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OCTOBER 2015 HOMES PLUS 3 The warm luster of laminate wood flooring makes any room more inviting. And right now, it can be yours at no extra cost. Sign up to build your new Bielinski home by Nov. 30 th and we'll install wood laminate flooring throughout the first floor living area for FREE! Best of all, our design team is here to help you choose the color and style to complement each room. To learn more, visit a model home and speak with a new home consultant. We think you'll agree…an offer this good is hard to walk away from. 262-448-4044 | BielinskiFloorUpgrade.com Model Homes Open | 12pm to 5pm | Fri-Sat-Sun-Mon-Tues Speak to a new home consultant for details. To qualify, sign a new build contract between October 1, 2015 and November 30, 2015. RediHomes ® , model homes, and condominiums are excluded from this offer. Offer includes laminate fl ooring in the fi rst-fl oor main living area, which is comprised of the great room, dining room, home offi ce, powder room, laundry, and hallways when the above mentioned rooms are included in the base plan. Laminate fl ooring is included in the kitchen, morning room, and entry as standard. Unless noted otherwise, this offer cannot be combined with any other offer, with exception to the current lot discounts as shown on the neighborhood price list. All pricing must be current for offer to apply. Offer subject to change at any time at the discretion of Bielinski Homes. 241690004 The more I deal with plants, the more I realize how similar they are to us. Their health and well-being are related to a lot of the same things that we require. Just like us, keep them happy and healthy and they can live a long time. This has been my approach to plants for a long time and I'd like to share it with you. ■ Proper hydration Plants need the proper amount of water to be healthy. Too little or too much and there are normally problems. Plants can become dehydrated if not watered, and if given too much, they can drown and so can we. Plants even experience heat issues like we do, hence the heat zone map for plants. So during times of excess moisture or drought we need to pay more attention to our plants. If you're hot and thirsty, your plants could be as well. Play doctor and check for symptoms (wilting, dry edges or scorch) just like you would for yourself. With too much water, the soil can be so saturated that the roots suffocate or drown from lack of oxygen. Did you also know plants actually sweat? They do. It's called transpiration, though, and not perspiration. Proper moisture lev- els inside and outside the plant allow this process to perform properly, just like ours should. ■ Nutrition Our bodies need nutrition, including vitamins and minerals, to keep us healthy and all of our systems working properly. The same goes for plants. Plants get their nutrition from a healthy soil and additional nutrients provided by us. How do you feel when your lacking the proper nutrition? Your plants feel the same way. They will show symptoms like yellowing, purpling, stunting, lack of flowering, etc. These are all symptoms of nutritional issues. ■ Ailments Injury and disease are also common in plants, just like in people. I'm a klutz, so I'm always injured and I blame that on me. But most injuries to plants come from us or the environment. Injuries cannot only dam- age plants, but they open wounds where a disease can attack. If you hit your tree with the lawn mower over and over, eventually the tree is going to suffer. We call this lawn- mower blight in the industry. So be careful around your plants. Plants also get diseases. Some can cause minor cosmetic damage, which you can act on, but others can be detrimental, especial- ly if the vascular system is involved. It's like clogged arteries in us, which are never a good thing! With some of these diseases, you may need to see a doctor. That's where your plant professionals come in. They can help you figure out if it's minor or something more serious and prescribe something from the pharmacy. Either way it should be addressed. Plant diseases spread easier than human ones in many cases. The more a plant is stressed from any of the above, the more likely it is to suffer. So next time you're looking at your plants, try to figure out what might be wrong using this perspective, you might find it helpful. If not, bring it to your nearest plant doctor, no appointment necessary. Happy gardening! (Michael Timm is the head horticulturalist with Ebert's Greenhouse Village in Ixonia. He can be reached at mtimm@ebertsgreen- house.com.) Plants can be like people MICHAEL TIMM Creative Outlet You've heard the phrase hydrate or die? It is as true for plants as it is for people. The proper amount is important. There are other similarities in plant and human health. It doesn't hurt to think of human health when it comes to nature

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