The Bruce Company Blog

be our palentine

Valentine’s Day, as well as the more inclusive Pal- and Galentine’s days, are next week and everyone at the Bruce Company wishes you and all of those you love a great day! Have you wondered why red roses are the go-to flower for Valentine’s Day giving? Or why white...

your own jack in the beanstalk

It is a bit early for most seeds, but if you’ve already started, those baby seedlings may be growing like Jack’s beanstalks. Be sure that you check them every day and observe their progress. Water whenever the soil surface is dry to the touch and feed them every other...

a flower in time

Even though it’s barely started, you may find yourself getting a bit sick of winter. The damp, gray days contribute to cases of cabin fever and longing for the sight of some swelling buds. Either we need to take a tropical vacation or direct some of this untapped...

is it spring yet jimmy?

Next weekend will find many a modern gardener checking the sky as soon as the alarm clock rings. Why? It’s Groundhog Day! While Punxsutawney Phil may be more famous, in Wisconsin Jimmy rules. Let’s explore the origins of this quirky American holiday. Spoiler alert...

winter pruning abc’s

The frenetic pace of the holidays has given way to calm contemplation of mid-winter, making it a great time to settle in, plan for and nurture some spring gardening projects. This weekend’s forecasted storm will certainly encourage introspection. Preferably indoors,...

where’s our snow?

Have you seen the snow cover map? The white stuff is everywhere. Except on Wisconsin ground! And our plants would certainly appreciate the extra snowy blanket. Up to now the 2024-25 winter has been fairly uneventful though I heard a rumor that an Alberta Clipper may...

she-holly or he-holly?

The term winter solstice marks the day when the earth’s axis tips us, and the rest of the Northern Hemisphere, the farthest from the sun. The sun appears at its lowest and weakest points in the sky on the 21st. We know it simply as the shortest day of the year. At...

gardening in winter

Winter snowstorms have a wonderful way of slowing everything down, forcing us to live in the moment. All of the distracting details of daily life that ordinarily occupy every moment of your time are suddenly moved to the back burner. Your mind clears as you focus on...

rock around the christmas tree

Before I started working at a garden center, late autumn could be a bit depressing. When colder mornings and cloudier skies are combined with leaves falling and perennials withering, I felt more than a twinge of sadness. But not anymore. From design plans and buying...

light up the darkness

Now that Daylight Savings Time has had us all resetting our clocks, the shortening of each day as we head toward the Winter Solstice becomes more and more apparent. The term winter solstice marks the day when the earth’s axis tips us, and the rest of the Northern...
tiny beacons of summer

tiny beacons of summer

written by Lisa Briggs
Are they fireflies, glowworms or lightning bugs? It doesn’t really matter what you call them because one of our favorite sights of summer are those yellow-green orbs flashing against the backdrop of the garden at dusk.

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is it finally time to plant?

is it finally time to plant?

written by Lisa Briggs
May is many a gardener’s favorite month, and this year even more so! The seesaw spring had spring flowers developing in fits and starts, but the warm temps late last week pushed many plants hard, all at once.

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the 64 dollar gardening question

the 64 dollar gardening question

written by Lisa Briggs
I find that the pace of spring seems more accelerated every year and this season is especially frenzied. The yoyo temperatures had all of us itching to start gardening in March, even though those chilly nights held back a lot of our plant deliveries and trees, shrubs, perennials and annuals are arriving early!

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we are so ready for spring!

we are so ready for spring!

written by Lisa Briggs
April’s crazy temperature swings had gardeners racing from the urge to get tomatoes in the ground to the scrambling to dig up floating row covers and empty utility pots from the back of the garage.

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is spring here to stay?

is spring here to stay?

written by Lisa Briggs
Last weekend’s really warm days gave us a taste of the summer to come, but the unseasonably high temps should moderate for the next few days to something more seasonal.

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beauty can be fleeting

beauty can be fleeting

written by Lisa Briggs
Every spring, gardeners hold their collective breath as we wait for the first green shoots pushing through the warming soil. To be a perennial gardener in this climate requires great faith in your choices.

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