SUMMER SALE
30% OFF ALL PLANTS

Yeah, 'cause we're crazy that way. Hey, we need to generate traffic in the dog days of summer, and you need enticement to BE that traffic! This isn't just a clearance sale as we'll still be bringing in new plants almost weekly but the fact is we are overstocked and densely packed with plants that need "breathing space" - and really frikkin' need to get out of their pots and into the ground. Do your good deed, liberate our little green charges and save some green while you're at it! The sale runs through July and probably August as well.

While I've got your attention, please put FRIDAY, JULY 11TH on your calendar, specifically the hours 6-8pm. All through June we did these special after-hours openings on Friday nights to raise money for various charities/good causes (yeah, would've been good to announce that on the blog, huh?): 25% of the evenings' take was donated off the top and if, in our opinion, the total wasn't very impressive, the company and our employees would donate a bit of our own funds to plump it up a bit. We're taking the 4th of July off (closed that day) but the next Friday, the 11th, will be our final event of the season. A new P-Patch is coming to the neighborhood, Hazel Heights by name (apparently on a hilly plot donated by a woman named Hazel, thus "Hazel Heights") and what with our dedication to urban farming in its myriad forms, this just seemed like a natural partnership. They're bringing food. They're bringing beer. We're smiling charmingly and taking your money. A good time will be had by all - you included, if you're there!

'til next time...

Jay ~

Hostas, Iris, Daylillies . . . . Oh my!

Being a collector these are some of my/our passions. At one time I had a collection of about 20 (of each). The limitation was space not interest. The picture is of Cherry Daylilly, part of our collection available next year. We have one in bloom on our parking strip and a few others.

One of the great things we're able to do with Emerald City Gardens is to share our collection and interests with other plant geeks. Iris season is passed but we still have two of our favorites: Silver Edge (see photo below) and Variations in Blue. As always, the ones blooming sell first so the ones with blooms sold so those who came late didn't get to see the flowers.

When it comes to Hostas it doesn't matter whether they're in blooms or not, the foliage is why you want them. One of our favorites, and divisions from our yard, is Patriot. Striking white variegation on this one. We sold out of the divisions from our yard but we've been lucky enough to find a source for more :) Others from our collection are: Golden Tiara (small), Mouse Ears (dwarf and super cute), Royal Standard (BIG and fragrant), Elegance (BIG), and more.
I can't say Daylilies are my favorite, or may they are. We had a huge collection at one time but moving into a small lot we've had to make choices. The Swanson's Gold sold quickly, at this time I think we have one left. Condilla is an unusual double yellow, Pink Damask is pink of course. In the future we'll have many unique and award winning ones available. Next year we should have some Cranberry Cove available, it's very cranberry. There's much more to come.

Bamboo

I'm not a bamboo expert but I've maintained several bamboo groves in top shape for over 10 years. In that time I've made several mistakes and learned a lot.
Depending on which bamboo variety you have you have either noticed the canes emerging and growing strong already or some just breaking the surface of the soil. Bamboo, though tough and usually will survive anything here are a few tips.

Care:
Bamboo will usually grow toward the moist spots in the yard. If you have it in a container and let it completely dry out it usually dies. In the ground, once established, it'll take a dry spot but it grows stronger and healthier in a spot well watered. Feed it a high nitrogen fertilizer.

One of the best things to keep it looking good, healthy, and get bigger canes is to prune out the 3-4 year old canes. They're usually the ratty looking ones. If you have black bamboo they're usually the ones bleaching white. If you cut out the older canes then that energy goes into the new growth and also gives the new canes more room.

Pests! Once in a while bamboo will get a spider mite. There are toxic things you can spray it with but I prefer to hose them down whenever I water. Mites love dry and hot, hate moist and cool. Also the pruning out the oldest canes tends to get rid of many mites since they tend to pick on the older growth.

Not all bamboo are invasive! There are now several hard clumping bamboos available. Also there are shade ones, dwarf ones, variegated ones, and fake ones (Nandina).

Happy spring time?

Hey,
The iris are starting to bloom, as well as peonies :). We have two selections from our yard: Iris siberica 'Variations In Blue' and Iris siberica 'Silver Edge', two of our favorites. We also have a few hostas from our yard that are super cool: Partiot, Golden Tiara, Royal Standard (fragrant), and Pearl Lake.

Bad news :( Check your junipers, cypresses, and arborvitae's, are the tips dying or brown? I've noticed around our place and the neighbors the juniper tip moth & leaf miners have emerged. At first I thought it was poor watering but at closer inspection there were tiny green caterpillars dangling from the branches. The tip moth lays their eggs late spring/summer on the branches, the emerge and burrow into the tips of the stems and stay there over winter. Around April they start hatching and eat from the inside of the leaf causing it to die. May they emerge and start over. While inside the leaf there's nothing you can do except prune it off. Now you can use something like Neem to control the moths and eggs. Prune out the damaged foliage and spray. Other plants that are known for leaf miner are: columbines, hosta, and vegetable leaf crops. Check the leaves, it looks like little tunnels are inside the leaf. Pick and destroy, do not compost.

Andy

Alrighty then...due to illness, I'll try again next week as far as using this blog to let you know what's new. I can tell you, quickly, there are lots of new veggie starts (cukes, squash and pumpkins are here at last) and we've restocked most of the tomatoes, though 'Sungold' may be gone for the season.

Other than that, plenty of new perennials (hardy geraniums and salvias in bloom!), plenty of new annual color and inside, you'll find our best selection of pots yet! Lots of new styles and colors and a variety of sizes.

Okay, I'm goin' back to bed.

Jay ~

This poor, neglected thing! I suppose it's good news, really, that we haven't had time to update the blog for more than two months - and thanks to you good people for that! Despite the crappiest Seattle spring in living memory (and now just off a 90° heat wave), we are succeeding beyond all expectations. Your support has been incredible.

While catching my breath about a month ago I had the wild idea that we should have a weekly "fresh sheet", kinda like a restaurant. We start getting faxes from our growers on Wednesday night and it continues through Saturday night; generally speaking I have to fax our orders in by Monday morning. Some of them confirm, some don't, but at any rate we have a pretty good idea what's coming in any given week by Monday at noon or so. I think that would be a sensible use of the blog, don't you? We have a lot of plant collectors in our customer base and this would be a great way to give you a heads-up on the rare or unusual things that are coming in. Don't hold our feet to the fire - the vagaries of missed faxes, crop failures and delivery snafus take a near-weekly toll! - but as an overall guide I think it would be of interest to some of you and useful for us as well.

Don't forget we have an active Wish Book at the store and we love hunting down that particular something you're after! Varying rates of success with that but I'm always amazed how often it works. We've got great resources, and you shouldn't hesitate to ask. How can we find what you want if we don't know what it is?

Send an email to info@emeraldcitygardens.com if you would like to join our email list. We won't spam you very often but there are two compelling reasons to join:

1. A "frequent flyer" card that becomes a $20 gift certificate when you complete your journey down the Yellow Brick Road and

2. Special members-only savings in the form of paperless coupons - i.e., a password or phrase that gives you discounts on selected items. "The slug dies at dawn" was a recent winner for those seeking 25% off on Sluggo products and "I'm here for the Emerald City needle exchange program" gave big savings on conifers. It's fun, it's free, we don't sell our list and the biggest complaint we're hearing from people is that we don't spam them enough. High praise indeed.

Anyway: stay tuned. If you haven't checked in here in a while, I'm sorry it took us this long to breathe life back into the thing. Check back soon!

Jay ~

We're Open!

The Grand Opening Weekend was a success!
A special thanks to all our fans, supporters, and new customers. Saturday and Sunday we had a nice, steady flow of people coming in, visiting and shopping.
Sally, Jay, Mercedes, and I got there early on Saturday to do the finishing touches so it would look great as you walked in. The change surprised a few since the cash register island had moved.
Speaking of the cash register . . . . we don't get along that well. It seems to have a mind of its own when I use it. I shall prevail though. I just need lots of practice on it.
Now is time for recovery. It's so great being able to go home at 6:00 and not come back to paint or work on something. I took several pictures that I'll be uploading to my site: www.wuji.com/ECG Wait mid week so I have time to add the new one.
Thanks again for all your support and encouragement.

Have You Noticed?

We're starting to look like a real nursery?

(That's me in the picture typing this blog. click on it to see a larger picture.) Orders are coming in daily and the yard is filling up. We feel like we're trying to do 10 things at the same time! So much going on and only two of us. Well, that's not quite true. We have the invaluable voulenteer help from: Sally, Bruce, Rhonda, Brad, Iden, Suzy, Mercedes, and Amy. All freed us up from one job so we could do another.
Orders are rolling in and we're working hard to arrange the shelving and areas to display them. Recently we got in our shipment of garden tables that are super cool. So far we have two styles. One pictures here and the other on the photo page: www.wuji.com/ECG
It's fun, exciting, and scary all at the same time. It doesn't seem like we have much time to do what we need to do. Orders and arranging needs to be done at the same time as unloading the trucks, touch-up painting, and more construction that's needed.
We're looking forward to opening day and are doing our best to be as close to perfect as possible. As we've been working, each day we've had people wandering in wanting to shop. Since we're still under construction we've had to say wait until March 1st. We just got lessons today on how to use the new credit card swiper thingy. I still need another lesson on using the cash register.

Stuff is starting to come in :)

Pots and more pots! I had forgotten the weightlifting aspect of this business. Friday we got 2 pallets of pottery, ceramic and glazed. The larger pots took two of us to move. What a workout. Thank you Amy for helping us unload the pallets. Amy showed up and volunteered making the job go faster and easier.

Also, earlier last week Sally, Jay, and I went shopping for gift type items. With Sally's help we got some nice pieces of jewelry, books, and other items. Wait til you see them!

Today is Sunday and we're hoping to get the cash register island installed and the old one dismanteled so we can start arranging the store. Starting this week, you should notice changes outside the shop since the orders will start flooding in and we'll be arranging the outside.

Also, I added new pictures to the photo page: www.wuji.com/ECG

Off to work!

March is just around the corner!

We've been working hard, very hard. I promised myself I'd write this before passing out.

As was callously pointed out to us, the outside of the space doesn't look like much is happening yet. But just like the Chinese Internal Arts, when the outside is still there's much activity on the inside! Just take a look. www.wuji.com/ECG I've put together several pictures of our progress on the inside of the building. I've posted some before, during, and after pictures. The after pictures aren't complete since we still have lots of touch-up to do. However, if you look at the after pictures you might notice the ceiling. Aside from it being painted the light fixtures have also moved. Thank you Bob.

February is here, pretty soon you'll see the space filling up with plants. All the order will be arriving this month and filling up the space. We'd love to be 100% on opening, and we'll try hard to do it, but you know how life is.

We're excieted and doing our best. Not sleeping much since it's hard to turn our brains off. (Did we order that? Did we get a confirmation from them? And so on.

Sally has been a super help with much of the seed ordering and general help. We both feel super lucky to have her as part of the team.

Are you on the email list? If things continue to move smoothly we may do a before opening event for those on the list.

Stay tuned!

Things are taking shape

First of all, the picture at the top of our blog page is part of our courtyard. On the upper right were you see the brick is the patio area. This wasn't a picture we found just to stick in. Also, the picture of the knot garden on the right is Jay's work. He designed it and has been maintaining it for 21 years.

Aside from touch-ups the painting is done. With Iden's help we're moving the light fixtures which has already made the store seem bigger. It's great being able to work on the construction stuff since we're sick and tired of painting. Just wait until we start working on the outside!

And . . . . we got our first shipment today from New Dimension Seeds. It feels like we've really started. This is a cool seed company specializing in unusual Asian vegetables. Each seed packet contains a recipe for the crop. We're really happy to be able to offer them.

That's it for now. It's been a long day of teaching and working.

it's a bird! it's a plane! it's...

The good news is, I think I've found my Inner Superman - in a Nietzschian, rather than DC Comics kinda way, as I remain unable to leap tall buildings or even short ones. *g* Painted last night 'til after midnight but out of bed again by 7am (kinda late for me, truthfully) and I'm ready to go back. I am a painting machine.

Andy did the same, though he also found time to teach some martial arts classes last night. Trained killer that he is, we already knew he was Superman, so for him it was just another day. :b

The office is finished. A small part of the floor still needs a second coat. About 80% of the walls are finished. By Friday, we'll be done.

Yesterday was Sally's first day back on the job, and it was wonderful to have her company and her good help again. Today, hopefully we can turn her loose on some office stuff! Those seed orders ain't writin' themselves and I've so far failed to get to them. 6.5 weeks to go 'til we open; no need to panic yet but the anxiety will be ramping up every day...

What a great spring day this was for January 13th...we played in the sun for hours mid-day, drunk on Vitamin D and - planting bulbs! Yes, it happened! 100 mixed daffs, 35 'Kung Fu' tulips (dark red with ivory edges), 35 'Negrita' tulips (a rich mid-purple) and...some mid-pink tulip I can't remember the name of. 35 of those, too.

Got some more clean-up performed in the great outdoors then I made the mistake of thinking, "Hmmm, I bet that mat of Luzula sylvatica encroaching on the sidewalk would be easy enough to get rid of..." Well, we did it - with combined heavy labor from both of us - but that was all she wrote; the day ended there and it was home for naps. Hey, we're old! :b Good intentions were to go back tonight and paint some more, but...y'know.

In fits and starts, though, stamina is returning. It better.

Yesterday we donated a $50 gift certificate to the Hazel Heights P-Patch auction. This will be a new p-patch very near the nursery; if like us you're going, "Hazel Heights?..." we had it explained to us that a woman named Hazel donated the land for this project, thus the name. I hope they got big bucks for our generous contribution! Well, at least a buck or two. Hopefully we can coordinate a fundraiser for them at the nursery sometime this summer.

Tomorrow being Monday I'll stay home and do some more ordering. We're less than seven weeks from opening and there's so much still to procure. Still having massive email headaches (sending) with that spamhaus.org nonsense and it's time to fight that more aggressively...I haven't been able to confirm new subscription requests for some time and we've *ulp* had a few résumés sent to us that I haven't acknowledged, either! It's been flattering, all these people wanting to work for us before we're even in business, but I hope it's not a sign of an economic downturn and work getting harder to come by. We can't pay a living wage and no bennies so I'm sure it's just that everybody wants to hang out with us and be our friends. Uh-huh. ;)

Painting, painting . . . .

All I want to do is to sell and play with plants!

We're spending most, if not all of our time painting. One evening we had help painting when Rhonda volunteered to come by for a while and help. All in all there's so much and many jobs to do. As some of you know I've had a sole-proprietorship (service oriented) business since 1974. It's nothing compared to a retail store.

There are so many sub-jobs required to run a store aside from selling what you like. Business forms, bank accounts for retail, payroll stuff, IRS stuff, employee stuff, insurance, and tons more. When does the easy part start?

Check out the picture above with the December 29th blog picture.

Our friends and customer based enthusiasm really helps remind me that once all this is done, it'll be fun!

Right?

rest for the wicked

I'm trying to take a little time off today but the guilt is overwhelming...I feel like I should be at the store, painting something. The superman work ethic I'll need to succeed hasn't quite kicked in yet but I know it will come if I ease into it. So: my "ease" this day will be sitting at home trying to finish the three seed orders I started months ago, talking to the phone guy and finally getting a number of our own choosing and, if that succeeds, add the # to business cards, website etc. Oh, and figuring out how to embed this blog in the website. Finally adding other pages, too - actual content! Wow.

In other news, we're painting the floor red. Film @ 11.

Little by Little

One task at a time

The inside needs cleaning, painting, and organizing before be figure out where the stock goes.
The outside needs sweeping, fixing (the fence), and organizing so we know where to put the inventory.

Jay was there last night until 2 am painting! Once you've started a task it's easy to get lost in it or just be determined to finish it.

January 1st we had a 'before' gathering. Those on the email list and my club members came by to see the empty space. This way you'll be so impressed with what we've done with it by the time March 1st arrives.

There's so much to do but we're doing it one thing at a time, it's the only way to stay sane.

Tanker want to go home

Tanker fans,

I forgot to mention the shop cat. Tanker will definitely be there when we open and even before.

Tanker has been spending his time with us, on holiday. We love him, but it's not quite a holiday for us. We already have two cats, Casper and Minnie. Tanker and Casper get along OK, they play sometimes but Tanker is a lone cat.

However, Tanker and Minnie have problems. I don't know if Tanker just wants to get to know Minnie or if he's intimidating her. Anyway, there's lots of growling when the two see each other. Minnie runs and Tanker chases. Minnie wants him gone!

I think Tanker also is missing his fans. Since he's not the only cat here he doesn't get as much attention (when he wants it) as at the shop.

On the plus side Tanker has gained weight and eats a lot here. He even likes to curl up around our feet at night when the other cats aren't around. He pretends to be distant but it's obvious he loves attention as long as you pretend not to know it.

We're in, we're in!

As Jay mentioned we have the keys and we've been carting stuff to Emerald City Gardens. Our house and yard was becoming an obstacle course. It's nice regaining our space at home. As we were there yesterday we had several friends and cheerleaders visit. Our friend Bob gave us some great ideas on lighting. In addition he's doing much of the work on the cash register area. It's gonna be really nice.

I was hoping to get more lights up outside to make the store more visible but that rain wouldn't stop so stay tuned. I'll be taking pictures every now and then so we have before - during - and after shots. I will be posting them in the future.

work-work-work,
Andy

We're in!

Got the keys yesterday. One carload of stuff hauled to the nursery, countless more to follow.

A second hiring confirmed, for which we're so thankful. Welcome, Laura!

Insurance came in NICELY under budget. Vinyl banners for the front fence? Somewhat over budget. It evens out, I guess.

Bleach and lights are today's priorities. *smiles mysteriously*

So much more to type about, but no time right now...maybe more this evening.

Laters!

the dark and the cold

I finally came in out of the dark and the cold (ehhh, not so cold) five minutes ago after sticking 40 cuttings of Cornus alba 'Ivory Halo' in 20 one-gallon pots. All or most of them should take and be sellable by May, possibly even April. This is one of our favorite bloodtwig dogwoods, more burgundy than bright red in the winter, beautiful light green leaves with a broad, irregular white margin and a lower growth habit (6'x6' max, usually lower) than its big brother, C. a. 'Elegantissima'. We'll probably retail the gallons for right around $10.

I know you can do the math, and you're perhaps going, "Oh, nice racket, Jay! Clip up a bunch of twigs and stick 'em in pots and...wow, that's some profit margin for a short afternoon's work!" Yeah, well, let's do some more math. I suffered in the dark and the cold (ehhh, not so cold), spending precious time that could have been used for cancer research or volunteering to help flood victims...I mean, if I did that stuff. Besides, the savvy shopper will realize this is not only a fair price but OMG, Becky, if both cuttings take - it's a two-for-one deal. That's right: if the pot you select has more than one stem coming out of the dirt, split the root ball and plant TWO PLANTS after paying for just one...and congratulate yourself for your smart shopping!

Everybody wins. We like that.

happy solstice!

Some very good news yesterday - we bought a Mercedes! Er, that is, our friend and colleague Mercedes will be coming to work for us. Thus she gains the distinction of becoming the first ECG employee. Take a bow, M., and thank you!

Also, we visited a nearby insurance agent and will, hopefully, hear back from him soon with a quote. "Ball park" numbers sound good, definitely within what we'd budgeted - and how often does THAT happen?

As predicted, no bulb planting occurred yesterday. Shut up.

I want to try and tackle more seed orders today and work on the new, improved business card and/or the main website. Updates will follow if I actually accomplish anything. :)

We're on our way!

As if we haven't been busy already, it's about to hit the fan. So much to do, to get done, and that doesn't even include the store set up. Business licenses, tax reporting stuff, insurance, utilities, learning payroll, and all the rest.
I had this crazy vision that, as I got older I'd work less and vacation more. I must have picked up a vision from someone walking by. All in all it's exciting and here's hoping we remember everything we're supposed to do before the grand opening March 1st.
The support has been great and really means a lot to us. Thanks.

it beginneth

Hi, peoples!

We signed the lease this morning. Liability insurance to be procured yet, then we get the keys right after xmas. We took Lorene to lunch at Roxy's and really, truly meant to plant bulbs on the parking strip this afternoon, but wimped out yet again. "It's too cold - WAAAAHH! Let's come back and do it tomorrow!" Uh-huh. Tomorrow's s'posed to be 10° colder.

Andy thinks we should do CafePress stuff. I like the idea of no up-front investment, though it's a lower profit margin and not likely to be high-volume, so probably best that we don't look to make our fortune this way. Eh, maybe one day I can revisit this first post and chortle at the naïveté of the preceding sentence. :b

Bring it on.