Spring flowering Dutch bulbs

are always the first sign of Spring. Today I noticed crocus bulbs pushing their way out of the ground. Wow, January 22nd seems early, but that does not mean they will be blooming in a few days. My guess is that by the 3rd week in February I should start seeing these miracles starting to show come color. If we have days that are sunny and in the 40's and 50's they should be showing their color by then. My tulips are still asleep in the soil, or at least busy developing a root system. I am sure that if I dug down a couple of inches they would be right there.

What's going on here?

Every January at the Garden Center allows us the opportunity to paint walls, reseal the floor, do those yearly maintenance items before the next seasons merchandise arrives. This year, we are taking it a step further at our store at 2707 W. 13th. (Our West store, althought the 'Ridge' store is further west)

If you have ever worked with both pegboard and slatwall, you know how much nicer the slat wall is. Dad had custom pegboard installed at the 'West' store in the 60's sometime. I need to check with Mom to see when that actually happened. It went from idea to tearing out the pegboard in a matter of minutes. My idea was to think about it and do it next year before the Christmas set-up in October. I didn't even get a vote. Within an hour, most of the old was down and the cinder block from yrs ago was showing. The old stories then came with all the 'stuff' we found behind and under the shelving. Wooden flats, Christmas arrangements, cigarette butts, I love telling the employees how things were done in the past. I can see their thoughts in their faces, 'Yeah, and I bet you walked to school uphill, both ways, in the snow too, Marty."

Anyway, here is the old wall from the original 'Orie Johnson' building that is pre 1960 construction. Check back and see how the project progresses.

Indoor Gardening Seminar

If you are tired of those south of the border grown tomatoes and want to learn how to grow your own, then this Saturday at 10 at our store at 2707 W. 13 is the place to be. Here you will see our hydroponic lettuce and tomatoes that we have been growing the past few weeks in our indoor gardening department. We will cover the basics of indoor gardening for the beginning gardener. Many people start by growing in pots in a potting mix, then move on to a hydroponic system. We have an excellent selection of herbs at all 3 stores that do very well in an indoor garden. If you don't make the seminar, be sure and stop by anytime and check out our indoor gardening department.