Monthly Archives: March 2008

The Dirty Dozen

I had the privilege today to become part of The Dirty Dozen, a dozen or so (give or take) women who get together once a month to get their hands dirty or learn about some aspect of gardening.  The program this month was a presentation by Toni Wierzbicki, of Bellisima, a floral design company in Wheeling, on her style of floral design.  She completed four designs, including a country garden centerpiece, a wedding style centerpiece, a high style arrangement with birds of paradise and proteas, and a hand-tied spring bouquet.  I think that it shows how hungry we all are for spring, when just pulling out tulips and daffodils from her supplies bucket brought ooh’s and aah’s from those of us watching.

If you are looking for floral design for a wedding, funeral or just because, look no farther than Bellisima on Edgington Lane in Wheeling.  You won’t find your mama’s floral arrangements here, but rather a European-influenced blend of color, fragrance and style that you won’t find elsewhere.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where the temperatures are mild and the skies are overcast.

Easter Has Come and Gone

Whew!  Easter has come and gone already! What happened to that week?  The shrubs have begun to arrive, and we’re getting ready for our Spring Pansy Fling.  Watch for details coming soon!

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill on a Thursay when we took a half day off, finally!

Our Combination Hanging Baskets

We’ve started to plant up our beautiful combination baskets that you love so well!  The flowering plants are arriving as plugs, and we’re transplanting them into the baskets.  By Mother’s Day they will be beautiful, full baskets dripping with color!  We keep careful notes from year to year about what combinations looked good, held up over the growing season, and were the most popular, and we eliminate the not-so-good ones, and grow more of the good ones.  By tweaking the selection, we make sure we have the ones you like when you are ready for them.  They grow like thunder once the sun comes out to heat up the greenhouses.

We know you are as anxious for Spring as we are.  You (or your neighbors) came out in force on Saturday, the first day we were open, to buy pansies, to order fruit trees and to just get a shot of spring from the earthy smell of the greenhouses. 

Rain is predicted for later in the week, and that’ll set back our gardening efforts.  But it’s coming! I can feel it!

We send you an Irish blessing on this St Patrick’s Day evening:

May the rains sweep gentle across your fields,
May the sun warm the land,
May every good seed you have planted bear fruit,
And late summer find you standing in fields of plenty.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill on St Patrick’s Day evening. 

Two More Days

We’ll be open for the spring season beginning on Saturday, March 15th.  Join us during our regular hours from 9AM to 5PM. 

The early spring edition of the Leaflet (the newsletter from Ferda’s Garden Center) should be in your mailbox next week just in time for Easter.  If you don’t get one, you aren’t on our mailing list.  Stop in at the garden center or send us an email and we’ll add your name and address to the list.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where I am celebrating reaching my Weight Watchers goal! 

Nine Days Until Spring

The sun is beginning to melt the snow– hurray!  And the temperature was more moderate today than it has been.  Can I hope this is good news?  The calendar says spring is coming, do you suppose it’s true?

We brought more staff in to transplant today.  The plants are germinating, and the sun makes them grow more quickly.  We are beginning to make signs and stock up on the supplies we need to make it all work.  On Saturday, we’ll be open our regular hours from 9 to 5 for the first time since Christmas.  We’re excited, are you? Come on in and have a cookie and a cup of coffee with us.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill while watching The Biggest Loser.

Priorities

We woke up today to a thick layer of drifted snow everywhere– driveway, patio, against the garage… So what does my wonderful husband shovel out first?  The bird feeding area.  He just couldn’t stand eating his own breakfast while the birds couldn’t get to theirs. 

Good news in that area: the red winged blackbirds are back!  They always mean that spring is coming.  Everyone thinks it’s the robin that marks the coming of spring, but they actually spend the winter in the woods, while the blackbirds migrate and return about this time every year.   They’ll become a pest after a while as they increase in number and gobble up all the bird seed, but for a while at least, they are a welcome sight!

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where the snow has begun to melt a little.