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 Amazing Garden Stock at Potomac Garden CenterAmazing Garden Stock at Potomac Garden Center The Potomac Garden Centers in North Potomac and Urbana Maryland are now fully stocked for the 2012 growing season. We’ve never had such a gorgeous assortment of annuals, perennials, hanging baskets, trees, shrubs, grasses, sod, vegetable & herb plants, bedding plants, pre-planted Ready-to-Go Pots…the list goes on and on. Come in for best selection soon.
Not only do we have the highest-quality stock for your landscaping needs you can also find gardening containers, soils and fertilizers, supplies, tools, mulch, statuary, seeds, bird feeders and birdbaths, fire pits, fountains (we can install), outdoor furniture… – and our amazing Gift Shop full of wondrous crafts, party accessories, ceramics, wreaths, silk arrangements, popular collectibles. Too much to mention. So stop by soon and see what Potomac Garden Center has in store for you this year! Be sure to check out specials frequently.
Posted in Firewood, Garden Products, Maryland Gardening Gift Shop MD, Potomac Garden Center, Spring, Spring flowers sale shop maryland md
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 Outstanding Landscapes Begin With a Professional The investment you make in hiring a good landscaping company can go a long way in raising the monetary and enjoyment value of your residential or commercial property. A landscape project is a living, growing thing. Not only should it be designed and installed properly – you are ultimately responsible for the care of your new landscape – whether you maintain it or hire someone else to.
There are five main categories of specialization in landscape contracting:
Design/Build - They do it all – Design the landscape, choose and install the proper plants for the location. They also can build outdoor structures integrated in the landscape like retaining walls, patios, pools, water features, walkways, etc.
Installation – Landscape contractors in this area install a wide range of features from plants to hardscapes. They may have designers or architects in-house or work with independents. Proper installation is imperative to the long life of your plants. Professionals use appropriate construction materials and are craftsmen. Proper horticultural techniques combined with proper soil and bed preparation are what you’re paying for.
Maintenance – Few people have the time or energy to properly care for their landscape. There are companies that specialize in maintenance and educated in horticulture that will do this for your residential or commercial properties. Pruning, fertilization, lawn care, integrated pest management, cleanups, seasonal flower planting are all services they can provide.
Residential/Commercial – Not only do these landscape professionals create landscapes for homeowners but they can maintain commercial properties – inside and out. Office buildings, hotels, apartment complexes, condominiums – or entire communities – for commercial, retail or municipal sites contract their services.
Exterior/Interior - Some landscaping companies specialize in interior gardens. They will enhance the beauty of your interior buildings and add to its enjoyment just like exterior landscape contractors with plants that do well in an indoor environment.
What are you looking to do in the landscape?
It is always a good idea to first map out what it is you require. Design? Installation? Maintenance? Move or prune a few plants? A complete landscape makeover? If you are redoing your landscape, get a very specific design plan in writing and you should also have a drawing that you can compare to the written proposal. Usually you will give a 30-50% deposit for the work to proceed.
Some of the landscape services you may need in your job:
- Design
- Grading
- Drainage
- Erosion Control
- Soil amendment
- Irrigation
- Planting trees and shrubs
- Lawn sodding or seeding
- Hardscape – walks, walls, patios, decks
- Seasonal/annual gardens
- Outdoor lighting
- Water gardens or fountain installation
- Mulch
- Maintenance
- Pest control
- Tree evaluation, pruning, or management
- Tree removal
- Lawn care – mowing, edging, blowing, fertilizing
How do you find a good landscape company?
Talk to your neighbors with yards you admire for residential or business property managers whose landscapes are maintained well. A recommendation is always a good place to start. Check out some actual job sites of a contractor you’re interested in.
Browse the web. Most landscape companies have portfolios and testimonials they are happy to share with you.
Experience may matter to you so check how long the owners have been in business.
Make sure they are licensed and insured in Maryland. Look for associations and certification logos on their websites and collateral. Some important professional certifications and associations that Potomac Garden Center has are :
-Landscape Contractors Association(LCA)
-ICPI certified installer(paver installation)
-MHIC # In Maryland a MHIC license is required for home improvement which includes “an improvement to land adjacent” to the residence.
-Certified Landscape Technician (CLT)
-Maryland Certified Professional Horticulturalist (CPH)
-Maryland Dept of Agriculture – Certified Pest Control Applicator
Ask if their company employees will be doing all the work or they subcontract. Reputable companies will not use undocumented workers. If their price is too low this could be an indication that something is not quite right or you will not get a complete, professional job.
So if your property’s landscape needs beautification and/or care choose wisely to find your perfect match for your project and you’ll enjoy the amazing results for years to come. And, – make sure they get the perfect start by installing healthy, vigorous stock from Potomac Garden Centers in North Potomac and Urbana Maryland! Potomac Garden Center specializes in Community Landscape Maintenance – for the difference in your property that gets noticed.
Posted in Community Landscaping Maintenance
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 Weed Pre-emergents for Lawn and Under Mulch An early Spring means a good opportunity for weeds to get established and get growing! It’s critical to get lawn pre-emergent down early this year. Forsythia is already blooming in areas. Typically this is an indicator of when you need to have a pre-emergent down (we’re likely a month ahead of season at this point!).
We have Organic corn-gluten as an option – on sale for a limited time -check our Specials. We have popular, traditional products as well.
Bagged and bulk hardwood shredded mulch is flying out of the garden centers this week. Potomac Garden Center has delivery options if you need more than you can pick up in your vehicle. We strongly suggest applying a pre-emergent like Preen underneath your new mulch to help prevent weeds. You’ll be glad you took this extra step later in the season. It greatly reduces your landscape beds’ weed-pulling chores.
Mulch Tip: more mulch is not better – don’t pile too much mulch on your plants (some landscapers included!) – it can be very harmful. Look for the trunk flare on your trees. Apply at least 3″-6″ away from trunks of trees and shrubs to prevent disease. If you’re not sure how it should be done, please come in and ask us, we’ll be happy to show you. See more mulch tips and a mulch calculator on the Potomac Garden Center ground materials website page to help you from under-or-over-ordering mulch.
 Don't give weeds a chance Questions? Stop by Potomac Garden Center in North Potomac or Urbana, MD – or contact us. We’re happy to point you towards the latest and best gardening products available for your lawn and landscape.
Posted in Garden Products, Gardening Tips, Spring flowers sale shop maryland md
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We’ve all been enjoying the unseasonably warm weather this month. Some eager gardeners have been stopping by asking us for tomatoes and summer annuals and our answer is: too early! Weather can change quickly, a late frost can harm or kill unprotected plants and bring disease to others planted before the ground warms up.
If you’re eager to get some color in the yard try some tough, cool-weather thriving annuals like pansies, snapdragons or verbena. They offer an array of colors and snaps are great for cut flowers. All annuals love a good turning over of the soil- cultivate about 8″ deep- with addition of soil amendments like peat moss or Bumper Crop Organic Soil Builder .
For containers we have Gardeners Gold Organic Potting Soil and Miracle Gro Potting soil. (If a surprise drop in temperature does come we have rolling drainage trays so you can scoot your pots to a warmer place to protect them overnight if needed.) Below is a general probability chart from the Maryland Department of Agriculture…
 Freeze Chart for Maryland
So… unless you’re prepared to cover your plants in the event that Mother Nature sends a last blast of winter frost the safest time to plant annuals is “not right now” – if the soil isn’t soaked with torrents of cold Spring showers that is! See the 2012 Planting Zone chart for the Potomac Garden Center areas. Potomac Garden Center sells plants that will always thrive in the Maryland area – it’s up to you to make the calculated decision when to safely plant. Happy Gardening this Spring! Come to us with all your questions and our gardening experts are pleased to be of service.
 plant hardiness Zone Map for Maryland & DC
Posted in Garden Products, Gardening Tips, Potomac Garden Center, Spring flowers sale shop maryland md
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 Congratulations to the Winner of the Horse Raffle!
Congratulations to the Winner of our Plush Horse Raffle!
On December 22, 2011, with his animal “friends” looking on, our loveable, lifesize, plush horse was presented to the winner of our exciting “Horse” Raffle , Judye from Rockville. She was giving it to her daughter Melanie, age 11 who really likes horses. We’re certain she was ecstatic to see her surprise gift and will enjoy the beautiful horse’s company as much as we did in the Potomac Garden Center Gift Shop in North Potomac.
We also had the help of some of our customers in drawing the winning ticket from the many entries. John Wang (6) and his brother did an excellent job of picking the lucky winner.
Of course there was a bunch of holiday fun “horsin around”…another friend and customer, Ken Keith is shown with his new “Bud” he made at the drawing – our overgrown and very fuzzy orangutan. We hope Ken will let us know if the troopers were lenient in the HOV lanes…
Posted in Events, Maryland Gardening Gift Shop MD, Potomac Garden Center
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Tagged gifts, holidays, horse raffle, lifesize plush animals garden center maryland, Maryland Gardening Gift Shop MD, North Potomac MD Gardening Center Landscaping Services, PGC, plush animals, winter
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 Community Discount Card When your Neighborhood Community contracts Potomac Garden Center to maintain its common grounds you get an exclusive bonus. Not only will your neighborhood or development be professionally landscaped and beautifully maintained by one of the top Garden Centers in Maryland all households are invited to join the exclusive Community Discount Program and save 20% on everything*, all year long at Potomac Garden Center just by presenting their valuable bonus card.
Be sure when it’s time to renew your Community Maintenance contract that you keep this real value in mind! The Community Discount Program is only available to homeowners residing in these communities. It is not available to the general public. Think of all the money you’ll save at Potomac Garden Center for trees, bushes, mulch, annuals, perennials, houseplants, supplies – even gifts from our Gift Shop -just for using our services! You won’t get this with an “ordinary” landscaper. With PGC you get the added benefit of purchasing our Garden Center’s products at a discount.
So make sure, when it’s time to find a professional to take care of your Community Landscaping Maintenance, you choose Potomac Garden Center – the smartest choice- for a more-beautiful community as a whole with a valuable 20% Off Savings Card bonus – just for you & your neighbors (valid as long as we are providing your community with our landscaping services). Use any time at our North Potomac or Urbana Maryland Garden Center locations .
*Excludes: Gift Cards, Labor, Delivery Charges, Taxes, Sale Items. Cannot be combined with other offers. Must be present at time of purchase. Valid only for residents within communities where PGC provides landscape maintenance services.
 Beautiful Birds of Winter A favorite pastime during the chilly winter months is feeding the birds and viewing the variety of overwintering guests you can attract to your feeder from your window. Research has shown that birdwatching lowers blood pressure and adds to an overall healthier and more-relaxed life. Potomac Garden Center is stocked with gourmet, wild bird food (like black sunflower seed, suet, nyjer, thistle, peanut splits, corn) that you can offer to keep the show of your colorful visitors flocking back to your yard.
Be sure to fill your birdfeeders with a variety of the different fares to attract the widest variety. The cardinals, bluejays, nuthatches, woodpeckers, doves, chickadees, wrens will put on a busy show while they inpatiently wait for their turn to snatch their favored treats. Potomac Garden Center has many feeders and cheerful birdhouses to choose from that will keep them perched in your yard. They’ll be nesting in the Spring and busy keeping the insect population down throughout the warm seasons.
One of the most overlooked attractant for wild birds is the birdbath. When the freezing weather turns water into hard ice, supplying fresh water to your visitors in a heated birdbath will draw a crowd of thirsty creatures. We have several styles of handsome birdbaths that will look perfect in your yard and help them through the hard, frozen months.
Stop by the Potomac Garden Center nearest you in North Potomac or Urbana, Maryland this season and stock up on birding supplies for the winter months – and enjoy the entertaining display your grateful, feathered friends will create for your birdwatching pleasure.
p.s. A little bird told us that birdfeeders also make an excellent gift for children and adults alike for any occasion!
 Seasoned Firewood for Sale & Delivery Potomac Garden Center has mountains of seasoned, quality, mixed hardwood ready to deliver. You can even have it stacked neatly on your porch or patio if you like for a nominal fee.
When you get firewood from Potomac Garden Center, you’re getting the best.
PGC’s firewood is:
- Seasoned. Freshly cut wood can be up to 45% water, seasoned is 20-25%. The dryer the firewood, the easier it is to start, produces more heat, and burns cleaner. Be sure to keep it in a protected area or covered with a plastic drop sheet after delivery.
- Consistent size. Stacks nicely and easier to handle.
- A Source You Can Trust. There is a quarantine going on now in parts of Maryland because of the presence of a very destructive invasive insect called the emerald ash borer.The Maryland Department of Agriculture (MDA) has created a quarantine area in Charles, Howard, and Prince George’s Counties in MD. Potomac Garden Center gets its firewood from approved areas to help protect Maryland’s trees.
 Everyone Loves A Warm Fire How much should you get? A standard cord of firewood is 128 cubic feet of wood. This is usually a pile 8 feet long by 4 feet tall by 4 feet deep. We also sell 1/2 cords, and smaller quantities of 6, 12, and 24 cubic feet – and a bundling of kindling to get your hearth or firepit glowing.
Contact PGC today and enjoy a crackling, cozy fire when the temperature drops!
 Prepare Your Soil Get a head start now on preparing your gardening beds. Fall is an excellent time to prepare new beds for planting now or in the Spring. The cooler temperatures, weaker sunlight and shorter days of Fall mean less energy goes into top growth and more into establishing a strong root system. Planting in the Maryland area can usually continue through October.
After choosing the proper plants for your location-taking into account plant hardiness and the amount of available light-the most important thing you can do to insure success is to properly prepare your soil.
After marking off the area, you need to rid it of perennial weeds. Rototilling will only increase your weed crop, so you will need to carefully pull all underground stems and roots. Be sure to also remove any additional roots you find when you turn the soil over.
A quicker way to do the job is to use a broad spectrum herbicide such as Roundup which is available at Potomac Garden Center. You may have to repeat the applications on especially tough weeds. Follow label directions and safety precautions.
The soil you’re aiming to create should hold moisture, but also be well drained. If it doesn’t drain well now, it probably has high clay content which is usual for Maryland gardens. The actual soil particles are very small and pack together very closely, suffocating and drowning plant roots. Adding gypsum to clay soil can help break it up.
If your soil drains very quickly and you need to water frequently, it is probably sandy. Soil particles are relatively large and fit together loosely. Plants rarely drown in sandy soil unless the area is low-lying or the water line is high. In this instance it would be best to make a raised bed.
 Bumper Crop Organic Soil Builder The solution, both for maintaining good drainage, and moisture retention, is generous amounts of organic matter. It separates clay particles, creating air space, and holds water and nutrients in sand. Good sources of organic matter are Gardener’s Gold organic compost, well-decomposed manure, leaf mold and damp peat moss. These should be incorporated into the soil when it is turned over to a depth of 12″ or more. At this time you can also remove any sizable rocks, roots or other debris.
Most perennials grow best in a soil that is slightly acid to almost neutral-a pH of about 5.5-6.5. Most soils in this area are probably very acid and will need to have lime added every 2-3 years unless it’s near acid-loving bushes like azaleas.
If you prefer to estimate your fertilizer needs, there are a few things to keep in mind. Phosphorous, and some of the trace elements, even when present in the soil in sufficient quantities, are only available to plants within a fairly narrow pH range. Keeping your soil pH at 5.5-6.5 should be adequate for most plants.
Fertilizers can either be natural – Potomac Garden Center carries Espoma products such as bone meal, dried blood, cottonseed meal, greensand or a ready-mixed blend. Or you can use dry or granular fertilizers that are either quick or slow release (i.e. Osmocote). You can use either type if you are going to plant now. If you are going to delay planting until spring, wait and add the fertilizer then unless you are using natural fertilizers which break down slowly and will not leach out readily. For this reason, PGC suggests them for any sandy soil. If your soil is sandy and you wish to use chemical fertilizers you should use smaller doses and repeat at intervals.
Natural fertilizers should be incorporated into the soil when you turn it over, especially phosphorous (bone meal, rock phosphate), as it doesn’t move readily through the soil. Dry or granular fertilizers can be sprinkled on the surface and raked into the top few inches of soil.
Properly preparing a bed can take a lot of time and effort, but in the end, it repays you many times over. Need help and advice? The experts at Potomac Garden Center can advise you on plant selection and products for preparing your soil.
 Celebrate with Pumpkins and Gourds this Fall! We have a plethora of bright, orange pumpkins- every shape and size – at Potomac Garden Center right now for Fall. Ever wonder how pumpkins got so popular and found an honored spot on everyone’s front porch every Autumn?
Pumpkins are believed to have originated in North America. Seeds from related plants have been found in Mexico dating back to 7000 to 5500 BC. When the pilgrims landed they saw the pumpkins grown by the Indians and it soon became a staple in their diets. Pumpkins are from the squash family and they’re rich in vitamin A and fiber. Thinner skinned varieties are more suitable for cooking soups, pies, stews, and breads.
 Jack-o'-lantern Pumpkins and Halloween
Halloween dates back at least 3,000 years to the Celtic celebration of Samhain (pronounced “sow-ain”) – meaning “Summers End”. The festival started sundown on October 31st and ended at sundown on November 1. It was similar to a New Years celebration. On this magical night, glowing jack-o’-lanterns, carved originally from turnips or gourds (after the 1800′s: pumpkins! because they’re easier to carve) glowed on porches and in windows to welcome departed loved ones. They first used lumps of coal to light them and later candles.
 PGC Gift Shop Samhain was (and still isn’t) an evil celebration about ghouls and devils but rather they believed that souls were closest to Earth at this time and it was the prime time to contact them to say good-by or ask for assistance. It was also the Celebration of the Harvest.
So salute the bountiful harvest this fall with a pumpkin! Select big, fat, small, tall, any shape that’s your favorite for your decorating pleasure at Potomac Garden Center in Urbana or North Potomac MD. Bring the whole family for happy memories enjoying the ol’ tradition of selecting your favorite pumpkin, gourds and other bounty. Don’t forget to browse our chrysanthemums. Incredible colors of mums are available (for a while!). Stop by our famous Gift Shop for even more Fall Decor for fun and excitement.
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