Come on in... everyone's invited! Many of our customers are professional landscapers, landscape architects, and nurserymen. Since I've been in the industry for better than forty years (I started when I was twelve, so I'm not THAT old!) I've had the opportunity to learn a lot. And I'd like to share some of what I've learned with you. Found here will be special insights and tips that relate to folks and applications at the working end of the business, but it's a wealth of information to the homeowner and gardening enthusiast as well. If you have questions, or great ideas, go to our link talkplants@daylilyhill.com and contact me. I'm the one who reads the mail and answers the questions.
"Water-wise Without the Compromise" ...living lush in a thirsty land
An Industrial Strength Face-lift at Grangetto’s Farm and Garden Supply in Escondido
Our friend, and business associate, Kevin Grangetto, approached us as he began thinking about a new look for his store in Escondido. We assured Kevin we could help him with a “Water-wise Without the Compromise” ® landscape that would cover all bases. We began by suggesting a more pleasing color scheme for the building itself with a less industrial, more welcoming appearance- a backdrop, so to speak, for the new landscape with subtle, yet inviting colors.
After transforming the building with its new paint job, we focused on a design including roses, grasses, perennials, succulents and some accent trees blended in waves and groupings that produced a very pleasing presentation. Our selections combined variations of textures and colors using both flowers and foliage to achieve the desired goal- a beautiful landscape sustainable with minimum water. Kevin voiced an interest in using some boulders and rock, adding an additional element of interest to the mix. With proper irrigation, plant selection and a nice layer of mulch, you don’t have to give up your dreams of a dynamic landscape!
When the landscape was completed Grangetto’s added a hand-painted mural to the side of the building – Voila!
Take a look at the following before and after shots and the evolution of a landscape…in fact, stop by and take a look for yourself. We’ve always been big fans of Grangetto’s, so we were pleased and honored to be a part of this transformation. Check out their website at www.grangettos.com and take a look at their delightfully informative newsletter at www.grangettosnews.com .
Shipping Terms -
All Daylily Hill plants are packaged in such a manner as to assure safe arrival. During extreme weather conditions, we cannot guarantee the plants will arrive in the same condition they were shipped. If you order during winter months, please take your weather into consideration. Liability is limited to the purchase price of the plant material.
Daylily Hill makes every effort to have your plants ready for shipment within a few days of receiving your order. We usually ship on Tuesday so the order will arrive the same week. Please contact us if you do not receive your order within two weeks. Daylily Hill plants are typically shipped bare root* and are ready to pot after you receive them when it is convenient for you. However, as soon as you receive your order, please unpack it and allow the plants to be exposed to filtered light.
Please notify Daylily Hill immediately if there is any damage from shipping. You assume responsibility for handling the plants with care, especially plants with spines or sap. Once plant material is accepted in good condition, we cannot be responsible for handling, planting, maintenance or damage by the elements. Liability is limited to the purchase price of the plant material.
“Ancients of Days ®” Succulent Bonsai
"Ancients of Days ®" line of succulent plants for bonsai...
Imagine coming home at the end of a long stressful day, to an old friend! Consider the serenity of nurturing, shaping, and cultivating a living work of art that reflects the timeless beauty of an ancient tree, right in your own back yard or patio. Millions of people have envied the thought of having there own personal "Mr. Miyagi" tree to interact with. But of those who tried, many found that one missed day of watering could have tragic results on a bonsai subject, after years of dedicated and careful effort.
Enter the "Ancients of Days ®" line of succulent plants for bonsai subjects! You can easily shape, form, and grow these incredible selections, gaining a very aged appearance much more quickly than you imagined. Don't worry about missing even many days of watering. Their succulent leaves and stems store water, and tide them over until you get back from vacation, or realize that you've forgotten them for some time.
They can remain in their pots for many years. They like water, but need the soil to dry out for at least a few days between good, thorough watering. In warm climates, or times of year, grow outside in sun to part shade. Move indoors to sunny windows before freezing temperatures arrive. Fertilize every 2 months with a good general purpose house-plant fertilizer. Make sure drain holes always allow water to run through so the soil can "breathe." We have the following plants selections here at “Daylily Hill” for you to choose from in order for you to start your own Bonsai …or we have some already started that you can become “friends” with and care for.
In 2010, we will be featuring Workshops on creating your own Succulent Bonsai. Be sure to watch for the dates if you are interested. We’ll have them posted well in advance.
CONTAINER AND POTTING SOIL …A WORD ABOUT OUR "CHUNKY GRANOLA SWEET"
When it comes to soils used in a container or pot, the dynamics and properties of that soil are very different than how regular soils act, and interact with plants, in the open garden. When a plant is planted in a container, about 75% of the normal avenues for drainage and aeration are cut off by the sides and bottom of the container itself. This means that even though a normal, healthy garden soil performs well out in the open, the same soil may remain waterlogged and too compacted to drain and/or breathe well in a container. A soil that works for container growing must then be "fluffed up" with either extremely well drained sand, or a large amount of organics (sawdust, wood chips, bark, peat moss, etc.). Because sand is very heavy, most soil products are mixed with about 3/4 parts, or more, of organics in order to achieve the necessary air spaces and drainage columns.
This would all be a wonderful story, except that it doesn't have a happy ending… you see, the organic materials decompose fairly quickly. As the wood products rot away, they turn from a nice, fluffy, well aerated soil to a glob of muck. And the glob of muck now occupies way less space! Did you ever notice how you come back 9 months, or a year later, and realize that the nice potting soil that you filled to the top of your container has sunk down five, six, eight or more inches- and your poor little plant that stood so proudly now has to hold on to the lip of the pot with both hands and pull itself up just to be seen?!
We have engineered a soil that solves the normal pitfalls of most other products, and remains at close to its full volume, drainage, and aeration for years… a permanent container soil! Because our soil is mostly sand, it can never change, or rot away and shrink down. Yet it is not too heavy to handle (or ship), because the sand is comprised of two different kinds of lightweight volcanic rock. These volcanic rock particles are porous and drain readily. Added to that is our own forest mix of mulch that has been carefully composted and inoculated with beneficial mychorizae fungi, and bacteria. These organisms set up house with the roots of plants much like the good bacteria do in our own digestive systems, aiding in the transfer of nutrients, and out competing harmful disease organisms.
Our forest mulch is chunky, however an excellent blend of both green foliage as well as wood particles that combine to compost into a rich, deep, fragrant, earthy material that causes plants to thrive. And, we're doing a good thing! We recycle, and turn into beautiful compost, 10s of thousands of cubic yards of chips from tree trimming companies that would otherwise be filling up scarce space in landfills. All of our nursery production plants are grown in this beautiful soil for top vigor and quality. Try our soil, it's high in dietary fiber, and nutritious! It's "chunky granola" …SWEET!
