by Claire Roorbach Olson
May has got to be one of my best months. Not only are the days longer giving us more natural light, but Mother Nature is beginning to smile once again. We always seem to complain about the weather, don't we? But, it doesn't matter what the weather is like in March and April, the Marsh Marigolds still bloom by May 1st and the trees leaf out around the 10th. It's interesting to watch the spring bulb plants, though. They don't seem to follow any schedule and are very much affected by the weather in early spring. Some years when we get a warm few days in March, they will begin to grow only to be frosted by the next cold snap! Then, of course when they do bloom (Tulips especially), the rabbits and deer are right there for an early spring snack. We have a wonderful new product - the best we've seen so far - to repel wildlife from the garden. It's called "Liquid Fence" - comes in a ready-to-use spray bottle and in a concentrate. Good results, so far.
The Garden Center is truly an artist's pallet at this time of the year; be sure to see pictures on the Garden Center page. We've got new plants - some completely new developments - as well as our old favorites. Browse our "Garden Center" link to see how we look already. The new hybrids are coming with pretty complete care tags - really good for the consumer - because with every hybridization comes a change in the original plant's characteristics. Think Petunia/Wave Petunia for one good example.
Once Mother's Day is past (it's really early this year) we move right into our Garden Center season. Our hours will extend to 8:00pm weekday evenings starting May 9th. Evenings are a really good time to browse - it's cooler and we usually have a little extra time to answer questions. We do on-site consultations, too - in your yard or at your business.
Memorial Day is a very important day for us in Manitowoc. Not only does it mark the official start of summer, but it is a very well recognized holiday as a day to remember those who lost their lives in defense of what our country stands for. This is also the time we plant flowers in memory of all our loved ones, whether they are veterans or not. We take for granted how beautiful our Evergreen Cemetery looks every year as we stroll through after the parade. Believe me, it is not like this in other towns - actually, it's not like this in most towns. It is a gigantic effort on the part of the Cemetery and Parks department and they do a great job in a very short period of time.
Happy Spring
