Annuals have arrived!!

 

We have a gorgeous patchwork sea of annuals out on our front lawn that arrived this morning! Stop by to pick up a few old favorites or try something new!



 

 

Gaura lindheimeri hybrid, pictured below in 'Perky Pink', is beautiful as it sways in the breeze. Gaura thrives in full to part sun, can be used in the ground or in containers, and deadheading is not necessary so it's easy to maintain. It is also a known butterfly attracter!

 

 

Ageratum is known for it's powder-puff flower clusters in one of the truest blues found in an annual. It is a hard worker that blooms from late spring right through until frost!

 

 

If you're looking for something to jazz up a shady spot, you could add a few varieties of coleus to your favorite planter. This year we have 'Colorblaze Sedona,' 'Defiance,' 'Kong Scarlet,' and 'Fishnet Stockings.' Although coleus will produce flowers, it is grown for it's vibrant foliage, and will continue to grow and flourish if the flowers are pinched off!

 

We have multiple annuals that will grow to drape beautifully over the edge of a container or window box. Below is an urn with Colocasia 'Royal Hawaiian Black Coral' edged with Lysimachia nummularia, also known as Creeping Jenny.

 

 

Another draping vine-like idea is Ipomoea batatas, more widely known as Sweet Potato Vine.

 

 

Or try Dichondra hybrid 'Silver Falls' for it's soft silvery presence, a perfect accent to a dark-foliage plant or brightly colored bloom.

 We also have some tried and true favorites including Zonal Geraniums in 'Maestro White', 'Maestro Rich Red', 'Patriot Orange', and 'Candy White Parfait'.

 

 

 
Calibrachoa in either 'Callie Light Blue' or 'Minifamous Perfect White' are another option for spreading and trailing growth. This annual sustains prolific blooms all summer and is a great addition to containers or garden beds where full sun can be utilized.

 

 

 

A more uncommon annual is pictured below, Euphorbia amygdaloides hybrid, also known as Efanthia or Wood Spurge. This annual grows in a tight, well-branched upright habit with burgundy to dark green foliage as well as chartreuse blooms.

 

 

Anisodontea hybrid or Cape Mallow in 'Slightly Strawberry' shade is stunning whether you're looking at the flowers or the foliage!

 

 

We certainly have our favorites, stop by and choose yours!

A Mother's Day Gift Guide

It's May once again and we all get to appreciate our moms by celebrating Mother's Day. Many of us either take our special lady out shopping for plants and products she loves, or surprise her with a special gift.

We here at Snug Harbor Farm have some great gift ideas lined up from plants to textiles so let us be your guide.

We have, of course, what every mom loves; plants and flowers, from our topiaries, unique shrubs and perennials to our rare annuals like the antique geraniums pictured below. They have been potted up in beautiful hand-thrown Snug Harbor Farm pots and are ready to make her smile on her special day.

If your mother likes to get her hands dirty we have the perfect products. Above are handcrafted, forged-steel tools made in Montana with walnut handles. They are heirloom-quality and each one is a work of art.

We are also making our own blend of rich potting soil. It's perfect for potting up some summer annuals or herbs, and is beautifully packaged in a burlap sack, tied with raffia.

You can also give a sack of our soil as a gift with a few packets of Happy Cat Seeds. The seeds are again beautifully packaged and all the varieties we carry are organic and heirlooms.

Later in the season when harvesting begins, your Mom can make a recipe from some of our favorite cookbooks! Author Nigel Slater includes useful tips, mouth-watering photographs and easy-to-follow recipes in both "Tender" and "Ripe." At around 600 pages each, these books will keep you cooking all year round. Another favorite is "The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook" by Deb Perelman, including enticing photos and witty, humorous anecdotes alongside irresistible recipes.

If your Mother likes to cut flowers or prune her roses and shrubs, we just got in these new outstanding steel pruning shears with rosewood handles. They have a solid feeling in your hand during use.

A perfect pairing with the shears would be to pick up one of our farm's fresh cut bouquets. All the flowers we use are grown right here on the farm. They will be available on weekends all summer too!

We have some amazing vases here in the shop for your mom to display her arrangements. These tulipiere and crocus vases are quintessential classics.

Not only are we obsessed with plants, flowers and garden products, but we love textiles too! Whether tablecloths, towels or scarves, our shop has great patterns and styles. Below are Kikoy cloths made in Kenya with Bezema dye, an organic dyeing process. These colorful beauties are perfect for the summer beach season; wear it as a towel, sarong, shawl, or even a tablecloth!

Speaking of tablecloths, below are beautiful indigo printed cloths made with hand-carved wooden blocks. Following these we also just got in these hand-woven 100% cotton towels. They are super soft and everyone here has been eyeing them up!

 

To pamper your mom even more, browse through the shop to find organic soaps, lotions and scents. Pick out an original piece of jewelry, a new pair of gardening gloves or a wonderful scented candle.

We urge you to stop by to browse the shop, wander through the greenhouses, perennial fields, shrubs and trees! Also, if you're having a hard time making a choice, feel free to pick up a gift certificate and let your mom choose for herself!

 

 

Happy Mother's Day!!

Trendsetting: Pelargoniums

We here at Snug Harbor Farm have been setting trends for over 20 years. It all started with bringing topiaries back into the forefront of garden design in the 1990's and then within the past decade, Begonias, so much so that Garden Design Magazine decided to feature our collection in their ultimate issue.
So what's the next big trend to come into fashion in horticulture you ask?
We are putting our bets on Pelargoniums or better known to the public as Geraniums. Forget what you think about those standard varieties in red, pink and white you see in every garden center.
Our collection and the varieties we offer here for purchase will change your mind.

Whether pansy-faced, fancy-leaved, or scented we have quite the collection and it continues to grow from friends like Robin Parer and Glen Lord. They run the gambit from different flower shapes and colors, leaf pattern and scent. They're easy to take care of and collecting them is super addictive.

Pelargoniums or Geraniums like to be planted in a good fast-draining cactus or succulent mix, with a bit of loam is ideal. They need at least 4 hours of direct sunlight to produce blooms and maintain healthy leaf color. Pelargoniums are sensitive to too much water so only water when the soil is dry 2 inches down. Bring them in your home in the fall before the danger of frost and set them in your sunniest window and only water again when dry. These basic rules on care should help anyone whom is interested in growing Pelargoniums.

Below are just some images and descriptions of the many varieties of Pelargoniums we have to offer. If you get a chance to come to the farm we will be more than happy to show you all the other beauties we carry.

Above is Pelargonium 'Apple blossom'. There is no wonder why this one was named as such. It is a double flowering variety that has a ruffled white bloom edged in pink just like the blooms on an apple tree.

Below is Pelargonium Sidoides. This species has rosettes of small rounded gray-green leaves and long arching flowering stems with narrow petalled burgundy flowers.

 

Above is a variety called 'Indian Dunes', below is 'Vancouver Centennial' followed by 'Miss Pollock' and 'Prince Ruppert'. These are all fancy-leaf varieties and grown for their foliage. They all produce a red hot flower with the exception of 'Price Ruppert' whom has a light pink one.

 

We also offer scented-leaf Pelargoniums. The one pictured above is 'Citronella', a lovely cut leaf variety. One can crush a few leaves in your hands and rub them on your skin to help repel mosquitoes. They are also great planted in big pots around your patio where you can enjoy the scent at night. Scented geraniums tend to produce an insignificant flower.

Next are my personal favorites, the pansy-faced Pelargoniums. Grown for their unique blooms these varieties are show-stoppers. Above is Pelargonium 'Ray Kellog' an heirloom bred here in the U.S. from 1932 and pictured below is 'Lord Bute', another old variety from 1910.

The small flowered Pelargonium above is 'Catford Belle' developed by Langley Smith in England around the year 1935. Finally below is 'Rome' an outstanding variety that screams for attention, with bright pink petals with plum blotches.

These plants have persevered as a garden staple for generations. With the heirlooms and the new hybrids being developed, there's no doubt they're here to stay. So the next time you see an article in your favorite garden magazine or a clip on that garden program you watch, remember that we called it out. Pelargoniums are the next 'hot plants' for the future!

 

Arbor Day Delivery

It is a sunny warm Arbor Day here in Maine and oddly enough on this day we received all of our trees and shrubs for the season. All the plant material is impeccable, from the Magnolia 'Sunburst' glowing in the sunlight pictured above to all the unique evergreens and deciduous shrubs.

We here at Snug Harbor Farm are known for our topiaries so it's no surprise we would offer a huge selection of evergreen ones as well. They are perfect for so many different design schemes on one's property, and if taken care of properly will offer you years and beyond of enjoyment. They range in height from 4ft. to over 10ft. and are trained in either a tier ball style as above or spiral below. Most of the tree topiaries are Thuja or Arborvitaes, but we also have some gorgeous boxwood ones too.

Besides the topiary evergreens we brought in a large selection of more hard to find evergreens. These specimens are perfect for year round interest. Abies Koreana 'Horstmann's Silberlocke' above has beautiful golden cones, and Picea Abies 'cruenta' or Cruenta Norway Spruce below has showy rosy-red candles.

The fluffy fellow above is Pinus strobus 'Blue Shag' or Blue Shag Eastern White Pine, set in amongst the Japanese Maples. Speaking of Maples we have a slew of different varieties, but that's another whole blog post in of it's self.

Finally we have a huge selection of Apple and Crabapple espaliers. They are available in two styles, either the classic three tier or the candelabra form. We even have some amazing columnar apples perfect for that tight spot in your garden.
So if you didn't get to plant a tree this Arbor Day it's still not too late. Planting trees and shrubs in the springtime is a wonderful gardening practice, and we here at the farm can help you select that perfect tree for you and your garden.