Well, time is ticking on – we’re into June and it may be warming up! Don’t forget that we are open daily in all weather conditions. It may be wet outside, but inside our greenhouses it is always cosy and dry – the perfect outing for a wet day! Hurry in soon, we are only open for just over another week.

Do you have containers that still need filling with annuals? Why not check out our large ready grown creations – hanging baskets or planters that can be popped straight into containers for big, instant colour. We have a good supply of both flowering ornamentals and culinary herb and veggie containers, all in fabulous condition.

We have only 2 more weeks at the Creemore Farmers Market. If you have not yet discovered this gem in our community, head on over. If you are a regular, Chris, Ben and Dave look forward to seeing you every week and thank you for supporting us – it’s a huge task to select, load, set up, sell, load again and restock each week – in all weather!!  

Our hanging basket challenge has now wrapped up and the winning basket was designed by Kelly – it is a gorgeous combination of Dahlia and Superbells and was a real crowd pleaser, receiving over 1/3 of the total votes cast. Kelly is still deciding on a charity, so watch this space for an update soon! Winners have all been notified and will be coming to pick up their new baskets this week.

Sunday June 16th will be our last day open, and it will come really fast so please drop by soon. We have a great variety of plants to choose from, all in fabulous condition!

Hot or sweet & easy to grow!

Peppers are an easy and rewarding summer vegetable crop and we grow a full selection of both hot and sweet pepper plants. Hot peppers include Hot Portugal – a fiery hot red salsa type which grows to 6” long , Hungarian Yellow Wax – a medium hot, yellow type which grows to 6” long and Jalapeno – a fiery hot dark green 4” long pepper that matures to red. We also grow several more uncommon specialty hot pepper varieties, including the infamous and extremely hot Carolina Reaper. (Grow and handle at your own risk!) Use hot peppers raw in salsas or cooked in chilli dishes or sauces.

In our sweet pepper range, choose from yellow, red, orange or green bell peppers, banana peppers and shepherd peppers. Sweet peppers add colour and crunch to salads and of course can be cooked in your favourite veggie dishes. All sweet peppers will start off green, before maturing to their final colour. They can be harvested at any point, but for the best taste, it is best to let them fully mature. Both hot and sweet peppers will also store well in the fall if you need to harvest early before the frost. Plant all peppers after the danger of frost has passed, in a sunny and hot location. They can also be grown successfully in containers. Chris likes to keep a planter of hot peppers next to the barbeque on our deck for snacking on while he is cooking!

Swiss Chard, Kale, Arugula and Lettuce

The health benefits of eating plenty of leafy green veggies have been well proven. As usual, we have grown a good selection of transplants this year, all of which are easy to grow and can be planted out when it is still cool. Just find a sunny spot in the garden with good soil. All veggies will benefit from the addition of some well rotted manure or Sea Compost before planting. Top the bed with Barnyard Gold and you’ll be sure to have plenty of food for your plants. If you don’t have space in the garden, consider planting any of these leafy green veggies in containers.

Swiss Chard is very easy to grow. Leaves can be harvested when young and eaten raw in salads or left to grow on and steamed lightly. Our Bright Lights Swiss chard is a mix of different colour stems so looks really pretty both in the garden and on the plate. Kale is also very easy to grow and again can be eaten young and raw or older and steamed lightly. We grow several types of kale including Curly Green or Red and Dinosaur. Try roasting some kale to make delicious chips! Both Swiss chard and kale will grow all season and do not mind the heat of the summer. They will go on producing well after frost in the fall. Arugula, lettuce and mesclun mix are only eaten as raw salad crops and are more of a short lived crop. They do not like the summer heat and will go to seed, becoming bitter. Plant them early and enjoy. We grow several types of lettuce, including Romaine, Buttercrunch, Iceberg and Red Leaf.

Red twigs a gem in the garden!

Red Twig Dogwood is a common shrub that is found in natural areas and roadside ditches, being native, tough and resilient to pests and diseases. Arctic Fire is a lovely compact form of the regular Red Twig Dogwood but with all the same great qualities as the larger variety. It is a wonderful addition to any garden. Bushes grow only 3-4 feet tall and wide, suiting most gardens better than the taller variety. They flower briefly in the spring, and grow a thick bush full of greenery in the summer and fall.

The real beauty of Arctic Fire though is the red stems which provide bright winter interest against the snow in the winter and early spring. Arctic Fire Dogwood will grow in full sun or partial shade, making it quite versatile. When creating a new garden, I like to make a loose framework of shrubs, in front of which and around, I plant perennials in groups. Try planting Arctic Fire either singly or in groups of three, in gardens or in a naturalized area. They are easy, no fuss shrubs!

Photo courtesy of Proven Winners.

Wild and beautiful!

Perovskia atriplicifolia or Russian Sage as it is more easily pronounced is a woody, sun loving perennial that flowers late summer, offering sometimes much needed end of season colour. When you are looking at your garden, trying to assess areas that may need new plants, try to imagine how the garden will look by late summer and fall. Is there enough colour? Chances are the answer is no and that Russian Sage might be a great addition to your garden.

Foliage is silver grey, upright and finely divided with a distinct sage type scent. Flowers begin in August and last well into November. They are small and dainty, light azure blue and are held on long branches. The effect is an informal, semi wild and airy look that is equally useful to fill in gaps or plant massed. Russian Sage will get big – up to 3 feet high and wide so make sure you have enough space for this unique perennial.

Photo courtesy of Walters Gardens

Last week we once again hosted youth and parents from the South Simcoe 4H Garden Club. This year, the younger Cloverbuds joined us too and gained an insight into the activities of the Garden Club. Everyone enjoyed an informative tour of the greenhouses and listened attentively while I explained our growing methods.

Hummingbirds were flying around us all night, which was really amazing for the kids to see. We ended the evening potting up Heritage Tomatoes. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining this fantastic rural organization and one of the many local clubs, visit their website for more information. 

Easy recipe for the BBQ or the oven!

In the summer and fall, when your veggies are at their most productive it can sometimes be challenging to find the inspiration for new recipes to use up your produce. This delicious recipe is great as you can add whatever you have plenty of!

Weed Control

We have such a perfect climate for growing heat loving veggies and herbs such as Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Zucchini, Basil and many more. Try using a mulch or ground cover on your veggie garden this year and you will see benefits both in reduced work hours and increased harvests. Specific benefits include preventing weed growth, preserving moisture and warming the soil. When we field grew cut flowers, ground cover was our secret tool and it worked amazingly! Now I use it in our veggie garden every year. Ground cover fabric is a woven polypropylene fabric, usually black - if you've ever looked down in our greenhouses this is what we lay on the ground. It is available at hardware stores or larger garden centres - sorry we do not carry it.

We’re open daily 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 to June 15