I love it when one of our benches finds such a nice new home! Abbey on her rightful throne.A new home
I love it when one of our benches finds such a nice new home! Abbey on her rightful throne.I love it when one of our benches finds such a nice new home! Abbey on her rightful throne.Top 10 ~ Gardening Questions
Today is our first Top 10 workshop at the nursery. I invited Kristen (our sales rep for L&L Nursery products/ largest supplier on the west coast) out to the store to do what is known as a PK (product knowledge) class for our employees quite awhile back. I realized after listening to some of the early season gardeners asking questions that we did not always give consistent answers to their questions. It wasn't necessarily that the answers were "wrong", it was just the hesitancy that I heard in the voices of some of us. Myself included. I have been doing this thing called Nursery Worker for over 12 years n
ow, and I still have to look at certain bottles in the early season when I talk to someone and look for the measuring amounts, square footage coverage, safety precautions etc. I got to thinking "If I have to LOOK, what must an employee feel that has only worked for me this past season". I want them to have just as much comfort level recommending a dormant oil spray as they already have explaining a why a Fraxinus pennsylvanica will be such a great addition to their landscape!
ow, and I still have to look at certain bottles in the early season when I talk to someone and look for the measuring amounts, square footage coverage, safety precautions etc. I got to thinking "If I have to LOOK, what must an employee feel that has only worked for me this past season". I want them to have just as much comfort level recommending a dormant oil spray as they already have explaining a why a Fraxinus pennsylvanica will be such a great addition to their landscape! So, enter Kristen. We got to talking about some of the items that she sells to us and which ones we should cover at this employee meeting, and I realized that most questions come in again and again and again. I had everyone that works on the nursery floor put their questions in writing and then I would choose the top 10 to have Kristen go over. Guess what, there really were only about 10 that came up over and over. Then we got to thinking ~ well if there are 10 consistent questions, then maybe all gardeners would benefit from their answers. Hence the workshop this morning, and you are ALL invited!
I will post up the questions ~ and the answers ~ here tomorrow, but we hope that we will see you at the nursery this morning at 11am, just in case.....you want to bring us a question that isn't on the list. Come on, bring us a good one. See you soon, Susan
ps, Fraxinus pennsylvanica is a green ash, and yes they are lovely.
Roses ~ Roses ~ Roses ....so hard to wait!
Happy Little Tree Huggers
Hundreds and hundreds of trees arrive and all we can do is smile!!!!!!
Oh what a beautiful morning
This morning I went out to fill the bird feeders, a daily chore now that they have returned to the side yard in force, and saw all these popping up. The last few weeks since I have been back from the east coast have really been a little too pleasant, if that is possible. I guess what I mean is "Where is Winter this year?" With the lack of moisture and cold everything is coming out about a month early it seems. The tulips are up, the daffodils are sprouting through the leaf blanket I put on them and the entire perennial bed is starting to green up. IT'S TOO EARLY!!
the other picture is of tulip bulbs that I had pulled out of a large terra cotta pot that I planted a rose in this year. Forgot them where I had tucked them under some santolina...looks like they overwintered just fine..and they may even be blooming soon.
Here is my "strange" pic of the day. I am a juicer as many of you know, and that makes a lot of compost material. I have started bagging up some of it for treats for Michelle's chickens, (added benefit: I get fresh eggs) and the rest I have been just piling the pulp as well as kitchen scraps in this wine barrel in the side yard. I did this last year also because there was no sense putting it into the tumbler as it was frozen and I don't add water in the winter anyway. Last year in the beginning of April I pulled the majority of the then semi-composted scraps out of the barrel and put it in the tumbler and I planted 1 tomato plant in a wall o water and guess what came up....ready....2 pumpkin plants, 1 funny squash of some sort but very edible and a few onions. So obviously this is a strange winter way to compost, but....works for me....
ps, this may not work for you if you have varmints or dogs that can get near it......
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| my favorite crab apple getting ready for her spring debut......malus "Prairefire" |
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| another beauty, Weeping Forsythia Tree.....still not sturdy enough to support itself, but it is getting there.....will post another picture when she puts on her spring dress... |
ReUse
Men - what are they thinking sometimes ??? This little piece of history was on its way to the DUMP. I know.....some of you out there are probably thinking, "well yes.....that is exactly where it should be going." But there are A LOT of us out there that see the potential in old pieces like this one and know just where to find it a new home. And where might that be you ask? Just stop by the nursery anytime and we will gladly show you and also the first display that Lucia used it for, it is up for an award at www.kellogggarden.com
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| Lucia's first display with the re purposed piece |
Some favorites.....
I am in a "tree kinda way" right now. I've been crossing my "T's" and dotting my "I's" in final preparation for the huge shipment of trees that arrive next week. All the orders are put in, all the specifications have been gone over, the tree lines tightened up and ready, IT'S SHOW TIME!
I thought it would be fun to highlight a few of my favorites that will be coming from the growers next week.. Anyone that has ever driven by my house in the spring knows that I LOVE CRAB APPLES! No other tree in our valley will give you such a show. Beautiful blossoms for weeks in Spring, gorgeous foliage all summer, and amazing arrays of Fall color. This one below is one of my favorites. I can not resist its vibrant pink-red flowers surrounded by deep dark purple foliage! The rich red fruits, orange-red fall color, and interesting bark provides all-season appeal. Outstanding disease resistance makes this "easy care" crab apple a jewel in the landscape! Plant with confidence. It's super hardy for our cold temps and it will out perform most trees in your landscape. Enjoy!! and oh yes, I have ordered plenty of them!!! 
Royal Raindrops® Crabapple Malus Height: 20'
Spread: 15'
Zone: 4
Photos by: J. Frank Schmidt & Son
ACRE, more than enough room
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| Beautiful wine glass adornments from Canada |
Just finished up the ACRE show here in Orlando today. I am a huge Etsy Fan (thank you goes to Sara & Jaime for that little addiction) so when the I realized this show would be going on in Orlando while I was in Jacksonville visiting the kids, it seemed kind of a "feed two birds with one seed" type of trip. I talked my traveling buddy Melissa (Every Bloomin Thing Nursery - Susanville) to fly out and join me and she readily agreed. The only time she had ever been to Florida was the short trip last year before we left for Atlanta so we had some sites to see!
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| SolMate socks from Vermont and North Carolina, all recycled materials COTTON |
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| Good Fortune Soap, lovely young woman from Tennessee ~ Jennifer Jack, found her passion and is making it happen |
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| hand blown glass hearts from Luke Adams, Massachusetts |
Viva Las Vegas
Take 6 women and throw them in a Lincoln Navigator, travel 7 hours south, and turn them loose on the Las Vegas Gift Show and what do you get? Lots and lots of goodies coming into both stores. We got books, scarves and purses galore, oodles of sparkly goodness for next Christmas (yes, you have to buy for the holiday season in January or you won't get what you want) and a wealth of wonderfulness for Spring too! We even made some time for junk'in and exploring. It was a great brainstorming, fun filled week!Now I am back home, after a month of traveling, and it is time to settle into my own garden, get some areas raked up, and start planning for the new rose and veggie gardens. With the weather we have this week it is the perfect time to be outside, enjoy the chill and the sunshine and get some things done. See you in the big garden soon!
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| outside Goldfield, pit stop to check out the artwork |
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| and.....we even got to meet Rick! (Rick's Restorations in Vegas) |
Catching up
It’s Saturday night and I am in flight.... on the way back to Nevada, if only for a day. Then it is off to Vegas for the gift show with the girls. The last three weeks have been filled with family and fun. I had the absolute best intentions of blogging more during this time, but somehow when you have a four year old appear just as you are pouring your first cup of coffee of the day and say to you “Well good morning Nana, how are you today….I had a great sleep..did you?” with a giant smile and a hug to accompany it…...or a beautiful sunny day just made for long walks and tree climbing with the two grandsons......well..you get the picture...... blogging takes a back seat. 
Catching up ~
Robert’s mom, Sharon, lives in Brunswick which is just a short hour drive north from where the kids live in Jacksonville. When the kids where transferred from Maine to Florida it was a great bonus for us as we are now able to see our family much more also. The trip up to see her the first week I was in Florida was with a heavy heart as it was the first time I have been back to the house on the marsh since Bob’s Dad passed away in December. I knew that it was going to be hard, to see his things in the hallway and his hat on the stand by the door. His gardening tools waiting for him out back when I took the dog out for a walk, and his favorite chair empty. Sharon has been my second mom for 38 years, and because Robert and I married very young, she pretty much helped raise me up in a lot of ways. She gave me cooking lessons, encouraged me to use my writing skills and helped me plant my first rose bed in Florida. She is a strong woman - an artist, a published author, a beautifully trained vocalist....... and the women that took care of her dying husband for the last 18 months. I have never been to the house when “Big Bob” wasn’t puttering around fixing something or showing me a new gadget or antique he had acquired…and I miss him. He loved to talk business with me and was never short of words to tell me “just the straight facts." I miss him. A lot.
This trip we accomplished a few things she was needing help with. We got some rooms rearranged, some paperwork done and with the help of my friend Melissa, the pond cleaned out and pruned up. The house isn't the same, it never will be ~ but she is making a new life for herself and I hope that I can be back on the marsh with her again real soon.