Come into Oakridge and sign up for the Junior Gardeners Club for your kids ages 5-12. The cost is $5/child and includes 3 Saturday morning sessions, starting April 9th. We have two age dependent classes: ages 5-8 are from 9:15-10:15, and ages 9-12 from 10:30-11:30. The planning is in the works and I’ll give you a little snipit of what to expect in a few days. I can guarantee there will be lots of smiles, giggles and quite possibly some soil flying! Tracey and Karli are running the program this year, both with a love for children, and the gift of teaching! It’ll prove to be a great experience for everyone.
I’ve compiled a short list that can get you started. It is going to be a beautiful week and I plan on getting outside myself and hopefully checking off a one or two of the items. It’s the winter cleanup outside around the house that is the most dreaded, and that’ll come first for me. On the plus side, my boys Samuel and Elliott are having a blast being out in the fresh air.
2011 Spring Gardening To Do List
*Start planning / gathering ideas for your container gardening
*Start planning the layout of your vegetable garden
*Consider raised bed gardening, especially in wet areas
*Clean up winter debris from around all plants
*Prune trees and summer blooming shrubs
*Plant summer blooming bulbs
*Cut back ornamental grasses to approx. 4″
*Remember to apply dormant oil sprays to your fruit trees while they are dormant ( before any buds open up )
As a side note, the concert this weekend was a huge success! Everyone had a wonderful time. I wasn’t able to make it (out working at my day job), and so I’m going to find out more details that I can pass along to you, hopefully with some pictures as well.
This Saturday, March 26th, Red Moon Road is hitting Oakridge. The Winnipeg-based band is inspired by the lake, campfires, outdoor living and kitchen jam parties. Red Moon Road is a down-home, accoustic folk and roots band with the right mix of East coast and country charm. Get your tickets at Oakridge, or call 326-1015 to reserve your seats! It’s always a great time, come on out!
Dressing your table has never been more fun! We have gorgeous 100% cotton Batik-style tablecloths from India that would be the envy of your guests. Together with our “wipeable, but doesn’t look like it” vinyl placemats that coordinate with colorful striped and floral cloth napkins, your look is clomplete. All of this is gracing our display table right now and would look equally as great in a sunroom or on a corner decorative table. (Of course it would look great in your dining room as well) And to use on your newly dressed table, choose from YEDI’s colorfully coordinated coffee cup and saucer sets to complete the look. What a great way to celebrate the beauty of Easter!
I’m currently working on putting together a couple of blogs about different Easter arrangements. I’m going to feature some of our put-together pots and baskets, as well as some do-it yourself projects, like growing your own wheat grass, to fill your kids easter baskets!
It’s not too late to come in and get your favorite irish specialty drink. I’m a day late, but Happy St.Patty’s Day, none the less. I had an Irish Coffee yesterday and it was divine. The hint of kahlua with the irish cream and whipped cream on top, ummmm. Pair it with a key lime cheesecake, and it’s heavenly. You can tell I have a sweet tooth, and love my coffee. I was wanting to cut out sugar for lent this year. Instead, I decided to ramp up my fitness routine and start running. So far so good, although it’s a hassle bundling up the kids when I take them with me. Spring is on the way, and the sun is shining, that’s my mantra.
A few pictures to show you that we are working hard and not just having coffee break. It’s convenient having The Garden Store and Cafe right here….and some of our regulars would say that they see us drinking coffee, um, some of the time. Erna, Rita, Pierre, and Theresa are potting roses and Marianne is seeding. I’ll continue to update you on their work ethic, and keep a little journal on the planting process as well, showing you a little of the behind the scenes action. I figure by May the ladies will be applying a little more makeup and checking their hair, knowing their pictures will be online! Or they may just get better at avoiding the camera.
If you’ve ever seen the Rachael Ray show, you know that she is incredibly good at making family friendly food that tastes delicious. You’ll also know that her line of cookware and accessories has exploded, and you’d recognize it anywhere. We’re now carrying the “Bubble & Brown” ovel casseroles, the larger “Casserround”, which comes with a lid, her large lasagna lover 9x13pan, and her “Souped Up” single serving (18oz) casserole. Her contemporary design stoneware is convenient, versatile and looks great, straight from the oven to your table. The glazed interior is nonporous, so foods won’t interact with eachother. And the wide handle holes allow you to remove the stoneware from the oven even while doning bulky pot holders. Two available colors: red and chocolate
I was trying to decide what to write for my blog today when Pierre mentioned how busy we’ve been lately at lunch. So, I thought I’d write a little bit about what we serve at the Garden Store and Cafe. It’s a quaint menu with a choice of two homemade soups that you can combine with the fresh wrap or sandwich of the day. Or enjoy it with our cheddar and basil scone, which is my favorite, full of buttery cheesy goodness. Just to name a few of the soups that we offer, we have tomato tortellini, cabbage roll, white bean, split pea and ham, pasta e fagioli and minestroni.
If you know that you’re a group coming in for lunch, give us a call, and we’ll reserve you a table.
We started in the greenhouse this Monday and it feels so good to be back. We’ve had lots of customers coming in asking for potting soil and we now have some available! All of our stock was frozen solid, and we spent some time breaking it apart and it has thawed out. It’s time to get your hands dirty, whether it’s planting your vegetable seeds indoors or transplanting/propagating your houseplants. Now let’s hope the weather starts cooperating…a slow and steady melt with a beautiful sun-filled April and May. Not too much rain, just enough to get everything blooming and the grass green again. Is that too much to ask?
Invite modern design to afternoon tea with this playful Tea Tower. Streamlined and cleverly designed, this all-in-one set brews the perfect, soothing cup without hogging precious counter space. Each piece of the tower–saucer, teapot, mug, creamer and sugar bowl–is made from fine porceline and is microwave and dishwasher safe. It makes an exciting housewarming or hostess gift for the tea lover. Teapot, creamer and sugar bowl come with individual lids.
