Information and Resouces for the Do-it-Yourselfer - Great Lakes Landscaping

            ~ The Gardener ~

In this Issue:
        Publishers Notes
        Daily Chuckle
        Article: Irrigation Start-Up Tips
        Internet Tip
        Helpful Links

            ~ Publisher's Notes ~

Firstly, welcome to over 1000 new subscribers since February. Sorry
we missed the Feb. Issue, but weather here was mild, and skiing
was great...

Spring is here, Tester! It's time to plan for planting and waking up
our landscaping and gardens gracefully. Some quick tips:

If you have a dry spring, break out the hoses.   Spring is an important
time for new plants, and they will do much better in a summer drought
if you force some water on them in the spring.

Careful when raking lawns and beds... New shoots are extremely
fragile, and will damage easily.   You may think you are barely harming
them, but a few strokes with a rake will set an emerging bud back, and
take a good amount of time off of its normal growing season. This
includes your lawn!   Tender new shoots that spread from last year
can be destroyed easily, and you'll never even know your lawn was
trying to fill in... In fact, its best NOT to rake your lawn in the
spring. Overseed with a high quality seed early, taking advantage of
the extra spring moisture.

Work compost into the soil where you plan to have flower beds.   You
did start a compost pile last year, didn't you? It's never too late to start.
Use the rakings from this spring clean-up, and start one now!

            ~ The Daily Chuckle ~

Actual Fast Food Job Application

This is an actual job application someone submitted
at a fast-food establishment:

NAME: Greg Bulmash

DESIRED POSITION: Reclining. Ha ha. But seriously, whatever's
available. If I was in a position to be picky, I wouldn't be applying
here in the first place.

DESIRED SALARY: $185,000 a year plus stock options and a
Michael Ovitz style severance package. If that's not possible, make
an offer and we can haggle.

EDUCATION: Yes.

LAST POSITION HELD: Target for middle management hostility.

SALARY: Less than I'm worth.

MOST NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENT: My incredible collection of stolen
pens and post-it notes.

HOURS AVAILABLE TO WORK: Any.

PREFERRED HOURS: 1:30-3:30 p.m. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL SKILLS?: Yes, but they're better
suited to a more intimate environment.

MAY WE CONTACT YOUR CURRENT EMPLOYER?: If I had one,
would I be here?

DO YOU HAVE ANY PHYSICAL CONDITIONS THAT WOULD
PROHIBIT YOU FROM LIFTING UP TO 50 LBS?: Of what?

DO YOU HAVE A CAR?: I think the more appropriate question here
would be "Do you have a car that runs?"

HAVE YOU RECEIVED ANY SPECIAL AWARDS OR
RECOGNITION?: I may already be a winner of the Publishers
Clearinghouse Sweepstakes.

DO YOU SMOKE?: Only when set on fire.

WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE DOING IN FIVE YEARS?: Living in
the Bahamas with a fabulously wealthy super model who thinks I'm the
greatest thing since sliced bread. Actually, I'd like to be doing that now.

DO YOU CERTIFY THAT THE ABOVE IS TRUE AND COMPLETE TO
THE BEST OF YOUR KNOWLEDGE?: No, but I dare you to prove
otherwise.

SIGN HERE: Scorpio with Libra rising.

            ~ Article: Starting Up Irrigation ~

Irrigation start-up is meant to be quick and easy. We get many letters
from web visitors who are not sure how to proceed.   Here's some
quick pointers:

The water "ON" valve is probably located in your basement or crawl
space near the irrigation control panel. There is a funny looking
check valve outside of your house, where your system first comes
out onto the lawn. This strange valve is a backflow preventer, that
keeps your irrigation water from coming back into your house.

Remember, it's only water.   When you turn on your irrigation, you may
get water spraying any number of places. It's normal for the backflow
valve to leak like crazy at first. Turning your water on and off a few
times should 'set' it, and it will stop. It's also normal to have sprinklers
come on for a while, until the system pressures up properly, and the
valves seal.

Water like a geyser out of the ground is not normal, however. You've
a leak, from improper winterization, or some other damage, like a
snow plow.   Run through each of your zones looking for leaks,
sprinklers that won't rotate properly, or pop-up properly, and inventory
any problems you may find.   Almost everything is easily fixed.

Dig up any broken areas being careful not to cause any more damage,
and fix any cracked pipes, and replace any sprinklers that seem out
of whack.   Check your sprinklers carefully. You don't want to find out
you've one that isn't turning properly when the drought of July has
already set in, and you've a brown patch in an otherwise beautiful lawn.

            ~ Internet Tip ~

Have you ever been to a web site you find extremely interesting, like
http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net and seen a few links on the
same page you would like to investigate?   Rather then check those
pages out one at a time, simply "right click" on each link, and from the
resulting menu choose "open in new window" and each of the links will
open all at the same time as you read the page you are on.   While
you are reading, they will be opening, and you won't have to sit and
wait for each page to load. Just close each page as you read it. This
is a big time saver.   I generally go to a web site, open 4 or 5 pages
that seem interesting, then close them as I have read them.   Of
course, this tip is especially useful for those of us still stuck with slow
dial-up modems.   I've heard that officially the net past the 50% mark
with wide band fast cable or satelite dish modems in use.   Our cable
company says it will be some time before it's available to us... The
price of living in the beautiful rural...

            ~ Useful Links ~

Useful links at Great Lakes where you can get spring supplies:

Water Garden Supplies, complete kits, bacteria, filter media,
lights, shipped next day:
http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net/watergardens.htm

Wholesale Bare Root Plants, (TIP: Plant wildflower, perennial,
ground covers just below surface, about an inch, water well.)
Ships on Mondays for orders through the Thursday before.
Occasional delays from wet fields:
http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net/plants.htm

OASE Fountains, order EARLY, as they take about a month to ship,
each being custom built by OASE to order, per nozzle, HP, lighting:
http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net/fountains.htm

Vista Outdoor Lighting Kits and Supplies, ship next day, most items,
some lights take a few days to get here first, it's hard to stock
every item, but we try:
http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net/nite.htm

Irrigation Supplies, sprinklers, controllers, NEW this year-
DRIP IRRIGATION KITS and misc.drip supplies to irrigate your
shrub beds and landscaping:
http://www.greatlakeslandscaping.net/irrigation.htm

Thank you all, for visiting our web site, and a special thank you for the
many good comments we received on our new look, and new products.

See you in a few weeks, with a shorter letter, I promise!
Spike