A Gardener Grows

What a year it has been! With this past winter we saw record matching lows, reaching down to -15°F!! If that wasn’t enough, this spring we saw 13″ of rain in a span of 10 days!!! And, if THAT wasn’t enough, this summer we experienced a 6 week drought with many, many days over 100°F, with the highest reading being 107°F (IN THE SHADE)!!!! Ah, but the things we get to learn through trial.

So, what did I learn from record matching lows?

• That FreezePruf™ will definitely remain a part of my winter maintenance schedule. I will be posting about this season’s anecdotes shortly.
• That some flower bulbs are just WAY hardier than common wisdom dictates. I was thrilled to see survival and thriving spring growth in species I never imagined could survive.

And, how about all that spring moisture?

• Well, the main thing I learned was that it is best to keep up with weed control as much as possible.
• That I may want to look into some simple, organic fungus and bacterial controls to encourage flower bulb foliage health. This is an issue faced to one degree or another, even under normal moisture conditions.

Finally, were there lessons learned from intense summer heat and drought?

• This is a good reason to have a permanent irrigation system in place, though, under normal circumstances, irrigation is not all that important for most flower bulbs.
• Wear a HAT, Crazy Man!!!

I have not been promoting sales aggressively for about three years, now. The bulk of my business, in years past, had been through dormant import sales, and that avenue of marketing had become untenable. So, I watched my nursery to see how it would perform, since a number of species were only in the nursery as leftover stock from unsold dormant import inventory. The last few years have brought some very extreme weather conditions which have been a true test for hardiness and bulb durability in our area. I have been encouraged with that success.

I am also encouraged by how well some of those products have appeared to increase in the beds. This will lead to some mass diggings, dividing and re-plantings over the next couple of years, and this should make some of my bulbs available at lower prices for short periods of time. I have the parts received for repairing my bulb digger, so I’m all set to get digging!

Due to these circumstances, I have been actively marketing again at a level that will allow me to keep up with requests. This has me looking toward the immediate future as a period of slow growth and added nursery improvements to facilitate efficiency. I hope you will also take note that I do have a presence on Facebook. Please click the image and give us a “Like".

I wish to give my heartfelt thanks to those who have remained loyal customers through my lack of public communication. Not all trials are bad for us. They provide information to help with adaptation or making improvements helping folks learn and grow. It’s time to grow forward!