Welcome back to the McAdam Garden Center newsletter. We thank you for returning and are very excited about all the information this newsletter will offer.

We hope you'll be able to use our newsletter as a tool to answer many of your gardening questions. As we at McAdam Garden Center celebrate another year, we look to you and say thanks for helping our business thrive.

We will be opening April 1st, weather permitting. If you have questions or comments please call (708) 771-2299.

April 22-24: Earth/Arbor Day!
Pass on the legacy of clean air. Plant a tree today. Receive a FREE seedling tree with any purchase.

For our full year calendar of events, please click here. (pdf)

One of the plants that we always look forward to after a long winter is the forsythia. This early blooming plant is a focal point of early spring, heralding the warming months with a brilliant display of golden yellow blooms. Forsythias bloom before they leaf out, and during full bloom the bare stems are completely covered from base to tips. In early spring, they become the focal point of the landscape, then blend in well with other plants when the rich green foliage emerges after blooming.

These deciduous shrubs are native to eastern Asia, where they have been used in Chinese medicine for their antiseptic effect in treating wounds. They are fast growing, with dwarf varieties reaching 4-5 ft high and almost as wide, while taller growing varieties can reach 8-10 ft high and half as wide. The plants have great structure with an upright arching growth habit that has a somewhat fountain-like effect.

Forsythias not only look great in the landscape, but their branches also are perfect for flower arrangements, thanks to the uniformity of blooms on the branches. They are frost-hardy and easy to grow in well-drained fertile soil. They grow best in a full sun location, so are often used as a living privacy fence after they have fully leafed out. The taller varieties make great individual specimens in the landscape, and can also be used for erosion control on slopes.

Most people prefer the somewhat wild natural look of forsythias, but they can be shaped with regular pruning. This is best done after they have finished blooming, because they flower on the prior year's growth (pruning either too late or too early interrupts the growth/blooming cycle). But no matter how you shape this hardy plant, it will reward you with years and years of spectacular color every spring!

Whether your bulbs bloom on any particular date depends partly on if you used prepared bulbs in the first place. However, timing also depends on how cold you kept the bulbs and at what point you bring them out from their resting place into light and warmth.

Check bowls of bulbs plunged outdoors beneath sand, peat or grit used to keep them cool and dark while roots develop. If the shoots are about 1 inch high, it's time to bring them indoors.

If you have kept bulbs in a cool, dark place indoors, check them periodically, too. Bring them into the light when the shoots are 1-2 inches tall.

Wipe the container clean if it has been plunged outdoors, then place in a light but cool position indoors. Only put bulbs in a warm place once the buds have emerged and are beginning to show color, else the stems may be too long and weak.

Tip: if you sow a bit grass seed on the surface as soon as you bring the bulbs into the light, you should have an attractive little carpet of grass by the time they flower.

Just before the bulbs come into full flower, cut the grass to a height of about 1-2 inches, to make it look even and neat.