The Bruce Company Blog

Your houseplants are certainly happier with the sunshine and longer days.

The coming mild weekend weather has us itching to get into the garden, but the long range forecasts are signaling that it may be a while before you begin planting anything outside. Never fear though. Spring always arrives. Eventually.

If you stored any geraniums or any other annual cuttings for the winter, it’s time to pot them. Use lightweight potting mix and a clean container. Cut the plants back to about 6 inches above the soil line and water thoroughly. Once the new buds pop, move them to a sunny window until it is warm enough to place them outside.

Happy Valentine’s Day from all of us at the Bruce Company! Have you wondered why red roses are the go-to flower for Valentine’s Day giving? Or why white calla lilies are in so many traditional bridal bouquets? The answers to these questions lie in the language of flowers, subtle meanings given to flowers in order to evoke an emotional response.

The frantic pace of the holidays has a way of giving in to the quiet contemplation of mid-winter, making it a great time to settle in and nurture some spring projects. And the recent snowy weather certainly lends itself to incubation. Preferably indoors, under a pile of blankets, gardening magazines and seed catalogs.

The seed racks at the Garden Center are full of choices with so many distinct varieties of vegetables, herbs, flowering annuals and perennials that it makes us a little dizzy. This year looks a bit dicey for supply though, so get in to see us soon, as we are expecting limited supply and delayed delivery from several of our seed companies.

It’s been a quiet winter season here in Lake Wobegon. Oh wait! We’re in Dane county, but the sentiment applies. We’ve had snow. Which we love, by the way. There hasn’t been anything that can remotely be called a Polar Vortex. Other than the Great Ice Fog, we’ve been lucky.

Did you know that the average grocery store’s produce travels nearly 1,500 miles between the farm where it was grown and your refrigerator? That nearly 40% of our fruit is grown or produced in other countries? And that, even though a simple thing like broccoli is likely grown within 20 miles of your home, the veggies you buy at the supermarket probably traveled over 1000 miles?

Lose yourself in the beauty of an orchid flower for just an instant and feel your blood pressure drop. Delight in the way the sunlight plays on the surface of a spiny cactus stem and sense your smile. Be amazed as an amaryllis reaches upward and stretch yourself inwardly as well. These are the moments that help us get through one of the most hectic and stressful times of the year.

These celebrations, rituals and observances often have roots in promise or self-sacrifice. We like to think that this seeming victory of light over dark as a metaphor for survival and rebirth.