Home & Garden Resource Guide November ... - Belmont Nursery

Home & Garden Resource Guide November 2006Yo, Martha!Preparations for pruning, dormant spraying and winterizing the garden should be startednow. Transplanting shrubs and trees from one location to another can be done with theleast amount of stress on the plant. It’s also time to repair sprinklers, drip systems andsharpen your tools. All this is quite boring but necessary.It’s also the holiday season! Why not use your garden as a decorating resource. Branchesfrom white birches and coral bark maples, twisting branches from contorted quince andcrape myrtles are wonderful additions to vases and floral arrangements. Brighten a tableor mantle with colorful cotoneaster berries, pyracantha or beautyberry. Shiny leaves frommagnolias and hollies are another nice decoration. You’ll be amazed by what’s availablein your garden. I did this stuff long before Martha Stewart!Out of OregonNurseries will have unusual plants arriving in Fresno from Oregon and Washingtonduring the fall-winter. Conifers like Weeping cedars, deciduous dogwoods and azaleas,Japanese maples, Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick (corylus) and other northern plants areavailable in good quantities at this time. They can add interest and flair to any landscape.Make sure to plant in the proper location regarding soil, light and exposure. I’ve oftenwondered how a plant feels when it goes to sleep in Willamette Oregon and wakes up inFresno California. Ahhh!!Fall is…Each fall you see posters proclaiming “Fall is For Planting”. The truth is you can plantyear round. Some plants however do get a better start when planted during theappropriate season. Deciduous trees, shrubs and hardy evergreens benefit from fallplanting. The reason is simple; all plants run in cycles with resting periods during thecolder months of the year. Low temperatures reduce water uptake and slow metabolisms.Less daylight in winter reduces photosynthesis in evergreens and stops completely indeciduous plants (no leaves). Root growth however will continue through the winter orstart ahead of leaf emergence increasing the plant’s ability to grow the following spring.Check with a nurseryperson to see if it’s the proper season for the plant in question.If you’re new to the Fresno area, need to redesign your garden or just bought a newhome, landscaping may be in your future. Fresno has over 20 full service and specialtynurseries spread throughout the city. I haven’t visited all of them (like I’m going to go toa nursery on my day off!) but here are a few full service nurseries I have visited.

H & E Nursery 160 W. Nees Ave. ph# 435-6373 North central Fresno, across fromRiver Park Mall.Built around a beautiful waterfall and Koi pond, this retail nursery owned by Roy Harris(the H) & Francisco Echide (the E) has just what you’ll need. The houseplant and outsideplant selections are varied for small gardens to big landscapes. Ask Laurie for any help.Riverside Nursery 5215 N Golden State blvd. ph# 275-1891 North West Fresno, offShaw Ave. on the old freeway.Mitch Hutchison and his son James have one of the nicest nurseries for retail in Fresno.Covering 5 acres, it’s a full service nursery with a large selection of plants, dry goods,statuary, fountains & pottery. Consultation and design are also available. If you needhelp, ask for Betsy.Willow Gardens Nursery 10428 N. Willow Ave. ph# 299-5402 north east FresnoFrank DePrima’s nursery on 20 acres has plants for any landscape need. Even extra largetrees that can be planted for you. A great selection of statuary and pottery of all stylesaround a beautiful old style building. See Estefon for any helpGazebo Gardens 3204 N Van Ness ph# 222-7673 Central Fresno, corner of Van Nessand ShieldsIts claim to fame is the multitudes of roses they carry. Bill Welzenbach the residentrosarian is an institution. His expertise on roses (and plants in general) is second to noneand that rose fertilizer he’s developed works great. Ask him about it!Belmont Nursery 7730 E. Belmont Ave. ph# 255-6860 South east Fresno, 2 1/2 mileseast of Clovis AveYou don’t want me to get fired do you? Belmont grows all types of perennials, shrubsand trees on 35+ acres for its wholesale and retail divisions; you can hop on an electriccart, tour the growing grounds and do a complete landscape with the wide variety ofplants available. Dry goods, fertilizers, pottery and landscape consultations also available.For help ask for Leonard, Kim, Cheryl or any of the other wonderful staff members.Christmas shopping stressing you out? Look for great specialty gift nurseries to visit innext month’s issue.