March 2024 Newsletter

March is shaping up to be a busy month at the nursery! We’re still working on the brand new layout for the retail showcases, and both the new shrub showcase and perennial displays are looking great already! We’re really excited to start showing off the finalized layout to a new crowd, and celebrate the official start of spring, and the Unity Spring Open House on Saturday, March 23rd will be the perfect occasion for both! Stop in for pastries, coffee, garden needs, and a chance to win some beautiful planters. Check our Facebook event page for more details!

Filling up our new 'Shrub Showcase' with overwintered shrubs

New tables in tunnel ready for herb & veggie plants.

 

In addition to layout changes and our open house, March will also mark the first few shipments of new plant material coming in, and we’ll have a lot to show off this spring season. You may have heard about the new, showy hellebore cultivars we just brought in at the end of February, but the new list of native straight species and cultivars plus a restocked supply of long-time favorites are sure to impress all Spring long.

 

Finally, Friday, March 15th marks the official start of our first in-person herb and vegetable plant availability, with spinach and lettuce greens, swiss chard, kale, bok choy, and broccoli/broccolini becoming available for early season planting; the following Monday, the 18th, we see our first herbs out in the retail marketplace, and you can stop in to pick up Chamomile, Chives, Cilantro, Marjoram, Parsley, and Sorrel! If you haven’t pre-ordered any herbs or veggies online now is still a great time to start planning your garden ahead of the curve, plus you can reserve crowd favorite vegetable plants like Sungold Cherry Tomatoes or Flavorburst Bell Peppers that might sell out otherwise!

 Mason Broderick, Nursery Sales & Production Associate
Chamomile plants in greenhouse

 Cilantro plants in greenhouse

In addition to bringing in plant material that is finished and ready to sell, March is also the time when we bring in liners or plant material to pot up and grow out. We've been busy seeding many perennials and grasses in the greenhouse, but some species are hard to grow from seed and other times we are looking to grow cultivars of certain species, so we bring in either potted or bare root liners. Below left are some of the perennial plugs we just brought in. Below right is a photo of a new species we are excited to grow and offer this year: Viola walteri 'Silver Gem'. Some other perennials that we are growing for the first time this year include: Aster ericoides 'Snow Flurry', Aster divaricatus 'Eastern Star', Heuchera americana 'Dale's Strain', Liatris spicata 'Kobold', Phlox divaricata 'Blue Moon', Phlox stolonifera 'Sherwood Purple', Solidago canadensis 'Little Miss Sunshine', Solidago rugosa 'Fireworks', Solidago sphacelata 'Golden Fleece', Tiarella cordifolia, Geranium maculatum, and Polemonium 'Stairway to Heaven'. We are hoping to have many of these ready late April to May, so stay tuned.

 Theresa Mycek, Production Manager

 

Perennial liners ready to be potted up.

Viola walteri 'Silver Gem,' a new species we are growing this year.
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