Helleborus niger
February is always an exciting time for me. The snow is melting in my south-facing front yard, revealing the first few spring blooms and rekindling my passion for gardening. In my garden, the Christmas Rose (Helleborus niger) and Crocus ‘Firefly’ and our tiny but hardy and tough native treasure Townsendia hookeri are the earliest flowers this year. And at the warmest part of the day, I’ve also seen a few honeybees visiting them. They are the unmistakable, irrepressible signs of spring!
In just a couple of weeks, there will be a lot more flowers blooming , and Harlequin’s Gardens will be open for the 2024 season! We’ll be opening through March in Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays beginning on Friday, March 1st. Classes, soil products, seeds, seed-starting supplies, tools and houseplants await you!
We also expect to receive our onion plants, potato ‘seed’ and asparagus crowns in March! We’ll give you a shout out when they’ve been delivered, weighed, packaged and labeled.
Potato Seed: German Butterball – (heirloom yellow) German Butterball offers everything you could want in a potato: heirloom quality, deep golden flesh, and a delightfully mild flavor. Versatile for every kind of preparation. Best if harvested when small to medium sized. Superior storage. Approximately 110 days to maturity
Nicola
Purple Majesty – Organic Uniform, high-yield, deep purple skin and flesh, very high in anthocyanins (high-potency antioxidant) Bred in & for Colorado. Midseason potatoes mature in 85-100 days. Oblong tubers with shallow eyes, purple skin, and purple flesh. High in antioxidants. Firm, moist texture after cooking. Good for roasting, baking, microwaving, salads and chips. Stores well
Harvest Moon – Organic (Purple Skin, Yellow Flesh) This midseason potato matures in 85-100 days. The round tubers have purple skin and very tasty deep yellow flesh with firm texture after cooking. They are great for roasting, baking, soups and chips and have excellent storability
Red Sangre – Midseason potatoes mature in 80-95 days. Bred in Colorado. Oblong, red-skinned variety with shallow eyes and medium-sized tubers. Ranks high in taste tests. Creamy, white flesh. Great tasting boiled or baked. Good for early harvest as new potatoes, too. Stores well.
Onion Starts
Bundled Onion Plants: Patterson – (Yellow, storage) plants, 104 days
Redwing – (Red, storage) 115 days
Walla Walla – (Yellow, sweet)
Onion Starts in pots (organic): Ailsa Craig, Rossa di Milano, Red Geneva, Gold Coin
Asparagus crowns: Jersey Knight and Purple Passion.
A reminder: Don’t be in a hurry to start clearing away fallen leaves and dead stems. They harbor many beneficial insects and their eggs, like the ladybird beetle (aka ladybug) I photographed in my garden this morning. Please review our spring clean-up advice HERE, even if you’ve read it before.