Winter at the Greenhouse

Many of our customers ask us, “What do you do all winter?”  Or, “Where are you heading for the winter?”  And while we wish we could put our feet up on a sandy beach in the Caribbean, we are here prepping for spring. (Truth be told, we actually do get a tan on sunny days inside the glass greenhouses.)

In fact, we began prepping for the next spring before the holidays even began.  We start our geraniums in November, and in mid-December we start our pansy and viola seeds.  We also have our vinca vine and ivy cuttings growing and getting ready to be transplanted, as well as our Mexican heather pots and fuchsia hanging baskets planted by Dec. 31.

As the weeks progress, we will begin to sow seeds for our bedding annuals and vegetables.  We sow our seeds in a hot room where they are misted a few times each day. These conditions help the seeds to begin germinating and the plants begin to grow in their seed flats.  Typically, one seed flat will produce anywhere from 100 to 600 plants.  Once these plants have stronger roots and are larger, we transplant them into the flats and pots that we sell to our customers.  

The order in which we sow our seeds depends on when we start selling the plants, and how quickly they grow.  The first seeds we sow are the pansies and violas, because these are some of the first flowers we sell each spring.  Once transplanted and growing, we move these outdoors in cold-frames as early as the end of February, depending on the weather.  The last seeds we sow for the spring season are typically zinnias, as these grow quickly and do not like to be planted until the soil and weather are warm.

While we are busy planting during the winter months, there are plants for sale to add a little bit of green to our customers’ homes.  Houseplants like ferns, ivy, mother-in-law tongue, philodendrons, pothos, palms, peace lilies, croton and Norfolk island pine are all available, as well as flowers like kalanchoe, African violets and cyclamen.

We also have English Garden Baskets throughout the year, Bonsai trees, soil and fertilizer, and seeds that are available in late February for those of you who will be starting your vegetable gardens indoors.

We are open to the public year round, so when the greys of winter get you down, stop in for a dose of spring.  Take home a kalanchoe or cyclamen for a little bit of color in your home, or stop in for one of our workshops that take place over the winter.  This year, keep a lookout for our winter classes that help keep your thumb green through the winter months. Our English Garden Basket Workshop will be on Jan. 26, our Bonsai Workshop is taking place on Feb. 16, and a class on How to Keep Your Garden Healthy will be on March 9. 

We are open Monday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closed Sundays. Also, to kick off the spring season, we will be having our Third Annual Flower Happy Hour on Friday, April 26 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. Be sure to follow us on Facebook and Twitter for the latest updates on what we’re planting and dates for our events and workshops. 

Enjoy the winter and we hope you’ll stop in and see us!