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Acer's Florist & Garden Center
Edition 15.38 Acer's Florist & Garden Center September 2015

quote

Quotation of the Week:
"In every walk with nature one receives far more than he seeks."
— John Muir

 
Design center headquarters
 
Farm Stand
 
Fresh Organic Farm Eggs
 
Chimineas
Long Island's largest selection of chimineas! Keep the bugs away and roast marshmallows with the kids this summer!
 
Gift Shop

The Gift Shop at Acer's carries a Full Range Unique Gifts, including Custom Silk Arrangements, Lifetime Candles, and Gardening Accessories. We also have a Full Line of Seasonal Decor that will have your home radiating the spirit of Autumn.

 
September Tasks

In the Kitchen Garden:

  1. Hoe regularly to keep down weeds.

  2. Lift onions and shallots as they become ready.

  3. Continue to thin vegetables sown earlier.

  4. Give plants that need a boost a dose of a quick-acting fertilizer.

  5. Pinch out the growing tips of runner beans when they reach the top of their support.

  6. Pay regular attention to outdoor tomatoes.

  7. Continue to harvest herbs regularly; prepare those in pot to bring inside.

  8. Summer prune cordon and espalier apples if you have not already done so and if shoots are mature enough.

  9. Tidy up summer-flowering strawberries. Cut off old leaves and unwanted runners, remove straw, and control weeds.

  10. Protect fruit against birds if they are troublesome. A fruit cage is ideal.
 

The Flower Garden:

  1. Dead-head plants in borders and containers regularly.

  2. Feed plants in containers to keep the blooms coming, prepare tender annuals to bring inside.

  3. Hoe beds and borders regularly to keep down weeds.

  4. Take semi-ripe cuttings.

  5. Clip beech, holly, hornbeam and yew hedges, and most evergreen hedges, if you have not already done so.

  6. Plant spring-flowering bulbs.

  7. Take fuchsia and pelargonium cuttings.

  8. Sow hardy annuals to overwinter .

  9. Plant lilies.

  10. Clear summer bedding and prepare for spring bedding plants.

  11. Continue to watch for pests and diseases on roses and other vulnerable plants.

  12. Disbud dahlias and chrysanthemums as necessary.

  13. Lift and store dahlias after the first frost.

  14. Lift and store gladioli and other tender bulbs, corms and tubers.

  15. Take in tender aquatic plants from the pond if frost is threatened. Prepare to close small ponds for the winter.
 

The Greenhouse and Conservatory:

  1. Bring in house and greenhouse plants that have been standing outdoors for the summer.

  2. Sow spring-flowering plants such as cyclamen, schizanthus and exacum.

  3. Clean off summer shading washes.

  4. Repot cacti if they need it.

  5. Check that greenhouse heaters are in good working order. Arrange to have them serviced, if necessary.

  6. Pot up and pot on seedling pot-plants as it becomes necessary.

  7. Plant hyacinth for early flowering under glass.

 
 
Bulbs

Many of the plants we call bulbs aren't bulbs at all. It's become common to lump together under this term not only true bulbs, but all plants that grow from a thickened or bulbous storage organ. (Plants like daylilies, clivia, and iris are in a shady area between bulbs and perennials, so you find them discussed in books on bulbs and also in books on perennials.) Here's how bulbs differ so you can tell them apart.

True Bulb
A modified subterranean leaf bud, the true bulb has a basal plate, above which are food-storing scales (rudimentary leaves) surrounding a bud that contains the magic makings of a plant. Some bulbs, like onions, tulips, and daffodils, are tunicate — they're covered with a papery skin. Others, like lilies, are imbricate — they have overlapping scales.

Corm
A thickened subterranean stem that produces a plant. The inside is just a solid piece of tissue. The buds are on top. After bloom the old corm is used up, but new ones have grown on top or at the sides to take its place. Gladioli, sparaxis, and freesia grow from corms.

Rhizome
A thickened stem or branch that grows on the surface of the ground or horizontally underground, such as bearded irises and calla lilies.

Tuber
A thickened stem that serves as a storage chamber but is usually shorter, thicker, and rounder than a rhizome. It grows totally or partially underground. Tuberous begonias, cyclamen, and potatoes grow from tubers.

Tuberous Root
Growing underground, this differs from a tuber in that it's a swollen root rather than a thickened stem. Tuberous roots have growth buds on top in the old stem portion, from which spring the plants. Dahlias and sweet potatoes grow from tuberous roots.

 
Landscape

Are you considering some changes in your landscape for next year? If you're tired of your old garden look or have a brand new yard that needs landscaping, consider our team for all of your design and installation needs.

The staff at Acer’s are experts in landscape design. We know which plants grow well in our area, and our design team is knowledgeable in all of the latest plant introductions and landscape techniques.

We work with you to design and create a look that is unique for you and truly reflects your needs and desires. But many people make the mistake of contacting us in spring when we are already booked up for most of the year. It takes time to design a landscape plan for your home, and we invite you to plan ahead and let us design your landscape plan now so we can add you to our work schedule when the weather warms in spring.

Give us a call today. We're here to make sure all of your garden dreams come true!

 
recipe

What You'll Need:

  • 1 pound eggplant, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 1 large red onion, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 2 medium yellow sweet peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces
  • 1 tablespoon olive or canola oil
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

To Make Sauce:

  • 1 1/2 cups chopped onions
  • 2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
  • 6 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 1/2 teaspoon fennel seed, crushed
  • 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
  • 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
  • 1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon dried thyme
  • 1 (16 ounce) package ziti or other small tube pasta
  • 4 cups chopped fresh spinach
  • 1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese

Step by Step:

  1. In a 15-inch x 10-inch x 1-inch baking pan coated with nonstick cooking spray, combine the eggplant, red onion and yellow peppers. Drizzle with oil; sprinkle with salt.
  2. Bake, uncovered, at 400 degrees F for 35-45 minutes or until edges of peppers begin to brown, stirring every 10 minutes.
  3. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, sauté onions in oil until tender. Add garlic, red pepper flakes and fennel; cook and stir for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, parsley, salt, pepper, sugar and thyme.
  4. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain.
  5. In two greased 2-qt. baking dishes, spread 1/2 cup prepared sauce in each dish; layer a fourth of the pasta, a fourth of the roasted vegetables and 1/2 cup sauce.
  6. Top sauce in both baking dishes with 2 cups spinach and another 1/2 cup sauce. Top with remaining roasted vegetables, pasta and sauce.
  7. Cover and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake 10-15 minutes longer or until heated through and cheese is melted.

Yield: 12 servings.


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2077 Jericho Turnpike, Commack
631-343-7123
www.acersgardencenter.com
Open 7 days a week - 9 AM to 7 PM