There is no better time than right now to plant a beautiful shade garden. Most shade gardens are not planted until just before or in the heat of the summer, which places undue stress on your transplants. Early spring is best, when temperatures are mild and the plants have a chance to establish themselves before the hot summer months.

Most gardeners try to fill shady spots with sun-loving plants that look fine in the shade at first but eventually deteriorate into leggy, woody specimens. For a successful shade garden, it's best to choose your plants carefully. Although you may be drawn to sun-loving flowers, there are so many shade-loving plants that you are sure to find some favorites.

Compose your garden beds with an eye toward variations in height, texture and color. Looking at the garden bed, you will want to plant at least 2 to 3 tall growing varieties for the back of the bed, 2 to 3 plants that grow to a medium height and 2 to 3 low growing plants for the front of the bed. You are welcome to use 4 or more kinds of plants in each layer, but be sure to keep the ratio roughly the same in all three general growth habit categories for a balanced appearance.

Providing contrasts in texture and color also provide interest and life to the garden. Imagine shiny leafed camellia japonicas with their showy, rose-like blooms growing behind lacy ferns and bright, delicate impatiens spreading at the front edge of the garden. Using complementary flower and foliage colors brings a vibrance and energy, while a monochromatic color palette tends to bring a simplicity and understated elegance to the landscape.

There are so many shade loving plants and flowers to choose from. Taller shade shrubs for backgrounds include tree ferns, pittosporum, Japanese maples, abutilon, camellia japonicas, laurel, evergreen viburnum and podocarpus macrophylla.

Mid-sized shrubs include brunfelsia, hydrangeas, low ferns, camellia sasanquas, fuchsias, shade azaleas, calla lilies, gardenia augusta, loropetalum, nandina, clivia and snow bush.

Taller perennials include hybrid calla lilies, astilbe, hosta, aspidistra, aquilegia (columbine), caladium, foxglove, bleeding heart, helleborus, liriope, saxifragia, Chinese foxglove and Asiatic lilies.

Lower shade perennials and annuals include helichrysum, bacopa, lamium, glechoma, coleus, campanula, heuchera, violas, vinca major and minor, tiarella, cyclamen, New Guinea impatiens, double impatiens, and begonias.

Choose plants from each height habit (if space allows) and plant them in groupings; not only will your garden look more natural than when specimens are planted in a row, but plants will crowd out weeds and establish themselves better when grouped. Make sure to amend your soil with a good acid planting mix because most shade plants love acidic soil. It's also a good idea to work in a decent quantity of peat moss for extra drainage, since wet roots tend to foster pests, and add 2-3 inches of mulch to retain moisture and protect the roots that have not yet established themselves deeply under the soil.

Maintaining your shade garden is simple. Feed monthly with an acid fertilizer, and water 2-3 times a week. You'll have it "made in the shade" by mid-summer with a cool, colorful shade garden that brings years of lasting beauty to all those shady spots you thought would never be a showplace!

You've read about it in magazines and the newspaper, and you've seen it on TV--"Outdoor Living." Extending your living space outdoors is the newest trend. More and more people have less and less personal time, and the time they do have is precious. They want to enjoy it as much as possible. They want more than a lawn chair and grill outside. Now it's a paver patio instead of a wood deck that requires routine maintenance. Add furniture as comfortable as in your living room; a built-in grill surrounded by a counter, a fire pit or an outdoor fireplace, even a large screen TV are now commonplace outside. Instead of coming home and sitting inside, come home from a long day at work and find your favorite chair outside. Sound great? Then we can help make it all possible.

Whether you’re planning your dream outdoor party space or a quiet outdoor retreat, let us help. We carry a large selection of quality pavers and a variety of retaining wall stone sure to make your yard your own personalized outdoor living space. For those a little more ambitious, we can help design added features such as seat walls, fire pits, fireplaces, outdoor kitchens, lighting ideas and more.

All great yards begin with a great lawn. We feature a complete line of quality grass seed from Olds Seed Solutions™. Focusing on the Upper Midwest, Olds Seed is custom blended and will deliver peak performance for any yard. To keep your grass green and weed free, we carry both standard and organic fertilizers, weed control and pest control products and can help you decide which one is best for you. Don't have a lawn or in need of serious rejuvenating? We have quality topsoil, seed cover and erosion control products, and the expertise to help you get the best lawn possible.

Lawns and patios are great, but what about color? You’ve read all about our wonderful selection of plants, but we also have everything to help make those gardens look great. We custom blend our own soil mixes to use in all your gardens: flower or vegetable. For people looking to amend their own soil, we provide sphagnum peat moss, perlite or vermiculite along with various compost products. See our broad line of fertilizers and garden pest control products including alternative organic choices. We have a wide assortment of edging material to border your garden, from plastic to aluminum to brick. Accent your garden with granite boulders or natural outcropping. Add a path with flagstone steppers. Personalize it with a cedar arbor, unique trellis, fountain, statuary or artwork. No matter how simple or elaborate you want your garden, we can help.

All deciduous fruit trees need to be pruned at least once a year for good shape and to bear fruit. The rule of thumb with pruning deciduous fruit trees is to prune while the trees are dormant, after the leaves have fallen to the ground but before new buds have swelled.

Each type of fruit tree needs to be pruned differently, so it's important to know which kind of tree you're pruning and how to prune it properly. For example, apples bear their fruit on spurs (short stubby branches growing off main branches) that bear again and again, sometimes for as long as twenty years. If you whack off all the spurs you'll have no fruit. However, peaches and nectarines bear their fruit on one-year-old wood. By pruning them hard, you encourage new growth to replenish fruiting wood.

The best shape also differs among types. Apple and pear trees, for instance, do best with a central trunk, with shorter branches at the top, longer ones on the bottom. Peaches and plums do best with an open-center shape (kind of like a bowl).

No two trees, even of the same type, can be pruned exactly alike; basic guidelines will apply differently according to the placement of their branches, their age, and their overall vigor. If you're not an expert, follow a pruning manual (one that contains charts) that applies to your climate and type of tree.

When you buy a fruit tree, ask us for the best pruning method to use for that tree. Pruning a young tree properly to start with will save you a lot of time and effort later. Trees that branch lower are easier to spray, cover, and pick the fruit from.

If you are dealing with a large old tree that has been neglected for some time, keep in mind that it may require several years of pruning to bring it back to where it should be. Your primary goal is to open the tree so that sunlight can penetrate inside of the foliage during the fruiting season and to shorten the taller limbs to bring the fruit production down to a more manageable height.

It is safest to call a professional to do the high work and any large branch removal for you. They have the experience and equipment needed.

Remember after pruning deciduous fruit trees to clean up the ground under the tree and follow up immediately with dormant spray.

The world's desire for safer foods and a better environment continues to build, and in turn has created a growing interest in organic gardening. Quite simply, organic gardening involves a natural approach to soil preparation, fertilizing, pest and disease management, and weed control. In the process your plants will become healthier, your garden will attract more beneficial insects and the food you grow will taste better and be safer to eat.

Soil Preparation
Organic gardening starts with amending your soil; the healthier your soil is, the happier your plants will be. Organic gardening has come a long way from the days of simply applying steer or chicken manure to one's garden and waiting weeks for the smell (and the salts) to dissipate. Rich organic soil amendments and balanced organic plant foods have all but eliminated the need for their use.

Start by adding an all-organic soil amendment. This could be as simple as mixing a 50/50 blend of amendment and native soil for each individual planting hole or rototilling the same blend into a large patch for a flower or vegetable garden. Many organic gardeners like to maintain a compost pile. Composting, done properly, can be an excellent way to enhance the soil and thereby improve plant health.

Feeding
Organic gardening involves using organic fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers. The reason is simple. Organic fertilizers are more stable in the soil and become available to the plant more gradually. While they are feeding the plants, they are also improving the overall soil health. The more gradual growth in turn produces stronger plant cells, which helps the plants have a greater resistance to disease and be less tasty to garden insects.

Gardening organically can be a truly rewarding experience. Not only will your plants be healthier, but any food you grow organically will be extra-delicious--and worry-free!

Product Spotlight: Radius Garden Tools

If you're tired of using the same old garden tools that leave your hands and muscles aching, then let us introduce you to Radius Garden Tools. We believe the truly advanced ergonomic design will help make gardening a more enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Each tool features the Natural Radius Grip, which maximizes your power and comfort while minimizing hand and wrist stress. The sleek, lightweight, aluminum/magnesium multi-functional blades have an exceptional strength to weight ratio.

All of these tools feature high-performance, non-latex handles that provide for a secure and comfortable grip, whether wet or dry. We believe that once you try these products, you will never go back to traditional tools!

• A blend of composted fir bark and forest humus fortified with 15% chicken manure, worm castings, bat guano and kelp meal.

• pH balanced with dolomite and oyster shell lime.

• An all purpose pre-fertilized planting and garden soil amendment.

• Excels as a nutrient-rich top dressing and mulch.