by Briscoe White | Oct 30, 2009 | Exploring, Inspiration |
As I work my little garden, I can sometimes recognize these mini seasons and how they affect what is going on with my garden. Is winter beginning to end as the first snowdrops and crocus appear? Or do we wait for a calendar date to tell us spring is coming. Part of the lure of the garden is seeing these little changes appear one by one as each and every species decides it is safe to emerge from winter slumber. Flowers begin to open, sometimes braving cold weather, but following their own path and thrive when the late arrivals would freeze to death. Maples send signals and their leaf buds begin to swell, waiting and ready for that time when it is safe to expose their new leaves to the world.
Spring is a long ways off, and we are now at the time when the growing season is coming to a close. I knew all along the leaves would soon be changing color and dropping to the ground. And another circle begins: this year’s leaves will soon be next years nutrients. It is all so complicated and fascinating, one can never expect to understand but so much about the life cycles of Earth. One thing I do know is that all are interconnected, and what happens to one will affect everything even if the effect is too small for us to see.
So, knowing fall is coming, why do I find myself surprised to find the leaves changed and many herbaceous plants going dormant? Maybe it’s because winter seems to have decided on an early visit this year; it seems we are a few weeks ahead this fall and all the changes we expect came sooner than expected. And as much as I will miss the lazy hot days of summer, it is exhilarating to feel those first cool winds of fall. Shorts and sandals are pack away, and it feels good to be wrapped tight and out in the cold air. And maybe we are reduced to growing only greens and cool season crops that are not quite as tasty and varied as our summer crops. But, there are no regrets, and I actually look forward to kale and collards with a splash of vinegar, because when they are the only fresh veggies available, they are as good as the finest tomato ever grown. Each season brings it’s own wonders; our job is to recognize and appreciate them. How else are we to get through the cold dark days ahead?
by Briscoe White | Oct 28, 2009 | Flowers, Gardening |
Without ever thinking much about it, we were mowing several acres of grass all summer, mainly because it was done that way before we inherited farm management. Being gardeners and growers of garden plants, we were more than happy to replace a grass lawn with anything, especially if we could plant more flowers.
The solution for most of these areas was as simple as moving some fences and let the cows and horses graze the same grass we had been mowing. But the area along the road to the house was not a place we wanted livestock roaming. So, that winter, I tilled the grass and let nature kill the unwanted grass. In early spring I used a seed drill to plant the area with a few pounds of cosmos seed. Cosmos was chosen for several reasons; the seed is inexpensive and gives a huge return for very little effort. It grows tall fast and forms a canopy, which inhibits weed growth. And best of all it blooms from spring until a killing frost ends it for the year. This patch of color can be seen for a long ways off; and the drive itself became a tunnel of color everyone enjoys. We get regular calls from neighbors searching for pink flowers for baby showers, weddings, etc. And because there is so much from so little seed, we can always say, help yourself to all you want.
Being familiar with cosmos, this was all well and good, but held few surprises. It wasn’t until the stand had been killed by frost that we discovered cosmos’s hidden treasure. The patch looked pretty bad, all dead and starting to blow down when I decided to mow it for winter. As I approached the stand on a tractor, a sudden burst of activity and color stopped me from cutting. If there was one, there were two hundred goldfinches fleeing what to them was a bountiful banquet. It turned out that they highly favor cosmos seed and there were several hundred pounds of it on the hoof.
It is true we love flowers for their own sake, but we have always felt birds are an important component of any garden. What we had here was the largest concentration of goldfinches any of us had ever seen. So now, after frost, those dead plants are not so unsightly. We adjust to the changing season and instead of looking for a wall of color, we look for a sudden burst of yellow as the finches dart to the safety of trees. The birds are every bit as exciting as the flowers; and we do enjoy sharing the farms bounty with the birds! While quietly contemplating this garden one realizes how given the chance, life will move in and find something of value, even if we did not see it without a little help from our friends, the goldfinches. I would never mow that patch until it is picked cleaned of seed, it just wouldn’t be neighborly. And we do love our little neighbors, the goldfinches.
by Briscoe White | Oct 23, 2009 | Flowers, Growing |
Of all the plants in one’s garden, there are always a few that become our favorite. Salvia Coral Nymph is one of those plants for me. As everyone knows, there are so many salvias, it hard not to have some in any garden. At the local herb fair The Growers Exchange attended for many years, there was a guy that sold only salvias. He packed everything in a station wagon and attended fairs like this one for no other reason than that he loved salvia, and thought everyone should be able to grow them. So the herb fair was also one’s only chance each year to buy rare salvias for the up coming summer. I was always sure to come home with several.
Coral Nymph is a little more common than some salvia, but one does not see it often. In my travels, I always scan yards and visit nurseries to see what treasures may turn up. It seems to me Coral Nymph is found in pockets, some grower will introduce it to the area, and it becomes a local stand by in local gardens.
For a hot, dry area with full sun, Coral Nymph can produce salmon and white flower stalks from early summer until a hard freeze. The one pictured endured frost two nights ago. Nothing likes to eat it because the foliage has a strong smell when bruised. They grow big, 24- 30 “ in height and the same around. If you are looking for salmon in a sunny place, Coral Nymph is worth trying. And if you like it, it reseeds readily the next year.
by Briscoe White | Oct 19, 2009 | Exploring, Inspiration, Miscellaneous |
Those who know me from my pre-internet days, will remember me as a Neo-Luddite in my aversion to incorporating technology into the daily operations of The Growers Exchange. My long stand against the fax machine was most certainly my most stubbornly counter productive vendetta. The fax did waste lots of paper as I predicted; but it also cut hours of tedious phone orders and instantly became part of our routine. It wasn’t just faxes, I resisted cell phones, computers of any sort, anything that was different from the things I was used to. Tried and true business tools like pencils, legal pads, and my one concession to technology, the calculator, because I never was very good with math.
It was the computer cash registers that finally introduced me to the internet; they had to be online for our credit card processing. That big colorful flat screen in the store’s office enticed me to start looking around and the staff, mostly college students, were happy to show an old-timer how to crawl onto the internet. I was very grateful for their help. As they are part of the generation who grew up with the internet, I just assumed that they would think that everyone should have the same knowledge as them, so I was pleasantly surprised when they answered all my questions without making me feel stupid at the same time. Not only did they explain to me how the internet worked and all the other technological components that came with it, but they also said that I should look at somewhere like infinity dish if I want to incorporate high-speed internet into my home once I’ve got to grips with how it works. How nice of them to suggest that, and it is definitely something that I will look into once I’ve found my feet with it all.
I don’t mind admitting that when we first began the web store project, I was functionally illiterate about any topic concerning computers. What I did know was that the internet offered the very same opportunities for an independent garden center we were now losing to big box retailers in a bricks and mortar store. I also knew it was where all the smart people were focusing their attention. With the right people helping, one can build a pretty good site with out ever admitting ones’ ignorance. Eventually, I caught up with my staff, and now own my own laptop. I get a little insecure when it’s not nearby, so I think I made it to the computer age!
Most surprising of all in our switch from actual to virtual store is the increase in communication between The Growers Exchange and our customers. Our ability to communicate meaningful and useful gardening information would not have been believable when we first became a nursery, 25 years ago. Online we can communicate through our Blog, The Exchange, Facebook, Twitter, email, or the phone if you want to know what we sound like. Our customer relations management systems mean our staff have a customer’s complete record with The Growers Exchange before them. Seriously, if you are a small business then using something like this crm for small business will make a huge difference. Our systems mean we know you when we are speaking and can get right to the point for whatever you may be looking for. We write articles about plants and gardening, which are posted on www.TheGrowers-Exchange.com. And if we can’t help you, we can link you to someone that can. The free flow of garden information and ideas is mind-boggling. We are very excited about the launching of our new site and invite everyone to join us in the garden.
by Briscoe White | Oct 15, 2009 | Exploring, Growing, Inspiration |
Our farm is home to I don’t know how many daffodils, they were first planted in the 1940’s when my mother-in-law bought the remaining inventory of a down on his luck bulb merchant, who is rumored to have also been a relative. So, maybe the original plan was to help out a friend, but the result was a dump truck full of bulbs.
I managed to pick up the rest of the story from the guy who was farm manager at the time. This was deep country and he freely admits he did not know exactly what the bulbs could be good for. All he knew for sure was that he had been shown where and was now expected to plant them. My mother-in law-had also given him a couple of hand bulb planters, the type that plug a neat little hole for one bulb at a time.
It is true that my mother-in-law did have extensive daffodil beds in her home yard, where she raised show quality flowers for competition. And it is also true she was a dutiful gardener and spent many hours toiling over her many bulbs. But some how the difference in quantity between her beds and a real dump truck packed full escaped her. I guess it would not be far from having to guess how many individual pieces of gravel where in that truck. Ingenuity goes hand in hand with farming, and the hand planters were replaced with a tractor and disc. When the beds were prepared, the dump truck drove down the middle and two guys shoveled bulbs, spacing them by kind launching them over the truck bed. Followed by a chain link drag, not a bulb was showing above ground; mission accomplished?
I asked about the part where the neck of the bulb was supposed to point up. And he calmly said” I let them sort that part out themselves”. Well, they must have because 65 yrs later, we live in a sea of daffodils each spring. They have spread to all the neighboring farms by sharing the bounty. Even now each spring when the daffodils have done their thing, every gardener has some extras from dividing the clumps, which multiply quickly.
The older people call them Jonquils whether they are or not, none of them ever heard of a daffodil. But from one good deed many years ago, everyone who visits our little corner of the world is treated to vistas of daffodils each spring. And with winter approaching fast and early, we will soon be waiting for that beacon of spring, the daffodil.
