Never yet was a springtime when the buds forgot to bloom.

Hello again!

It was late February 1973; I was sitting in class at Wichita High School North in my Senior year of High School. Not being an "A" student, I'll admit my mind would tend to wander. I’d find myself gazing outside in awe of the silver maples starting to bud out. My last spring at North High was bittersweet for sure. Earlier this week, my mind went back to February of 1973 when I noticed again, silver maple buds turning red and swelling. They're soon to be pushing new growth that we’ll enjoy for many months.

With the great temperatures we've had recently, I’ll go out on a limb and say that spring isn't far off. A term I learned while on the mid-day news at KAKE TV is that March 1st is the “meteorological” first day of spring. In the back of my mind, I have always felt that our 4 seasons seem to start about a month or so earlier than the official changing of the seasons.

Last weekend, we filled our bedding plant tables with cold tolerant pansies and violas. We’ve shut the furnaces off in the production greenhouse, where we’ve been growing the plants since early December. Our cole crops, broccoli and the like, as well as kale and lettuce will be out soon. I’d go ahead and get all of these plants in the ground. If the temperatures drop, they're easy to cover.

We are a few weeks ahead of the germination of our grassy annual weeds like crabgrass and foxtail. By using a season long preventer like ferti-lome For All Seasons Crabgrass Preventer, your turf will be crabgrass free until fall. Short, residual preventers such as Halts or Team are only effective up to 60 days. A second application is often necessary to extend control. For All Seasons will give season-long control of crabgrass from a single application. In fact, it can be applied much earlier than short residual products and will still have sufficient strength to last the entire season. With a quality fertilizer added to the product, For All Seasons will get your cool season turf off to a good start. Not being quick release, it will feed the turf for weeks.

Many homeowners choose to go with our ferti-lome 5-step Lawn Care Program to take the guesswork out of lawn care. Stop by the stores and we will be happy to answer your lawn care questions. We can provide you with an easy-to-apply program tailored to your lawn's needs - cool or warm season.

With frequent plant deliveries from our nursery suppliers such as Monrovia and Greenleaf Nurseries, our plant areas will soon be filled with early spring blooming plants, shade and ornamental trees and evergreens for landscape projects. Be sure to make regular stops by the stores; new plants are arriving daily!

Huge savings are coming up these next few weeks. Be sure to put the dates of this Friday-March 12 for Garden Rewards and March 17-26 for our Spring Open House. We can't wait to see you this spring!

Your friend in the garden,

Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Center