The Georgia skies may be clinging to warm weather, but here on the ground we’re preparing for the cold fronts on the horizon. Winter is almost here, bringing frost, ice, and maybe even snow to our carefully tended Gray landscapes. While you’re dreaming of spring bulbs blooming and digging into your late autumn lawn maintenance, consider your Christmas color. Winter landscape design will keep your landscape bright and inviting this holiday season.

Trees and Shrubs

As bright foliage and flowers give way to the grey-white of winter, look for innovative ways to incorporate beauty into your yard. Plant holly bushes, trees with winter fruit, and evergreens to bring color to your winter landscape. The green shrubs and vivid red berries contrast with the colorless winter sky, transforming your yard into an enchanting holiday oasis.

Ornamental Elements

Garden ornaments are easy to add, move, and remove from your landscape, making them perfect for seasonal landscape design. Create a festive yard with outdoor Christmas décor or keep it classic with wheelbarrows and window boxes. When your yard needs a beauty boost, adapt or replace your garden ornaments for a new burst of visual energy.

Lawn Care

No matter what time of year, landscape maintenance tidies up your yard and ensures a flourishing garden in the months to come. Keep your yard clear of sticks, fallen branches, and leaves. Hard edge your flowerbeds to keep your aesthetics crisp and prepare your garden for late winter mulching. Service and store garden machinery after this season’s final use.

For garden décor, maintenance tools, or cold weather plants, visit your home and landscape professionals at Ace of Gray.

photo from flickr

Thanksgiving week has finally arrived. Some revelers have had their pie crusts and pumpkin frozen since they hung their holiday décor, while others are still fighting the holiday mob at grocery stores and Gray home improvement stores. You may be adding leaves to the dining room table or unfolding a plastic dining room set in your outdoor living space, complete with heaters and holiday lights. But whether you’re smoking your turkey in a Big Green Egg or cooking in a traditional oven, the heart of the holiday remains the same.

This Thanksgiving, Ace of Gray is thankful for the customers that make our jobs worthwhile. The folks of Gray, Georgia bring us the kindness, curiosity, and desire to enrich hearth and home that’s a staple of Southern living. This holiday season, take a moment to bless your neighbors and community the same way they bless you. Donate old clothing to charity, bring a bag of groceries to a canned food drive, or bake an extra pie for your neighbor. It’s time to count our blessings, and there’s no better way to give thanks than by giving someone else something to treasure.

Cherish your time with your loved ones this Thanksgiving. We’ll be here, same time as always, on Friday morning. Happy Holidays from Ace of Gray!

photo from flickr

We know that the holidays are a stressful time. Whether you’re a mom, a daughter, or a single lady preparing Thanksgiving dinner for your closest friends, you probably don’t have time to think about Black Friday shopping. That’s why Ace of Gray is bringing Christmas early with Ladies Night Out this Thursday night! We’re decking the halls with good company, wine and hor d’oeuvres, and exclusive discounts. Ladies Night Out is about saving you time and money, so you can focus on making spirits bright (and ornaments brighter).

What is Ladies Night Out?

Ladies Night Out is a holiday tradition at Ace of Gray. How does it work? Simply make your wish list and receive 20% off your purchase! Your Christmas list discount applies to clearance and sale, household décor, clothing, sporting goods, gardening equipment, outdoor living accessories, and more. We’re even offering 10% off major appliances, like our top of the line grills and smokers. Mark your calendar for September 21^st from 5-8pm; it’s a great day to save!

Special Promos

It wouldn’t be a holiday super sale without discounts, exclusive items, and freebies! Your holiday wish list enters you in our holiday raffle, and that’s just the start. Attendees of Ladies Night Out will receive giveaways on premium paint, Driftwood Apparel for Boys, Christmas home décor, and much, much more! Our first 100 customers will receive a Glory Haus tote for the holidays, and anyone who spends $25 will get a free Water Wow! kids’ coloring notebook with their purchase. There’s no better time to save for the holidays.

Ladies Night Out makes playing Santa and mom a little easier. Stop by our Ace of Gray holiday event for discounts on stocking stuffers, Christmas presents, and a little something extra for you.

Whether you’re just digging into a new bag of seed, or you got a jump on the season by aerating and overseeding weeks ago, your fall lawn care hasn’t been put to bed. Newly seeded grass needs additional maintenance to germinate and grow into the flourishing landscape you want come spring. In these early weeks after overseeding, tailor your watering, fertilizing, mowing, and general lawn care habits to cultivate the seedlings into a thick, vivid green lawn.

Watering and Fertilizing

Without proper watering, new seeds will quickly dehydrate. To ensure your grass thrives, water heavily after overseeding. This will flush the seedlings into the aeration plugs in your yard and keep them moist as they burrow into the soil. Hydrate your lawn at least once a day for the first three weeks after laying fresh seed. Switch to less frequent watering after germination, focusing on penetrating the soil and soaking the roots of your grass. Fertilization is also crucial to newly seeded grass. Ask the professionals at Ace Hardware of Gray, Georgia how much fertilizer to use for your grass type; over-fertilizing often does your lawn more harm that not fertilizing it at all.

Maintaining and Mowing

New seeds need protection to establish fully. Reroute foot traffic until your lawn establishes, or lay stepping-stones to prevent sparse patches of grass in the coming years. As leaves begin to litter your yard, they will block the sunlight your grass needs in order to store nutrients for the coming season. Remove fallen leaves with a blower; a rake will tear up new grass and stagnate growth. When your sprouts reach 3 inches, they are strong enough to withstand mowing. Mow infrequently at first, making sure your blades are sharp to prevent damage to the tender shoots.

Contact Ace Hardware of Gray for all your aeration, overseeding, and landscape maintenance essentials.

photo from flickr

Autumn is upon us, and the weather in Gray, Georgia is inching toward those cooler fall evenings. Your neighbors are hitting the hardware store for fall maintenance machines, or maybe enlisting professional help for their fall landscape maintenance. But why is it so crucial to aerate and overseed in the fall?

Aeration

Core aeration distributes shallow, even holes across your lawn, breaking up dense soil and thatch buildup. Aerating your yard allows water, air, sunlight, and nutrients from fertilizer to penetrate to the root of your grass, revitalizing your landscape. The plugs encourage decomposition of tightly woven thatch, and are particularly vital in Gray, Georgia where our dirt contains a large percentage of easily compacted clay. Aeration also resolves drainage issues, dispersing the pools that have collected from our rainy Georgia summer. Annual aeration is a critical component of cultivating a lush, green landscape.

Overseeding

After aeration, the next logical step in lawn care is overseeding. Not only do the plugs allow seeds to penetrate the loosened soil, but fall also provides prime conditions for cool weather grasses like fescue to grow. The warm days and cool nights of autumn redirect nutrients from the blade of your grass to the root, making fall the season for overseeding. The new seed, protected by your core aeration, will quickly fill dry patches, dog spots, and areas worn by heavy foot traffic. By overseeding after the brunt of summer’s heat and before the first winter frosts, you give your lawn time to establish before the dormancy season. Annual aeration and overseeding boosts the vitality of your grass, giving you a thick, thriving Gray, Georgia landscape.

Aeration and overseeding are easy to accomplish with the right equipment. Visit the Ace of Gray Garden Center for machinery, seed, soil, and more.

photo from flickr

Thanks to a season full of rain, our Georgia fall foliage is clinging tenaciously to its summer color. But the leaves are starting to deepen hue, and soon vibrant autumn will arrive. To celebrate the stunning gold, red, and orange tones lining roads and dotting fields, Ace of Gray is hosting our 3^rd annual Fall Festival on Saturday, October 26^th. From 9am-2pm, you can enjoy a celebration of the season with your family, your community, and your friends at Ace Hardware of Gray, GA.

Festivities

Our Saturday event has plenty to keep you entertained, no matter what your age or your interests. Pick a pumpkin from our pile and start a friendly carving competition at our free pumpkin decorating station. Stir up some hay fever by tackling our Wheat Straw Maze. If the fun friends and fall food at our festival have your kids brimming with excitement, they can jump away their excess energy in our two Bouncy Houses! And keep birthday parties and holiday bashes in mind; if you book a Bouncy House the day of the festival, you’ll get 25% off the rental fee.

Food

It wouldn’t be a fall festival without phenomenal food. Experience the recipes we love, and share with us your ‘autumn yum’ staples. We’re bringing out our Big Green Egg, Traeger Wood Pellet Grill, and Holland Grill so you can enjoy succulent meat and more. Not only can you sample the delicious dishes prepared on our grills, you can take one home with you at a special Fall Festival discount!

Merchandise

Like any good autumn bash, we’re showing off our wares and giving our customers fantastic fall prices on our favorite merchandise. In honor of SEC football season, anyone who buys three Coton Colors Collegiate Ornaments will receive a free football cooler to bring to your next tailgate. We’re happy to personalize any of the Collegiate Ornaments at no extra charge! If gardening is more your style, gear up your green thumb by choosing from our nursery’s selection of pumpkins, mums, pansies, and other fall blooms. Whatever’s on your fall shopping list, you can reap the benefits of the Fall Festival Sales we’ll be running throughout the event.

photo from flickr

If you’re like most Americans, Thanksgiving dinner is a well-oiled machine. You buy the same brand of turkey year after year, cook with the same family recipe, and bake the same delicious desserts. The Thanksgiving holiday is about tradition, blessings, and spending quality time with the people you love. This year Ace of Gray is giving new traditions a try by cooking our turkeys in the best grills, cookers, and smokers on the market. What new culinary experiences will your family embark on this year?

Big Green Egg

Looking for succulent meat, crispy skin, and drippings that could add flavor to even the blandest stuffing? Smoke your Thanksgiving turkey in a Big Green Egg for a delicious twist on dinner tradition. Turkeys absorb the flavor of the smoke, so choose your wood chips wisely. Use All Natural Hardwood Lump Charcoal for a subtle smoky flavor, or make a seasonal sensation with apple or pecan chips.

Holland Grill

The Holland Grill simplifies Thanksgiving dinner preparation, giving you a golden brown turkey with none of the traditional fuss. Slather on your usual turkey rub or use the tasty, prepared Holland Carolina seasoning mix. Cooking on a Holland Grill eliminates the holiday stress, letting you focus on dessert, side dishes, and enjoying company of your friends and family.

Traeger

There’s no better way to trick your dinner guests into thinking you’ve slaved over a Thanksgiving bird than cooking your turkey on a wood pellet grill. The Traeger accentuates your spices and seasoning with hickory, pecan, or apple wood chips, giving you a crisp, juicy turkey with a hearty smoky taste.

Weber

Weber is the go-to grill for restaurants and homeowners all over the country. Whether you’re barbequing, brining, or basting your turkey, cooking your meat on a Weber grill is a non-traditional method of achieving the same plump, tender meat you aim for each year.

Give your guests a meal to be thankful for by grilling, smoking, or slow cooking your turkey this year. Visit Ace of Gray for expert advice on outdoor cooking, sauces and seasoning, and all the best backyard accessories.

photo from flickr

Have you been bitten by the fall gardening bug? Our thumbs are turning green again with the arrival of our mums and pansies. Now is the time to plan the fall floral designs that will grace your holiday tables. But before you start planting your Gray, GA garden, make sure your landscape is prepped for a new season of sensational shades.

Fall Garden Preparation

The key to a successful spring is a busy fall. Gardens flourish in the fall because the cooler temperatures allow your greens to establish and grow without suffering the extreme heat and cold of summer and winter. Autumn means slowed stem and flower growth, which increases the root activity of your plants. Before you plant new flowers, revitalize your landscape by tending to your soil, irrigation, and perennials. Your fall gardening checklist should include:

• Assessing irrigation and adjusting drainage
• Nourishing and aerating your soil
• Harvesting herbs and late summer vegetables
• Dividing and replanting your perennials
• Digging new flowerbeds
• Seeding fall fescue
• Aerating and overseeding your lawn

Autumn Flowers

With the holidays just around the corner, a pop of petals will add the perfect color to your backyard plot. Fall is also an ideal time for planting vegetable gardens. Autumn veggies will sprout just in time to add an organic, healthy treat to your Thanksgiving meal. Fall flora like pansies and mums keep your gardens thriving all through autumn and make charming centerpieces for your holiday table. But beware of planting before the last vestiges of summer heat dissipates. Planting flowers or overseeding your lawn too soon will undermine new plant growth, leading to a leggy, less than lush landscape. Ask your friends at Ace of Gray when the temperature and conditions are correct for new planting.

photo from flickr

Hunting is a time honored southern tradition that brings together families, friends, and that neighbor who owns an elevated deer blind. Your rituals may include a special 4am breakfast, lucky hunting equipment, or just packing up the truck with your dad. Whatever your hunting habits, it’s time to round up the boys for a new season of memories. Small game season is almost over and Georgia’s deer hunting season is well underway.

Open Season

It’s open season on game big and small. Duck hunting has been open since September, and hunters are already enjoying their first deer hauls. Before you embark on your first hunt of the season, buy your hunter’s license, take a day at the shooting range, and refresh your knowledge of Georgia’s hunting regulations. If you’re taking your kid hunting for the first time, research hunter education classes or share hunter safety tips. You won’t want to waste a half of your hunting day on preparation and education.

Hunting Hardware

Whether you’re an old pro or just getting started, Ace of Gray has the tips and tools to get your hunting season underway. Get your hunting license here, and restock your ammunition supply while you’re at it. We sell camo gear for all ages, portable camouflage hunting blinds, and folding chairs so you can create a hidden hunter’s habitat that won’t scare away the game. Check your equipment bag for alert whistles, emergency supplies, batteries, and a first aid kit. And keep Ace of Gray’s extensive hunting selection in mind; when the weather gets cool, you may want to snag some of our hand warmers, hunting jackets, and propane lanterns to keep warm and dry.

Visit Ace Hardware of Gray, Georgia to purchase your sporting goods, then stop back by to share your weekend successes with your fellow hunters.

Ace of Gray isn’t just the largest Ace Hardware store in Georgia, it’s one of the top 5 in the southeast. That means moms, dads, and kids alike will love exploring our extensive selection of tools, clothes, and home project materials. We have everything from Georgia football gear to gardening gloves, keeping your family prepared no matter which project you’re tackling next.

Our Blog

Our blog is a one-stop shop, much like our hardware store! Here you’ll find product information and seasonal sales, insights into the industry, and cool project ideas with the DIY know-how to accomplish them in style. We’ll share customer stories and introduce members of our Gray, Georgia team. You’ll find holiday decorating tips and bird’s eye views of renovation projects. Swing by for the latest on hardware, home, and holiday!

Our Social

Ace Hardware of Gray isn’t just a great store with a fun, easy to navigate website: we’re active on social media, too! If you want store updates, current sales, and fun daily blurbs, make sure to follow, fan, and +1 us on Twitter, Facebook, and Google+. And make sure to check our blog for weekly tips, projects, and glimpses into our Gray hardware world.

photo from flickr