I was working up in the office when I heard on our radio..."there's a hummingbird in the bleeding hearts and columbine." I grabbed my camera and went down to the perennial department. The hummingbird had left the bleeding hearts, but stopped for a quick feeding on the nepeta.
Hummingbirds are a common sighting at Williams. Now that they've arrived, stop in and look carefully. You have a very good chance at seeing one.
Last Friday, we had a delightful evening with the 4-h's as Jim Nichnadowic gave a hands on Pizza gardening workshop. Kids got to dig holes, learn about proper planting, feeding, and how to amend the soil. A fun evening!
Thanks Jim!
I was going to talk about these things several weeks ago because I thought they looked silly, and I'm usually not inclined to buy things I see on those infomercials. I belong to a garden center networking group, and the buzz on our message board is that they can't keep these Topsy Turvy items in-stock. I personally was thinking these things are like the Japanese Beetle traps...novelty, but not needed. But I have been wrong before. My son wanted me to grab some at target the other day. I then tried to get them from my distributor and they're out. Does anyone have any actual experience with them?
For quite a number of years, the Union County Freeholders have been providing trees to schools, and community groups to be planted for Arbor Day. James Nichnadowicz, the Union County 4-h Agent instructs how the trees are planted. One hundred trees get planted in our county yearly because of this program. This year the tree that we selected was a disease resistant crab apple. Shown is myself and Freeholder Deborah Scanlon, and one of the recipient groups. (Out of all of the years we've done this, this was the first year it's rained, but everyone is still smiling:-)
There are lots of trees blooming right now. This is one of my favorites, the purple leaf plum. 
Here is the information from our website:
Prunus cerasifera 'Krauter Vesuvius' ('Vesuvius')'
Cherry Plum 'Krauter Vesuvius' ('Vesuvius')', Myrobalan Plum 'Krauter Vesuvius' ('Vesuvius')', Purple Leaf Plum 'Krauter Vesuvius' ('Vesuvius')'
Here are the Poll Results for your favorite tree. I was surprised that Cherries scored over 40%, but then again after seeing all the cherries in Branch Brook Park last week I understand.
Cherry - Upright | 17 (17%) |
Cherry - Weeping | 25 (26%) |
Dogwood | 14 (14%) |
Magnolia - Saucer | 14 (14%) |
Magnolia -Star | 9 (9%) |
Pear - Flowering | 4 (4%) |
Plum - Flowering | 2 (2%) |
Red Bud | 9 (9%) |
Serviceberry | 2 (2%) |
Not Sure of the Name | 0 (0%) |
Other | 3 (3%) |
We were delighted to be location for the Tree Planting workshop that was taught by Union County 4-H representative James Nichnadowicz. Approximately 20 famileis showed up to take part in learing how to plant a tree. 
One of nature's fireworks show's is at Branch Brook Park in Newark.
This was my fisrt year that I went, and I'm sorry that I missed all of the others. The cherry trees are at their peak this weekend. You owe it to yourself to see them. It may be a bit crowded, but its worth it!
If you don't want to drive, you can do what I did. I took the train to Newark Penn, and then took the short light rail ride to the branch brook park exit. For those that have concerns, the Newark Subway was clean, and safe. When you exit the subway, head to the left of the Tennis Court. Branch Brook Park is huge, but the majority of the cherries are to the right. How many trees? I didn't count them, but they just added several thousand trees to this established collection last year.
Williams Nursery at 524 Springfield Ave. Westfield will be having its Thirteeth annual Easter Egg Hunt on Saturday April 11th at 2pm. There will be over 5000 eggs filled with candy & toys, and 25 special prize eggs, which can be traded for bigger prizes. Take your picture with the Easter Bunny. The Egg Hunt is only for Children 10 and under. There is no charge for this event. Please arrive at least 30 minutes early since the Hunt starts at exactly 2pm.
For further information call 908-232-4076.
This is the video from the 6-10 year olds hunt from last year. Happy Easter!
Aquilegia canadensis 'Little Lanterns'
is a wildflower native to North America. Commonly known as Columbine, it has dainty nodding flowers that are fiery red with a yellow corolla. This particular Columbine is more compact than other varieties, growing only 10 to 12 inches tall. These perennials prefer sun or partial shade. They bloom from early spring through midsummer, thriving in average, well drained soil. If they are happy in their environment, Columbines will self sow and naturalize in a woodland garden. They are attract hummingbirds and make an excellent cut flower.
Pulmonaria 'Milky Way'
is a show stopper in the spring garden. Wine pink blooms that fade to blue cover the plant in spring. In addition to the beautiful flowers, the green leaves are speckled with silvery spots that glow in shady sites. These speckles keep the foliage interesting even after the flowers fade. Pulmonaria has the unfortunate common name of Lungwort, derived from the spotting on the leaves which were said to resemble the X ray of unhealthy, spotted lungs. Despite its common name, Pulmonaria brings a beautiful and colorful accent to a shady garden. Growing to about 12 inches tall, they attract hummingbirds and are extremely deer resistant.
Corydalis 'Canary Feathers'
Corydalis flex. 'Purple Leaf' What amazing blue flowers! Foliage is bronze tinged with clusters of violet blue flowers. All Corydalis prefer partial to mostly shady sites, making them a perfect perennial for the woodland garden. The ideal soil should be rich and evenly moist. They make excellent companions with Ferns and Hostas, and are extremely tough despite their delicate appearance.
We only have five of these perennial Viola's Left. The variety is called Viola 'Columbine'. These are absolutely stunning!
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