Lichens obtain needed water and nutrients from the air, while the algae convert sunlight into needed energy.

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April Regional Checklist

When spring arrives, both gardeners and their plants are eager to spring into action. But avoid doing everything at once in your enthusiasm. It’s better for you, and your garden, when you prioritize.

• Northeast
• Northwest
• Southwest
• Central
• Southeast

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Frugal Gardener Tip of the Month

Out-of-this-World Planters
Gardening in high desert country is a challenge, but using satellite dishes to make planters proved to be a good idea. We drill six holes into the bottom of each for drainage before planting.  –Bonnie Redfearn, Carson City, Nevada

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Step Back to the Victory Era!

The editors of Reminisce magazine bring you Reminisce Through the Decades: The 1940s, a 6-hour-plus, three-DVD set of real-life stories from the ’40s! For more information, go to www.reminisce.com.

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