The Reindeer are Coming

Hello Friends! We hope everyone is able to join us for Creekside Nurseries 6th Annual Reindeer Festival! Bring a new unwrapped gift for Mission of Hope, visit with Santa, see the reindeer & pick out your Christmas tree.We can't wait to see everyone on the 8th & 9th!

My Christmas Confession

My Christmas Confession

I’m a child of the 70s and 80s and the daughter of a man who never liked to spend a dime. I remember Christmases spent visiting family and friends. I would covet their perfect, plastic trees like a child with a J.C.Penney catalog. The trees at my house belonged in the Land of Misfit Toys. My dad and I would don boots and coats and head off to the field to find the perfect (free) tree. It was never that perfect triangular shaped Frazier fir. It was usually a bomb-shaped, sad Cypress or Spruce. My dad’s only concerns were ‘evergreen’ and ‘free’. Each year I had high hopes as we left the house of finding a REAL Christmas tree, yet each year we brought home the first cedar we came across. My dad passed away when I was 15, and I’m pretty sure the first thing my mom and I bought was a fake tree.

Fast forward a few years, and thanks to Martha Stewart, the REAL tree has made a huge comeback. Most people aren’t walking around out in their kin-folks backyards for a tree. Martha has taught us all that while we DO need a real tree, it needs to be pretty darn close to perfect. Enter my husband, Scott, and his garden center, sitting bare during the cold winter months. Selling big beautiful Christmas trees was a natural fit. So now, from Thanksgiving to Christmas, we help supply our community with near-perfect real trees. 

Here’s the confession part. Three years ago I was VERY pregnant during the holiday rush season. We decided to get a.......FAKE.....tree. There, I said it. I was so tired and watering that darn tree for three weeks seemed like such a daunting task (you would think I was having to feed it three meals a day). The whole family climbed into the SUV and traveled up to Pigeon Forge, to pick the perfect fake tree in the comfort of a controlled temperature environment. We even found one that was pre-lit! Oh joy!!!

We brought home the boxed tree and opened it in the den. Oh, the excitement of that perfect, no maintenance tree. We put it up, plugged it in and BAM! That was it.....we hated it. What an ugly tree. No amount of fluffing would make it look like the model in the store. I thought maybe after I put the decorations on it...no, it was awful. So, we ended up with TWO trees. I was too tired to turn around and take the fake tree in the den down after all of that work. We put the real tree in the living room in front of the picture window. It was perfect. Did we KNOW deep down we were going to hate the fake tree? Why had we stuck it down in the den where no one else could see it while leaving the prime window space free? I guess we’ll never know. I only know that the fake tree hasn’t left the basement since we took it down on Christmas day three years ago.

So with my great confession, I want to thank all of our customers who make the effort to come out in the cold and rain; and if we are lucky, snow; to spend the time to pick out a real tree. We hope you guys enjoy the season as much as we do. 

Let's Get this FALL Started!!

Well, if you've read this blog for a while, you know that I start getting excited around this time of year. I start posting pictures of all things fall while it's still 90 degrees outside. I can't help it. Fall is my favorite time of year, especially for decorating. 

Sooooooo.....I thought I would post a few pictures today to start getting everyone in the mood.

Aren't the colors of fall the best?

Oh, and the pansies! They are so pretty, and happy, and HARDY! Gotta love that!!

We still have some bird feeders and houses. I'm going to see what our local artist has for us this season.

Did you know that we can come out and decorate your whole yard? Just give us an idea and a budget. We can bring everything to your house and set it all up for you.

Boo is looking forward to seeing everyone. Of COURSE, fall is her favorite season, too.

Where Missy Learns not to Mess with Dianne's Recipes

Well folks, I've tried to make the Squash Patties using ingredients to make them more healthy. I’ve come to a couple of conclusions: 1) they aren’t that bad the way they are. You don’t have to use that much olive oil and the only other bad thing is, 2) cornmeal. Listen, I’m sorry, I’m a southern girl. If you are going to take the cornmeal out of these, I don’t want ‘em. There’s a little flour in there, too, but I think we will all be ok. My biggest issue is the fact that when I make these they are the ONLY thing that I have for dinner. They are a main dish for me. I need to work on that, but they are so goooooood. My lesson here is to listen to my friend Dianne. She knows her Squash Patties. Sorry girlie! So, have a good time and enjoy the bounty from your gardens!! I would love to hear what anyone else is making from their gardens. I’m having such a good time with the fresh veggies. I could really become a vegetarian during the summer months. 

We were going to start selling local farmer’s produce last week, but it’s just been too darn hot. This week is supposed to be better. We don’t want to bring a bunch of produce in and have to waste it. That’s really not the point of all of this. If there is something special that you would like to see at the nursery, let us know and we will be glad to try to find it for you. We do still have some herbs and all of our plants are 40% off right now. Of course, we always have mulch for those diehard gardeners out there!! 

Later this week I’m going to talk about one of the last things I thought I would EVER talk about.......organic worm poop.....stay tuned...

The One Where it's Hot, so I Talk about the Dogs

OK, I know I said that I was going to post more, and I did find a recipe for Squash Enchiladas that I hope to be able to post, but it's just too darn HOT! I'm going to make the dish tomorrow night, take some pictures and then post a link for you guys, if they turn out as yummy as I hope. I REALLY don't want to post something unless I think it's good. Don't you think that's the way it should be?!?

SOOOOOOO, instead, I'm posting this video of my dogs cooling off in the yard. The Little One can watch this all day long, so I thought you guys might like it, too.

Stay Cool!!

The Post about the Yellow Squash Patties

I'm going to try to do some more posts for you guys about doing things for yourself! It may be about gardening in your yard using beautiful plants, or it may be about cooking dishes made from local produce. TODAY's post is from one of my childhood friends, Dianne. She makes some lovely dishes, and when she posted a picture of this one on Facebook, I knew it was something I wanted to try. Well, try it I did! I made these one night last week with YELLOW SQUASH from the Creekside Garden. Scott and I didn't even make the rest of the items we had for dinner! We just sat down and each had a big plate of these Yellow Squash Patties. They were THAT good. I'll be speaking with Dianne about what other recipes she can share with me. Also, if any of my readers have a dish that they would like to share, I would love to hear about it. Gotta love the harvest in east Tennessee.

Yellow Squash Patties


2 cups grated yellow squash
1/4 cup self-rising flour
1/3 cup self-rising corn meal
1 small onion (vidalia or red), chopped
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup shredded parmesean
2-3 cloves of fresh garlic, pressed or minced
dried or fresh parsley to taste
sea salt and ground pepper to taste
olive oil, for cooking
~Mix all ingredients together and spoon out into patties in a hot, greased
frying pan. Brown on both sides. Blot with paper towel if too oily.
*I like to sprinkle a little sea salt on them while they are cooking.
Enjoy!!! : )

Missy (& Dianne)

The Next Big Thing for Small Gardens

From the introducers of The Knock Out® Family of Roses, comes the next big thing for small gardens. Like The Knock Out® Family of Roses, Drift® Roses are repeat-bloomers that are tough, disease resistant, winter hardy and virtually maintenance-free.

Drift® Roses are a cross between full-size groundcover roses and miniature roses. From the former they kept toughness, disease resistance and winter hardiness. From the miniatures, they inherited their well-managed size and repeat-blooming nature. 

Continuously blooming from spring to frost (bloom cycle about every 5-6 weeks), they are naturally dwarf, with very attractive foliage. They are winter hardy to zone 4. 

Drift® Roses range in size from 2-3' wide x 1 1/2' tall.  The low, manageable habit of Drift® Roses makes them perfect for small gardens, hillsides, perennial beds and even awkward areas. They brighten up borders and fill in empty spaces around your favorite established plants.

Prune back to about 6" in early spring (after the last hard frost) for best performance. Regular deadheading encourages re-blooming and helps maintain a tidy appearance but isn't necessary.

Stop by Creekside to check out the Drift® Roses. They are perfect for Mother’s Day.

Why can I get SUCH-N-SUCH plant at (insert name of BIG BOX retailer here) but not at Creekside Nurseries yet?

Hi friends! I want to address some questions we get at the nursery this time of year. This is really important to us, so I hope you have a few minutes to read this. Thanks in advance.

Missy

Spring has attacked early this year!! We've all been holding our breathe waiting for that big snowstorm, but it looks like we dodged that bullet (knock on wood). The garden centers at Big Box retailers are bursting at the seams. Our clients regularly ask about this. So, here's the 'rest of the story'...Big Box retailers source plants from all over the United States, and in some cases, the world. They are able to get just about any plant at any time of year. Local garden centers, like us, put great pride in getting plants from local growers. Many times the person driving the delivery truck is the same person who took care of those plants before they arrived at Creekside Nurseries. THIS IS IMPORTANT TO US. We also know, from talking to our clients, that it's important to you guys as well. Shopping, sourcing, & eating local helps us all.

Also, keep in mind, just because your Big Box retailer has a plant in, it doesn't mean it's time to plant. We try to wait until it's time for that plant to go out in the yard. Putting it out early means there is a good chance the little guy isn't going to make it. Of course, when you are dealing with Mother Nature, only SHE knows...

If you have an event at your home or business and need greenery, call us or stop by. Because our growers are local, sometimes we can pick up a few things a little early for special needs. We always try to accommodate our clients when possible. That's not always the case, but we will try to find something that might be in bloom, or is at least green.

I hope this helps everyone to understand a little better what we do. Feel free to leave any comments or questions here and I will be glad to read and answer where required. We love our community and are thankful to you guys for keeping us in business for more than 10 years. Thank you.

Gotta LoVe the South!

This month's issue of Southern Living is one of the best as far as gardening and curb appeal goes! I'm driving Scott crazy with ideas for our yard. I hope you guys are picking up a copy to browse in anticipation of the warmer days ahead. We are busy getting plants ordered right now.

We have lots of mulch in stock, so come on down and get a jump on your spring gardening. A lot of people didn't mulch last season, so we are really expecting rush.

Have you joined our Facebook page? If not, go on over there and 'like' it now. You can leave us messages about what you would like to see in the garden center, look at portfolio pictures, or learn about specials we are having (sometimes they might be SECRET Facebook specials!)

See you guys soon!!

Dreamin'..........

One of the best things about running a garden center is spring planning in January and February. These two months used to seem so L-O-N-G and dark. Many people get seasonal depression right now, and I can sure understand that....but now, well, at the garden center we get to spend the time after the holidays looking through beautiful catalogs for spring plants and flowers. Isn’t that great? We’ve also been looking into the herbs for spring (that’s my personal favorite!) The Herb House has been a big hit the past few years and we do not plan to disappoint this year, either. Is there anything better than stepping out on your patio and grabbing a handful of this or that to put in a recipe? Yummmmmmm. I can’t wait!

Of course, the weather around here has been quite crazy this year. The old wives’ tales tell us that a warm January could mean some nasty weather in February, and even March! So, watch out! Mother Nature could still be planning a winter formal...

I hope to be updating a lot over the next few weeks. We just put some new portfolio pictures on the Facebook page and are working on getting those on the website. Please share our Facebook page with your friends. We depend on our great customers to help us spread the word about our business. Rocky Hill has to be one of the best places in the world to be a small business owner. The support you show us is wonderful. So many friends have stopped in just to tell us they love the changes that we have made. If you haven’t stopped in, please do. We have some beautiful custom fireplaces, a pizza oven, and we have redone the outdoor kitchen!!

Well, that’s all for today. I hope you guys are busy planning your spring planting, too. It really makes these dreary days go by a little faster. See you soon!!

Missy