What March has to offer your house’s aesthetics

At this point in the game, at least here in New England, the population is sick and tired of winter. The snow here is brown, sandy, and salty, a combination any gardener would curl lips at. [The reason being salt browns and kills plants, and while sand is a great growing medium for some plants, we have plenty already, thank you very much.] Anyone will tell you winter is a time when a gardener can plan for the next spring, and they are completely right. But when you’re working in a garden center, spring is months early. I’m looking at summer seeds, catalogues for summer bulbs, compost, mulch, etc, etc. It’s painful. I’ve had my fill of ideas and planning and I want to jump into the thick of it. But with the ground still frozen, what could I possibly do?



Well, if you’ve been playing the game long enough, which I certainly have not been, you know your choices. Large garden centers can function throughout the winter, half on Christmas, a quarter on luck, and the rest on the bet that we’ll hopefully be more prepared for your spring than any of you are. [These are simply untrained observations, but sometimes ignorance is key.] Because of this, they keep an interesting selection of houseplants handy in the retail greenhouse. Anything from azaleas to large ficus trees. We even have some grapefruit trees hidden in there that I was completely unaware of for almost a year. [Please keep in mind Nunan’s is very large, with a dedicated customer base that seems to fuel the beast of a greenhouse system.] But with my garden in mind, I kept my ear to the ground and waited to hear something good: can be over wintered. I learn the most by listening to my manager tell customers things they want to hear [aka what I want to hear] and Valentine’s day brought a new shine to my eye. The small container roses that everyone loves to buy for everyone female they know were in full bloom, with beautiful colors ranging from white, yellow, purple, magenta and red. These delicate little mounding roses weren’t even on my garden radar. But the manager gives the go ahead, you can buy them and put them in the ground come spring, then over winter them just like any other rose. [If you’ve never over-wintered a rose before, I promise I’ll write a post on it when the time comes.] Most indoor plants, of course, can be planted outside for the warm season, but they die off and never come back. I’m too lazy for that!


So anyways, I waited until after the big V-Day since my garden didn’t seem worthy of some lucky girls valentine smiles, and took two of the leftovers. A purple and a red mini rose bush are now nesting in my window, praying for some warmth. Note to self - when you have a cold house, terracotta pots are not your cup of tea. They’re horrible for insulation, and over-watering becomes my main concern. Did you know that over-watering is possibly the worst cause of house plant fatality? We baby them too much.


I also have a campanula [that my mother bought me for Valentine’s Day! Go Mom!] that has been adopted into my plant-this-spring program. This plant [unfortunately] came from Market Basket. I would like to remind you that convenience garden centers and florist shops detract from the real deal through quality and a myriad of other problems. Even now I’m not sure if this thing will even live, I’m just holding out because my momma gave it to me [and I love purple campanula. How do they know these things?]


The three musketeers having been mentioned, don’t forget all of the plants that I can’t fit in my own windows. Around this time of year, just when you’re going crazy, garden centers are preparing for Easter and St. Patti’s with Easter Lilies and Oxalis. There are also some lovely herbs and bulbs being grown, and this is the perfect time to consider them for your summer garden. Herbs make a nice touch to any garden as their scent can and will waft through gentle summer breezes, and bulbs are always the first color to brighten the gloom of snow and rain.


Don’t lose heart, and don’t stop thinking. Go into your nearest garden center and look at seeds, containers, edging, tools, and the plants themselves. You never know what you could have had until someone else takes all of the good stuff.

This is an example of one of your 'spring savers' as I like to call them. A small dish garden can be placed practically anywhere, and most of these [at Nunan's, anyways] are without drainage holes. [Remember: overwatering. Don't do it.] Put it in an office, a coffee table, or your bedroom window. Whatever makes you smile.

Slowly but surely the herbs are being put on display, as well as a small number of begonias as seen in the background. These are an assortment of all the herbs you need or want, and remember, your garden will love them just as much as a windowsill!

These pictures are of Cineraria, a pretty houseplant that isn't exactly rampant throughout the greenhouse during any other season, or so I'm told. The beautiful blooms come in so many vibrant colors - grab them while they're still here!

Primrose! It hasn't stopped it's dominance of the greenhouse yet [it's very popular from Christmas even up until now, it seems, and it's still out there! Primrose is also a fairly hardy plant, althought it is still an annual, and can be planted outside. I'd imagine it as a lovely mass border plant.