While most people in our industry are very active throughout the busy season, as November dwindles into December, many of you will head toward hibernation and less movement. Personally, as my roles have changed here at Christensen's, I’ve found myself at a desk for more and more of my work day.

Of course, we know that there are an astounding number of health and productivity benefits associated with exercise and physical activity. Aside from obvious cardio and flexibility benefits, physical activity can improve concentration, lower stress, and help cut down on snacking at your desk. It really can make the day easier to get through!

When I was working outside I never really thought about how many steps I took, or if I got my heart rate up a couple of times per day, it just happened. Now,I have realized that staying active and flexible needs to be a built-in part of my day.

Here are a couple of ways to fit exercise into your busy schedule:

Stretching is something that I wish I had been doing my whole life. Now, I start the day with a morning stretch as I roll out of bed. It’s a mashup of yoga and a high school gym class warmup. I look like an idiot, but it sure feels great afterward. It only takes a couple minutes!

If the mood hits me right, I’ll immediately follow the stretching with some basic Qigong exercises. Qigong can easily be fit in during a workday. Internet search “qi clearing” for tips on thymus thumping, leg slapping, bouncing. Think about moments when you have a spare couple minutes like when waiting on the microwave at breaktime, or when you get back to your desk before you sit down. I like doing one of my favorites called “knocking on the doors of life” whilst talking on the phone.

Something that I found important to do in the afternoon is getting my heart rate up. That last hour of the day can be tough to get through, but it’s a lot easier when you are feeling invigorated with your blood pumping. Jogging in place is one way, doing some push-ups against a desk works, too. Each day at 3:30 our computers tabulate the days business activity. This “countdown” event has turned into a great a reminder to get up and move! In the Hardscape building, we have endearingly called this afternoon cardio session “Countdown Calisthenics”. Our method encompasses a Nordic walk with a straight leg stretch and a torso twist. Stop by the Hardscape center sometime and mention the "cardio walk." I’ll show you how to do it, and we can share a healthy laugh. 

I get it. It’s the Green Industry, and we only have so much time before Momma Nature and Old Man Winter team up to turn our green landscapes into a brownish white, salt-sprayed, rigid, unattractive frozen tundra, AKA Southeast Michigan from January thru March.

We do as much as we possibly can with the limited hours in a day to get the job done and move on to the next. For those of us experienced plantsmen, we all say that we just get used to it, which, in my opinion, is true. Sure, the first month or two is a little rough, but then we get acclimated and it doesn’t seem like a big deal anymore.

But again, with all that being said… it all involves time. The Rolling Stones had a song “Time Is On My Side”, which for some that’s great. In the past few years, I had come to relate to Australian author Steve Douglas who said: “Time is your only enemy, it disappears very quickly and never gives you a second chance.”

I don’t have facts to provide, or references to share with this article. This is based on my personal experience and my opinion. Please bear with me.

But then on Memorial Day weekend, we moved back to our hometown for a new start. At this point, we both dropped some of our jobs and things were beginning to get back on track. This is what we needed to do. Soon after the move, my mother calls me and says “Hey sweetie, I haven’t seen you in months, I know you’ve been incredibly busy, but I’d like to see you.” I said, “You know, you’re right, Mom. What day would work best for ya?”.

We spent three hours together, and I FINALLY had nothing but GOOD news to share with her for a change. My doom and gloom attitude was finally beginning to dissipate and I was proud to tell her that we are moving in the right direction at a rapid pace! Mom was glowing with happiness, and it was one of the greatest visits we’ve ever had. Now that I moved back locally, and my siblings are now within 15 minutes of us, things were going to be great.

A week and a half later, I got a call from my sister at 6 in the morning telling me that mom passed away overnight. I crumbled. I began to return to my former status of “What’s the point of trying so hard when all I’m going to experience is another loss?”. We shared the news with family, and with our close friends whom we haven’t seen in months. Everyone we knew rallied and came together. Our family, friends, coworkers, and loved ones put “time” aside out of their busy schedules and commitments to provide whatever support they could in our time of mourning. I cannot thank everyone enough.

My mother always had old sayings that she would throw at us, but the one that she had been using over the past couple of years, whether it was the end of a phone call or a visit, and it was the last words she said to me:

            “I love you, Sweetie. Take care of each other”.

I will, Mom. I love you.

So, by now most people know that I am a hobbyist. I have everything from R/C cars, planes, helicopters, drones, and even an r/c boat. That’s all great stuff for the outdoors, but when winter comes, I am a solid inside guy. I don’t ice fish or ski; I have never even sat on a snowmobile, however, I have just as many indoor hobbies as I do outdoor. One of my favorites is working on a model train layout.

The train layout is around 120’ square feet and takes up ½ of my basement. I have modeled it after a modern-day early 2000 to 2010 era. This can make it challenging to find modern buildings, vehicles, and industrial equipment. Luckily though, the landscape materials are easy to find, and as many styles and designs have changed through the years, the core material is still the same. The species and cultivars of real plant materials may have changed, but on a 1/87 scale, a tiny green leaf is still a tiny green leaf.

The look that I am trying to recreate is loosely modeled around the Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio area. These areas are similar but also have a little variety between themselves such as the lush forests in the upper lower peninsula to the flatlands near Columbus and Fort Wayne. So, this involves me taking a variety of pictures in a variety of locations. Not all scenes that are being modeled are in a landscaped area like homes and businesses. I have more pictures of plants and scenery in their natural wild unadulterated habitats.  With as close to realism as you can get being the goal you want the landscape to not only make sense, but to be realistically possible. On my layout, I have a city scene, an industrial scene, and carnival scene and then a light-up wilderness scene underneath the layout itself. All these scenes allow me to have tremendous options and unlimited creative designs.

The scenes that I think are both the most challenging and most fun to create are the maintained scenes, a truly landscaped area. Some materials are store-bought, but many items are handcrafted, one-of-a-kind items. Adding mulch beds, manicured boxwoods or arborvitaes for rows and hedges, flowering shrubs, or perennials. Even a couple of mulch volcanos around trees; remember the idea is what you see in real life and not how it should be. Applying rust lines around a building to show that there is irrigation, lines in the lawn for mow patterns. The diligence to the details is just as prevalent in the hobby as it is in the real world with one exception, none of my stuff dies or needs water!

I have had one person ask me why there are no segmented walls or brick paver designs, since, after all, that is what I deal with every day, and not so much on the greener side of things. I explained that the scale being so small, the wall stones would be half the size of a piece of rice. Then I showed him the brick inlays in the city sidewalks around trees and sidewalk crosswalks!

I think everyone takes a piece of the work home with them, and I am no different. I am not a plant guy, but I have learned so much from being around so many creative landscapers and great employees. So, I have taken that knowledge that they shared with me and put it into my own hobby. I enjoy creating landscapes and buildings as much as just watching the layout. Watching a weathered and detailed CSX EMD go by pulling over fifty weathered, graphited, and dilapidated railcars next to a realistic backdrop is like watching fish in an aquarium, or maybe a relaxing night in your backyard on the patio next to a bonfire.

When Does Specializing Turn Into Hoarding?

I’ll just come out and say it. I am a Collector. Over the years I have built - and dispersed – so many collections, in categories such as craft supplies, books, glass paperweights, pink flamingos, Westmoreland milk glass, hardy geraniums, hosta, tools and hardware, office supplies, and for a while in the 80’s, budgerigars. At one point I had 18 of them in a giant flight cage. Good times.

It’s an all-American pastime as shown by the popularity of reality shows about hoarders and people who bid on the undisclosed contents of abandoned storage lockers. I haven’t slid so far; I prefer to do my collecting one piece at a time.

But when does “collecting” cross the line into hoarding? To me, collection is all about doing a deep dive into a particular subject and learning as much as you can about it. When I am studying a new topic, reference books get involved, and talking to experts in the subject, joining Reddits or groups, and getting as much hands-on experience as possible. For instance, I have collected figural cast iron - doorstops, bottle openers, party favors, door knockers and bookends – for years and I am pretty good at spotting reproductions and knock-offs.

When you really love something it’s easy to get caught up into accumulating, and it can be a rude surprise to look around one day and realize there is not one more square inch in your garden to wedge a single additional hosta, even though you are pretty sure you DON’T already have one virtually identical. That’s where we get to the critical difference between a “collector” and a “hoarder”. If you can’t part with your duplicates or lesser-value pieces; the books you’ve read ages ago and won’t look at again, stuff that’s broken or stuff that you MIGHT find a use for …someday… well, now you’re slipping into hoarder territory. News flash: your kids don’t want your stuff. You might want to winnow down your belongings before it gets bad.

I am not quite there yet. Yesterday I spent ten or twelve hours moving all my house plants back indoors after their summer vacation. Somehow there are more of them now than what went out this spring. I don’t know what happened! I have plants all over the house, on shelves and étagères, under lights and crammed into the windows. I am kind of proud of the fact that I also said farewell to a few of them! I am not a hoarder after all. Just don’t ask me how many house plants I have.

I like to call this time of year ‘the season of anticipation.’ Over the years, as I’ve developed my patience, I have come to enjoy the sweet ache of waiting. My son, on the other hand, is in anguish waiting for each holiday to arrive, starting with Halloween. And after each one is over in the blink of an eye, he’ll be in anguish until the next one arrives.  

Of course, I have been trying to teach him the value of waiting. We've defined "patience" as "waiting with a good attitude" in our family.  If you ask him what patience is, he'll use that exact quote with an eye-roll and sing-song voice... which is sort of the opposite of the definition. 

In true childhood fashion, the lesson didn’t really sink in until his teacher had them plant seeds and they watched them germinate in a clear cup. He dutifully informed me that, “Even though you can’t see it, the seeds are working hard underneath the ground, taking up nutrients and growing roots.” I told him that the holidays were the same thing. Even though he couldn’t see it, Mom and his family were working hard to prepare for the events. He scowled and ran off.

Nothing in horticulture elicits more anticipation than bulbs. As so many aspects of our life have sped up (I blame online shopping), nature continues to keep her own time. And, for me, there’s something reassuring in having to patiently wait for an investment into the landscape. I’m sure for you, as landscape professionals, bulbs can be a hard sell in a “Want-It-Now” culture.

But the reward of early spring blooms in multiple colors and forms is something that everyone loves. This time of year, it’s important to communicate with your customers about the benefits of planting spring bulbs now.

Come in and see the many options we offer. Take pictures to share with your customers. I love our “wall of bulbs”. It’s a wonderful way to see and choose your favorites. This beautiful and tempting full rack of color is the reason I purchased way more bulbs than I can plant by myself. Fortunately, I have a ready supply of labor because my son has become very excited about planting. Of course, once we plant our tulips, daffodils and allium, I’m sure he’ll be in anguish for spring.

Growing and caring for plants is my passion. As if growing tens of thousands of perennials a year here at Christensen’s Plant Center wasn’t enough, I have taken my love for plants home with me. I currently have 20+ houseplants that I care for. The key to success is knowledge and experience. It is important to know what to do, and what not to do. Proper plant care will ensure that your plants thrive, and do not suffer or die (my death count is quite impressive). It has taken years of trial and error to figure out what works best, but I am still learning. If you have any interest in becoming a houseplant novice, this article will provide tips, suggestions, and things to consider.

Houseplants have different demands, requiring individual watering, sunlight, and soil needs. You will want to know each plant’s distinct needs when choosing what to grow. I recommend starting with easy-to-grow houseplants and then move up in skill level from there. My favorite plants to grow are Pothos varieties. These are vining plants that can get very long. Once they get lengthy, they can be “chopped and propped” which means they can be cut into pieces for propagation. To propagate, I cut off a 3-4” piece right below a leaf node (where the leaf meets a stem), place in water, and watch them root. Once rooted, I place them in a pot of soil, fertilize, and watch as they take off. The ability to propagate is one of my favorite features of these plants. Pothos, Snake Plants, Bamboo, Peace Lily, and Spider Plants are among the easiest to grow. While Orchids, Ferns, Fiddle Leaf Fig, Succulents (like string of pearls), and air plants are among the most challenging. Consider how much time, and effort you have and are willing to give to plants at home when deciding what to plant.

Another factor to consider when growing houseplants is watering needs. Some plants can be watered once a week, while others would prefer once a month (or when soil dries out completely). I also like to water my plants on a schedule and mark it on my calendar. I always check the dampness of soil with my finger before adding more water. Overwatering is an easy way to kill houseplants, succulents especially.

Growing houseplants is beneficial to mental and physical health, air quality, productivity, connectedness to nature, and is aesthetically pleasing as home décor. For these reasons, I highly recommend growing and enjoying houseplants in your space. This hobby is something that keeps me happy and busy, and maybe you will enjoy it too.

**Authors note: Husbands/wives/partners/roommates etc. are not always as enthusiastic as you are about turning your home into a jungle. Please keep that in mind when trying to fill every space available with houseplants. Be sure to use the above benefits to try to persuade them! However, compromise might be necessary.
HAPPY PLANTING!!

As many of you know, I have brought my dog to work with for the last several years. You all got to know the gentle white giant named Garin. My faithful German wirehaired pointer became a fixture here at Christensen’s.

I lost Garin in 2020 after 15 wonderful years. He was there for me through a very large part of my adult life. The birth of my son, divorce, getting remarried, accepting the bonus kids and animals into the house (Two bonus kids, three dogs, three cats. Yep, my wife is an animal lover.) 

Whether it is the ladies, who Jango has trained it requires a dog cookie from my office for them to pass by to the bathroom, or the sales team in the office who hide their lunch, but bring in treats for him or our perennial staff who cannot let him pass without getting a “fix” of Jango or the conference room chair that Jango has claimed as his during our meetings (complete with the meeting stopping groan as he rolls over, that leads to a round of laughter.), it is clear that Jango has taken a place on the staff of Christensen’s.

Make sure you get to see Jango the next time you stop in. He is great at taking away the stress of our season and putting a smile on your face with just a few strokes of his coat.

As I sit here in the lull of August thinking about what to write my article on, nothing comes to mind. Usually, ideas will come to mind pretty quickly, but with 2 weeks away from getting married and all the prep and planning, topic ideas are just not flowing at the moment!

However, we had a meeting to inform our staff about an invasive pest that is making its way to Michigan, The Spotted Lanternfly (Lycorma delicatula). I’ve done an article about Cicadas in the past, so I thought this would be a good opportunity to share a little about what we learned in an effort to help inform you.

Spotted Lanternflies are native to China, Vietnam, and India. It was first reported in the states in 2014; believed to have come in on a shipment of landscape rocks found in Pennsylvania. Since then, they have been more detected in the eastern states such as Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and New Jersey, slowly moving closer to Michigan over the past few years. Just this month, a small batch was found in Pontiac, MI, and were likely brought in on a shipment of plant material or even on the truck itself. Think of all the stinkbugs you see in the spring. Those also came from China to Pennsylvania and have now spread across the U.S in a matter of 25 years. Sound Familiar?

The problem with these pests is that they can wreak havoc on farms, forests, grape vineyards, and orchards. They do not necessarily kill the plant but instead contribute to the plant’s mortality. They first weaken the plant by sucking sap from the hardwood areas and restricting photosynthesis. Doing so results in well… A LOT of pooping called ‘Honeydew’. This attracts insects, disease, and sooty mold, aiding in the possible fatality of the crop. Host plants for Spotted Lanternflies to feed on include but are not limited to species such as maples, walnut, willows, apple, and grape. Their primary choice is a tree native to China called Tree of Heaven (Ailanthus Altissima) which looks like a large Sumac that can reach 60’ in height. It is a very invasive tree that forms thickets all over the U.S. and Canada.

After this, they reach their adult phase and will grow wings and reach up to an inch in length. The body becomes black in color. The red that made them highly visible before is now only on their hind wings which are now covered by their forewings that are grey with black spots. They complete their cycle by laying eggs in September-November and eventually dying come first frost.

Where they are native, they have a ton of predators to help with infestation. Unfortunately, they do not have many predators here. The main ones being Praying Mantis, and Spiders. Experts believe, we cannot stop the spread, but we can slow the spread. If you see one, have no mercy and smash them and report the areas in which it was found to your state department of Agriculture. In this way, we can all help protect each other’s crops.

For more information, visit the USDA website. 

You may have noticed that the summer heat has broken here in Southeast Michigan. With a high of 74° yesterday, and temperatures projected to barely creep into the 80s for the rest of the week, as much as I hate to admit it, autumn is blowing in. And with that breath of fresh air, we start to consider fall planting.

We carry many varieties of crabapple that could be perfect for what your customer is looking for. Weeping, spreading, and upright shapes with pink, red, or white flowers and purple or green leaves can be used to fit beautifully in any landscape. My personal favorites are Coralburst with light pink flowers and the beautiful deep purple/red leaves of Purple Prince, Royal Raindrops, and the new columnar variety Gladiator.

Whatever the need, there is a crabapple for your customer. And here at Christensen’s we’re happy to help you find the perfect one.

I am missing flowers (both literally and emotionally).

How can I work for a plant nursery and have zero blooms in my yard in the middle of summer? (Maybe because I work for a plant nursery?) I get so excited at the beginning of the season with all the pretty things coming in that I take them all home and plant them. Tulips and Daffodils, Hellebores, creeping phlox’s, Dicentra. Stunning. And then what happens? After the blooms fade and the ephemerals die back, I end up with a lot of green. And then… nursery life goes into full swing and by the time I get to slow down and catch my breath, it is mid-summer.

Where is my color? I need plants. Taking a walk through our perennial lot I notice all the plants that are in full sun with beautiful flowers. I want that! Easy choices are the Rudbeckias. Echinaceas, and Hemerocallis. But what are some less obvious selections? My flower beds have some time in the shade, so in order to get the best show of color, I need varieties that can handle both. So, on my walk, I took a few notes.

Geraniums are a good choice. Full sun or part shade, “Rozanne” can be a good rambler. I need to fill in some space and I know she’s about 20” tall by 28” spread. Very low maintenance and long-lasting blooms throughout the whole season can guarantee a nice show of color through these dog days of summer.

Astilbe’s have always been one of my favorites and we offer a wide array of sizes and color. I’m a big fan of their fluffy, showy flowers. Although we have them in full sun, Astilbe’s actually prefer a bit of shade to cool them down after a long hot day.

Our Chelone “Hot Lips” are just about to pop. 2’-3’ feet high and a 1’ spread, these are great to add a backdrop or color to a dull corner. These will be perfect for this time of year! They can grow in drought conditions until established or they can grow in bog or rain gardens. They are low maintenance and will handle the full sun or partial shade.

Heucheras, I think, are going to be a staple. With many varieties to choose from, they are a great, easy way to tie any color combination into the landscape. Different heights and sizes will be perfect to tuck in around the taller plants. And again, heucheras prefer part shade, can handle sun, like it a little dry. Perfect for my needs!

There is a theme here- low maintenance and lots of color!

And finally, ground cover! Of course, some of that “green” in my yard are weeds. Since I really don’t have a lot of time to throw down mulch every year in the spring I’m going to have to plant something. We have lots of choices here at Christensen’s, however, I have found that Lamium is a great choice for spreading. Vigorous but not invasive, the two-toned foliage is striking and can fill in quickly throughout the season. If I was just looking for a colorful addition, I'd go with 'Orchid Frost'. But, I’m thinking the 'White Nancy' may be a great addition to brighten up and throw some definition into the mix.

I now have a few choices. But there are so many more! Seriously, it’s like choosing a paint color. I know if I took another walk through the perennial lot or into the Hosta House I will have a whole new set of plant varieties, colors, and textures to take home and play with! The choices are plentiful!