Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Early spring does not mean the end of days OR early tomato plants!

Early spring does not mean the end of days!
(nor does it mean early tomatoes)!

Yes the Magnolia trees are blooming in March, but this spring has only reached NEAR record-breaking temperatures.

Now, we've had a lot of questions at the shop...

"What can I put in the ground?"

"When will you have ______ in stock?"

"Do you have any tomato plants yet?"

The Answers:

Q- "What can I put in the ground?"

A- Any cold hardy perennial, shrub or tree can go in the ground as long as you can dig in the soil - so, now!

For seeds - see below.

Q- "When will you have ______ in stock?"

A- We have lots of hellebores, pieris, boxwood, and a few other evergreens in stock right now.



We are getting our first real shipment of shrubs and perennials this Thursday (3/22/12), which will include: Lupines, Bleeding hearts, Japanese Forest grass, Rozanne Geraniums, Heuchera, forsythia, quince, butterfly bushes, a couple of hydrangea varieties, and more.

We will be full in the nursery by April 1st, but remember - we bring in most flowering perennials when they are actually showing color. (For some reason you guys don't want to buy empty pots of dirt - so weird.)

We all want full and flowering perennials to put in our gardens, so we don't bring in a lot of echinachea, until closer to bloom time.

Unfortunately, we won't have a full delivery of pine mulch and coco mulch until Monday (3/26/12). I appologize to everyone who is going to be looking for it this weekend. We have deer repellent, all natural Copper fungicide for your fruit trees (yes, start spraying now), we have all natural insect repellent (yes, the mosquitoes are out!) we have plant tone, rose tone, green sand, etc.

It's still early. We keep saying it, "It's still March!" Everyone in our industry, growers, suppliers, and Victoria Gardens are used to being still under snow this time of year.

To keep you busy with spring clean up: expandable rakes, gloves, watering cans, trunk liners and knee pads are all 30% off until the end of March.



Q- "Do you have any tomato plants yet?"

A- Oy vey! Really? (No we don't have any tomato plants.) Actually we could still get a snow storm, believe it or not. The frost free date is still May 15th, so tender annuals of any kind should be in a movable container/tray to be taken inside in case of a sudden nor'easter.

We did order some herbs in pots, including basil 'pesto perfecto' which should arrive this week.

Most annuals, petunias, marigolds, ect. we anticipate will not arrive until May as usual.





Q- "What seeds can I grow now?"

A- You direct sow all the seeds you normally would: beans, peas, greens, arugula - anything that can normally be planted in March. For flower seeds, you can direct sow sweet peas and all varieties of poppies.

For warm weather veggies and annual flowers, you still need to follow the directions on the packet. Most say start seeds inside six, four or two weeks before the final frost date - which for us is April 4th, April 18th and May 2nd. You can of course start the seeds early and take your chances planting them outside before May 15th, but because of our weather patterns, we could still get a snow storm in April!

Happy Spring!

Fairy Class

Our first fairy class was a huge success. There are just a couple spots left in the second Fairy Class on April 1st. Don't miss out! Call and reserve your spots today

Sunday April 1st, 10am Fairy Garden Day

Introduction to creating a fairy garden in your yard, learn how to create a miniature container fairy garden and more. A series of demonstrations lead by Barbara Darbin, the fairy queen of Ulster County. Snacks will be provided between sessions.Reservations necessary. Call (845) 658-9007 to reserve your spot. $15 per person. Includes material costs. Children must be accompanied by an adult.



If you can't make the class, be sure to stop by and see the remarkable Fairy Garden Display and intricate Fairy Houses by artist Barbara Darbin.