In 2009 we began to ship plants to our mainland customers who came to the Farm and made their selections on site. This was a first time supplement to our retail business and it worked out very well as it gave our island summer visitors an opportunity to have Nantucket-grown hydrangeas for their home gardens.

We gained from this approach too by being able to evaluate various container sizes and packing techniques to optimize plant size & quality vs. delivery time & shipping cost. Further improvements in the shipping operation were realized in 2010 and we should be able this part of the internet business in proper fashion.

The downside to our plan was that we were unable to build sufficient plant inventory for our originally scheduled Spring 2010 internet launch. On the upside, last summer and fall were very good growing seasons and we're much better off now - January 2011. Just today we did an inventory check and were pleased with the numbers and the general condition of our greenhouse stock.

Mind you, it's a bit premature to be making any bold statements with another 6 to 7 weeks of winter remaining - but at least the early signs are encouraging.

By the end of the first week of April we will have verified our plant inventory and our Availability List & Order Form will be posted on-line or we'll respond directly to your e-mail request. The e-mail approach is a good fall-back particularly during these early stages of this new endeavor. You can phone us too; please contact Mary Kay at 508-221-8281 and she'll mail or e-mail the List & Form to you.