Every year, Christensen's plant buyers make an effort to visit our vendor nurseries. We do this to see their material, hear how they are doing, and build relationships. In September and October, we add one more thing to the agenda: tagging trees for the fall and spring dig seasons!

Christensen's goal is to supply our customers with the best material possible. This means trees that are full, have good branching, and that are true to form for the species. The long hours we put into hand picking these trees is well worth it in the end. Because when the trees get to the plant center, we get to see our tags become your tags!

Snow ruins everything

OK, maybe not everything. I had fun playing in the snow as a child, building snowmen, having snowball fights with neighborhood friends, and sledding on the hill in our yard.  There was one year when we had so much snow, it was over my head as I traversed our front sidewalk!! Growing up in Minnesota, snow was part of life just like it is here in Michigan.

However, as I aged, snow became less fun. My family was not into winter sports (skiing, snowmobiling, ice fishing). It just became the white stuff that caused problems.

There was the year that my 17^th birthday weekend was marred by two separate car crashes caused by snow-hidden ice patches. My mother gave me my first curfew after the revving engine of my boyfriend’s truck woke her while we tried to get it unstuck after an unexpected snowfall. Getting married in February, I stressed over the possibility of my in-laws trapped in Fargo, ND and missing our wedding since the interstate would shut down during snowstorms. Trapped in Fargo by blizzards has become an annual problem when we visit for the holidays. As a mother of teenage and adult children, I worry about them driving in it.

But when plans to attend GLTE in January 2025 fell through because of lake effect snow, I decided to try and reframe. I don’t think I will ever be excited to see snow. But with no intention of moving south, it was time to find the positives.

Snow forces us to slow down, literally, and figuratively. Lower road speeds are necessary. But snow also reminds us of the importance of arriving safely at our destination or making the difficult decision not to travel.

Winter is a time of respite for many of us in the Green Industry. Spring, summer and fall can bring long hours of hard work and time lost with family and friends. But winter is quieter, allowing us to catch up. Winter hobbies can be rediscovered.

Smarter Deliveries, Smoother Jobs

In landscaping, timing and coordination are everything. One late pallet can throw off your crew and cost you money. That’s why Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers stocks plants, hardscape, drainage, and lighting—and can deliver them together!

Mixed loads save headaches:

• One ETA, one invoice, one vendor
• Less downtime waiting on material
• Allows more time for plant placement, leading to “upsell” opportunities.

Tips to help deliveries, and your jobsites, run smoothly

• Store plants in a water-accessible area, with shade if possible.
• Store adhesives and polymeric sand in a dry area, such as inside a truck or trailer.
• Stage materials in the order your crew will install them, moving items as few times as possible.

Your partner in sourcing premium materials

When a contractor designs projects mindful of the materials stocked at Christensen’s, it prevents delays and simplifies reorders. This, in turn, improves consistency and keeps projects moving. It also adds the potential of a single delivery.

At the end of the day, single-source purchasing isn’t just convenient, it’s strategic. Let Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers manage the logistics, so your crew can focus on creating landscapes that impress.

For, lo, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone;
The flowers appear on the earth;
The time of the singing of birds is come,
And the voice of the turtle is heard in our land.

                - Song of Solomon as quoted by Ernie Harwell

The older I get, the more I love this quote.  Not only for the sentiment about spring, but also the memory it sparks about my youth.

I spent every spring in my youth listening to Ernie Harwell and Al Kaline covering the Detroit Tigers baseball games on WJR.  I often fell asleep with a pair of headphones on because the game was on the west coast and went farther into the night than I could.  Those happy memories always started every spring with Ernie reciting these words.

For me it marked so many starts.  The start of the baseball season, and being able to listen to Ernie and Al call the games.  The “start” to the end of the school year, and the beginning of summer vacation.  And the start of the nursery season.  Which meant my father would be leaving early, getting home late, working weekends, all the things that we all know and live.

2025 marks my 30^th official year at Christensen’s.  And while numerous things have changed over the last 30 years, it always is so striking at how many things remain the same. (Like my quoting of Song of Solomon… bonus points if you noticed that I’ve quoted it before!)  Winter ends. The snow melts. And semi load after semi load of freshly dug shade and ornamental trees start arriving for the next landscaping season in Michigan.  Shortly after that, my friends, all of you start coming back to visit us at Christensen’s.

Welcome back my friends.  Welcome back.

For the last several years, I have written the end-of-the-year article for our newsletter.  And every year I have the usual struggle of writing about something different, trying not to say the same things that I said last year. 

But this year it feels a bit different.  This year I write this as I close out my first full year as President of our company.  For the past thirty-nine years, my father, Tim Joy, has been at the helm of Christensen’s Plant Center.  Taking over ownership with Frank Huber in 1984…  Surviving the economy of the 1980’s…  Which to hear my father and others of his generation of ownership, was really something. (Don’t complain about your 7% mortgage.  Rates peaked around 15% in the 80’s.  And did not go below 10% for the decade.)  Moving our business from Livonia to its current location in Salem Township in 1989...  Then the boom of the 90’s, when housing soared in metro Detroit.  And the new facility they built and expected not to outgrow in their careers was outgrown in five years.  So, they expanded it again, and again.  The market then completed its cycle with the housing crash in 2006-2008.  Our business constricted, as did the entire landscape market... And I watched my father drink Maalox every night, straight from the bottle that lived on the top shelf of our refrigerator.  To the post-crash boom…  As landscape projects soared, and inventories bottomed out.  Thirty-nine years to come full circle.

I am forever grateful for the lessons of the last 4 decades. Now. 39 years later, I have the lead.  I am grateful that my dad is still around for me to access that wealth of knowledge.  I am grateful for the relationships that I have made over my first years and for the counsel from a great many of them.  But it definitely feels a bit different. 

To the staff of Christensen’s Plant Center, my most profound thanks. This team is the reason that Christensen’s is what it is today.

To our wonderful customers. Thank you for your continued business. I look forward to seeing each of you next year. We have some cool things coming in the future. We all hope you'll be with us for the next 39 years!

May you all have a safe and blessed holiday season.

Christensen’s wants to support you, our customers, in every way we can.  With that goal in mind, we have brought on a new supplier to offer bagged deicing products for this winter.

While the weather has been rather mild this autumn, we all know that the snowy, icy cold conditions are just around the corner. We have brought in the first two pallets (one each in the Plant and Hardscape Centers) of the Green Earth Safety Salt for you to pick up with your other fall landscape supplies. 

All of the deicing products come in 50 lb bags, 50 bags to a pallet. Pricing varies across the several mixes available, but all of them enjoy a quantity break price when purchased by the pallet. If you’re looking for 16 pallets (800 bags) or more, we’re happy to quote higher quantity breaks, just get in touch with your customer service rep.

We are offering 4 different deicer mixes:

• Green Earth Safety Salt (AKA Icinator Premium) – Pure sodium chloride infused with calcium chloride for effective snow and ice melting at -24°F. This mix is 18% more effective than its competitor at 14°F ($8.25/bag)
• Green Earth Pet Friendly – Designed to be safe for pets and the environment alike. Improved deicing with less overall environmental damage that will not dry out pets paws. ($9.75/bag)
• Icinator – Pure sodium chloride with calcium chloride that melts ice and snow at 5°F effectively ($8.25/bag)
• Northern MH Rock Salt+ - 98% Sodium Chloride that contains Calcium Chloride to enhance melting. ($7.00/bag)

All of these products are eco-friendly and contain upcycled sodium chloride while still meeting de-icing goals.

Delivery is available for orders over 4 pallets in full pallet increments within the delivery zone for $150.  The delivery zone takes in I-94 north to 1-96/696 and US-23 east to US-24 (Telegraph). (Outside of the delivery zone will need to be quoted based on location) We can deliver to yards or jobsites and to multiple locations for an additional fee.  Talk to your customer service rep about your options for delivery.

As always, we’re happy to work with you and quote on special projects, just give us a call!

What do Jaws, Jimmy Hendrix and emergency sirens have in common? They all include the ‘Devil’s Trill’! “What is this?” you may ask. Well, it is ‘Satan in music’ and was once banned by the Catholic Church for being a “demonic combo”! The Violin Sonata in G minor by Tartini or the Devil’s Trill Sonata is the notes F & B played together and they clash so much it gives us an unnatural feeling of foreboding. Some people twitch when they hear these keys played together.

Police sirens are a perfect example. They are typically the notes C and G flat – can you hear them in your head? They clash – trouble is coming. You will find the ‘Devil’s Trill’ in movies like The Exorcist, The Shining and of course Jaws (da-dum… da-dum; Can you see the shark coming? The music gets faster as the shark gets closer… da-dum. P.S. Did you know that it’s a Tuba in Jaws?). Or maybe you are into the Rolling Stones (“Sympathy for the Devil”), Metallica ,(“Enter the Sandman” Fun note: this is my cup of tea!) Led Zepplin, (“The Rover”, “Since I’ve Been Loving You”) or, of course, “Purple Haze” (Jimmy plays the B-flat while bass man Redding plays an E, da-dant… da-dant, in the opening riffs) These groups use the demonic combo!

You get the idea but what has this to do with plants – nothing. What does this have to do with Kim – lots! We receive a lot of trucks from growers. Some are small – some are large. I try my hardest to get out and look at every truck and the material. But I must admit there are some nurseries that as I am about to look into the back of the truck and *wham*, a “Devils Trill”!! I also hear it when we open the houses up in the spring and, of course, when someone walks into my office and says, “I need a favor!” It is usually Jaws that plays in my head at work, but, nevertheless, it is in my head as a sign of foreboding! (Usually, I internally yell at myself for thinking that way – especially when the load is beautiful or the favor is easy!)

The ‘Devil’s Trill’ itself was composed by Giuseppe Tartini. An Austrian dude from the late 1600’s. He has two claims to fame – He was the first ever owner of a Stradivarius Violin and his Sonata in G Minor or “The Devils Trill”. The Sonata was basically the first “Devil Went Down to Georgia” style song (and story).

I will admit I also get it in my head before I step into the doctor’s office, dentist, and even sometimes as I about to put on the news. Funny thing is that in those moments the trill I hear is ‘Purple Haze’, I didn’t know it had a name, but it does and a cool one at that. (Not really sure where I learned the name or why.)

A couple of last Devils Trill footnotes.

• Did you watch the Sopranos? The season finale? Because they purposefully used Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” and purposefully ended it at the ‘Devil’s Trill’ just to make it even more irksome.
• It is the hardest piece of music to play on a violin.
• If Giuseppe lived in our age, he would have been in a major Heavy Metal Band. 

Christensen’s is dedicated to always doing a better job of supplying landscapers. To that end, we added Techo-Bloc to our hardscape lineup 2 years ago and this year we’re bringing back Oaks Landscape Products. 

Right now, we can order whatever you need from the full line of Oaks pavers, slabs, steps, curbs, walls, copings, and accessories. Large orders of 10 pallets or more can be here at Christensen’s within 2 days of ordering. You can pick up smaller orders in Wixom on the same day. Christensen’s can bring in orders of less than 10 pallets if an adequate lead time is available.

Next year, we’re planning to stock several product lines. Since we’re still in the early stage, you can let us know what products you might need at a moment's notice, so we can have it ready for you in 2025. Just stop by and talk to one of our friendly Hardscape Team members about the products on your wish list.

One product that we’re excited to have available in this product line is the Nueva 24”x24” Smooth Pillar Caps (in two colors). Besides the intended purpose of topping off pillars, these can also be used as a slab paver for walkways or in gapped patios for the popular “California look.” The Nueva offers curbs, walls, steps, slabs, and pavers in matching colors to complete a uniform space with the same look.

Oaks Landscape Products introduces a different price point to the Christensen’s Hardscape product lineup. New sample boards with examples of the rich Oaks colors and styles have arrived in the yard, so we would like to invite you to peruse our selection of all of our Hardscape lines, now including, Unilock, High Format, Techo-Bloc, Fendt, and Oaks.

For the first time since 1988, Christensen’s will open to the public! Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Centers end of season Yard Sale will be held on September 14, 2024 and October 12, 2024. Our entire line of products, plant material and hardscape products, will be available. These events are to reduce our overwinter inventory levels and allow us to refresh and restock with new inventory for the 2025 season. We will be offering our products at our wholesale trade pricing with select products at special sale prices. The event is cash (or credit card) and carry, and all sales are final; we will not be tagging or holding product for pick up later and we will not be offering delivery, planting, or installation services.

How will our customers feel about us selling to the public? Our intent is not to compete with our customers, but with the retailers and box stores. The do-it-yourself person that will be attracted to this event is not someone who would normally hire a professional landscaper for their project. Truly, this will be a benefit to our customers by allowing us to sell our products that haven’t been turning and replace them with fresh more popular items. The pricing for this event is our catalog price with no cash or quantity discounts available; there will be selected items on sale with special pricing. We will be making our pricing available through a digital link that will only be available for the event.

No warranty or guarantee is expressed or implied, other than plant material is true to name and disease free at time of sale. All sales are final; we will not be accepting returns or offering exchanges.

There’s a reason I work in the Hardscape Center amidst the limestone aggregate and the concrete pavers... I’m easily distracted by rocks.  (...as you might remember from my previous Sticks & Stones article) It makes perfect sense that my vacation time allows me to get closer to some monumental formations.

On a recent trip to Arizona I was able to check two places off of my bucket list.

The first story begins 50,000 years ago when a meteor slammed down onto what is now Arizona. The impact struck with more power than early nuclear bombs, creating a crater ¾ mile wide, 600’ deep! The shockwave vaporized everything near ground zero, pushing winds outward at over 600mph within a 2 mile radius. Animals over 1 mile away likely were killed by the pressure wave and debris, vegetation was destroyed over 200 miles away, and regional weather would have been affected for several weeks.  

Early non-indigenous people thought the crater was an extinct volcano caldera. In 1902 self-taught geologist Daniel Barringer proposed the idea that the geological feature was actually a collision crater. It wasn’t until the 1950’s that this idea was accepted by the scientific community.   The site of the crater is currently preserved by the Barringer family. It’s a family-friendly tourist site if you’re in the Flagstaff/Sedona area.

This second story starts back even further in time. Just a short drive away from Barringer Crater, but 200 million years back in time, Arizona was covered in forests and swampy rivers.   I was originally excited about seeing so much petrified wood and quartz, but upon arriving at Petrified Forest National Park, I became enamored by the gorgeous colors painted across the mounds of layered sediment. Scattered almost everywhere in the park are logs and pieces of petrified wood. In places, they look like hundreds of petrified wood “headstones”, memorializing a place in time where these trees once stood.

It was a surreal experience walking behind my long evening shadow, feeling the cool sinking air on my face as I strolled between mounds of bold reds and crumbly gray rocks and fossils. Then, to turn around and witness the sun sinking beneath the horizon. To say it took my breath away is an understatement.  I became lost in wonder and pure beauty.     

Historic Route 66 runs through the park, so if you’re thinking of a road trip, this would be an excellent stop.

Where’s next on my bucket list?  Someday I’d like to check out 'Jurassic Coast' in England and The Gates Of Hell in Turkmenistan!