Welcome
to Hamlen's
Helping Hand!
__________________________________
This
is our Spring newsletter, the 1st
newsletter of 2005. We look forward to
seeing you at the garden center.
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In this issue...
Late
winter and early spring can be a bitter/sweet time of year.
Bitter from the standpoint it seems like winter will never
end. Sweet from the standpoint each day we are one day closer
to spring. Here are some suggestions to help hurry spring
along, at least for your own peace of mind.
1.
Visit the Botanical Gardens in Montreal. While
the 180 acres of Botanical Gardens maybe under snow and
frozen the conservatories are warm and open. The conservatories
represent several climates. They range from a tropical rainforest
environment, to an arid desert like atmosphere to a nice
collection ofJapanese bonasi. To get there head to Montreal
and cross over the Jacques Cartier bridge, after crossing
the bridge, stay on the road you are on till you come to
Sherbrooke St. Turn right onto Sherbrooke, when you arrive
at the Olympic stadium on the right, the Botanical Gardens
will be on your left.
2.
Visit the Biodome. While visiting the Botanical
Garden Conservatories the biodome is across from it and
a 15-20 minute walk will take you there. Just ask at the
conservatories for directions. If you haven't been there,
it too is a real treat. Like the Botanical Garden Conservatories
there are several different environments to walk through.
Environments represented are a tropical rainforest, a natural
Quebec environment, a seashore, an underwater environment,
and an arctic environment complete with entertaining penquins.
3.
Another way to hurry spring along is to have your own greenhouse.
You will be surprized how warm a greenouse can become on
a sunny March day. We find our employees are happier after
spending time in the greenhouse with its bright light and
warm temps. In fact its a very pleasant environment to be
in. We say its like a cheap Florida vacation. Owning your
own greenhouse can be less of an investment than you might
think. New for 2005 at Hamlen's we have the "Flowerhouse"
greenhouse. These are quick to set up and give you an economical
greenhouse to start seedlings and the ability to step into
your own warmer environment. They range from $129.99 for
the "Starter House" (3' high X 8' wide X 4' deep)
$179.99 for the "Spring House" (6 1/2' high X
6' wide X 6' deep or the $229.99 "Bloom House"
(7' high X 7' wide X 7' deep).
Click
here to view all greenhouses we offer.
[Back to
Top]
 Can't
wait for spring blooms? There are ways to jump-start spring.
Forcing plants into bloom is an easy way to enjoy spring
early. Forsythia
(Forsythia Northern Gold, pictured), lilacs, rhododendron,
and spirea vanhoutte can give you an early spring inside
your home even though its still winter outside. Cut a
branch or branches 1-2 feet in length from the terminal
bud back. Place
them in a vase with water inside the house. In
about 2-4 weeks depending on what you are forcing you
should start to see color.
[Back
to Top]
 When
you live in an area that is void of color for six
months, why not plan a winter garden. We think of
gardens with spring, summer, and fall color. Here
in the northcountry there is an equal amount of time
when there is a lack of color or interest, unless
we plant a winter garden. Green mountain boxwood (hardy
to zone 4), goldthread chamaecyparis, montgomery blue
spruce, saybrook gold juniper, Harry Lauders walking
stick, february daphne, ivory halo dogwood, and ornamental
grasses offer interesting texture and color.
Now
is a good time to plan where to put your winter garden
so it will be ready for next year. Don't forget berries
and fruits for fall and winter color. Winterberry,
viburnums, mt. ash, and certain crabapples offer food
for birds and persistant color through the winter.
The
texture of certain plants can also offer winter curiosity.
Exfoliating bark like shagbark hickory, heritage birch,
or seven son flower, create unusual interest. Plant
shapes also break up the winter landscape. Weeping
plants look like umbrellas with snow piled on top
of them. Upright, spreading, and oval shapes also
stand out.
Don't
think just because it is winter you can't have color.
Red and yellow stem dogwood, bergenia, winterberry,
corneliancherry, and february daphne provide color
during the drab winter months.
Winter
doesn't have to be a bleak time of year. A winter
garden can provide beauty and interest so the winter
months don't have to be so long and gardening can
be enjoyed for twelve months instead of six.
Back
in cowboy times, a westbound wagon train was lost and low
on food.
No other humans had been seen for days, and then the pioneers
saw an old
Norwegian sitting beneath a tree.
"Is there some place ahead where we can get food?²
³Vell, I tink so" the old man said "but I
wouldn't go up dat hill and
down de udder side. Somevun tole me you'd run into a big
bacon tree"
"A bacon tree?" asked the wagon train leader.
"Yah, a bacon tree. Vould I lie? Trust me, I vouldn't
go dere"
The leader goes back and tells his people what the Norwegian
said, that
they should not go there. The pioneers said, "Oh you
know those
Norwegian people. They lie just for a joke"
So the wagon train goes up the hill and down the other side.
Suddenly,
Indians attack them from everywhere and massacre all except
the leader
who manages to escape and get back to the old Norwegian.
Near dead, the
man shouts. "You fool! Why did you ever mention the
bacontree. The
Indians killed everyone but me. We followed your route and
there was no
bacon tree, just hundreds of Indians"
The old Norwegian man holds up his hand and says "Vait
a minute"
He quickly picks up an English Norwegian dictionary and
begins thumbing
through it. "Oof-da, I made such a big mistake! It
vuzn't a bacon tree,
it vus a ham bush"
[Back
to Top]
From
"God's Garden" by Mrs. Dorothy Frances Gurney
1858-1932
The kiss of the sun for pardon
The song of the birds for mirth,
One is nearer God's Heart in a garden
Than anywhere else of earth.
[Back
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