And now a word from Mark Cullen

This is a big one because Spring is on the way! Check out these excerpts from Mark's April Newsletter, and sign up for your own copy at www.markcullen.com. Do it before April 15th and you will be entered into a draw to win a collection of Mark's Choice tools, accessories and autographed gardening books!


It is April – the month of renewal.

Easter falls early in the month, appropriately, and thoughts turn to cleaning up, what to plant and where to plant it and new garden projects. Let me help you get organized with all of this.

Your Lawn Needs Attention.

Rake your lawn lightly with a fan rake (check out the new ‘Mark’s Choice Worlds’ Best Fan Rake’ at Home Hardware. It is unbelievable! And I am really excited about it).

Fertilize your lawn with CIL Golfgreen. Why? Because it contains the most sophisticated form of slow release nitrogen on the market, it contains 28% nitrogen in the first place (the element that lawns crave most this time of year) and it is made in Canada. Pay a penny or two more and get the best results possible and apply fertilizer less often – Golfgreen lasts up to 10 weeks.

Aerate your lawn if you have a solid clay base under the root zone of the grass plants. If you are growing your lawn on 12 to 15 cm of topsoil or otherwise reasonable quality soil, no worries. Skip this step.

Cut your lawn at least 7 to 8 cm high (2 ½ or 3 inches) but you won’t likely have to do that until I am in touch with the May newsletter.

Mark's Choice Product of the Month

Mark's Choice Water Wicks are new for Spring 2010 and exclusively available at Home Hardware.

Imagine a tea bag that will reduce the watering of newly planted plants by up to 70%.

Pre-soak the new Mark’s Choice water wicks tea bag for 10 minutes in tap water and place at the bottom of the planting hole, making sure that the roots of the new plant make contact with the wet bag. Voila! The water in the pre-soaked bag will release to the root zone as the plant requires it.

Each ‘tea bag’ retains up to 400 times its’ original weight in water.

It is a remarkable thing that will revolutionize the way that you plant and water. It was developed right here in Canada by professional flower growers and has been tested over the past 3 years on over one million plants. It works! And it is a Mark’s Choice exclusive.

Home Hardware item# 5012-622

More info at www.waterwicks.ca.

Speaking of Mark’s Choice at Home Hardware: we have several new products to tell you about this spring, one of which is the very exciting ‘ Worlds’ best rake’. It is wonderful.

This rake will ‘throw’ leaves, grass clippings and winter debris up to 5 meters or 22 feet. I know, I torture tested this one for a season in my own garden (as I do all Mark’s Choice products before we introduce them) and I am so impressed.

It is super flexible – returning to its original position every time.

It is light weight – easy to use and easy on the shoulders.

It is fun. Fun raking? Yes – try it and you will see.

The new Mark’s Choice ‘Worlds’ Best Rake’ is available only at Home Hardware and is worth every penny. Yes – there are cheaper rakes out there. There is cheaper ‘everything’ out there – this one is worth a premium.

When you use it for a while, you will know.

To view the newsletter in it's entirety, visit this page and click on the link on the right.