Finding the Bright Side

I don’t know about you guys but this is a smack in the weather-reality face. We have been experiencing such a mild winter and spring-like temperatures but then bitterly cold days and now SNOW! There is one good thing about snow, it is a natural insulator. Any plants that have started to break dormancy will have a nice blanket to protect them. My dad always says March snow is like the poor farmer’s fertilizer. The ground has a chance of slowly soaking up the nitrogen and micronutrients that the snow grabs on its way down from the atmosphere. That’s the upside! My daughter Nora has especially been loving the warmer weather, she has been going to the park almost every day. So what do you do with a very active toddler when it is too cold or snowy to head to the park? Well if you are Nora, you get to run your heart out in the greenhouse! My wife and I bring her to the garden center and set her loose. She loves to run around being “chased” by mommy and daddy. Nora has also made friends with our greenhouse manager Darlene who lets her feed the Koi fish. Nora had a funny little surprise hiding in among the pottery this weekend, a chipmunk! It was so hilarious watching Nora trying to find the chipmunk as it ran from one stack of pottery to the next, Nora even laid face-first right on the floor looking under benches. The chipmunk snuck back outside- much to Nora’s disappointment! ‘Where chipmunk go?’ was the question of the day. One thing is for sure in the Van Wilgen house, we are all ready for spring to sweep in for real! If you are like us and looking to get out of the house, we have planned a fun-filled weekend for everyone, no matter what the weather! See you this weekend!

Dr. Allan Armitage will be joining us for our Perennial Rose Rally! Allan wrote the handbook for

perennials and is full of useful plant knowledge. The VW team sat in on a talk with Allan last fall and we enjoyed it very much. Anyone from the beginner to even the most perennial gardener will get a plethora of great information and no shortage of stories. So for the clues, Allan worked at the University of Georgia alongside Dr. Dirr. It is pretty amazing that 2 huge horticulturalists worked on the same campus. Two, if you have seen me in person or in a photo, I almost always have my signature hat on. Three, I grew up in Canada and received my B.S. in science from McGill University, as they say or just maybe just Dr. A says, the Harvard of the north. We are very excited for June 3rd!