Private Garden Tour Sunday April 22nd

Private Garden Tours

Call to Register 845-658-9007

Sunday April 22nd 11am

Nestled at the bottom of a hill, in a lush microclimate, Deb Gray (of Gardenmakers fame and now a part of the Victoria Gardens’ design team) has been cultivating an incredible collection of specimens in her garden for over 30 years (mature Copper Beeches and Japanese Umbrella pines that were once orphans, but Deb rescued and nursed back to heath.)

A custom, rustic wooden pergola straddles the entrance to the garden path and leads to a blue stone patio, full of bird feeders and surrounded by flowering trees. Apple blossoms and magnolia trees fill the patio with fragrance. Spring blooming bulbs and woodland ground covers have naturalized creating large drifts of early spring color.

A Rustic Bear by artist Hoppy Quick stands guard over the woodland garden. He is usually covered in birds, but occasionally the cat perches on his head or shoulders. Meandering blue stone pathway, which have evolved over many years, lead around the house to a spring fed pond.

This is the result of the curiosity, passion and dedication of a very talented garden designer. On the tour you will see unusual plants and happy accidents.

As an interesting contrast, we will also be visiting the extensive gardens of Deb’s longtime client, Arlene Levine.

At the driveway entrance you will be struck by two splashy and spectacular gold and red symmetrical plantings. You will see a mature shrub border with dozens of mature specimens that is truly inspirational.

A beautiful stone patio winds around the house to a scenic pond, surrounded by a mature birch grove. Arlene and Deb have worked together to create a bold and colorful collection of gardens that are as whimsical as they are extensive.

Don’t miss this amazing tour of two private gardens. Reservations necessary - $10 per person.

Call 845-658-9007 to register.

Our next private garden tour is on Sunday May 6th at 11am. We will be visiting three very different gardens in the same creek side neighborhood. One is a hillside garden, one is an enclosed cottage garden, and the third is the stunning garden collection of a talented garden photographer. Then we’ll make a second stop for garden number 4! You will get more ideas and inspiration on this two-hour tour than you would from a stack of garden magazines!

For a full schedule of events, visit our website www.victoriagardens.biz and click on the classes and special events link.

Garden Day, New Varieties Lecture and Slide Show

‘Appalachian’ Red Redbud -
Cercis canadensis ‘Appalachian Red"
Zone 4
Grows 25’ tall and wide

Like all redbuds, ‘Appalachian’ is an understory tree and can tolerate partial shade. In early spring the tight deep pink buds cover the branches of this cold hardy tree, and in mid-spring the buds open into blooms. This flower explosion occurs before any of the burgundy-colored, young foliage appears. The large heart-shaped leaves change to a deep blue-green by summer, and a sunny yellow in the fall.

Come to Garden Day this Saturday and learn about this and other new varieties! Victoria will be giving a lecture with a slide show "New Varieties in Bloom." Every year there are new varieties destined to become old favorites. Let Victoria introduce you to the stunning new "must have" varieties available to brighten your garden this season. The class will include annuals, perennials shrubs and trees.

Saturday April 14th - Garden Day at UCCC

All day event at Ulster County Community College in Stone Ridge. Contact Cornell Cooperative Extension of Ulster County for more information and registration please call (845) 340 3990.

Saturday April 14th - Lecture: New Varieties in Bloom At Garden Day at UCCC

Victoria Coyne from Victoria Gardens will be giving a slideshow lecture - a collection of images displaying the stunning “must have” varieties of 2012. Call (845) 340 3990 to register.

Sunday April 15th - 10am Coffee in the Garden at Victoria Gardens - free

Coffee in the Garden (the first and third Sunday of each month) is a casual gardeners’ open forum. Each week Victoria chooses something new and exciting in the garden to discuss, and is available to answer your questions.

- 11am Class - New Varieties in Bloom- We’re presenting this slideshow lecture at the nursery for those of you who can’t make it to Garden Day at UCCC!

Call 845-658-9007. to register.

Reservations necessary - $5 per person.

What's that plant? Rhipsalidopsis a.k.a. Spring Cactus, a.k.a Easter Cactus

Rhipsalidopsis a.k.a. Spring Cactus, a.k.a Easter Cactus LOOKS like the familiar Christmas Cactus a.k.a. Schlumbergera bridgesii, but these two look-a-likes have different bloom times and different requirements.

Keep your Easter Cactus in bright indirect light (so not right on the windowsill - inside the room a couple feet) and dry out in between waterings. Water even less starting in September and let the Rhipsalidopsis go dormant. Begin watering regularly in March and have blooms in time for Easter!

Segmented foliage can be rooted and propagated the same as Christmas Cactus. (p.s. the key to the Christmas Cactus dormant period and subsequent bloom is sunlight not water. Shorter days October through December signal Schlumbergera bridgesii to bloom.)





Also, note the hilarious do not eat symbol on the tag. (Seriously, if your cats eat your plants, pass on this toxic cactus. If your cats eat your plants with a fork and knife, post it on Youtube and send us the link!)

What's that plant? Kalanchoe thyrsiflora 'Red lips'!

Kalanchoe thyrsiflora 'Red lips' is a large leafed succulent (houseplant). Super easy care, dry out soil in between waterings.

So stunning, yet so easy - and everyone will be asking you, "what's that plant?"

What's this wild Plant? Medinilla magnifica!

Medinilla magnifica! This tropical beauty (a.k.a. houseplant) likes partial shade, so don't place it in a southern or eastern facing window. It is an irregular bloomer, which means it can form the pink flowers (actually brachts) multiple times during the year.





For more info check out this website.

First Coffee in the Garden April 15th!

I know with the this warm weather, every one is itching for Coffee in the Garden to begin! But as those of you on the email list know, April 1st Coffee in the Garden was overrun with fairies.

Thus:
Sunday April 15th
10am Coffee in the Garden
Coffee in the Garden (the first and third Sunday of each month) is a casual gardeners’ open forum. Each week Victoria chooses something new and exciting in the garden to discuss, and is available to answer your questions.

Also don't miss out on the 11am Class - New Varieties in Bloom:
Every year there are new varieties destined to become old favorites. Let Victoria
introduce you to the stunning new "must have" varieties available to brighten your garden this season. The class will include annuals, perennials shrubs and trees. We’re presenting this slideshow lecture at the nursery for those of you who can’t make it to Garden Day at UCCC!
Call (845) 687-9007 to register.
Reservations necessary - $5 per person.

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!