Since Thursday, the days have been pleasant, but this afternoon a front came in and the temperature plummeted, leaving a very cold night.  I’m glad I haven’t planted my tomatoes yet.  Tomatoes (and peppers and eggplants, basil and such) don’t like cold nights any more than I do. 

We had a customer call today and tell us that her tomatoes and cucumbers(!!??) had all turned yellow and were dying.  She had lost three weeks already, she was saying.  When we explained that tomatoes and cucumbers should not have even been planted yet in this kind of weather, let alone three weeks ago, she got a little huffy and said she certainly knew how to grow tomatoes.  Hmmm…

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where the temperatures have dropped.

The weatherman says this weekend is supposed to be sunny and warmer.  I sure hope he is right this time!  The nights are still cool, so tomato and pepper plants still won’t like it, but other vegetables and flowers should do well.  I got out into my garden for a few hours today, and planted some more lettuce, some beans and beets, Swiss chard (bright lights) and okra.  I’ve never grown okra, this will be a learning experience.  Put in more onion sets, too, since mine are making flower stalks already for some reason.  (It must be weather related.) 

We have a container gardening workshop tomorrow (May 24th) and Dawn has been gathering plants in the container greenhouse for the participants to choose from.  I think those of you who make a patio or porch pot will be pleased with the results!

We’ll be open on Memorial Day (Monday) from 12 until 5 for those of you who want to do some gardening on the holiday.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where the night is downright chilly for May.

They are saying (who are “they”, by the way?) that the temperature might reach 80 degrees on Monday.  That will be quite a change from today when it might have hit 60. Maybe.  As a person who is happiest when I am digging in the dirt, this spring (and I use the term reluctantly) has been less than pleasant.  I like to work in the garden when it isn’t too, too hot, but when it is too, too wet, not so much.  One good thing, weeds do come out pretty readily from soggy soil.  But planting must wait for another day– or another week, perhaps.

I bought a pair of hardy kiwi vines from a mail order place in Oregon.  I purchased a pair of them locally last year, and the male died, while the female survived and is doing quite well.  So I needed another male (they won’t set fruit without a male present) and decided to add another female also.  But it has been too wet to plant them, so they are sitting in their pots.  These kiwis are not the brown fuzzy ones that you find at the grocery.  Those must be grown in warmer climates.  These are green ones the size of large grapes, and they are hardy in this area.  I’ve always wanted to try to grow them.

They vine, of course, as the name implies, and I’ve got to put up a sturdy trellis pretty soon so that the one that is growing from last year and the male from this year, which are pretty good sized already, have somewhere to go.  The second female is still tiny– I just transplanted her into a nursery pot to grow on since I can’t plant in the ground yet.

I’ll keep you posted on how they do.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where the temperature is around 60 and rain threatens–again.

Wow! Where did the month go? It’s Mother’s Day weekend already. Time to bring Mom out to Ferda’s to look at all the beautiful flowers, blooming trees and shrubs and, of course, hanging baskets!  We have a lot to choose from, dripping with color– our beautiful combination baskets, New Guinea impatiens, vining geraniums, begonias and much, much more.  Shop early in the day for best selections.

We took a day off this week and looked around at other garden centers to see just where we were in comparison.  I think we have them all beat.  Come in and see if you agree.

Written by Lynn on the slope of Teasel Hill where the rain has quit and the fog has set in.