As was the case last month, May of 2020 gives us a situation that we’ve never before experienced, both in our lives in general and most certainly with our lawn and gardening activities. On the one hand, most of us have lots of time nowadays for working around our houses, both inside and outside. But at the same time, there’s much confusion regarding where to get necessary materials, who is open for business and who’s not, and on what basis we, as independent businesses, are allowed to carry on our regular activities. As of today, pending any changes from Gov. Wolf before this Newsletter is being read, The Lawn Depot Garden Center remains temporarily closed to the public, for either in-store business or curbside pick-up. We continue to offer delivery to customers within our delivery range. Our phone lines are once again open and we are available to take your calls Monday through Friday from 9 am to 5 pm and Saturday from 9 am to 1 pm. You may also communicate with us via email through the Contact Us page and select Garden Center or Turf Management to submit your request. We’re appreciative of all of you who have already utilized our online order and delivery services! For any of you who require store products, we’re happy to take your order. We are accepting credit card payments and will schedule delivery to your door. We are delivering 6 days a week in order to ensure you get what you need within a few days.
Lawn Depot Turf Management has continued to work their normal spring scheduled jobs, having now completed our first-round applications (fertilizing, applying pre-emergent crabgrass and broadleaf weed control), and have started with spring core aerations and liming activities and our 2nd round (fertilizer and broadleaf weed control). We’re operating in one-man crews in order to maintain social distancing, but we’ve got experienced technicians who know what they’re doing and we’re keeping up with the schedules. For any of you who are interested in using any of our Turf Management services, whether for regular annual application work or special applications, (core-aerating, liming), we ask that you contact us through our website, just click on the Request an Estimate button on our homepage. We’ll email estimates to you promptly, and add you to our schedule if you’re interested. We are no longer able to accept any pre-emergent crabgrass control jobs, but all other applications can be done.
May is the month when all of Mother Nature really gets going. With the weather warming nicely, everything in our yards, both good and bad explodes into action. Planting of perennials, trees, and shrubs can be done now. Annuals (hardy annuals now, non-frost-hardy annuals after mid-May) can be planted in pots, planters, and in gardens. Lawn chores for May include broadleaf weed control (dandelions, clover, ground ivy, plantain, etc.), pre-emergent crabgrass control and/or fertilization if they haven’t already been done in April, and, of course, mowing lawns twice a week to keep up as they literally explode with the warm days, cool nights and regular rainfall. May is the perfect time for adding a new layer of mulch to garden beds if you haven’t already done so. Before mulching, be sure to remove all existing weeds and grass and scarify old mulch from previous years. So, in between going for walks and bike rides to maintain our sanity during these difficult times, let’s all leave lots of time for working out in our yards. It’s a special time of the year for being outside.
As of now, the degree to which we’ll be able to open up our Nursery Yard and when remains an unanswered question. We have a lot of lovely perennials in our nursery yard and greenhouses with more coming in each week. We have shrubs ready for planting as well, with more on the way in mid-May. If you’re interested in what we have available, please give us a call! We’ll deliver them along with anything else you’ll need for planting them. Unfortunately, this year we are postponing receiving shipments of annuals and vegetables until the garden center is permitted to reopen to the public, as we are already stretched thin and they require a good deal of care and maintenance. By the way, the existing order from Harrisburg prohibits the sale of plant materials at ALL RETAIL OUTLETS, except where they can be delivered or a waiver has been granted. We applied for a waiver and it was denied. We have followed the protocol from the beginning and will continue to play by the rules. We are certainly all looking forward to the end of restrictions, but are determined to follow the measures outlined to keep our employees, their families, and our customers safe from COVID-19. We hope all of you will stay healthy and will work hard to also stay positive until we can finally resume life without restrictions. We look forward to seeing you all again as soon as possible, but in the meantime let’s all get out in our lawns and gardens and take in the beauty around us.
Bob Button