GARDENING TIPS TO MAKE HOME YOUR HAPPY PLACE
CELEBRATE EARTH DAY April 22,2021
At Earth Works, we believe Earth Day presents a perfect opportunity to share ways we can all contribute to our remarkable planet's continued health and beauty. Here is a list of easy things you can do at home and in your garden to celebrate.


1.   Plant a tree – Trees remove carbon dioxide from the air, store carbon in the trees and soil, and release oxygen into the atmosphere—all essential factors in the fight to stop climate change.

2.   Create a Pollinator Garden – They support and maintain pollinators by supplying food in the form of pollen and nectar to ensure that these crucial animals stay in the area to keep pollinating our crops for continued fruit and vegetable production.

3.   Call a Beekeeper vs. an Exterminator – Bees are a critical part of food production worldwide, and their dwindling numbers should concern us all. Help save our struggling bees by allowing a beekeeper to capture the swarm alive.
 
4.    Landscape with Native & Florida Friendly Plants – Plants whose needs meet your local climate will naturally grow better, requiring less additional water, fertilization, and pest control. All positives for the health of our local waterways.

5.   Use Organic Fertilizers– Not only are they safe for the environment, your family, and your pets, they can enhance the soil. Plus, synthetic fertilizers require a significant amount of fossil fuels to produce. And their frequent runoff into our river is a major cause of harmful algae blooms.
 
6.   Build a Water Garden – When done correctly, ponds provide shelter and water to native wildlife and support for native plants. Also, by reducing your lawn area, you will conserve water and reduce the use of fertilizers.
 
7.   Consider Solar Panels – Solar power systems derive clean, pure energy from the sun. Installing solar panels on your home helps combat greenhouse gas emissions and reduces our collective dependence on fossil fuels. 

8.   Shop Local – The planet is perhaps the biggest beneficiary of consumers supporting locally owned small businesses. Shopping local reduces fossil fuel use by the suppliers and the shoppers, ultimately reducing your carbon footprint. 
FLORIDA NATIVES
Naturally beautiful, easy to grow, and environmentally friendly...

Find these and other Florida Friendly plants at our NEW ONLINE STORE
Discover the advantages of planting Florida natives in your yard.
As part of our natural habitat, they won’t require a lot of extra care, eliminating the excessive use of water and fertilizers, saving you time and money while helping to keep Florida’s ecosystem healthy. They are also a good source of food for wildlife, attracting birds, including hummingbirds, butterflies, and bees. 
For an extensive list of Florida Natives, go to https://www.fnps.org
7 Tips for Planting Your Pond
Aquascape Inc.
February 5, 2021

From colorful water lilies that dance on the pond’s surface to aquatic forget-me-nots that hug the edges of your water garden, it’s the amazing plants that put the “garden” in “water garden.” Things like color, height, and planting conditions are things you’ll want to consider when it comes to planting your pond.
1: Create Interest with Variety
Random placement of plants with varying textures and colors create more interest than using plants that have all the same growth habit or leaf shape. Use a combination of waterlilies and marginal plants such as canna, arrowhead, aquatic forget-me-not, water iris, and more. The options are almost endless and you can recreate your water garden into something new every year simply by choosing different hardy plants.

2: Play with Colors
Choose colors you like best and consider the type of lighting your water garden receives. Yellow, orange, and white help brighten shady areas, while cool blue and violet tone down the intensity of the sun’s rays. Experiment by mixing warm colors with cool ones. Yellow waterlilies look fabulous against a backdrop of blue water iris. Likewise, a purple waterlily such as Nymphaea ‘Violicious’ looks amazing in front of an orange canna lily.
LAWN MAINTENANCE TIPS FOR APRIL
1.
Consider a soil test for your lawn

Having a soil sample analysis done provides a baseline of information for what your lawn and garden need for healthy growth and blooms. If, for instance, the analysis shows the yard has adequate amounts of phosphorus, adding more is not only unnecessary but could be harmful in stormwater runoff resulting in algae blooms and fish kills. The proper fertilization timing is likewise essential as nutrients, including potassium and iron, aren’t bioavailable for grass uptake until the soil is warm. Once the ground warms and turfgrass roots awaken from dormancy various fertilizer formulas allow the uptake of nutrients and benefit a healthy growth cycle.
2.
Be on the look out for spring lawn and garden pest and rain induced diseases.

Regularly inspect your lawn and garden in April for harmful insects such as aphids, citrus leaf-miner, chinch bugs, mealybugs, and other pests that can quickly devastate an otherwise healthy landscape. April showers bring fungus and mildew. So be on the lookout for powdery mildew, black spot, and sooty mold.
Protect your lawn and garden against pests and pathogens with good cultural practices like frequent cleaning of pruning shears and other lawn care tools along with appropriate watering and fertilization regimes. And remember that not all insects are harmful. Ladybugs, lacewings, praying mantis, and many other insects provide pest control benefits to your lawn and garden. To nurture them requires care in the types and application of commonly used pesticides.

For help with identifying appropriate organic pesticides contact or visit our garden center.
For lawn care, fertilization, and lawn pest control contact our lawn care department for a 
LANDSCAPE PROJECT OF THE MONTH
An attractive way to meet the Beaches' stormwater mitigation codes.
John Cacchione, Earth Works Designer, discusses the benefits of incorporating a drainage swale in this Atlantic Beach landscape design to provide aesthetic benefits while protecting the environment and other neighbors’ property from stormwater runoff. 
Come in, find the purple tags and take advantage of this great deal while suplies last.
Plus, check out our NEW ONLINE STORE! There you will find our latest arrivals, current inventory, and pricing! You can purchase online and pick up or call for delivery
We would like to thank you all for your continued support!
Earth Works Gardens | earthworksjax.com |996-0712 | 12501 Beach Blvd.