Garden Party
"IT'S MORE THAN MARIGOLDS!"
The Winter that wasn’t?
Hello, my friends! If you’re in Red Lodge or almost any other place in Montana, you might be wondering what happened to winter – so far. Looks like I did mention similar conditions in my last post almost a year ago, (what?!) and then we really piled on the snow sometime between the end of January and June 1st. Got some exercise with the shovel, let me tell you.
Anyhooo…..we’re not thinking about that, we’re thinking about flowers coming around again very soon. Apologies to all downhill and cross country skiers, because yes – you ARE thinking about snow. It’s okay – how about a White Easter? Take a look at my Facebook page once in awhile, where I promise to keep you cheerful with posts of colorful growing things….
Speaking of which, those beautiful tiny baby plants called “plugs” will be arriving at our greenhouses almost exactly three months from today. For the first time in GP history, we are almost entirely cleaned, organized and stocked with supplies at this point. I’m more of a work on demand type of person, but I’ll go with it. Our fantastic fall weather gave us the opportunity to do tons of work at the houses and in our own yard – so proud are we of ourselves. The supplies were delivered weeks ago and stored in their proper places. We made improvements in all the buildings – flooring, shelves, new coverings. I’m very anxious for you to see it!
Along with the building improvements, there will be new retail items for you to savor and purchase – or vice versa. Some new varieties of flowers will pop up, along with bunches of fun containers pre-planted for you to take and make your own. And….baskets, baskets, baskets! I’ve seen your yards around town, you know – excellent work. We will open for regular hours on Mother’s Day weekend, 2021 – Tuesday through Sunday 10:00 to 5:00. Here before you have a chance to wonder why!
I’ll leave you for now with this gorgeous image of the little village to keep you dreaming of wonderful days ahead – what a place, huh? I would like to say I’ll keep you posted, but no promises. Please keep in touch anyway – love to you all and cheers to the new year!
Random Thoughts
Here I sit……at the desk, planning the upcoming flower season. I’m anxious to be working in the greenhouse as an escape from housecleaning duties and cooking. How do people do this day after day?? I have developed more than a few creative and more or less successful meal plans so far this winter, along with again lowering my expectations for a clean and orderly house.
Okay, so much for that – let’s talk flowers. The annual big supply order will arrive in a little over two weeks. Talk about a truckload of fun! Bags and bags of potting soil to unload and position for filling containers. Other bags of fertilizer and magic stuff to grow the prettiest plants possible. Containers to fill and baskets to plant and hang until they produce massive puffs of beautiful. No, I’m not very excited…..
But first – a little more winter to get through. It’s been a rather mild one so far and I’m hoping it doesn’t catch up with us around planting time at the greenhouses. The plant plugs begin arriving around March 12th, for three consecutive weeks. My ace crew of “flower girls” will plant with me as we put plugs into pots and pots into containers the last week of April. Greenhouses will open for retail sales on Mother’s Day weekend and suddenly it’s smiling time again.
A word about our flowers, if you please……we grow them in our Red Lodge greenhouses from rooted-out packages called “plugs.”. What this means to you is that the flowers are acclimated to the length of day and temperature variations in this particular location. I also give them nothing but love and attention, babying them with a constant low dose of fertilizer as well as lots of praise and encouragement. Like me, they enjoy all types of music in the background, which is always playing on satellite radio. By now, you’re wondering if I spend too much time alone in the greenhouses, right?
More about all this later, but for now – enjoy the moment and be well!
Never Fear
Spring will be here!
…..and sooner than you might expect in the greenhouses. We start planting on March 14th! Great news, but you should see the amount of snow and ice over there right now. This is not our first rodeo, so we have ways of getting in the property and working around the obvious challenges of life in a northern climate. Did I sound confidant?
Meanwhile, a couple of things to draw your attention to: Firstly, if all goes well today, I’ll be adding a gift certificate option to this site and my Facebook page. Too much time over the winter to dive into unfamiliar territory with a new computer, point of sale system and website – all to your benefit and never mind my anxiety. Decades have passed since I was young enough to pick this stuff up more easily, but more about me later.
Secondly…..if you were not aware of our custom container program, let me enlighten you. We are proud to offer experienced arrangement design, planting and care. Simply bring us your containers or purchase one of ours. We will be more than thrilled to fill them with flowers and lavish them with attention until we think the danger of frost has passed. July 4th?? Okay, I’m (probably) kidding, but don’t put the snow shovel away till after the parade.
Back to the task at hand…..be well, be warm, be happy! Dream of flowers.
New Season, New Ideas
Ya know….truth is, there’s not a lot of color around here when the flowers go away for the winter. I’m consoling myself by looking at last summer’s pictures and planning for the holidays.
Best thing about the Christmas season? The addition of colorful decorations to the snowy white background of the outdoors. Translated, that means Garden Party evergreen wreaths, door swags, window boxes and table centerpieces. And that means bright, glitzy ornaments and ribbon – lots of ribbon! (Love flowers, love ribbon….)
Check my “What’s Trending” on this site for details on the items available and prices. Delivery is free in Red Lodge, but wreaths and swags can also be shipped 
with an additional cost for postage. Pictures will follow as I get started in my workshop (greenhouse) and put some things together!
Breaking News!
Beginning Monday, May 19th, our new hours of operation will be: Tuesday – Friday 10 to 6, (closed for lunch between 1-2) Saturday and Sunday 10-4 (open all day) and closed on Monday
First Look
We’re moving in to greenhouse number two, a few yards from the “big house.” Number two holds containers for all of our full service accounts and also the hanging baskets for main street. What do you think of the baskets so far? Okay, not much to see yet, but we’ll keep you “posted.” (Ha, ha….)
Plant Now, Bloom Later
In our t-shirts and wearing lots of sunscreen…Corey, Dale and I feverishly planted plugs last week and today. (No pictures, sorry!) All the annuals are present and accounted for and starting to grow like mad. The weather has been warm, sunny and downright HOT in the greenhouse – but who’s complaining?
They’re Here!
Time and Temperature
So we begin…..March 1st, which we will call Day One of the 2013 flower season. The time is 11PM – the temperature is….outrageous! Yes, it really gets that warm in there. Just a little sunshine without any ventilation and voila! (They don’t call them “hothouses” for nothing.)
Greenhouse Blues….
Started with the best intentions today….. take my new container supplies to the greenhouses and do some sorting, organizing and daydreaming.
When I got to the west gate, the anchor pin was frozen into the ground piece. After some preliminary pulling and kicking at the pin, it remained steadfastly lodged in the ground.
Ah-ha, I said, there’s a bottle of de-icer in the car! Yep, there was a bottle, but it was empty – denied! I decided to settle for a picture and a trip to the store for more de-icer. Tomorrow is another day.
(When the snow reaches the car doors, it’s a sure sign of spring in Red Lodge!)
Garden Party 