Brrr!

Brrr! We're thinking spring but Mother Nature appears to have other ideas! We are under a frost warning while neighbors to our north and west are under a freeze warning. If you've had a case of spring fever and have planted some tender annuals it's a good idea to cover or bring them in tonight and keep an eye on the extended forecast. Today, I  visited with some of our gardening friends who are under a freeze warning and are concerned about their tender perennials. Here's how we do it...Flower Farm style! It's impossible for us to cover everything. We monitor the temperatures during the night. It's a long night but worth the sacrifice. Just before the outside temperature reaches the freezing mark, we mist the gardens with water. The water forms a layer of ice on the foliage which will protect the plant from freezing temperatures. I have 'not so fond' memories of us walking around the gardens at 1:00 in the morning with a flashlight in one hand and a hose in the other. We saved everything! In the meantime, our tender plants are staying safe and warm in the greenhouse including this show stopper... Dalechampia dioscoreifolia aka Bow Tie Vine.

Spring Open House!

The Beautiful Blooms of Spring and Summer...

The beautiful blooms of spring and summer have filled our shop! These gorgeous beauties have all been harvested and freeze-dried from our gardens! Join us for our Spring Open House May 5, 6 and 7! Lunch and refreshments served to benefit Nebraska Communities United.

Earth Day!

More beautiful blooms from our greenhouse in honor of Earth Day!

We Have Babies!

We have babies! Our first praying mantis egg sac hatched in the greenhouse during the night. Most of them had scattered by the time I found them this morning but some were still hanging out.  Praying mantis egg sacs are easily confused with wasp nests and are sadly destroyed. They can be found on plants, twigs and even buildings. 250 to 300 baby mantids hatch from each egg sac. They are beneficial insects and will eat many of the 'bad bugs' who lurk in your garden. Native praying mantis are brown and grow to about 3 inches long. Chinese Mantises are green and brown. They can grow much larger. They grow so large that they have been known to eat a hummingbird. We released 9000 ladybugs in the greenhouse a few weeks ago. Ladybugs go in search of their food while praying mantis will wait for their food to come to them. Good partners for our pesticide-free greenhouse!

Another Gorgeous Bloom!

Another gorgeous new bloom in the greenhouse! Spring Open House May 5, 6 and 7!

Spring Color!

Putting on their show!

Air Therapy!

Some 'Air Therapy' on this beautiful spring day!

A bird's eye view of the flower farm. 

Thank you, Dave!

Gorgeous Blooms to Brighten Another Cloudy Day!

Grown, harvested and freeze-dried from our gardens...

these gorgeous blooms sure brighten another cloudy day! Mark your calendar! Spring Open House May 5, 6 and 7!