Dave's Garden Talk -Williams Nursery

Blooming Back at You. Bloomerang Lilac

2011-05-04T22:15:00.000-04:00

My mom with her mother's day lilacs.

I wrote this article for the Gardener News last Spring. I then gave my mom a copy of this article with a large bunch of lilacs for Mother's day.

As a kid growing up, my mother’s favorite flower was a lilac. Every mother’s day I would walk to the back of our nursery and find the big lilacs that we had growing. I would cut five or six flowers and make a giant bouquet for her. I probably was making my dad look bad, but it was mom’s special day, not my dad’s. Mom raved about the lilacs and the cut bouquet was given a prominent location in the center of our kitchen table. I continued with these bouquets for many years. The lilac bushes are long gone, but the memories still remain.

The traditional old fashioned lilac, Syringa vulgaris, may have beautiful fragrant flowers in the Spring, but the flowers only last a week or two. They are somewhat problematic for the rest of the year. They are subject to powdery mildew, they stop flowering on older wood, and need proper pruning. Things have since changed dramatically in the lilac world.

I had a few customers early last Spring ask if we had the repeat blooming lilac. I was a bit baffled, as I never heard of one before, and thought the customer was confusing it with the repeat blooming ‘Endless Summer’ Hydrangea. I had forgotten about those questions until a sales rep come to our nursery last September and asked if I wanted to look at some plant samples. He opened the back of the truck and I saw a dwarf lilac in a container in full bloom. Wow! I was impressed. Meet ‘Bloomerang’®, he said.

Syringa x Bloomerang® is an amazing new dwarf purple flowering lilac that flowers for months, not weeks. It’s similar in shape and size to the Korean lilacs, but the flowers are larger, and invoke memories of the traditional lilac. The leaves are smaller than the traditional lilac, slightly glossy, and tend to be mildew resistant. One of my mom’s favorite lilac attributes was the fragrance. Bloomerang does have that distinctive lilac aroma, although it isn’t as strong as the old fashioned varieties. Considering there is almost four months worth of flowers, I feel that slightly less fragrant isn’t a bad thing.

The growth habit on Bloomerang® is tighter and shorter than the traditional lilac. It will grow 4-5’ tall and close to 6’ wide. With pruning you should be able to maintain it to about 3-4’ tall. Since Bloomerang ® blooms so heavily in May, its important to trim off the spent flowers when its first flowering is done. It This will speed up the rebloom time, and help keep a nice tight growth habit. It could take until mid-Summer to start again, but then it should bloom until frost. It mixes well into the border, or you could use it as a foundation plant. I’m also thinking of using it as a container plant on my deck. The delicate lilac scent will add ambiance to your late night gatherings.

Even with a winter as harsh as the last, Bloomerang® would be a success story. It is hardy to an extreme cold of -40F . Feel free to buy one for any of your friends between here all the way to Maine. Bloomerang® needs to have full sun for a minimum of 6 hours. Although it is resistant to some root rots, it prefers well drained soil. Deer generally will not like Bloomerang® but I always recommend using a deer repellant when installing any new plant into the garden.

Is it time to Plant?

2011-04-25T14:55:00.000-04:00

One of the most common questions that we get this time of year is "when is the last chance of frost?"

Since weathermen seem to have a hard enough time predicting yesterday's weather let alone tomorrow's this is a tricky question to answer.

We've had years where we haven't had a frost after the 10th of April. We've also had years where there has been a frost towards the end of May. This is generally the exception to the rule. Generally the chances of a frost after the first of May is fairly low. The trees have also leafed out by this time, and this actually offers protection to the plants that are under them.

Some plants have more tolerance to frost than others. The cool season annuals such as pansies, primrose and rannunculus can handle a frost with no problems, and can actually tolerate temperatures in the low 20's. Annuals such as impatiens are less tolerant of the cold weather, and can not take any frost.

The national weather service does have a probability chart that covers the Plainfield area.

Temperature		Probability
will fall below		90%	50%	10%
	36F	22-Apr	04-May	66-May
Frost	32F	06-Apr	20-Apr	04-May
Freeze	28F	23-Mar	05-Apr	17-Apr

What this means is that there is only a 10% chance that there will be a frost on May 04th. With chances dropping every day after that.

Still time to See the Daffs! Reeves Reed Arboretum

2011-04-12T23:54:00.001-04:00

Reeves Reed Arboretum, a set on Flickr.

With the dramatic cooling off of weather, the daffodils are still at their peak. If you haven't visited Reeves Reed Arboretum in Summit. Go! Over 40,000 daffodils in bloom. It's one of my must visit places in Spring.

Gardening in Japan

2011-03-18T14:25:00.000-04:00

I had written this article before the devastating earth quake in Japan. My heart goes out to everyone that has been affected by this tragic event. When I saw the video of the greenhouses being washed away by the tsunami, I had to sit down. I have heard back from our friends in Japan, and the places that we’ve visited haven’t been directly impacted, and they are safe. I urge everyone to make a $10 donation to the redcross. No links no credit cards just use your cell phone and txt “REDCROSS” to 90999 and you’ll have made a ten dollar donation. Just a few seconds and your done, and it does make a difference.

This October I had a once in a lifetime opportunity to represent the United States as President of Garden Centers of America at the International Garden Center Association Congress in Japan. In attendance were two hundred and twenty garden center owners from sixteen different countries. The Congress was more than just a business meeting. It was a concentrated business study tour of Garden Centers, Public Gardens, and historic sites through out the Tokyo and Kyoto regions of Japan.

For me, this trip came fairly last minute. Garden Centers of America (GCA) became a member of the International Garden Center Association (IGCA) only in August of this year. Which also means that every member of GCA is now an individual member of the IGCA. The IGCA was established to provide a forum for the mutual exchange of information to exchange best practices, ideas, methods and experiences.

Fox Face Solanum mammosum

The flight to Japan was fourteen hours direct from Newark. It was strange to leave at 11:30 AM on Thursday and arrive at 2:30 PM on Friday. We didn’t pass through night at all. We had our business meeting the next day. At the meeting we compared how the industry was faring, and spoke about new trends. The thing that amazed me the most, actually it scared me a bit, was that it seemed that everyone all over the world had weather issues this year. Weather does effect how people garden. Usually if weather it really bad in one part of the world, it will be great in another. It didn’t seem like this pattern was the case this year. I hope we didn’t mess the world environment too badly, and that this is just a blip.

It was an early start the next morning. There were five busses on the tour. We shared our bus with quite a few garden center owners from the UK. One of the first things we noticed is that most of the homes we passed had very small yards. There are almost thirteen million people in Tokyo (compared to eight and a half million in NY.) Space is at a premium. So the actual space that is available to garden is relatively small.

After visiting several of the garden centers, I noticed a few extremely interesting trends. The first must be related to the smaller yards. Most of the sizes of plants that were available were in smaller size pots than in the US. There was quite a bit more color, and a larger variety of plants than are available in US garden centers in the fall. I think part of this is that gardening is more a part of there culture than it is in the states. From what I could determine online, their hardiness zone is about a zone 8, which would be similar to Southern Georgia.

There were lots of small potted plants that were covered with berries. We’ve been selling large potted purple berried callicarpa (beauty berry) for years, but I’ve never seen them available in four inch pots before. I was amazed that these four inch plants were covered with berries. There were other plants in berry in these tiny pots too. Some I recognized, but some I am still trying to find the correct botanic name. I would love to get a grower in the US to grow small pots of berried plants for fall containers. What a great way to add excitement, and also some height to a pot of pansies. Speaking of fruiting plants, one of the coolest new plants that I saw was called “Fox Face”. I had to ask several people at several different garden centers before I got the botanic name. Fox Face, Solanum mammosum, is a relative of the tomato and potato. It is a native of South America. It has large orange fruits that last for about three months. The fruits get their name because they resemble fox heads. These were in pots standing about three to four feet tall. This would be fantastic in fall container arrangements. Since they are in the nightshade family, I would not recommend eating them, as they could possibly be poisonous.

In the 1980’s the United States used to be the number one importer of tulip bulbs from the Netherlands. That title has passed to the Japanese in the last decade with total purchases exceeding one hundred seventy nine million. People were swarming around the tulip display. Each tulip bulb is individually priced and bar-coded with a color-coded tape. The tape color matches the flower color. The skin on the tulip is very important to the Japanese and looked perfect. Every tulip bulb was in perfect shape. The price in US dollars was about $1 per tulip

Many of the garden centers that we visited in Japan also had pet departments. Pets play a very large roll in garden centers in the United Kingdom, and are also have started to make appearances at garden centers here in the US. The thing that I thought was very unusual about the Japanese Garden Centers is that pet department included a display dedicated to Rhinoceros Beetles. The Rhinoceros Beetle is one of the worlds strongest animals, as it can lift up to 850 times their own weight. To put this into human terms, a person would be able to lift a 65 ton object! The beetles are clean, easy to maintain and are safe to handle. The children think they make exciting pets. The male beetles are very territorial and in some parts of Asia, two males are made to fight as a form of gambling. I was tempted to bring one back to my son Dakota, but I figured I didn’t want to get into trouble with the department of Agriculture.

Since it was only mid-October when I was in Japan, I was surprised when I saw what looked like poinsettias. When I got closer to the display I was impressed with a new type of Euphorbia from Suntory called Princettias. They are similar to poinsettias, but the flower bracts are smaller. There were several colors. None of them were red. They were all in various shades of bright pinks. The plants were more compact than a poinsettia, and had dark green glossy leaves. I think these would be perfect on an end table or coffee table. When I returned home, I spoke to my friend, Lloyd Traven, who will be supplying Poinsettias to Martha Stewart this Christmas. Lloyd is a grower that is always up on the newest and coolest plants. He just happened to be trialing a few of the Princettias here in the states. He says that I’ll be able to have a few so we can sell some in December.

Phalaenopsis Orchids are the easiest orchids to grow indoors. They’ve become extremely popular all around the world. When I first saw the orchids in the Japanese garden centers I was stunned. The Japanese Orchid growers use wires when the phalaenopsis are growing to train the flowers to look like giant waterfalls of flowers. They would put several plants in a pot, and the effect was beautiful. It was more like a living sculpture than a flowering plant. If I could have brought them home with me, I would have.

I can’t wait to put some of ideas that I got while I was there to use.

Where Squishy is Fun!

2010-10-15T14:40:00.005-04:00

There are certain instance were squishy isn’t fun, as in when its raining and you step in a puddle, but squishy is enormously fun when you are talking about GelGems.

Loved by the very young and older…my daughter has them decorating her common room area in college…these versatile, colorful, clinging shapes open up endless creative decorating opportunities. Halloween is no exception.

Here is the chance to move haunting ghosts, glow-in-the-dark skeletons or silly pumpkins all over the windows of your house. Visit the Williams Nursery gift shop or the hard cover greenhouse to see the current selection and unleash your inner artist.

Then get even more out of your GelGems experience by visiting these links:

- Send a GelGems eGreeting card.
- Create a virtual GelGems on the Internet window of your choosing, save it, edit it and/or send it to a friend
- Learn about a new, lighted GelGems that will be available at Williams in the spring.

GelGems are reusable and don’t require extensive cleanup after they are applied, like some other types of window decorations. If they get dirty you can wash them in warm water. New designs are available with each season.

Don’t apply them to wood or painted surfaces, plastic or fabric or they will leave a mark.

Here's to Hats

2010-10-10T19:59:00.008-04:00

Did you just receive a Halloween party invite in the mail?
Want to standout from the crowd on Halloween?
Looking for the uncommon choice?

Visit the gift shop at Williams for a unique and easy solution to your Halloween costume dilemma.

Before you head off to the party your hat can be a stunning decoration on top of your hall sidetable or entryway coat rack.

Then on Halloween all one of these hats need is that little black dress that everyone has in their closet in order for you to become an elegant and bewitching party guest.

Visit the gift shop for other unusual decorations of the season.

OMG :( My Crabgrass is out of Control!!!

2010-10-04T21:08:00.005-04:00

Normally what happens in the lawn is "not my department." The seemingly endless diversity of flowers and shrubs with new introductions all the time are much more fascinating to me. But still always being curious when I notice something "horticulturally" unusual I decided to track down the why and the how. And so it was with the question, "Why is last year's beautifully re-sodded side lawn now a hotbed of crabgrass?"

The answer is that first of all the side lawn ended up being next to a construction site of sorts (actually more of a destruction site). Crabgrass seeds love open soil to take root in. The second part of the answer is this year's weather.

The summer presented the perfect conditions for extreme crabgrass growth. Crabgrass sprouts when the soil gets to between 50-60 degrees. But it was really the hot, dry July and August that set off later season spreads. Apparently my sod must of consisted entirely cool season grasses. The hot weather forced the grasses into dormancy and left more open areas for the crabgrass seeds to quickly sprout. So what to do now?

Some people talk of the home remedy using vinegar on lawn weeds but I would caution against this as store bought vinegar is not acidic enough and industrial vinegar is likely to damage the soil and kill beneficial insects and organisms in the soil.

Since children play in the lawn, I prefer a more organic approach. So I was pleased to discover that Williams' carries a line of both Dr. Earth and Jonathan Green organic lawn products, including Jonathan Green's Crabgrass Preventer Plus Green-Up Tm.

_______(Print & Clip Here)_______________

Dear Husband:

Right now the focus should be on preventing the crabgrass from going to seed. Mowing short with a grass collection device on the mower is recommended if the seeds are not too evident. Clippings should go in the trash and certainly not back on the lawn. If the seeds are already abundant the next step is to pull the crabgrass up. Not a particularly pleasant task but a drastic situation calls for drastic measures.

Then reseed to help give the crabgrass seeds less room to flourish in the spring. Look for grass seed mixtures that offer a combination of grasses, including rye grass, as these will stand up better to hot, harsh weather conditions. A soil test, either through a kit or by contacting the local Rutgers Cooperative Extension Office (in Union County) will help determine what our soil's true nutritional needs are. Mulch the grass seeds.

In the spring around the time the forsythia bloom, apply Jonathan Green's Crabgrass Preventer plus Green-Up to suppress the remaining crabgrass seed growth. It won't hurt to get a bag now so that you have it on hand. While Jonathan Green's can be applied later than other types, timing is really critical in catching the seeds before warm weather causes them to germinate. Which is probably another reason why our crabgrass is so bad, the critical window as missed this last spring because we did not have any on hand at the right time.

________Sincerely, Your Loving Wife_____________________

AIB begins!!!

2010-09-30T23:23:00.001-04:00

The America in Bloom symposium has begun in St. Louis. Tonight the criteria awards were given for different categories.

We are very excited to announce that Westfield has won the award for landscaped areas. The judges noted "that the landscaped areas were all neat and well conceived. The entire residential area of the city was impressive. All yards were crisply landscaped and evidenced an overall pride of community."

We still have to wait until Saturday night to hear how Westfield has done in the entire competition. But this is an exciting start. Special thanks to everyone in town!!!

-- Post From My iPhone

Trees for troops in the running for a grant from Pepsi!

2010-09-06T10:15:00.000-04:00

Hey I think this is a great program...One that we have also dedicated our time to support.

Trees for Troops is in the running for a $250k grant from the Pepsi Refresh Everything project. As a big supporter of Trees for Troops, would you encourage your visitors to vote for us? Details at: http://www.treesfortroops.org/ dirct link to vote and more at: www.refresheverything.com/treesfortroops

The winterberries are starting to color up

2010-09-04T16:36:00.000-04:00

The winterberry holly berries have started their transformation and started to turn to red.... Fall isn't that far away!

-- Post From My iPhone

Running to Bloom

2010-07-21T17:11:00.000-04:00

Just a quick note. I'm at the Downtown 5k race and Pizza extravaganza with a booth promoting the Westfield in Bloom garden and flower competition.
I'm also handing out coupons for 30% off any one item at Williams. Stop in and say hi! And tell me if you like all the flowers around town.
-Dave Williams

-- Post From My iPhone

News flash! Murray had a New Planter

2010-07-12T17:44:00.000-04:00

Special Thanks to Donna Perch, Caldwell Banker, Galaxy Building Contractors, Westfield Lumber and Williams Nursery for adding this great flowering addition to to the South Ave Train Station.

-- Post From My iPhone

Coreopsis Big Bang "cosmic eye"

2010-07-11T10:59:00.000-04:00

I'm at the Ofa show in Columbus Ohio looking at the new plant varieties for 2011.
I just love this Coreopsis Big Bang(r) "Cosmic Eye"
Great contrasting claret-colored tipped in gold flowers that will take our hot Nj summers.
Grows 12-15" tall in full sun.

-- Post From My iPhone

Thanks to all the Tree Stewards

2010-05-14T13:05:00.001-04:00

We sometimes forget how important trees are to our everyday. I've written about the importance of trees before. Today I'm writing to thank the people that have planted them. This year for Arbor day I set aside 50 5-6' trees to give out to anyone who wanted one for no charge. I even thought that I may have a hard time giving out these fifty trees. I was happily surprised that we had 50 people come in on arbor morning, and in an hour's time all of the trees had happy homes.
I had created a little pledge sheet that the family taking the tree had to sign, that they would take care of their tree, and they also promised to share a picture of their tree in their new home.
Shown on the right are the O'Keefe's of Westfield. Mary O'Keefe send me a note that the tree stewards have planted and watered it faithfully. Thanks!

Thanks to all of the other tree stewards for sending in their pictures. (If you haven't sent your pic there is still time.) I am compiling them all together.

Billy, Do you like movies of Gladiator allium? - In Bloom today

2010-05-12T14:05:00.002-04:00

allium gladiator-10
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

Excuse the reference to the movie Airplane:-)
After a great soaking rain last night, I walked back into our perennial department. Right away I spotted this Allium covered with water droplets. The variety is Allium gladiator. It looks like a giant fireworks show in the garden. You can see the other pictures that I took of the allium here.

New arrival! Just in from Monrovia and a first for us

2010-05-11T19:49:00.001-04:00

I just love this mandevilla stars and stripes. A new mandevilla that I had first seen last year, that I've been counting the days for us to get them. Dark red blooms with bright white lines. These are in limited supply for this year. They have tons of buds and ready to go.

-- Post From My iPhone

Learn how to Garden with the Master Gardeners

2010-05-11T10:17:00.000-04:00

The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County will be holding their 21st annual Spring Fair & Plant Sale on Sunday, May 16, from 12:00 to 5:00 PM at Trailside Nature Center in Mountainside.

The Master Gardener Helpliners will answer your gardening questions, so bring samples of that sad looking plant that is struggling in your yard. The Union County Bureau of Mosquito Control will also be there to show how you can help prevent mosquitoes from taking up residence in your yard.

4- H will have a display on trees, and children’s activities include face painting, planting a marigold to take home and making bird feeders, all at no charge.

Attend the lecture at 2pm if you want to learn how to grow a vegetable garden. At 3pm a composting lecture will be given. They will be conducting tours of their Herb and Community Sharing Garden, where over 1,500 lbs. of fresh vegetables were grown by volunteers and donated to community food banks and churches last year. Among the wide variety of plants for sale will be the hard-to-find Ramapo tomato, as well as many other vegetables.

Visit their website at http://www.mastergardeners-uc.org/ for more information about the Master Gardener program, or for directions to the garden.

Branch Brook Park Past Peak and misses Festival

2010-04-09T23:49:00.000-04:00

After writing about Branch Brook Park in my e-news this morning I waited for my son Dakota and his friend Jack to come home from school, grabbed my camera gear and headed to Newark.

For those that didn't read my e-news, Branch Brook Park has the largest selection of flowering cherries in the US. Over 1000 more than Washington, DC. Their cherry blossom festival starts tomorrow and runs April 10th through April 18th. When it's at its peak it truly is heaven on earth. Maxwell Smart would say "Missed it by that much" Unfortunately the peak was early this week right when the Summer temperatures started. The warm air, and the warm breezes caused the cherries to bloom at an extremely accelerated rate. In fact when they were at peak there were probably a larger percentage that were ever in bloom at one time because Branch Brook has planted many different varieties to extend the blooming time. I think that more varities were flowering at the same time this year because of the heat.
This was my son's first time to Branch Brook. I wanted to show him a glorious flower display, but instead I got to explain to him that God doesn't look at a calendar. I'm sure thousands of people will be going to the park this weekend, and will walk away disappointed. That's too bad because even when the trees are not in full bloom, it is a beautiful space. The Kwansan Cherries are still in bloom and haven't peaked yet. The Kwansan has large pink flowers that remind me of cotton candy balls. There were a few scattered weeping cherries that were also very pretty and also haven't peaked, but the majority of the cherries were more than 75% done blooming. There is also some extremely large cherries that make great family photo opportunities.

Reeves Reed in Bloom

2010-04-03T08:48:00.002-04:00

Reeves Reed in Bloom-1
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

Reeves Reed Arboretum in Summit NJ has a collection of 40,000 daffodils in bloom. The warm weather has gotten them popping early. Their official Daffodil Day is April 18th, but the daffs don't watch the calendar, so I would put it on my visit right away list.

This picture was taken yesterday with my son Dakota and his friend Jack. This year at Reeves Reed they are celebrating the year of the tree, and there are some amazing trees on site. There's one beech that the three of us couldn't wrap our arms around.

Fourteen Thousand Plants in your Pocket

2010-02-09T17:44:00.000-05:00

For those that haven't seen it, this is my current article in the Gardener News:
When I got my iphone® three years ago, it transformed the way that I do business. I don’t have to travel with a heavy computer anymore. I have easy internet access at my fingertips. I can update my blog from my phone. I can see what my friends have posted on Facebook. It’s like having a little computer in the palm of your hands. One of the best features of the phone is that third party vendors can create applications or apps that run on the phone.

There are thousands of apps now available for the iphone®, but until recently there has been very few garden applications. In early December 10-20 media released a fantastic iphone® application called the Garden Pilot™. Garden Pilot™ is a handheld garden guide to plants, vegetables, trees and shrubs. Its like having an entire gardening encyclopedia in your phone. It has over 14,000 plants in its library. These pictures are not stored in the phone but are accessed from the database that 10-20 media has spent years compiling. (an internet connection is required) There are a several powerful search capabilities. Touch the seach icon on the bottom of the screen and you can search by a botanic name or common name. Results are instantly brought up in list form. Touch one of the choices and a full color picture fills the screen. Want more info? There is a little picture of a plant tag on the top right of the screen. Touch the tag, and the picture flips over revealing information such as growing height, bloom season, uses and zone hardiness.

You can also search by the browse button. Tap browse, and you can search 14 plant categories including annuals, perennials, roses and aquatics. Hidden in this feature is a feature where you can then filter the items. Tap the button on the top right (says 1 of x) to open the filter screen. Then you can filter by options such as color, light requirement, water requirement, etc. You can even filter plants that were just released in 2010, or 2009. A perfect way to start planning your garden.

If you were traveling and wanted to actually buy a searched plant, you could touch the find it button on the top corner, and the iphone’s® GPS finds stores that are local to you. Tap the phone number and you can ask if it is in stock. Tap the map button and get directions to the store.
Another cool feature available on GardenPilot™ version 1.0 is the Joe section. It’s great when you’re sitting at Starbucks sipping a coffee and want to read up on one of Joes gardening tips. Joe Lamp'l is currently the host of GardenSMART on PBS. Joe has provided GardenPilot™ with timely articles to make you a better gardener. Joe is a frequent guest expert on shows such as The Today Show, Good Morning America and The Victory Garden. There are currently articles in twelve different categories. Categories include eco-friendly ideas, to flower gardening, to insects and pests including deer, to roses, to vegetable gardening.
There are a few minor things that I don’t like about the program, but this is only version 1.0. I would have had the search enabled where you didn’t have to type in the complete name, just a few characters. This option is available but hidden under filters. This would help spelling impaired people like myself have more success. It would also be nice if you could filter by more than one color at a time. I would also like to see support added where you could zoom into a picture like you can with other iphone pictures. I also noticed that sometimes images render on the screen with the wrong aspect ratio making them look a bit stretched out. Again a minor problem.

Iphone® application prices are always subject to change, but when I wrote this article the cost of the application was only $2.99. That’s less money than a single garden magazine. You’ll notice that your thumb will get greener with every use. Go direct to the apple store by clicking the link below.

Changing of the Urns

2009-12-10T22:10:00.001-05:00

The overlook at Mindowaskin Park is one of my favorite views in Westfield. Back in May I had planted the urns with water wise plants such as agaves, sedum, and aloes. These plants held up so much better than expected that I didn't replace them with mums like I usually do. The amazing thing was these plants didn't have to be watered once the entire Summer and Fall.

After a few hard freezes the large agave finally started to show some signs of unhappiness, so I decided it was time to replace it with greens. In the center I used these really cool spruce tips. It took me quite a while to locate them, but it gives a really strong vertical element in the container. (We do have them for sale here at thee nursery. They are around $5 each. I added curly willow, red pine, fraser fir, magnolia, holly and a red bow to finish it off.

Trees for Troops - Extended One Day

2009-12-07T10:29:00.003-05:00

This is a repost of the e-news that I sent out last night:

After all these years in the nursery business, I should expect the weather to throw us a few curves. Saturday was just one of those unpleasant days. It definitely wasn't one of those nice days to bring the family out. Because of the poor Saturday weather, our response to Trees for Troops was reduced by about 50% compared to last year. I have gotten in touch with our contact at Federal Express, and I've gotten our Trees for Troops pick-up delayed until Tuesday Morning. So there is still time to help out our troops.

We've been extremely fortunate in getting cards and ornaments donated for our trees. There has been an unbelievable response to my request for help. We have collected over 400 cards, and close to 300 ornaments for the trees. We just haven't been as successful in getting more trees donated :-( So that is another reason that I am asking you again for your help.

I've also had a few people say that things are harder this year, and they just can't afford to donate a tree. For those that can't afford a whole tree, I've created a way to order just a part of a tree. I'll combine those donations together so that I can add more trees to the truck.

I must have your donation by Tuesday, December 8th at 8AM for the Tree to be on the truck. I know that Monday is a difficult day to come out to the Nursery, so I've created a form that you can place your order securely through paypal. By filling out this form in the email you will be taken right to paypal's website. Feel free to forward this email to your friends and office associates. You can also call us between 9am-6pm at 908-232-4076.

If you do have time tomorrow, you can stop by the Nursery and personally pick out your tree.

Help Support Trees for Troops. Choose an option from below and click Buy Now.

(If the button doesn't work click here to be taken to the form on my blog)

Message to Include with Tree

(Please not that you will get a message that says your tree will be shipped to your address, disregard that message. But we will send you a receipt for your donation for tax purposes)

Many thanks for helping us say thanks to those that give so much.

-Dave Williams

Williams Nursery

Trees for Troops Order Form- Extended till Tuesday Dec 8th

2009-12-06T23:21:00.001-05:00

We've extended the deadline till Tuesday December 8th at 8am.
Your tree is considered a donation to the Christmas Spirit Foundation and you will receive a receipt for your taxes.

Note: you will get an email that says your tree will be shipped to you, we will actually send you the receipt, not the tree.

Trees for Troops - News 12

2009-12-06T18:29:00.002-05:00

News Twelve NJ stopped by today to help us promote Trees for Troops. This short spot ran on tonites news.

Girl Scout Snowmen - Trees for Troops

2009-12-06T18:27:00.000-05:00

A girl scout troop dropped these snowmen ornaments off to go with the trees.

Busy in Garwood - Trees for Troops part 2

2009-12-06T18:19:00.000-05:00

Show are a few of the 142 ornaments that the children made at the garwood public library.
The snowmen in the bottom photo are made with crystal light containers. All of the ornaments have been designed to withstand getting wet, since they will be packed with the trees.

Busy in Garwood - Trees for Troops Part 1

2009-12-06T17:44:00.001-05:00

Special thanks to all of the children at the Garwood Public Library.
They made 142 ornaments and 32 cards to go with the trees!

Thank you for all of your help!

See the next post for pictures of the ornaments.

Giant Snowflake -Trees for Troops

2009-12-06T16:58:00.000-05:00

Thanks for this giant snowflake ornament provided by the Ladies Aucilizry of the Rahway Yacht Club.

Over 100 Cards - Trees for Troops

2009-12-05T14:39:00.001-05:00

I don't know who to personally thank for organizing this card effort, but someone dropped off a large envelope full of cards for the Troops.

It had written on the envelope that it was from the
Kenilworth Daisy Troop,
Westfield Lincoln School Kindergarten Classes
Westtfield Co-Op Nursery School.

Thank you to the organizer, and a great big thank you to the kids that made the cards.

For the Very Brave - Trees for Troops

2009-12-05T14:32:00.001-05:00

I wanted to share this card that a child name Evan made to go with the Trees for Troops.
He says it all:
Dear Soldier,
Thank you.
You are very Brave.
Happy Holidays.
You can do it.
We miss you,
Love Evan

Sometimes a Card makes you crack a smile.

2009-12-05T14:29:00.002-05:00

One of my favorite things in the Trees for Troops program, is that I get to look through the cards that the kids have made. Sometimes you get one that just makes you laugh out loud....Still chuckling on this one. It definetly made me smile.

Go USA! - Trees for Troops Ornaments

2009-12-05T14:26:00.001-05:00

Wow, Mountainside Daycare provided us with a whole bucket of ornaments and a stack of cards made by their kids. Great Job! I took a photo of one of the sleds. It says it all "GO USA!"

Thank You Troops - Brownie Troop 752

2009-12-05T14:23:00.001-05:00

The cards are rolling in. These have been provided from Brownie Troop 752

Ornaments Delivered for Trees for Troops

2009-12-05T13:26:00.000-05:00

I want to personally thank the Morristown Area Girl Scouts who made ornaments to decorate trees donated thru "Trees for Troops". They presented me with several bags of hand-made beaded candy cane ornaments to be delivered with the trees. Each ornament is made from a pipe cleaner and 24 white and 24 red beads. Thank you so very much!

Pictured are Erin and Kimberly delivering them to Williams Nursery in Westfield, who agreed to include them with trees that will be sent to our servicemen and women this holiday season.

Trees for Troops - NY WMCA Interview

2009-12-05T13:13:00.002-05:00

I had the honor of doing a interview for the 'People with a Purpose' segment on New York's WMCA AM radio. For those that want to listen to the recorded segment click play below.

I also want to thank WMCA for producing and running the following sixty second commercial to help promote Trees for Troops.

Trees for Troops Weekend 2009 Dec 4th-6th

2009-11-20T12:51:00.001-05:00

I just put this video together that included pictures from last years trees for troops program and included a few of the pictures I took at the armory last weekend. Look forward to seeing everyone on the 4th!

Back from Iraq Parade @ Westfield Armory

2009-11-14T22:56:00.000-05:00

My son Dakota and I got to go to the Back from Iraq Parade to promote Trees for Troops.
I had time to take a few pictures and I wanted to share them with you.

November 14, Saturday BACK FROM IRAQ American Pride Parade & Carnival

2009-11-05T16:59:00.002-05:00

I wanted to share the following event with everyone. I'll be there and I hope to see you there too.
-Dave

November 14, Saturday
BACK FROM IRAQ American Pride Parade & Carnival

Line the streets of the parade route, fly your American flags, wave your homemade signs, shout your cheers, and welcome back our troops. The Family Readiness Group of the 102nd Cavalry wants to salute our soldiers and their families for their service. They would like to thank you, the community, for your support, before, during and after this deployment. The Parade begins at noon. A celebration following at Army National Guard Armory will be from 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm. The parade route starts at the Memorial Pool Parking Lot. It continues across West Broad Street to Marion Avenue to the 1st left onto First Street, turning right onto Rahway Avenue, and ending at the Armory (500 Rahway Avenue). PURCHASE TICKETS NOW. Adults $10, Students & Seniors $5, Children Under 5 are FREE. Tickets include food, beverages, games and entertainment. Email Nancy 102.cav.frg@gmail.com

October 28th - Hayrides canceled

2009-10-28T12:28:00.000-04:00

Hayrides have been cancled for this afternoon.

-- Post From My iPhone

Hayrides Added for this Wed, Thu, Fri

2009-10-26T21:57:00.002-04:00

Although we had officially ended the hayrides on Sunday. We've decided that we will run the hayrides this Wed, Thu, & Fri afternoon from 3PM-5PM. We are trying to get the ponies to be here too. Hayrides are weather permitting.

Scarecrow Contest Winners!!!

2009-10-26T14:17:00.001-04:00

Congratulations to the Winners of our Scarecrow Contest

1st Place Winner - $250 DWC Gift Certificate
Gardening Angel by Marilyn Karr of Elizabeth NJ

2nd Place Winner - $150 DWC Gift Certificate
Mozart Decomposingby Muenzen Family of Fanwood

3rd Place Winner - $100 DWC Gift Certificate
Peter Peter Pumpkin Eaterby Sharon Lacaskey of Winfield

You can see the pictures of the other entries by clicking here.

Costume Contest Winners and Photos

2009-10-25T12:01:00.003-04:00

Well even though the weather wasn't great yesterday we had a great turn out for our costume contest. A big thanks to all those that participated!

The winners are listed as follows:

5 and Under
1st Place Barell of Monkeys, Taylor and Adriana from Cranford
2nd Place Dalmation in Basket, Georgia from Mountainside
3rd Place Butterfly, Stephanie from Fanwood

6-12
1st Place Dracula in Coffin, Shawn from Scotch Plains
2nd Place Dorito, Nicole from Fanwood
3rd Place Cotton Candy, Allie from Scotch Plains

Adult
1st Place Jersey Fresh Tomato, Jessica from Mountainside
2nd Place Shark Mike from Scotch Plains
3rd Place Snowman

You can see all of the pictures that Linda from our staff took here.

You can also see the pictures that Greg took here (I think you need to be a facebook user to see these).

New Events for this Weekend!

2009-10-23T23:24:00.001-04:00

As of Yet Unannounced Events.

It's been an exciting week. We've been working on making this weekend Special and have added a few events to our calender.

We will have a few of the crew at Ice Age to help us this weekend. As part of a nationwide initiative, Fox will be hosting Family Fun Days this Saturday and Sunday, October 24 and 25. We will have a professional pumpkin carving artist on Saturday (he just dropped these two pumpkins off). There will be movie giveaways and we will have a craft table set up on both days.

You will have the chance to win prizes including DVD copies of the first two installments of the Ice Age trilogy, and all kids will receive a branded Ice Age glow stick to keep Halloween night fun and safe.

Child Safety Day

We have partnered with New York Life this Saturday to help keep your child safe. They will be here from 10am-4pm giving free fingerprint and photo ID cards. These cards can be an important tool in an emergency. They will also be providing information on safe trick or treating.

Win at our 18th annual Costume Contest

This Saturday October 24th at 2 P.M.

Please arrive early

There will be 3 age categories:
5 years & under
6-12 years
adults (age disclosure not required).
Prizes will be awarded for First place winners for both the 5 and under, and the 6-12 year olds and adults. First prize is a $50 Gift Card, Second prize is a $25 Gift Card, and third is a $10 Gift Card.

Shown is last years 5 and under winner Georgia from Mountainside as Charlie McCarthy.

See the other pics from Last Year.

Cider Donuts
We will have cider donuts both Saturday and Sunday. Donuts arrive fresh around 10:30. We will also have plenty of Cider and more apples.

Don't let the Rain keep you inside. Lots to do, and lots undercover.

Hours

We are open 9am-6pm 7 days a week weather permitting.

Hayrides
Hayrides will probably not be running on Saturday because of the rain, but we will keep the status updated on our blog.

Remember events are weather permitting, and you can get event status by following williamsnursery on Twitter, or by visiting our blog williamsnursery.blogspot.com.

See you Soon!
-Dave Williams
Williams Nursery

October 18th - Hayrides canceled for today.

2009-10-18T10:42:00.001-04:00

Due to the rain, hayrides have been canceled for today. We have plenty of mums and pumpkins in our covered greenhouse.

-- Post From My iPhone

Dry Pumpkins Under Cover!

2009-10-17T11:19:00.004-04:00

I know its raining this weekend, and the weather has messed up your decorating plans. Greg has moved tons of pumpkins inside to the greenhouse, so you can pick out the best for carving and decorating and not get wet. We also have hundreds of mums that just arrived with flowers starting to open and they're nice and dry.

You can even get a head start on carving this weekend. I had found a product called Dr Frybrain's Pumpkin embalmer at the Halloween show this year. One jar is enough to do all of your pumpkins. (and yes we have it in stock) Your carved pumpkins will last for 3 weeks with a treatment. It will also make your pumpkins squirel resistant, since the squirrels only attack the pumpkins looking for the seeds.

So don't let the rain let you down. Stop in grab a pumpkin and some tools, to take home and start carving. If you get a gallon of cider this weekend, we will even throw in a package of mulling spices to help warm you up.

October 17th - Hayrides canceled

2009-10-17T10:02:00.001-04:00

Due to the inclimate weather, hayrides have been canceled. We will not have donuts for today.

October 11th - hayride status

2009-10-10T10:09:00.002-04:00

Weather is perfect. Hayrides, ponies, pumpkin picking 10 am-5 pm

-- Post From My iPhone

The Anemone has Landed

2009-10-09T17:02:00.002-04:00

For those that missed our last E-news, here is the article that I posted on Japanese Anemones

Although they’ve been around for hundreds of years the Japanese Anemones still are unknown by many gardeners. They are one of my favorite fall blooming perennials. Anemones actually get a head start on the fall starting their blooms in early August, and continue well into October.

Anemone comes from the Greek word that means wind. The common name is Japanese Windflower or Japanese Anemone. It’s a bit of a misnomer that these are called Japanese Anemone. There are three main species that are called Japanese Anemone; A. hupehensis, A. vitifolium & A. tomentosa. They are actually all originally from China. A horticultural record keeping error in 1695 listed them as originating in Nagasaki Japan. By the time the error was discovered in 1844 the name was already well rooted in the gardening world. It is still known by some in the trade by Anemone japonica.

The foliage of the Anemone is a dark glossy green. The leaves remind me of large maple leaves. Sometimes the leaves can grow up to 6 inches wide. From spring into the summer the foliage stays low and compact. The ones in my garden reach a height of around a foot tall by the end of July. Then a transformation begins. Spikes of flower buds grow up from the center on large stiff stalks. I’ve never had to stake them. These stalks reach a height between two and three feet tall just before the flower show begins.

The l flower petal colors are clear and vibrant. Colors range from pure white to bright pink to dark magenta. The stamens in the center of the flowers are bright yellow and the stigma is a light green. The more popular varieties have a single row of seven to ten flower petals. There are also double flowering varieties that have quite a few more petals.

A few of my favorite varieties are as follows:

Anemone ‘Honorine Jobert’ – Pure white flowers with a height of 3’ tall.
Anemone ‘ Pamina’ – flowers are pinkish red.
Anemone ‘ Party Dress’ – Big fluffy, double pink flowers.
Anemone ‘Prince Henry’ – Deep dark rose flowers.
Anemone ‘ Queen Charlotte’ light pink flowers, a darker than average foliage, and a clump forming habit.
Anemone ‘Robustissima’ – pale pink flowers
Anemone ‘September Charm’ – Flowers are silvery pink.
Anemone ‘ Whirlwind’ – Semi-Double white flowers.

Anemones are extremely adaptable as to what soil type they will grow in. They can take clay, sandy or loamy soils. The one thing that they do not like is a soil that stays too wet. I once made the mistake of giving them too much of a good thing. We had one bed that had mixed tons of organic compost and peat moss. We then planted the Anemones into this soil. They spread like wild flowers, but they didn’t bloom well. The bed that had the least amount of soil preparation did the best. Here they don’t try to take over the garden, and they have flowered perfectly for the past ten years. I have also found that after the Anemones have become established they are generally drought resistant.

Anemones also are adaptable to light conditions. They tend to take full sun to ¾ shade. They are also very disease and insect resistant. The only problem I’ve noticed in our garden was some rust on the foliage. This happened because we had the plants under overhead sprinklers too late in the day.

Anemone used to be on my list of deer resistant plants, but I have noticed that the deer have started to appreciate the taste of the Anemone flowers. Deer can vary by region, so I would recommend using a repellent for newly planted areas.

Anemones look great planted with perennial asters. I had some planted with Aster ‘Purple Dome’ and the effect was stunning. They also look great planted with yellow or copper color mums. If you’ve never tried an Anemone, you should because it truly is one of the finest fall perennials. We just received a large shipment of anemones and they are in bud ready to flower in your garden.

Apples Currently In Stock - Oct 10th

2009-10-09T14:25:00.002-04:00

Here's a few peeks from our slightly scary hayride

2009-10-09T12:31:00.003-04:00

I just love how easy Animoto makes it to put a video together from pictures. They even have a great iphone application.

For those that don't have flash click here to see the video.

Sun, October 4th - hayrides opperating 10-5pm

2009-10-04T09:47:00.000-04:00

A beautiful fall day! Stop in for a hayride, pumpkin picking. Jersey fresh apples.

-- Post From My iPhone

Harvest Festival Rainy Day Fun

2009-10-01T11:19:00.001-04:00

Last Sunday we proudly were a sponsor of the Pumpkin Patch at the Union County Harvest Festival. Although it was a misty sort of day, My son Dakota, and his friend Max helped, and even though there wasn't any large crowds, we considered the day a success, and we had quite a bit of fun.

Fall Events at Williams Nursery

2009-09-18T12:58:00.001-04:00

Pony Rides
Oct. Sat & Sun 10-5pm
& Mon. Oct. 12th

Scarecrow Contest
More chances to win! Judging Throughout October.(See website Or stop in for details)

Food Drive Weekend
Sept 26th & Sept 27th
Bring in a can of food for a FREE hayride. Visit our Website or stop in for a requested food list.

Pumpkin Weekend
Oct. 3th & 4th
Free Mini-pumpkin for kids.

Tastes of Fall
Oct. 10th &11th.
Stop in for a FREE taste of one of the many fall butters and salsas.

Costume Contest
Oct 24th 2 pm-Prizes!

Gift Shop Open House
Nov 13-15th. All Giftware 20% Off as we kickoff the holidays.

Trees for Troops Weekend
Dec 4th-Dec 6th
Help us in supporting our troops. Its important that soldiers and their families receive a Real Christmas Tree for the holiday.

Some events weather
permitting. Visit our website
for last minute schedule
updates or follow
williamsnursery on twitter.

Fall is for Decorating Fun!

2009-09-07T14:57:00.003-04:00

I put this animoto video together to showcase some of our new fall items. It is a great time to get the family to start decorating. Everything shown is available now.

Pumpkins have invaded my garden.

2009-09-05T12:43:00.001-04:00

Pumpkins have invaded my garden.
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

Garden Game Changing Freeze Frost Protection

2009-09-03T10:52:00.001-04:00

Several weeks ago, I was at the Independent Garden Center show in Chicago. This is the show for independent garden center owners (attendance this year was over 6000) to see products that are new and exciting. Myself and several other Garden Center owners were on the panel to select the best new product being shown at the show.

We selected liquid fence's new product FreezePruf™ as the best product at the show. It truly is a transformational product that will change the way that people will garden. Developed by botanists, FreezePruf™ helps a plant survive hard frost and sudden freeze, extending the growing season by at least one month for growers and gardeners.Using Freezepruf is almost like moving your temperature zone 200 miles south. It improves a plants' natural cold tolerance up to 9.4F, depending on the variety of plant.

Freezepruf™ protects the plant externally and systemically (throughout the plant) by enhancing both its natrual "anti-freeze" like properties and its ability to survive ice crystal damage. The formula is biodegradable buy designed to resist washing away by rain or snow. One application will last upto six weeks.

If you've ever had flowers knocked down by an early frost, or wanted to get a head start on your garden in early Spring. This is one of the must have products of the year.
I made sure at the show that we would be one of the first garden centers to have it available. It is now in stock!

Ferris Wheel's Passion Flowers

2009-09-02T17:53:00.002-04:00

Maybe its because I'm totatly pasionate about flowers that I see them everywhere. I had taken my son with me to the beach yesterday and I started playing with my camera. I had heard on photofocus (a podcast that I listen too) that you can play with the zoom on an slr and move it while releasing the shutter. I took this photo of the ferris wheel at Ocean City NJ using this technique. I thought that it resemebled the passion flower.

Passion flowers are vines that are marginally hardy in our area. They do make great hanging baskets or container plants. They will do best if placed in an area of full sun. The flowers are exotic looking and beautiful. They are extremely easy to grow. It is late to get them started for this year, but put them on your list to try to grow next season.

Wow...and now Black Petunias

2009-08-17T23:50:00.000-04:00

I spent the day touring Garden Centers in the Chicago area, and stopping for a lunch tour of Ball Gardens. Ball Horticulture is one of the World's leading horticuture companies that produces seeds and herbacious plants. Their Gardens are located in West Chicago Illinois.

During our tour we were shown three as of yet un-named petunia varieties. These will be on the market in 2011. The first one's flower was as black of a flower as I've ever seen. The other two were bi-colored. Background was the same black as the straight colored variety. One had a Greenish Bar, and the other had a Raspberry Purple Bar.

We were giving the opportunity to help name these new varieties. I gave my input, but I'm not telling what I said the names should be. These look like their must have flowers for the garden in 2011.

At Dave's House an update.

2009-08-15T15:11:00.002-04:00

In continuing with my container review, is my mixed succulent garden. The plants in the container are: Aloe 'Silver Ridge'
Graphtopetalum paraguayense- Ghost Plant
Kalanchoe thyrisflora 'Flapjacks'
Sedum nussbaumerianum - Golden Sedum
Sedum hispanicum 'Aureum'.

Almost all of my containers are on drip irrigation. This particular planter gets no automatic water. It also has not been hand-watered this year either!
It is surprising how much these have grown in the past two and half months. The Aloe just produced a flower bud, and I'm thinking that it should open in a few days. I'm happier with the results of this container, and I give it an A.

Container Updates Before and After

2009-08-15T15:06:00.002-04:00

One of the fun things about container gardening is that its always a work in progress. It's totally different than any other project that you can do at your house. It is constantly changing and transforming into something entirely new. Sometimes you like the transformation, and sometimes you don't.
I've taken pictures of most of my containers a few weeks after I planted them. With all of the time that I've been away to tradeshows and such this year, there hasn't been much photo time at home.
So with camera in hand here is a June shot, and an August shot of my container.
Sunflowers are so short lived, but they do add some dramatic flare. After it put on its three week show, the Sunflower was culled out, and the rest was left to grow.
The Tinytunias in the back stopped blooming completely. The Artist Purple Ageratum on the other hand filled in nicely, and took over for the Sunflower.
Overall, this is not my favorite container. For its August look, I would only give it a B-.

Unbelievable Unexpected Customer Service

2009-07-18T11:48:00.000-04:00

This is totally non-plant related, but I was so impressed with this experience I had to share it.
I had taken my son to the palisades mall last week. Some of you know that I tend to be fascinated by gadgets and gizmos. My son Dakota shares these same characteristics.

At the mall they had a new concept photobooth called a Pikabooth. The booth was larger than the old fashioned booth, but it was truly interactive. You can choose background colors, patterns, layouts and more with a touch screen. At the end you could customize your photos with digital pens and clip art.

So Dakota and I created a photosticker in the machine, but unfortunately a minor glitch stopped our photo from printing. I really figured, Ces't le Vie, the picture was gone for good. There was an email address on the machine so I figured, I had nothing to lose to send an email to see if I could get a refund, or better yet the photo.

I got a reply from the President of the company in an hour. (This was round 9pm on a Friday night!)
If you've ever lost any money in a vending machine before, you generally know that when something goes wrong, your money is gone for good. Not only did Mr Savatteri (his company is NYCphotobooth) rescue and mail my photo to me, he included the money that I originally spent. He went way over the top, and I know that Dakota and I will use the machine the next time we go to the mall.

My thanks goes to Mr Savatteri. Good Job for taking customer service to the next level!

NYC Photobooth also rents the machine out to parties (weddings, bar/bat mitzvahs, and corporate events) So if you want a fun out of the box sort of idea, take a look at their website for more details. Or keep an eye out for the Picabooth, I think its a fun thing for kids.

New Arrival - Rose of Sharon Blush Satin

2009-07-18T11:30:00.000-04:00

Just arrived yesterday, was the new Rose of Sharon from Proven Winners. This variety is called Blush Satin. Its flowers are white with a tinge of pink thrown in. They have a great dark color center. They are covered with buds and blooms looking for a home in your garden.

These new varieties are Deer Resistant. They are extremely winter hardy, and can take temperatures down to -20F. Once established they become extremely drought tolerant.
If you want a care-free flowering shrub for the garden, this should be one of the top choices.

Pretty Much PIcasso™

2009-07-13T10:53:00.001-04:00

It's been awhile since I've gotten a chance to update the blog. There's been lots of travel, and not much of a chance to be online. I was out on the West Coast visiting other garden centers with Garden Centers of America™. I came home for the fourth, and my son Dakota broke his foot, and then I went to Ohio for the Ohio Florist Association 'Short Course.' (I'm currently at the airport waiting for the plane home.)
The Short Course is one of the few places to see the new annual varieties for next year. One of the first plants I noticed this year was this new Supertunia variety from Proven Winners™.
The variety is called Pretty Much Picasso™. It is a pinkish purple with a striking green edge. Since it is very different from most petunias on the market, I'm thinking that its going to be one of those flowers that is going to be either loved, or hated. Personally I thought it was really cool, and it will have a place in my garden next year.

Lilies that mean Something

2009-06-20T16:39:00.000-04:00

I had mentioned my friend Ed Karlsson last year on one of my posts entitled the Lamium Man. Ed is now teaching a horticulture program at the Greystone Park Psychiatric Hospital. The Hort program is helping those with developemental disabilities.

I was excited when he called me this year and said that the students had grown Asiatic Lilies. The students planted the bulbs in late Winter in #1 containers. They planted close to twenty different varieties. To help out the students I purchased several hundred of their lilies. These lilies are available for sale from us now. I had my sister Denise hold one of the lilies up so you could see how large the flowers are on these lilies. The fragrance is outstanding too!

Westfield in Bloom Update

2009-06-20T11:35:00.003-04:00

I apologize for the lack of blog post frequency lately. I've been putting in quite a bit of time to updating the Westfieldinbloom.com blog, and getting ready for the Judges from America in Bloom.

Here are the links to some of the posts that were made this week. There is some pretty cool things going on for the competition. Visit westfieldinbloom.com to see all of the posts.

Westfield in Bloom Concert

2009-06-20T11:33:00.001-04:00

Welcome the America in Bloom Judges and Kick of the Summer with some Sweet Sounds Downtown!
Michael Craig Band
Thursday July 2nd 6:30 PM - 9 PM
North Ave Train Station,
Westfield NJ

Poll Results - How Much More work has to be done in the garden?

2009-06-20T11:29:00.002-04:00

With all of the rain that we've had this June I was wondering what percentage of the garden was finished. The poll just closed, and here are the results. Maybe the rain will start to taper off now that Summer is about to begin.

I was astonished to see that more people haven't started then those that have finished.

I'm completely done pots and beds.	3 (6%)
I still have to Plant my Pots.	9 (20%)
I still have to Plant my Beds.	6 (13%)
I'm half way done.	7 (15%)
I have to fill in a few items.	25 (56%)
I'm just getting started.	6 (13%)

Be Still My Astilbe

2009-06-13T15:58:00.001-04:00

I've always thought that the perennial Astilbe was an OK flower. It just never grabbed me in that way that makes me want to put them in my garden. I since changed my tune completely. Driving down East Dudley in Westfield there is the most stunning display of Astilbe that I've ever seen. It made me covet them for my garden. The Astilbe are color coordinated with the house, and it compliments it perfectly. Sometimes we try to put so many different things into our garden we forget that a large simple mass of one item can be even more effective.

For those that don't know, an Astilbe is a perennial that has deeply lobed, almost fern-like and airy foliage. It's flowers are feathery plumes that are born on tall stalks above the foliage. Flowers come in shades of white, pink, and red. Flowers stay in bloom several weeks and slowly fade in color as they dry.

They prefer partial shade and they generally are disease and insect free. Even when they're done blooming, their flowers will dry on the plant, and will still look attractive for several months.

Mom's Job is the Hardest

2009-06-10T16:04:00.001-04:00

Mom's Job is the Hardest
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

In the back of the nursery we have a small field where we plant out tomatoes. For over fifty years, we've been having snapping turtles lay their eggs in the field. It generally happens near the full moon. This Spring has been particularly wet and muddy, so this time Mom the snapping turtle got herself extremely dirty. Snapping turtles get their name from their powerful jaws. I remember my dad telling me the story of how one actually bit through a shovel handle.

It will take approximately 90 days for the eggs to hatch!

Water Wise Urns at Mindowaskin Park

2009-06-07T11:21:00.000-04:00

One of groups that I volunteer for is the Friends of Mindowaskin Park. Several times a year I plant the overlook at the front of the pond. One of the more frustrating parts of this task is that whatever I plant in the urns is subject to the whims of mother nature. I've planted them up before, and after a week of Summer weather, I'd return to find crispy plants.

This year I decided to work with what nature has to offer and plant them with plants that are normally used in xeriscaping. Xeriscaping is the use of plants that require little or no external watering. In the urns this year I used three different agaves. I tried an Agave in my container at home last year. I watered it once when I planted it May 16th, and it grew, and didn't require any watering for the rest of the Summer. For those that are familiar with Tequila, I'm sure your aware that they are made from agaves. The varities that I used in the urns are related, but are way to small to be used for Tequila. There's a closeup of Agave Happy Crown. The smaller agave in the third picture is Agave ' Victoria-Reginae'.
Along with the Agaves I planted a few Desert Rose which are in the Aeonium family. They look like giant hens and chicks, but have a longer stem.
The complete list of varieties are:
Aeonium arboreum atropurpurium
Aeonium arboreum
Agave 'Victoria-Reginae'
Agave 'Happy Crown'
Agave desmettiana 'Variegata' - This is the large center piece of the urns
Aloe 'Silver Ridge'
Graphtopetalum paraguayense- Ghost Plant
Kalanchoe thyrisflora 'Flapjacks'
Sedum nussbaumerianum - Golden Sedum
Sedum hispanicum 'Aureum'
None of these should require water, and the urns should be happy until its pansy season in the fall.
I should also mention that these plants are look but don't touch. Although they don't have thorns like cactus do, they still have sharp points at the edge of their leaves. Its part of the plants natural protection that keeps them from being eaten by the animals.

In Bloom Now - Kousa Dogwood

2009-06-05T16:29:00.000-04:00

I was at my son's Science fair last night and snapped a few pictures of the dogwood that was blooming.
The dogwood that's flowering now is called the Korean Dogwood. Its botanic name is Cornus 'kousa'.
They are more disease resistant than the traditional dogwood. They look quite a bit different since they flower after the leaves are out. (the traditional Cornus florida flowers before the leaves open)

Finally Got my Garden Planted

2009-06-05T12:16:00.000-04:00

I'm a firm believer of the shoemaker's kids have no shoes...Generally my garden is one of the last to get done. I finally took a day and planted the front yard, and did my containers.

The white flowers growing in the front are a new variety of Gardenia 'Frost Proof' that is supposed to be winter hardy. I am a bit skeptical about its hardiness, and I'm testing it out, and will know better by next Spring. This will be a true test, since its in an area that gets afternoon sun, which is a true test for any broad leaf evergreen.

I'll be posting info on my containers and their progress later on.

Poll Results - Hanging Baskets

2009-06-04T21:45:00.000-04:00

Begonia - Dragon Wing	2 (4%)
Begonia - Nonstop	1 (2%)
Fuscia	10 (20%)
Geranium	7 (14%)
Ivy	1 (2%)
Lobelia	2 (4%)
Million Bells - Calibrachoa	5 (10%)
Petunia	4 (8%)
Portulaca	7 (14%)
Scaevola	0 (0%)
Strawflower	0 (0%)
Verbena	7 (14%)
Other	2 (4%)

Peonys Envy - Her Garden Wins Hands Down

2009-06-04T15:49:00.001-04:00

The phone rang last Saturday with a call from my friends Dale and Dave. They asked if I wanted to visit Peony's Envy in Bernardsville. Peony's Envy is a Nursery & Display Garden owned by Kathleen Gagan (pictured). Peony's Envy is the second largest peony grower in the United States. What a delight. Peonies as far as the eye could see. I took a bunch of pictures to share with you. The garden officially closes on June 15th, so if you want to visit you have to hurry up. There were still plenty of buds to open last weekend, and the cool weather we've had this week will mean there's still many to go.

Leaves of three let them be.

2009-05-23T10:06:00.001-04:00

I was walking through the lowe's theater parking lot yesterday and noticed this extremely healthy looking vine growing along the fence...Large green leaves...it was filling in quite nicely indeed. The bad news is that the vine was poison ivy.

Poison ivy's leaves are born in clusters of three leaves. If your unlucky enough to have poison ivy in your yard. The best control is with roundup. You can still get poison ivy from dead vines, so you must use the utmost care in removing it. There is a product called tecnu that will break down the oils in your skin if you come in contact with the vine. We don't carry it, but a local pharmacy should.

-- Post From My iPhone

Earth Box Part II

2009-05-21T18:40:00.006-04:00

The last Earth Box post was a late night insomniac version of my Earth Box Story...
This one is more serious... I have two earthbox testimonials one from My Dad, and the other from a customer:

I planted these boxes Six Weeks ago, and I can’t believe how well they filled out. My son David, told me they were impressive, but seeing is definitely believing. Wow!
-Ed Williams

And if you don’t believe my Dad, here’s one other testimonial from another of our customers:

My wife and I were first exposed to the EarthBox a few years ago when my uncle bought us one. We were skeptical of his extremely high endorsement until our Earthbox started to produce vegetables. Last year my one tomato plant produced approximately 60 tomatoes.
It's perfect for people who don't have green thumbs and who don't have a lot of room in their backyard. All you need to do is to prepare the EarthBox with the easy to follow instructions, don't let the water reservoir dry out, and try to give the plants as much sunlight as possible.
It saved us a lot of money on produce and herbs last summer and provided us with fresh and delicious tomatoes, zucchini, cucumber, squash, basil and parsley. I highly recommend the Earth Box to anyone considering it.
-David Deramo

So what is an earthbox...its a well engineered container that is perfect for vegetable gardening...part of the secret to its success is to the large water resivoir. When you first put it together you follow the simple directions and you place soil in the corners which cause the water to wick through the box. Once packed you use the supplied dolomitic lime and fertilizer. You then place a cover over the top. (It looks like a shower cap.) What this cover does is hold the heat into the soil which causes quick rooting. Instead of watering the entire box, you water in a single fill tube on the side. You don't have to worry about over watering because there is an overflow. It has casters, so you can move it once planted.

If you don't have a lot of space, this is perfect. Have fun!

Presby Memorial Iris Garden - Montclair

2009-05-21T17:08:00.002-04:00

Milton, the person that makes sure that our office runs smoothly, asked me if I ever was to the Presby Memorial Iris Garden in Montclair. It was one of those places that was on my list, but never had a chance to visit. Since I assumed that the Iris's were in peak bloom, I grabbed my camera and my girlfriend, and we made the trek to the gardens. (Only about a 30 minute drive). Wow, the Iris's were stunning. They didn't hit peak yet though, and I would think that this weekend would be ideal.

I attached a few of the pictures that I took. The garden suggests a $5 donation. Try to go either in the morning or the evening, the Iris's look best with that lighting.

Poll Results - What color impatiens are you planting this year?

2009-05-08T14:01:00.002-04:00

Blue(ish pink)	3 (6%)
Carmine	0 (0%)
Deep Pink	12 (26%)
Mixed - Regular	5 (11%)
Mixed - Pastel	6 (13%)
Orange	6 (13%)
Red	6 (13%)
Salmon	6 (13%)
Violet	9 (20%)
White	16 (35%)
Other	0 (0%)
I don't Plant Impatiens	2 (4%)

America in Bloom Judges are Coming to Westfield!

2009-05-04T15:01:00.002-04:00

Westfield, NJ - Downtown Westfield Corporation and Williams Nursery of Westfield have teamed up for Westfield to be awarded a national "America in Bloom" award. The America in Bloom contest awards community applicants for their efforts in the following categories: tidiness, environmental, community involvement, heritage, urban forestry, landscaped areas, floral display, and turf and ground cover areas. The DWC and Williams Nursery are partnering with the Town of Westfield and other community organizations like the Garden Club of Westfield, Rake & Hoe Garden Club, Friends of Mindowaskin, Master Gardeners, and many other volunteers to help Westfield win the contest.

Two judges will be visiting Westfield on July 2 and 3 as part of the AIB national beautification campaign and contest. Westfield is one of 39 cities competing in 10 population categories in this friendly contest that promotes community involvement, patriotism, and civic pride along with beautiful landscapes.

America in Bloom is modeled after Canada’s successful Communities in Bloom program, which began more than eight years ago with just 29 cities and has grown to include several hundred competing provincially, nationally, and internationally. AIB began on a small scale in 2001 when four US cities were mentored by Canadian cities in environmental awareness, community involvement, heritage, urban forestry, landscaped areas, floral displays, and turf and ground cover areas.

Judges are professionally trained volunteers. While many are retirees with careers devoted to public gardening and municipal grounds keeping, others are master gardeners and civic activists. The same pair of judges will evaluate each community within a population category.

America in Bloom judges begin their journey in the Southeast in June and will finish the end of July. In their travels, they will witness the same community spirit that made Canada’s program so successful. “In speaking with participants, I find a new-found enthusiasm for their neighbors and the community they live in,” says Alex Pearl, AIB’s chief justice. “Municipalities, businesses, and individuals are willing to pitch in. Little efforts go a long way to include so many people. America in Bloom is building pride through the use of plants.”

The results of the competition will be revealed at the America in Bloom awards symposium in October in Hershey, PA. In addition to the awards banquet, there will be educational seminars and tours to horticultural attractions in the area. For local information about Westfield’s participation or to submit stories and digital photos of your Westfield residence, business or outdoor environment, contact Sherry Cronin at Downtown Westfield Corporation or Dave Williams at Williams Nursery at info@westfieldinbloom.com or visit the website at www.westfieldinbloom.com. For additional information on the national program, contact America in Bloom at 614-487-1117 or visit www.americainbloom.org.

A Man of Many Talents

2009-05-04T13:21:00.002-04:00

I wanted to share this hand painted drawing with my readers. It is done by our Hardgood's Manager Tim O'Neil. A unique concept drawing for barges that are not being used. Turning them into greenhouses.

Tim is trained as a fine artist, and does Architectural Renderings. Visit his website at Artcorenderings.com for more information.

Mother's Day Commercial now running on HGTV

2009-05-03T16:11:00.000-04:00

From Williams Nursery Mother's Day

White Out Rose - Knock Out

2009-05-03T13:02:00.001-04:00

White Out Rose - Knock Out
Originally uploaded by williamsnursery

What if you could have as many white flowers in the garden as the snow flakes we had this winter? A virtual blizzard of bright white blossoms would be absolutely stunning.
Some wishes do come true. This year the Conard-Pyle Company (known for their Star Roses) is introducing a new rose called White Out™. For those that are familiar with the Knock Out series of roses, you may have heard of Bill Radler. He is the rose breeder that has brought us the Knock Out Roses. I believe he is significantly responsible for changing the entire rose industry by engineering roses that are truly easy to grow. White Out™ is the newest introduction from Bill Radler. It looks like it’s going to be the best white shrub rose ever available. It will reach a height of about three to three and a half feet tall. It has pure white petals. Each flower is an open style with five petals. Unlike many other white roses, the foliage is a dark green, with the young foliage almost black. It is a very compact grower. White Out™ is the closest thing to a white Knock Out rose. White Out™ is considered disease resistant, but in really humid weather it may get a bit of black spot. It’s because of the black spot that White Out™ is not called White Knock Out. Just remember all roses need lots of sun, so pick a sunny location when deciding placement. For a spectacular effect, interplant White Out™ with Knock Out.

First Hummingbird Sighted

2009-04-29T17:56:00.000-04:00

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.

Growing a Pizza Garden

2009-04-28T18:17:00.000-04:00

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!

Master Gardeners help community “go green” for 20th consecutive year

2009-04-27T16:52:00.004-04:00

The Rutgers Master Gardeners of Union County will be holding their 20th annual Spring Fair & Plant Sale on Sunday, May 17, from 12:00 to 5:00 PM at Trailside Nature Center in Mountainside.

The Master Gardener Helpliners will answer your gardening questions, and demonstrate gardening and composting methods. There will also be displays on mosquito control, and the beauty of trees.
If you want to learn how to grow a vegetable garden, this is the place to get answers. They will be conducting tours of their Community Sharing Garden, where over 2,000 lbs. of fresh vegetables were grown by volunteers and donated to community food banks and churches last year. Among the wide variety of plants for sale will be the hard-to-find Ramapo tomato, as well as many other vegetables.

Visit their website at http://www.mastergardeners-uc.org/ for more information about the Master Gardener program, or for directions to the garden.

What is with these Upside Down Topsy TurvyTomato Plants?

2009-04-25T17:39:00.004-04:00

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?

Park Clean Up Day

2009-04-23T14:18:00.005-04:00

The friends of Mindowaskin Park present Park Clean Up Day. Saturday April 25th 2009. Time 9am-12PM.
Bring your friends and family and spend the morning helping to beautify Mindowaskin. Show your support for the centerpiece of Westfield. Earn service hours! Light refreshements will be provided. Contact Mindowasking@verizon.net

Happy Earth Day!!!

2009-04-22T18:29:00.000-04:00

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:-)

What's in Bloom Now - Flowering Plum

2009-04-22T18:12:00.002-04:00

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')'

Sun/Water Requirements:

No specific shade requirements.
Moderate climate.

Climate / Hardiness Zones:

Zone 4 to Zone 8
Provider notes: "Supposedly quite heat tolerant"

Growth:

Range: Grows from 15' to 30'.
Rate: Relatively fast growth.
Provider notes: "Similar to 'Thundercloud' but more upright oval-rounded"

Flowers:

Colors: Pink
Season(s): Spring

Foliage:

Deciduous
Color: Leaves are purple in the summer. Leaves are purple in the fall.

Fruit:

Color: Red, Purple
Season(s): Summer

Landscape Value:
Can be used as an ornamental plant.
Can be used as a specimen plant.
Can be used as a grouping plant.

Favorite Tree - Poll Results

2009-04-22T17:57:00.002-04:00

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%)

Family Tree Planting

2009-04-22T17:56:00.001-04:00

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.

Cherry Blossom Festival at Branch Brook Park

2009-04-18T08:45:00.002-04:00

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.

Grow Your Own Vegetables - Poll Results

2009-04-10T14:30:00.001-04:00

This will be my first Veggie Year.	6 (13%)
Growning More Veggies, Same amount of Flowers.	25 (58%)
More Veggies, Less Flowers	3 (6%)
Total Veggie - No Flowers	1 (2%)
No Veggies - Just Flowers	8 (18%)

Easter Egg Hunt - Saturday April 11th 2pm

2009-04-10T10:04:00.001-04:00

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.

Williams Nursery Easter Egg Hunt 2008

2009-04-10T02:28:00.000-04:00

This is the video from the 6-10 year olds hunt from last year. Happy Easter!

New Arrival - Little Lanterns

2009-04-05T17:27:00.001-04:00

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.

New Arrival - Milky Way

2009-04-03T17:25:00.001-04:00

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.

New Arrival - True Blue Flowers

2009-04-03T17:20:00.000-04:00

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.

Too Few to Feature...but wow!

2009-04-03T17:17:00.000-04:00

We only have five of these perennial Viola's Left. The variety is called Viola 'Columbine'. These are absolutely stunning!

New Arrival - Wonderful Ground Cover

2009-04-03T17:13:00.001-04:00

Creeping phlox, commonly called Mountain Pinks can provide beautiful color in the spring perennial garden. Masses of dainty flowers in white, pink, red or lavender provide a stunning display from early to mid spring. The rich evergreen needlelike foliage forms low growing dense mats, excellent for edging, cascading over walls, or as a ground cover. Mountain pinks thrive in full sun and grow to about 6 inches tall. They have a spreading habit of growth and can cover an area three times their original width. The variety pictured is called Phlox subulata 'Fort Hill'. It has deep pinkish-rose flowers. Once established, Mountain pinks are extremely drought tolerant and low maintenance.