We open today, Easter Sunday from 10 to 2am. We usually close at 4pm on Sundays. We have to go the the nursery to check on water anyway so we have been open on Easter for the last few years. It’s a time when people bring their relatives to the garden center. Visiting guests are always amazed that such a beautiful place exists here in Garden Valley, and the locals like to show us off.
My “build a raised bed” workshop on Saturday was a hit. It is always well attended, but this year we we’re packed with people interested in the concept. Here in the Sierras our soil is not always workable, so raised beds are a great way to get gardening right away.It’s funny but people are so excited they don’t want to wait for things to happen. I had a lady call the other day looking for a chicken. I don’t know why she called us, but I said the hardware store across the street was selling baby chicks. No, she want’s a grown chicken!She doesn’t want to wait for the six months before they lay. She want’s to live the lifestyle now!
This is very interesting. I had a call from a landscape firm in Granite Bay called, peas and harmony. They design organic gardens. They called us a few weeks ago looking for fruit trees to plant for a home orchard they we’re installing. I think this is a great idea. People do want to install organic gardens and orchards, but so many don’t know where to start. I believe this is the single greatest growth area for garden centers or landscapers. People looking for information on making the lifestyle change to more home grown food. Not just growing food, but in enhancing the entire garden, be it ornamental or food bearing. People do want to “get back to the garden“. They just need a guiding hand, and a full grown chicken.
You would really want a chicken now if you had been in Austin Saturday at the Funky Chicken Coop Tour.
Comment by mss @ Zanthan Gardens — April 12, 2009 @ 7:21 pm
Fruit trees, yes! I try, as often as possible, to incorporate fruit into the gardens I design. Especially useful on Manhattan rooftops, and small gardens anywhere, are espaliered trees, which can obviously be planted against a wall, taking up less space and still producing…
I’m also really fond, here in the NE, of Amelanchiers, whose berries are delicious, a well as blueberries and raspberries. All easy to grow as long as one knows their basic care needs.
For NEasterners, there is a great nursery on Long Island’s North Fork, called Leuthardt’s, that produces fruit exclusively. Hard to find in this neck of the woods. Last year we bought apple, pears, grapes and raspberries from them…
Comment by Marie Viljoen — April 13, 2009 @ 6:05 am
Just to single out the chickens for a second - I just posted a news story about this a week or so ago. Apparently there were chickens at Chelsea last year and now a UK garden centre is selling them!
http://www.todaysgardencenter.com/news/newsacrosschannels/?storyid=1794
- Jen
Comment by Jen — April 13, 2009 @ 11:56 am
Having gotten a host of customers where I used to work going on straw bale gardening, and the benefits of same. It works well here in the red dirt & rock. Is easy on the older gardener and can be done in a relatively small space if necessary. I wondered if you were doing anything along that line.
Enjoy your articles, please keep them coming.
Comment by BJ Miller — April 14, 2009 @ 12:47 am
A lot of people want edibles this year. We’ve found fruit trees and shrubs work to install for client. Vegi gardens haven’t so far. Unless the person puts the vegetable plants in the ground themselves, they don’t seem to harvest and weed. Herbs sometimes work, strawberries can work, but annual vegetables seem to only work for DIY folks.
Comment by ryan — April 20, 2009 @ 11:24 am
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