Boulevard Gardens

Gardening is a passion for many Minnesotans. And with such a short growing season, they can't wait to get started. Finally—finally!—planting season is here. None too soon, either. It seemed to take almost until the official start of summer for spring warmth to arrive. And we're so glad it did—better late than never, right?

It was wonderful to watch color return and then see it change as early growers were replaced by summer staples. The lilacs lasted much later into the season than usual.

And have you noticed the boulevards? Many have come to life with all sorts of vegetation. People don't plant only pots, flower boxes, and yards. Some extend their love of gardening to their boulevards.

At Brown & Greene, we take full advantage of our boulevard plot. This year, Nancy lovingly filled it with bleeding heart, coleus, dusty miller, hosta, hydrangea, and more. 

Unfortunately, an as-yet-to-be-identified woman plucked some of our little lovelies within days of planting, hitting several neighbors as well. Her behavior is maddening and discouraging, but it is not enough to keep us from tending our patch. Nancy got right back out there and filled in the spaces where her first plantings had been.

While our boulevard garden beautifies our outdoors, it also pretties up our indoors. Small coleus cuttings go in vases of water, where they quickly root and can be planted. Other times, coleus ends up in arrangements, as do hosta leaves.

The fiery hues of some coleus make the plant a wonderful addition to bouquets.

We enjoy our boulevard garden. And we're pleased to share it with you, whether you're simply passing by or get a sampling of its bounty in one of our arrangements.

Sweet, delicate bleeding heart—a harbinger of spring.

Ah, the pretty contrast of green and red

We look forward to watching the dirt disappear beneath the ever-expanding leaves of our plants. Such experiences make waiting so long for spring worth it.

So many shapes and sizes

Dusty miller snuggles up to a few rocks.

Styled Classes: Learning and Laughter by Design

If you’ve ever wanted to make an interesting arrangement of only greens, craft a bulb garden, or dabble in some other sort of floral adventure, Brown & Greene is the place for you. That’s because we offer classes. Not just any classes, mind you—they include more than flowers.

Pints & Posies
In honor of St. Patrick’s Day, we offered Pints & Posies, in which we paired arranging an assortment of greens with beer tasting. Our dear Lyn taught design, Jerrod Sumner of Brandtabulous covered beer, and Katie Fears of Brio Art caught the event masterfully with her camera.

The supplies and room were ready for students to arrive.

Meet our greens: aspidistra, Cleopatra fern, dusty miller, flat fern, foxtail, scented geranium, sword fern, and trick carnation.

The selection of beers included Finnegan's Irish Amber, O'Hara's Irish Stout, and War & Peace's Imperial Coffee Stout.

Lyn demonstrated how to design with the foliage.

Cheers!

Our workspace makes for a cozy classroom. Participants listened while Jerrod discussed the beers being sampled.

Jerrod sliced the yummy cake provided by Buttercream.

We added to the traditional beer-and-nuts pairing with pretzels, crackers, cheese, and more.

Bulbs & Bubbly

In April, participants partook in Bulbs & Bubbly, sampling prosecco in different forms—Jell-O shots, anyone?—and crafting a beautiful bulb garden in a glass bowl, using pebbles, curly and pussy willows, soil, moss, and hyacinth. 

There was a lot of laughter as people poured dirt, twisted willow, buried bulbs, and arranged moss and rocks, all while sipping cocktails. We look forward to sharing photos of the class with you soon.

Working with a Theme

The pairings are part of our styled classes, which are based on a theme. The goal is to teach you about flowers and floral design, as well as a related topic that fits the selected theme. Our next class is English Cottage Garden & Tea. We’ll showcase beautiful flowers typical of an English garden and sample tea from Mrs. Kelley's Teas and scones and cucumber sandwiches from Buttercream Bakery and Patisserie 46. Sounds enchanting, doesn’t it?

The class will be held Sunday, June 23, from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.. The cost is $65 per person.

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We have other classes in the works as well:

• July: Outdoor Entertaining: Make Your Own Succulent Garden Planter
• August: Wildflowers & Honey Tasting
• September: Autumn Blossoms & Warm Cocktails

We'll provide information on our site and via e-mail to subscribers as we have it. Classes are generally for 8–12 students. Because space is limited, it’s better to sign up sooner rather than later. If you’ve been to a class already, come on back. If you haven’t been yet, what are you waiting for? 

Take a class with us to create your own floral lovely to take home.

Amazing Orchids

Orchids are a staple at Brown & Greene. Every time I work at the shop, I find myself drawn to them.

The color of this orchid pops
against the background of the front counter.

What's the appeal? Simply put, orchids are amazing. Their colors. The shape of their blooms. How long they last—we're talking blossoms for weeks and weeks. And with the right pot, they can fit any décor.

Orchids—we've got 'em!

We carry phalaenopsis orchids, which are also known as moth orchids. They're grown locally.

Orchids with flowers at different stages: in full bloom (left) and in almost full bud (right)

Lyn gets our orchids from Len Busch Roses, a grower in Plymouth she frequents regularly for plants and flowers. She selects each one, picking the prettiest for the shop. On still-chilly spring days, awaiting spring to burst forth, they're a welcome sight—yeah for greenhouses!

Orchid headshots

Pretty in pink

Orchids seem to have a reputation as being difficult, finicky. They aren't. Watering, of course, is critical. There are different methods. One of Brown & Greene's favorite ways to water is with ice cubes. Place a couple in the pot once or twice a week. As the cubes melt, the plant is watered. So easy!

The color in this orchid adds to the spring-like
feel at our front display.

A gathering of orchids

I think it's time for me to give in and buy one of our orchids.

Catching Up

Weeks have flown by since my last post. Valentine’s Day was a multi-day event. We were busy with orders and deliveries all week, as well as lots of walk-in requests. We sold salted caramel brownies by Buttercream, too. The four-packs of small, thick chocolaty goodness were big on taste, enrobed in even more yummy chocolate. 

Spring!

Spring has arrived—on the calendar, in the shop, and even a bit in terms of our weather. It's none too soon for many, that’s for sure. I’ve seen a few people in shorts recently, enjoying the 50ish temps. Snow is slated for tonight--several inches, even—but we know it won't last.

We weren’t open on Easter, but we were plenty busy the day before, with flowers, blooming plants, and other items to delight the senses.

Lyn made this gorgeous hand-tied bouquet with lilies, an Easter tradition. The pink snaps popped.

Tulips were popular solo and in mixed bouquets and arrangements—what's not to love?

A colorful bunny stands out against a gorgeous hydrangea on our front table.

Our front display also featured speckled eggs in robin blue, forsythia branches, bulbs nearing bloom, and additional hydrangeas.

Fun fabric bun-buns in an array of colors kept watch at the counter.

A regular feature, these eggs are birdseed through and through. They're just the right shape for Easter and a welcome treat for returning robins.

We hope spring has gotten off to a good start for you. We look forward to warmer days with more and more daylight. Planting season's near—woo-hoo!

Holiday Explosion

Hello, hello! The blog has been quiet for awhile. The lack of online contact is simply because we’ve been busy, busy, busy at the store. Simply put, we had a holiday explosion.

Sarah prettied up our windows for the holidays.

Thanksgiving Abundance
Thanksgiving week was one of abundance. We had lots of floral orders, from those who called or stopped by a week advance with multiple vases to walk-ins wanting a single hand-tied bouquet. We had buckets of flowers and branches everywhere—in the cooler, on the counter, and on the floor. It was beautiful.

We offered lots of fun and interesting
gift options, including some cool trees
made from newspaper.

Open House
The Saturday after Thanksgiving, November 24, we officially ushered in the holiday season with an open house. Advertised to our e-mail subscribers as a holiday explosion, we were pleased by the waves of visitors who stopped by that day, Small Business Saturday, and enjoyed our festive offerings and yummy treats, including peppermint bark and thumbprint cookies made with love by Sarah’s mom and noodle clusters by moi. Many folks enjoyed hot spiced cider, while others took us up on our mimosa offer.



Go, Go, Go
We had other seasonal goings-on as well, including two wreath classes. Attendees learned how to embellish basic, premade wreaths with additional greens of their choosing—options included cedar, oregonia, and magnolia—as well as pine cones and a beautiful bow created by Lyn using ribbons of each participant’s choosing. There was wine, cheese, crackers, sweets, stories, and laughter, not to mention tiny strings of glue stretched here, there, and everywhere.

We enjoyed having Molly and her mom, Gay, in one of our wreath classes.

Lyn also kept busy in and out of the shop. When not arranging, deciding what little lovelies to order (or re-order), and chatting with and helping clients, she did up customers’ outdoor containers for the winter. She was like a holiday elf, bringing her magic to pots large and small, and more.

The Perfect Dessert provided yummy fudge.

A New Year, Another Holiday
Really, things were go, go, go. That's how life seems to be during the holidays. Thanks so much for a great holiday season and a wonderful year. We hope you had a great holiday season and look forward to seeing you soon—maybe even this week.

January flew by and we're in a mad dash for Valentine's Day. I'm posting this quickly before heading to the shop. The cooler is packed with flowers and the overflow buckets of blossoms are in the basement, keeping beautiful in the cool. We're offering some tasty brownies, too. We're ready for the rush! I'll report on this week's holiday experience soon.

Happy, happy!

Happy Halloween

It's amazing how quickly the days pass. Just yesterday, it seemed many of us were enjoying a day off from work because of Labor Day. Now, just like that, we've flown through September and October.

Sarah put a spider web on our store windows
for Halloween.

A succession of holidays is about to commence. Halloween is almost here. If you haven't been in lately—and why haven't you?—we have some fun Halloween décor and merchandise.

More of Sarah's talent is on display.
She made three of these spiders, complete with furry legs.
Warning: Objects in photo are larger than they appear.

Before you know it, we'll be knee-deep (and then some) in greens of all sorts and strand upon strand of holiday lights. But not just yet. It's not too late for you to take in our Halloween decorating and even purchase some cute spider magnets in an array of sparkly colors.

Our Halloween princess will greet you.

Stop in Wednesday to say hello, get a Halloween treat, and check out our giant spiders and whatnot. We'd love to see you—costume optional.

Happy Halloween!

Meet Our Greene Card

Have you been by the shop lately? If so, you were probably asked if you’d like a Greene Card. It’s new, and it’s our way of thanking shoppers for, well, shopping with us. Whether you have a card or need one, here’s the scoop: buy and earn.

The card has a flower with six petals. Each time you make a purchase at Brown & Greene, we fill in the pretax amount in a petal. Once the six petals are filled, we add up the amounts and give you 10% of the total in store credit. Spend $200, earn $20. Spend $350, get $35. You earn as you spend. How cool is that?

Shop and earn with our fabulous Greene Card.

Even better, we enter $100 in your first petal, so you really only have to make five purchases to complete the card. There’s no expiration date, and you don’t have to carry the card and remember to show it at your time of purchase—leave that to us! We keep your Greene Card next to the register, so it’s right there for us to update when we complete your transaction.

We’re so glad to have the customers we do, and this is our way of showing it. So, whether you’re a longtime fan or new to the neighborhood, stop by soon, say hello, make a purchase, and get your Greene Card. We look forward to seeing you!