Nick's Planting Suggestion:

Penstemons, Perennial Pleasure for Hummingbirds and You!

Penstemons are easy to grow, showy garden perennials. Use them for vertical interest in borders or massed for a spectacular effect. Their spikes of velvety bells in jewel colors mean hummingbird bliss. Look for them in white, reds, pinks, blues and purples. They range in height from 1 to 2 feet tall and wide. They make good cut flowers, too! Come see the lovely new arrivals and give your neighborhood hummingbirds a thrill. Let the Nursery Pros at Yamagami’s help you create a garden full of color and life for your perennial pleasure!

Ruben's Planting Suggestion:

Aloe Vera, The Highly Sought 'Medicine Plant ' 

Aloe vera plants are prized for their many medicinal uses, both internal and external. Yamagami’s Nursery has just received a fresh shipment of # 2 size Aloe vera plants just in time for soothing mosquito bites, sunburn, and barbeque burns. Use fresh leaves for first aid for all kinds of skin irritations. There are many uses for it internally but we are going to focus on external use. While you can start using the leaves of younger plants, they have limited potency. More mature plants (2 years or more), like the #2 size plants we offer, yield much greater potency. 

Harvest the lower (older leaves) leaves one at a time with a sharp knife. Trim away the thorny edges, then make a cut across the wide part of the leaf. Apply the Aloe vera gel directly to the affected area. Your skin will absorb it in a few minutes. If more is needed, make another cut further up the leaf and repeat. You can continue to use the leaf until only the green skin is left. Wrap any unused portion of the leaf in plastic and refrigerate. It will keep for several days. 

Aloe vera can be grown indoors or out. Outside, it will need some frost protection during frosty nights. It grows faster outdoors and seems to do best with full morning sun and part shade in the afternoon. Indoors it needs morning sun or very bright light all day. It loves benign neglect so don't over-water or feed.  

Come to Yamagami’s Nursery for this oh, so useful plant before you need it for summer burns. We rarely get this potent size, so come in while supplies last. Let our helpful Nursery Pros help you with this and other herbs and succulents.   

Pumpkinmania 2009: The Camelot Era

Act 1

After our "Mighty Mabel" was so upstaged last year by other much larger pumpkins, we decided to enhance this year’s pumpkin patch by digging into our adobe and giving this year’s plants even more depth. So, after some backbreaking labor (thank you Kamuela!) and a jack hammer, this year’s pumpkin patch is half in the ground and half above ground. The stage was set. 

Act 2

It is that time of year, the planting of the giant pumpkins. 

On April 15, 2009, our pumpkin godfather, Alan, planted 3 seeds given to him by the Giant Pumpkin Kahuna, Stuart Shim. Pumpkinwench Poli placed the pot with seeds on the seedling heat mat next to her desk in the office, with a 60 watt growlight kit and timer.

On April 20, 2009, lo and behold! A sprout emerged from the soil; oh, what joy there was in officeland! Pumpkinwench Poli (now waterwench Poli), took the pot with seedling to the watering hole (office bathroom), and gave the seedling its first watering. Within days there were 3 seedlings that pumpkin/watering wench Poli, has lovingly named "King Arthur", "Guinevere" and "Sir Lancelot".

Act 3

A few nights before the full moon--Wednesday May 6th, 2009, around 6:30 pm--"King Arthur", "Guinevere", and "Sir Lancelot" were lovingly planted into Camelot, our pumpkin patch. (The Giant Pumpkin Kahuna, Stewart Shim, also planted his seedlings on this same night.) Now the pumpkin godfather Alan, and watering wench Poli are carefully tending Camelot. Additional photos can be viewed on our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/pages/Cupertino-CA/Yamagamis-Nursery-Garden-Center/63172657808. Stay tuned for further installments…

Please feel free to share the saga of your own pumpkin patch!

Amy's Gift Suggestion: Edging Made Easy

Here are two ways to bring shape and dimension to your garden. Whether it’s to create a raised bed, to carve borders into an existing garden, or to simply frame a tree; these long-lasting materials are the easy and sturdy way to go.

 EZ Connect® Landscape Edging

E-Z Connect® Premium Landscape Edging is not only easier to install than wood, it also has a cleaner, more modern look, resembling metal. It’s made from 100% recycled plastic materials with steel anchoring hooks. Because of its unique connectors which snap together, it appears nearly seamless. It comes in packages of 4 four-foot lengths 3.5” tall with connectors and anchoring hooks. It’s lightweight and flexible, making curves easy. Available in black, green and brown, E-Z Connect® Premium Landscape Edging enhances any garden.  

Frame It All® Timbers

Frame It All® Timbers are comprised of 40% wood fiber and 60% recycled polyethylene, giving them a realistic wood look. Frame It All® kits can be used to make borders but can also be stacked to create raised beds and sandboxes. Last year we used the kits to build a raised bed 4 feet tall and 4 feet wide by 4 feet deep for our giant pumpkins. The newest Frame It All® product is a curved timber kit that can be used to frame trees or to create round raised beds. The straight and curved kits can be combined to create many different shapes. Every Frame It All® kit contains all the hardware needed for connecting and stacking.

To save water and resources, try carving out planting areas from an existing lawn and replacing them with water-wise plants. Come to Yamagami’s Nursery for edging ideas and the plants to go with them. We are here to help you succeed…the first time!

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