It’s National Apple Day!

How will you celebrate National Apple Day? Go apple picking? Bake a pie?

Apples are wonderfully versatile. I enjoy them fresh, but there are plenty of pies, cakes, and delicious beverages that use apples. They’re a versatile and durable fruit: I often have an apple with me as an easy, healthy, portable snack.

While we don’t sell apples or apple trees, we do have some nice Proven Winners® ColorChoice® crabapple (Malus) varieties. Like the fruit, the crabapple tree is rugged and versatile and comes in many different sizes and colors.

Sweet Sugar Tyme® is a beautiful little tree at just 10′ tall and wide (canopy). That makes it perfect for lots of sites, including street plantings and residential lots. Since it’s a crabapple, you know it can handle the challenges of a hell strip or parking lot island.

In spring, it’s covered in lovely white flowers, and it also has really amazing fruit that persists well into winter. They are a cheery addition to the spring and the winter landscape. Fun fact: the only difference between an apple and a crabapple is the size of the fruit.

Sweet Sugar Tyme® has a compact, oval habit and is hardy in USDA 4-8. You will want to plant it in full sun.

Cooler than white paint? Is that even a thing?

It is now. Purdue University developed a white paint that set a Guinness World Record.

This isn’t about setting a record. It’s about developing another tool to use less energy, in this case, painting roofs so that buildings stay nice and cool without running an air conditioner. This would be great in places with spotty electrical service or anywhere that people want to cut their utility bills.

White flowers may not cut air conditioning costs, but they are pretty nice to look at in the evening, which is the best time to enjoy gardens in warm weather. Pretty cool!