Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Hello Spring!

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Hello Spring!: "I am finally feeling as though things are settling down a little bit. This has been an exceptionally busy spring and I am glad to say that ..."

Hello Spring!

I am finally feeling as though things are settling down a little bit. This has been an exceptionally busy spring and I am glad to say that I think we are getting a handle on things. Our vegetables are now officially certified organic and looking soooo beautiful. It has been a long journey since October when I first started growing them. This morning, while watering, I was reflecting on how scared I was that I was going to fail when I started the whole venture. Yet, I was so exstatic at how fabulous they all looked. I never could have done it without Tanya. She came to us at just the perfect time and helped me pull everything together. She has now become our official greenhouse manager and I am so happy to have her help. I do not know what I would have done without her the past couple of months, she is like my right arm. We communicate well and both are on the same page about what needs to happen in the nursery. It is nice to know that there is someone there to cover me in the areas that are lacking due to my awesome schedule! Which brings me to Suzanne and Anna, to rocking chicks that are successfully helping me run Flutterby Gardens Landscaping while working at NEON. These two lovely ladies keep the crew moving and the clients happy and again, I do not know what I would do without them. Anna is new to us this year and is going to be running  her own show with mowing, personal gardening, sprinkler work and tree pruning. She is a go getter and I have full confidence that she will take this position and run with it.

          

On Earth Day, in cooperation with, ICAN, a local non -profit I helped Washington Elementary School students plant a community garden that I had been planning with them over the last couple of months. This is a project that I have been doing for the Ada County Master Gardener program. It was so rewarding to walk them through the planning and planting of the square foot beds and to see our visions come to life when the children came and helped us to plant. They planted violas, potatoes, peas, rhubarb, spearmint and strawberries, as well as, planted seeds of beans, tomatoes and squash that they will put into the beds when they return in a month. Channels 2, 6 and 7 were there and they interviewed the kids. It was way too cute! I am super excited about this project and can not wait for the next phase.

On Saturday, in cooperation with Idaho's Bounty, NEON held our first annual Easter egg hunt! We all had a blast. The Easter bunny himslef even made a special appearance and took pictures with alll of the children and their families. I think that everyone had a great time. We should do it again next year! Thanks again to Idaho's Bounty for supplying the fresh eggs and to Bittercreek/Red Feather for boiling them.

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Whew.

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Whew.: "Another crazy week and this is just a sign of the times to come. This week we planted more peppers and tomatoes at the North End Organic Nur..."

Whew.

Another crazy week and this is just a sign of the times to come. This week we planted more peppers and tomatoes at the North End Organic Nursery. We moved all artichokes, violas, peas, swiss chard, stevia and spearamint out into greenhouse #2. It is starting to fill up and is looking so good!! The nasturtium trays and multi packs are starting to emerge and the trailing petunias are filling out quite nicely. I restarted 2 trays of marigolds and the have come out quite beautifully, they will make a beautiful 4 inch plant. This upcoming week we will be putting together our multi packs of flowers, basil's and lettuce's. We will finally be getting our annual baskets put together as well. We are having a 1 year celebration, or spring sale the weekend of the 19th and we need to get the nursery put back together in time for it, as well as, getting the remainder of our spring bulbs planted in the front beds. We also recieved a shipment of IDAHO grown fruit trees from Clayton Nursery. The trees loeeked beautiful and will be available for sale next week. There is always something fun going on at the nursery. On Thursday,. I gave a talk to the 4 Seasons Gardening Club on tree and shrub pruning for my Master Gardener credits. Then on Saturday, we sponsered the Horticultural Symposium held by The Idaho Horticulture Society. It was great to see some familiar faces and to hear others views on edible landscaping and xeriscaping. Many thanks to Elmer Hurd for giving us the oppurtunity to sponser you.
Flutterby Gardens Landscaping is off and rolling. Randy and the crew were busy with spring cleanups, as Suzanne, Tanya and I layed out and planted one of our clients homes in a square foot garden. What a great project this has been, from the design of the edible landscape, to the design and planting of the vegetable beds in a square foot garden. I am very excited about this project and can not wait to see it through the year. We will be starting a new garden this week at another clients house. This was a project from early spring of 2010. We removed all of the sod from the back yard and added a drought tolerant, edible garden. We planned and planted the vegetable beds last year and are very excited to come back and do it again. We will be working with her to plant the garden, we love to work with our clients and to share some knowledge that will help them to prosper in their yard.
Well, I am off now I have some plant tags to finish! Until next week!

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Busy week

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Busy week: "This was a very productive week, I am happy to say that I accomplished all goals. Well, I did not do it all by myself, I did get h..."

Busy week

This was a very productive week, I am happy to say that I accomplished all goals. Well, I did not do it all by myself, I did get help from a few really good people.
For Flutterby Gardens Landscaping, I had 10 appointments! Spring is quickly approaching and people are starting to get their ducks in a row. We have 5 new jobs on the books, a design underway and our first mowing contract of the year!! I can see good things to come, we just need to keep pushing forward. I know that all of the hard work will pay off and our reputation for working hard, being honest and dependable will show through in the end.
For the North End Organic Nursery, I nailed down my plant orders through 3 local vendors, a relief for the spring. Randy and Lindsay helped me pot up 512 'Delta Blue' pansy, 228  ORGANIC 'Green Globe' artichoke, 228 ORGANIC stevia and 228 spearmint. Randy also helped me to move all organically grown cold crops outside along with the johnny jump ups, bowles black viola, historic pansy and wildflower mix. Tanya was kind enough to help me get the bare root blackberries and raspberries settled in. While inside, I started 10 trays of various hot peppers, nasturtium packs and spicy mesclun packs. When you go out into the greenhouse it is almost full and that makes me smile. All of the hard work since October is starting to pay off. I think it is going to be a great spring.

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Please Helius

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Please Helius: "I can feel spring edging it's way closer and closer. There is the first hint of pollen in local bee boxes, this is a sign that Maples are bl..."

Please Helius

I can feel spring edging it's way closer and closer. There is the first hint of pollen in local bee boxes, this is a sign that Maples are blooming. As my daughter and I walk along the canal by our house looking for ducks, we see the beautiful emerging foliage of the cattails and yesterday, we even saw a dandelion in bloom. The crocus and daffodils are beginning to wake up from their winter slumber and there are robins looking for worms in the yard. I know that spring is just around the corner and I am itching for it to get here. I am begging Helios, the Greek god of sun, to please shine his light in our direction. Please. I think that Boise is ready for it.
Another sign that the weather is changing is the phones at Flutterby Gardens Landscaping, they seem to be ringing all the time. This year we have expanded and added on a crew that will mow lawns. We will be offering personal gardening services, edible landscape planning, planting and maintaining and arborist services. We had many requests for the all in one package in the past and decided that this was the year to do it. 
The North End Organic Nursery is starting to see more and more friendly faces. There are a lot of people who really want to learn how to produce food for themselves. It is great to hear all of their stories and to help educate the ones who are trying to learn. Thank goodness, before the weather got down to 15 degrees, Tanya and I moved all of the flowers back inside and put the veggies in the little greenhouses. We were able to save almost everything, although we still did loose a tray of marigolds and a few nasturtiums, but we can recover from that. Our next project will be moving out the trays of mesclun mix and onions that have come up, so we will have room to start more annuals, spinach, early tomatoes and a few spicy mesclun mix. We will then be constructing hanging baskets, this year they will have an added twist. I can not wait to see how they turn out! We have started the paperwork to get our organic certification for the vegetable starts that I am growing this year. We are hoping to be organically certified before the season starts. So excited!!
Another sign that spring is here is is that the team at Sustainable Growth has started their applications. They were in Hidden Springs today doing their first round of organic pre-emergent weed control and fertilization.  What a great community, making sure that all of their commond grounds and play areas are managed organically. Sustainable Growth is a great way to get your yard ready for the spring and still know that your family and pets will be safe when they go out to play.

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Biological pest control

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Biological pest control: "Serious biological pest control There's organic, then there is straight-up hard-core food-chain organic. Check out our carnivorous plants ..."

Biological pest control

Serious biological pest control

There's organic, then there is straight-up hard-core food-chain organic. Check out our carnivorous plants working in our indoor greenhouses to eliminate soil gnats and any other flying critters wanting to hang out. They are getting fat and happy.

By: North End Organic Nursery

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Made it through

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Made it through: "Last week, when we had 60 degree temperatures, we moved about 150 flats of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, chives, lettuce and assor..."

Made it through

Last week, when we had 60 degree temperatures, we moved about 150 flats of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, onions, chives, lettuce and assorted flowers out into the greenhouses. Of course, two days later the weather dropped by 20 degrees and our nights were down to 26. Boy, was I freaking out, worrying that all of the crops that I have beeen growing since October would perish in the cold.
I am now happy to report that everything has made it through!! What a relief! I can breath again. This opened up quite a bit of shelf space in the upstairs greenhouses, so I am now able to start more vegetables and flowers.
Today I started 9 trays of valencia and walla walla onions and potted up 6 trays of Johnny Jump Up's. This is the first time that I have grown vegetables for retail sale. I have been very worried that I would not be able to produce enough, or the crops that I was growing would not be big enough to sell. At this point, things seem to be moving along smoothly and I am feeling like I can relax a little bit. Keep your fingers crossed!
We also had a visit today from my professor at Boise State University, John Dodson. It was great to see him and get his advice on our operation. I really respect his opinion and feel very fortunate that he is willing to help me.

Spring is coming, spring is coming!

Spring is quickly approaching, call now to schedule –

Landscape design & consultation

-        LEED, xeriscape, firewise & edible garden design

Pruning & maintenance

 - SPRING CLEANUP – get your gardens ready for the year.

Paver & flagstone patios

Sprinkler repair & installation

Water features

Rock work

Retainer walls

Erosion & sediment control

Personal gardening services

– BUILD YOUR OWN PROGRAM

Flutterby Gardens Landscaping, LLC

2350 Hill Rd

Boise Idaho 83702

(208)571-2170

flutterbygardens@earthlink.net

http://www.goflutterby.com/

2350 Hill Road – Boise, Id 83702

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Greening your world

Flutterby Gardens via the North End Organic Nursery: Greening your world: "As spring approaches, I begin to think of all the beauty that is about to envelope our earth and what we at Flutterby Gardens Landscaping ca..."

Greening your world

As spring approaches, I begin to think of all the beauty that is about to envelope our earth and what we at Flutterby Gardens Landscaping can do to continue to preserve it. Every landscape we do is approached with the thought of preservation and recycling, we keep the the plant material or landscape features that work with the yard, then we recycle the parts of the yard that are unuseable. After the removal is done we redo existing irrigation systems or add in an efficient watering system. This helps to cut down on water bills by reducing evaporation and unnecessary overwatering. The next step is adding water efficient plants and sod. This again cuts down on water and the need to fertilize, as well as, attracts beneficial insects and wildlife into your yard. The last step is a good mulch cover, whether it be bark, compost or rock, mulch helps to keep moisture in the soil and weed growth down. Give us a call today and let us help transform your yard into a water effiecient paradise.

Made it through

Boy, was I nervous this morning when I saw that it was only 26 degrees outside. Yesterday we transfered about 40 trays of lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage and kale to the outer greenhouses, which are not heated. We actually put up little greenhouses inside the big greenhouses to keep the plants in. I am happy to report that everything we put out made it through the night! This gets me soooo excited. We are now able to start a ton of new annuals and vegetables for the spring! Yeah!! Today Tanya spent the day potting up more broccoli and cabbage into coco coir pots, as well as, started a couple more trays of spinach. Today is one of those days that lets you know spring is on the way! Super excited!!!! I can not wait to see where this year takes us.

Transplant day

What a beautiful sunny day it is here at the North End Organic Nursery. It is so nice to walk in to all of my little plants smiling at me in the morning. The carniverous plants have never been happier. They are eating the soil gnats like it is going out of style. The best insect control that a girl could ask for.
We received our mini greenhouses yesterday and put them up this morning in greenhouse #2. We are now able to move over 40 trays of lettuce, broccoli, onions, leeks, cabbage, brussel sprouts and cauliflower out so they can begin to harden off. Of course, I am really nervous about this, I do not want to lose any of the vegetable starts.
On a good note, it opened up a lot of room that I can now fill with new starts. So we started more 2  more trays of 5-color silverbeet and more early tomatoes. The greenhouses will soon be full again. The growing season is under way and I am feeling good about the numbers of plants that we have. Yet, I remain cautiously optimistic, because there are still so many things that could go wrong.

Sick day #2

Well, it looks as though we are going to stay home again today. Isabella still has a fever and my head feels like it is floating. No worries though, I can get some work done from home. I am in the process of putting together all of our orders for plants for the North End Oganic Nursery this spring! It is fun looking through all of the availabilities from nursery's. There are so many plants! A girl could get lost! I am really excited that I have found a few Idaho nurserys that are going to be able to supply a lot of what I need. I will also be spending time for Flutterby Gardens Landscaping plotting out one of our clients vegetable beds. These clients are super fun to work with  and I appreciate their desire to do things the right way. At the end of the season last year, we removed all of the grass in their back yard and added an edible, xeriscape that surrounds multiple raised vegetable beds. So, this spring we get to plan out those vegetable beds, as well as, plant and maintain them throughout the year! I am super excited about this project, I love to get my hands dirty and it is something that Suzanne and I will be working on together. I think that it will be very rewarding for the both of us. We are going to have a great year!

Sick day

What a beautiful day it is today. Unfortunately we are stuck inside the house, everyone seems to have gotten the crud. Ugh. So, I decided to stay home today and take care of my ailing family rather than going to Master Gardener class and to work at the North End Organic Nursery. Thank goodness for our new employee Tanya. She has been a big help with the seedlings this week. Today she planted 8 trays of curled parsely, cabbage and lettuce. It is nice to know that I have someone to help with the work when  I cannot be there. It is going to be a great year!