 |
 |
Repairing Winter Lawn Damage
As the blanket of snow covering your yard melts each spring, it can reveal many surprises. Toys that didn't make it inside, hoses
left to fend for themselves, and invariably, winter lawn damage from snow plows. Depending on the scope of the damage, there are
two common ways to tackle the problem:Patching with Sod
Sod is a good way to patch small areas of your lawn quickly and effectively.
Use a sharp spade to cut a square shape in the lawn around the damaged spot. Holding the spade horizontally, cut the damaged sod out, taking about 3/4" of soil with it. Lay the cut-out portion on the new sod and using the cut-out as a template, make cuts around the edges into the new sod.
Rough up the soil in the damaged spot with a rake or cultivator and lay the patch in place. Press it down firmly to establish good contact with the soil and water it daily in dry weather for the first couple of weeks until the roots have grown into the native soil. Gently lift a corner to test. If you meet resistance, the sod has established.
Reseeding Dead Spots
Damaged spots can also be patched by reseeding them. Rough up the soil in the damaged area to remove dead grass and expose fresh soil. Scatter
lawn seed, sprinkle on some starter fertilizer, press the seed into the soil, and keep it damp until the seeds sprout. This may take up to a month
in cool weather.Reseeding can be made easier by purchasing a patching mix of grass seed, fertilizer and mulch such as a Grass Repair Kit from ENCAP. Just spread it on the dead spot and water daily until it germinates.
If you have any questions, our gardening professionals would be happy to help you out.
 Southern Maine gardeners rejoice! Finding big, beautiful plants for your garden just got easier. Estabrook's Color Spot is now at the former site of Mapes Garden Center on 97 York Street (US Route 1) in Kennebunk. Join us this Friday, May 1st for our grand opening and discover how Estabrook's Color Spot can fill your yard with vibrant color. |
Tackle a Tough Spot with Jeepers Creepers
Jeepers Creepers are an amazing collection of easy-to-grow
groundcovers that will fill in those areas you just don't know what to do with.
Offering fragrance, beauty and an accelerated growth habit, these plants can provide superb groundcover, act as a lawn subsitute or finish off patios
or walkways with a flourish.When deciding which Jeepers Creepers groundcovers to use, we recommend taking into consideration how you're going to use them and where they will be growing. Follow these helpful tips when making your selection:
Foot Traffic
If you plan to walk on your Jeepers Creepers plants, choose varieties suggested for traffic tolerance. We recommend that plants not be walked on until established, or whenever the soil is soggy wet. You'll find the following traffic classifications on each Jeepers Creepers tag:
- No Foot Traffic: Plants are either too tall to walk on, or too delicate to withstand it.
- Light: Walking directly on these once or twice a week will not cause serious damage.
- Moderate: Withstands being walked on once a day or so, and are generally fine between paving stones.
- Heavy: Nearly as durable as a regular lawn! The low mat habit allows for easy travel.
Like all plant selections, careful appraisal of light conditions will increase your success. Scout your area and use this guide to help you determine how much (or little) sunlight it gets.
- Full Sun: Think full, all day sun, with at most only a few hours of shade in the early morning or late afternoon.
- Part Shade: Direct sun hits the area for only about half the day such as morning sun followed by afternoon shade, or vice versa. This also includes dappled shade caused by a tall canopy of small-leaved deciduous trees that offers filtered light with occasionally beams of direct light.
- Full Shade: A common condition under large-leaved trees, evergreens or on the north side of buildings. Note that under dense evergreens and large deciduous trees conditions of extreme dry shade can make it difficult to grow anything without regular deep, weekly watering all season long.
The most critical thing to know about your soil is what it's like during the heat of summer. If your soil generally dries out in July and August and you can't supply extra water, choose drought-tolerant selections. If you can supply deep regular weekly watering during dry spells, select plants for normal (average) moisture conditions. If the area remains constantly moist through the growing season, select moisture-loving varieties.
 Enjoy early color now and for many seasons to come with these landscape beauties!  Forsythia  PJM Rhododendron  Magnolia  Moss Phlox |
 P. Allen Smith Day August 7th Learn More... |
 Bring some color to your porch or patio with magnificent hanging baskets simply spilling with Osteospermum Bulk mulch is here! Schedule your delivery today and beat the spring rush. Provide insect protection to your houseplants the all natural way with sticky stakes that will stop bugs on contact. Due to changes in the local recycling policy, we are no longer able to accept your used plastic pots. However, you may bring pots with the recycle logo on them to your local transfer station for recylcing. |
 From the ultimate garden solution to perfect gifts, you're sure to find something great in our emporium!  "Go green" with organic mulches, soils and amendments from Coast of Maine  Garden in style this season with Tula Hats |