Apenberry's Grafting Process

Everyone Needs a Black Cat for Halloween

2010-10-30T17:26:00.000-04:00

Our favorite store cat, Fairbanks, is so excited about Halloween. She's already all black....so no need to dress up.

Stop by this Thursday from 12 to 6 for our annual Holiday Preview. Say hi to Fairbanks and enjoy refreshments and all the holiday decorating ideas!

More First Fruits...

2010-09-29T15:13:00.000-04:00

First Fruits

2010-09-29T12:24:00.001-04:00

Much to our surprise and delight...our Organic Straight Eight Cucumbers have produced our first crop!

It's always exciting to see the results and this is an early start to (hopefully) a bountiful harvest.

No one is coming to save your Business.....

2010-09-01T07:38:00.000-04:00

I am going a little off topic today....no gardening...although there exists many parallels to being successful in the garden and in business...

Today it occurred to me that no one is coming to save our small, independent garden center from this broader economic downturn that we have all been swept into. Maybe that's really good news....after all....when things were going great (particularly residential real estate in Central Fl) and most business owners benefited there was no one there asking to share in the bounty.

I opened the Wall St. Journal this morning to read the headline that the administration is considering a "broad" range of measures to "boost" economic growth. I think for the most part...business owners like me are saying we have heard this before...and I never saw any calvary coming down our driveway. I also think that most small business owners don't really expect or want a "calvary" like solution either. Although I have heard andedoctially of a few more business owners throwing in the towel as of late....on a whole I think most of us are a resilient and independent bunch. We chose to be business owners partly because we wanted to have more control over our own destinys. We want to see our way through this...in a large part because we intimately feel all those that depend on us to do so. Most small business owners' lives are much more entwined with their constituents. We know our employees and their families, we know our customers, we know our vendor partners, we know the people who we borrowed money from (most of the time our families)....in a very direct way all of these people depend on us for their well-being. I would submit that this is very different than answering to a board of directors or shareholders....largely because of relationships. From my vantage point, I see the difficulty in our employees lives when their spouse looses their job or they loose their healthcare. I feel the pain in disappointing a father, sister or brother-in-law because they invested in you and well....it may not work out so well. This is not a disconnected realty....you live it in every interaction each day.

So my partial remedy is this....Encouragement.

Specifically...make it a point to encourage a small business owner...particularly if you are a small business owner. I thnk a little positive encouragement can go a long way...if nothing more than validating that it is tough and a struggle right now. So pick a team to pull for...pick you local restaurant, hardware store (if you are lucky enough to still have one in your neighborhood), local bank...whomever you have a relationship with....and just encourage them to keep up the good fight. I think we are all now realizing that we are moving through the grief cycle and the denial stage is over...we are not going to awake and it will all be "normal" again....there are no simple, quick solutions...it's going to be a long, hard fight....we are at mile 13 of a 26 mile marathon...so encourage someone beside to keep putting one foot in front of another...we will all see the finish line soon enough!

Luck is the intersection of Preparation and Opportunity

2010-08-30T14:12:00.003-04:00

Not sure who originated the quote I used in the heading...but it sure applies to vegetable gardening in Florida.

One of the first thing you realize with gardening in Florida is the challenge the weather bring...this is even more intensified for vegetable gardening.

You see...there are really only two (and what some people may call short) seasons for growing vegetables in Orlando.

You have the Fall season (Sept - Dec) and you have the Spring Season (March - May).

You quickly realize that if you miss the beginning of the season by just a few weeks it can mean the difference between having a lot of "luck" and a bumper crop or the proverbial single $100.00 tomato.

So prepare......that is....right now focus on the basics: Light / Water / Soil

1) Pick a good location that is exposed to the Eastern or morning sun....the afternoon sun in Sept (and sometimes even October) is too intense for most tender veggies. 4-6 hours of direct sunlight will be sufficient. Gardening in containers can make this easy....just move them as needed!

2) Make sure you have a way to water consistently....and I mean consistently....not Saturday morning when you wake and are inspired to grow all of your own food organically and then again Thursday after work when you realize that you have been so busy you forgot the vegetable garden in the back yard.

I can't overemphasis watering consistently is key! This is where an automatic irrigation systems comes in handy....you know what they say: don't do anything yourself that a computer can do better.....the irrigation system doesn't forget...doesn't only water 1/2 the garden because their arm is tired....it just does its job...quietly and consistently. So, even here at Apenberry's...where we are here 12 hours a day 6 days a week...we choose to install a drip system to our raised beds (see photo below).

The beginning stages of our drip irrigation system

3) Soil....it can make all the difference...so invest wisely. I just read a magazine article on maintaining your soil and they compared it to your gardening "bank account" ....that is...you can't just make withdrawls...you have to deposit something every once in a while. Now is the time...get the best soil you can afford....and then spend a little more...it will pay dividends. See what we are trying here

I went out of town for a week...now my lawn is brown

2010-08-29T14:16:00.003-04:00

Recently, we have had a lot of customers stop in and ask what to do about brown spots in their lawn (see an example photo below).

There are usually two common Summer problems that cause this symptom:

1) Fungus Damage
2) Insect Damage (mostly chinch bug and sod webworms)

The correct diagnosis is key.

Time is not on your side. If I had a dollar for each person that came in and starts by saying "I was out of town for a few days and I came back to a huge brown spot in my lawn"

If you mis-diagnose and use an insecticide when you need a fungicide...guess what? You just lost 100 sq ft of lawn. These problems progress very fast...one of the reasons it's difficult for a monthly lawn spray service to be very effective.

If this sounds familiar stop in for a diagnosis. Bring us a 6" x 6" square of turf that is at the edge of the damaged area (it should have grass in transition...going from green to brown). Also bring the soil with it....that's where the insects hide!

Our Raised Bed Veggie Garden is Off and Running!

2010-08-28T12:35:00.008-04:00

We are going full bore this Fall with our display Vegetable Garden at Apenberry's.

Our hope is to experiment a little with different growing techniques (raised bed, container, Earthbox www.earthbox.com , and others).

We are going to try different soil mixes, seeds vs. starter plants, and various fertilizer products.

We filled our raised beds with the Fafard 2P Mix (www.fafard.com). It is a better draining, totally soiless mix than our standard 3B Mix. We added some Mushroom compost for good measure...so we will see how it goes.

We sowed our own seeds. We utilized both the Ferry-Morse Organic Seeds and some our new...super cool Baker Heirloom Seeds (www.rareseeds.com)
We want to learn, educate and eat!
Stop in to check out our progress.

Don't Look Now...Preparing for Annual Holiday Preview

2009-08-07T15:05:00.001-04:00

Our crack design team at Apenberry's is already prepping for our
Annual Holiday Preview. This is our store's biggest event and will
take place the first Thursday of November. For those in the
know...this is when we rollout all new decorating and gift ideas
centered around the garden.

The gold colored walls are the beginning of some insipred ideas on how
to make this year's holidays festive without spending a bundle. Any
ideas on this year's theme???

One Bites the Dust!

2009-03-18T10:07:00.002-04:00

Well our experiment growing vegetable and herbs with different
fertilizers is proving interesting. Pedro's pot with the synthetic
fertilizer and hydrated lime was obviously too much for the young
seedlings. They have burned. We will start over eliminating one of
the variables. My guess is the synthetic fertilizer was too much too
soon....perhaps more reason to stick with slow release or organics.

Coke or Pepsi?

2009-03-09T10:27:00.006-04:00

We decided at this mornings' staff meeting to get our hands dirty. We all love to garden but don't often to get do it "on the clock". So in our version of a taste test we decided to plant some vegetables and herbs utilizing different fertilizers and planting techniques.

Felix decided to utilize the Earthbox Planting system with Celebrity Tomatoes and the provided 7-7-7 synthetic fertilizer.

Andrea planted some herbs with the Espoma Plant Tone organic fertilizer.

Jacoba also planted some herbs and utilized the Osmocote 14-14-14 fertilizer.

Pedro planted some peppers and tomatoes with the Sunniland 6-6-6 fertilizer and some hydrated lime.

David planted herbs and followed up with some Miracle Grow liquid fertilizer.

We all used the Fafard Professional Potting Mix.

We will keep you posted with photos of our progress!

What to do with my Brown Grass???

2009-02-18T10:36:00.003-05:00

Many of customers are inquiring as what to do with their grass now that the freeze/frost is gone (this weekend cold spell should have no effect on your grass)

1) Check the grass for areas of crabgrass and other weeds that were frozen....this is the good news story of the frost....many of these weeds are annuals and freeze back. Now is the time to remove the dead areas/weeds and plug with new sod. This is also a very good visual cue as to what is crabgrass and what is St. Augustine.

2) Now is time to put down a "pre-emergent" weed control for the lawn. We recommend either an Atrazine in liquid form or a new product called Dollar Weed Control Plus in a granular form. Many people ask whether now is the time to "weed and feed"....the answer...it depends. It depends on how many weeds you have....if you have heavy weed coverage...follow the direction above (use a weed control only product first..liquid or granular). If you have only a few weeds we generally recommend using the "weed and feed" product in the 1st or 2nd week of March. Its weed control chemical is Atrazine...the same chemical that we have available in the liquid form....but when you "weed and feed" the fertilizer is released to the weeds as well as the grass so you don't want to feed the weeds if they are heavy.

3) Check your irrigation. The grass is still not actively growing yet...so don't apply more water than needed...generally once/week is sufficient. Any excess water is just helping the weeds grow. Also check for leaks and damaged heads...poor coverage...get these fixed now before you really need it this summer.

4) Fertilizing.....if you have the weeds under control with the directions in item 2) above then the first or second week of March is a great time to put down a fertilizer only product (if you weed and feed this suffices). We recommend Lawn Food plus Iron...the iron will get the green color back in the yard quicker.

5) Relax....enjoy your grass...Spring is the best time to be out in the garden so make the most of it.

Valentine Gift Ideas!

2009-02-10T09:26:00.001-05:00

Priced from $19.99. Stop in to see Hydragneas, Azalea Topiaries and
More!

New Apenberry's Facebook Page

2009-02-06T11:24:00.003-05:00

Just added a Facebook page for Apenberry's.

Check it out and add yourself as a fan!

It got COLD last night!

2009-02-05T09:33:00.006-05:00

First time in a while that we have seen this kind of ice on our fountains.

Check out Felix's new headwear......fits well.... perhaps not for long though....

Don't forget tonight it is going to be cold again tonight.....so check those frost blankets and make sure to turn off the sprinklers.

Check our our tips for preventing frost damage to plants.

Here we go Again!

2009-02-03T12:13:00.008-05:00

Tonight Feb 03	Clear	42°	0 %
Wed Feb 04	Sunny / Wind	53°/30°	0 %
Thu Feb 05	Sunny	54°/34°	0 %
Fri Feb 06	Mostly Sunny	64°/44°	10 %
Sat Feb 07	Mostly Sunny	73°/51°	0 %

As many of you maybe aware (and some of you not...) we are heading to another potential frost this Wednesday night and Thursday morning.

I fall somewhere between a pragmatist and "survival of the fittest" when it comes to preparing the garden for this type of weather events. However the forecast is calling for sub-30s temperatures and little to no wind which leads to frost. The wind actually helps sometimes by stirring the warm air with the cold....but we won't have much of that help this time around.

For those of us who have just got things back in shape after the last frost this seems like yet another fire drill...but as much as I hate to move the entire nursery inside again...I think that it is wise to do so..

Looking around College Park and my neighbors I observed a few things from the last time and here is what I would advise....

1) Cover the following types of plants:

- Any tropicals like Xanadu, Ti Plants, TrioStar, Snow Bush and Hibiscus
- Any tender or non-woody perennial like Pentas, Blue Daze, and Salvias
- Many cactus and succulents
- Any vegetables or herbs...best if you have them in pots and can move them inside
- Any woody ornamental plant that damages easily...the one I noticed the most damage on after the last frost was the Gold Mound Duranta, but may also include Jatropha and some Bamboos.

A lot of our plants will only show damage on the tips of the leaves and new growth at these temperatures. Things like Palms, Bougainvillea, Citrus Trees should only show surface damage.....that is leaf burn and some leaf drop. The plant itself should not be permanently damaged.

2) Make sure to turn off your sprinklers. Many people forget this and you can make a somewhat bad situation a lot of worse if your irrigation comes on at 4:00 am. The professional growers they always show on the news do use irrigation to "freeze" their plants but this is a technique best reserved for the professional and only then if you are willing to keep them on all night...not very wise.

3) Always use a blanket or sheet....better yet frost blanket. NEVER use plastic unless you can ensure it doesn't touch the plant itself.

4) Make sure to secure your blankets and sheets....the last thing you want is the wind to blow them off in the middle of the night.

Call or email us if you have questions....while we are always busy preparing the nursery ourselves we are always here to help.

Good luck and if you wake up Saturday to find damage check out my earlier post on what to do.

New Friendly Face at Apenberry's

2009-02-01T18:03:00.004-05:00

For the last several weeks we have had the pleasure of daily visits
from a very friendly neighborhood cat. We are not sure of his real name but
Jacoba is fond of calling him by "Meeshoo".

He is particularly fixated on our birdcage. But rest easy there is no
way for him to find a way in.

Stop by and if he is around he is sure to greet you with a welcome
nudge.

Our New/Old Sign

2009-01-30T17:28:00.002-05:00

Felix and Jose did a great job re-installing our "living" sign that
was originally designed for our Winter Park store.
A little TLC and osmocote fertilizer and we will be "growing" again.

Now that the Cold Temps are Gone....What to Do?

2009-01-26T17:20:00.007-05:00

Frost Damage to a Dipladenia in the Garden Center

After last week's temperatures that dipped into the 20s with a hard frost and freeze in some areas...many of your plants may now appear burned or brown. This is simply a reaction to the cold weather....think of it like frost bite for your plants. Don't despair....we had a relatively short period of cold....many of the plants will be fine with a little patience and care. Here is what I would suggest:

1) Wait a week or so to trim away the dead or brown portions....this is the hardest thing to do because we all want to get rid of the ugly parts...but the plant needs some time to adjust and you will see that in many cases the leaves will drop on their own and the stems are still healthy and will begin to re sprout new leaves saving the basic shape of the plant.

2) Don't over fertilize...stay on your normal schedule....I always utilize a slow release product like Espoma's Organics or Osmocote when I fertilize to help.

3) Don't over water....you won't make the brown turn green or the plant grow faster with more water...again stick to your normal schedule...which can be as little as once a week this time of year.

4) Take notes for next time....In many cases the exact same plant could have damage that varied from near death to no damage depending on their location and proximity to the house. So take notes as to what areas of your garden got hit the worst and make sure you restrict your tender or tropical plants to other areas.

5) Don't be too complacent....we can get another cold night or two....mid-February is typically the time when frost and freezing temps become limited....

If you have any questions email us at info@apenberrys.com or stop in.....we would be glad to help.

Ga Tech Ceramic Engineer Makes Good

2009-01-10T12:06:00.001-05:00

We are at a trade show....looking for great, new products for this Spring.

This is Chad who owns his own cast stone manufacturing company that specializes in authentic reproduction of old garden ornamentation. He had great training....studied Ceramic Engineering....who needs to build tiles for the Space Shuttle when you can create your own fountain inspired by your grandmother's garden!

Chad is a good friend of ours from Ga. Tech days.

Our Giant Erector Set

2008-12-07T09:56:00.001-05:00

My 6 year old son calls this pile of iron and steel a "grown-ups"
erector set. This is what soon will be our new greenhouse. In effort
to be as efficient and green as possible we chose to utilize a pre-
manufactured building with recyclable materials.
Stay tuned to see us "erect" our new home.

Phase I is Officially Complete

2008-12-03T12:19:00.002-05:00

Progress often comes more slowly than one would hope......and that is
certainly been the case with our construction...but today we recieved
our Certificate of Completion. Phase I done.
Next up is Phase II....the new greenhouse building!

Another Interesting Day at Apenberry's

2008-10-21T09:47:00.001-04:00

Four OUC Trucks the size of buses and one long power pole and we moved
the supply to our existing building to make room for the new Greenhouse.

A plant for Halloween

2008-09-28T19:07:00.001-04:00

Kinda of Spooky......huh.

What do you think?

Check Out what's Growing!

2008-09-27T14:27:00.000-04:00

We have completed the first phase of our construction but not yet
started the new greenhouse....so what do we do?

We created a Pumpkin Patch!

Check out Steven and Sam unload our pumpkin shipment.

Getting Close...

2008-08-31T16:46:00.000-04:00

Almost Labor Day and the hard work is almost finished. Come check us
out!

Doors and Doors

2008-08-19T09:22:00.000-04:00

Whoever thought doors could mean so much. The new automatic Stanley
doors arrived Monday to great fanfare. These doors will finally allow
us to close off the showroom and checkout areas and run the A/C!

They don't look like much but we are excited.

The "Little Store" is Here

2008-08-19T09:11:00.000-04:00

I always find out curious that when new businesses open they always
anticipate more customers than materialize...so their first move is to
add more or better signage. I guess we are no different....we want
everyone driving on Edgewater Dr to know the Winter Park store is now
here!

The new bathroom color....

2008-08-08T19:11:00.001-04:00

Check out our "birdcage" lamp in the new bathroom. It required a
creative mounting solution. Reminds me of those macramé plant holders
from the 70s....pretty cool.

What's behind Door #1 or Door #2?

2008-08-08T19:07:00.001-04:00

The new bathroom doors arrived today and here is the view from the
outside.

Still Moving....

2008-08-06T21:41:00.000-04:00

This evening I moved the Gardens computer server cabinet to make room
for the new entry and drywall ceiling. Doesn't look like much....but
there were a lot of wires to relocate....temporarily that is.

Walls are close to being done

2008-08-04T17:51:00.001-04:00

The lath is on....next up stucco and then paint!

Winter Park is Here!

2008-08-04T17:49:00.001-04:00

Saturday, August 2nd, was the first official day as the stores
operating as one. Pictured are Steven, Andrea, and Lisa discussing
the finer points of which insecticide to use for chinch bugs in your
lawn.

Little Store is taking shape.

2008-07-29T19:12:00.000-04:00

The transformation of the old Fairbanks Florist building to the new
"temporary" Apenberry's is really coming along. Stop in next week when
we officially open it to see what we have done.

It doesn't look like much right now

2008-07-29T18:59:00.000-04:00

In preparation for the Winter Park store moving over Jacoba and Raffa
made some room for the new merchandise.

Tile Floors are starting to go in

2008-07-28T15:27:00.001-04:00

Today we installed the tile floor in the new office area....bathrooms
are next. We also has good news in getting several inspections
completed. We are moving forward.

The "Little Store" begins to take shape

2008-07-27T17:11:00.001-04:00

This weekend we officially closed our Winter Park store and we spend
the next 4 days moving it to our Edgewater location. It will be a
tough week but results will be more than worth the effort. Our team
will be reunited in less than a week and we sincerely believe 1+1 = 3.

Electrical and Plumbing are Roughed In

2008-07-26T19:12:00.000-04:00

At the end of week 4 we have the bathrooms roughed-in and ready for
inspections prior to closing up the walls and begining the finish
work. We can't wait till the tile and paint starts going on.

Can you see a Bathroom in There?

2008-07-24T09:34:00.001-04:00

With the walls up we were able to put in the rough plumbing in
preparation for the sink and toilets. In a week or so this will be
the last view of these pipes for many years....we will be adding the
drywall and the rooms will really start to take shape. Just a month
ago you could have picked out an orchid from where there is now the
piping for a sink. Were making progress. Don't worry will place an
orchid in the restroom so we don't forget where we came from.

Roof Deck is Going On

2008-07-23T16:06:00.001-04:00

Orlando and his crew is busy trying to beat the rain...getting the
plywood on the roof and roof felt after to keep the rain out.

More Metal than Wood

2008-07-23T15:02:00.000-04:00

It is amazing just how many metal ties or brackets are now used to
reinforce the wood framing. Looking at our existing building framing
(circa 1989) you will notice none of these "Simpson Ties". All the
Hurricane activity over the last couple of decades sure has changed
the building codes. We now know the safest place at Apenberry's in a
storm will be the bathroom!

Roof is Going On!

2008-07-22T13:24:00.001-04:00

Today we are finishing the roof framing and soon we will be "dry in"
meaning we will have a roof over the new bathroom area. Great timing
since we have been experiencing all the afternoon thunderstorms.

Since we are almost "topped off" stay tuned for a photo of our tree on
top of the building...staying with a long but not completely
understood building tradition of placing a tree at the top of building
when the final floor is reached.

What a Difference.....

2008-07-19T18:35:00.001-04:00

Today the primer and new paint color went on the new "Little Store".
This small location reminds us of the little store where Apenberry's
first started in 1995. We are calling the ex-Fairbanks Florist
building our "Little Store"....temporarily we are moving a lot of the
Winter Park store merchandise to this building). We chose a color that
we feel best represents Apenberry's....and what a difference it made
to the look of the building.

Safety First

2008-07-16T07:25:00.001-04:00

Here our faithful project manager, Wilf Pickles, shows his commitment
to safety by correctly wearing his hard hat while behind the wheel.

In actuality he just didn't what to get his hair wet while changing
his flat tire...

Concrete is Going In!

2008-07-14T14:05:00.001-04:00

For the first time since we started we are pouring concrete not jack
hammering it out. That's progress!

Getting a Little Back to Normal...Day 22

2008-07-13T17:44:00.000-04:00

Not sure if it is really getting back to normal or after three weeks we just are getting used to the chaos. Today, Sunday, we were able to get our "under constructions" signs up and partially cleaned the dust-laden showroom. With most of the heaviest demo complete.....week 4 kicks off with the concrete foundation of the new bathrooms. It will be exciting to see some things being built versus torn down. Stay tuned for photos of the framing of our new Men's and Women's bathroom. Imagine that.....we will actually graduate from coed living....separate Men's and Women's bathrooms....we are sure the women are duly excited about this!

Neither Rain, Sleet or Snow...

2008-07-08T16:47:00.000-04:00

Orlando and his crew (Jorge and Freddie) are hard at work creating the
opening for our new entrance door. The rain showers today made for an
interesting day but they perservered and got the job done.

Building gets a Trim

2008-07-07T17:27:00.001-04:00

Today Orlando and his crew trimmed the eaves of the existing building
to make room for the new entrance door.

Look Up in the Sky!

2008-07-02T19:36:00.001-04:00

Today Curt Wade and his crew brought in his huge tree spade to remove
our oldest living member of the Apenberry's plant family....our 20'
Pencil Cactus. It didn't actually leave its home willing, but with a
lot if hands, two machines with a lot if hydraulics we finally got
into its box. After a little TLC we plan to move it back into the new
greenhouse when its finished. Come by and see it after its "haircut"

When it Rains.....It Pours

2008-07-01T18:52:00.001-04:00

Check out the new Water Garden we inadvertently created inside our
building. Mother Nature will always humble you. Our construction has
created some unusual temporary drainage patterns. ....

Guess Who's Coming to Town?

2008-07-01T18:05:00.000-04:00

Day 8 - The Office is Gone!

2008-06-30T17:55:00.001-04:00

Old buildings always tell a story. After we removed the paneling we
found that our old office space was really a porch! I guess that's
appropriate for a Garden Center.

Jorge and Edre demo the Office Wall

2008-06-30T11:24:00.001-04:00

One Man Down and Still Getting it Done

2008-06-29T18:55:00.000-04:00

Today had to work with one less person....one of our team members was
injured (outside of work....in fact...it happened at the beach).
However the rest of the team rallied and got the job done. Good job
team!

No Rest for the Weary

2008-06-28T18:19:00.000-04:00

Today, Saturday, we continue on our journey. Our mission today was to
move our office in preparation for Monday's demolition. Apenberry's is
open 7 days a week so we are working our renovation throughout. No
rest!

End of Week #1

2008-06-27T17:56:00.000-04:00

As we look back over the week its hard to believe how much things have
already changed. We are making good progress. Although the week has
not been without its drama. Especially in a small business you are
never too far from the realities. Its all about your people......we
still have some big hurdles to clear but I'm confident in our team to
get the job done.

Tune in next week when you get to see a monstrous hydraulic shovel dig
out our beloved Pencil Cactus!

Some of the work requires a different kind of sweat!

2008-06-27T08:22:00.001-04:00

On Thursday we picked up our permit from the City of Orlando that allows us to connect to the Sewer system and abandon our original Septic System. Through this project thus far we've spent enough time at City Hall that the Security Guards now recognize us! This will eliminate the need for the infamous "Out of Order" sign on our bathroom during our Summer rainy season.... It's the little things that sometime will make the difference with the new Apenberry's.

Temporary Doors Going In.....

2008-06-25T17:19:00.001-04:00

Our handy demo crew of Orlando and Jorge (plus that is Wilf Pickles, our trusty Project Superintendant in the back) are hard at work...and still
smiling.....installing the temporary doors to cover the openings till
our new automatic doors come in. Everyone at the Gardens are glad to
see the (non) sliding doors go...they required a extra pair of hands
and a Wheaties breakfast to open....they had definitely seen better
days. Because we believe re-use is the ultimate in recycling check
out Craigslist....the old doors are for sale....cheap. And you get a
piece of Apenberry's/Green Garden history!

Day 3.....The Real Work Begins

2008-06-25T13:18:00.000-04:00

As with anything in life the starting part is the easiest. In reality we feel we "started" this project months ago. Behind the scenes, a lot of great talent has been working to design, permit, budget and plan this project. But with all things it always "feels better" to see things torn down or put up. However, we now find ourselves in the challenging part....not only must we focus on the work at hand, there is still more planning, permitting and budgeting going on....this is on top of running our business...keep the client's happy and explaining to the staff that yes one more thing does have to move.....but with progress there is pain and we all have our Advil ready!

Day 2....More Demo

2008-06-24T22:16:00.001-04:00

The rest of the greenhouses came down quickly. We are doing our best
to remove and save our prized Pencil Cactus....keep watching this space.

Day 1....Where it has all started

2008-06-24T21:43:00.000-04:00

We have finally begun the physical process of combining our two locations to one...new Apenberry's.

Today was the day we started to demo the old greenhouse structures. It is not without a sense of purpose that we remove these buildings. As I look at the pieces stacked in a pile they appear tired....ready to be retired. The more we remove the more I realize how old and run down everything had become. While change is difficult and I feel like someone has just rearranged my house...there is a sense of something great to come.