TDN Newsletter: 3-9-16

Dear Gardening Friends,   Quick reminder...here come the TOMATOES!   Our Annual  Spring Sale & Food Drive is THIS weekend!   This Saturday & Sunday at the Two Dog Home Nursery  914 S. Cloverdale Ave. Los Angeles  90036  March 12th & 13th  10am - 4pm   EVERYTHING - all Certified Organic Tomato, Veggie & Herb Seedlings, Organic Soils, Composts, Fertilizers, Fruit Trees, Berry Bushes, EarthBoxes & Smart Pots - will be 10% OFF!  "Admission" is your DONATION to our Food Drive benefiting the L.A. Regional Food Bank. Please think "Protein" and "weighty" things...if we gather 400 lbs worth, they will pick up from us; our GOAL this year is 550 lbs! **Street parking is available; bring your Gardening Friends, but please, not your pets! (We always say this, and inevitably, someone brings their dog, and all Hell breaks loose!) Please leave your pups at home; our boys are very territorial. Thanks!!**   Click HERE for the 2016 Heirloom Tomato List and HERE for the 2016 Veggie Line-Up!   PLEASE NOTE:  This means we won't be back in the Farmers Markets until Saturday, March 19th.

Huge New Tree & Berry Order!   Always a huge portion of our business! We've been stocking up for the Season, and now’s the perfect time to get your Fruit Trees & Berry Bushes planted!  We have lots of beautiful varieties right now. If you don’t see what you’re looking for, just ask.  We can also get larger trees, espaliered trees, and rare varieties.   CLICK HERE TO SEE OUR ENTIRE TREE COLLECTION

We also received our Onion & Leek Seedlings! ...just in time for the Sale, and they are really beautiful!!                            This year we're offering...   Walla Walla, Cabernet & Cipolla di Rovata Onions and  American Flag Leeks   These are only available for a few weeks...don't miss out!

That's it for now... We hope to see you at the Sale this weekend!!   Please plan NOW for your Food Drive Donations; it's your Admission to the Sale, and more importantly, the L.A. Food Bank has been doing such an awesome job serving our fellow Angelenos in need, for more than 40 years!  We love the Food Bank!   Let's all do our part...we Gardeners know the deepest meanings of the word "food"... So, let's meet that Goal of 550 lbs. of food donations! Together, we can do it!! Many thanks, and as always,  Happy Harvests! Jo Anne, Alex, Jake, Lalo & Charlie, Charles & Annie IT'S A BEAUTIFUL SEASON...LET'S GET STARTED!

TDN Newsletter: 2-12-16

Dear Gardening Friends, Happy Valentine's Day!! Seems like the perfect weekend to begin having  OPEN SATURDAY HOURS  at the Home Nursery! Yes, we'll still be in the La Canada Farmers Market, but we'll also be OPEN at the Nursery from 10am until 3pm!    Please call Jo Anne for an appointment 323-422-3835   TOMATO PRE-ORDERING IS NOW OPEN!! We're getting our LIST ready... how about you?!   Please click HERE to check out the 2016 line-up!!

Things are getting wild here at the Nursery as we prepare for the 2016 Spring Season! Thousands of Tomato, Peppers and Eggplant seedlings are being "transplanted up", 5 kinds of Basil are burgeoning, and the tables and light shelves are filling up fast!  Soon we'll sow the first rounds of my beloved Green Beans!  Yay, I cannot wait!! We're very happy to announce that the 2016 "Spring Veggies" website page is now fully updated and LIVE!! Please check out the full line-up HERE!   Mark your calendars for March 12th & 13th!! and join us for our  Annual Spring Kick-Off Sale and Food Drive!!   At the Two Dog Home Nursery 914 S. Cloverdale Ave. Los Angeles  90036 Saturday & Sunday 10am - 4pm Your Donation of canned or dried food (think PROTEIN...Tuna, Beans, Rice...) gets you into the Sale, where you'll receive 10% off EVERYTHING:  from Certified Organic Seedlings, Soils, beautiful Fruit Trees & Berry Bushes!   At the close of the weekend, Two Dog Nursery will also donate 5% of the Sale profits to the Food Bank!      Last year, you made us proud with the huge haul of food donations you  brought!  Let's do it again this year, friends... the L.A. Regional Food Bank does awesome work, and they always need our help!!   Check out our Facebook "Event" here! Announcing 2016 Strawberries!! This year, Two Dog is proud to offer three fabulous varieties of Strawberries.  They are available NOW for Pre-Order on our website!  We expect them to be ready for pick up a week or so before the Spring Sale. It's usually a one-time-order for us, so don't miss out!   Read all about them  & put in your orders here!!   Mara des Bois - Sequoia - Eversweet   That’s it for now, Friends... We hope our being Open at the Nursery on Saturdays makes you happy and is a convenience for you!  Please have a look at the Spring/Summer Veggie page, the Strawberries, and the Heirloom Tomato pages.   Please do join us for our Spring Sale & Food Drive, and bring your Gardening Friends!   Many thanks, as always, Garden On!   Jo Anne, Alex, Jake, Lalo & Charlie

TDN Newsletter: 12-31-15

Dear Gardening Friends...   I'm going to keep this brief, as I know everyone is busy now with Holiday goings-on, but I just want to cover a few bases and then close with some difficult news... 1st... I want to remind you that our 2016 Heirloom Tomato Line-Up will be revealed at 6:00am on New Year's Morning!!  I hope you find what you're wishing for!  You may pre-order Tomatoes and pick them up at our Season Kick-Off Sale. Of course, we'll be selling them all through the season, but I know some of you really like to get a jump on things!  So, enjoy.... 2nd... Alex and I will be returning to the Farmers Markets on January 16 and 17... we're taking a bit of time off to prepare the coming season, and to do much needed improvements to help us protect the baby plants from El Nino rains. Alex, who can build anything, is constructing additional shelters in several locations in the Nursery. I'm so glad he loves to build!  This also means we're around, so although we're not at the Markets, we're still Open for Business, so contact us if you'd like to come by:  323-422-3835 3rd... SAVE THE DATE:  Our Annual Spring Kick-Off Sale & Food Drive, benefiting the L.A. Regional Food Bank, will be held the weekend of March 12th and 13th.  We'll post more details as the date gets closer, so stay tuned! 4th... Ordering Rhubarb and Asparagus Crowns has been EXTENDED until January 20th. Please go online and place your order. Remember, you will need to pick them up within ONE week of our receiving them, which should be by February 10th, or so.  Also, please remember: we don't ship these or any live plants.

Now, my sad news, for those who did not read this on Facebook... My Beloved Mama... Many of you knew that I was taking care of my Mom over the last  3 1/2 years...with a very heavy heart I want to tell you that she passed on Saturday, December 19th. She slipped out very quietly and peacefully, though, with my brother and I at her side. Although helping her kept me very busy, it was never a burden. Rather, it was a blessing as she was the light of my life and, truly, the strongest woman I've ever known. I was so we were able to keep her in her own home (where she raised us 3 kids) right up until the end; and, that although the body was having it's difficulties, she was never really "sick".   She grew up on a rural Indiana corn farm, and loved growing tomatoes - and orchids and roses! She was always so interested in everything going on at the Nursery. Whenever possible she helped me with projects I could bring to her house: we bagged up all the mycorrhizae tea bags, sorted and bagged garlic bulbs, weighed shallots and always used the Heirloom Tomato list (and Herb list, Flower list, etc.) for spelling and vocalization exercises. And of course, she loved eating fresh veggies from our garden!   If you haven't already see my Facebook Tribute and would like to see additional photos and read more about my Mom's inspiring life, please click here And I want to thank each of you for your prayers and kind words of support along the way... I can't tell you how much they have meant. Left to Right... *Mama & Me in her backyard, Mother's Day 2007... my favorite! *Her High School Graduation Photo! She was the only one in her family to finish school, and was one of just 24 in the Class of 1941. *Mama and her Great-Granddaughter, Alicia...must have been Christmas, because that was one of her "Holiday sweaters" *Mom and us kids...this was from a photo shoot taken for our Dad's campaign for Lakewood City Council in 1956 (I was 2!) *Mom on her Birthday... I believe it was her 70th.   Well, that's everything  for now, Friends... We wish you every happiness in the New Year and look forward to gardening together again! With love, Jo Anne, Alex, Jake, Lalo & Charlie