Summer Season

Okay so I'm a little slow at this Blog thing. My last post was in April, about four months ago.  Summer has arrived in Key West with a vengeance, bringing steamy temps. and summer doldrums. We decided to close the store during the months of August and September so that we could all enjoy a little time off from the all consuming world of retail. The Garden Cottage will re-open in October and believe me, the little shop will be packed to the gills with fabulous merchandise selected from across the country and around the world! Stay tuned!
Happy gardening!

Heirloom Seeds For Sale

Every Garden Cottage needs to carry seeds and at The Garden Cottage Key West we carry a line of Heirloom seeds from Baker Creek Farm located in Missouri. The seeds are incredible and we carry a large assortment of vegetables with an emphasis on tomatoes. Some of the tomato varieties include:

Money Maker
Green Zebra
Great White
Golden Jubilee
Beefsteak
Rutgers
Henderson's Crimson Cushion
Thessaloniki
Cherokee Purple
Yellow Pear
Arkansas Traveler
Royal Chico

We also carry heirloom seeds for carrots, lettuces, peppers, parsnips, radishes, spinach, leeks, squash, eggplant, turnip, cauliflower, okra and a variety of herbs including Genovese basil, lemon basil, thyme, chives and cilantro.

Some of the heirloom flower seeds include: Cockscomb Amish, poppy frosted salmon, Mexican sunflowers, lemon queen sunflower, teddy bear sunflower, snapdragon black prince, petunia, marvel of Peru 4 o'clock and bachelor button baby blue.

I have planted some of seeds in random pots I had laying around just to see how they grew and it has been very rewarding to come to the each day and check on the progress of the seedlings. I have never had an personal experience with certain flowers like snapdragons and petunias but as you can see here, they are growing!

Petunias on the left, snapdragon in the middle and Genovese basil on the right. (I can't wait to try some on a Caprese salad!)

The best part about the seeds is the price. Most are priced at $2.50 per pack with a few coming in at $1.50. Such a small price to pay for the hours of enjoyment you can derive from tending to the plants and of course the enjoyment culminates in the final edible product. So what are you waiting for? Come on in for your heirloom seeds today and get the seeds sprouting!

Happy gardening everyone.

First Blog Ever!

Welcome to the Garden Cottage Key West blog! We are a small, quaint retail shop located at 526 Southard Street in gorgeous Key West, Florida where it is possible to garden year round! Lucky us! We carry an eclectic mix of merchandise. Everything from Heirloom Seeds to refurbished "Conch House" window frames. Its hard to describe so you will have to pop in to see for yourself! Our hours are daily from 10-6 except for Sundays when we close at 4:00pm.

My name is Dominique Barrera and I operate the shop along with my business partner and friend, Laurie McChesney. We have a lovely third wheel by the name of Snow Philip and if you come in on Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursdays you will get to meet her.

The Garden Cottage opened full time just this past October and already we have been bowled over by the generosity and kindness of the local community. A big thank you to each and every person who has stopped into our shop. We thrive on all of the positive feedback we have received.

My goal with this blog is to keep everyone informed of the way the shop progresses. I will introduce new merchandise as we get new things in all the time. Hopefully we will be able to hold some fundraisers here and find ways to give back to the community we so dearly love.

So thank you for reading the first ever blog from The Garden Cottage. Happy gardening!