by Claire Roorbach Olson
Is it spring yet? We seem to get one day when it's warm and sunny, only to pay for it the rest of the week. Easter is early this year so we may be hunting for eggs in the snow. No matter when it falls however, Easter is always the annual promise of spring the season of rebirth after our long winter.
I'll be in the San Francisco area next week - my new favorite place. My plans are to check out garden centers, flower shops, and other related venues to see what's new and interesting in the horticulture world. As we in Manitowoc all know, many of the new trends and style innovations never make it this far inland from the two coasts without allot of encouragement. More next month (with pictures).
The Greenhouse is in full swing now- and, has been since right after Christmas. Starting spring plants from seeds and cuttings as we do here at Roorbach's is a very time-sensitive proposition. If the plants are started too soon, they will be overgrown when it's time to plant outdoors, but if they're started too late, they won't be ready when we're all so anxious to get our fingers in the earth.
The growing Greenhouse schedule is ahead of the retail Garden
Center's by three months or more. In February, while the Greenhouse staff is busy with their plantings, we in the flower shop are sending Valentine's all over the county. So, March is a transition month and very busy for us as we change our focus from red roses in the flower shop to red geraniums in the Garden Center.
We're receiving and displaying concrete garden statuary, ceramic, concrete, and terra cotta planters of all shapes and sizes and all the other delightful merchandise relating to the gardening season. Soon, we will be rearranging benches to form the wider Garden Center aisles, getting out the red Radio Flyer wagons, putting up posters and generally turning a working greenhouse into a fun and exciting spring Garden Center. Don't hesitate to come in and see us - breath the wonderful air and see what's new.
Oops, almost forgot......
Happy St. Patrick's Day!
