Category Archives: Uncategorized

Miniature Fairy Gardens

Posted on May 10, 2012 | Leave a comment

Have you tried the new trend in gardening? Miniature Gardens (AKA: Fairy Gardens) are very much in the news right now. The gardening and lifestyle magazines have articles about these neat little creations. We have one garden set up in one of our raised bed cedar planters, and we have the plants, accessories and fairies to let you create your own.

These gardens can be portable, created in a large pot, planter, or box (or something more unusual like a child’s wagon or a galvanized wash tub), or they can be a tiny vignette in the ground in your full-sized garden. They are charming and quick to create, and lend themselves to cute accessories. And who knows, yours might be so attractive to the wee spirits that a real fairy might take up residence there. Do you believe?

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Posted in Uncategorized

Early Order Fruit Trees Now

Posted on February 14, 2012 | Leave a comment

You’ve been successful at growing some of your own vegetables and small fruits (strawberries, blueberries…). Is it time to try a few fruit trees? If you dream of having your family be able to grab a juicy apple or peach from a tree in your own back yard, now is the time to make the decision that this will be the year that you begin.

If you order in February or March, we can bring in your fruit trees by special order, in bare-root form. (That means they’ll arrive without a pot, so they’ll be easier to transport, and less expensive to purchase.) Call us for availablity of the varieties you want. We’ll bring them in when the time is right for planting, and call you to let you know they are here. You can dig the holes, pick up the trees, and plant that same day. What could be easier?

The plants we sell are already branched, not the twigs that you’ll find in the box stores. In 3-5 years you should be able to harvest fruit from your very own fruit trees. What are you waiting for? Give us a call! (740-546-4467)

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Posted in Edibles, Uncategorized

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New Hardiness Zone Map

Posted on February 8, 2012 | Leave a comment

The USDA has reevaluated the temperature patterns for the US and come up with a revised version of the Hardiness Zone Map. Check it out  here. It’s interesting that, where some of Ohio used to be zone 5A or 5B, it is almost entirely Zone 6A on the new map. What that indicates is that the low temperatures in the winter are about 5 degrees warmer than they used to be.

The web site allows you to look at your state in an enlarged version, and to plug in your zip code if you can’t figure out where on the map you really are. (Don’t feel bad, I’m geographically challenged, too.)

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Posted in General, News, Uncategorized, What's New?

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Hot Pepper “Fresno Chile”

Posted on February 1, 2012 | Leave a comment

Fresno Chile image courtesy of Ivy Garth Seeds

Do you like jalapenos? Then you’ll like Fresno Chiles, too. They are just about as hot (maybe a bit hotter) and have the thick waxy feel of a jalapeno. You could use them interchangeably in recipes. They are good fresh, added to salsas, roasted (and stuffed as an appetizer if you like that heat), or canned.

They begin green and ripen to red, at which point they are a little sweeter. The plants are vigorous and bear well.

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Posted in Edibles, General, In the Greenhouses, Uncategorized, What's New?

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New Tomato for 2012

Posted on January 31, 2012 | Leave a comment

We have some great new vegetable varieties in the pipeline for you this year. Let’s talk about a few, just to whet your appetite for spring.

I don’t know about you, but the reason I like to eat fruits and vegetables I’ve grown myself is that I know they are fresher and healthier than those I can buy in the grocery store that have been picked and shipped across country, or even across countries.

photo courtesy of Ivy Garth Seeds

With that in mind, we are growing a tomato variety this year called Caro Rich. The name derives from the fact that it is higher in beta-carotene (up to 10 times as much as in other tomatoes!) Beta-carotene is  an antioxidant  that gives orange and yellow fruits and vegetables their color and is converted by the body into a safe form of vitamin A. (This is believed to promote eye health and help with vision—there’s a reason your mother told you to eat your carrots.)

It is an 8-10 oz beefsteak-style tomato in a deep orange color. (That’s about the size of your average Better Boy– a nice size for a slice on a burger.) They are low acid and sweet. They are large plants, probably a better choice for in-ground growing, rather than in a pot. Oh, and did I mention, they’re more healthy?

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Posted in Edibles, General, In the Greenhouses, Uncategorized, What's New?

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Photographing Gardens

Posted on January 29, 2012 | Leave a comment

“If a garden means anything, it is a wish for beauty, for order, and for connectedness with natural things. We are outcasts from the first Genesis garden, after all, trying desperately to be let back in, to find purpose and meaning in our relationship with creation. The garden photograph that becomes art is one that transcends time and place and says something meaningful about what it is to be human with all of our senses awakened.” From an article in Organic Gardener by Matthew Benson.

One of my goals for this “downtime” from the busyness of the Garden Center in the winter is to learn to take better photos, to learn about exposure and lighting and developing my vision where photography is concerned. To help with that I’ve been reading some books about photography, and trying to take photographs and get at least one photo out of the bunch to be good enough that I’m not ashamed to share it.

This time of the year challenges me, though. All is brown or white and seemingly lifeless, and it is a challenge to come up with a view of the garden in this season that is anything other than barren-looking. Meaningful? Hardly.

So I try to be patient and not too anxious for spring. Meanwhile I read, and might add Mr Benson’s book to my list of books to learn from this winter.

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Posted in Garden Photography, Gardening Tips, General, Uncategorized, Weather

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OK, Now It’s Winter

Posted on January 20, 2012 | Leave a comment

The ground is snow-covered and the roads are slushy and wet (mostly wet.) It is officially winter now, in my opinion. And more cold wet (and/or frozen) stuff is supposed to be coming our way in the next few days, which probably means the power will go out. Better dig out your Yankee Candles.

We’re here at the shop today tightening our plug orders. Plugs are tiny starter plants that we buy for some of the potted plants we grow to sell to you. Some plants grow easily from seeds, and others are grown from cuttings of existing plants. (Growing plants from cuttings requires equipment and facilities that we don’t have.)  The easily-seeded ones we do ourselves, the more difficult-to-seed and the cutting-grown plants we buy as plugs. See, you learned something about us already that you didn’t know…

Anyway… we’re spending some time double-checking the orders to make sure we have enough of each variety, but not too many. It makes me get anxious for spring to come when I think about all the beautiful flowers that will soon be growing in the greenhouses. But first we have to get through some more winter…

Stay warm and drive carefully!

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Posted in General, Uncategorized, Weather

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12 Gifts of Christmas: Day Eleven

Posted on December 23, 2011 | Leave a comment

Day 11: A Beautiful Poinsettia dressed for gifting with foil and a hand-tied bow.

Whew! We’re down to the wire, aren’t we? I know there are some of you out there that are in a tizzy about what to get that hard-to-buy-for person who still doesn’t have a gift. There is always one person who gives you a problem, isn’t there?

We still have lots of beautiful poinsettias, in several sizes and colors. It’s a tasteful choice of gift, and the recipient doesn’t have to decide what to do with it after the holidays. No worries about whether it will fit, either. We’ve gotcha covered! From $7.98.

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Posted in Christmas Gifts, General, In the Gift Shop, Uncategorized

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12 Gifts of Christmas: Day Eight

Posted on December 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Day 8: Bird Feeding Supplies

Did you know that bird watching/feeding is the second most popular (in terms of numbers who take part) outdoor hobby after gardening? I’ll bet Uncle Charlie or your Dad would love a new bird feeder or some fresh bird seed. It will give them hours of enjoyment this winter. Prices Vary.

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December 12th is National Poinsettia Day

Posted on December 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

We’ll bet you didn’t even know there was a National Poinsettia Day, did you? Check it out here.

We received our first delivery of poinsettias for last weekend, and we have a nice assortment of sizes and colors to choose from.  I read an interesting statistic recently. Did you know that  most poinsettias are purchased by women to decorate their homes at Christmas rather than as gifts? Stop in this week and pick one out!

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Posted in General, In the Gift Shop, Uncategorized, What's New?

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