Garden Zone

 02/01/2010

Every year we end up getting a number of newly released plants or bring in plants and décor unique to our area. Most people don’t get to see these items until they show up at the greenhouse in the spring but thanks to the wonders of the internet I can now let our biggest fans get a sneak preview of the new releases well before the frost has lifted and all the garden planning has been completed. So, without further ado here’s the first annual WHAT’S NEW AT THOMSEN’S blog!

Plants-

Beauregard and Centennial Sweet Potatoes – Yes, you heard me. We will be one of the few greenhouses actually growing Sweet Potato Transplants. Sometimes you can find unrooted cuttings around here but rarely will you find these plants ready to be potted right into the ground. This shortens the growing season allowing for higher yields and less loss for you!

Trollhaugen Seedless Grape – We finally did it! We found a hardy seedless grape perfect for northern gardens. Trollhaugen is a blue seedless grape with a concord like taste without the surprising crunch of concord seeds. We are hoping to add another great variety of seedless grapes to our line up next year too!

Invincibelle Spirit Hydrangea – This is another great surprise for 2010: a pink Annabelle hydrangea! The Annabelle type hydrangeas are some of the most versatile landscape plants so an introduction such as this is really exciting.  For every Invincibelle purchased the breeder of this plant donates a percentage of the sale to Breast Cancer research.

Shockwave denim petunia – This is a great spreading petunia with slightly smaller blooms than other spreaders but the blooms refresh continually giving a more consistent splash of blue in your mixed containers.

Taishan marigolds – These marigolds are amazing! They have large flowers with great color and a good balance of dark green foliage. Their flower heads contain so many pedals that the water runs off the flower. Why is that important? Well, because the water doesn’t sit on the top of the plant for extended periods of time, they last way longer! This specific plant was used in mass plantings at the 2008 Olympics in China and received rave reviews.

New Garden decor -

New line of Pottery – When our retail manager came back from Atlanta this summer she brought a whole new line of pottery with her. New shapes, sizes and colors of pottery, bird baths and other decorations that match all combinations of Thomsen’s plants.

Bird seed – We have always carried some bird related items but this year we went a bit wild. We found a ton of different bird feeders, houses and bird baths ready to be used by your feathered buddies. If that isn’t enough, we also have a lineup of gourmet birdseed to go with our feeders.