Driving through town on a Sunny day.

Wondering what some of the plants and trees that are blooming right now around town are?

Flowering quince has found a perfect spot in front of Churchill Stations. Even though this shrub loves the full sun, tucked into the northern spot here it seems to even bloom well in the shade.

Tucked under the vintage car at Farmers Insurance you will find huge clumps of daffodils, although when I went inside to say Hi and tell them why I was taking pictures of the truck I was told that the majority of them find their way onto Mark's desk.

Look for this beautiful little flowering plum out front of Mayor Tedford's office. Over the next couple weeks watch this area as all the crab apples that are planted close to this tree start to bloom.

What can you say about the forsythia blooming on both sides of Berney Realty, BREATHTAKING!

Another fine specimen of a flowering plum found on the south side of Nevada State Bank, this one I think is a 'Blieriana'. All you have to do is get close and get a whiff of the blossoms to know that the bees will have a field day in here. Plant one in your yard if you are trying to get more pollinators to visit.

And the last one for this week, judging by how many we saw when we drove around town, probably one of the most "over planted" trees in Fallon was found in front of Sandwinds. But, how do you argue with a tree that not only takes all the harsh weather we throw at it and still shows up every year with beautiful blossoms, amazing shade and incredible fall color. What do I say to flowering pears, PLANT ON!

next week: hmmmmmmm what is blooming now: TO BE CONTINUED

The River Rises

The Carson River will start to rise this week, and now we will be able to see it, thanks to the marvelous effort of a few great friends. A couple days ago I happened to mention to Mike and Rose when we were back looking at the River Garden how it would be great if we could actually see the river that is just on the other side of the picket fence. Next thing I knew Rose was "volunteering" her husband Dave and his 2 chainsaws, and Mike was offering to help him clear a path so we could at least see a 10' section or so. They started in at 9am Sunday morning, and by noon not only the 10' section, but the entire width of the River Garden was cleared, raked and burning in a neat little pile down by the waters edge. The TCID (Truckee Carson Irrigation District), for those of you that don't live here in Fallon, is getting ready to release water into the river from upstream any day now so it was imperative if this was going to happen, it happen fast. Who knew!!! just how fast it would be. A huge THANK YOU!! to Dave and Rose Faulk, and Mike McLain for making the already serene garden even more beautiful.

10 Days in my Garden

Amazing what 10 days difference can make in the garden when you live in Northern Nevada. Just a short time ago, this was the view out my bedroom door onto the deck. Early morning I got up to witness once more the white covering on my trees. It was a warm day though, so it didn't stick around too long. Just enough to give us more of that much needed moisture. My favored spot for afternoon reading took on a new meaning

and then early this morning.....

Slipped on my shoes, draped a shirt over my shoulders and walked outside to the beauty of the plumcot tree in the side yard to take some shots for today. The tree is so filled with blossoms we will be taking some off for sure so as not to break the branches this year.

I even got my fountain going yesterday. What a beautiful sunny day it was to get this going.

In between these last 10 days we also unloaded all the Spring shipment of evergreens from Oregon. HUGE thank you to my two helpers Cody C. & Cody M. My tulips I put in pots last Fall are coming up like gang busters. The perennials beds are popping up in abundance. So fun to see all the little tiny things I planted last Fall coming up all over the place. Ten days - life in Northern Nevada. and on a personal note, Happy Anniversary to my dearest.

37 years ago we started out as kids - and the fun just continues.

Life with a hampered left wing

What parts of the chores in the garden world can be completed with one arm? I am finding out this month as I sit here and await the surgery that is scheduled for my left shoulder. Turns out that lifting trees and bales of compost are not so good for parts of your body when you reach the AARP crowd. I have always been a careful person regarding lifting, I thought. I lift weights and walk/run in the winter to stay in shape for the spring season that hits the garden center business like thunder, and I eat right and get lots of needed sleep. Well, maybe not rest - my husband would say, but I do get sleep. I do yoga on a semi-daily basis, just as much for my peace of mind as the strength of my core. So when my shoulder started to ache a few months ago I just put it on the back burner part of the brain and didn't worry to much about it. Figured out that if I just babied it a little all would be well. Turns out a 3" tear in your rotator cuff does not heal on it's own.

So, in a few weeks you will still find me at the nursery, but I will be the one behind the counter dispensing my best "Garden Words of Wisdom". I just won't be out loading any more trees or bales of compost for awhile. See you there, Susan

Spring Forward!

Well as much as I positively hate losing an hour to daylight savings, I have to say - SPRING FORWARD - sounds pretty darn good about now. I went on a nature walk of my own today around the Sparks Marina. http://www.cityofsparks.us/living/parks/marina/ It is a two mile path around the whole lake and what a lovely day to do it. The air was crisp, the mountains in the distance to the west were covered with snow, the clouds many and a few drops of rain even touched my cheek. The marina has a lot to offer for a horticulturalist nerd like me. I was on my walk with a friend who's husband is one of Bob's partners on his dual sport dirt bike rides. We had spent the night at their home at the marina and as we leashed up their two labs to go with us I was thrilled that such a beautiful path is basically right out their front door.

So many varieties of trees surround the lake I could not even keep track. Pears, plums and crab apples just to name of few of the varieties that will be covered in blossoms soon from the looks of their heavily swollen budded branches. With temperatures predicted in the high 60's this coming week, possibly even 70! Spring Forward really is appropriate. Amazing cotoneaster hedges overflowing the retaining walls, wonderful burning bush lining a large part of the path. I am going to go back soon, just to see everything again when it is all leafed out.

If you have the chance, skip part of the time you might have planned for the Legends Shopping center or Scheels, and take the short walk west to where the path starts. I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Stop and sit on one of the many benches and tables provided, sip on a cup of coffee from the vendor right there and enjoy the day. It is a beautiful park, right smack in the middle of the city. And yes, the dogs thoroughly enjoyed it too.

When we got home mid-afternoon I walked around the yard to survey what the wind damage was from the other day and to take note of my own flowering trees and shrubs. Tree limbs and twigs were thrown about and covering parts of the garden, but my branches are just as ready to greet the upcoming Equinox on the 20th of this month as the ones were at the Marina. And the best part of my stroll around my own garden, these beauties were also here to surprise me. First ones for me this season...ahhhh SPRING FORWARD - yep, See you soon, Susan

Edible Reno Tahoe

My first article for Edible Reno-Tahoe came out this week.

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/renotahoe/spring-2011/diverse-picks.htm

A huge thank you to Editor/Publishers, Amanda and Jaci for giving me the opportunity. It is a fabulous magazine and huge asset to our area, catering to a lot of the things I feel passionate about. Food, Sustainability, Vegetable Growing, Organics, and did I mention FOOD! Pick up a copy at many locations in Reno, or at The Flower Tree and Red Zinnia next week, and do what I do. Keep it in your car after you read it so when you find yourself up in Reno and can't decide on a great place to eat just browse through the write-ups. You won't be disappointed.

Follow the Yellow Brick Road... to the Plant Wiz

Sooz was a busy, busy artist while I was gone to Florida. Well, actually everyone was. They repainted the entire "green" room a lovely soft white, including the roof, upgraded the displays, new curtains, new shelving, and TADA! A YELLOW BRICK ROAD! For 11 seasons now I have looked at this walkway leading to the counter and said to anyone within listening distance, "Wouldn't it be nice to have a Yellow Brick Road here, it is just PERFECT for it?", well leave it to Sooz - to listen and act! With Ashley's help she created a beautiful, whimsical rendition.
Come on in, walk down the Yellow Brick Road, you might find Sooz at the end, just one of our many Plant Wiz's. THANK YOU SOOZ, I love it!

Spring around the bend

What are those absolutely beautiful fragrant pink puffs in our picture today? Why that would be one of the hundreds of trees that we unloaded at the nursery this morning. Filled with the promise of Spring, this one arrived just a little bit ahead of our season here in Fallon so we tucked it up by the building to save the blossoms. But we don't mind, nope, not a bit. Pieces of it found their way home with a few of us tonight. Prunus blireiana 'Blireiana Flowering Plum'.

With Rose on the forklift, and Sooz, Candice and I on the ground, we inspected and unloaded hundreds of new trees and shrubs that will fill the nursery with the promise of more blossoms and greenery to come. It is a special day at the nursery when the first trucks of the season arrive. Usually we try and space them out a bit more, but with the storms forecast for over the hill, everyone came TODAY! Tomorrow we will get them all tucked into the lines, watered in - and then stand back and enjoy them. My how easy it is to love this business.

Planting Mental Health

Recent research shows just five minutes of active gardening a day decreases the risk of mental illness and increases the sense of well being. Until now, nobody knew how much time people had to spend in green spaces to reap these benefits. Really, it was any physical activity in presence of nature that was found to provide these results. (Garden Chic, Feb. 2011)

Life as a business owner must be extremely different for all of us. I often wonder what it would be like to go to auction to pick out cars, do you choose the colors that you sold last year, or just the pink ones that you think would look pretty driving down Maine Street. When you have a hardware store - how do you make the decision exactly how many nails are needed in any given month, and can you imagine trying to do the buying for a restaurant, not knowing how many people are going to venture through your door each day - and just what do you do with the leftovers? It's not like you can lose them in the freezer for a year or two until you are forced to clean it out like I do.

Well I don't order food, or cars, or nails - but I do order trees. Lots and lots of trees. This is the week that our very first shipment is coming in for Spring 2011. Over the last two years we have all been faced with uncertainty in our own personal financial lives, and in the business world it has been no different. So this year it is a little more difficult to put together an order for trees when the landscapers in our town are hurting and the local real estate market is in one of the worst slumps in the country. But, anyone who knows me, and if you are reading this that probably includes you, also know that I am the Queen of Optimists. So, I am ordering trees!!! and shrubs!!! and more trees, and a thousand roses, and flowers, and organic soils, and hundreds of varieties of seeds, and colorful gloves, and gardening books and anything else I can manage to find that will bring us back to the soil and our roots. I truly believe that if we all just dug our hands in the dirt a little more it would be a happier, calmer world.

And for me at this moment, it's time to head outside while the sun is shining and the wind has stopped and get some of that great mental health going. See you in the garden, Susan

What is Michelle up to?

As promised, she is getting ready to raise her first family of chicks, baking bread & painting. Catch up with her new artwork on display at Red Zinnia. Sorry, I'm not sharing my first loaf of ciabatta bread, it was so good I ate it all!