THIS YEAR WILL BE OUR 

40TH ANNIVERSARY 

THERE WILL BE A CELEBRATION AT THE NURSERY

IN JULY

ALL ARE INVITED

WE COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT WITHOUT YOU!

                                                        THE CHICKEN REPORT.

The following are some of the breed varieties we've had;

Pearl White Leghorn, New Hampshire Red, Black Star, Red Star, Whiting True Blue, Whiting True Green. ( Layers of green and blue tinted eggs).

 We select our breed of chickens based on productivity, mild and friendly temperment, winter hardiness and winter egg laying habits, smaller breeds that require a little less food, yet are good egg producers. We also look for pretty chickens in a variety of colors and feather patterns. Our older ladies, or as Roberta calls them, our grand dames, are of the following breeds;

White Plymouth Rock- a white feathered chicken with bright red combs and yellow legs. Brown eggs.

Red Star- a smallish reddish/brown hen of friendly demeanor and strong egg production. (sex linked chicken, meaning all the female chicks are brown feathered). Brown eggs.

Silver Laced Wyandotte-  silvery white feathers edged in black. Brown eggs.

Pearl White Leghorn- quite small chickens with pure white feathers, prodigious producers of white eggs.

Single Comb Brown Leghorn- another small chicken, lays lots of white eggs. 

This combined flock of our older and newer chickens is our friendliest and most productive. They are both handsome and silly and embody everything that is lovable about chickens.

This Spring we will be getting some more baby chicks to insure continued egg production.

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VARIOUS PROJECTS AND PLANS AT THE NURSERY

THIS PAST YEAR WE EXPANDED THE SHADEHOUSE BY ONE SECTION, ADDING ABOUT 750 SQUARE FEET OF GROWING SPACE. THIS MEANS MORE FERNS, HOSTA, SHRUBS, HELLEBORE.

WE REBUILT THE RUSTIC FRONT ARBOR AT THE ENTRANCE TO SEDUM ALLEY, INCLUDING A NEW GATE. AND ARE REVISING THE ARBOR AT THE SOUTH END OF SEDUM ALLEY, ALSO INCLUDING A NEW GATE.

THERE ARE ABOUT 12 STURDY NEW DISPLAY BENCHES BUILT LAST MARCH, UTILIZING PRESSURE TREATED LUMBER FROM THE LEFTOVER PILE THAT HAD ACCUMULATED OVER THE YEARS.

                                                         GARDENS AND GARLIC

 We've drastically reduced our garlic crop, turns out we eat many more onions than garlic. So, we are planting more multiplying onions. See below for description.?

 MULTIPLYING ONIONS

A new crop for us! These multiplying, or Potato Onions, are grown in a similar fashion as Garlic. They are planted in the fall as individual bulbs, and harvested in early summer, usually 3-5 new bulbs for each one planted. They are small  and sweet.  We're growing more of these than garlic now, their sweetness and sublety is alluring. We're growing some from seed, we'll have some spring seedlings for sale. Looking forward to increasing our crop even more.

                                               FIG TREES

We've planted one each of our dozen varieties in the Fig Plantation. This will give us the chance to evaluate growth habits, hardiness, and importantly, flavor. Figs grow quickly, so hopefully there will be some crops to harvest soon.

Following several many years of searching, we finally have a trove of Fig Tree varieties. Our propagation has gone well and we have assured a good supply for the future.We can  now offer 12 distinct varieties of deliciousness. See the Fig Tree page for varieties and descriptions.

                                                          NEWS OF OUR CHILDREN

Eric has settled in nicely at his teaching career, he's now an Full Professor, and likes his students and colleagues quite a bit. Eric's first book was published by Cambridge University Press. " English Alliterative Verse, Poetic Tradition and Literary History ". We have a copy he gave us, and someday hope to somehow understand some of it. His second book has been published.  Again we can only vaguely determine what it is about. 

" Meter and Modernity in English Verse1350- 1650" University of Pennsylvania Press, 2021.

This past Fall he published a poetry chapbook, "Chanties; An American Dream". This one we can understand and really enjoy the language and imagination and the philosophy.

Sofia is splitting her time as a hospital administrator and an internist seeing patients, and as a mommy of 2 cutie pies. She naturally received an award this year recognizing her excellence both for the hospital and the patients.

 Carl is living in the Pacific Northwest, Portland Oregon. We saw him this Spring, as he came East for Lili and Theo visiting.. He is his ever interesting self; music, visual arts, and penetrating philosophical concepts. He seems to be enjoying his work at a company involved in recycling plastics. Lately he's been designing machines for the new plant expansion, to increase and streamline production.

NEW PEOPLE

Lili is our  Granddaughter, a bit over 41/2 years old. She loves the layered look, drawing and reading, and recently, skiing.

Theo is our Grandson, a little more than 21/2 years old. He's a real Yankee Doodle Dandy. He loves vehicles of all sorts, but particularly tractors and heavy equipment, as well as drawing, reading, and bunnies.

                                                                     NEW PLANTS

.For this season we are adding almost 2 dozen plant varieties that are new or will reappear on our list. Some of the highlights;

                                                                           SUCCESSES

We're very happy with our expanded shrub offerings, and have added to that range for this season.

Buddlea, or Butterfly bush, has always been wonderful for all season color. Now there are many dwarf and compact varieties. Pugster Blue showed deep dark flowers last season.Pugster  Pinker had lovely butterfly attracting blooms.

Pugster White is a new one we'll be growing this year.

And of course Miss Molly showed off with vibrant raspberry red flowers. 

TOMATOES WE HAVE LOVED!

Two standouts from last season;

Brandysweet - a Brandywine Hybrid, small cherry sized fruits, absolutely juicy and rich tomato flavor.

Chef's Choice Orange- medium to large size, orange skin and flesh, delicious.

Verbena bonariensis- 3'-4', small purple flowers atop slender stems bloom from late spring through the final freeze, attracting butterflies of all descriptions and the occassional hummimngbird, as well as Goldfinches, who seem to pose with the complementary purple flowers.

Buddlea Miss Molly- Butterfly Bush, compact at 4'-5', a brilliant nearly red flower, profuse and consistently in flower until late fall's frosts.

Succulents- We've been expanding our selection of non-cold hardy succulents that we grow. The diverse interesting shapes, sizes, colors are fascinating and beautiful.

FERNS

With the expansion of the shade house last season, we were able to grow and display an increased variety and quantity of ferns.We'll again have a great supply of favorites such as Regal Red Japanese Painted Fern and Ghost Fern, as well as  new varieties such as Upside Down Fern and Log Fern.

Exciting Fern news, we will not only have our usual abundant supply of ferns, but will have a super abundant supply. Our source for baby ferns accidentally sent us double our original order, once in October and once in November. We adopted the second batch of baby ferns, they were so cute we couldn't resist. By mid summer we should be bursting at the seams with all our new fronds!

DEER RESISTANT PLANTS

Facing the reality of gardening in deer country has led us to seek out exceptional plants that have shown strong deer resistance. Almost all our new varieties are plants that exhibit beauty, and are not on Bambi's menu. Among the most gardenworthy have been these;

Calamintha Montrose White- a topmost desirable plant! Recommended by a Shelter Island gardener, deer resistant fragrant foliage, tiny white flowers all summer. 12"-15" ht. by 18"-24" spread. Drought tolerant, sun, lightshade. Constantly in bloom and as low maintenence as can be

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Allium Millenium- 18"-24" tall and wide, deer resistant foliage, 2" lavender/purple/pink globe flowers early-late summer. Cheerful and carefree and ruggedly reliable.

Lavender- each of the varieties we grow are deer resistant and provide flowers and fragrance for sunny well drained spots. Provence is the largest one we grow at 30"x30", Silver Frost has the largest dark purple blooms and the whitest foliage, Munstead is 15"-18" and has the best flowers for drying. New addition Phenomenal has proven to hold its form and foliage very well over the winter.

All the above plants are also in the category of " look great all season, even during the heat  of a dry July and August."

                                                                                      ROSES

Rugosa Rose Hybrids-  varieties with double white, double purple, double yellow, double and single pink flowers. Richly fragrant blooms. Very low maintenence, almost no disease issues, tolerant of harsh seashore conditions, yet happy in a garden bed. Blooming in spring, and then in summer, and again in fall. Our varieties include Hansa, Frau Dagmar Hartopp, Blanc Double de Coubert, Moje Hammerberg, and several others, and seedling grown Rosa rugosa for bluff planting.

The Knockout family of roses continues to impress. Almost total disease resistance, the longest bloom time of any rose, and reliable winter hardiness, make these roses the easiest to grow and enjoy.

                                                             EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT

Special bonus for planning ahead!! The early bird catches the largest discount!

For all plant orders confirmed and paid by April 15, 2024, we offer 25% off the usual reasonable price per plant. This includes any plant on our list.

If you cannot decide which plants to pre-order, a gift certificate can be purchased at the discount rate.

To order;

Call, write, e-mail to confirm availability and price of the plants you wish to order.

Call office or nursery before plant pick up to confirm they are ready for planting.

Mail payment/use credit card, (by phone or in person, not online),before April 15th.