Get your gardening fix during winter
The woes of winter weather can easily put a damper on the gardening spirit. Without flower bulbs to plant and grass to cut, green thumbs quickly become anxious for nicer days.
Tools are sharpened, birds are watched and leaves are raked, when the ground is dry enough, to occupy time. But there is simply not much that can be done outside during cold months in the Hudson Valley. The lack of sunshine and warmth also takes a toll on business for local greenhouses and nurseries.
“This time of year is not generally super customer busy, but work busy for us,” said Lorraine Bono of The New Corn Crib Greenhouse in Poughkeepsie. Because foot traffic is not heavy, most shops close for a few weeks to prep for a long-awaited gardening season when springtime rolls around. “We transplant thousands of seedlings and rooted cuttings into hanging baskets or potted annuals for spring sales,” she said.
Adams Fairacre Farms has taken the initiative to give eager gardeners that spring feeling they are looking for about two months before it arrives. The Annual Lawn & Garden Show at all four locations is visited by thousands each year between February and March. The gardening, fencing and power equipment departments collaborate to create beautiful displays.
Randy Padgett, the nursery manager at Adams in Poughkeepsie for 27 years, remembers the show already being established when he came onboard. “It started as a way to show off our landscaping departments and has morphed into an annual Hudson Valley tradition,” he said.
Visions for an array of flowers, walkways and waterfalls are designed before the holiday season. Mulch and a variety of vibrant bulbs are then laid a week prior to the show dates. Tulips, mums and daffodils are supplied from Canada, while annual flowers and spruces are grown nearby in the Tri-State region. These plants are kept dormant until appropriate weather arrives and shelves are stocked.
Padgett sees a noticeable increase in business during the two-week stretch of the display. “If you are looking out the windows and all you see is white,” he said, “coming here to see beautiful flowers and hear birds chirping is exciting.”
A recent $5 million renovation to the Poughkeepsie property has also lent a hand to promoting and expanding the garden center. Opening a fifth store in the near future is a possibility to commemorate the 100th anniversary of Adams’ inaugural season in 1919.
This is for good reason, as calls start flowing in throughout March to determine the inventory that customers want. A portion of Adams’ nursery stock has already arrived from the west coast and Carolinas.
Each location, also including Newburgh, Kingston and Wappingers Falls, offers giveaways and interactive workshops to attract customers. “The food shows bring people in because there are samples and our chefs from the kitchen teach people how to cook,” said Nicole DeGroodt, store manager of the flagship location in Poughkeepsie.
As balmy months inch closer, florists are doing their part to curb the limitations for those with an urge to grow a flower or vegetable garden. Though the frigid weather outside might not yet permit it, avid gardeners and landscapers do not have to look far to find a breath of spring before the snow melts.
