Rainy Days

What to do on a rainy day at the nursery?
Well blog...and plant.
It is incredibly gratifying to pot up custom color plantings vibrant with warm hues during these colder months and to see them find homes within a matter of hours. I love working with the shades of valentines day; there is something comforting about deep reds, vibrant pink, and rich purples that brings a smile to my face as I sit here watching the dance of clouds and blue sky. Through the diligence of the Bedding department we have a fully stocked selection of custom plantings with a Valentines Day theme ready to grace peoples lives with their lustrous display.
We also have an entire table of iceland poppies starting to bloom that are 25% off. You can see their fuzzy stalks capped with an encapsulated bud whose color is just peeking through. I am anticipating a grand show when they all burst into their full glory heralding that touch of the dreamy that poppies are so apt at conjuring.
Have you ever eaten fresh fruit right off the tree after you have picked it?
Well I had never had that opportunity until the other day and it was a delight. We have an orange tree near the herb garden that is laden with rippening citrus. On a whim, and mostly because I have never taken the chance, I decided to pick the heaviest orange I could find for a snack. Upon tasting I could already tell the flavor was much more complex than any citrus I have ever tried. The balance of acid and sugar was sharp and the almost effervescent scent of the rind filled my senses. I felt so connected to the tree and in turn to the soil, water and sunlight that nurtured its growth from flower to fruit. A sense of gratitude remained with me for hours after and the day seemed glow with a subtle sheen. So if you have never taken part in the act of gathering and eating please take that opportunity, it might change your world if only for a little while.

Jo @ aldenlane

The afterlife of tomatoes...

In the bedding department we were hit pretty hard by the cold weather last week resulting in the demise of all of our fall season tomatoes. We had hopes that they could overwinter in the make-shift greenhouse we had constructed for them but that was simply not the case.

So what happens at Alden Lane when one of our green friends doesnt make it? WE compost them.

Composting has been going on at Alden Lane for over a year now, not only have we cut our dumpster pick up costs by over half but we have a large amount of usable freshly composted soil we can use in our landscaping. The demo farm we have back behind the nursery is the setting for our composting action. Anne who is the landscaping queen is responsible for initiating and keeping the program running.

I love our R2D2 rotating composter!

Another thing that I have been doing this week is planting up massive amounts of bare-root artichokes and rhubarb. We have a multitude of onions, strawberries, rhubarb, artichokes and horseradish available for you edible gardening needs.

Greengoods department just got in the majority of their roses, they don't look like much now with their stems all bare but come warmer weather they will amaze you with their vibrant perfumes and colors. The rest of our yearly rose order will be coming in the first week of January so stay tuned.

We are also getting in our fruit trees in about two weeks!

and lastly...
Cyndee, our general manager, told me today about a new movement that is picking up speed that we just signed up for called 'the 3/50 project.' The concept is based around supporting the economies of our local communities by spending our money at our favourite local shops and businesses. So pick three local businesses you could not imagine living without and spend $50 a month at them. The reality is that without the support of our local communities even well established bedrocks of the community are being threatened by the economic low we are in.
For more information please visit http://www.the350project.net/

Jo @ Alden Lane

Open Heart Vegetables

About two years ago the massive oak tree that was in the circle entrance came toppling down in a wind storm. We have tried a few things to spruce up the area but have added some new life with a vegetable garden this season. We also have a 'farm' on site that is planted with fruit trees, vegetables and even has a hen house. In fall we open the 'farm' up with our Harvest Tours where children and their parents get to see the inner workings behind growing food.
Pic: the first harvest donated to Open Heart Kitchen

The produce from these sites is donated to the Open Heart Kitchen and sold at Aldenlane's own Farmers Market located near the registers.

Jo @ aldenlane

Moving Bees

You have probably seen at least a few bees buzzing about the nursery, that is because our giant oak trees play host to a couple hives. On hot days we can see them making furious circles out in front of their hives trying to cool of the interior of their arboreal homes. Other times we might come accross a large clump of them attached to a plant or pot. When we see them lounging about in a large clump it is when the hive is splitting or when they are searching for a new place to call home.

Don't be afraid of these high energy beings, we work with them constantly, marking places off with yellow caution tape to protect our guests. Sometimes if their swarming becomes a nuisance we will get an apiary specialist to come in and remove a hive.

Bees are essential to any garden environment because they aid plants in pollination. So if you can learn to get over any fears you might have of these flying acrobats please do so. If a bee takes a special intrest in you it usually is not because it is being aggressive, take it as a compliment that you smell good.

Happy bees= fruits and veggies

Jo @ aldenlane

Izzy

Here are some pictures from when we first found the 'impatient kitten'

Her name is now Izzy, short for Isabel.

She has grown up considerably into a beautiful young lady!

Jo @ aldenlane

Nestlings

A plethora of baby birds have graced our nursery in the past two weeks!

Sue from the Greenhouse found a baby mourning dove resting in a houseplant recently delivered from San Francisco. Heather and myself became its temporary caretakers and at first we thought it might have broken its wing because it was holding it in a funny manner. With the advice of Cyndee we decided to release it near a family of nesting doves.

I had heard from Anthony that there was a hummingbird nest somewhere on the grounds but neither of us knew where it was. Christian, our new intern from Germany came and showed us because he had seen them the other day and had never before seen a hummingbird.

Jo @Aldenlane

Impatient Kitten

This last tuesday a precious gift was delivered to our nursery in one of our regular plant delivers from Fredriks. A newborn grey tabby kitten was found by Jeff in an impatien hanging basket still on the delivery rack. This newly arrived fuzzy grey being still had his/her umbilical cord attached and had survived a 20+ mile journey in a cold delivery truck. He/she could fit into one hand and had not yet opened her/his eyes.

He/she was adopted into the Aldenlane family and was taken home by Jeff the first night. Anne has become her/his adopted mother and brings him/her to work every day. She/he has grown considerably and nurses from his/her bottle constantly. He/she definately has a strong will to survive, eating up everyones affection. Just today he/she opened his/her eyes for the first time.
Anne has still not found a name for him/her yet and many of us around here have come up with our own pet names for him/her.

I personally call her/him 'little Imp' (short for the impatiens he/she was found in).

Jo @Aldenlane