Dear Hydrangea enthusiasts,

 

Welcome to the May/June 2009 newsletter for Hydrangea Plus®. 

 

What’s Happening…

Yes, May is typically our busiest month.  Not only are our customers most ready for hydrangeas but we’re doing our overstock sale, planting, repairing more greenhouses, checking equipment and planting and propagating.  Wow!  I never know how I make it through May.

 

Our spring overstock sale was a huge success.  I hope you were able to come and pickup some great deals on hydrangeas and the other plant material we grow.  This is our annual sale that takes place the two weeks before Mother’s Day every year.  We hold this annual sale at this time because it allows us to make room for new plants.  And, our local customers get some great deals.

 

We’re planting our new crop of hydrangeas now.  We shift the hydrangeas to a larger container and in just a few months, we’ll be back in stock with most everything in the 2 year and 3 year size.   I’m trying to plant some more of the 1 year plants as well.

 

Hydrangeas Plus® will be at the Oregon Coast Gardening and Landscaping Expo for June 26th & 27th, See us there if you’re in the area.  The expo is full of plant sale opportunities and many seminars with many local writers and garden personalities.  Don’t miss out.  And yours truly is speaking again.

 

Hydrangeas are beginning to bloom here.  I’ll try to get out there and get some video and put that on Facebook/You Tube.

 

Hydrangeas Plus® Catalog (IX)

The number 9 catalog is done and printed and it looks gorgeous.  Remember that I’m going to have to charge for them this year.  Because we are doing fewer, the cost is much much greater.  The charge is $5.  Order on line (at http://www.hydrangeasplus.com) or send me a check to

Hydrangeas Plus®

PO BOX 389

Aurora OR 97002

 

I did put the PDF on the website. 

 

In case you missed our last newsletters, we had some significant damage with a December storm and lost 20 cold frame greenhouses to the weight of snow and ice.  Our insurance company has denied our claim for the damage.  With the large cost to repair our cold frame greenhouses, we are not able to send out the catalog, at least for free this year.  I hope we can continue our free catalog practice in the future.  I’m so proud of the catalog each and every year and I want to share it with as many of you as possible.  It’s not just a sales tool, it’s good information for growing hydrangeas.  And, it has pretty pictures that I update a vast majority every year.

 

Going Green

No, we’re not sick although the VanHoose household was a little under the weather this week.  I wanted to point out some of the steps we take to protect our environment, valuable natural resources and our employees.

 

 ·We use little pesticides and no herbicides on the hydrangeas.  Hydrangeas are very sensitive so we have some chemical and non-chemical ways to keep bugs and weeds away. 

·We recycle our water from the nursery into a tank and use that water for supplemental use or watering our field stock. 

·We re-use newspaper and shredded office paper to pack your hydrangeas safely in the boxes. 

·David installed a meter that will stop the sprinkler irrigation when it’s raining. 

·For the second year we grow vegetable starts for our employees to take home.  Next year, we are planning a community area that they may plant the vegetables and tend when here at work. 

·We recycle the broken agriculture plastic pots and trays. 

·Plant cuttings and old potting mix are used for mulch and garden areas, respectively. 

·In the office, we have moved most of our billing and accounts payable to paperless and online payments. 

·We live in the wonderful Pacific Northwest where some of electricity is generated with renewable sources like hydro, wind and solar. 

 

We have several plans to further reduce our need for gas and electricity when money allows (after we finish building the greenhouses, that is).

 

FaceBook

Welcome new Facebook subscribers.  We have catapulted to 230 fans but don’t ask how many are related or friends.  Yes, we are online and jumping into this new mode of information.  First YouTube and now this!  Join us for updates, information, interesting happenings and other hydrangea news.  Just search for Hydrangeas Plus or go to http://www.facebook.com/home.php?ref=home#/pages/Hydrangeas-Plus/44628992397.  I’m waiting for those hydrangea leaves to peak out and I’ll get some new pictures.  In the meantime, all the newsletters and events will be posted.

 

Working and office schedule

Summer break is almost upon us.  We’re shipping on just Tuesdays for the summer so that we can focus on nursery projects.  We’ll again try to be in the office most mornings for questions and orders but don’t hesitate to email us from our website or leave a phone message.  We’ll get back to you as soon as we can.

 

Hydrangeas Plus® important dates for your calendar – more details on the website

Here at the nursery

LeTour des Plants – September 12th – September 20th

 

Markets and events where Hydrangeas Plus® will be selling plants

Gardening on the Edge (Newport OR)– June 26th & 27th

 

Speaking engagements

Gardening on the Edge (Newport OR) – June 27th, 2pm (new)

Hardy Plants Society Genus Species (Portland OR)– August 11th, 6pm

 

Privacy Notice

We respect your privacy and want to be sure this is sent to those customers who have subscribed to the Hydrangeas Plus® newsletter.  Please use the unsubscribe link below if you received this in error or no longer wish to subscribe to our newsletter.  We apologize if you have asked before and we’ve neglected to take your name and email off our list.

 

Sincerely,

Kristin VanHoose

Hydrangeas Plus®

http://www.hydrangeasplus.com