Peace in the Garden

This is that time of year when things kind of wind down around here. We get ready to put closed, open by appointment only on the web site. We may even put a closed sign in the driveway if we are ambitious (we are a little different around here if you didn’t notice). The weather cools down so we start making sure the furnaces will kick on for yet another winter.

We use to hire this out to pros. Seemed like we were paying awfully big money to get these guys to dig mouse and bird nest out of the furnaces. As a result, John Lorenz, my Father-in-Law and right hand man decided to take this task on our selves. Save a few bucks, help us pay for the production cost of our new How to Plant videos. These videos can be found on Youtube and on our web site on the planting tips page. Click on the boot on top of the shovel on the lower right hand portion of the home page and you can go there.

Our hat is off to Chris Tomlinson at Gonink Design and Print for rising to the call and bringing it big time with a killer take on what is typically a boring topic. I say it’s a boring topic because of all the other how to plant stuff I found on the web which made me want to go hop on my temperpedic bed (best investment I ever made in myself) for a nice nap.

Back to peace in the garden. It’s nice to just walk outside and see the conifers taking over the garden. They are always there. However, this time of year you find out what really are the bones of your garden. I could rattle on and on about this. I will not for the sake of brevity. You either get it or you do not. If you do not you will some day. If you keep gardening and keep going outside later and later in the year to take care of the garden you will eventually say, “Something is missing.” At that point come see me, my name is Shawn Locker and I can help you.

I designed many landscapes over the years for folks who said, “No evergreens!” Back in the day I would just say, “Okay” and color ‘em up with perennials and flowering shrubs. Now days I warn people, “You are either going to do it now or we are going to talk in 3 years when you realize there is a void.” Sometimes they see it my way and sometimes we deal with it later. Either way its all good.

So about peace in the garden. When my Dad was around, this time of year Bob Draeger would pop in and see if we had made it through yet another year in the nursery business and to give us some pre holiday greetings. It was nice, we would just chill in the office and shoot the breeze and admire the Pinus parviflora ‘Cleary ‘ and Fireglow Japanese Maple branching from the office window while enjoying the heat coming off the $100.00 ventless heater on the wall. Things were simple then. Simple is so nice! We would have our four dogs in there too! It was great!

Now that Bob is retired he works here part time and is my other right hand man. Seems as though he got a little too familiar with the nursery. Depending on the day he might tell you this was a major mistake or the best thing he ever did for himself.

I walk around this place this time of year in the cold rain and wind, the cool air and warm sun, whatever kind of day it is and I am grateful to be here. I really enjoy the garden this time of year. It’s obviously hard for me to put into words. I end up talking about everything else.

Most garden writers would rattle off a half dozen plant names and talk about the new concrete bunny they just purchased. This is fine. The garden to me at this point is memories of people, pets, past glory sales years, the tough starting the business years. It’s all this stuff wrapped up into one thing I call the nursery, garden or farm.

If you stick with gardening and you create the landscape that you envision. You may to make all these weird associations with your garden over time. The garden is almost timeless. It keeps growing getting larger and larger. The people and pets come and go. For me personally, right now the garden is there to remind me of how important those simple times were to me even though I did not realize it at the time.

Happy Thanksgiving People!