No. 109: Phew!

I realize that not everyone is back from vacation yet, but there is so much to report that, in my opinion, postponing a Newsletter is no longer an option. I hope you had a good time this summer, it can be a period of enjoyment and unwinding. Some may have had a difficult time: illness, death, uncertainty, listlessness... life is not always rosy. This Newsletter might bring some perspective and light again.

For those still on vacation: enjoy it for a little longer, and if you want to place an order based on my offer, please state in the notes from what date you expect to be home again. Tanja Helderman wrote a lovely poem about unwinding, see the image.

August and September used to be the only months when strawberry plants were planted. This aligns with the natural growth habit of these plants, and of course, we would like to recommend this planting time to you. We recently received a large assortment of strawberries, so take a look at the many varieties; the photos of these delicious fruits are already quite tempting.

This unfamiliar group of bulbs (the AUTUMN-flowering ones) includes some well-known names like Autumn Crocus and Saffron Crocus. This unfamiliarity leads to surprises in your garden; we still experience daily that people don't know these beauties. We now have all these bulbs available; don't wait too long, as the best planting time is September.

In recent weeks, many relatives of the edible Allium have arrived (and will arrive in the coming month): Utrecht Onions, Shallots, Garlic, Wild Garlic, Ramson, Wild Leek, Autumn Onion, and Elephant Garlic. Both familiar and unfamiliar varieties, some scarce, some abundant.

You can plant garlic from September, but you have time... professional growers prefer to plant in November, so that a little green grows before winter makes its (possible) appearance.

The garden became quite empty in recent weeks. I postponed buying more in that heat, but now things are really getting back on track. Loads and loads of plants will be arriving weekly. Our sales garden will become very attractive again soon, you are most welcome again, we try to open the garden as often as possible. Occasionally we make a trip to plants that are not edible, but are super funny.

Like the Mother of Thousands, do you remember that from way back? And of course that fun "Pass-it-on Plant" that shoots its seeds across the room... You can actually plant outdoor plants all year round, unless the ground is frozen. Our collection is always in motion and never complete. That sometimes makes delivery a challenge, we usually ship in 2 periods.

Are you curious? Look for the Fruit here

For Edible Plants we have this link and for those specialties you can go here.

The collection of SPRING-flowering bulbs and tubers is almost complete. In the coming weeks, the varieties will trickle and stream in, and it always takes us a while to pack all those bulbs into small portions. Fortunately, a large part arrives already packaged. There is much new to discover again, but of course, we have also purchased a huge amount of the annually popular bestsellers. Later in the autumn, the peonies will arrive; they need to have died back properly. The Hippeastrum varieties (indoor amaryllis) will also arrive a bit later; for several years now, we have been buying the largest and most beautiful sizes. Last year, a pallet tipped over during unloading, so this year we are extra vigilant.

I challenge you to "walk" through a journey of discovery through our more than 600 varieties.

Many of our customers virtually "live" on our website and know all the ins and outs. But I can also imagine that, for example, you might not know that we add between 400 and 500 new items annually. You can find such a large quantity at the top left of the homepage.

A useful tool is that you can also view these new items by month, for example, in June, July, and August.

What can you still sow?

A recurring question because not everyone has a handy sowing calendar. Even in late summer and autumn, you can still grow plenty from seed. We have created monthly overviews of what is still possible. The overviews are not complete but do offer many tips.

• Click here for "sowing late in August/September"
• Click here for "sowing late in October"
• Click here for "sowing late in November/December"

Mechanical planting

You have to think of it... A true earth auger specialist came up with the brilliant idea of drilling nice holes with an Auger Spiral Drill that fits on a (cordless) drill (3/8" bit). Ideal for planting tubers, bulbs, or plants!

Because our supplier was going to implement a significant price increase, we bought up their entire recent stock so that it is still available at the "old" price. Sizes are slowly running out, so be quick because the price will go up by approximately 50%!

Finally, a reminder of a fun photo contest, which you can enter until September 30th. Let me repeat the text we posted earlier:

The reason for this contest is the TEN-year anniversary of Het Dordts Patriciërshuis. A house that has been transformed into a beautiful, small museum. Located in Dordrecht's most beautiful (historic) harbor!

It is the proud owner of 2 beautiful 18th-century flower still lifes by Cornelis Kuipers. Cornelis was known for his "living still lifes"; the details often contain jokes with animals and insects. When we were brainstorming a good contest idea to celebrate the first decade, we came up with a beautiful trinity... Besides the old master Cornelis Kuipers, an artist has been active for some time, who creates and photographs flower still lifes in a unique way: Bas Meeuws. (look and marvel at his website) At the end of this year, Het Dordts Patriciërshuis will organize a large exhibition with work by Bas Meeuws, alongside its own collection. It will amaze and delight you enormously!

Now, by "coincidence," in this same Dordrecht, there is a company with a huge garden-inspired clientele: us... If you are not only a passionate gardener but also enjoy taking photos, then this contest is really for you. The assignment is: somehow assemble a beautiful collection of your flowers and/or vegetables and take a fantastic photo of it. It can also be multiple photos of the same object. Your unique story (written down in an original way) will certainly add something. The whole thing should be a nod to the 18th-century way of painting flower still lifes. So, connect with Cornelis Kuipers...

All rules, the (honorary) prize, and further information can be found here: dordtspatriciershuis.nl/zaai/