Open House 2012

The Blackrock Farm Open House has been scheduled for May 19, 2012.  You wouldn't believe how much work and time goes in to having this little nursery in top condition after the winter.  Not only do we have pruning and clean up from the winds and snowfall of but we have a lot of tidying to do at the many properties we take care of.  Many of our shrubs have to be stored in unheated greenhouses when the snow flies, and as the temperature rises we are forced to race against time to get them outside before the differences in climate damages them.  Also, many of our trees and shrubs come by bare-root delivery

which means they have to be root-pruned, potted, and fastidiously watered even as the other shrubs are organized and pruned for the upcoming season.  Bare root perennials and plugs also arrive during our preparation time, and since the threat of freezing is ever present in Maine the irrigation system will probably not be reactivated for a few more weeks.  

This might sound like an awful lot of complaining but it's actually a really interesting time to be working at the farm.  There's always a lot to do, and every one of the things on the giant "get ready" list, when completed, really improves the overall look of the grounds.  During the next six weeks you can see a difference with each work day that passes, and as the weather gets better and things begin to bloom the Open House generally arrives at the perfect time.  We always have a few big ticket trees available for sale as well, so if you're looking for an instant impact for your home this is a great day to really have a look at some large scale B&B trees.  

I hope i'll be able to post a few more times before the big day as things really start to get green around here.