During the height of the pandemic, when most of us were working from home, I was sent a link to a recorded Zoom video about horticultural therapy. I had never heard of horticultural therapy, but during the presentation, I learned that it is a professional practice that is used to improve lives by connecting people with plants. Being a plant lover, a professional horticulturalist, and an instructor for Arizona Cooperative Extension’s Master Gardener Program, I was immediately hooked. I enrolled in a certificate program and began the process to become a registered horticultural therapist.

Things began to return to normal in the summer of 2021. Our County Extension office reopened to the public and students were back in the classroom at Killip Elementary School, a stone’s throw from our office in Sunnyside. But in August 2021, a devastating flood ripped through the neighborhood.

As many of you may remember, a few years ago, the Museum Fire burned the mountain above our town. A major rain event occurred on the burn scar to produce this flood, one of the largest flooding events in Flagstaff’s history. We were trapped in our county building when the floodwaters hit. Waters rushed down our street, creating whitewater rapids between our office and nearby Killip. Our building was spared but the elementary school was not so fortunate. Water and sludge coursed into the school and students and teachers were trapped inside. It was a traumatic event for all.

The stress the children had experienced from the pandemic was now exacerbated by this disaster. Just days into the new school year, students were, again, back at home in front of computer screens for their lessons. Students faced yet another ordeal; the school was so badly damaged by the flood that it was unusable.

But there was hope. Plans for a new school were in place prior to the flooding. And a community group of local partners, including Coconino Cooperative Extension, was awarded a national grant as one of 10 cities to make nature equitable and accessible for all students through the Green Schoolyards Initiative. Killip was selected as our pilot school, and I was asked to be a part of the Flagstaff team specifically because of my training in horticultural therapy. With both the pandemic and post-wildfire flooding, if ever there was a school that could benefit from wellness programming, Killip was it.

Thanks to the support of many community partners and Master Gardeners, several children from Killip have participated in a gardening wellness program that uses plants to improve mood, develop social skills, and instill appreciation for living things, including each other. If you’re a regular Warner’s customer and you’re reading this blog, you are most likely aware of the social, emotional, and other health benefits that are associated with gardening.

In the Grow with Us Gardening Club, students learn that plants have special adaptations that allow them to thrive in difficult situations. Plants are resillient and so are kids. Students learn that people and plants have a lot in common; we need nutrients, water, a place to live, and light to stay healthy. Students practice mindfulness techniques by taking in the sights, smells, and sounds found in the garden. They work together to grow plants from seed, care for them, and enjoy the sweet rewards of their labor. They also unite to tidy up the mess that typically results when kids, water, soil, and seeds come together!

One of the most positive observations I make during our time together is that the children seldom leave the garden feeling bad. No matter what happens during the day, it all gets left behind when they walk through the garden gate. They eagerly search the beds for veggies to pick, run through the tall sunflowers, socialize, and work together to care for the garden, a garden that was covered in flood debris and heavy equipment just a year ago.

And if there are fresh strawberries or cherry tomatoes to taste, things don’t get much better than that.

Gayle Gratop
Assistant Agent, Family Consumer and Health Sciences
The University of Arizona
Coconino County Cooperative Extension

Winter weather is coming and now is the time to protect your outdoor space. We’ll be holding a special free class on winterizing on Saturday, Oct. 14 at 10 am here at Warner’s Nursery, but we also wanted to provide you with this handy checklist as you prepare for the cold weather to come.

Irrigation systems

First and foremost, you need to winterize your irrigation system. If you have a drip irrigation system, it will need to be drained for winter and the system turned off to prevent freezing. If you have a sprinkler system (with PVC pipe), the pipes should be blown out to ensure no water remains in the lines. You’ll need a compressor for that or have it done by a professional. Call Warner’s at 928.774.5911 if you would like our winterizing service or if you need some advice; we’d be happy to talk with you.

Cleanup

Winter prep also means clean up time. Rake up debris in your yard, get dead plants and old roots out of your vegetable garden and remove annual plants and debris. For perennials, cut back any unsightly plants to slightly above ground level, but leave desirable seed heads and foliage of select perennials for contrast. You’ll also want to apply two to three inches of mulch to perennial beds (and we don’t mean the fallen leaves or pine needles you’ve just cleaned up. For best results we recommend using actual mulch; it gives better protection.) You should also add a couple of inches of compost on top of vegetable garden soil.

Trees, shrubs and plants

Add fertilizer to trees, shrubs, perennials, flower beds and lawn. A great product to try is Ferti-lome’s Winterizer, which is specially formulated to help your lawn, trees, shrubs, ornamentals, and evergreens withstand the hazards of a cold winter.

For potted plants, bring in those susceptible to winter weather and insulate pots that are going to stay outside. Make sure plants are accessible for watering during the winter months and water as needed. For bulbs, it’s a mixed bag – spring blooming bulbs should be in the ground before it freezes, but tender bulbs like Cannas and tuberous begonias (any bulb that can survive zone 9 and below) should be gently dug up and stored in vermiculite. 

Remember to water your trees and shrubs. The snow may make it feel like they are getting watered, but we live in a dry area and most years there isn’t enough moisture to sustain trees and shrubs properly. (And yes, we’ve suggested you turn off your irrigation system for the winter, so this does mean bundling up and hand watering.) Also, it’s a good idea to apply about two to three inches of bark mulch for trees, leaving space around the tree trunks, and also apply mulch to the cane on roses and shrubs.

Water features and tools

Protect or bring in water features like bird baths and fountains (after draining and cleaning them!) and any garden furniture that shouldn’t be left out in the harsh weather.

If you have a pond, give fish needed vitamins for hibernation; bring the pump & filter indoors; drain the excess water out of the lines and clear away any debris.

Finally, this is a great time to clean and oil your wooden and metal tools, and drain the gas from power tools you’ll be storing.

Enjoy the winter weather, and know with these steps you are not only maintaining your garden, but also laying the groundwork for a beautiful outdoor space next year. If you have any questions, please give us a call!

Happy Gardening,
Misti

This is a key time to get some fabulous fall foliage into your garden.

The days may be getting cooler, but the ground is still warm, which makes it a great time to plant trees, shrubs, and perennials that are at their finest in the fall.

Here are some plants (all of which are in stock at Warner’s) to consider:

TREES

Autumn Blaze Maple & Sugar Maple. Both of these trees boast of amazingly beautiful foliage in the fall. The Autumn Blaze, true to its name, has fiery orange and red leaves, while the Sugar Maple has a slightly wider range of color and includes gold as well as orange and red. Both require some space as they grow pretty tall (up to 55 feet for an Autumn Blaze and up to 75 feet for a Sugar Maple). In the summer, Autumn Blaze has lovely light green leaves, while the Sugar Maple has deep green glossy leaves.

Amur Maple. The Amur Maple is a smaller (20 foot high) tree that is known for its tolerance for harsh conditions, including cold winters and poor soil. They have leaves that are longer than they are wide and turn a brilliant red in fall. Amur Maples are relatively small trees, typically reaching heights of 20-30 feet.  In the spring and early summer, clusters of yellow-white fragrant flowers will appear as young leaves are unfurling.

Flowering Crabapple. Flowering Crabapples have showy fall foliage (with colors ranging from yellow to purple) but they are best known for their beautiful spring blooms in a variety of colors, including white, pink, red, and purple. This is another smaller tree and typically grows to heights of 15 to 25 feet.

Flowering Pear. Ornamental Flowering Pears are smaller trees with a general teardrop shape that are very tolerant. They thrive in a variety of soil types and while they prefer moisture, they can stand heat and dry conditions. This is another smaller tree that has both spring and fall color. When the weather is cooler, it will produce striking claret and purple hues, and then a gorgeous burst of white flowers during the spring.

Honey Locust. The graceful oval foliage of the Honey Locust (also known as a Thorny Locust) turns a beautiful shade of gold during the fall. Meanwhile, these trees have beautiful spreading canopies, which provide a generous amount of shade during the summer months. 

SHRUBS & GRASSES

Aronia (Chokeberry). Chokeberries are ornamental shrubs (although they can be trained into small trees) that produce the aronia berries, which can be eaten raw off the bush, but are more frequently processed into jam, syrup, juice, and even wine! Leaves can turn yellow or red in the fall, depending on the species.

Burning Bush. The Burning Bush is a popular ornamental shrub that is known for its bright red leaves in the fall. Burning Bushes can grow to heights of 10-15 feet and have a dense branching habit, often making the bush wider than it is tall.

Karl Foerster Grass. Also known as Feather Reed Grass, this plant has beautiful and tall red-bronze feathery flower spikes that last throughout the fall. 

PERENNIALS

And we couldn’t do an article about the fabulous colors of fall without a mention of two of our favorite perennials – mums and asters.

First cultivated in China, chrysanthemums or “mums” were first developed more than 600 years ago. A staple of most fall gardens, the colors range from bright white to deep bronze. Fun fact: Mum flowers look like they have a multitude of petals, but those “petals” are actually individual “ray” and “disc” florets. (The rays looks like the petals and the flat disc florets serve as the center button of the mum.) Clustered together, they give us what we know as a mum bloom.

Asters have a starburst arrangement of bright petals, which most often surround a yellow center. The flowers are small but numerous, and bloom around the autumn equinox, which will be later in September this year.

We look forward to seeing you this fall at Warner’s and helping bring some beautiful foliage color to your home.

Happy Gardening,
Misti

Blood supplies nationwide continue to be at critically low levels.

Summer brings a surge in need coupled with low donation rates as people go away on vacations and fewer businesses and organizations host blood drives.

To help combat this situation, Warner’s Nursery will be hold a blood drive with Vitalant on Friday, September 15 from noon to 5 pm.

Please register today to make your appointment to save a life by giving blood.

“If enough blood is not available at any given moment, delays in patient care can have life-threatening consequences,” Vitalant Chief Medical and Scientific Officer Dr. Ralph Vassallo said. “By making an appointment today and donating tomorrow, next week, even next month, you become a lifeline for patients.” 

It’s estimated that every two seconds, someone in the U.S. is in need of blood. And the blood that is donated doesn’t have a long shelf life: platelets (critical for people with clotting problems, cancer, or undergoing major surgery) are only good for about five days and red blood cells (needed for acute blood loss or transfusions) only last for about 42 days.

That’s why your donation is so very vital, particularly while supplies are so low.

Basic Eligibility Requirements to Donate Blood

• Must be at least 16 years old
• Weight at least 110 pounds
• Be in good overall health
• Bring some form of identification
• Eat within two hours ahead of donation

In addition to the good feeling you’ll get from donating blood, there’s some other benefits, including a coupon for 15% off regularly priced items at Warner’s. You’ll also be entered into a  drawing for a chance to win one of two $50 gift certificates from Warner’s.

All you need to do to sign up is go to the Vitalant website, click on “blood drive code” and enter the code “P2AFN.”

Thank you so much and we look forward to seeing you on Friday, September 15.

Happy Gardening (and Lifesaving),
Misti