Welcome all dogs to America’s Best Flowers 1^st Annual Dog Wash Saturday!

Trust that your best friend will be in the loving and gentle care of volunteers from the Dane County Humane Society, Tabby and Jack’s Mobile Grooming and Talbot Photography.  It will be like getting ready for the doggie prom.  A cool refreshing bath followed by a nail trim and a professional picture to remember the day with. 

For a suggested $10 donation Dane County Humane Society volunteers will shampoo and rinse all those intriguing(?) summer smells out of your dog’s fur.  It will all come out in the wash!  All proceeds go directly to the Dane County Humane Society. 

Then stop by and visit Kelsey, a professional groomer, at the Tabby & Jack’s Grooming and Pet Nutrition Booth.  Kelsey can trim those doggie nails either by the traditional method or with a drummel.  The cost for a nail trim by the traditional method is $10 and for the drummel method is $15.  Did we mention that Tabby & Jack’s is donating all proceeds to the Dane County Humane Society?  How great is that!   

Tabby and Jack’s will also have treat bags and nutritional handouts for you to take home and coupons for in store discounts.  Kelsey is also very knowledgeable about pet nutrition.  So if Rufus is having a problem with his diet,or you just want more information on how to feed your pet a healthy diet, talk to Kelsey!   

Here are a couple of helpful tips from Tabby and Jack’s, for a successful bath on Saturday; long haired dogs should have a good brushing to remove any matting or knots before the bath which allows for a more thorough rinse which will help to reduce the problem.

The second tip is that a professional dog groomer will have you leave your dog in their trusting hands and return after a given timeframe and it’s like magic.  The dog is clean and calm and so is the owner.  Dogs pick up vibes from their owners.  When the owner is anxious the dog is anxious.  So, we are hoping that we can take the same approach as the professionals on Saturday.  You are more than welcome to stay with your dog during the bathing process or you can take this time to relax and smell the flowers!

Don’t forget the brush!  Talbot Photography will be here to capture the joy of the day!  Terry will have a display of dog photos for you to ooh and ahh over. Talbot Photography will be set up in an air conditioned area, so both you and your dog will be cool, calm and comfortable for your photo experience.  Fifteen percent of photo proceeds will go directly to the Dane County Humane Society. How picture perfect is that!

Please sign up for your dogs’ bath upon arrival at the registration table in front of the main greenhouse.  Be sure to pick up an informational handout that will guide you through our event.

We will have a concession stand with popcorn, soda and bottled water for humans.  Again, all proceeds go to the Dane County Humane Society.

We will provide water and treats for the dogs and, ah, those necessary plastic bags (we’ll even do the picking up!)

What’s a dog party without prizes!  There will be a doggie prize drawing every hour during the dog wash.  You must be present to win.

In the event of lightning, thunder or hurricanes, it will not be safe for the volunteers (or dogs!) to continue with the dog wash. However, we would move Tabby & Jack’s indoors to join Talbot’s Photography and everything else will continue as planned.

This Saturday is all about man’s best friend.  Next week is about both dog and owner.  Not only do we have dog gifts throughout the week, but a gift for you, the owner.  The owner of the winning dog for each day will receive a 10” hanging flower basket.  A $21.99 value. 

Check out our weekly dog and owner gift giving schedule!

• Sunday – The first white dog that walks in the door
• Monday – The first dog to come in and roll over between 6:00 – 7:00pm
• Tuesday – The first dog to speak (any language) between 5:30 – 6:30pm
• Wednesday – The first dog with spots or named Spot between 5:00 – 6:00pm
• Thursday – The first dog with a 12 inch tail between 10:00 – 11:00am
• Friday – The first dog with a 2 inch, or less, tail (fair is fair) between 3:00 – 4:00pm
• Saturday – The first dog with different colored eyes.

Thanks to the following contributors for their very generous support of Clean Dog Day at America’s Best Flowers:

• Tabby & Jack’s Mobile Grooming 
• Talbot Photography
• Midwest Veterinary Supply
• Nutzy Mutz & Crazy Catz  
• Bad Dog Frida  (Their 5^th anniversary celebration is Sunday, August 21, 12-5pm)
• Spectrum Brands

Let us paws a moment here and ask Mother Nature for a beautiful day! In the event of bad weather we will still proceed with the grooming and photos!

Remember – Life is too short to have a dirty dog.

See you on Saturday.  We’re going to have a tail wagging good time!

    ~ Shirley

Our Doggy Collection Bin
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We have a collection bin for much needed items for the Dane County Humane Society. Please help us in filling it from the following list:

• Cat litter—unscented and non-clumping
• Bleach (liquid)
• Laundry detergent (liquid)
• Copy paper
• Canned dog and puppy food
• Canned, ground cat and kitten food
• KMR Kitten Milk Replacer
• Large spray bottle

And, of course, we accept cash donations on behalf of the Dane County Human Society as well.

In this part of the country, using the words perennial and mums in the same sentence can be dangerous.  I could go into a lengthy explanation about the USDA zone charts, how we land in the 4B zone and mums perform better in zones 5B or warmer.  I could explain that yes indeed your grandmother did have old varieties of mums in her garden that came back every year for decades.  I could go into hybridization and how the flower power that we want cost a lot in the breeding as far as hardiness goes. And so on and so on.

Instead what I want to concentrate on is the simple fact that if mums are to have any chance at all of overwintering, it is crucial to get them planted as early as possible so they can develop a strong, deep root system.  The earliest of our mums are the best candidates, and since they are just starting to show color, this would be a great weekend to plant them in your landscape. 

I can’t talk about mums without including fall asters.  From the hot pinks to the true blues, asters provide unbeatable fall color.  These truly hardy perennials will indeed come back year after year.  If you plant your bed with a mix of mums and asters, the asters will fill in if the mums don’t come back.

For the first time, you can now mix and match mums and asters for your quantity discount, $2 off each when you buy 3 or more and $4 off each when you buy 10 or more.  This makes planting these two fall favorites very economical. – Bev

Our collection of clearance pottery, glimmering in the summer sun
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Our clearance pottery, in front of house 8, is of higher quality than you generally find in a clearance area.  More pieces have been added, giving you a wide variety of perfect pots to choose from, in many sizes and colors, at up to 50% savings.  These one of a kind pieces make great additions to patios and landscaping, as well as wonderful gifts for the gardeners on your list.

Saturday, August 27 we invite you to join us for an Autumn Container Workshop.  It’s time to bring seasonal beauty to your containers by using a combination of mums, asters, perennials and small shrubs to fill your pots with the warm, comforting colors of fall.  Simply choose your favorite plants from our inventory, and either bring in your own pots or select some of ours.  We’ll provide the soil and clean up the mess.  Our container gardening experts will be on hand to help you decide on the perfect combinations.  Over the years these workshops have become favorites with many of you.  Because of limited availability on some plant materials, we would ask that you give us a call to pre-register. 222-2269 or email ed@americasbestflowers.com

Do you or someone you know have artistic talent?  America’s Best Flowers is searching for artists to exhibit their creations at our annual Art in the Garden event on September 17.  This is a free event.  We still have a few booths available.  Registration deadline is September 3.  Please contact us for further information at 222-2269.

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