I’ve been planting a wide variety of nursery stock from the moment I had a yard to plant in. I bought my first home in the 80’s and after ripping out pretty much everything that was there – it was time for a rehab – I started bringing home my favorite plants from our vast inventory here at Christensen’s. That employee discount got QUITE a workout, let me tell you. Sure, there were failures, for example my attempts to grow daphne, oxydendron, and a succession of acer palmatum, but in my mind a dead plant just opens up a spot to plant something new.

However.

There are some plants I NEVER should have planted. They all have one thing in common – aggressive, invasive growth. It’s not an accident that several of them are vines, plus some perennials that spread underground and come up yards away from the perfect spot you chose for it then proceed to colonize the rest of your yard, and the neighbor’s yard, too. Word to the wise – avoid “plant swaps”. There is a reason people have excess to trade.

I didn’t plant any bamboo, luckily, but the Japanese anemone had to come out, as did the Ribbon grass (Phalaris). I didn’t plant the Aegopodium or the Convallaria, but only was ever able to eradicate the Aegopodium as the bed was contained by the concrete drive. We built a giant sieve out of hardware cloth and I dug up the whole bed and got every scrap of root. The Lily-of-the-valley persists to this day among some hosta I transplanted to my new house, wish me luck.

The beautiful Porcelainberry vine I hid behind the garage is probably still sprouting back in spite of repeated attempts with spade and sprayer, and the gigantic Sweet Autumn Clematis that grew to cover the entire shade structure is likely still trying to swallow Plymouth Township. But it sure was pretty and smelled fantastic. But don’t plant one. It’s horrible.

The number one worst plant I ever planted was the Trumpet vine. Fond memories of plucking the orange flowers and tasting the nectar inside (sorry, hummingbirds) from my Grandmother’s yard at the original nursery on Ann Arbor Road gave me the bright idea of planting one in a tiny spot in the side garden of my postage-stamp yard. I even extended the chain-link fence six feet higher to give it a nice trellis to climb on. Visions of hummingbirds filled my imagination, and I figured in a year, maybe two – OK, FINE, three – I’d be a major stop on the hummingbird highway.

Hah.

The seasons passed with not one single flower. Ever. But the VINE? It ran underground and started coming up randomly, all over the yard. Ten, twenty feet away, no problem. Digging it up was futile. It’s immune to Roundup (apparently). I tried to get rid of it for ten years.

I finally moved.

These days the only vines you will catch me planting are Clematis (which randomly die for no good reason) and Hydrangea petiolaris, which is always well-behaved. A mature one came with my new house, and when the tree it was climbing on died, we left most of the trunk standing, because nobody messes with my Climbing Hydrangea. You really should plant that one.

By now, you probably know that we have a landscape lighting division here at Christensen’s. We currently stock 2 product lines (Sollos and Alliance) on our shelves at the Hardscape Center, and we have a very good selection of materials available. Now with that being said, it is VERY difficult to stock every single fixture in every single size that is produced, let alone with the multiple color options available. Getting into LED lamps is an entirely different animal. With LEDs, there are multiple beam spreads, color temperatures, and bases. While Sollos and Alliance are bipin based, we do stock a few wedge base lamps if you have to swap them out from another product line. We try to save you some time instead of bouncing all over town!

There are a few new fixtures on the market, but we are not currently stocking them quite yet.  They are readily available by special order.

Alliance Bollard100-LED. Dominating in its appearance, this fixture is outstanding for commercial settings or for areas where a standard path fixture with a ground stake may not be sufficient. Standing at an impressive 36” tall when completely assembled, The Bollard100-LED makes an impressive statement when installed correctly. Watch the video above from Alliance for their recommended installation process.

Seems like there are always new fixture designs on the horizon, so be sure to check with us often for the latest updates!

Barbecue chicken and ice-cold lemonade, cold beers and brats, chilled watermelon and grilled hamburgers. That was a small part of my menu for the fourth of July weekend. I most definitely took advantage of some choice weather and time off to relax and recharge. My outdoor toys and appliances however, had no rest. They had 8+ children and friends to keep refreshed, full and entertained. The hose had a good workout, too!

But after the cooking and entertainment have concluded, the cleaning must begin. And unlike cleaning the kids, I would not recommend using the hose to undertake this process. Here are some maintenance and cleaning tips to help keep your outdoor appliances looking new and clean. 

Grills Are Not Self-Cleaning

It’s easy to fall into the habit of just giving your grill grates a quick swipe with a wire brush before you toss on those steaks. While you won’t directly harm your grill by doing that, it is important to check its other components, specifically burners, valves, and hoses. If you have a gas grill, don’t ignore the burners. Use a stiff brush periodically to clear grease and gunk away from them, and as you cook, pay attention to the color of the flame. A healthy flame on a gas grill should be blue with a yellow tip—if your flames are all yellow, turn off the grill and disconnect the fuel tank so that you can check the fuel valve pressure. Lastly, look at any hoses, such as fuel lines, on the grill. Even if your outdoor kitchen isn’t directly exposed to the elements, it is still affected by temperature changes. Depending on the material, grill hoses can contract and expand in response to changing seasons, so give them a brief inspection to see if any of them have cracked or split and need to be replaced. 

Don’t Go Nuts Cleaning Outdoor Appliances 

Stainless steel appliances are extremely popular in outdoor kitchens, and for good reason. Not only does stainless steel look nice with the hardware typically used in outdoor spaces, but it is also resistant to rust and corrosion, making it ideal for outside use. Although stainless steel is a durable material, it isn’t indestructible. Don’t cut directly on a stainless-steel surface, only use a cutting board. Hot pots and pans as well as other metal, steel, or cast-iron items can cause staining and corrosion if they’re left on a stainless steel surface for too long, so find another resting place for them or use a heat resistant pad or cloth. A rinse with soapy water will be sufficient for cleaning a stainless steel surface, but make sure that you follow the grain of the metal and dry it completely. There’s no need to use chemical cleaners and stay away from steel wool pads; little bits of them can flake off and get imbedded in your stainless steel surface. While the actual surface won’t rust in that situation, the steel wool pieces will. 

Protect Your Outdoor Furniture 

While it may not be the first thing to come to mind when you think of outdoor kitchens, furniture plays an important part in rounding out your backyard sanctuary. If possible, try to keep your outdoor kitchen furniture out of rain and extreme weather by bringing it indoors. If that is not an option, try looking for vinyl covers that don’t touch the floor, which allows moisture to escape. You can clean vinyl, mesh, and fabric components with a mild, all-purpose cleaner. Avoid harsh bleach or ammonia-based cleaners, they are not necessary and can do more harm than good. As with your countertops, try to catch and wipe up spills as soon as possible. 

Check Your Fridge 

Did you know that there are 2 different ratings for outdoor refrigerators? The better option is an actual “Outdoor Rated” refrigerator. It differs from the “Standard Outdoor” by having 304 stainless steel material, greater insulation, an advanced compressor, and better ventilation. This will help when the outdoor temps start to climb in the 90’s. Keep your fridge full, even if it is just water bottles. This will help the fridge work less and keep your items colder. 

Your outdoor kitchen and fireplace area represents not only a financial investment, but also a commitment to time spent with family and friends. Taking a few minutes to maintain your outdoor kitchen, patio, and furniture will protect your investment and allow you to spend as much quality time as possible with your loved ones.  

Christensen’s Plant Center has a wide range of departments. One of them being the Perennial Department. Known to most as “The Perennial Girls”, we are the group that receives, grows, and maintains the stunning perennials you see around the nursery. This includes the beautiful material on the Perennial Lot, roses, grasses, and more! I'd like to introduce you to the Perennial production department, and all that goes into ensuring you have the best possible perennials to meet your landscape needs.

Some of you may not know, but as well as bringing in perennials fully grown plants off trucks, some of the perennials you find around the nursery are produced right here on our property. Our “west” location has greenhouses that switch over from winter storage to perennial production as the weather breaks. Spring is our busiest time. We spend our weeks potting up as much as possible, so that come summer, we have plenty of dazzling product. We grow a wide range of perennials, grasses, and even some shrubs. This spring, we even potted up some Boxwood varieties with big hope for success!

Soil mixes (which have been trialed over time), pot sizes and types, and water needs are all things taken into consideration in the production department. Hemerocallis Stella, Hosta Patriot, Heuchera Palace Purple, and Nepeta Walkers Low are all production favorites. These staples are always growing in production as a backstock to ensure that we always have some on hand. With the inventory shortages industry wide, this back stock can also come in handy when large quantities are unexpectedly needed.

Aside from the staples, we also grow some specialty items such as Peony, Dianthus, and other “funky” varieties. These diverse items are some that we have trialed over time and have proven to do well with. Being able to provide what is needed as availabilities change, is a huge benefit to the Production team!

Perennial production is a flexible department, that can adjust to both industry and customer needs. We work hard to grow and maintain our perennials to ensure that we have a fabulous product year-round! Head over to the “Perennial Girls” for all your perennial questions and needs. 

We at Christensen’s Plant and Hardscape Center pride ourselves on quality. Our buyers (we call them 'investors') have built great relationships with our vendors to ensure they are looking out for us. We receive a TON of tree trucks in the spring and fall from many different states to fill our yard for the upcoming season. However, every once in a while, we may be sent something that is subpar and does not meet our expectations. If we can leave it on the truck to send back, we do so. Some of these trucks that come in are one-way trucks that are backhauling something else. Due to this reason, we are not able to send some things back and end up selling them at a heavily discounted price.

Another great way to save you and your customer money is to take advantage of our Biweekly special. Every couple of weeks we run a new special with different items that are in season. You’ll see flyers when you stop into the Plant Center or right here in the Sticks & Stones e-mail.

If you’re looking for deals in the hardscape yard, I recommend checking in a few weeks before our inventory around late June and again around late October.  You never know what you’re going to find, but it just might be exactly what you need.

Your customer service person is the best resource to help you take advantage of these ways to save you money. We’re here to help you get the job done, no matter what.

I’ve noticed over the last several years that it doesn’t matter whether it’s a Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts or Michigan-based Biggby, the lines in the morning are outrageous. No matter how fast your favorite shop can get you through, you’re spending time in a line waiting. As I sat in line for 15 minutes one morning, mindlessly scrolling through social media, I realized that I wasn’t efficiently using my time. And while I don’t have to be hustling all the time, this was a poor choice for me, personally.

Where are the black holes in your day that you lose time? (Which is money, right?) How can you optimize these moments to better use your time? For me, that coffee shop line turned into an investment in fancy loose leaf teas and infusers for home and time to load the dishwasher while that tea is steeping, leading to clean dishes when I get home from work. The satisfaction gained from this very small routine change has led me to look at other areas to streamline.

Now is the time for action! It’s time to implement a plan to streamline or stop losing time. In the case of the tea, I had to invest in the infusers and a teapot and be sure I’m stocked with supplies, such as travel mugs and tea. However, in the case of unwanted gaming, I deleted the app off my phone, so I don’t slip back into the habit.

The most important thing to remember is that if you get off track, you can always start over, go back and recommit to improving your time management. You can always treat yourself to a coffee shop once in a while, but if you realize that it’s become a habit again, go back and reacquaint yourself with new flavors in the tea or coffee section of the grocery store to rekindle your interest in steeping or brewing at home.

So, you’re probably wondering how this applies to Christensen’s, since this is our newsletter. Well, I’m glad you asked. Our Christensen’s App is available for free and can be used to look at availability and prices. It’s a shortcut that can save you a phone call and some time. You can also call, e-mail, or text your order ahead of arrival. When the order is in the system, we can assist you quicker. We know you love seeing our friendly staff at the Plant and Hardscapes Centers, but we can get you moving faster if we know you’re coming. We want to help you optimize your time.

Even before supply shortages, not a day goes by at Christensen’s Plant Center that requested nursery items (despite our fairly well-stocked and varied yard) are not available. High demand and scarcity in some areas certainly exist but smaller evergreens and woody ornamentals are in fairly good supply. When confronted with an unavailable or low quantity of a given shrub variety we work too hard to supply the exact variety when there are other ways to solve the problem. Especially in the areas of woodies, there are many interchangeable plant varieties.

During our COVID lockdowns, the one thing most people had was lots of time. There was a huge surge in interest in family histories; there were many searches on Ancestory.com and DNA samples sent to testing sites like 23andME. Discovering our past and finding distant relatives helped to fill the gaps in our social lives. The similar traits and DNA that make people a family exist as well in plants. Just as with people, plants have many traits and characteristics that define them and link them into family groups.

For sake of example, I am focusing on parts of the Honeysuckle Family (Caprifoliaceae). The Korean Spice Bush (Viburnum carlesi) is frequently requested around Mother’s Day. If we run low on this particular plant be assured, that there are a good number of solutions close at hand. Sibling variants, cousinly hybrids, and backcross hybrids are in good supply. What links them all together is the wonderful fragrance of spring after winter’s grasp. The following all offer a possible substitution for the original depending on the application. Larger in form with pinker buds is the well-known V. x juddii; also larger but with many more pink buds and semi-evergreen leaves are V. x burkwoodii and V. x burkwoodii ‘Mohawk.’ A smaller alternative with very large flowers is V. ‘Cayuga.’ These and more offer easy choices without leaving the species.

In a second example, we compare the genera Weigela and Diervilla both of the Honeysuckle Family. The Asian genus Weigela florida is everywhere in our landscapes. W. ‘Wine and Roses’ and others began the flood of pink-dominant flowering varieties. A painter’s palette of foliage colors defines this species of Weigelas. The genus Diervilla of eastern North America is a b & b plant (browsing and bumblebees). In its native circumstances, it has been browsed by moose and deer without ill effect and is an obvious favorite of bumblebees with its clusters of yellow, honeysuckle-like flowers. With the advent of the Kodiak series, Diervilla is now an active participant in landscapes still retaining its native status. These honeysuckles were separated by thousands of miles, but both possess unmatched foliage variety and the ability to flush vibrant new growth after a good trim. They have very similar leaf shapes and their phyllotaxis of alternating leaf patterns attest to their being of the same family.

Linnaeus and the Taxonomy of Horticulture give us the guidelines we need to find solutions to shortage problems. A shortage of plants just gives us an opportunity to expand our imagination and use the tools already at hand.

Spring in the nursery can be quite a magical time of year with the smell of the thawing earth in the air, the buds emerging on branches, green shoots coming from the ground, and Michigan temperatures all over the map! How can one possibly prepare for the everchanging weather patterns when they can range from cold to warm, dry to rain, and the occasional snow/sleet mix all in one day!

If you are anything like me (and you are probably not), I have a vast array of different gloves. My glove needs change throughout the day depending on what job or task I am involved in, so I seem to have an assortment of different gloves on me at all times. Thankfully we sell approximately 20 different varieties... And I think I have 15! A few of my favorites include the Ninja’s for cold weather, H2O waterproof, and the basic blue and grey palm. I also love the long print arm savers that help with prickly projects like roses. The Mudd line is very versatile and carries many options. Including the ‘Soft and Cool’ aloe. Aloe in a glove. Who knew? You can find many different material options as well, from leather to goatskin, bamboo to thermal, etc...

I could certainly continue with rain gear, hats and brim benefits, and multitudes of sunscreen products, however, I need to get back out into the plants! To sum up, the purpose of this article is that no matter what you are doing there is not one specific product that will meet all your needs for all of your jobs. Knowing what works for you and having the basics to meet the demands of the weather conditions you are working in is enough. No matter how many fun and fancy gloves I buy, what works for me are basic blue palm. No matter how many boots I go through, what works for me are basic, waterproof, all temperature, all season, one pair, work boot. Whatever “bibs” I have to add an extra layer of warmth to my already layers of warmth underneath are adequate. So as this new season gets underway, keep dry, warm, cool, layered, covered, and most of all- safe!

Happy Spring

I’m sure that we’ve all heard the saying “I’ll rest when I’m dead” at some point in our lifetime, and most of us have probably said it, as well. With my 50th coming up this year, I still think that I’m nearly indestructible like I was back in my 20s and 30s, so I embarked on quite the adventure this past winter.

I took on 6 jobs from December through April… simultaneously. That statement is no exaggeration, ladies and gentlemen. I worked here at the nursery a bit, plowed/salted, did my side company’s set up, bartended for an independent catering company, bartended a local bowling alley, and help set up a new Mediterranean restaurant which then led to me bartending there on a regular basis.

I do NOT recommend anyone doing this at any given age in anyone’s lifetime. Why do I say this? My body literally ached every day after the first month. Working open to close shifts bartending, which averaged 11 hours a day, only to have to turn around and work 2 more back-to-back open to close shifts. To make things even more interesting, shifts would overlap to where you work 2 jobs in the same day, which were maybe an hour apart from each other, which would lead to a 15-16 hour day. The worst was the triple shift that I feared would happen. I had my shift here in the morning, then jumped immediately to the restaurant from noon to 11 pm, and then left there to go plow. That resulted in a 24+ hour day. I then went home, took a nap (or rather collapsed), returned to the restaurant at noon for my opening shift, then left at 8 pm to go do snow cleanups.

As for me personally, I tend to get 5-6 hours, which seems like it’s not enough at any level. But during the winter season on days where I didn’t have to work a double shift, I’ve been known to sneak in a nap here and there like a toddler. For any of you that have had to run a snowplow for hours and hours at a time, you totally understand!

Other factors that can affect a level of quality sleep include noise in the environment, stress, poor sleep arrangements, drinking too much caffeine a few hours prior, so on and so forth. Follow the link if you would like to learn more about sleep deprivation, which includes even more symptoms and treatments. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/307334

You only have 1 body in your lifetime, so be sure to take care of it!

While I am a new face in Customer Service, I have been a team member of Christensen’s for almost 8 years now. I have worn many hats during my time here. I began my journey with Receiving and Deliveries and then onto Hardscape Yard Operations which then lead to Customer Service. While I was excited about the promotion and eager to start a new position, as with starting anything new, there’s always a learning curve. Along with the changes at work, I started a new hobby, competitive shooting, that taught me many things I could apply to my new position. Here are some of the lessons I’ve learned from simultaneously taking on these two new endeavors.

My biggest takeaway has been holding myself accountable in different situations. I’m only as successful as I make myself. While I am on a customer service ‘team’, taking care of customers is a very individualized activity. Like shooting, I personally need to ensure the success of my customers’ visit, just as I ensure the score I receive when in competition. My preparation and attention to detail need to be top-notch each time I go into the yard to pull material. I need to be sure that I have the correct paperwork, the right plants, the healthiest plants and the best substitutions during our current availability challenges.  As I go onto the course for shooting, I know that my preparation will make a difference in my score. Knowing the course, having reloads ready and planned, and being in the right gear all are important factors.

In both activities, speed and precision are key. It won’t make a difference to you, our customer, how fast I was able to load your order if I didn’t get it correct. So, while I strive to get you back to your job site as quickly as possible, I always need to be aware of my precision.

Other lessons I’ve picked up include simple things like removing small distractions and focusing on the task at hand. Communication, adaptability, active listening, and the ability to work out any problems that might arise are dominant attributes in forming customer relationships.

It can be easy to become frustrated and discouraged when starting new endeavors. The idea of “new” is scary for many people. Personal and professional accountability can help ease some of those worries. The implementation of these essential qualities greatly assisted to curb some of the difficulties and challenges I found may arise. With my first year in customer service behind me, I can confidently say most of the worries I had were unfounded. I couldn’t have asked for a better year with Christensen's. As I aim my sights at the year ahead, I know that it will be a good year with my strategies ready to go.