Feb 16, 2024 | Winter Newsletter 2024
Happy New Year!!!
February 16, 2024
We’re kicking off the new year with a big burst of excitement here at Samantha’s Gardens! With the gardening season just around the corner, we’re all abuzz like busy bees, getting everything prepped and primed for some serious green-thumb action.
Laurel’s been working her magic in the greenhouse, tending to our tropical and citrus trees, and gearing up for the big veggie seed planting extravaganza. Meanwhile, Vlasta’s been hard at work tidying up our client folders and making space for all the wonderful new clients who’ve been patiently waiting to join our gardening family. We’ve even made a little pact among ourselves that this year is going to be stellar!
Reflecting on Loss, Growth, and New Beginnings
The past couple of years have thrown us some curveballs, with losses on both Vlasta’s and my sides of the family, including our dear bookkeeper, Teri. Not a day goes by without us thinking of her – especially as tax season rolls around and I can practically hear her gentle scolding for buying that new truck (which, let’s be honest, we totally needed). But with Tonya stepping in and doing an absolutely stellar job, along with the support of our fantastic accountant, Joe, things are looking brighter already.
Taking Our Cut Flower Garden to New Heights
I’ve made it my New Year’s resolution to take our cut flower garden to the next level, adding in even more fun and fabulous blooms. We’re even having Nolan and Chris from Grade build us a brand spanking new Cut Flower Hut, where we’ll be showcasing and selling all our gorgeous cut flowers and even some veggie plants that Laurel will be nurturing.
Our Flower Hut operates on the honor system, and it’s been an absolute hit with our Andover community. Folks love the beauty of our roadside garden and the freedom to pick their own bouquets whenever they please. There’s something truly magical about seeing folks out there with scissors, crafting their floral masterpieces.
Hoping for a Spot at the Andover Farmer’s Market
We’re crossing our fingers for the chance to bring our plant babies and flowers to the Andover Farmers Market this year. Despite not having confirmation yet, we’re optimistic after the success of our wreath decorating workshop at Andover’s Holiday Market. My daughter Mary, along with SG team members Cailey and Alex, loaded up Rosie, our 1947 Dodge pickup with all the wreaths, decorations and ribbon.
They had an absolute blast spreading festive cheer. The vibrant community vibe was sensational, and we’re eagerly awaiting the opportunity to be part of it again. Stay tuned for updates!
We would love to offer not only our veggie plants and cut flowers but we also have big plans to host Garden Talks at the Flower Hut, where folks can stop by, ask questions, and even grab one of our educational coloring books for the kiddos. We’re passionate about spreading the joy of gardening and helping families and kids grow their own veggies. We want to continue our Garden-to-table campaign by helping to build as many vegetable gardens for families and kids as we possibly can.
Step into Our Greenhouse Wonderland
Speaking of vegetable gardens, Laurel has already compiled a fantastic list of veggie seeds for both our gardens and yours, that she’ll be starting in the greenhouse soon. This year’s lineup promises to be extraordinary, featuring old favorites and exciting newcomers like strawberries and heirloom tomatoes. Check out the full list of offerings on our blog post and if there’s something you’re after that you don’t see, just give us a shout – we’ll do our best to track it down for you. Don’t delay. Things are selling out fast!!
Start Planning For Spring
The Fall and Winter months might be cold, and your garden dull, but now is the perfect time to start planning for those landscape projects you’ve been dreaming about. Once we’re finished with the last Fall cleanups, our efforts shift toward garden and landscape design. If you’re looking to make any changes to your landscape, reaching out to us in the Fall months ensures your landscape project can be installed the following year! We build our backlog for design work and Spring installations during these months, so plan to schedule a design consultation at your earliest convenience.
Let’s Rewind to Christmas
Wasn’t it just a magical time? We were overwhelmed by the 49 heartwarming photo entries we received for our Christmas contest. With each one sweeter than the last, selecting the winners was no easy task. There were so many enchanting moments from our Christmas Shoppe this past year that we’ve put together a full recap.
As we eagerly await the arrival of spring, we can’t wait to see you all again – whether it’s at your property, the Flower Hut, or (fingers crossed) the farmers market. Here’s to a bloomin’ marvelous year ahead!
Garden Blessings,
Samantha, Vlasta, and the incredible team at Samantha’s Gardens
Feb 15, 2024 | Holiday Shoppe
Christmas Shoppe 2024 Recap
February 14, 2024
First, we’d like to say “WOW” we cannot believe how much more our Holiday Shoppe has grown this past year, and it’s all because of you, so THANK YOU! We added a few more fun backdrops for your perfect holiday photos, the adorable Mrs. Claus’s Flower Shop, and even convinced Santa to take time out of his busy schedule to come visit us.
We absolutely loved seeing old and new families come visit us and the smiles on your faces are what we live for. We sold twice as many trees and wreaths this past year than the previous year, we also sold out all our workshops and even added 3 private ones, as well as had nearly 600 s’mores, over 300 cups of delicious hot cocoa, and almost 50 photo contest entries, and of course an infinite number of laughs and smiles. Holy cannoli what a jam-packed season!
Even though we doubled our sales on Christmas trees unfortunately, due to Thanksgiving being so early and Christmas trees only lasting 3-4 weeks a few folks had to really stretch it to get their trees to last for Christmas day. Some tips to help make sure they do last if you happen to get your tree early: make sure to trim at least an inch off the bottom before putting in a stand, feed the tree water and don’t let the bottom dry up, make sure the tree is away from a heat source, also you can mist the tree itself with some water.
We had so many new families come visit and share stories around the campfire. We loved seeing younger people help their older relatives as well as others with making s’mores or even a hot cocoa to deliver to them at the campfire. There was even a real sense of how magical this time of year was when we got to witness a group of people create a ramp for a woman in a wheelchair who wanted to go into Mrs. Claus’s Flower Shop but couldn’t due to the step.
Oh, and the babies! We saw so many new additions and couldn’t get over all the cuteness from all the children. Because we had Santa visit, we even added a mailbox just for Santa where children had so much fun writing letters or drawing pictures for him. Not only did we love seeing these human families, but we loved so many of you sharing your four-legged fur babies as well with us. Some of them even got lucky enough to take pictures with Santa, but they were all lucky to have such loving families and some extra love from the Samantha’s Gardens Crew.
This year we had the popular wreath making and centerpiece making workshops that sold out each time, we even had to add three private ones due to the popularity. On top of those we added a container workshop which went off amazingly and may need to add another time slot next year. Another new popular workshop was the addition of the Thanksgiving centerpiece workshop. We know our shop is mostly about Christmas time, but we wanted to try adding a Thanksgiving centerpiece workshop as so many people obviously host the dinner and may want to add a little something pretty to their table. These ladies absolutely killed it, and we definitely will have to do it again next year.
We hosted our photo contest again this season and cannot believe we nearly tripled the number of entries we received. It was impossible to choose the winners and honestly just wanted to give everyone a prize. Thank you to everyone who participated and for making our job extremely hard to choose the winners. Next year we hope we get just as many entries and will probably switch up the awards this time around. Congratulations to all the winners as well as all of you who submitted your entries.
Once again thank you for making Samantha’s Gardens Holiday Shoppe your family destination for the holiday time. Tell family and friends, bring them along, we love meeting new people and making lasting memories. If you have any suggestions for us, please don’t be afraid to let us know, we love new ideas. See you all next year!
Nov 10, 2023 | Holiday Shoppe, Newsletters
NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER
Greetings,
I know, two newsletters back to back! I am starting to feel like myself again after a busy season and the loss of my wonderfully amazing Mother, Hope. This was a tough one for me and my kids. But with the colors of fall and the aroma of the rapidly approaching Holiday season, I am rolling up my sleeves and finishing up the growing season strong.
Spring Plans? Don’t miss out. Get scheduled now.
We’re already scheduling design meetings to get your plans on the drawing table this winter so they are ready for spring installation.
If you’re not already on our holiday decorating schedule, please reach out!
Here’s what we’ve got going for you:
We’ll be taking advantage of the weather by putting up holiday lights, which can be turned on when you’re ready.
And not only holiday lights, but all of your exterior holiday decorations, including your holiday-ready containers brimming with wintergreens, berries, and whatever fun additions our design crew plans, along with lush garland wrapping your doorways and railings, wreaths perfectly placed on your doors and windows.
We can even bring in your tree and set it up after you’ve chosen it from our magical tree lot, where you can also enjoy a cup of hot cocoa.
If you’re hosting a party, we’ve got you covered with festive interior decorations. We can decorate your tree, for those on a tight schedule, and we can also adorn mantels, staircases, and create arrangements and poinsettias to spread the cheer throughout your home.
Now, let’s chat about our tree lot and Christmas Shoppe.
I’ve had some time today not only to write this letter but also to schedule our workshops. Be sure to check out our calendar for our hugely popular wreath and centerpiece making workshops. This year, we’re adding fun and beautiful gift wrapping and boxwood tree making to the mix.
Christmas Shoppe Schedule
Last year’s workshops were a blast, with every session filled to the brim, and even some last-minute party crashers joined in, making it even more enjoyable. We all gathered around the table, working like Santa’s little helpers on our projects, sipping hot cocoa, and perhaps spiking it just a tad while jamming out to our favorite Christmas tunes.
We’re also planning workshops for kids, preteens, and beyond to keep everyone involved in celebrating the holiday season.
And don’t forget, Santa is scheduled to drop in for a visit. He’s even considering a special day for photos and visits with all the good four-legged family members, so stay tuned for that date too.
Maybe we should even host a workshop on making puppy paw print ornaments for the tree? That sounds like a fun and memorable time. What do you think?
If anyone has other fun ideas, I’d love to hear them.
I’d like to conclude this message with many thanks to all our amazing clients. I can’t wait to see everyone and their families for the holidays, enjoying Christmas music, sipping hot cocoa, and toasting marshmallows around the fire pit. Let’s make that sitting area bigger than ever.
Yours Truly,
Samantha
