The Kerby's Nursery E-Newsletter
July 9, 2020
Would You Like Some Pie?
by Joey Bokor
by Joey Bokor
You're nodding yes to that title aren't you. A cool refreshing slice of Key Lime Pie. Maybe from limes you
picked from your backyard tree. . . Or how about a freshly whipped coconut cream pie, toasty, creamy and delicious.
Those do sound tantalizing, but I'm not talking about those kinds of pies. The kind of pie I'm talking about is the thing that childhoods are made of (or at least mine). Kids today can operate phones and tablets. Me as a kid? I made mud pies.
Making a mud pie is much more difficult than it sounds. It requires finding mud of just the right consistency and color. It has to be smooth when water is added. Then you have to find all the right toppings to give the pie the perfect, enticing look. And then, you try to feed it to your baby sister. You've been warned. If you see someone like me in the picture above trying to hand you a 'pie' with 'special ingredients', you know what it is.
In my defense, research shows that dirt has great health benefits. Bacteria and microbes in the soil build up our immune systems and it has been shown that soil bacteria have an effect similar to anti-depressants. So, I was ahead of my time and now I can tell my siblings that I was really doing them a favor by encouraging them to eat mud. I was trying to bolster their immune systems. Do you think they'll buy it?
But you don't need research to tell you how great gardening is for you. You know that it burns calories, allows you to move your body and sweat a little in a good way. It connects you to the earth with dirt-covered hands and gives you peace in a world that swirls around you. And if the soil bacteria want to beef up our immune systems and genuinely make us a little happier, that's just one more ingredient in a recipe for an amazing summer in the garden.
Those do sound tantalizing, but I'm not talking about those kinds of pies. The kind of pie I'm talking about is the thing that childhoods are made of (or at least mine). Kids today can operate phones and tablets. Me as a kid? I made mud pies.
Making a mud pie is much more difficult than it sounds. It requires finding mud of just the right consistency and color. It has to be smooth when water is added. Then you have to find all the right toppings to give the pie the perfect, enticing look. And then, you try to feed it to your baby sister. You've been warned. If you see someone like me in the picture above trying to hand you a 'pie' with 'special ingredients', you know what it is.
In my defense, research shows that dirt has great health benefits. Bacteria and microbes in the soil build up our immune systems and it has been shown that soil bacteria have an effect similar to anti-depressants. So, I was ahead of my time and now I can tell my siblings that I was really doing them a favor by encouraging them to eat mud. I was trying to bolster their immune systems. Do you think they'll buy it?
But you don't need research to tell you how great gardening is for you. You know that it burns calories, allows you to move your body and sweat a little in a good way. It connects you to the earth with dirt-covered hands and gives you peace in a world that swirls around you. And if the soil bacteria want to beef up our immune systems and genuinely make us a little happier, that's just one more ingredient in a recipe for an amazing summer in the garden.
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Happy Gardening, The Kerby's Nursery Family 
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Uptick Coreopsis - 2 for $12
Bright, bold and beautiful. This stunning, hardy flower is a favorite of bees and butterflies. It takes our Florida sun and heat and turns it into amazing flowers. This week, they are on sale 2 for $12.
6" Pot, Regular Price $6.99
Valid Through 7/15/2020
As summer rolls along, there is still plenty to do in the garden. You can take care of the beautiful things you planted in spring and you've
got to keep up with the weeds in your flower beds. Add in a little pruning and there is lots
to do while you enjoy the
benefits of being outside.
1) Keep Trimming Light - In the heat of summer, you should avoid extreme pruning of shrubs, flowers and trees. There is nothing wrong with a little maintenance pruning, or trimming away a badly-behaved branch, but save more extreme prunings for early spring.
2) Maintain Fruit Trees - Many tropical fruit trees harvest in the summer months. If you need to shape these trees, or reduce their size so that they fit your yard, prune after harvest.
3) Water, water, water - Water yourself, like my sister and I are doing in the picture above and make sure that your plants are getting plenty of water too. This heat and humidity is tough on plants and even though rainy season is here, new plants need consistent, deep waterings. You can't always wait for Mother Nature.
4) Clean Veggie Beds - For most of us, the harvest season on veggies is coming to an end. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squashes suffer lots of disease issues at this time of year and even if the plants are surviving, they produce limited harvests in temperatures over 90 degrees. So by this point, we are beginning to clean our garden of old plants and thinking about where we will plant our fall veggies. Believe it or not, we'll be planting fall veggies in 9 or 10 weeks.
5) Did I mention Watering? - Don't forget, for new plants, water every day in the morning. Even if you take a vacation, your plants don't.
6) Enjoy Plants Inside - When it is hot in the afternoon, bring the garden inside with houseplants. You can shop our online houseplant shop Dwell at Kerby's and swing by to pickup, or come see us to check out all of the rare houseplants we've located.
7) Make the Most of It - Make mud pies. Sip a smoothie in the shade. Run around in a rainstorm. Make the most of a summer at home. Have fun, enjoy the outdoors and remember that it gives back to you what you put into it.
1) Keep Trimming Light - In the heat of summer, you should avoid extreme pruning of shrubs, flowers and trees. There is nothing wrong with a little maintenance pruning, or trimming away a badly-behaved branch, but save more extreme prunings for early spring.
2) Maintain Fruit Trees - Many tropical fruit trees harvest in the summer months. If you need to shape these trees, or reduce their size so that they fit your yard, prune after harvest.
3) Water, water, water - Water yourself, like my sister and I are doing in the picture above and make sure that your plants are getting plenty of water too. This heat and humidity is tough on plants and even though rainy season is here, new plants need consistent, deep waterings. You can't always wait for Mother Nature.
4) Clean Veggie Beds - For most of us, the harvest season on veggies is coming to an end. Tomatoes, peppers, cucumbers and squashes suffer lots of disease issues at this time of year and even if the plants are surviving, they produce limited harvests in temperatures over 90 degrees. So by this point, we are beginning to clean our garden of old plants and thinking about where we will plant our fall veggies. Believe it or not, we'll be planting fall veggies in 9 or 10 weeks.
5) Did I mention Watering? - Don't forget, for new plants, water every day in the morning. Even if you take a vacation, your plants don't.
6) Enjoy Plants Inside - When it is hot in the afternoon, bring the garden inside with houseplants. You can shop our online houseplant shop Dwell at Kerby's and swing by to pickup, or come see us to check out all of the rare houseplants we've located.
7) Make the Most of It - Make mud pies. Sip a smoothie in the shade. Run around in a rainstorm. Make the most of a summer at home. Have fun, enjoy the outdoors and remember that it gives back to you what you put into it.
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New Arrivals |
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Floriglory Cuphea Heat-tolerant, sun-loving color. 6" Pot - $6.99 |
Pomegranate A medium sized fruiting bush. 3 Gallon Pot - $49.99 |
Lime Sizzler Firebush Add some sizzle to your landscape. 10" Pot - $24.99 |
Dwell at Kerby's - The Houseplant Shop
Shop for planty gifts for your friends, family, or for yourself at our new online houseplant shop. Currently, shipping is limited to Florida, Georgia and Alabama, but soon we'll be open to the entire country. Share your love of plants with someone today.
Follow Dwell at Kerby's on: Instagram or Facebook
