Waukesha County Home

1505 Hwy 164 South * Waukesha, WI 53186 262-521-2100 * www.ilovethefrontporch.com The Front Porch Your & Gifts! Source for the BEST Home Decor Silk Floral * Home Decor Gifts * Unique Cards E-Cloth *Poo-pourri Goat's Milk Soap General Finishes Paint Boutique * Boutique * Boutique Area's Largest selection of... 10,000 sq ft of Decorating Inspiration! * Realistic Silk Florals * Gifts * * Home Decor * Greenery * Women's Clothing (Plus Sizes, too!) Purses * Sterling Jewelry * Readers Scarves * Fashion Jewelry Hours: Mon-Fri 10am-8pm; Sat 10am-5pm;Sun 11am-5pm Across from the east side of Waukesha WOODMAN'S Custom FLORAL DESIGNS lk l ra Si F o ls e ecor Bo tiq e Hom D & u u A AN CLE R CE 0- 5 2 7 % OFF Semi-Retirement Close-out *Don't worry...we are NOT Closing Permanently* We have some MAJOR News! We have decided to change the way we operate our business from 365 days a year to a "pop-up" seasonal format! What does that mean? We will be having a MASSIVE CLEARANCE SALE over the next few months to clear out EVERYTHING in the store! Then....we will take the summer off and REOPEN in late September and feature fall & Christmas displays (including the entire boutique too!) So...now is the time to stock up!!! For more info checkout our website! Just deciding we need some balance in our lives. After 20 years in business it is TIME! BIG NEWS! * BIG NEWS! * BIG NEWS! SALE EVERYTHING MUST GO by Memorial Day! Watch for the launch of our ONLINE STORE! APRIL 2017 HOMES PLUS 15 Gardening benefits the environment in myriad ways. Maintaining natural land- scapes and preserving green spaces can reduce the collective carbon footprint of the human race. Trees, flowers and other green- ery filter the air and create welcoming habi- tats for all species of animals and insects. Many home gardeners set out each spring to create landscapes that cater to all of the senses. But choosing plants that are unlike- ly to thrive in certain climates can lead to dissatisfaction and premature plant demise and may require gardeners to use more fer- tilizers, pesticides and other not-so-Earth- friendly techniques to help plants thrive. One of the more important steps garden- ers can take before spring arrives is to edu- cate themselves about plant hardiness zones. Hardiness zones are defined by the aver- age climatic conditions of the region and are broken down into various zones. The U.S. Department of Agriculture's Hardi- ness Zone map divides North America into 13 separate zones. Each zone is marked by 10-degree F incremental differences from the last zone. In some versions of the map, each zone is further divided into "a" and "b" regions. The National Gardening Association says the U.S.D.A. Hardiness Zone map was revised in 2012. The latest version was jointly developed by the U.S.D.A.'s Agricultural Research Ser- vice and Oregon State University's PRISM Climate Group. To help develop the new map, the U.S.D.A. and Oregon State Univer- sity requested that horticultural and cli- matic experts review the zones in their geo- graphic areas. As a result, the zone bound- aries in the 2012 edition of the map have shifted in many areas. Canada's Hardiness Zone map, updated in 2010, uses nine differ- ent zones. Zone maps are tools that show where per- manent landscape plants can adapt. Home gardeners who are looking for shrubs or perennials to last year after year should rec- ognize that such plants must tolerate year- round conditions, including the lowest and highest temperatures and the amount of precipitation. Snow cover and humidity also can impact a plant's propensity to thrive. While zone maps are not perfect, they can be useful in planning and ensuring the sur- vival of future gardens. Plant and seed manufacturer Burpee says that other fac- tors to consider that also affect the viability of plants include wind, moisture and soil conditions. The company offers an interac- tive zone finder on its website that will indi- cate the hardiness zone as well as average first and last frost dates. Visit www.burpee.com/findgrowzone to enter a ZIP code. Understand hardiness zones before planting U.S. Department of Agriculture The coolest and shortest-growing seasons begin in gradients from pink through green on this U.S. map. Yellow through the various shades of orange and red represent the warmer and longer-growing seasons. Precipitation is another key factor. Gardeners should take in other considerations, including wind and soil, when choosing plants.

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