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Now is the Time, |
October 31, 2013 |
Sometimes there is a plant or a flower that makes you stop and remember how cool gardening is, no matter how long you've been playing in the dirt. This week it was the banana shrub. While walking around the nursery on Monday morning, a smell like candy hit my nose. At first I wasn't sure what it was, and then I realized that the banana shrubs were in bloom. The fragrance really is just like a banana candy, which is appropriate for Halloween. A little trick from nature and a treat for the garden. There really are so many cool plants that no matter how long you've been a gardener, there is always something new to discover.
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In This Issue
All Pottery
Florida Peach and Apple Trees
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Banana Shrub Michelia skinneriana This delightful shrub can make a great privacy hedge and landscape backdrop, and throughout the summer and into fall it has small yellow flowers that smell like banana candy. Trick or Treat! It grows up to 12 feet tall, but it can be kept around 6 feet. It prefers four to eight hours of sun and is evergreen and cold-hardy. |
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Bath Thyme
- Use fresh garden herbs to create an aromatherapy bath that will relax and refresh you. Infuse oil with lavender, rosemary or lemon grass ahead of time and simply
add to hot bath water. Or, pick a handful of fresh herbs at bath time, crush to release the oils and add to the bath.
You can also put freshly crushed herbs in a sachet before throwing them in
the water to keep the leaves from getting caught in the drain. However you
choose, sit back, relax and let the fresh fragrances lift your stress away.
Make it Spicy
- Of course the most popular use for fresh herbs is cooking, and what
dish wouldn't taste better with oregano or basil from your garden instead of
dried up old leaves! Crush or chop herbs just as you are about to use them
so that the oils are released in your dish.
Healing
- One of the oldest uses of herbs is not for their flavor and spice, but
for their healing powers. Many of these remedies have been used since
ancient times. Next time you have a headache or stomachache, try a freshly
infused herbal tea instead of grabbing pills from the medicine cabinet.
Below is a list of some common herbs and the healing properties they have.
Basil - can help alleviate kidney problems, as well as soothe anxiety.
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Without herbs, food would just be boring! And of course the best herbs come straight from your own garden. At this workshop, we'll show you the best ways to plant and care for your herb garden and we'll show you which herbs are great to plant now. Plus we'll share tips on preserving and storing herbs. Discover how delicious gardening can be!
Workshop:
Protecting Plants Florida is known for warm weather and sunshine, but even here in central Florida, the occasional frost or freeze comes our way. Be ready this year, by attending this workshop. You'll learn the best ways to protect plants from cold weather and we'll demonstrate the proper way to cover plants to make sure all of your favorite shrubs, trees and flowers are warm and snug this winter. We'll also talk about what to do in the garden at this time of year, after all it is Florida and we can play in the yard all year long!
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Kerby's Nursery 2311 S. Parsons Ave. Seffner, FL 33584 (813) 685-3265 www.kerbysnursery.com |
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