Autumn is upon us!

In this season the days become shorter, the nights a little cooler and the air crisper. It’s the time of year when THANKFUL is a word we hear a lot. And we are thankful for YOU, our customers. We appreciate you!!

Also at this time of year everyone will be getting ready for changes in the yard and garden. Fall is the perfect time to plant perennials and shrubs. Cooler nights result in important root growth to establish strong, healthy plants. It is time to clean out the remnants of the summer garden and plant cool weather vegetables. Add mums and pansies to your flower beds for fall color after summer blooms are gone.

The yard needs special attention at this time of year. Cooler weather is great for plugging, seeding and fertilizing the yard. We have a wonderful selection of grass seed as well as lime and fertilizer.

And let’s not forget fall  decor for inside  and outside the house! Stop in an visit us soon.

June is about Flowers and Fathers

Main Street Lawn and Garden gifts for Father's Day

June is here and things should be slowing down in the yard. The mad dash to clean and prepare the beds for planting is over. Now is the time for cutting back spent blooms from spring flowers and shrubs. Prune azaleas and camellias before the first of July to make sure that you have blooms next year. Main Street Lawn and Garden has a brand-new shipment of planters and a beautiful array of plants that will add the special finishing touches to your yard.

June is also when we pay tribute to all the wonderful dads in our lives. With Father’s Day approaching we have a wide variety of gift ideas for Dad. If your Dad likes to work in the yard, Main Street carries a large selection of power equipment by all the top manufacturers from lawnmowers to trimmers and weed eaters. If Dad is more of an outdoor type, we have knives, wildlife cameras and bird feeders. We have whimsical yard art, wind chimes and balloons for brightening up the yard. Our friendly staff can help you decide on just the right gift.

Time to get your yard ready for Spring!

Gardeners are always busy. The weather is starting to warm and there is much to be done in preparation for the growing season. Now is the time to put out grass seed, fertilizer and lime. We have multiple varieties available depending on your lawn’s specific needs. This is also the time of year to prepare your garden and flowerbeds. Soil needs to be amended before planting with compost, sand or topsoil based on your soil composition and the type of plants you want to grow. Main Street has a wide variety of bagged items by  Daddy Pete, Fox Farm and others including soil enhancers, mushroom compost, cow manure, nursery blend and planting mix.

This is a great time to plant your spring garden. Vegetables like broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, lettuce, kale and spinach grow well in the cool weather as do herbs like sage, cilantro, parsley, lavender and oregano. Snapdragons, pansies, dianthus and violas also like this weather and will add a pop of color to your beds.

BIG NEWS We welcome our new employee Lauren Campbell. She comes to us with 10 years plant experience as a former employee of L.A. Reynolds. Married with 4 children and 3 grandchildren, she enjoys designing container gardens, photography and painting. She is a great addition to our team. Stop in and see her soon.

Most important do not forget to service your equipment before the growing season is in full swing. We will have our annual Open House on Saturday, March 23 which will include 15% off on ECHO Power Equipment. The perfect time to buy your new equipment for the season.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year! According to Blum’s Almanac, January is going to be a wet month, but hang on – Spring is coming. In the meantime you can prepare for it by doing the following:

  • Start servicing your lawn equipment for spring. Sharpen blades, check tires for wear and air pressure, and of course, oil, plugs and filters.
  • Make certain that your bulbs have a good mulch cover. Our up-and-down temperatures cause freezing and thawing conditions. Mulch creates insulation to break the cycle.
  • If you need some inside color, bulbs can still be planted indoors. Paperwhites grow beautifully in a tall vase of rocks and warm water (throw bulbs away after their fragrant blooms fade) – However Amaryllis can be saved after bloom. They will rebloom for years. if stored properly.
  • And, as always, January is a great time to start seeds indoors. They can be planted in pots, trays or with the sealed-lid method. Just be certain that the seedlings have warmth, light, and moisture. It’s a great entertainment for kids and helps us to pass the extra time indoors.
  • Main Street will also be reducing inventory so as to make room for new merchandise. Come by and check out our sale items!

Time to Prepare for Your Fall Garden

It’s time to set out those fall veggies.  The cool weather crops need to go in the ground now, so as to have time to produce in the fall.  Be sure to keep them watered well, as long as it is hot, and enjoy those greens, lettuces, cabbage, broccoli and herbs!

Our hummingbirds are still coming around, loving the summer flowers.  Don’t forget to remove spent blooms of petunias, butterfly bushes, salvia, and lantana, so as to encourage new growth.  This will ensure that the butterflies and the hummingbirds have plenty of nectar.

When it gets really hot and dry for extended periods, it’s a great idea to keep your lawn higher than 2 inches. Mow it at a lesser height and the grass turns brown. Stressed grass thins out and this encourages the growth of weeds.  After September, when it cools down, you can mow it shorter

Yellow jackets and wasps really get active in August.  They can be found around swimming pools, soft drinks, and picnics.  If you have seen them flying to and from a low spot near the ground, wait until dusk to spray them.  They will have all returned to the nest by then and you can kill them with an aerosol can pesticide of your choice (preferably one with a 20′ stream, so as not to get stung).

And last, but not least, be sure and trim up any shrubs that are looking shaggy now.  Trimming any later than this month may cause the sprouting new growth to freeze and die.  If you are unable to trim this month wait until the plants go dormant in winter.

Fall is just around the corner and we cannot wait for Mums, pumpkins, pansies, and lots of cool air.  Enjoy these last hot days.  There aren’t many left!

 

Amending your soil when plant results in larger, healthier plants

Many people think that at this time of year the only thing you can do is maintain the garden (water, weed, etc). This is an excellent time to replant or do first plantings for the fall. The one thing that you want to remember is to amend the soil. Your plants will grow faster and bigger with the proper nutrients. Main Street Lawn & Garden recommends Daddy Pete’s.

We have carried Daddy Pete’s products for many years and tried them out in our own garden. They have a wide variety of soils and soil amendments to help you grow the healthiest plants. Daddy Pete’s was started by a NC farmer who was interested in composting his cow manure. The 125 acre farm where Daddy Pete’s products are produced is a historic NC Century Farm, on honor bestowed by the state on farms that are family owned and operated for 100 years with a continuous agricultural heritage. Come in and check out the wide variety of fertilizers, mixes and barks tested and approved by local agricultural professionals.

Reminder: Main Street Lawn & Garden will be closed July 26 to August 6. We are taking a little break. Visit us before or stop on/after August 6th.

Spring is finally here!

Ready or not Spring is almost here. Even though lately the weather has not been very spring-like, the official start date is only a few days away.  Now is the time that your thoughts turn to a beautiful, healthy, green lawn. Many of you planted tall fescue in the fall. If you haven’t, you will want to put out your seed soon. Bear in mind that your spring planting will require more attention with the onset of summer heat.

Another option that has become very popular with homeowners, especially after a soggy winter is laying sod. Main Street Lawn and Garden can help you calculate the amount of tall fescue sod that you are going to need. Once you have placed you order some preparation will be required. Sod must make contact with the soil in order to root. If the grass in the area is not extremely sparse you will want to add some dirt before laying your sod. You will want to install the sod as soon as possible after it is delivered. Store it in a shady area until you are ready to install to prevent drying out.

It is not too early to start “getting your hands dirty”. If you can’t resist the urge, try planting “cool weather” flowers from seed. Pansies, violas, snapdragons and alyssum seeds can be planted before many of the other flowers. If you intend on adding spring blooming bulbs to your beds in fall, now is the time to take pictures of your spring blooming plants. The photos will help you decide which bulbs, what colors  and where you need to add bulbs in the fall.

This is a good time of year to mulch plants and prepare beds for planting. We have gorgeous pine needles, hardwood mulch, topsoil and compost. For accents to your yard and beds we have a large selection of NC mined stone including our latest addition of a red rock variety. Many people are using this in place of brick chips – it is beautiful! Visit us at Main Street Lawn and Garden soon.

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