April 22, 2008

Starting this Sunday we will be open 12-5 through the 4 Sundays in May. Perennial and shrub benches are stocked, annuals are blooming and we still have gallon pots of tomatoes left. For suggestions, see this week's article on tomatoes.

March 31, 2008

Thanks to all who braved the cold on Saturday for our first official day open of the season. We are getting plants on the benches as they are ready- look for a full selection by the second week in April.

March 11, 2008

Seedlings and cuttings are coming in at a furious pace, we're up to our elbows in potting soil and my propagation house is bursting at the seams. What does that mean for you? This spring we will have many new varieties of perennials, shrubs, and annuals as well as your old favorites.

Several weeks ago Dad and I spent a pleasant afternoon with the ladies of the Garden Club of Lancaster. We spoke on native plants and their place in your landscape. It is really surprising to note how many of our favorites are actually native, purple coneflowers, rudbekias, most heucheras have some native strains in their parentage. Not to mention itea, clethra, aronia and most dogwoods are native. Natives, especially improved cultivars or selections, are a great choice. They are well-suited to our area, feed our birds, and seem to be more disease and insect resistant than Old World introductions. Look for articles on natives coming later this summer.

Dad and I write a weekly gardening column for the local paper and all stories are archived in our "Articles" section. We've started up this spring already; look for interesting facts, garden lore and tips, and sometimes a laugh if I do say so myself.

January 20, 2008

Happy New Year! Around here we've enjoyed a restful holiday season and had the opportunity to do a little traveling and rejuvenate for the coming Spring. Construction projects are mostly completed. Remaining are a few more shrub display benches and updates to the automatic watering systems in the propagation area.

Last week I began seeding annuals, and we are finalizing the perennial inventories and making new signs. Perennial plugs start arriving in late February for April 1st opening day. I hope you're getting excited about spring...we are!

November 20

Happy Thanksgiving! We are now officially closed, and are busy putting the perennials and shrubs to bed. If we get a few nice days together, the building projects will be about done.

We are finishing up orders for next spring's seeds and plugs and I for one am excited! We continue to add new annuals, (hot pink anagalis, chocolate non-stop-begonias, King Tut papyrus grass to name a few) as well as expanding the perennial and shrub selections. If there is something that you've "gotta have" drop us an e-mail and we'll see if we can find it.

We've had a few enquiries about gift certificates for the holidays. They are available in any amount. Either stop by the house (please call first) or drop a check in the mail and be sure to specify the amount, giver and recipient, and we'll mail one to you.

October 22

Yes, it is getting a little late into the season, but we will be open officially until October 31. Unofficially, a little later. We are currently putting the perennials to bed for the winter and finishing up the new building projects (see below). It is not to late to plant shrubs, and hardy perennials. Ornamental grasses and tender perennials such as delphiniums should wait til next year.

Also, if you are planting now, hold off on the mulch until the ground freezes. Mulch has an insulating effect and will prevent heaving, but it also will prevent warming of the soil during daytimes. Warm soil helps plants root in. Wait to mulch heavily until the ground is frozen. Plant next spring's bulbs now (see Article's section) and grass seed can still be spread over new or sparse areas. I hope you all were fortunate to get the rain we got last week, it was much appreciated.

October 8

I can't believe I'm saying this, but I'm hot. We are building two new production greenhouses this fall; one for annuals and one for shrubs. The annual house will be used for gallon pots and ornamental grasses. The shrub house will alleviate some tug-of-war for space with the perennials. Both houses will have efficient watering systems consisting have a porous mat (AquaMat) so the pots soak up the water instead of overhead watering. What does this mean for you? Better quality verbenas, gauras and ornamental grasses with more healthy root systems and a little peace of mind for dad's shrubs next spring.

Can I still plant? Is another question I've been getting a lot recently. I doesn't seem that fall is coming yet, but neither have the rains we are used to at this time of year. So my qualified answer is yes, you can still plant, but I would offer the caveate don't be too sparing with your water hose. The only other thing I would offer on that account is perhaps wait til next spring on ornamental grasses or really tender perennials, such as delphiniums, or things that take a while to root in like Baptisia. It is the second week of October after all despite the fact that it's 90 degrees!

Sept 17

What a beautiful day today. I love this time of year as the air gets cooler and the sun is a bit lower so colors appear more vibrant. It's also Solanco Fair week, one of my favorite small-town things to do. Both Mom and Dad have volunteered at the fair as long as I can remember, and I love to go see the Ag exhibits and of course eat lots of food!

Around here we have new shrub benches to display the expanding rhododendron and azalea varieties. We also have three new Pieris japonica cultivars as well as leucothoe, two new sambucus varieties, and several new flowering shrubs.

We're planting and labeling more flower beds in hopes of better displaying some new shrubs and giving you ideas of what you can do at home. Mums and panisies are in brilliant color and there are some really interesting fall-blooming taller sedums worth a look. I really like 'Matrona' for one.

Have a good fall, and if you're going to the fair, stop in and get some French Fries from Dad and a bowl of chicken corn soup from Mom. I can't wait!

August 21

I know it's a bit early to be thinking fall, but this is an excellent time of year to plant shrubs and perennials. The ground is still warm, though the air temperatures are dropping a bit and plants aren't as stressed at planting. Additionally the rains have started; we've gotten 2 inches here the last few days. To that end we are busy restocking shrubs and perennials.

The 4" perennials that have been on sale since July will be dumped by the end of the week and new 4" pots will be available by Monday. There are over 350 varieties that we start from seed to offer in 4" pots. Do you have room in your garden for a few more plants to love?