Breaking snooze

We are going to open to the public this year. YIPPEE     Hold tight for more dates on that. Previously we only allowed people to come as a part of a garden club or special invitation, but we felt that so many people wanted to come and see/buy our plants that why not open for one day a week. Anyway it's a lovely drive and a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
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Winter post

Basking in the sun.

The warm temperatures are wonderful but cause most gardeners a bit of concern because some plants are convinced it is spring and we have no snow to help protect the confused little green people. Wait till they find out that La Nina was just having a little joke on them.
I don't think we will have the intense cold that would come with prolonged winter though, but a cold snap could seriously affect some of the zone 5 plants and definately clobber the zone 6 ers. Still here we are January 6 and it's minus 4 outside, close to normal for this time of year.

SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

At last, protection for all the plants against the cold fingers of winter. Not only does the snow form a blanket to keep the plants out of the cold wind and frost,  but,  it helps hydrate them everytime we have a warm spell. The wind sucks out moisture and dries the little guys into sticks. In Kamloops it can be a thaw, freeze cycle all through the winter but many times we get snow then cold. Mama nature has a way....................
http://www.laughingswanfarm.com/

Sleeping is not in the plan

We are not big on doing nothing so this time of year is about keeping our hardy perennials from freezing to death and preparing our lights for starting seedlings. Right after Christmas we will be starting various seeds so as to be ready as early as possible in the spring.
Ken organizes the lights and Shirley has the expertise in sprouting seeds no matter how stubborn they might be.
The greenhouse is heated but not to the extent of being able to grow stuff all year. We are working on that.
We are considering how to heat a greenhouse with a passive solar hydronic system and a wood furnice backup. This is not cheap even when we do all the work (as usual). Like our other projects, we spend a lot of time just considering the options and then moving to the best one.