Good news! The weather is finally warming up! The long range looks good and it’s time to put away your snow boots, toques and umbrellas!

Come on over soon and check out this year’s selection of home grown annuals, perennials, veggies, herbs, fruit plants, hanging baskets and planters! 

We had a good Mother’s Day weekend, despite the cool weather. Over 40 kids enjoyed planting Pansies for their Moms. It was wonderful to see many of our regular and loyal customers emerging after the winter along with many new customers too. Great to see Jean, Marilyn and their family from Toronto, Arlene from Wasaga Beach, Diana from Brampton – a new customer who found us on Google while searching for Zinnias, Maria from Lisle and Linda from Brentwood, both past employees at the farm and now friends, Sandy, Katrina and Chantel from Schomberg, who have been loyal customers for over 20 years, and many, many others for your continued support! 

The Creemore Farmers' Market starts up this Saturday and we will be there with plants from 8.30 to 12.30. Our stall will be run by Chris and our youngest son Ben and friend Dave. Dan and I will be back at the farm. If you have never been to this fantastic market before, now is the time for a trip to Creemore. If you are a regular, we look forward to seeing you. We will only be attending the market for 5 weeks this year, so don’t wait to buy! Check out the market’s website at www.creemorefarmersmarket.ca

 

If you enjoy this newsletter, please encourage your friends to sign up to receive their own copy. All e news contacts will be entered in a draw on June 1 to receive a $150 gift certificate to spend at the farm. 

So pack up the kids / life partner / Mom / friend / neighbour and head on over! Enjoy our perennial display gardens or take a break under our shady canopy. Vote in our employee Hanging Basket Challenge for a chance to win a beautiful basket, with all proceeds donated to charity. Kids will love visiting with our pet rabbit and seeing our horses, cows and calves. See you soon!

Spend over $100 to receive an ‘ Instant Garden Pot ’ for FREE!

 

Free coffee, lemonade and cookies

 

Gift certificates always available

   

Saturday May 18th, Sunday May 19th and Monday May 20th

9am to 5pm

Vote for a chance to win!

Thanks to our student volunteers Ben, Willow, Zinnia and Lexi for very capably running our Hanging Basket Challenge tent on weekends. Voting is now well under way. Not only do you have a chance to win a beautiful hanging basket, but you will also be donating some cash to a worthy charity.

 

Here’s how it works:

 

Early March – Our employees and family members - Kieron, Dan, Kelly, Samm, Cathy, Ben, Jacqueline and Chris each designed and planted a 14” hanging basket, using no more than 6 plants per basket. The baskets have been growing along with the rest of our crops.

 

May 5 to May 26 – Visitors to the farm pay to vote for their favourite basket, (ballots $2 each or 3 for $5) with each vote being a chance to win the basket. (Retail selling price $65.) Vote as many times as you like!

 

May 27 – One ballot will be drawn to win each basket and the 8 basket winners will be contacted. The basket design with the most votes will be announced. The winning basket designer has bragging rights and will choose a charity for the proceeds to be donated to.

 

Hope you will participate in voting the next time you are at the farm!

Watch the pollinators fly in!

This new large annual Salvia Skyscraper is incredibly attractive, not only for us, but also for hummingbirds, butterflies, bees and all pollinators, who absolutely adore this plant! Skyscraper caught my eye at grower trials and it was on my wish list immediately. Bright pink flowers appear on tall, sturdy stems and bloom all summer. Flowers vary between light and dark pink. Foliage is attractive and dark green.

As the name suggests, Skyscraper is a large annual, easily reaching a height of 2-3 feet and width of 18”, so give it plenty of space. It looks wonderful in containers, but would also be a great addition in ground, filling in spaces between perennials. Plant in full or part sun for a bold and vibrant addition to any garden!

Unique and exciting new variety

Another fabulous introduction from plant breeders Proven Winners, this unusual perennial has a wide, mounding, shrub like habit. Amsonia Storm Cloud emerges from the ground each spring as incredibly dark, near black stems, which grow into olive green leaves with silver veins, somewhat resembling willow foliage.

Clusters of star shaped light periwinkle blue flowers are held above the foliage and completely cover the plant for many weeks, from late spring to early summer. Expect the strong stemmed Storm Cloud to reach a height of 2-2.5 feet. Although the main interest of this plant is in spring, it maintains a great garden presence throughout the summer and fall, being heat and humidity tolerant, deer resistant and low maintenance. Very easy to please - just plant in full to part sun and enjoy the unique features of this hardy perennial each year.

Heritage Tomatoes Varieties for 2019

Heritage or heirloom tomatoes are old style varieties that have been in production for at least 50 years. Over the years, advances have been made to plant breeding and production methods and these varieties are now rarely grown commercially. Heritage tomatoes are available in a huge range of sizes, shapes and colours and have fantastic flavor.

However, they are not resistant to a wide range of diseases like most hybrid varieties are. They breed true to seed, meaning that seed can be kept and started the following year again. Most are indeterminate plants, which need to be staked, growing very large and producing fruit for several weeks on long vines. 

Check out the heritage tomato varieties we're growing in 2019.

We grow many varieties!

Basil is a true taste of summer and due to its short shelf life in supermarkets, is a perfect plant to grow and eat fresh from your garden. This wonderful, aromatic herb is easy to grow in our hot summers and provides rich flavour and colour to many culinary creations, both cooked and fresh.

Did you know that we currently grow 8 varieties of Basil? Here’s a listing of our varieties:

Genovese – Classic Italian Basil that is a must for Pesto or Caprese salads.

Dolce Fresca – Dwarf version of Genovese. Good for containers or smaller spaces.

Emerald Towers – Brand new columnar Genovese variety. Late to flower, so huge harvest potential.

Purple Ruffles – Gorgeous deep rich purple foliage is ruffled. Amazing in salads.

Red Rubin – Another dark leaf. More purple than red and a flat leaf.

Thai – Traditionally used in Thai curries. Strong flavour.

Lemon – Fabulous in any creation where a hint of lemon is beneficial. Great in a water jug too.

Holy – Also known as Tulsi. Very aromatic. Grow for essential oils and herbal teas only.

 

All Basil varieties love heat and require full sun to be at their best. Be careful in the spring as they are especially tender in cooler weather. Don’t plant too early and protect from cool winds and late frosts.

Have you always fancied your own fresh veggies, but don't have the space or time for a traditional garden? Well, why not try growing some veggies and herbs in containers - grow alone or mix with edible flowers and herbs. There are many advantages to growing in containers including better control over soil conditions, easier or even no weeding and being able to locate your garden closer to the house. 

Find out which veggies are best started from seeds and which ones to buy plants.

We’re open daily, April 26 to June 16

9am to 5pm

Visa, Mastercard, Interac, Cash or Cheque accepted

Gift certificates available – great idea for your favourite gardener!

See us at the Creemore Farmers Market, Saturday mornings from May 18 to June 15