HAPPY LABOR DAY

Get a jump-start on preparing for fall with Covington’s September Conventional and Organic Monthly Planners. You’ll find tips on planting, pruning, fertilizing and more. This is a key month for pre-emergent weed control and fertilizing so be sure to get both done soon!

We’re bringing in the first of the fall mums, snapdragons, dianthus and ornamental peppers just in time for this long holiday weekend. We also have fall petunias, dusty miller, sweet potato vine, vinca and pentas to add striking color in your flowerbeds and containers. Come in today so you’ll have fabulous color for your upcoming Labor Day festivities and on until pansy season!

While you’re here, check out our fresh perennials and herbs, and pick up some seeds for your fall vegetable garden. And remember, we can create custom color bowls to your specifications!  Choose containers from our inventory, or bring your own favorite pots and we’ll whip up beautiful live arrangements for your next party, for a special gift, or just any occasion.

Fall Mums	Snapdragons	Petunias with Sweet Potato Vine

• 10” and 3 gal. bougainvillea now $14.88 (reg. $29.99)
• 1 gal. perennial Ornamental Grasses now $9.88 (reg. $12.99) or buy 10 for $80
• 1 gal. Pentas- only $2.88 Great for instant pops of color!
• Tropical hibiscus (2 gal) - $7.99 or 2 for $12!
• All trees (shade, fruit & accent trees) - 20-50% off 
• All Shrubs (incl Encore Azaleas & Roses) – 20-50% off
• Palms & Vines - 20-50% off
• Citrus trees (Meyer’s Lemon, Lime & Grapefruit) – 50% off
• Crotons & Banana trees  – 50% off
• Tropical House Plants - 20% off

Cashiers will automatically take 20% off regular price on any of these items not already sale priced.

A few of our great 50% off  bargains include: 30 gal. Brandywine Maples for $124.99 (reg. $249.99); 3 gal. Texas Sage for only $14.99 (reg. $29.99); and 15 gal. Loropetalum Patio Trees for $99.99 (reg. $199.99). Look for the yellow tags for these and all of our great ½ price deals!

Let us know if you’d like some recommendations for the best plants for your particular needs, and remember you can take advantage of our current sale prices even if you don’t want to plant until fall. Just buy your trees now and we’ll take care of them until you pick them up yourself or make arrangements for us to deliver and/or plant your trees for you in the fall (It’s just a few short weeks ahead!) You can visit our website to download a PDF of our available stock which includes sizes and prices.

Brandywine Maple	Texas Sage	Loropetalum in Bloom

• Insect Lore collection Now 50% off  (Includes butterfly hatching kits, bug habitats, fun books, magnifying glasses, etc.) These are great gifts for kids because they are a fun and interesting way to help them learn about the insect world…stock up now for Christmas!
• Jack-o-lanterns 25% off. These adorable pottery jack-o-lanterns can be enjoyed year after year without any mess or fuss. They come in many sizes and are a great addition to your Halloween décor for inside your home or to greet visitors out on the front porch.
• All Jim Shore statuary 25% off. The large angel and St. Francis statuary (approx. 2 ft. tall) in the “Garden Collection” are made from durable resilient materials so they may be used outdoors. Several of the styles were purchased in final production, so get them while you can!  

Burton specializes in diagnosing and solving plant problems. You may be experiencing these same issues, so we want to share Burton’s advice.

When you come to Covington’s, Burton can usually be found at the main checkout counter and he’s anxious to help make your gardening experience easier and more enjoyable.

Please bring actual bugs or plants or photos showing the problem when you come to get your gardening problems identified.

This week's offering is all about weed control - and some important new information you absolutely need to know about decisions coming out of the Environmental Protection Agency affecting one of the most reliable and effective controls of grassy weeds in the nation, and how it's more important than ever to do some preventive work in the lawn this time of year.
 
Q: I have always purchased the reliable ferti-lome Bermuda Grass Weeder from you to kill my crabgrass in my Bermuda lawn. You guys have been selling this to me for more than fifteen years; why can I not find this anymore? And if I need to change products, what products do you recommend? And don't show me vinegar, corn meal and molasses - I want to control my weeds, not bake a pie!
 
A: Well, there's good news and bad news. The bad news first: Every single retail version of any herbicide in the United States containing MSMA, the main active ingredient in our Bermuda Grass Weeder is no longer in production because of a decision handed down from the EPA requiring the transitioning out of this excellent and effective herbicide. MSMA is a selective herbicide that would yellow Bermuda grass for a short time (which would then recover), but would absolutely kill the vast majority of the grassy weeds that grow in the South. You may still use any MSMA product you have as a homeowner as you see fit, but production stopped for retail packages at the first of the year. Each and every substitute selective product (spray on grassy weeds and lawn combined, kills grassy weeds, not lawn) we've tried in the past year simply does not work, or works so poorly that we can't in clear conscience recommend them. And trust me, we've been looking, including some truly off the wall products we were dubious about in the first place which we tried simply to be thorough, as well as herbicides we had reason to believe should work - but didn't. We're hoping an effective product comes on the market soon, but there's nothing out there as of yet.
 
Enough doom and gloom! Now, my favorite part - the good news - you can still have a beautiful lawn! MSMA's loss makes one very important spring and fall maintenance need more important than ever - the application of pre-emergent herbicides in September and again in February to prevent most grassy weeds from ever getting started. This has always been the most elegant way to stop the weeds from gaining a foothold in your lawn and now it's absolutely your front line of lawn defense. Apply our Dimension pre-emergent herbicide at the rate of a 35# bag per 7,500 square feet to stop all common grassy weeds as well as some of the worst broadleafed weeds in our area.

Our Hi-Yield Kill-zall product will kill any weed or grass it is sprayed upon without poisoning the soil beneath, and spot sprays of Kill-zall can be used with some care to eliminate large stands of crabgrass or dallisgrass. The turfgrass will have to grow in from the sides of such areas but with no soil structure damage, this is not a hard thing for the lawn to do with good watering, feeding, and mowing. This proper maintenance done will still provide you with the lush, beautiful lawn you're accustomed to without a major weed invasion to hand pull.
 
Organic gardeners, of course, need change nothing. The products we've normally used for weed control are completely unaffected. Corn gluten meal at the rate of 40 lbs. per 2000 square feet, and a good organic fertilization and maintenance program will keep our weed problems mostly controlled.

It’s been such a delight to see all the kids here for our Kids in the Garden classes over the summer. We hope they (and you) enjoyed them and were able to take away useful information.

As this was our first time to present the Kids in the Garden series, we really want your opinion on how we did and what we can do to expand the series and improve the classes in the future.  Please download and print out the attached survey and take a few moments to complete it. Return it to Mary here at the nursery in person, by mail, or fax (972) 412-5271. If you’d prefer that we mail a survey to you, please call Mary at (972) 475-5888 Ext. 111 or email mary@covingtonnursery.com and we’ll be happy to send you a survey.

We appreciate any suggestions you have to make these classes an even better experience for your kids!

A new landscape can bring purpose and beauty to an area that is currently just unattractive wasted space. It’s like restoring the land to life and giving yourself a bonus of a fresh new destination right in your own yard. When an old driveway was converted into a shady pathway, one local resident gained a tranquil sitting area, some additional space for people to gather, and overall a beautiful new outdoor space to see and enjoy. New design elements included:

• Concrete slabs that were stained and decoratively arranged
• Dwarf Mondo Grass planted close together to give the appearance that it had been there a long time.
• New plants such as a Japanese Maple, ferns, and “Patriot” hostas for a variety of textures and colors.
• The beautiful gate to provide a wonderful focal point.

No matter the size or scope of your project, one of our four in-house designers can create a unique plan exclusively for you, your family and your home. Once you have approved the design plan, our experienced landscape team can install it all at once, or in phases as your budget allows……you decide.

Fall is the best time to install new trees and shrubs, so now is the time to work with a designer to plan the landscape you’ve been dreaming of. Call us today at 972-475-5888, Ext. 5 and beat the fall rush! Check out our Landscape Services page to see photos of some of our projects and to learn about our design process.

Click here for a brief video about the beginnings of Covington’s Nursery and Landscape Co. and an introduction to our landscape design team.

As you, our regular readers, know, the Webletter we send out weekly is filled with helpful information about planting in North Texas, as well as our latest specials. But if you have a friend who's enthusiastic about having a beautiful yard and seeing the best of the new material as soon as it arrives, recommend our Webletter to them!

They'll see that it's also filled with pictures taken here at the nursery, usually in the same week the article is published, of the newest trees, shrubs, and flowers as they come in. Why settle for generalized pictures of a common shrub when you can see the very plants we have available, right now?