With Mother’s Day around the corner, everyone knows it’s the season to clean up your yard. It’s time to see what came back into bloom from last year, what disappeared, and what additions the yard needs to look good again.
Mystic Lawn Care Services has been in business for about 25 years and owner Bill Biletzke said he hopes they’ve built the reputation of good workmanship.
“We’re always looking in the customer’s best interest,” he added.
Started as a family business with his father, Bob, he said the store continues its business in landscaping and providing materials and equipment.
When customers ask, as always, how to make their lawn green, Biletzke said he replies with the word ‘irrigation.’
“Without water, you can’t have a green lawn,” he said. He added that lately he uses Turfgrass because it is more drought-resistant.
He said he tells new homeowners in the area to get the right people to provide proper lawn installation. He said with the proper installation, the lawn’s health can last for years with minimal care.
“Do it right the first time and you’ll be ahead of the game in the long run,” he said.
To diversify their plants and provide other miscellaneous items to their customers, Biletzke said they decided to open the new Mystic Garden Center this season. He referred to the center as a “Mom and Pop” garden center, providing annuals and perennials that have been grown on the property in their greenhouse.
Walking through the greenhouse, he said that each flower basket was filled with six plugs [small rooted seedlings], planning for them all to be in bloom by Mother’s Day.
“As they grow, it turns into a jungle in here,” he said, laughing. Because of the gorgeous weather lately, he added, he’s been able to put many of the flower baskets outside, though they’re not entirely safe there until the full moon on May 19. Until then, frostbite is a threat, which could cause flower damage.
Growing many of the flowers on the property using the brand Proven Winners, Biletzke said they tried to choose a wide variety of colors, from different white-textured flowers such as Diamond Soft, to vibrant Osteospermums such as Orange Symphony, which really pops out from a garden.
“We have purple, pinks, blues, orange, and yellows,” he said. “I like growing, so we’re going to grow in retail,” he explained. “Everyone loves flowers…In an economy on the bleak side, everyone can buy a flower.”
Biletzke said their landscaping projects are still their “bread and butter” and he’s found that many families in the area have decided to opt out of vacation, spending their summer instead by the pool in their back yard. So, he reasons, if they’re staying in the back yard all summer, why not dress it up? Biletzke calls it ‘making your piece of the world a beautiful place.’
“Everyone owns a little piece…that’s where I think I come in…and that’s where I get my enjoyment…creating landscapes that people enjoy,” he said. “Nothing’s better than doing something you truly like to do.”
Mystic resident Jim Nieuwenhuis, the owner of Stonington Gardens, said a landscaping project depends on what type of location the owner has, the type of exposure, and what the owner is visualizing. The first thing he can do is provide information.
“There’s a plant out there that will fit any space. We listen to what the customer is looking for and then try to find the right plant,” he said.
To answer the ‘how to make my lawn greener’ question, he says, “Sometimes it’s more interesting if it’s not always green.”
He said spaces throughout the yard can always be filled in by all kinds of plants and, having a wide variety, he named a couple of different categories Stonington Gardens has to offer, such as spring annuals, perennials, native trees and shrubs, and thousands of fall-flowering mums. He added that he tries to share knowledge and experience with what is sold.
“We don’t just sell the product or the plant but also a little bit of information along with it,” he explained.
In the early spring, he said people are commonly looking for pansies.
“They start flowering already in March, they are perfectly frost-hardy, they can be out in the cold weather and it gives great early-season color,” he said.
Something to enhance a yard quickly could be the use of coco baskets and wrought iron planters that can be found in different shapes and sizes such as a cone, a basket, or a rectangle that looks similar to a mini-manger and can be set on the ground. With just the addition of potting soil and planted flowers, assistant Lauren Vickerman said the coco baskets are created from a biodegradable substance and provide good drainage for the plants, as well as more air for their roots.
Vickerman said many local residents also purchase decorative planter pots or use Stonington Gardens’ custom-designed pots of plants.
Nieuwenhuis added that people are looking for something interesting to put in their landscaping and want more of a creative arrangement.
For more information, call Mystic Lawn Care Services at 860-536-2229 and Stonington Gardens at 860-536-7720.