May is my favorite time of year. By this time I have my gardens pretty well cleaned up and I can begin to think about all the beautiful annuals I will add this year. Containers are a favorite of mine and each year I try to make them different. Let me share some of my favorite plants and maybe I can inspire you to begin a new planting adventure.
April is the month of great change in our gardens. It is also a huge change at Pahl’s Market. We have the greenhouses filling up with beautiful plants and the market is bursting at the seams with all kinds of treasures. All of our favorite seasonal staff is returning and we begin again.
Let’s warm up! March brings us a variety of temperatures and a mixed bag of precipitation. We can enjoy calm warm sunny days and survive blasting cold winds with raging snow in the same month. I think that is what makes Minnesota folks so tough and adaptable. One sure reprieve from the weather is the snug cozy feeling in a heated greenhouse. The smell of potting soil and the first visions of green and even some color will fill your senses with hope for days to come. As gardeners we are a hopeful lot and Spring brings a sparkle of joy to our days.
What does a gardener do during the winter in Minnesota? Well, we have a few choices. We can curl up with a good gardening magazine by a cozy fire. We can also start to look over all the seed catalogs coming in the mail this month. January is a good time to do some planning for the next gardening season. I take out my notebook and look at scribbles I made about the past years successes and failures. For sure I will use more of some annuals and maybe not so many of some others. We all must remember that each growing season is different, so maybe some things that didn’t look as we had hoped may be worth a second try.
I know, this is a gardening article, but isn’t December the month to eat cookies? What a glorious, festive time of year. Yum!
In reality, it’s a lovely time of year to decorate for the season with fresh evergreens and a little Holiday bling! We carry a full line of fresh evergreens for you to use in your decorations. The fragrance of the pine boughs and balsam pieces can’t be beat.
Though November fills our thoughts with wonderful turkey dinners and great family times, at Pahl’s we are already in the busy Christmas mode. Our decorative evergreens are arriving, the market looks like a Christmas wonderland, we begin the sprucetip workshops, and the production of our custom line of Christmas pots is in full swing. The change in our world is a big one. We also look forward to closing the big front doors of the market and turning on the heat. It gets cozy and festive for all who enter our store and greenhouse.
October is beautiful Autumn color, raking leaves, chilly evenings, cozy fires, soup in the crockpot, pumpkins and mums by your front door, Halloween treats, and time to slow down and settle in for the season ahead. I love October!! It just feels good to enjoy the change.
All right, we know you may want to relax and get cozy by a warm fire as nights cool down. Gardening chores are really at a minimum in September. Some things are slowing down but others are just taking off. Watch for asters, turtlehead, and perennial mums to begin to bloom. The vine “Hops” forms its beautiful seeds that flutter in the gentle breeze. I think the biggest show of all comes from perennial grasses. From the wheat like tops of feather reed grasses to the large plumes of the huge miscanthus varieties, they are all in their glory in September.
August is the month to sit in the shade with a glass of ice tea and observe the mature garden you have brought to life again this year. Gardens are amazing as they change and grow all summer.
A few of my favorite long blooming perennials are now in full swing. Rudbeckia Goldstrum (black-eyed susan) is going strong as well as all the beautiful garden phlox. At Pahl’s, we especially like the flame series garden phlox. They grow to be 14 inches in height and are very resistant to powdery mildew. These are beautiful plants that bloom for 6 to 8 weeks every summer.
Welcome to sunny July. Here we go with the height of summer. Barbecues, root beer floats, smores, and colorful gardens. Life is good!
In July we begin to enjoy the benefits of our spring garden chores. Your annual flowers should be thriving and beautiful, and your vegetable gardens will be bringing food to the table.
