NEW FOR THE 2007 SEASON!

Martin's Garden Center is now an authorized dealer and installer of Beachcomber Hot Tubs, water treatments and accessories.

Martin's Garden Center has always been known for superior quality of plants and landscaping materials. We now pride ourselves with our new addition: Beachcomber Hot Tubs. Known for its engineering, performance and durability, Beachcomber gives you the pleasure you deserve with the quality you expect. Its 25 years experience has been dedicated to your maximum health, happiness and well-being.

Hot Tubs- Refreshing, Relaxing, Rejuvenating

* Relieve stress and its harmful effects

* Provide massaging for specific muscle groups

* Stimulate blood circulation

* Combat negative impact of some diseases

* Encourage better sleep

* Create instant vacation for family and friends

* Extend living space to the landscape

Our NEW hot tub show room will house several high-quality models. Come in, talk to our friendly staff and experience how BEACHCOMBER HOT TUBS can ensure you and your family "health, happiness and well-being for years to come".

Ready To Go

We have a few tasks to keep in mind during spring to be "Ready to Go" for the summer landscape.

If you would like a list of important tasks reviewed in our Spring 2006 newsletter, email us at growit@epix.net and we'd be more than happy to send it to you.

Now is the time to clean out the birdhouses in your landscape. Empty any of the contents, scraping all the debris from the sides and bottom. Disinfect each house by scrubbing it with a solution of 1 part bleach to 10 parts water. Rinse well and allow it to dry in the sun.

Check to make sure all mountings of the houses are secure. Relocate ones that you noted from last season which were in danger from predators, lacking cover for protection or not attracting any birds.

Keeping our feathered friends in mind, remember to clean the birdbaths and feeders with the same disinfecting solution.

Help with the nest building by leaving material in the open, such as: human hair from brushes, string and thread from the sewing box or a pile of twigs.

To keep our feathered friends from depositing their unwanted "gifts" on a bench or chair in the garden, position a poll 1 - 2 feet behind it and at least 3 feet higher than the back of the seat. Birds will perch on the highest item in the vicinity, and hopefully keep the seating for their human neighbors cleaner.

Cut ornamental grasses back to approximately six inches and perennials to almost ground level.

Remove dead wood and suckers from trees and shrubs.

Clean leaves and other debris from ponds. Add fresh water to desired level. Add proper chemicals and allow treated water to acclimate. When temperatures are milder, add plants and fish. Martin's Garden Center can help you prepare your pond for reopening.

Dig and divide emerging perennials.

Spring clean gutters to keep from drowning plants and destroying beds below.

Early in the season is the time to reposition any stone in the landscape. To catch uneven walks now could prevent an accident later in the year. Lift each stone and add either gravel or soil. Check evenness with a level. Stabilizing border stones will have the beds looking crisp from the start and cut more labor intensive repairs later.

OPEN HOUSE

May 19 - Come in and see our NEW showroom. Great things are happening at Martin's Garden Center.

Make Dad feel extra special with FATHER'S DAY SPECIALS

at Martin's Garden Center.

Do you have a gardening question or concern?

Email us at growit@epix.net.

PRIZE POT PRACTICES

- Clean your pots with a solution of 2 parts water/ 1 part vinegar. Allow them to soak until the stains disappear. Wash with soap and water, then rinse.

- IF you like the aged patina on clay pots, they can "age" in a matter of minutes. Layers of paint made for clay will create that look. Visit us at Martin's Garden Center for one of our "After Work-Work Off The Stress" classes and age a pot for your garden.

- OR you can have that look with a real recipe for moss patina: In a blender, mix a small amount of moss with buttermilk; enough to make it moist. Spread the mixture on areas of a pot, bake it at a low setting for 1/2 hour and let cool. Brush off excess moss. If your pot is large, place it the hot sun to get the same effect. (This recipe works well for cracks in a walk or patio.) Simply applying buttermilk or yogurt to the pot will cause the same effect, but will take longer to develop moss.

- One of the most important points to keep in mind when container gardening is good drainage. A coffee filter covering the drainage hole allows water to seep through but keeps the soil in. A used dryer sheet will do the same great job. Just layer a pile of rocks, broken clay pot pieces or our next tip to maintain proper drainage.

- Lighten the load of large pots by filling the bottom with soda cans turned upside down. Fill with potting soil to the height the plants require and plant as usual. It's another way to recycle aluminum and provides that great drainage.

- Help eliminate your pile-up of Pennsylvania Pride 3 and 5 gal containers (red) by returning them to us and we'll recycle them for you. This convenience is a plus for you and the environment.

The Tool Shed

* Clean rust from garden tools with salt. A paste of 6 T salt and 2 T lemon juice can be applied to rusty areas. Rub thoroughly, rinse and dry.

* To make your favorite tool even more valuable in the garden, wax it with car wax. This keeps sticky clay soil from adhering to any tool and helps prevent rusting.

* Every gardener seems to have an over abundance of those 4" pots every year, so this spring put them to good use. As you enjoy your spring flowering bulbs, try planning for fall planting. Decide where you need more color, texture or variety for a design change. Dig the holes, place the 4" pot in the hole and fill it with the excavated soil. To make spotting the markers easier, spray the rim with a brightly colored paint recommended for plastic. Once you're ready for fall planting, remove the pot, plant each bulb and backfill with the saved soil. The work and decisions will already have been done and won't interfere with any other plantings.

* It is easy to lay a garden tool aside while working and loose track of it. Brightly colored duct tape wrapped around the end will make it much easier to spot in the garden.

* Having trouble carrying those tools? Convert an old golf bag into a tool bag. The assortment of pockets is great for hand tools, water, garden gloves and any small accessory. They can easily be found in second-hand stores or garage sales.

* Prevent blisters by sliding foam heat wrap for pipes over the handles. Tape into place if necessary.

SALT may not be recommended by your doctor, but we gardeners know its value in our gardens:

Sprinkle common table salt around areas where you don't want to see ants and this may help deter them.

Sprinkling salt on moths and slugs will kill them. For slugs wait 5 minutes and repeat the process. The difficult task may be standing out in your garden at all hours of the night trying to spot the critters in the first place. MARTIN'S GARDEN CENTER has the solutions for these and any of your big bug and slug problems.

CASTING A LITTLE LIGHT ON THE SUBJECT OF SHADE GARDENING

Shade gardening can be as rewarding as any other type of gardening. Too often it is considered the most difficult area to cultivate, but MARTIN'S GARDEN CENTER has the shade-loving plants which provide the color, texture and lushness for a perfect shade garden.

What kind of shade do you have?

* DEEP SHADE: This area receives little to no direct sunlight. It could be located in a deeply wooded area, under low branches of dense evergreen trees or at the base of a building's or large structure's north side.

* PARTIAL SHADE: This area receives roughly 2 hours of sunlight continuously between 10 AM to 3 PM.

* It could also be an area which sees the light of day during the cooler morning hours, but is shaded from the hot afternoon sun.

* DAPPLED SHADE: This area receives some sunlight peeking through the trees throughout the day. It is easily identified by the light and shaded pattern taking place as the day progresses.

* LIGHT SHADE: This area receives the morning sun before 10 AM and the late-day sun after 3 PM.

* Please note: Most "full sun" plants will likely thrive under "light shade" conditions since they will receive 4-5 hours of full, intense sunlight which cancels out the effects of the morning and late afternoon shade.

"AFTER WORK - WORK OFF THE STRESS CLASSES"

We would like to introduce our new idea for the upcoming season. Classes will be held on various aspects of the garden throughout the season to relieve some of the stresses of our active lives. Holding them after the garden center closes (6 PM in the evenings) will allow your Saturdays open for your plans in the garden and/or with family and friends.

There will be a small fee for materials used during the hands-on sessions.

Our first class will be on Thursday May 24 at 6 PM in the garden center. Container gardening will be the topic of the evening. Feel free to bring you containers for the hands-on session.

Our next class will be pond preparations. Further details on this and other classes will be announced at a later date.

Feel free to contact us for your ideas on future classes. We'd love to hear from you. For any questions, call Pat at MARTIN'S GARDEN CENTER (570) 376-4411 or 376-2745 or email at growit@epix.net.

Sources of information:

www.hgtv/garden.com, www.binettigarden.com, www.womansday.com, www.beachcomberhottubs.com

We would love to email your next newsletter. Please send your email address to: growit@epix.net

If you would like a copy of previous newsletters, email us for one.

Feel free to email us with any of your gardening questions.

Rt. 287 Middlebury Center, PA

(570) 376-4411 or 376-2745