Filed under: General Blog Entry's, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Blood Moon 1/31/2018, Blue Moon, Full Moon, Last Blue Moon of 2018, Moondance, Moonlight Pond Party
We have been blessed with some interesting Full Moons as of late, including a Full ‘Blue/Blood Moon’ (Eclipse) in January! Followed by a February with NO Full Moon! Tonight (Saturday, March 31st.) is the second Full moon of March aka: a blue moon & within 60 days of the January Blue/Blood Moon! Rare indeed…
Back in January we had the first Blue/Blood Moon since 1866. It won’t happen again in our lifetime…
Tonight’s Blue Moon is the last one of 2018! In fact the Almanac says we wont’ have another Blue Moon until 2020! On Halloween night to be exact… Spooky :0
- Tonight’s Full Moon is also a “Paschal Moon” – The first Full Moon after the Spring Equinox – the following Sunday is Easter (tomorrow – April 1st.)!
- If you practice Moon Phase Gardening this is a good day to plant potatoes and carrots and to transplant perennials 🙂
Get out tonight and walk through the garden. Strolling through a garden at night by the light of the full moon is an AWESOME experience. And if you miss this one, you won’ get another chance until Halloween 2020! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
I’m going to enjoy the Full Moon tonight and the Sunrise in the morning!
Have a great evening!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Butterfly House, Fountains, General Blog Entry's, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden | Tags: Easter Weekend, Friday blog, Friday Radio Report, gardening 101, Gardening answers, gardening questions, Good Friday
Another GREAT Show today with Dan Reaves & Sea Bass – The 180 Crew! Thanks to all that tuned in and called in!
I’m on with the 180 Crew with Dan Reaves & Sea Bass- every Friday from 10-11am with ALL your gardening and Outdoor Lifestyle questions – 731-423-8101. You can TEXT in too – 731-277-5155. Listen LIVE at 101.5 WNWS – FM.
I had several calls and texts today on the show. A mixed bag really – here’s a quick rundown…
- Spraying fruit trees? Most all are already in bloom now – so wait till the blooms are all gone (you can harm pollinators and contaminate fruit during this time). After all the petals have fallen choose a good all-in 1 mix (Organic is my preference) and follow the label guidelines.
- When can I plant a Japanese Maple? Right NOW! it’s a great time to plant. Plant the tree a little high and don’t use a heavy fertilizer, try Milorganite. And remember to mulch.
- We had a guy ask about Hardwood Bark Mulch – is it good? What color is best? YES, it’s a good mulch. Make sure its hammered and aged. I prefer brown mulch but some like black. Use your judgement based on the colors of your home, landscape etc. – Whatever YOU like best is perfect 🙂
- WHEN is our Spring Fest. & Water Garden Workshop? It’s Saturday, April 21st.! It’s FREE! Y’all Come!
And they shall mock him, and shall scourge him, and shall spit upon him, and shall kill him: and the third day he shall rise again.
~ Mark 10:34
This is ‘Good Friday’ and Easter Weekend! I hope everyone is able to be with the ones you love and has time to reflect on our many blessings. I plan on doing just that!
Thanks and have a GREAT Easter Weekend!
Peace,
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden | Tags: feeding moss, Gardening, Gardening answers, Gardening Info, moss, Moss Booster Recipe, moss gardening, Spring Gardening, Water Gardening
The moss is really greening up nice this year! I LOVE Moss & foster it around my water features and landscapes. I had a conversation with a lady just yesterday about how to help her moss grow thicker and cover more area & I gave her my ‘Moss Booster’ recipe . So I am now re-posting this blog from a little while back. It’s about this subject & has the moss booster recipe.
Moss is the oldest living terrestrial plant in the world! Moss is a ‘Magical’ plant and is the perfect accent in the garden. I use it to naturalize and soften around waterfalls and along garden paths, anywhere you want to add a little MAGIC in the shade 🙂 | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
“I do a weekly radio garden segment from 10 till 11am. Fridays on a very popular local news/talk show called “The 180” with Dan Reaves & Sea Bass. We talk about anything and everything to do with gardening & ‘Outdoor Living’. On Friday’s show one of the callers wanted to talk about how to make his moss better in his backyard. We spoke about the area for quite a while and it seems he has the perfect place for moss to thrive. He wanted a way to fertilize or feed the moss, so I gave him a recipe that a lady gave me many years ago that works well. MANY have called me, texted me, etc. & asked for that recipe – so here y’all go & I hope it helps:)
MOSS BOOSTER – Blend buttermilk (the older the better) and some moss (even dry or partially dead is fine) and mix well. You can paint this mixture on your stones and pottery to grow moss on them. Keep them in full shade and mist them a few times per week – in no time you will have moss forming.
TO SPRAY – You can thin this mixture with a little beer (Save a little for yourself 😉 … And put it in a pump up sprayer (You will want to remove the tip so it wont clog) then spray it around on your mossy areas and the areas where you want moss to take hold.
TIP – Remember, prep is important! Get rid of weeds and grass in those areas and after you have stared this process spray the area with water 3-4 times per week to keep it moist (but NOT soaking wet!).
I LOVE moss and I know y’all do too, I hope this helps!”
Thanks,
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Koi, Koi Ponds, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden | Tags: Elite Koi, Koi, Koi Health, Koi Ponds, Koi Supplies, Platinum Ogon, Platinum Ogon Koi, Pond Fish
Last week I covered a very popular Koi – the Yamabuki Ogon. This week I want to talk about a similar type of Koi called a Platinum Ogon.
A Platinum Ogon has been a very popular fish here at the nursery. They usually sell out as soon as we get some in & out of quarantine. In Japan they are called ‘Purachina Ogon’. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
A Platinum Ogon is a solid metallic-white fish with a clear white head and an unblemished white body. A solid white non-metallic Koi is called a Shiro Muji.
They may not be as flashy and colorful as some other variety’s, but they really stand out in a crowd! They bring balance to all the colorful Koi and really make their colors brighter in contrast to their solid white. I LOVE my Platinum Ogon Koi as I am sure you will too 🙂
Happy Pondering!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Fountains, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls | Tags: Container Water Gardens, Disappearing Waterfall, Ecosystem Pond, Koi Food, Koi Health, Koi Ponds, Koi Supplies, Pond Cleaning, Pond Club Meeting, Pond Maintenance Class, Pond Skimmer, Pond Supplies, Quality Koi, Spring Expo, Spring Fling, Spring Gardening, Spring News, Water Features, Water Garden Class, Water Garden Maintenance, Water Garden Seminar, waterfall design
Jackson, Tn. | Saturday, April 21st. – Come join us at Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio for our annual Spring Fest. & Customer Appreciation Day! We will have lots of fun, food and informative things to take part in!
Bring the kids and let them pet the animals at the ‘Petting Zoo’! They can even ride the Pony 🙂
Kids LOVE the Petting Zoo & Pony Rides! Come help us celebrate 20 years of Spring Fest.! This event is FREE! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
For the Adults – We will have several opportunities for you to learn all about Water Gardening and Aquatic Plants. You can get all the information you will need to Design, Build and Maintain a Beautiful Water Garden, Pondless Waterfall or Koi Pond of your own. So, if you have a Water Feature and want to learn more about it, the Aquatic Plants available, Pond Fish like – Koi, Comets, Shubunkins, etc. you will Enjoy this! AND – IF you don’t have a Water Garden, but have been wanting to find out more about them, this is Definitely for YOU!
Get here early to take part in the Pond Maintenance class. We are going to perform a full cleanout and install a Skimmer filter on a Pond! You don’t want to miss this!
Classes will start around 9am. and will go all the way through till 2pm.We will perform a ‘Hands on’ cleanout of a pond on site! We will also do an install of the Latest Aquascape Skimmer Filter! Come see all the new technology available. You will witness all the work being done and be able to ask questions right there on the spot! We will also have a discussion on Water Garden Design and “How To” Implement one in YOUR Landscape!
We will cover the basics of Aquatic Plants and discuss how you can introduce more Aquatic Plants in your Waterscape AND your Landscape.
I will be cooking lunch for all that come, my treat! I’m fixing Hot Dogs and Smoked Sausage with ALL the fixings! We will also be firing up the Saffire Grill to cook some special things 😉 We will have chips and cookies and more! This is my favorite part of the show because I get to fire up the grill & cook!
Mark will be cooking lunch at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio’s ‘Outdoor Kitchen’! “I’m firing up the Saffire Grill & The big AOG Grill too. Y’all come on out and have a great time with us on this 20th. Year Anniversary of Spring Fest. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
Mark it on your calendar and come out and see us!
What: Carters Nursery, Pond & Patios 20th. Annual Spring Festival & Aquatic Workshop!
Where: Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio – 2846 Old Medina Rd. in Jackson, Tn.
When: Saturday, April 21st. from 9am till 2pm.
WHY should I come? It’s going to be a FUN filled day for the whole family! AND it’s FREE! Petting Zoo & Pony Rides for the kids! Supplies for the ‘Spring Season’ and “How To” Classes by the best in the Biz.!
For more information give us a call : # 731-424-2206 or http://www.cartercountry.com/
Y’all Come!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Fountains, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Outdoor Lifestyles, water garden | Tags: Fish Cave, Fish Health, Koi, Koi Cave, Koi Health, Koi Ponds, Koi Proection, Koi Supplies, Pond Fish, Pond Predators
I recently did a blog titled – HOW TO DEAL WITH PREDATORS IN KOI PONDS where I covered several ways to combat Pond Predators – Like Blue Heron, Egrets, Raccoons, etc.
It was a very popular Blog! And it lead to several calls & conversations about this subject. The #1 question I discussed was ‘How-To’ make a Fish Cave aka; a KOI CAVE. So lets revisit this subject for a moment.
A “Fish Cave or Koi Cave” is usually pre-designed and is normally part of the initial install of the Pond. It entails building a ledge or cave within the stone work of the pond walls to give the fish a place to hide from predators or to get out of hot sunlight for a while. Now if you already have a pond and want a fish cave – it’s really not a big problem! A fish cave is a common addition during your yearly Pond Clean-out. We add these quite often, so if your thinking you want to add a fish cave, it’s not a big deal.
This is an example of a “Koi Cave” that was pre-designed and built into the stone work. Beautiful as well as functional. | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
For those that don’t want to go all the way with a Fish/Koi Cave, there is an easy add-on product that you can purchase and simply submerge in your Pond. It’s called a “Koi Castle”.
A Koi Castle is an easy to install protector for you pond fish. It will provide them cover from Pond Predators! We stock these at Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
I think that pretty much covers what a Koi Cave is. Some are very elaborate and some are simply a big ledge rock but they all provide cover and protection for your ‘finned friends’! You are welcome to come by the nursery during business hours to see both of these products in action. We actually have Fish Caves in one of our display ponds as well as Koi Castles in 2 of our displays. They both work very well and have protected our fish for years.
Happy Pondering!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: General Blog Entry's, Outdoor Lifestyles | Tags: Jesus, Palm Sunday, Sunday in the Garden, Sunday Inspiration, Sunday Reflections, Sundays
I’ve said it many times, Sunday’s are special days… Every one of them! Walking in the garden this morning, as I do most every Sunday morning I thought about what today means, as well as the coming week. Today is ‘Palm Sunday’, aka; The day of The Triumphal Entry. Today is the day that Jesus rode into Jerusalem on the back of a young donkey. He was greeted by the people as Savior & King! They famously shouted “Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is He who comes in the Name of The Lord! Hosanna in the highest!” -Matthew 21:1-9.
The cross on the donkeys back is a famous legend. I have heard many people call them ‘Jerusalem Donkeys’. Have you heard the Old legend? –
‘All purebred donkeys are born with a cross on their back. A legend says it is the gift our Lord gave to the humble donkey that carried Him into Jerusalem. According to the legend, the little donkey so loved his Master that he followed Him to Calvary. Grief-stricken at the sight, he turned away but remained at his station at the foot of the cross. The shadow of the Cross fell upon him and from that day all purebred donkeys wear the Master’s Cross on their backs.’
Jesus walked and Prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane during the last days of his life. He knew what was about to happen to him and I’d like to think that he chose a Garden to spend his last days in to give him the Peace, Clarity & Strength that he needed leading up to his arrest and Crucifixion (on Good Friday).
There is going to be a LOT of Reflection for me during this week and I hope to do much of it in my garden. I truly do find peace and a clear mind outside in the garden. I hope you do too.
The blooming plants and feeling of Spring in the Garden bring Peace & Calm to the mind & Spirit.
Peace,
~ Mark
Filed under: General Blog Entry's | Tags: Jackson Animal Care Center, Lost Dog, Lucky Dog, Pets
If you know me or my family, you know we LOVE animals. We have always kept pets and fostered animals in need . Through our business we have raised money for our local Humane society for 20+ years too. All this love has really shaped my son Jacob. He is always ready to help an animal in need and does it on his own. Yesterday he and his mom saw this beautiful puppy running through traffic at rush hour. She was scared to death and confused, literally trying to get people to stop their cars to help her. Well, Jo & Jacob did just that!
Jo & my son Jacob saved this beautiful puppy from being ran over in the street. With the help of the Jackson Animal Care Center, an anonymous angel, Facebook & a local Vet we were able to find her owner & get her safely back home to her family.
With the help of some great local resources (Jackson Animal Care Center, a Local Vet & Facebook) we were able to find her family and reunite them in just over 1 day! WOW! We found out that Paloma is her name, she is just over a year old and is a big old sweetheart 🙂 Sometimes things work out right! Thank Goodness!
Like I said, “What a Lucky Dog”!
Have a GREAT Weekend!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Filed under: Fountains, General Blog Entry's, Koi, Koi Ponds, Lake and Pond, Landscaping & Gardening, Outdoor Lifestyles, Pondless Waterfalls, water garden | Tags: Container Water Garden, Disappearing Waterfall, Friday blog, Friday Radio Report, Pagoda Stone Fountain, Spring Expo, Spring Fling, Spring Garden Show, Spring Gardening, Spring News, Water Features
Another GREAT Show today with Dan Reaves & Sea Bass – The 180 Crew!
I’m on with the 180 Crew – Dan Reaves & Sea Bass- every Friday from 10-11am with ALL your gardening and Outdoor Lifestyle questions – 731-423-8101. You can TEXT in too – 731-277-5155. Listen LIVE at 101.5 WNWS – FM.
The whole world is turning green! And Yellow, Purple, White, Pink, etc… I LOVE all the Spring color!
A Redbud (Cercis canadensis) in full Spring bloom. One of my favorite early Spring blooming trees | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
We had LOTS of calls and texts today! Mostly normal Spring questions – when and what can I cut or trim, seeding fescue, sodding zoysia grass, planting fruit trees, etc…
One question where I think we got cut off was about getting rid of Invasive Aquatic Plants – I don’t recommend spraying herbicides in your Water Garden. Instead, physical removal is the way to go. After you get all the invasive plants out replant with some easier, less invasive aquatic plants – Dwarf Cattail, water orchid, bloody dock, bog lily, eastern rain lily, etc. Come by the nursery and pick a few out.
ALSO – come by the Red Barn in Memphis and see us at the Memphis Master Gardeners ‘Spring Fling’. We have set up a both and a small display for everyone & would love to talk to you!
We are at the Red Barn at the Agricenter in Memphis for the annual ‘Spring Fling’! We will be here today until 5 and tomorrow from 9-5pm. LOTS to see! Y’all Come! | Carters Nursery, Pond & Patio | Jackson, TN
Have a GREAT Weekend!
Mark Carter
Carter’s Nursery, Pond & Patio
2846 Old Medina Rd.
Jackson, Tn. 38305
Ph# 731-424-2206
http://www.cartercountry.com
Carter's Water Garden 