New 'Starts' for the Garden--PART ONE

It's still officially winter, but at the UC Davis Good Life Garden we are officially getting the garden ready for our spring season! Since the garden debuted about a year and a half ago it's been so nice to see how our some of our perennial herbs and vegetables are maturing and growing accustomed to their new homes.

As most gardeners know, growing edibles, or really any plants, is always a learning experience. Some edibles we grow from 'starts'--young plants grown from seed in a green house and then transplanted to the garden, and others we grow from seed planted right in the garden.

The seeds are first planted in the flats and grown inside the nursery greenhouse. (See above.) Once the young plants are established they are moved outside to 'firm' up before transportation to your nursery or yard. (See photo left.)

Here is a list of the starts that were grown from Seeds of Change seeds by Kelly's Color Nursery, Inc., a local nursery wholesaler found right here in Davis.

• Tango Celery
• Silverado Chard
• Bright Lights Chard
• Rhubarb Chard
• Dinosaur Kale
• Tadorna Leeks

We also picked up a variety of flowers not only to encourage visitation from a variety of beneficial animals and insects to the garden, but to add visual appeal. Those flowers are:

• Bon Bon Orange Calendula
• Soprano White Osteospermum
• Sunny Sheila Improved Osteospermum
• Autumn Colors Rudbeckia
• Cherry Brandi Rudbeckia
• Sonnet Crimson Snap Dragons

Here Kelly, Owner, Kelly's Color Nursery; Christina DeMartini Reyes, Landscape Architect / Designer for UC Davis Good Life Garden; and, Ed Nordstrom, Supervisor for UC Davis Good Life Garden review the new order.