When I was living in Europe and working in my flowershop in Munich, I could see a real trend in how people enjoyed their cut flowers. One of my customers came in every Friday after work to buy a few smaller bouquets of flowers for her apartment.

One was always for the coffee table in the living room because she knew a lot of activity would go on around this table during the weekend. She had plans to have friends over for a game night on Saturday and her parents came for coffee on Saturday to see her and the kids. But one bouquet was very important to her and almost a tradition. It was the smaller one for the kitchen table. “We have a long breakfast on Sunday morning and I just love it!” she told me. “The weekend breakfasts are simply the best. We all sit together , have coffee , a boiled egg and talk. There is no rush we don’t have to run to work or drop of the kids at school, we really connect!  Flowers make this experience even better. I look around and see the beautiful flowers on my table and I feel good! Don’t you love it?”, she asked me!

Yes, I absolutely do love it and I do the same thing. I love breakfast on weekends and flowers are as often as possible in my house.

 Real flowers put a smile on your face. I’m not exactly sure exactly what is, but there is something about flowers inside that makes me smile. Maybe it connects me with nature outside. Maybe it’s the scent or maybe it’s just because I love them. Cut flowers are not only available in stores, they are also very easy to grow.
A cut of flower garden can be grown in the smallest of places….even in pots. There are only a few things to remember and one of them is that flowers grown from bulbs should die back naturally to come back and bloom again next year. So if you cut them off, they may not bloom again next season. Just keep that in mind and plant some extra bulbs for cutting.

Tulips and daffodils of course are almost a must for an early spring smile . Allium ‘Purple Sensation’ and ‘Globemaster’ are stunning decorations and you only need a few of them…sometimes just one is enough. Lilies also make great cut flowers as well. They are really easy to grow in containers, give you an instant colour explosion and last very long. Gladiolus are beautiful for a big vase on the floor with maybe a branche and some grasses as a statement. What more can you ask for? For some great colour and decorative effects later in the season think dahlias! I love dahlias! The great thing is they like to be cut. The more you cut them the more they bloom. Sometimes, I cut a bouquet and mix in all kind of colours. Sometimes I choose only one colour …. my favourite flower colour is white ….. and sometimes I just have one flower in a vase or floating in a bowl of water, or a hosta leaf in a single vase.

Your imagenation is your limit….

Ahhh, I can’t wait for spring, summer and fall to come around and I can just go outside and snip off some smiles:)

Try it yourself…I promise you won’t regret it. A cut flower garden is something that everybody enjoys!

~ Elke ~

Show us where you wear your DigIt glasses! Send us a picture (or two or three) with you and your DigIt glasses and we will post it on our website.

We’ll started it off by showing you how you can wear your glasses with a fun Botanus outing in Vancouver! A sunny Valentines Day, Chinese New Year and Canada’s first Olympic Medal Day! Show us your ideas on how and where to wear the DigIt Eye Wear!

Take a look and send us your pictures! Have fun!

~elke, pam and wendy~

To get yourself some DigIt glasses (click here)
http://www.flickr.com/photos/botanus/sets/72157623317160633/show/

 Cast Your Vote for Botanus!

As many of you know, we pack up our bags and travel to Toronto at least three or four times a year to present a selection of wonderful plant items on the Shopping Channel. This year is no exception as we’ll be back on Saturday, March 20th to present the days exclusive Showstopper (can’t tell you what it’ll be…it’s a surprise…you’ll just have to tune in to find out!)

Each year the Shopping Channel holds its annual Shoppies Awards - it’s their version of the Oscars - with a limited number of eligible categories. This year we’d like you to vote for Botanus!

Casting your vote is easy and fun! All you have to do is go to:

 http://tinyurl.com/yb7ta3c

Under category 3 called Favourite Canadian Line click ‘Other, please specify’ and then type in ‘Botanus’.

You can vote as many times as you like. The contest closes Tuesday, February 23rd, 2010 so be sure to vote today!

(Pam & Richard on tSc last September)

Thank you very much for voting and we’ll keep you posted about the results.

~pam~

  Peoples first reaction about growing vegetables is that they don’t have enough room in their garden or they just have a little bit of a balcony or deck. The good news is, that this is enough space to grow your own food … ok maybe not all of it, but enough to have fun and some good results.

Strawberries are known as an easy plant to grow in pots but there is more you can try like rhubarb or blueberries or raspberries …… You can almost grow all vegetables or fruits  in containers as long as you make sure they get the right exposure and the right soil condition and a big enough container.

Blueberries are not only fun to grow but also a nice ornamental bush. Raspberries need some help to get started but as soon as they are settled in they are very low maintenance.Make sure you keep them from drying up until they are nicely grown into their new place and off they go. The best part is when you are sitting outside reading your book and beside you is a bush full of fresh berries you can pick and eat right there. Fresh, very tasteful and best of all not sprayed.

Last summer I tried growing potatoes in a bag because we wanted to make sure that it is as easy and rewarding as we want it to be for you, our customers. And let me tell you it was lots of fun, very exciting and rewarding as well. In my “test” I used 3 Yukon Gold potatoes and ended up with a whole mash bag  full of tasty potatoes.

Give it a try and if you have kids grow it with them. You will have a lot of fun together.

The kit comes with a bag, seed potatoes and the exact instructions of how to do it.

All you need to get is a bag of soil.

I can’t wait to get my kit started again.

~ elke ~

  Take your average Bleeding Heart and kick it up a notch! Stunning deep red blooms accented with white atop greyish-blue, fern-like foliage.

Dicentra Bleading Hearts

The first time I saw this plant I just knew I had to have one for my shade garden. Not only does it look amazing with its stunning flowers and uniquely coloured foliage but it blooms longer than other Dicentras…so guess what I’m planting more of this year?”

‘Burning Hearts’ is a bleeding heart cultivar that is noted for its extended bloom period, particularly in cool summer climates. Plants grow in a low spreading mound to 8-12 inches tall and to 15 inches wide. The nodding, heart-shaped, rose-red flowers appear on leafless flower stems arching above deeply-cut, fern-like blue-gray leaves. Given adequate moisture, the foliage remains attractive in summer, and may produce an attractive ground cover effect. Makes a wonderful companion plant for Hostas and Astilbes and does well in containers too!

To check it out please click here … you don’t want to miss this !

http://tinyurl.com/ylo9be6

~elke~

Dig It™ Gloves are the first working gloves created by the two Canadian women, Wendy Johannson and Claudia Harvey - you may have seen them strike their deal on CBC’s Dragons’ Den! These amazing gloves are designed to work hard while protecting your hands and nails.

(Click here)

Before we choose any product to offer to our customers we thoroughly test them and Dig It^TM Gloves were no exception. Once we tried them we soon discovered that they were a very comfortably fitting yet extremely durable glove that impressed us on all levels!

We were initially intrigued by the unique design of the gloves and the fact that they are made from 100% recycled materials was a HUGE bonus because the ‘greener’ a product is in our books, the better. But it’s their durability that makes these gloves a real standout.

In fact, I wore my ‘test’ pair every day during the entire Fall 2009 shipping season. Out in the warehouse they lifted, they dug, they packed and picked, they sorted and stamped and even got accidently run over by our fork lift!

The result - one amazing set of gloves that are still in terrific shape (albeit somewhat dirty but they washed up like a charm!). So simply put, we can’t rave enough about these amazingly comfortable and durable gloves. They’re sure to become your next favourite tool around the house!

Dig It^TM Gloves are not just for gardeners. They are great for all kinds of handwork around the house. Cleaning, yard work, moving furniture, sorting recycling, shovelling snow, sweeping, washing the car, organizing seasonal storage, etc. Available in 5 sizes from Petit to X-Long. *Special Note: Gloves fit snugly - when in doubt choose next size up. The most popular size is ‘Long’.

No doubt in my mind, these gloves are worth every penny and I know you won’t be dissapointed !

~elke~

Baptisia australis was named the “Perennial of the Year 2010″

by the Perennial Plant Association.

Blue Wild Indigo is one of the longest lived perennial plants. It is well known in gardens due to its attractive pea-like, deep blue flowers that emerge on spikes in the late spring and early summer. It requires little maintenance and is quite hardy. The seed pods are popular in flower arrangements, which also contribute to its popularity in cultivation. Babtisia australis is easily grown in average, dry to medium, well-drained soil in full sun to part shade although it does best in full sun. Once established it will tolerate drought and poor soils. Over time, plants develop slowly expanding clumps with deep and extensive root systems, and should not be disturbed once established. It’s a terrific, low maintenance perennial for borders, cottage gardens, prairies, meadows and native plant gardens.

Height : 38 in, 95 cm
Season : Mid
Exposure : Full Sun, Partial Shade
Depth : 2 in, 5 cm soil coverage
Spacing : 20 in, 50 cm
Zone : 4-9
Size : Bare Root
Cut Flower, Deer Resistant, Drought Tolerant, Naturalizes

  Well, at least at Botanus! It’s the time of year that get’s me very excited about gardening and spring and all that comes with it.  

I know there is still a lot of snow around and the winter is far from over but our Spring 2010 Catalogue arrived from the printer and is already in the mail to you! The website is also up and running and the garden planning can now begin!

This is always a great time because it seems like I can smell “Spring” in the air yet the cold days give us all the opportunity to take the time and go through the catalogue and plan, mark, circle, dream, order and then get really excited about what’s coming our way. What a wonderful time!

We’ve added more the 100 new varieties to our 400+ selection,

you can now grow your own fruits and veggies,

we’ve added some new Earth Friendly Gardening Tools and Supplies,

you can be the proud owner of the brand line of 

Dig It Gloves and Eyewear,

and the list goes on and on….

So if you are on our mailing list, your catalogue is on its way and if you’re not on the list please sign up here: 

http://ww.botanus.com/spring_2010/subscribe_10.html 

or just give us a call 1-800-672-3413 to receive your FREE copy of the Botanus Spring  2010 catalogue.

The website is also up and running and can be browsed at:

http://www.botanus.com/

Enjoy your new FREE catalogue and let us know if we can be of any assistance to you! We are here to help.

We wish a happy time relaxing, planning and gardening…

Elke, Pam and Wendy and the entire Botanus Team

Thank you to all our customers and friends of Botanus! 

2009 is coming to an end and looking back we feel very blessed that we have such great people to work with and so many wonderful customers and friends of Botanus who make every day a good one.

We feel it’s a good time right now to say “Thank You” from the bottom of our hearts for your trust and loyalty and for encouraging words and thank you’s and testemonials and great stories and comments and phone calls and …..and …..and …..

 Our customers are like good friends to us and we will always do our best to make shopping with Botanus a great experience.

For now just take some time and enjoy some quiet time with friends and families and as soon as you are ready to start your new gardening season we will be right here waiting to help you create a beautiful garden.

Thank you again for a fabulous year and we are looking forward to a most wonderful new gardening season in 2010.

Thank you for caring for our planet and have a wonderful holiday season.

Elke, Pam and Wendy

Yesterday was a great day for me! I was a volunteer at the Langley Christmas Bureau and had the privilege of giving out toys to low income families. It was wonderful to see the sparkling eyes of single mothers or parents that would not have any other way to give their children a gift this Christmas. One lady said to me after we filled her bag with toys for her two children: “This is going to be the best Christmas ever!!”

To make something like this possible we need people who care and want to share and support people who have less than they do. The Christmas Bureau is full of people like that and it’s a wonderful thing!

The Langley Christmas Bureau has approximately 100+ volunteers who donate their time and energy. While I was at the Bureau yesterday I could see first hand how much of a commitment it is to run an operation like this. Langley is also very proud of the fact that it’s the only bureau that operates on a volunteer basis. Way to go Langley!!

For weeks and weeks now the volunteers are busy sorting toys into the different age groups and genders as well as into different pick up days. The feeling I got yesterday was really like I imagined it in Santa’s workshop. Lots and lots of elves are running around making sure the  day goes smoothly and people in need leave this place with a smile on their face.

So I thought this would be a good time to say “Thank you” to all the people who give their time and money and make a great thing like the Christmas Bureau possible. Thank you to the sponsors, all the people and companies who donated toys and money, thank you to all the volunteers and thank you to everybody who cares! Sometimes it doesn’t take a lot to make a child’s heart smile. Show them that you care and love them!

Elf Elke and Langley Christmas Bureau Co-Chair Leigh Castron!