Warm greetings to you on this sunny, February day. Can we talk about dolls for a second? Russ and I have 8-year-old and 4-year-old girls, so we are learning all about dolls these days. I must say that dolls and their fashion sense are quite a bit different from when I was growing up. I just had plain, old Barbies.

For Christmas last year, Hope asked for a Rainbow High doll. So Santa brought her Poppy Rowan, the orange Rainbow High doll that comes with two fashion outfits. And when they say “fashion”, they mean monarch butterfly high heels! This is so fancy and beyond my imagination, and being fellow gardeners who often work hard to attract those beautiful monarchs to the garden, I just thought you might get as much of a kick out of these shoes as I did. Now I seriously want a pair, though with a (much) shorter heel. Maybe flat even. Poppy comes with a pair of butterfly, knee-high boots too, that the description on Target’s website describe as “too fly for words.” In my opinion, some of these dolls these days are not so fly-looking to me, but these shoes, wow!

Here’s the scoop this month:

• our annual Job Fair is this Saturday from 9-11am. The majority of our positions are temporary/seasonal, for about 6-8 weeks during the spring rush. We also have a few full time, year-round positions on our Core Team. Those interested can stop by and meet with one of our Managers for an open interview.
• we will officially open for the season on Friday, March 19 at 9:00am! This is a little earlier than our usual April 1 opening date. While that is too early to start most of your gardening, we will have a variety of gardening supplies and seeds, bagged and bulk soil and compost, pottery and houseplants ready for you. We’ll also have shrubs and trees in stock.
• we’ve had several virtual gardening classes this winter, and the next one is on Thursday, March 18. This one is all about the amazing selection of annuals that we grow, and will give you a peak behind-the-scenes in our production greenhouses. Click here to learn more.
• Yoga classes with Kristen return starting on Saturday, March 20 at 9:30am. Hopefully the weather will be nice, but if not, then we will find a warm spot inside the greenhouse.
• Two painting classes are coming up for kids– an Easter Bunny painting in March and then a Butterfly painting class in April.
• we have a great line-up of educational classes and workshops this year. Stay tuned to the e-newsletters and our social media to be the first to know what’s going on. Some of the events and class topics in the works include hypertufa planters, pollinator gardening, kids gardening, landscape design, soil health, vegetable gardening, farm-to-table dinners and so much more!
• if you are one of the 16 million people who just took up gardening in 2020, there is a great virtual garden festival coming up for you! The Great Grow Along offers more than 30 sessions with a wide variety of speakers for less than $30 per ticket. Top speakers include acclaimed author and interior stylist Hilton Carter, ‘Farmer Nick’ Cutsumpas, David Mizijewski of the National Wildlife Federation, author and foodscaping expert Brie Arthur, and many more.

We look forward to helping you to create a garden and landscape that is “too fly for words” in 2021!

Take care,
Melanie