Beer & Nuts

Feb 27

Sometimes, weird things happen.

This winter, I was taking advantage of a nice day to clean my gutters. Nothing too glamourous, nothing too unusual, just cleaning out lots of leaves, like I do several times a season.

I was almost done, finishing up the last section of guttering on the side of the house, when I encountered a little more than dead leaves.

I found a beer bottle — in my gutters.

And not just any beer bottle, an Italian import “Peroni” beer bottle.

Dead leaves, acorns, maybe the random tree branch… that’s what I expected to encounter. A beer bottle? Not so much.

How it got there, I haven’t a clue. All I know is, it wasn’t me!

We do have some rowdy squirrels in the neighborhood, but I’ve never caught them throwing back a cold one from high on top my roof… or anywhere else in the yard, for that matter!

Like I said, weird.

But you know what isn’t weird? Spring!

I think it’s fair to say, spring is almost here. The nice days are starting to outnumber the cold days. The slow the grip of winter is starting to slip and the pull of spring is starting to win out.

If you haven’t noticed yet, things out in the landscape are starting to poke up out of the ground. And, although most plants still look pretty dormant, it’s obvious we’re headed in the right direction.

Things are ramping up here at the store as well. Little by little, changes are happening and we’re getting ready. The new season is upon us!

As always, if you need help with anything, come see us. And in the meantime… watch out for rowdy squirrels!

How About a Home Orchard?

Fresh fruit from your own back yard starts with planting fruit trees.

There are a lot of popular tree fruits we can grow in our landscapes: apples, pears, cherries, peaches, nectarines, plums and apricots. There are also some great native choices like persimmons, serviceberries, paw paws and sandhill plums.

But, you can’t pick them if you don’t plant them!

All these fruit trees can be planted anytime the ground isn’t frozen, but spring and fall are always more popular. We stock most of these varieties throughout the year as potted trees, ready to be taken home and planted anytime you’re ready.

We also bring in many of the more popular varieties bare root, and offer them through much of March and April. Bare root trees are just what they sound like, trees with bare root. More specifically, these trees have been harvested while they were dormant, removed from the soil, then stored in large refrigerated warehouses under cold temps, high humidity and frequent watering to keep the roots moist.

Early in March, our growers ship these trees to us on refrigerated trucks, and then we store them in our own cold storage facility keeping them cold, dormant and properly watered until they are ready to be taken them home and planted. Bare root fruit trees transplant readily, establish more quickly, save you money, and are a lot easier to transport home.

We have potted trees ready for planting now and our bare root trees should be arriving around mid-March.

Keep in mind our bare root fruit trees are a one and done crop. We bring in one order of bare root fruit trees each spring, and when they’re sold out, that’s it until next year. So, if you’re wanting to take advantage of the benefits of planting bare root, don’t wait too long.

If you’d like more information about our fruit trees, as well as other edible fruit and nut crops for your garden, check out our catalog.

As always, if you have questions about fruit trees or any garden plants, just ask!

What’s New?!

Cool Houseplants from Proven Winners!

A lot of you know the brand Proven Winners; they are known for their line of annuals, perennials and shrubs.

Did you know though that they also have a line of houseplants?

We were at a show in Kansas City last year and Proven Winners had a booth and I knew that I needed to bring this houseplant collection to our customers. I’m pretty excited about it and the plants looks amazing!