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!