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Collier's Garden Scoop
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March 2017
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I love spring anywhere, but if I could choose
I would always greet it in a garden.
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'Lemon Ball' and 'Blue Tears' sedums
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Celebrating 20 Years
1997 - 2017
This month, in addition to welcoming spring and the green growth that will soon burst from soil and limb, we are celebrating our 20th year in business! We could not have done it without our loyal customers- thank you for your support through these last two decades. We look forward to many more years of helping you grow your garden!
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March Hours
Monday - Saturday 9 to 5
Open until 5:30 starting Monday, March 13th
Now open Sundays 1 to 5
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March Madness, Contained
Once March arrives the gardeners among us get a bit impatient for the spring planting season to officially begin. Relieve your spring fever with an early container planting using one or more of our favorite annuals for cool weather. These beauties won't be bothered by a light freeze (28 degrees), and will continue to thrive until temps heat up into the 80s and 90s.
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Geraniums
In addition to tolerating a light freeze, geraniums will continue to grow through summer if given some afternoon shade.
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Nemesia
These delicate early spring blooms are lightly fragrant and tend to spill over the edge of containers.
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Petunias
If you enjoy growing petunias then now is the time! While the newer trailing types tolerate heat, the old-fashioned upright varieties thrive in cool spring weather and are best planted now.
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Snapdragons
One of the most fanciful flowers around, snapdragons are a must-have for the cottage or children's garden. They will produce an abundance of blooms spring through early summer.
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The
average last frost in central Alabama is March 20th.
The
latest recorded frost was April 23rd.
Most gardeners agree that it is
usually safe to plant all annuals
by April 15th.
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New Item:
Hewell's Pottery
We are happy to have added these lovely pots to our inventory, and proud to support another Southern family business. The Hewell family of Gillsville, Georgia has produced handmade clay products since 1850! Nathaniel Hewell began by making crocks, churns, jugs and pitchers before the start of the Civil War. Several decades later, when refrigeration came along and these staple kitchen items became less necessary, the Hewell's expanded their terra cotta pot production, for which they are famous today. Using 12,000 pounds of clay each week, dug from the banks of the Hudson River in Madison County, Georgia, the Hewell family continues the tradition begun 7 generations ago. Each fall, thousands of visitors turn out for the "Turning & Burning" festival at the Hewell's Gillsville headquarters. These hand-turned pots make excellent gifts and will be a special addition to any southerner's garden.
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Handmade History
By the end of the 16th century, bee 'skeps' were common in the kitchen gardens of colonial America. The honey and wax provided by bees was indispensable to the settlers who had many uses for both. Straw skeps were most commonly used. To attract bees, lemon balm was often rubbed on the inside of the skep. Bee skeps had two crucial disadvantages that caused them to be replaced by wooden hive boxes: the honey and wax were very difficult to harvest and the bees often died in the process. The Hewell family produces their own terra cotta version of this interesting piece of Americana- a historical novelty that is sure to be a conversation-starter in the modern kitchen or cottage garden.
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Ready to Start Digging?
It's still a little early to plant veggies and most spring annuals,
but March is an excellent time to plant hardier things that won't mind a late freeze. We currently have a great selection of trees, shrubs, vines, groundcovers and herbs and our perennial inventory will expand dramatically in the coming weeks.
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'Silver Mist' Mondo Grass
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Trees
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Groundcovers
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Vines
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Delectable Edible:
Strawberries
The cutest baby strawberry plants have arrived, with buds, blooms and a few tiny berries to boot! 'Berries Galore' is a relatively new variety bred for disease resistance, as well as ornamental qualities such as pretty blooms and deep green, glossy foliage, making it a great variety to grow in a pot or hanging basket on your patio or in a flowerbed. 'Berries Galore' is an ever-bearing strawberry, producing a large crop in early summer and smaller crops throughout summer and fall. Since strawberries are hardy to temps in the low 20s they can be planted as soon as you'd like. Part to full sun is a must for maximum berry production. Strawberries do not ripen after harvest so wait to pick until they are plump and fully colored.
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Collier's Nursery
205-822-3133
2904 Old Rocky Ridge Road
Birmingham, AL 35243
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