Apr

10

In the Greenhouse

April 10, 2008 |

inseason.jpg

Gardening is an exercise in optimism. Sometimes,
it is a triumph of hope over experience.
- Marina Schinz

The In Season series is a web diary of the gardening successes and mishaps of two eternally hopeful novices. The ladybug above will lead you to previous posts in the series.

Sun, my relative
Be good coming out
Do something good for us.
Make me work.
I can do anything in the garden;
I hoe, I plant corn, I irrigate.
- Havasu Indian prayer

Each March, one of the local ‘events’ we look forward to is the opening of Five Mile Farm and Greenhouses. It’s a relatively small operation run by Chuck and Sharon Gross since the early ’80s. They converted a plot adjacent to their home into a garden center, and open it for business four months a year.

It’s a short distance from our home, at a busy intersection. When one pulls into their parking lot, one is transported into an oasis that restores one’s five senses.

Nurseries are as important a community resource as libraries or parks. They make us stop and ponder how our food grows, where it comes from, and how resources are utilised. Most of the veggies and herbs we grew last year came from our local nursery.

Most of what we have learnt about gardening has been through the staff at nurseries who know the local soil and weather conditions and won’t scurry past you when you want to ask a few questions. They share their vast knowledge patiently and willingly.

The only downside to shopping at a local nursery is that some (like ours) have a ‘no-returns’ policy, unlike Hell-Mart. However, as far as we’re concerned, Hell-Mart can go suck on sour lemons after the latest evil stunt it’s pulled.

The benefits of supporting local businesses are many. It’s great to know that your sapling took root a mile from your home, tended to by loving hands. It’s wonderful to be able to ask the gardeners what fertilisers and pesticides they used (if any), and how to tend to your plant when you get it home.

We love shopping here, or simply walking around for a mood lift when it’s grey and dreary outside. Here’s a glimpse of our local nursery.

Herbs

Veggies

More veggies

Tomato plants

Strawberry Plants

Bell Pepper plants

Onion plants

Lettuces and edible flowers

More Herbs

Flowers

Mozart in the morning ??

Planters

To the checkout counter …

This is our entry for Weekend Herb Blogging, which we are hosting this week.

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29 Comments so far

  1. shankari on April 10, 2008 11:40 am

    Oh my my! just the pictures restore my five senses ;;). We felt the same when we visited daffodil hills close to our home. A family opens the gates to the public free of cost to take a look at the “host of golden daffodils”

  2. Hema on April 10, 2008 11:57 am

    Beautiful pictures!! :bow:

    What lens did you use?

    Hema

    most of them were taken with a point and shoot camera. the others were taken with a sigma 18-200 mm lens.

  3. Rachna on April 10, 2008 12:33 pm

    Thats what I come to jugalbandi for everyday, to feed my visionary senses and ignite the others !! :) Love your nursery, it reminds me of our fav nursery in africa, they had little water fountains too. Thanks for this post, I will go look for some in CT :)

  4. Pooja on April 10, 2008 12:37 pm

    you are hosting WHB this week :horn: , I shall post something for that now :bow: .
    I loved the idea of Green house always. One of our distance relative had a huge green house at their farm . I used to spent hours there . Your post is treat for eyes… :yes:

  5. Cham on April 10, 2008 1:07 pm

    I can go over over again with those pict. Wonderful nursery and beautiful shots :yes:

  6. Divya on April 10, 2008 3:05 pm

    Great shots indeed..

  7. Sweet Tooth on April 10, 2008 4:25 pm

    Hello!

    I very much enjoy your blog. I wanted to thank you for your excellent and inspiring work by passing on a nomination for “E is for Excellent”.

    You could win the Click competition every single time as far as I am concerned. Thank you for sharing all those inspiring photos.

    Great work! Thank you,

    Alexandra

  8. Cynthia on April 10, 2008 5:04 pm

    How bountiful and beautiful!

  9. Arundathi on April 10, 2008 6:27 pm

    Lovely Lovely photographs. Will try to submit something for WHB. I haven’t participated thus far but your photos inspire me to do so. Thanks.

  10. Manasi on April 10, 2008 7:49 pm

    Eye candy! beeeeeeeeeeyoooooootiful!

    That hell - mart clip was a shocker! :devil:

  11. rachel on April 10, 2008 8:14 pm

    neat pics..I just love the potted pansies!

  12. Chennette on April 10, 2008 8:38 pm

    Love these pictures. For some reason the strawberry plants pic calls out to me. Maybe it’s because I just had some really great strawberries :-D I am in California for a few days - yay :-) holiday! Not that you need to know this, I am just sharing my joy. Vacation. Away from work. :horn:

  13. kamala on April 11, 2008 7:22 am

    Beautiful pictures…Though i visit ur blog often i didnt comment.No where near u to comment about your stunnning blog

  14. anuzi on April 11, 2008 9:54 am

    Beeeeyooootifuul! Nature in all its glory captured by creative eyes :love:

  15. Sonal on April 11, 2008 10:07 am

    Hi Bee,
    Thanks for visiting my blog!
    By the way, I had a quick question about growing herbs. I have never ever grown anything green and strongly suspect I did not inherit my mother’s green thumb :-)
    Nevertheless the idea of growing your own fruits and veggies (probably a distant dream for now, since we live in a townhouse) is very appealing to me. Hence, I was thinking of starting by growing herbs in pots indoors (maybe?). Would you recommend that for a beginner?
    Thanks!

    yes.
    http://jugalbandi.info/2007/03/its-time-to-grow-beautiful-things/

  16. sandeepa on April 11, 2008 11:10 am

    Refreshed my senses…beautiful pics, a walk through the local nursey on a “not busy day” is really relaxing

  17. Suganya on April 11, 2008 11:25 am

    I agree. Local farmers are patient in answering questions. Our herb guy will not sell anything that doesn’t thrive in the dessert. Seeing that we were from India, he grew some holy basil, just for us. I was flabbergasted with this gesture.

  18. vanamala on April 11, 2008 12:19 pm

    Hey nice pictures :)

  19. Sapna on April 11, 2008 3:33 pm

    Finally I know that you are planning your garden. Thank god for that. I have been browsing your gardening posts (learnt lot from them) and wondering why no green posts this year. I am hugely inspired to dig up my own vege patch after seeing yours. Also started on the seedlings last month. So most of them are peeking from the soil. Planted a few radishes (I know you dont like them) in pots. Waiting to see whats in your garden this year.
    Since your hosting weekend herb garden, I was wondering if I could send some mint your way. I grew them from stems after I plucked all the leaves out and I dont blog.

    sure send it in. i’m interesting in knowing how you grew mint from stems.

  20. deege on April 11, 2008 11:00 pm

    Hi Jai and Bee,

    >>http://jugalbandi.info/2007/09/cucumbers-and-the-summer-bounty/

    what is the variety of the cukes that you’ve grown?

    burpees.

  21. Shibani on April 12, 2008 10:28 am

    Bee, I feel fresh after seeing ur great and amazing pictures u have captured.It has rejuveneted my spirits.Thanks!!!!!!

  22. White On Rice Couple on April 12, 2008 4:17 pm

    We are like kids in a candy store when we got to the nursery! :horn:
    These pictures just get our gardening fingers twitching with desire! Yesterday we just finished off our garden plots for spring and summer vegetables. Our backs are tired, our hands are raw from toiling gloveless in the soil, but our souls feel so much richer from it. We can’t wait for all the new veggies to soak up the sun so that we can enjoy the earths bounty!
    Yeah! for you for supporting the local guys! We’ll be submitting our entry for WHB later on tonight!

  23. Meeta on April 13, 2008 5:31 am

    this was a wonderful walk through your nursery - perfectly picturesque. I am so looking forward to your gardening sessions now. Me have no green thumb you see!

  24. arundati on April 13, 2008 9:43 am

    lovely pics…loved the colours….and the cute baskets of flowers…give me some ideas about recycling all those cane baskets with flower arrangements we get here…

    they are useful to sort mail, keep toiletries or generally to store stuff.

  25. Elizabeth on April 13, 2008 9:08 pm

    Stunning photos, I’m quite envious of your greenhouse trip (and feeling inspired to plant some herbs myself).

  26. manju on April 14, 2008 12:24 pm

    Just wanted to say thanks for posting those lovely photos. You two are so inspiring in your lens work!

  27. Kaykat on April 14, 2008 9:38 pm

    Ooo … don’t you *love* bell pepper starters? I always end up getting a zillion every year, but it just doesn’t get hot enough here for them to really prosper!

    I *love* this post, as I scroll down, my smile grows, my eyes widen … all the colour, variety, shades of green :love:

  28. Kalyn on April 15, 2008 6:51 pm

    What a wonderful greenhouse! I love to explore these kinds of stores. I’m just about ready to start shopping for plants for this year’s garden. First, I have to do a bit more work!

  29. arundati on June 24, 2008 3:05 am

    oops…came back here to ogle…and realised there was a typo in my comment…what i meant to say was the flowers in the baskets “gave” me ideas on recycling those cane baskets!! sheesh….i sounded so rude!! btw…i did plant some flowering and cascading plants in those baskets and they look so pretty…sorting mail and storing stuff isnt such a bad idea too ;)

    :D -j

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