A  beautiful  Boston summer wedding.  Loved her pink shoes!  I definitely have a sweet spot  for wedding photos that are taken in The Boston Public Gardens. Love the image that shows a glimpse of the bridge.

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written by Janet Harrold

Most of our regular customers are on a first name basis with many of our  staff members. The first people to greet you when you enter our sales yard is typically a member of our Garden Design Team. A knowledgeable and friendly crew. They work in  the yard every season, sometimes in the rain, the bitter cold, the sleet and snow  and this time of year the  heat. Despite the weather conditions our crew is always there to answer your questions about summer plantings,  to sell you the perfect  Christmas tree  and wreath  and setting up the best Harvest Festival in town. For those of you who don’t know them, let me introduce you to our Garden Design Team…

Bob

Bob  has been Garden Center manager for 12 years and like any manager Bob wears many hats.  His duties include overseeing the staff,   ordering plants, statuary and garden accessories. Bob rotates the inventory and maintains the overall layout of the yard. In addition to overseeing the day to day operations of the Garden Center,  Bob also plays an intricate roll in the delivery and installation of the many weddings that we provide floral arrangements for each weekend.

Before Bob came to work at Cedar Grove Gardens he spent nearly 25 years as a professional chef. Working with and learning from Jasper White (Jasper’s), Chris Scheslinger (East Coast Grill),  Jim Burke (Harvest).  He also held management positions with Paparazzi and Legal Seafoods.

Bob also  worked in interior design and architecture. He studied at Autocad a computer drafting design school, but his visual skills, eye for detail, organizational abilities, and lifelong passion for plants and gardening has made his work at Cedar Grove Gardens truly a feast for the eyes.

John

You may know John from seeing him around our garden center, or in the past you could have crossed paths with him at the Ashmont Peabody Square farmers market, but during the spring and summer months, John’s primary job is container garden design. If you take a stroll around   town you will see beautiful  plantings in many residential homes  as well as businesses such as Steel &Rye in Milton,  Aquitaine in Dedham, and The Quarry Restaurant & Lounge in Hingham just to name a few.

Growing up, John worked long summer hours doing  landscape design. His extensive horticultural background includes Essex Agricultural  &  Technical School as well as Stockbridge School of Agriculture.

Before John came to work for  Cedar Grove Gardens 5 years ago he owned and operated  “Pete’s Dockside”  a hidden gem that serves breakfast and lunch at the Seaport section of South Boston.

Philip

Just about any day that you troll through our garden center you  will see Phil with a big smile on his face. He has been with us for 10 years now and has made many friends with our loyal customers. He enjoys helping customers by answering questions and helping them with their purchases. Philip got his education from Norfolk County Agricultural School.  Before Philip joined us  he was part of  the beautiful  Cedar Grove Cemetery grounds keeping and nursery  team.

At various times throughout the year we also add additional staff members to the garden center, some are hired on a seasonal/temporary  basis and others have been with us for years and are knowledgeable about the indoor and outdoor day to day operations.

I hope you enjoyed meeting part of our staff and getting to know them a little better. The next time you stop in, be sure to say hello!

With Easter and Mother’s Day behind us, I bet you may be wondering what to do with the beautiful bulb plants that you received? Well wonder no more.  Plant them in your outdoor garden to enjoy for many years to come.

Lilies will bloom in the summer months,  they may need some time to get established and  may not  bloom the first summer,  but will usually come back and perform well in future years.  June – August are their likely months so be sure not to  plan on them for Easter.

After a long cold dreadful winter, you’ll be happy to see the signs of spring return after you have taken the time to plant your  tulips, hiacinths  and daffodils

My personal favorite and most reliable bloomer is the daffodil, sadly their bloom time is so brief, but that’s o.k. I plant them anyway I find it very gratifying to  see them  multiply. I have them planted right outside my door  so that they are the first thing that I see when I leave the house each morning,   as long as  daffodils are in bloom, I start and end my day with a smile on my face. They always seem to make me smile when I need it most.

The best advice that I can give you for replanting these lovelies is to keep the foliage on and let them die back naturally, I know, I know as they start to die they look a bit unsightly but the main requirement for bulb flowers after bloom care is to keep the leaves on so the plant can put all of it’s energy to the bulb. You may use a little bulb booster or bone meal fertilizer in the fall.

Happy planting!

Get the most out of your home grown tomato garden.

• Choose a bright spot to start your beds. A location that gets at least 10 hours of light in the summer is the best for growing this ever popular fruit/ vegetable.
• Prepare the beds by turning the soil and amend with organic matter. We often suggest  Coast of Maine’s Lobster compost blend. (you can purchase here in the garden center).
• Water deeply, but infrequently starting off at once a week until the height of the summer where you may then water every 5 days.
• Keep your tomatoes coming all summer long… to eliminate having all of your harvest coming at once, three weeks after planting your first crop plant more.

We all realize the importance of team work, but often times we forget to realize  the day to to day operations that go on behind the scenes and the people who keep the operations running so smooth. Don’t forget  to pencil in your awesome administrative professional, the glue that holds it all together. Whether you want to recognize the entire week or the specific day, call us to help make this a very important holiday.

SOMETHING BLOOMING 

You can’t go wrong when sending a beautiful flower arrangement. Flowers say it best, did you know that a vase of fresh flowers on the corner of a desk or on a coffee table has been proven  to  induce positivity and enthusiasm in the workplace for both the  employees and clients that  enter your business space daily.

SOMETHING LASTING

An orchid or green plant are both fantastic choices to set on a desk and last for months or even years.

After such a long, cold snow filled winter, we are anxious and excited to welcome the return of spring and the Easter holiday. If you feel the same, you may just need to come into the shop and get your annual dose of spring fragrance. It’s o.k. no need to purchase, we realize the need to just take it all in. That my friend is the bonus of being a florist, sometimes we take for granted that we get to look at , handle, and smell spring even before Mother Nature says it is time.   Lilies, hiacinth, tulips and daffodils are all beautiful bulb plants that  can be enjoyed in your home (as a fresh cut flower) and in your garden (plants) and they are all indicative of Easter. When the holiday ends and the blooms have passed, do yourself a favor and  plant them outside in your flower beds or as a border. They won’t flower this year but they ‘ll be back to greet you next spring, they always seem to know when you need it  most and it’s always a pleasant surprise!

I just came across a few pictures from a Bat mitzvah  that we did in November. The pictures did not do these centerpieces justice  and may be a bit difficult to see.  I will attempt to describe them the best I can so that you can see these lovely acrylic ballarina and jazz/tap dancers for what they are.

The first image  is a beautiful acrylic ballerina with rhinestone bands on her neck and waistline adding a touch of elegance and whimsy, we used pink led acolytes to light up under her tulle  and the flowers were a variety of sweet pink carnations.

The second image  is a lovely acrylic tap/jazz dancer , we covered her in black sequence material that encompassed a grouping of white gerbera daisy’s around the waistline, At the foot of the base was a more substantial floral presence. Overall we had 18 tables.

“Life would be better if we wore more tutu’s”

IGNITE the NITE 2014

By Tajah Downey

On February 27th, we were honored to donate the floral decor for Boston GLOW’s IGNITE

the NITE annual fundraiser and silent auction. This volunteer run foundation focuses on the

development, empowerment, and education of young women to become critical thinking leaders

in our future. Young at-risk girls from all over the Boston area take part in classes, activities, and

even apply for scholarships to help them further the ideas they think will benefit young girls in

their communities.

I personally attended the event and enjoyed dancing into the evening to a local artist by the name

of Jenna Paone and DJour Entertainment. Tavern Road, El Pelon, and Gourmet Caterers enticed

us with tasty bites to keep us going while Festpics and Lens CAP Productions documented the

evening.

If drinks and dancing weren’t enough, the silent auction kept everyone buzzing. I even found

myself bidding on, and apparently winning, a collection of handmade earrings and a bracelet

designed by Uli.

It was a success by all accounts and we hope to take part again next year.

written by Richard O’Mara

Last night I had the opportunity to act as auctioneer at the Oscars on the Avenue Event hosted by St Marks Area Main Streets.  SMAMS has been an active organization who’s mission is to improve the quality of the business environment and  community life along a one mile stretch of Dorchester Ave.  They organize the beautification of the area, The Ashmont Peabody Farmer’s Market  along with Holiday Tree Lighting and numerous other things.

It was great to see the community come together, all decked out, some in tuxedos and gown, suits and outfits befitting movie stars!!  A Silent Auction was held and I auctioned off five live auction items that helped raise an additional $3000.00 to the proceeds of this event!  I am a firm believer in giving back to the community and had a blast…..Thanks SMAMS for inviting me to play such a prominent role in their event.

Not sure what to get your sweetheart for Valentines Day? Stop draggin’ her heart around and steal her heart instead with these breathtaking designs.

To order any of these flower arrangements either for local delivery or pick up call 617-825-8582 to view more fantastic designs head on over to our order flowers page  

“My heart skips a beat for you” wpv14 This monochromatic design is sure to make a dramatic statement. Roses, Gerbera Daisy’s and Tulips.

“Take another little piece of my heart” wpv16  Sweetheart roses are  delicately designed in the shape of a heart and placed on a hedge of mixed greens in this low 6″ x 6″  design As shown  $60.00 Large $75.00 Premium $90.00

“Unconditional Love”

“Dear Sweetness” Vd018  This combination of soft spring  blossoms hydrangea, spray roses and  ranunculus are just a few ingredients that create this lovely blend of

sweetness. As shown in a 4x 4 vessel is only $60.00 a larger and more substantial version would be $80.00 and for the best show on this particular design would be

$100.00

“Double your pleasure”  A classic way to say I love you  with 2 dozen medium stemmed roses, a sure  way to speak to her heart.