I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the Sun seems to have reappeared. No, I’m serious, take a peek outside. Yep, that’s the sun! And he brought a friend with him this time…warmer weather! The forecast is plum full of 60 degree temps ahead of us!
Now that doesn’t mean you should break out the swimsuits just yet, or even pack away your jackets and coats. But it does seem to support the theory that Spring, at long last, is here. And thank goodness, because we were getting tired of all that snow!
As is tradition at the beginning of March, we have all of your Cole Crops ready to go for that first round of Spring Veggie planting. Lettuce, Strawberries, Cabbage, Onions, Cauliflower, Broccoli, Brussel Sprouts, and Eggplants are all eagerly awaiting to become part of your garden. Tomatoes and Peppers are ready as well. Remember you don’t want to plant your tomatoes and peppers outside until after Easter, but you can keep them inside until then.
And for those of you who just can’t stand to see a world without flowers any longer now that the snow has melted, we have some color in bloom as well. Snapdragons, Dianthus, Dusty Miller, and Petunias are wonderful plants that flourish in this early Spring weather.
Yes, it’s official. Spring is here. See you at the Greenhouse!!!
Sometimes at the Greenhouses, we get a little creative and feel the need to tell a story, complete with pictures of course, about life on the Farm. So sit back, put on your imagination caps, and join us as we tell you the tale of Zinnia: Petal Princess…
Once upon a time, in a Plughouse so fair, Paul the Planting King had a Zinnia seed to spare. And with his magic machine and his superior planting skills, he nestled his tiny Zinnia seed in a thimble sized square…
With his faithful Court Jester, George, by his side, Paul sprinkled his Zinnia seed with magic water day and night. And low and behold, right before Paul’s eyes, Zinnia the Petal Princess sprung to life.
Paul loved his Princess, for she was regal and strong, but he knew she would soon outgrow her thimble sized home. So he sent her to Donnita, the Petal Godmother, and said ‘Make her a new home where she can live and prosper.’
But Donnita knew Zinnia needed more than a new home, she needed an adventure out in a world she could make her own. So with the help of her Fairies, Donnita transplanted the Princess, and sent her on a journey through the Mystical Greenhouses.
And so Zinnia the Petal Princess was sent on her way, thru the Mystical Greenhouses to a land far away. The journey was long with dangers untold, but Zinnia was determined to find her new home.
At last she arrived in a Kingdom like no other, where blooms were all around her and butterflies fluttered. They called it ‘The Garden’ and invited Zinnia to stay, and our little Petal Princess lives there still to this day… The End!
…Ok, so that’s probably not the most accurate description of life on the farm, but we kind of like fairytales and happy endings every now and then…
As we cross our fingers and hold our breath, we’re saying ‘Adios’ to Snow and ‘Hello’ to Spring! Oh yes, it may not seem like it right now with the blustery temperatures the south has been toting, but we can assure you, Spring is just around the corner! And we are very excited it is on its way!
Now you know that Spring just wouldn’t be Spring without a veggie garden growing all those warmer-weather treats we know and love. There’s just something about fresh veggies that make us want to dust off the Bar-B-Que grills, grab our sunglasses, and toss a little ball around in the back yard with the munchkins in our lives. And here at Parks Brothers, we’ve been busy bees getting your Spring Veggies ready just for you.
Cabbage, Onions, Broccoli, and Strawberries are the first crops up for grabs.
Cabbage Galore!
Broccoli
Onions
Clay – aka The Plant Inspector
Remember you can start planting your veggies at the beginning of March! Now all you have to do is find those sunglasses…
Our ParksBrothers.com website will soon be active.
After struggling with an old FrontPage based website, the new website will be a welcome change that allows us to do more frequent updates, communicate better, have improved stability, and make the site user friendly.
Some of the new features of the new website include:
- Facebook integration.
- Easy sign-up for news delivered by e-mail or RSS.
Visit us online:
Parks Brothers Retail - Where Customers Buy Directly at Our Location in Van Buren (note: YES, that IS a satellite view of our farm and the gray rectangles are individual greenhouses)
- Parks Brothers Facebook page. See what’s going on locally and say “hi.”
- Twitter updates (coming soon). Get instant updates, specials, and tips.
- Our Flickr Account has some great pictures of flowers, people, and fun.
Parks Brothers Wholesale Plants – Where “green” businesses come to buy flowers for their customers.
- Parks Wholesale Plants Website. Our retailers are spread across the U.S. selling plants. The wholesale website is a popular online plant resource with over 1,000 pages of plant related information.
- Parks Wholesale Plants Twitter updates. If you are a retailer, this is where you can instantly hear about plant availability, promotional tips, new products, and more.
