We're a week away from opening, and are gearing up for the new season!
Our perennials are just breaking dormancy, so now is the time of year when I begin biting my nails wondering, "Are these plants going to look alive when the first customers roll in?" Since we overwinter all of our plants in our unheated barn, they are on exactly the same schedule as plants that have spent the winter outdoors, cozy in a garden....not forced into early greenery (or even blooms!) in a greenhouse. I'd take a plant grown this way any day, because it's already proven its hardiness. But it's not exactly instant gratification in the garden!
We've added native shrubs this year, and I have been busy lining these up from various growers, picking them up, and figuring out where we're going to put everything. Sugarbush is going to be packed this year!
As usual, the copy and print person on duty at Staples in the evening is going to be my new best friend for the next several weeks while I work on printing and laminating our customized bench cards that describe each plant we carry in great detail.
This year I am also really excited about all of the organic veggie plants we are going to be able to offer our customers. We've always done a rather bare-bones sort of veggie offering in the past, and most of it has been conventionally grown. But Erica Bowers Lavdanski, co-owner of B&H Organic Produce in Morgantown, is growing transplants for us this year (as well as speaking on small space vegetable gardening on April 18th!) - and we are going to be able to offer dozens of varieties of veggies! All will be grown organically (as her CSA farm is also managed).
Speaking of Erica, and speaking of speaking, this year we are also hosting a Speaker's Series, bringing in lots of great local people who are experts in their field and who will share their love of gardening with us. We'll have a new speaker every month, with a different and really interesting topic each time. Check out our Events page for more details.
On a final note, I would strongly advise anyone who will be visiting the nursery to WAIT to come until April 18th! The perennials will surely be looking more lively at that point, veggies will be here, and the first of the annuals and hanging baskets will also be here by then. Our April 11th opening won't be with our full complement of everything we will be offering this year. So kick back for another week, if you can! And then we'll hope to see you here soon for another great gardening season.
Saturday, April 4, 2009
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