30% off Trees and Shrubs

Roses excluded

Retail sales only. Includes potted and  B&B material,  some exclusions . . .

Rugs and Round Top Collection 25% off

Expires 10.31.09

While many of our plants are going dormant for the winter, the landscape of your dreams can become a reality on paper. Fall is the perfect time to get a jump-start on next season and to reflect on our landscapes, considering the things we liked or didn’t like about our yards this year. Finke Gardens is now offering a special rebate program to encourage those eager individuals to get a start on their landscape projects for next year.
About the Rebate

• Rebate is available on projects installed by Finke Gardens costing $2,500 or more

• Project must be installed before 5.31.10

• Rebate is in the value of a $200 credit applied to the invoice at the time of billing

• Design fees will also be credited to the bill at this time

• Rebate is available on designs completed before 2.15.10 (includes 50% down payment)

• No other discounts may be combined with this rebate offer

About Finke Gardens Design Services
The professional design staff at Finke Gardens has the knowledge and experience to help you create the landscape you’ve always imagined. Each landscape project is distinctive; we work with homeowners to develop plans that reflect their personal preferences and interests. Whether you’re interested in gardening, or just having a pleasant outdoor space to share time with your family and friends, Finke Gardens can provide a well-planned landscape that is eye-catching, affordable and easy to maintain.
Our landscape designers listen to your needs to customize your plan. We take great care to provide unique garden designs-as unique as our clients-and specialize in combining naturalized, native and hardy introduced plants, bringing the Nebraska-style landscape into your backyard. We work with homeowners to plan new home construction, landscape renovations, perennial gardens, water features and patio enhancements. Finke Gardens also has extensive experience with acreages, commercial properties and public spaces like parks and schools.
Design Fees

• Residential–$150 includes plan and one revision.

• Acreages–$250 minimum; complete design fees will vary with the scope of work.

• Commercial and public design fees vary with the scope of work.

• The design fee is credited to the project when Finke Gardens installs a project that is greater than $1,000.

Managing Your Garden Success
We offer a broad base of experience, plant knowledge and customer service to help with landscape management of large and small residential and commercial properties. Spring cleanup, re-mulching, pruning, weed control and on-going maintenance services can be customized to your needs.

Another beautiful season is coming to an end and our retail store has closed for the season.  The business office will be open 9am to 3pm Monday through Friday to continue to serve your needs.  Now is the perfect time to schedule fall clean up, prepare your gardens for the upcoming season, and begin a design for your landscape.

Fall clean up services include

Re-mulching

Pruning of shrubs

Application of Wilt Pruf to protect those broadleaf and newly planted evergreens.  See the related article “Keep Evergreens Green All Winter.”

Cutting back of ornamental grasses and perennials.  Consider leaving your ornamental grasses this winter for their rich golden colors and graceful forms.  Grasses and perennials can be cleaned up in the spring as well.

Trunk Guards for winter protection against hungry rabbits

Consider these other services

Now is a great time to incorporate organic matter into your perennial beds and vegetable gardens before next season.  Freeze thaw cycles over the winter months will naturally add structure to your soil preparing it for the upcoming growing season.

Use this time to begin designing your landscape for the upcoming spring insuring that you’ll be first in line next season.  Finke Gardens is currently offering a $200 rebate on installed projects of $2,500 or more.  For more details see our article “Design Now, For Next Year & Beyond.”

As we move into winter Finke Garden’s is here for snow removal.  Call to schedule an appointment for a free estimate.

Trees For Fall Color

Maples

Maples have been a long time favorite for their reliable fall color and their faster growth rates.  This year we see some new and improved selections worth considering.  The Shantung Maple (Acer truncatum) is a rounded ornamental tree, growing 25 feet tall by 20 feet wide. Leaves emerge in the spring with hues of red and purple later turning to a dark green.  This maple is noted for its yellow and orange fall color, which sometimes has splashes of red and purple mixed in.  Another small ornamental maple, Amur Maple (Acer ginnala) is extremely tough and durable, performing well in hot and dry conditions.  Fast growth and excellent orange to red fall color make this maple a popular tree.  Grows 15 to 20 feet tall and 12 to 15 feet wide. Also consider ‘Embers’ a selection with more reliable red fall color.

Similar to Red Sunset Maple, Burgundy Belle Red Maple (Acer rubrum ‘Burgundy Belle’) has outstanding red fall color turning to a burgundy, which reliably marks the arrival of fall each year.  A nicely rounded tree, Burgundy Belle grows 45 feet tall and wide. If you are looking for Autumn Blaze Maple try Sienna Glen.  Sienna Glen Maple (Acer freemanii ‘Sienna Glen’) features a quick growth rate coupled with the ornamental qualities of the red maple to create a great tree for many situations.  Growing 50 feet tall and 40 feet wide. Both Burgundy Belle and Sienna Glen show greater tolerances to high soil pH than their former counterparts.

For a truly amazing display of yellows, oranges, and reds, turn to Fall Fiesta Sugar Maple (Acer saccharum ‘Fall Fiesta’). Grows 60 feet high by 45 feet wide.

Oaks

Oaks, well known for their rugged durable nature, not only produce great shade but also bring some excellent color to the fall displays.  Many selections from the red oak group have very nice red fall color and normally reach heights of 40 to 50 feet tall with similar widths.  Choose from Red Oak (Quercus rubra), Scarlet Oak (Quercus coccinea), and Shumard Oak (Quercus shumardii).  For fall color also consider the White Oak (Quercus alba). This is a large rounded shade tree growing 50 feet tall and wide.  Variable fall color can range from muted browns to brilliant red depending on the season.  All oaks at Finke Gardens are grown from seed resulting in genetic variability.  If fall color is an important quality to you, pick your oaks in the fall.

Pears

Pear trees are well known both for being covered with white flowers in the spring and for the brilliant red and orange colors they display in the fall.  The Korean Sun Pear (Pyrus fauriei ‘Westwood’) is a smaller growing pear at 20 feet tall and wide.  This pear shows excellent red fall color.  Both the Autumn Blaze Pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Autumn Blaze’) and the Cleveland Select Pear (Pyrus calleryana ‘Cleveland Select’ also known as ‘Chanticleer’) produce a very nice fall show of red-orange colors.  Autumn Blaze grows to be 35 feet tall by 25 feet wide, while Cleveland Select tends to be narrower at 30 feet tall and 15 feet wide.

Other trees to consider

Autumn Brilliance Serviceberry (Amelanchier ‘Autumn Brilliance’):  A colorful tree all year long, the serviceberry is loaded with creamy white flowers in the spring followed by small tasty fruits that start red and turn purple.  Orange red fall color provides the perfect end to an outstanding season.  Serviceberry thrives in part shade and grows 12 to 15 feet tall.  Grown as single stem and clumps.

Autumn Gold Ginkgo (Ginkgo biloba ‘Autumn Gold’):  This stately tree has uniquely fan shaped leaves that turn a golden yellow color in the fall.  One of the oldest trees on earth, the ginkgo is a graceful, long-lived tree that will provide several lifetimes of enjoyment.  Leaves of the Ginkgo drop within 24 hours of freeze resulting in easy fall clean up.

For other interesting fall coloring trees stop in and ask to see some of the following:

• State Street Maple (Golden Yellow)
• Katsura Tree (Pale Yellow)
• Wildfire Black Gum (Vibrant Red)
• Sweet Gum (Yellow, Red, Purple)
• Baldcypress (Russet Red)
• Royal Frost Birch (Orange)

Shrubs for Fall Color

Regent Serviceberry (Amelanchier ‘Regent’) is a smaller version of the serviceberry.  It suckers more prolifically and can create a nice thicket if desired.  Regent will grow 4 to 5 feet tall and wide and shows a nice yellow orange fall color.

Autumn Magic Chokeberry (Aronia melanocarpa ‘Autumn Magic’) is a great all purpose shrub that can grow in full sun or part shade.  White flowers in spring, ornamental fruit resembling blueberries, and orange red fall color give this shrub year round interest.  Chokeberry is a great shrub to consider for attracting wildlife. Grows 5 to 6 feet tall and wide.

Henry’s Garnet Sweetspire (Itea virginica ‘Henry’s Garnet’) is a great small shrub that has white spike shaped flowers in the spring and outstanding purple red fall color.  Colorful fall foliage of this plant holds for several weeks.  Henry’s Garnet thrives in light shade but can be used in full sun if sited in a moist, favorable environment.  Grows 3 to 4 feet wide and 4 to 5 feet wide.

Chicago Lustre Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum ‘Chicago Lustre’):  Shiny dark green foliage, bluish black fall fruit, and red fall color make this viburnum a great addition to your landscape.  Very tough and durable, Chicago Lustre requires little maintenance as it shoots up 8 to 10 feet tall.  Other cultivars are available including Blue Muffin, Moonglow, and Papoose.

For other interesting fall coloring shrubs stop in and ask to see some of the following:

• Fothergilla (Orange and Red)
• Winterthur & Brandywine Viburnum (Red)
• Tiger Eyes  & Prairie Flame Sumac (Red)
• Rusty Blackhaw Viburnum (Reddish Purple)
• Oakleaf Hydrangea (Burgundy)

A well-planned landscape can offer many more uses than a person may first think.  We often landscape with the goal of adding value to our homes through visual interest, property value, or spaces for enjoyment and socialization, but often don’t realize the value of wildlife in our landscapes.  A landscape with wildlife can be a truly amazing thing.  The solitude and beauty of the landscape is greatly enhanced when there’s an opportunity to watch wildlife using it too.  Seeing a lone squirrel making the first footprints in the snow on a cold winter morning or the birds bathing with a fury of splashing adds great enjoyment for those who stop to watch and soak in the fun.

Animals have basic needs for food, water, and a place to call home.  Birds find the enclosure of evergreen trees a perfect spot for winter protection, nesting, and food.  Some evergreens to consider include Concolor Fir, Norway Spruce, Colorado Spruce, Black Hills Spruce, and Eastern Red Cedar.

In addition to providing protection and food, deciduous trees offer foraging sites where birds can hunt and peck for worms and insects. Maples, Oaks, and Hackberry’s are just a few trees that fulfill these needs for birds.  Smaller ornamental trees like Crabapples and Serviceberry offer multiple seasons of interest for us and produce fruits that the birds enjoy.

Adding shrubs changes the scale of our landscape making it more intimate and personal, while many produce fruits great for attracting birds.  The Regent Serviceberry, Chokeberry, Dogwoods, Sumacs, Coralberry, Snowberry, and Viburnums are a small handful to choose from.  Shrubs offer nearby protection for birds as the forage.

Bringing a few extra features in the landscape can make it a true wildlife oasis. The simple sound of water is highly attractive to birds.  A small water fountain, birdbath, or even a waterfall provides birds with a place to play, bathe, and drink.  Combining all of this with suet feeders, hopper feeders, and thistle feeders makes a great place for many different kinds of birds to gather.  Incorporating Butterfly Bush, Black-eyed Susan, Milkweed, Lilacs, and more will attract butterflies adding another layer of wildlife interest.  For more information on landscaping for wildlife interest check out these publications by University of Nebraska – Lincoln.

Backyard Wildlife: Planting For Habitat

Landscape Plants for Wildlife

Butterfly Gardening

A Class will be held at Finke Gardens and Nursery on September 26 at 10:00 am discussing how to optimize a landscape for wildlife interest.  For more information on this class and other classes refer to our class schedule.

Free planting of Trees

Valued $129 or more

Planting within 10 miles of store, some exclusions…

All shrubs 30% off

Rose & Dwarf Conifers included

Pots 30% off

Terracotta, Glazed, Concrete – all sizes!

Expires 9.30.09

Beautiful Selection of Mums, Pansies, Flowering Cabbage & Kale

The Rotary Strolling Garden at 27th & Capitol Parkway in Lincoln is a great place to visit all season-long, but early fall is especially good to see the dimension added by ornamental grasses.

Many of the tall perennials are at their peak, and the cooler night temperatures enhance the bloom color of all plants, particularly the roses.

Here’s a sampling of how the plants worked together in September, just the second season of their growth.

The Rotary Gazebo  is the transition point between the formal rose garden and the more contemporary strolling garden.

Finke Gardens offers a great selection of mums, pansies, flowering cabbage and kale that can be teamed with cold tolerant annuals and perennials.

Sedges or carex are smaller scale grass-like plants that give a great tuft of texture.

Black Scallop Ajuga and Plum Pudding Coralbells bring purple foliage to the fall beauty mix. The peachy/brown foliage of Caramel Coralbells is a perfect complement to traditional rust and gold mums. All will tolerate frosts, and will hold up well until winter is here to stay.

The 4-H CyberFair in the Farmland Building will showcase technology and how it relates to 4-H. New to this year’s Cyber Fair will be the Backyard Living Experience on the patio of the Farmland Building. In addition, visitors can cruise the latest Dell technology at the Cyber Cafe, watch footage of county fairs on a giant inflatable screen and see robotics demonstrations presented by the Geospatial and Robotics Technology Program.

Operation Military Kids will be back at this year’s 4-H Cyber Fair. Fairgoers will be able to create a button to honor friends and family serving in the military. Operation Military Kids asks that participants bring a photo no bigger than 1 1/2 inch because the buttons are 3 inches.

Backyard Living Display – Gather new landscaping ideas, discover ways to help save amphibians (while interacting with live frogs), learn about wildlife found in your own backyard, and also dig up designs for your very own vegetable garden.

While in the backyard, join in a game of Jeopardy! Partners on this project are Omaha Henry Doorly Zoo, Finke Gardens, Wild Bird Habitat Stores, UNL Agronomy and Horticulture Department and the UNL Master Gardeners.

More information about the Cyber Fair can be found here.

For more information about Nebraska 4-H at the state fair, including a complete schedule of events, visit the Nebraska 4-H Web site.

Good combinations make rose gardens sustainable

By Karma Larson, Nebraska Statewide Arboretum

A traditional rose garden can intimidate even the most seasoned gardener with the required fertilizing, pruning, spraying and winterizing. But newer, hardier varieties of roses–Knockout, Drift, Carefree, ‘Easy going’™ roses–are much less demanding. Combined with ornamental grasses, perennials and flowering shrubs, a rose garden may be just as easy to manage as any perennial border.

One of the primary considerations is the width of the planting bed, according to Luann Finke of Finke Gardens & Nursery. Most roses are about 4′ in height and spread, about the width of many perennial beds or borders.

“It’s difficult to have effective plant combinations or create any sense of flow when there’s only space for one plant”, said Finke.

She recommends borders that are 9-10′ in width to allow space for small plants in the foreground and larger grasses or shrubs in the background.

The wider space allows for a slightly bermed area that elevates the roses and shelters smaller edging plants, creating a milder microclimate, extending seasonal interest and providing a much more varied landscape.

Roses don’t vary much in size and or season of interest. Shifting the scale with smaller, finely textured groundcovers in the front and arching or vertical shrubs or grasses can make a tremendous difference. Thinking in terms of perspective is essential in any landscape design, according to Finke. How does it look from inside the house, from an upstairs window, from a patio, sidewalk or driveway? A wider bed can make planting beds appealing from a variety of viewpoints.

For areas that will be viewed from close-up, finely-textured plants and subtle colors are effective. Even just two or three plants can create an effective mix, and large shrubs or grasses in the background can frame the view and give the space more structure. Finke recommends native plants for areas that can hold their own all year long and require a minimum of care.

Transitions are important. Spaces around buildings or patios tend to be more formal and linear and areas farther out larger and less manicured. Varying the plants from tidy, compact species to more free-flowing ones, from subtle colors to more dramatic ones, or from fine-textured to large, bold foliage, can result in that inexplicable sense of rightness a well-designed space provides.
Paying attention to each plant’s characteristics can also help determine good transitions and combinations: foliage texture, stem color, color of flower bud and of spent petals, spring and fall foliage, growth habit–upright, arching, spreading.

There are so many plants to choose from and endless combinations to try.

Finke said, “That’s the beauty of public gardens like the new Strolling Garden in central Lincoln. You can see what you like and what works before trying things in your own yard.”

Effective Combinations

Small grouping with subtle colors and silvery, fine-textured foliage: Pink Gnome rose, Russian sage, Kit Cat catmint, Helen Von Stein lambs’ ear.

Dramatic, stronger-colored flowers and foliage and contrasting growth habits: Red Velvet yarrow, Rosy Returns daylily, Husker Red penstemon, National Arboretum fountain grass, Purple Emperor sedum, Gold Bar maidengrass, Salmon Impression rose.

Strong yellows and greens in a variety of forms: Patrinia, My Antonia aster, goldenrod, yarrow, butterfly bush, Yellow Submarine rose.

Plants with similar flower colors but different textures and habits: Southernwood (Artemisia abrotanum), lambs’ ear, butterfly bush, aster, plumed salvia, Caramel coral bells.

Large, dramatic plants and strong colors in this hardy, drought-tolerant planting (not for a small space or timid gardener!): fleeceflower, Amsonia, Joe Pye weed, Northwinds switchgrass, sideoats grama, Fireworks goldenrod, My Antonia and Stokes aster, coral bells, Purple Emperor sedum, yucca, butterfly bush, coneflower, purple poppy mallow and sedum.