Today is the Vernal Equinox, (or spring equinox) when all over the world there are approximately 12 hours of night and 12 hours of day, and the sun stands directly overhead at the Equator. In the northern hemisphere it is also called First Day of Spring, and for north country gardeners it is like a second New Year’s Day.
No, real spring, with daffodils and crocuses out everywhere, has not actually arrived in Vermont yet. (Although yesterday I was thrilled to catch my first glimpse of some bright yellow crocuses open wide, huddled against the southern wall of the Congregational church in Middlebury.) But right now there is a buzz of expectation running through the gardening community as we make our plans, promises and resolutions for the season ahead. Today is our DAY OF NEW BEGINNINGS!
And Horsford Nursery, off Route 7 in Shelburne, with their their huge count-down message out on the highway for all to see, has been really ramping up our spring fever for quite a while now. ‘5 WEEEKS’ it proclaimed last week! Actually they will opening for real on April 13.
And, to whet your appetite for spring, here is a picture, taken on May 15, 2005 of one of their gardens.
Horsford— locally owned of course—is one of my favorite nurseries in this part of Vermont. And if you live around here, and have not been before, I highly recommend you put it on your list of ‘PLACES TO GO’ this spring.
I have always been a big ‘Buy-Local' fan, not only with my food-buying decisions but also with my garden purchases. Locally-owned businesses, run by our neighbors and colleagues, are truly the life-blood of our communities, and they really deserve all the support we can give them. So, over time in this blog, I hope to introduce you to a number of GREAT locally owned nurseries or growers that offer something special for us gardeners.
Actually Horsford is both a nursery and a grower. Not only do they offer a huge selection of all types of plants for your garden, but they also raise many of their own trees and shrubs right there in their fields. Indeed you can walk out down the rows and choose the particular plant you want. They will either dig it for you on the spot, or tag it to be dug at the appropriate time for planting. NOW THAT’S FRESH!!.
It goes without saying that all the plants they grow will thrive in Zone 5 (the Champlain Valley) and most will be quite happy in the coldest areas of our state as well. And all the sales staff ‘know their plants’ and they can help you make the right choice for your particular location. This is just another benefit of patronizing a local nursery, instead of chasing a so-called ‘bargain’ at the ‘big box store’ up the road.
What a wonderful blog! I've been enjoying photos of your beautiful garden on Flickr; your husband told me about your blog after I sent admiring comments about your azaleas.
I'm a transplanted Pacific Northwesterner living and gardening in Austin, Texas -- many miles and zones away from the gardens of my youth and your lovely garden. I look longingly at all the things I cannot grow, especially those things that grew beautifully in the Pacific Northwest -- those will always be the plants that sing to me. How delightful to see some of these same plants and read garden experiences by a real gardener.
In short, I love your blog!
Posted by: Patricia at Limestone Ledge | October 22, 2009 at 02:40 PM
Hello,
I found your site while searching Google and have found your website information and advice to be a very good fit for our visitors. As such, we are interested in buying advertising space on your home page .
Our budget is within $10/month. If you are interested, please send me your rate per month and PayPal information.
If we are happy with your price we will send you the link details that you can place on your website and we will make the payments to the PayPal ID provided.
Thanks for your time.
Regards,
Joanne
(end)
Posted by: sarah | July 08, 2010 at 01:30 AM