Simple Gifts

I have been drying orange slices and making all sorts of simple holiday decorations this past week. It is a fun and uplifting way to get into the holiday spirit or to honor the return of the light at solstice.

Hello and warm wishes from all of us at Red Wagon. I just wanted to pop in and give you a little reminder that this coming Friday, December 17th, will be our last order pick up for any purchases you make in our online store. If you would like any gifts for the gardener or the cook on your list, or you want to treat yourself to a little something, here is your chance!

Our suggestions:

Our cute new gift packs of herb salts are the perfect hostess gift, all ready to go. You can find those here. Each package is lovingly packed and dressed up with a cotton ribbon and includes a wooden miniature salt cellar and salt spoon.

How cute is this?

This sickle weeder is easily everyone’s favorite hand tool at Red Wagon Plants. I never step into the garden without it if there is weeding to do.

The Hori Hori knife is also a staple in my garden tool box. It is so handy for making a planting hole, digging out tough roots, or cutting back fibrous stems.

While this won’t win “Most Romantic Gift”, we think that any serious houseplant owner would be thrilled to receive a bag of potting soil or Compost Plus made by our friends at VT Compost Company.

And these gardening gloves are a sweet little gift that will fit into a stocking or parcel just fine. They are another favorite of mine that I stash in my tool box, car, and garden shed. You never know when you might want to get your hands in dirt!

Finally, thank you for making 2021 another amazing season for us. We are excited for our future with you, and have lots of new developments that we will be sharing soon. Your love of plants, nature, and people is what fuels us.

With love from our gardens to yours,

Julie and the crew

Chad has been making these very sweet planters filled with annuals, a small perennial and a foliage plant. Once they outgrow this pot, all the plants can be replanted and repurposed for other uses. It is like a mini-nursery of your very own. A perfect gift, and the perfect way to welcome spring.

I am finding so much relief in the garden these days. I hope you are taking time to notice all the small emerging plants, the subtle changes day to day, and finding solace in how the plants are behaving 100% normally. As we re-arrange our lives around a virus’ logic, the plant world marches on beautifully. Lily was mentioning how nice the flowering bulbs are this year, with steady cool temperatures and no serious downpours, the blooms are holding up so well and lasting a very long time. Daffodils are not face down in the mud, and the spring color show will linger for a while.

Here are some ideas and jobs for the weekend:

Prepare the garden beds We are all eager to plant and to get out in the garden, and while there are many frost tolerant veggies and herbs that can go out now, I would encourage you all to think ahead to warmer days and make sure that your garden dreams and reality line up. If you are looking to start a new garden or expand an existing one, now is a great time to do it. Clifford’s Lumber in Hinesburg sells rough sawn hemlock boards for raised beds, and you can get deliveries of topsoil and compost from a number of local businesses (we do not do that ourselves). Shoot us an email if you have any questions about preparing the garden. We want you to be ready when it is time to plant tomatoes! Because we are only doing curbside pick up and home deliveries, we REALLY miss talking to you all about your garden plans. Chad, Hope, Lily and I are all available to return calls and emails and talk shop with you. So don’t hesitate to get in touch. 802.482.4060 or info@redwagonplants.com (or just hit reply to this).

Watch this beautiful movie about Piet Oudolf and his work. The English museum Hauser + Wirth is allowing free streaming of the film, Five Seasons: the Gardens of Piet Oudolf, until midnight on Sunday. Here is the link. This will be such a treat, and I am going to watch it for the second time. Inspiration is at hand.

Order fruit trees. Our good friends at Champlain Orchards have started a fruit tree nursery. You can place an order now for pick up on May 2. Because of our curbside and home delivery system, we are not able to sell trees at this point, so we encourage you to support Andrea, Bill, Rupert and Rosa in their budding family nursery operation. It is a great selection with varieties that are often difficult to find. Here is the link.

Think ahead to gift giving for Mother’s Day May 10th. We ask that you place orders by Wednesday, May 7th to ensure pick up or delivery before May 10th. Some suggestions:

• Our wooden crates with potting soil and 6 to 9 herb plants for a DIY herb garden kit.

• A digital gift card - these can be ordered in any amount, and make a great gift anytime. Maybe someone you know could use a little cheering up right now? The digital format makes it very easy to give and share a little plant love.

• An herb or flowering planter pre-made for you ahead of time and ready to shine.

• Succulents or houseplants for bringing a little joy to the indoor gardener.

And finally, we would like to let you know about our Grow it Forward program. Every year we donate thousands of plants to area non-profits and schools for garden education and food security projects. This year, the need is greater than ever, and we are growing extra plants specifically to donate. If you would like to contribute to this effort, please consider a small contribution. And if you or someone you know would like to grow food this year, but cannot afford the seeds or plants, please reach out. We are here to help, no questions asked, and will do what we can to ensure that anyone who wants to grow a vegetable garden can do so.

Wishing you all health and happiness in the garden,

Julie

New Normal

We are having fun teaching gardening workshops as webinars, and creating beautiful workspaces in each greenhouse. But we miss you!

Hi gardening friends,

Under normal circumstances, yesterday would have been our opening day. And instead of throwing a big annual opening day party with Caledonia Spirits cocktails and Farmers and Foragers’ food truck and Vadeboncoeur pastries, the red wagon crew cracked open a couple of bottles of wine at lunch, sat 10 to 20 feet apart. We cheered each other on. It was the closest we have come to a group lunch, usually the highlight of our days, in over a month. Our crew is just incredible and we have been working safely and extra hard to get plants to you this year. The online store is a big success and the curbside pick ups and home deliveries have been smooth for the most part. Please give Jayson a giant thumbs up as he helps get plants to your car when you come to pick up. He is new this year and has jumped in 100% to make sure our curbside pick up and delivery systems are clear to customers. If you call with a question, it is likely Jayson you are speaking with and he is answering questions like a true veteran even though it is only his second week.

As I have promised many of you, we will use the newsletter to give you updates about what is available. I update the online store every few days, so if you don’t see what you are looking for, just check back.

New this week in the online store:

• organic bagged seed potatoes (bulk seed potatoes coming soon)

• bundles of perennial plants that are design kits for an instant garden

• asparagus crowns

• strawberries in both plant form and as bare roots

• lots of cold hardy herbs

• cold hardy vegetable bundles

• artichokes, and a few other veggies (LOTS more coming soon!)

• pansies

• seeds (we are temporarily sold out of many varieties but getting another shipment soon)

• bagged compost (potting soil is arriving next week)

• gloves, tools, and gardening products, including BT for protecting brassicas from cabbage moth caterpillars.

• Gift Cards

• Webinar registration - upcoming topics include Strawberries 101 and Asparagus 101.

We are so grateful for all of your support and for your increased enthusiasm in gardening.

In parting, I would like to recognize the hard work that Lily Belisle, our retail manager, has done this past month to shift our focus from a physical retail greenhouse to an online store. She has learned all kinds of new skills, taught them to all of us, and done it with a smile on her face the whole time. Here she is yesterday, picking orders in the imminent snow storm, happy as a clam. Thanks, Lily.

Thank you, Lily! And all of Team Red Wagon.

I will do another Facebook Live Stream today at 10 am.

Hope to see you then! We miss you all very much, and it is nice to connect over social media. Let us know how you are doing with your garden, tag us in garden photos, and most importantly, enjoy watching your garden unfold and grow.

Sending good thoughts,

Julie