Window box for Fall

This look is great. Classy and simple. A is black mondo grass. B are little baby boo pumpkins, C are large white pumpkins...also known as lumina, D is just your run of the mill bittersweet. But be careful with bittersweet it can reseed and you could start finding it growing everywhere under your windowbox next year. Try finding artificial bittersweet instead.

Sorry it's been so long

Sorry it's been so long since my last post. Really have no excuse. I guess that's how I get when we're busy...I kind of hide from the world. My Mother would call me " savage" in french which I took as meaning "unsociable". I guess that's what happens when you work as much as we do. Still we are just as much in the people business as much as in the plant business.

We're now into Fall with the nights getting cooler. Love this time of year. I know there are some that don't like Fall because it means the end of Summer, but I find it's a much more peaceful time of year.

Above is a picture of plectrantus. This one was given to me by one of our good customers~ Lisa. It was just a little plant at the time but as you can see it's huge now. It has the most beautiful foliage which would be enough to delight anyone, but then all of a sudden it gets the prettiest purple-blue spikey flowers. The whole plant looks so regal with it's velvety foliage and purple flowers. Lisa didn't know the name of it but I found it on a google search finally. Oh course I can't remember now. I thinks it's Mona Lisa ...wouldn't that be ironic.

Summer

Probably one of the favorite plants for shade...IMPATIENS. This one was done in a strawberry jar~ small one at that. Made a mistake of putting it out too early in the spring when it was still too cold and it looked a little unhappy, but it's been doing great inside the greenhouse since. In the foreground are some variegated bougainvilleas which I absolutely love. They're a great heat tolerate plant that I seem to forget to suggest to customers when they're looking for that kind of thing.

This was a angel wreath that we had by the register that was so gorgeous it was hard to see it go. The great thing about it was that it looked like it came from some great old estate, but it was new made out of fiberglass and very light...much easier to hang. The plants are from a hanging basket for the shade with potato vine and trailing coleus. Can't believe it's still here. Crazy!!!

Crazy busy!!!!

Wow ...what an amazingly busy Memorial day weekend. The weather really made a difference. I notice people are buying a lot more vegetable plants and seeds, which we all could predict would happen with the price of food. I hope the momentum keeps up, though this Saturday was less busy because it was cloudy all day. Sunday will be sunny and we'll probably be swamped. We still have a lot of great product with new things coming in all the time.

Geranium " Vancouver Centennial "

really eye catching foliage on this one. Looks great with burgandy oxalis that we grew this year. I probably like foliage more then flowers. Not sure why that is....maybe because there's never any deadheading to do.

Busy

Busy, busy ,busy getting ready for the onslot. It can be overwhelming all the things that need doing. Someone the otherday said we needed to make a list of what we needed to do....all I could think of was...why would I want to do that, then I'd really be depressed at the end of the day. Well got to get back to work....plant plant plant......

Pansies

Morpho...what an awful name for a pansy. It's definitely one of my favorites. I don't always get that one so I was happy to get it in this year. There's something so delicate about pansies yet they are the toughest plants for the cold. Never know why people don't do more of them. It seems people always want them in June, when they see everyone elses looking great that were planted in April. By that time we're usually out. So don't wait this year and get them in and bring a little color to your life.

Shade Planter

This is one of my favorite plant combinations for the shade. There's nothing like white caladiums with algerian ivy cascading down for making a container look elegant. Love the simplicity of this look. The last few years I've been into bright vibrant colors, but I'm back to liking whites and pastels. According to one of my reps. pastels are "in"....so I guess I'm "in".....

Easter!!!

photos from Blomsterverkstad

Please do yourself a favor and check out

Minna's blog

Happy Easter!!! and thank you to everyone who came in. It's our 2nd Easter up here at the greenhouses and it's been great fun setting up the shop for Spring. It's too bad we can't keep it up longer....but already customers are asking for fertilizer and things that we usually have in here. Soon enough.

Also a note to our customers, sadly since George's fathers passing 2 yrs. ago we have not been associated with Maynards farm market on Rt 1.

This week we'll be open only from 12-4 so we can get to all the planting that still needs to be done. We'll have Easter gifts on SALE in the shop this week also....

The start of Spring

Most people don't know how small some of these plugs are when we get them in. This one is considered a large cell from a flat with 72 plants. Some come 512 cells per flat....itsy bitsy. They need to be monitored all the time to make sure they don't dry up. Well got to go plant them now...see ya.

Easter prep

Even though the weather today shows little sign of what we like of Spring......our mind set is all about Spring....with preparations for our first shipment of plugs and cuttings. In less than 2 weeks we will be open for Easter on Sat. March 15th. It's earlier then we've ever open. Normally our opening date is April 1 or there about. The week after Easter we will probably limit our business hours to get to all the work we need to do. We'll post our hours for that week later. Look forward to seeing you all.

More Christmas 2007

Good Doggy!!!

This was only a few days before Christmas with only a few trees left. Sold out early ....... Yeah!!!!!

Christmas 2007~ Better Late Than Never

These pictures were taken by a friend of ours who's a professional photographer -Bob Lorenz. He lives here in Old Saybrook, but has done most of his work in N. Y.C. ...mostly commerial work. I don't know what he gets out of taking pictures of the shop but I always welcome it. He always takes great shots....more later....

Primitive doll by artist Paulette Andrews of Bits and Pieces

Scandinavia

Lately I've become addicted to blogs from Scandinavia...mostly for their color palette and garden themed rooms...just exactly what you would expect from there. NO IKEA here!!! These are some the most beautiful rooms I've ever seen. The only thing is, I can't read a bit of it, so I just look at the pictures, which are amazing. I've always liked this look for the store, of which I have quite a lot of, but have decided that I will need to do more. The shop is really only open for, Fall, Christmas and Easter. After that it reverts back to looking like a garden center with bags of grass seed, fertilizer and all be it organic pesticides and sprays. It's hard to be serious considered like a nice gift shop when you have those items in your store, no matter how well displayed it is. People expect us to carry garden essentials like that even if I don't find them attractive....and they do sell. But at least for the time I will dream of the day when I can fill my store year round with all the pretty things I see, but could never sell.

This picture is from http://minlillaveranda.blogspot.com

Tinsel Trading

We have a ton more designs. Great for so many projects or just to add a "little something special" to a card. They all have a bit of glitter on them. All sheets are $6.00. Dresden sheet vary in price.

Just had to show you some of the great things we got from Tinsel Trading at the Gift Show. This is only a small sampling of what we ordered. Great for the advanced crafter and novice.

Gift Show

Just got back from the New York Gift Show. Wish we could have had more time there....just so much to see. We did get a lot of great things...fiberglass planters and statuary, garden related gifts and home accents, and of course Fall and Christmas decorations. I'm really excited about all the new fiberglass products we're getting in. Many of our customers last year couldn't believe that they weren't concrete. We also ordered some great gifts for Easter to go along with spring bulbs we'll have. Easter is my favorite holiday so I intend to go all out!!!!You may already know how much I love birds, eggs and nests!!!! So it's just an excuse to get them all out!!! Hope to see you!!!!! TWEET -TWEET

Whistle Stop Restaurant

Not plant related, but just had to mention that we went to my favorite restaurant today....The Whistle Stop in Deep River. They're open for breakfast and lunch only. It's a small place, but they have the most AMAZING FOOD!!!! It's like nothing you've ever had anywhere. Hedy and Mike, the owners make everything from scratch and if you're bored with the usual breakfast and lunch fare than this is the place for you. When was the last time you had a breakfast place serve artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, leeks, eggplant, portabella mushrooms to just name a few....I won't even get into the different cheeses they have....Hedy loves french cheeses. Maybe being a vegetarian this kind of stuff thrills me, but there is plenty for carnivores also. They're located on Main St. in Deep River before the Piano Works Condo's and open everyday except Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Go there!!! I think you'll love it as much as we do.

Helianthus

One of my favorite plants....Helianthus microcephalus. Had it kicking around for a couple of years. Finally decided to upgrade to a proper pot and it really took off. Didn't flower til Aug. where it was so tall the flowers hit the top of the hoop house. Everyone asked about it, but since it was the only one we had and the grower does offer it anymore, we decide we would keep it and split it up for next year. Hopefully there will be enough for everyone.

NEW ECHINACEA

TWILIGHT ECHINACEA
Big Sky series Ht. 26"-30" Rose red daisy-like flowers with a red cone. The flowers are actually a mixture of irridescent tones. These are plants that will definitely stand out in your garden. Ask for them this Spring........

Our first blog!!!

Hello and thanks for checking in on us. This is our attempt to stay in touch with our friends and customers during the winter months and there after. Don't worry, we're busy getting everything ready for Spring. Lots to do,fix,plan and order... and of course getting inspired. I know some of you don't enjoy Winter, but it is a great time to sit down with your garden books and plan out your garden. I myself always try out a new color scheme on my deck...even if I liked the one I did last year. That's the beauty of using annuals...they can change. I'm always amazed how many people do the same plants and colors year after year. Isn't that why we garden in the first place...to see how things change? From seeing a small shoot coming out of the ground to a fully mature plant. There are so many new and exciting plants coming out every year that it's almost hard to keep up with. To get some ideas for containers and annual beds you can look at http://provenwinners.com/

Remember Easter is early this year..March 23rd....so we will be open earlier than normal on Sat. March 15th. We will be setup in the gift shop with Easter plants and garden decorations. This is our 2nd year in the shop for Easter and we're looking forward to decorating for that season...one of our favorites!!! Hope to see you then.
Carole and George Maynard