May Edition of Ken Matthews Garden Center's NEW Newsletter:The Garden Post! Is this email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. Like on Facebook Follow on Twitter  Follow on Pinterest June Calendar of Events June 2 @ 10-2pm Perennials - The Best Performers Seminar with Sandy McDougle of Sandy's Plants Please register by clicking here. Sandra McDougle is Owner and Nursery Guru of Sandy’s Plants, Inc.  A former school teacher, Sandy has been growing and propagating perennial plants for fun for many years. Starting as a part time, dig and pot operation, Sandy has grown her business into a thriving nursery that encompasses nearly 35 acres and grows around 2000 varieties of perennials, grasses, herbs and goundcovers in containers, outdoors.  Honing her propagating skills over the years, she now has six greenhouses, where her staff start plants from seeds, un-rooted cuttings, plugs, divisions and magic. June 17 Father's Day June 18-22 Hydrangea Mania   June 21 5-7pm Happy Hour Sale 20% off any 1 item   For more information or to register for the seminars & workshops go to www.kenmatthewsgardencenter.com Perennial Pleasures June is officially perennial month.  When I look around my own yard – I can see why. What was green foliage last month now has buds and blooms, and what was nonexistent is now existent!  The transformation of my yard from even last month to this month is breathtaking!    I started out with a few tubers of peonies, a chunk of yarrow root, and various odds and ends my customers have shared with me.  Not knowing exactly what to do with them, I stuck them in the ground and left them to fend for themselves.  Year after year, they returned bigger and better, and I realized I was onto something.  Today, I have filled every nook and cranny of my yard with perennials.  I have divided, added and divided, added, divided and gosh, I need more yard! I’ll admit, it has been some work, but when I remember what my gardens were in the days of green and what they are right now…full of stunning color, soft textures, sweet fragrances, beautiful butterflies and happy bees…well, I owe it all to perennials.  -Heather Yarrow Botanical - Achillea One of the best perennials to plant for sunny and dry areas. Often seen along roadways and old fields, recognized by its golden yellow blooms swaying in the breeze starting June thru August. Many new varieties offer blooms in shades of pinks and reds. A terrific cut flower and wonderful to dry. Hydrangea! Did you know hydrangea bloom color can change depending on the composition of your soil? If pink is your color, use Encap Fast-Acting Lime.  If blue is your favorite, use Bonide Aluminum Sulfate. However, white hydrangeas will always be white.

Sandra McDougle is Owner and Nursery Guru of Sandy’s Plants, Inc.  A former school teacher, Sandy has been growing and propagating perennial plants for fun for many years. She established her family-owned perennial wholesale and retail nursery, located in Mechanicsville, Virginia, in 1979, after a chance encounter with a nurseryman who spied her colorful garden. Starting as a part time, dig and pot operation, Sandy has grown her business into a thriving nursery that encompasses nearly 35 acres and grows around 2000 varieties of perennials, grasses, herbs and goundcovers in containers, outdoors.  Honing her propagating skills over the years, she now has six greenhouses, where her staff start plants from seeds, un-rooted cuttings, plugs, divisions and magic.  Sandy’s Plants, Inc. provides garden-ready perennial plants to garden centers and landscaping firms throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region and ships STEPABLES^TM all along the East Coast and beyond.  Sandy takes great pride in offering new, unusual and uncommon varieties, many of which she trials and grows in her own display gardens, which she welcomes the public to visit.