It’s planting time

Plant enthusiasts have been waiting, what seems like an eternity, for the winter to fade and the sun to shine.

Mother Nature might be giving southern Alberta a break, as warmer temperatures have gardeners out and about buying and planting flowers and other fare in their front yards, backyards and wherever plants can be planted. Gardeners hope for the best, with Mother Nature hopefully being on their side.

Greenhouses throughout Lethbridge County and southern Alberta are up and running for the season — waiting to help out by giving planting advice and providing a variety of flowers and other growing delights to spruce up the old homestead.

Shaughnessy Greenhouse, which sells mostly bedding out annuals, opened on Mother’s Day weekend, while Ingrid Wolodchenko said so far business has been good but the recent rain scares away gardeners. Sunny days, though, bring out green thumbs in droves.

“They’re getting in the mood now,” noted Wolodchenko, who has been a part of the greenhouse for quite some time, with the family business being operated since 1975.

“My uncle used to do the Brewery Gardens (in Lethbridge) and then he retired and came and started this and then my aunt passed away and then I did it with him.”

Wolodchenko said now is a good time to start planting — as the heat is already here, which is a good thing to hear if gardeners want to get to work at what they love to do. One piece of advice Wolodchenko offers is when new plants are purchased they should be put outside for three or four days to harden them up before being planted.

“If you put them straight out into the hot sun, that’s not good for them because they’ve been in the greenhouse for quite a while,” she explained.

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