Open House History!

Since 1964 Skillin’s has hosted our very special Spring Open Houses. John and Dave Skillin developed this tradition after several visits to the then Boston Flower Show. Our first experience with the Boston Flower Show was in 1930 when Pa Skillin and his daughter Florence entered a display with a miniature model greenhouse and Pa’s famous Skillin’s raised Calla lilies. We still proudly display a picture of Florence with that miniature greenhouse and that very same model greenhouse at our store today .

There had been other driving factors for the creation of our own Skillin’s flower show. Up until about this time Porteous (for those of you that might remember Porteous and its famous downtown department store) had each year done a flower show in their store that was the highlight of year. Magnificent floral displays filled their entire store front windows and as I remember it also filled their store. I wonder if anyone besides me remembers the Porteous carved wooden bear chair?

Also as they say the winter months were getting pretty long in the tooth and John and Dave needed to find a way to help sell the flowers left over after several snowed out Valentine’s Day. They say necessity is the mother of invention--well long cold winters were the invention of our first Spring Open House.

Presidents weekend or George Washington’s Birthday was picked for our first two-day weekend event. It was after Valentines so if we needed we to had that one last chance to sell beautiful fresh cut flowers left over. It also gave the Skillin’s people time to force into bloom great lilacs, rhododendrons, tulip and jonquils and all the plants that we dream about for Spring. However a funny thing happened with this two-day event safety valv-- it snowed. It snowed like it was the last snow to ever fall, not just one year but several in a row. It snowed and snowed and snowed. These storms of epic proportions have made for years of conversations and laughter with many of our closest gardening friends who braved the elements to see this wonderful Flower Show.

1964 was also the year that we redeveloped the greenhouse that we now call the Mill House from a production style green house into a tropical houseplant display and sales greenhouse. Of course the Mill House featured a country style millhouse with a working water wheel and pond that for years through the 1970’s was part of our company’s logo.

Now in 2008 after all these years this greenhouse is just now getting a much needed facelift that we hope will be completed by this year’s 44th annual Skillin’s Spring Open House here in Falmouth. Over these last 44 years of our Open Houses we have seen plenty of spectacular events with guest speakers, discussed new innovative ideas for gardening and met lots of new and first time gardeners.

One of my favorite memories will always be during any one of our Open House events when just when the crowds peaked and we were all elbow to elbow in excitement; amid the hum of several hundred gardening conversations my father John Skillin would say “ Boy, I think this would be a good place to start a garden center”. Then he would laugh and disappear into the happy crowd.

This event has been a long tradition for Skillin’s and over these last 44 years of Open Houses this event has brought thousands of visitors in to dare and dream about Spring. Sometimes I wonder how we all made it through winter for 79 years before our first Open House. Skillin’s has been in business for 123 years and in one way or another celebrating Spring has always been our goal.

Terry Skillin
Skillin's Greenhouses
February 11, 2008

Open House Happenings!

Hello again,

February 16, 17 and 18 are the dates for our Annual Spring Open House at Skillin’s Falmouth! Make sure you do not miss Maine’s Original Flower Show!

What a classic old fashioned winter we are having! It seems like our Open House is coming along for us gardeners and lovers of flowers at the best possible time.

(the above picture shows Sally Bolstridge hard at work on the John Skillin Garden she does every year for our Open House. John was all about leadership and example and this garden at the front of our store will lead you in for more and more great Spring inspiration!)


Here are some Exciting Details about our upcoming Open House at Falmouth:

This Maine tradition started in 1964 when John and Dave Skillin decided that folks in Maine deserved a Flower Show similar in concept to the Boston Flower Show; this legacy and tradition is still strong!

The gardening world is going Green and we can help you garden Green by showing you how to Plant for the Planet!

We have some great special programs—hear Bob Bittenbender of Maine Audubon speak at 11 AM and 2 PM on Saturday the 16th.

We have a special gardening program for the kids from 10 AM to 2 PM on Saturday the 16th.
Dave Charpentier of the Organica Company (http://www.organica.net/) will be here to talk about their smart and safe gardening products on Monday the 18th.

Our old friends from the Maine Orchid Society will be with us on Saturday and Sunday. They bring a wonderful collection of orchids for you to see and shop from and will give you kind and knowledgeable advice about this wonderful series of plants.

Let us show you the latest in naturally biodegradable pots and saucers all weekend! Just another way we can help you Plant for the Planet.

Very special Door Prizes:
A $500 Landscape Package—and more!
Win a Floral Design Party for 10—and more!
Special Occasion Floral Displays
On the Spot Free Landscape Consulting
with Chad Skillin—great for you!

As always we will have a wonderful landscape display,
tasty refreshments, many more door prizes, warm cozy greenhouses, and
many GREAT SPECIAL SAVINGS.

We will have awesome
guests from the Maine Audubon Society, Jolly Gardener, and the renowned White Flower Farms, also guests from organic gardening leader Coast of Maine products. And more!

Finally meet Dave Skillin on our garden center floor and he can pass on wise garden advice gained from his 50 years in the industry!

One of our oldest attractions at our Skillin’s Falmouth is the “Mill House”; our oldest greenhouse; it is a throwback to older days really. Well, in these days of high energy prices and concern about consumption of fossil fuels we have decided it is time to renovate the old greenhouse.

So, here are some pictures of the early stages of renovation; we hope to have a good part of the renovations done for our Open House:

(above right is where the old water wheel was—the pond had sprung a leak over the past Spring and we needed to completely fix the area so as not to waste incredible amounts of water!)

(for a neater look we will be going with a brick floor in place of gravel we constantly had to sweep and even replace!)

(above is where the pond was—we will be replacing the pond with some waterfall features!)

So please come visit us at our Falmouth Open House on Feb 16, 17 and 18! You will see much more than we what we have pictured--come to our Spring Oasis in the middle of a Maine winter!

Mike Skillin

Skillin's Greenhouses

February 10, 2008

Welcome to February: Winter Is Passing by KCB

KCB is a professional gardener and friend who does wonderful work in the Greater Portland area. KCB is also an accredited Master Gardener by the Cooperative Extension Service and we are honored to have KCB as part of our Skillin's Garden Log family!

I embrace February! Ever since I can remember, February signified the end of winter. Not according to Mother Nature, the Calendar: Julian, Gregorian, Pagan or otherwise, but to me, at least internally.

February is the shortest month, you see; a month with just 28 days (well sometimes all of 29!). February flies by, ending more quickly than any other month. Meaning? Before we know it, March is here. What happens in March? Spring begins, which only could mean, winter ends in February. A logic I still carry with me. We are at winter’s end. Yes it snowed recently. As snow often does, it has already melted. It will snow soon again; it will melt soon again!

February is blessed with so many great features. Spring Bonds at Skillin’s. Migrating Cedar Waxwings invading the Hawthorne in front of my house. A month in which we celebrate love or the chance of being touched by cupid’s arrow. A month where we commemorate two of this country’s greatest presidents. Not to mention The Daytona 500 and so much more!

After moving to Maine, I discovered another rite of spring; the offering of Spring Bonds at Skillin’s and the celebration that is their Open House in Falmouth. No shameless plug intended, just facts As the date of the Open House approaches I will share more on why this has become such an event for me.

Oh did I mention, Spring Training ? Never mind, that was my last post?

There is so much to say about February I feel I may run out of month before I run out of ideas and memories.

This February offers us more than the February last, and that of the February to follow.

It gives us that once in every 4-years extra day. Bet some of you didn’t know it was a leap year!

A lot of traditions are centered around a leap year. To write about one of my favorites would surely reveal too much. Yet I am compelled to share. I always thought it odd that in was only during a leap year when it was permissible for a woman to ask a man to marry her. Leave it to an Irish woman, St. Brigit, to suggest this very concept.

Now on to February and your garden.

By now the Seed Catalogs are spilling over, you’ve marked the days on your calendar for the Skillin’s Open House. What else can you do? Lots!

The ever increasing day light and warmer weather offer more opportunity to walk around your property or neighborhood. As you do so, adopt the ‘garden trance’: the hypnotic state of staring at your landscape or garden bed.

On the first warm and fairly dry day walk around your property. Take note of any fallen or broken limbs. Start picking up any debris, limbs or the assorted unidentified objects that may have found their way on to your landscape. This will allow a jump start in preparation for those ever powerful March winds.

Continue to inspect your property. How do your flowering shrubs look? Any winter die back? Look closely at the inner branches now because when trees and shrubs are in full foliage many of the dead inner workings go unnoticed. Early spring is the time I prune and feed many of my shrubs. Not just yet, however. As time approaches I will share more.

Since you most likely will be pruning sooner than you expected, it is ever so important that your tools are sharp and ready. If you haven’t seen to this task before the tools were retired for their long winter’s nap, dig them out now. There is nothing so maddening as heading out with your pruners and discovering that they only serve to bend or squeeze the branch. As much as this frustrates you, just think of the damage dull tools can inflict on your shrub or plant! Most people who sharpen tools are less busy this time of year and welcome your business. When other gardeners are waiting for the return of their tools, your tools will have already begun their spring training.

Include hand saws and long handled loppers with the tools to be sharpened. By removing any limps or branches that are at risk now, you just may avoid more damage after a storm. Who can forget the devastation left by the Patriot’s Day Storm of last April?

Are your current tools in need of permanent retirement? Now is the perfect time to purchase new tools. Inventories are ready or an item can be ordered to beat the onset of the season. There are some things I never scrimp on, gardening tools and high -thread count bed sheets. Go figure?!

I can not caution enough, however. Do not attempt any pruning near power lines. When it comes to the limbs of trees, a Licensed Arborist is key,

Still too cold to spend a good deal of time outside? Review your early spring notes from last years Garden Journal? What, you do not keep a journal? Then start one—today.

You need not write long narratives, just jot down the date and a few words. Some things to consider, mark the day migrating birds stop by and the shrub, tree or food that attracted them. Record the second you notice the first Hyacinth or crocus sprout. Keep track of the amount of snow during the next couple of months; as plants wake and emerge, water is critical in the movement of nutrients through the plant. Still at a loss for words? Invest in a digital camera or purchase a disposable one. Remember, one picture says a thousand words. Simply paste a picture of the first sprout or bird with the date. I’m smiling because I know from experience you will be making notes, adding ideas and whatever may come to mind.

I know many people who would shun the idea of keeping a journal for moments in their personal lives, yet find their garden journal much more than just about gardening. For special treatment do purchase one that looks and feels good. Flowers on the cover not really optional. For the men—I know one or two who keep their ‘little black book’ not far from their hand pruners. Some entries that have been shared with me include dimensions for future fences, new beds or the distance between the 2 trees to see if the hammock will fit. One client even gave me the item # of a hammock they wanted from a certain Maine Catalog company. See how convenient a journal can be.

Homework: Sharpen tools, purchase journal and/or notebook. Inspect Landscape. Take time to dream. We have a lot of work to get started on!

See you next time.

Mature Gardening--good tips for ALL of us!

While this article was written primarily with "Mature Gardeners" in mind--these are all good and smart gardening tips for gardeners of any age or ability. We can help you here at Skillin's with any of these gardening tips!

In a recent article from the Associated Press, author Dean Fosdick offered some tips on how aging gardeners can reduce the stresses gardening can put on their bodies. How do we define mature gardeners here at Skillin's; well, a mature gardener is someone only a little older than Terry Skillin. Here are some of the tips that Dean offered:

• Start by knowing your limitations. Rest frequently and pace yourself while occupied with extensive and repetitive garden chores. Gardening is all about puttering. Take your time and enjoy it.

• Keep gardens or flowerbeds small or sized in scale with your capabilities. Don’t overdo or become overwhelmed by a too-optimistic workload.

• Plant gardens near a water source or lay out a system of hoses conveniently near the work sites. Store tools in a nearby shed, cabinet or perhaps a large mailbox. Build trails wide enough for wheelchairs, wagons and walkers to pass. Add handrails for balance and place benches at various points for rest and reflection.

• Wrap tool handles or stuff gloves with foam padding to make grasping more comfortable. Adding a cord to the grips makes them easier to retrieve if dropped and conveniently at hand when looped around your wrist or neck.

• Choose low-maintenance plants that don’t need much in the way of deadheading, watering, spraying or pruning. Vegetables trained to climb a trellis will eliminate the need for bending when harvesting. Lighten the spring planting routine by selecting perennials, which will bring many happy and unassisted returns.

• Use equipment that makes everyday gardening chores easier on traumatized soft tissues and joints. That includes kneeling stools, long-handled “reacher-grabbers,” kneepads, potting benches, seed dispensers and wagons. Wear a smock or tie on a carpenter’s apron. Both are equipped with numerous pockets for seed packets, notepads and tools. Carry a magnifying glass with you to help read the fine print on planting stakes and seed labels.

• Confine your gardening to raised beds or containers, which will minimize stooping. Make the beds small enough so plants in the middle can be reached without an awkward stretch. Place large containers on wheels so they can be shifted to wherever they're the most convenient.

• Weed and cultivate after a rain when the soil is easier to work.

• Use large sprinklers that cover wide areas and require less moving around. Drip irrigation or drizzler hoses are easy-care water systems for thirsty plants.

• Carry a cell phone or whistle while working alone in distant corners of the yard. Don't hesitate to use them if you run into any kind of trouble. Better yet, garden with a buddy. You can share some ideas and keep one another company.

• Minimize risk. If a certain job places you in an uncomfortable position, like reaching, then figure out another approach or find a tool designed to serve.

• Super-size your tool collection. If you know you'll need two hands to make a cut with a pruner, then upgrade and reach for a lopper instead. That still may require using both hands, but the squeezing effort will be minimal.

Mike Skillin

Skillin's Greenhouses

February 7, 2008

How Can I Get My Amaryllis to Rebloom?

This question posed by Customer Jan is among the most asked this time of year here at Skillin's:

"I have three Amaryllis flowering at the moment, and know there is a method to hold them over from year to year and get them to re-bloom. Can you share how that is done?"

Here is my answer:

This is a response to the same question posed to Christian Curless writing for People, Places and Plants magazine (http://www.ppplants.com/) and I thought his answer was superb.

“After the flowers fade on each stalk, cut off the stalk two inches above the top of the bulb. Do NOT cut the leaves. Continue to water the bulb as needed, occasionally adding water soluble fertilizer—organic (like Neptune’s Harvest Fish and Seaweed sold right here at Skillin’s) is great—and wait until all risk of frost has passed. Then move the bulb outdoors, initially into a shady spot. Over the course of a week, gradually increase the bulb’s exposure to sunlight until it ends up in a location where it will receive full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight a day). If the potting mix dries out quickly, move the bulb into a large pot. You can also plant the bulb in the ground. For a potted bulb, add fertilizer every couple of weeks or so.

Toward the end of summer, push the soil away from the bulb to check its size. If it has grown to the size of a grapefruit, it’s time to bring it indoors (many people just the leave the bulb outdoors until after the first frost). Lift the bulb and knock off the soil from the roots, then put it in a cool, dark, dry place. Give the bulb a two month rest; mark your calendar so you don’t forget. Then cut the foliage down to the neck, trim the roots so they’ll fit into a pot—don’t remove them entirely—and plant the bulb again in a pot of suitable size. If the bulb has stored up enough energy during the summer, it will bloom again in about two months.”

Send us any gardening questions you may have to info@skillins.com and we will help you out!

Mike Skillin

Skillin's Greenhouses

February 7, 2008

Stealing a Peek into Spring with Terry Skillin

The long-awaited Terry Skillin checks in with a walk through our production greenhouses. As Terry so aptly describes below our greenhouses are chock full and getting fuller with all kinds of plants that we are growing for your Spring planting. This is a fast read; so hang on! Well, the read is fast but Terry is getting up there in age so I can assure you his walk was not so fast!


Ooops, if I keep talking we are going to fall behind Terry as he has started his walk! Let's go!


"This time of year with January behind us, and the days getting longer a walk through our production greenhouses is like looking through a crystal ball look into Spring. It’s not just all the sights that floods your optical senses as you walk in, but the smell of plants growing, the humidity and the warming sun through the greenhouse. Once I settle down from this awesome blast of Spring I settle down and start to focus on all the hopeful plants already growing.

Cineraria are the first I see and this is a great indoor late winter plant. It grows about 6 to 8” high and about 10” wide and produces many daisy-like flowers about the size of a quarter or a little larger. The color choices are many: from bright to pastel. Keep this plant cool: average temperature 58 to 65 degrees is best and give it plenty of light. This plant is an annual and inexpensive so trying to keep it alive after blooms have faded is not really practical, not one to save for Spring planting. . Once I did actually save a Cineraria and I did plant it out in the shade in late May. It did bloom again but not as spectacular and I blame the whole experience on my deep frugal Maine heritage. I had better things to do!

Easter Lilies have been part of the scene in our production greenhouses for about 3 months starting back in November. I can tell that this year’s crop will be one of the best. The whole crop is at an even 8-10” tall now, with great rich green stems and foliage. The stems are stocky from top to bottom with great consistent leaf count. I am going into my 33rd Spring here at Skillin’s and I am starting to notice a thing or two! Easter Lilies like plenty of sun however too much sun will cause their flowers to mature much faster. Keep them evenly moist and if there is a decorative foil on the container or on a container that holds water make sure that any excess water is dumped out right after watering. Easter Lilies sturdy white roots can rot easily if kept too wet. During their stay indoors there will be no need to fertilize. Room temperatures are ideal at the low to mid 60’s. If you have room in your garden it might be worth your while to plant your Easter Lilly outdoors in late May. Cut the stem back to about 4” and plant the bulb about 12” deep. During the coming seasons you should see flowers in mid summer.

Primrose--what a great tough little perennial! During mid and late winter this little tough guy does great indoors with cool room temperatures and plenty of sun. Kept moist but be careful not to over water. They produce a great array of bright to pastel colors. They are most spectacular when placed together in one container mixing several colors creating a miniature garden. Keep this one growing all winter and plant them out during late May with a westerly exposure and they will create a great little mass planting our use as a border plant.

We also have a great crop of early geraniums in bloom just perfect for those sunny windows indoors while they wait for the late May early June planting outdoors. While I am on the subject of geraniums we also have a great crop of Regal Geranium (a.k.a. Martha Washington) growing that will be ready in a couple of weeks. This plant is great to mix with ferns, orchids and other foliage pants to help chase away winter.

We have started our Fuchsia hanging baskets. They are still pretty small but if these little fuschias aren’t proclaiming joyfully that Spring is on the way then I don’t know what to tell you. In that same sprit we have transplanted our Dracaena Spikes and even before those are ready we will have an early crop of Osteosperumum probably ready in two or three weeks.

Osteospermum is a daisy like flower about 11/2” across that have been hybridized to produce some pretty great colors. Once outdoors this plant can take it a little dry but would do best if kept moist. Full sun to partial shade and will grow to about 8 to 10” tall. This plant really lends itself as a bedding plant, hanging basket or is great used with others mixed in patio containers and window boxes. As most plants in containers fertilize about every two weeks from early June until frost.

As I was leaving the greenhouse a big tractor-trailer was just leaving and left behind on the loading dock were crates and crates of dormant perennial roots. Can you believe it? Here we are again right back into the thick of making Spring happen again. It is my 34th Spring but the coming Spring is always my favorite!

You know I think this is going to be a great year to just stay home and work in the yard--and I can't wait!"


Terry Skillin
Skillin’s Greenhouses
February 5, 2008

Spring Training

KCB is a professional gardener and friend who does wonderful work in the Greater Portland area. KCB is also an accredited Master Gardener by the Cooperative Extension Service and we are honored to have KCB as part of our Skillin's Garden Log family!

Eighteen in the win column and one in the loss are not bad statistics, that is unless the one is the most critical game of the year.

Not since the 6th game of the 1986 World Series have I felt this way. I remember crying uncontrollably when that ball rolled right thru Bill Buckner’s leg. This was pretty surprising as I was not a sports fan.

This past Sunday night I so wanted to sob that way again, but I couldn’t. I was not on a comfortable couch at home surrounded by loved ones. I was at work in the lunch room surrounded by nodding acquaintances from the call center I call ‘my winter life’.

Mutterings such as ‘it was all for nothing’, ‘it all came down to this game’,’ If only’, ‘what went wrong?’ echoed. Six months worth of games gone in 35 seconds. As my co-workers filed out of the somber room to return to work stations, or as in my case, home, hearts were heavy. Desperate whispers of ‘there is always next year’ passed between a few. For others the countdown to spring training cast new hope, the start of NASCAR offered light to others.

What does any of this have to do with gardening? To me, everything has to do with gardening. Some of you may be nodding in agreement. Gardeners do not measure their efforts in innings, quarters or halfs, yet we await our seasons with the same gusto as any sports fanatic.

We have our ‘what went wrong?’ and ‘if onlys' and ‘next years’. We’ve suffered our loosing seasons when winter’s fury could render a generation of roses or rhododendrons useless. I still mourn my small field of lavender that was lost to a frigid winter 5 years ago. Not quite the 1986 World Series, yet not far from the 42nd Superbowl.

There have been rainouts and droughts that hinder our season. While we shake our heads we shake our selves off and start all over again. Waiting until next year is just too long.

The difference between the most formidable athlete or fan and a gardener is that we do not lose faith over one shrub that strikes out or a perennial border that doesn’t reach its goal. We prune, transplant and even replace several times during a season. We dream of next year but never loose sight of the season at hand. There are times we’ve had to punt or simply aim for another goal to make everything work.


Within our gardens we need not focus on one game. We have the power to stage events any place we see fit. It need not be all or nothing. A garden that flourishes is full of second strings. If a specimen planting doesn’t make the cut, we need not bench the whole bed. As coach we do not fire ourselves.


Still reeling with the ‘maybe next year hangover’ from the Patriot’s loss, I took solace the only way I could, a walk. Much to my 4 legged companion’s chagrin, the walk was cut short due to an outbreak of ‘Garden Trance’. Yes, the malady that affects so many. Staring endlessly at a once and future garden. Recently buried by snow, these patches of dormancy unfold. We can not pass by without stopping to search for any signs of new life. Seconds drift to minutes and moments pass as we stare. Is that green? Are those pink buds? Let the games begin……….

KCB
for Skillin's Greenhouses
February 4, 2008