At night I dream myself to sleep with flowers. Sometimes I go through the alphabet, A to Z, asters to zinnias, buttercups to yarrow. After spending too much time with my phone and computer too late into the evening, I also find going through my flower books before bed helps me relax. (My current favorite is Floret Farm’s A Year in Flowers, by West Coast flower farmer Erin Benzakein.) But if I still have trouble falling asleep, that’s when I resort to the flower alphabet.
Without the daffodils on my desk, these weeks of coronavirus quarantine would be far less tolerable. I’ve been snipping stems with unopened buds, 10 or 12 at a time, arranging them in a cobalt blue mason jar, and letting them open inside. They last almost a week, and then I start again. I am greedy, I know, but fortunately we have a spree of daffodils running along an old chain link fence that used to pen goats. The daffys don’t do much to improve the look of the fence, but in their rustic vase on my desk they are lifesaving.
Last week I scored a whimsical clutch of tulips and anemones at the Grey Barn farm stand. They were a gift for a friend, but I was greedy and did not part with them until the next day.
Just today Linda Alley posted a photo of a mayflower (aka trailing arbutus or Epigaea repens, the state flower of Massachusetts) in bloom on Facebook, and I rushed outside to see if I could find a flower. We have these wild groundcover plants all over the place and the tiny little flowers they produce are adorable. None yet for us.
Inside, I hauled up from the basement a David Austin rose (Carding Mill) that never got in the ground last year and spent the winter in hibernation. I didn’t realize how fast it would spring into action if I set it by a window and watered it. It immediately sent up new leafy branches and is now, much to my surprise, setting buds. This will eventually be a pruning conundrum, as those spindly branches won’t survive the Vineyard wind once outside. But in the meantime, how spectacular would it be to have roses inside?
I’ve spied pansies at SBS and at up-Island nurseries, where until recently, they were sitting behind ropes and “closed” signs. But good news: Up-Island nurseries are now open, with strict protocols in place, and we will have a chance to buy Easter flowers. Hurrah! (SBS remains open as well.)
I’m relieved that those pansies will find loving homes. Too often pansies don’t get the respect they deserve, so ubiquitous and waif-like as they are. But I love them, and they are the perfect child’s flower. My father lined the brick paths in his rose garden with them and would always tell me I could pick pansies as often as I liked. “The more you pick them, the more they grow,” he’d say. That was my first lesson in annual flower gardening. And the first cut-flower bouquet I ever made was a handful of pansies for my second grade teacher.
But Heather Gardens, Vineyard Gardens, and Middletown Nursery have far more than pansies.
I spoke to Mike Saunier over at Heather Gardens. I love Mike; he is the quiet force behind many beautiful things on this Island. When I was farming (in the later years when I didn’t have room to start my own), Mike grew all my tomato and zinnia starts. I would bring him my favorite seeds in January and pick up flats of healthy seedlings in May.
Mike said he is open during his regular hours, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Folks will need to stay in the parking lot area (and the small area between the parking lot and the main nursery). He is required to keep people from wandering around the main nursery, but he will be happy to go up to the nursery to find a requested plant for customers.
In the shopping area, he’s got plenty of potted spring blooming flowers for sale: pansies, violas, daffodils, mini daffodils (the fragrant Tete a Tete variety), as well as some perennials such as bleeding hearts and forget-me-nots. He also has a stock of vegetable seeds and plenty of seed starting mix and other soils. He encourages shoppers to call ahead (508-693-1467) to ask for specific perennials to be reserved.
I checked in with nursery manager Laura Hale at Vineyard Gardens and she has a similar situation, though they also have an online form at vineyardgardens.net that they are encouraging people to use. You fill out the form with your requested plants, submit it via email, and Laura will call you back and let you know what she’s got — and take your credit card information. (You can also simply call: 508-693-8511). There is a metal rack set up in the parking lot for pick-up orders.
Vineyard Gardens also has pansies, daffodils, lettuce seedlings, and five-inch perennial pots (including sedums, lupines, and forget-me-nots) up front, and you have the option of just stopping in to buy those. Point to the items you want, and Laura or another employee will bring them to you. Vineyard Gardens is open Monday to Saturday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
All the nurseries are being asked by the West Tisbury board of health to require masks for everyone, to avoid cash, and to encourage people to stay in cars or only browse in the area just outside of the main nursery area. Also, for the safety of employees, the nurseries will not be accepting returns at this time. You pick it, you buy it, you own it!
Middletown Nursery has all the goodies the other garden centers do — plus some fun Easter items for baskets and gifts. They have managed to display many of their gifts outside on the covered front porch, so you can take a look, point to what you want, and an employee will get it for you. Pay by credit card by phoning the store (508-696-7600) from your cell phone while hanging out in your car — easy.
Middletown is open Monday to Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and also has cut flowers coming in for Easter weekend, including the gorgeous ranunculus that Robyn Athearn, flower farmer at Morning Glory Farm, has been growing in her greenhouse. The colors of the ranunculus (aka Persian buttercup), are so vibrant they’re almost electric, and they will absolutely spread cheer wherever they go.
Robyn is also delivering flowers to Cronig’s so look for them when you do your grocery shopping.
It doesn’t matter where you get your flowers this weekend — your backyard, a nursery, or the grocery — just that you do. It’s amazing how a little bit of living color can bring hope and joy.
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