The Endless Summer® Collection of hydrangeas are mophead hydrangeas that can bloom on both old and new wood. The repeat blooms truly offer gardeners an endless summer of incredible color. This hardy plant is perfect for everything from foundation planting to container gardening. It makes a perfect focal point or accent to any shade garden. You can even make an ideal floral arrangement or table setting with the cut flowers.

This year's newest member of the Endless Summer® Collection is the "Twist-n-Shout™" big leaf hydrangea. "Twist-n-Shout™" produces abundant blooms on both old and new wood all summer long. Lacy, deep-pink centers are surrounded by gorgeous blossoms of pink or periwinkle blue, depending upon the soil type. Sturdy red stems and glossy deep green leaves turn red-burgundy in fall to offer year-round interest in the garden. Easy to care for and hardy to zone 4, "Twist-n-Shout™" is an elegant stand-alone specimen, dramatic in combination with other plants, and compact enough for containers.

The flowers grow up to 8" in diameter, with pink blooms in alkaline soils and blue blooms in acidic soil. As with all hydrangeas, Endless Summer hydrangeas perform best in moist (but not wet) soil conditions and protection from the afternoon sun. We have a great selection of these beautiful hydrangeas, so don’t delay. Add some color to your shade garden today!

Product Spotlight: Caldrea®
Products for Body, Home and Spirit

The Caldrea mission is to make caring for our homes an experience, an art form, free of harsh chemicals and medicinal smells, and as luxurious as caring for the body.  Towards that goal, we have created effective and earth-friendly products for the body, home, and spirit. 

Our hand soaps and lotions use natural ingredients such as olive oil, aloe vera and shea butter.  Our dish soap and counter top cleanser will clean your kitchen and fill the air with lovely fragrances of essential oils.  And our linen spray, wafted over your sheets, will transport you with dreams of exotic places, depending on the fragrance you choose.

Breathe in Sea Salt Neroli and escape to a sun-soaked shoreline with scent of lemon verbena, cardamon, with a floral heart of Neroli, an orange tree native to Tunisia.

Ginger Pomelo will fill the air with this Tahitian citrus mingled with Asian ginger and cool, fresh basil.

Lavender and Pine Needle oils are blended with cedarwood, eucalyptus and orange for a naturally relaxing product with deep-cleaning properties.

And best of all, we do not test on animals.  So enjoy with an open heart and a peaceful mind.

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Spring brings with it beautiful blossoms, fresh air, warmer temperatures . . . and bugs!  Ants, gnats, tent worms, none of which are pleasant.  Ah, but spring also gives us ladybugs and lady beetles (Hippodamia convergens), which are the best-known garden predators available.  There are nearly 5,000 different kinds of ladybugs worldwide, 400 of which live in North America.  In fact, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Tennessee have adopted the ladybug as their official state insect!

In Europe, during the Middle Ages, the crops were being destroyed by insects, so the farmers prayed to the Virgin Mary for help.  The ladybugs came, ate the pests, and saved the crops!  The grateful farmers began calling the ladybugs “The Beetles of Our Lady” which eventually morphed into “Lady Beetles.”

With aphids, mealy bugs and mites being their favorite food, ladybugs are some of our most beneficial bugs; an adult ladybug can eat over 50 aphids a day.  These small, oval-winged insects are usually red with black spots, and are less than ¼ inch in length.  As they age, the color of the spots will fade.  If a bird, the primary predator of the ladybug, threatens a ladybug, she will play dead.

Some more silly facts about this delightful and advantageous visitor to our forests, fields, gardens, and yes, even our homes:

• Ladybugs chew from side to side and not up and down like people do.
• A gallon jar will hold from 72,000 to 80,000 ladybugs.
• A female ladybug will lay more than 1000 eggs in her lifetime.
• The Asian Lady Beetle can live up to 2-3 years if the conditions are right.
• In Sweden, it is believed that if a ladybug lands on a young maiden’s hand, she will soon be getting married.
• In England, finding a ladybug means that you will have a good harvest.
• In France, if you are sick and a ladybug lands on you, when it flies away, it will take the sickness with it.
• If you find a ladybug in your house in the winter you will have good luck!

Get to know your beneficial insects. They can be very useful in keeping the pests away and reducing the use of chemicals. At Sun River Gardens we have ladybugs for sale in packages of 2,000 to keep pests out of your garden naturally. And remember--when you do need to use chemicals in your garden, read the instructions carefully and consult with one of our nursery professionals, who can advise you on the best one to use for your particular problem.  

Can you grow grass in shade?

Answer:

That depends on how much shade you actually have. Fescue types of grass will tolerate shade better than most grasses. You can also use a shady blend grass seed, but even shade-tolerant grasses need a certain amount of sunshine to grow. Ultimately, the way you manage your shady lawn is more important than which seed type you select.

Five practices that will help your shade tolerant grass survive in the shade:

• First, mow your grass higher. Grass in the shade should be cut approximately 1/2 to 1 inch higher than the grass growing in full sunlight. This will allow more leaf area to intercept the limited amount of sunlight.
  
  
• Second, fertilize less often, at half the normal amount so the grass won't try to grow what it can't support.
  
  
• Third, water more (and deeply) in the hot summer months, so the grass is not stressed by heat.
  
  
• Fourth, selectively prune and thin limbs of heavy shade producing trees to allow more light to reach your lawn. Remove all limbs below ten feet. Rake and remove leaves or needles before they accumulate.
  
  
• Finally, try to minimize traffic and activities in the shaded grass areas during the summer months. This will reduce the wear stress on the turf. If the grass is in a path where traffic cannot be avoided, place stepping-stones or pine bark to create a trail.

If you combine these suggestions, you should notice a much healthier lawn. If none of this works, consider replacing your shaded area with shade-loving flowers, groundcover, or mulch.