by Claire Roorbach Olson
I was in Madison yesterday "delivering" Stuart back to school and was delighted to see bright green grass and bulbs blooming in many of the yards. It was early afternoon and the temperature hit 80* ! "Cooler by the lake" is not a myth. This is my favorite time of year, as it is for many of you too, I'm sure. A simple thing, like going out for a walk without the whole production of that same activity in winter, is such a treat.
Our Spring Open House and Geranium Sale will be the weekend of April 22 thru the 24. Our
4 1/2" geraniums will be sale- priced that weekend at $2.75, a savings of $1.00 each off the regular spring price of $3.75. This is a great deal for those of you who have a nice sunny location for the plants to grow until the end of May. Mary Z is still planning the Workshops she will be doing during the weekend - stay tuned - she usually comes up with something new and different to add to her repertoire.
We are in the process of spacing the geraniums to give them more room to bush out, moving benches, widening aisles and in general changing the entire greenhouse from a production facility to the wonderful Spring Garden Center we look forward to each year. We are excited to have many new plant varieties this year. (The list will be posted in the Garden Center section of the web site soon.) We will have a sampling of most - if not all - of these plants in the Garden Center by the Open House Weekend. Many of you may not know that we have production-only greenhouses near Valders where we grow most of the plants we sell in the spring. If you're looking for a specific plant but don't see it, be sure to ask - it may be available, just not here yet in the Manitowoc Garden Center.
It's too early now to plant, of course, but you can get ideas for your spring and summer garden, and do your planning before the big push in late May. We are available to help plan your garden at any time, and during the Open House Weekend, we'll have lemonade to refresh us as we work.
I've had several calls lately about removing the winter mulch from perennial gardens. It is time to do that NOW - like, yesterday! My rule of thumb is to place the mulch around Thanksgiving (the ground is usually frozen by then) and to remove it around Easter ( the ground is usually thawing by then - depending on when Easter falls that year). You don't want your plants to start growing under the mulch which has matted down over the winter months, as the new shoots will rot without air circulation.
Hope to see you at our Spring Open House!
(Mention that you saw this newsletter on our web-site and we'll give you a FREE Geranium anytime during April.)
