Saturday May 28th: 9:14 am

Open Air Nursery and the Chubby Monkey will run normal hours through Memorial Day weekend.  We are open 7 days a week from 9:00 am to 9:30 pm.  The Crete store is closed for the season.

The Crete Store will be closed today due to the weather.  Thank you.

Saturday May 14, 12:04 am

Our Shelton store will open late tomorrow due to the impending frost advisory.  We hope to be up and running by 11:00 am.

Due to the standing water at the Crete Store we will be running remotely.  Jeanette will be in the store at noon to run normal hours.

Wednesday May 11, 7:29 am

The rain in Shelton overnight has created some standing water AGAIN!  By nine am we should be drained out and looking good.  The Shelton and Crete stores are open.  Have not heard from the Aurora store yet as to any damage from last nights storm.  Will move more product there this am and will post again later.

New product has been moved into the Crete store and the Aurora store.

Monday May 9th 5:33 pm

The Shelton store closes tonight at 6:00 pm for family reasons.

Monday, May 9th, 9:35 am

Good morning everybody.  Small amount of rain last evening in Shelton but the weather for the week looks good.

All stores are open.

We are taking inventory at the Crete and Aurora locations and will restock them both on Tuesday, May 10th so expect new product to arrive then.  We have lots of vegetables as we run up to what we always call tomato weekend.  We will sell more vegetables during this week and weekend than at any other time of the year.  Please shop early as some varieties will run out after this weekend.

Friday, May 6th, 11:02 pm

Excellent weather we are having.  All stores are loaded up with product in anticipation of a busy weekend.  At Shelton tomorrow, in celebration of our 25th, Diana Rockwell will arrive at 5:00 pm and mingle with the kids for an hour.  She will perform with her "dummies" at 6:00 pm. For those of you out there who think I am the dummy, I am not the dummy and will have no part in the show that I am aware of.  The "king o cotton candy", aka Darrell from Wood River will be here tomorrow during the same time period, making and giving away cotton candy.  Join us please.

Wednesday, May 4th 12:27 am

A long day today.  Two trips to Aurora and one trip to Crete.  The Crete store is overflowing with flowers.  It looks good!  It smells good!  Sunshine tomorrow!  All is good in Crete.  Store hours are 9:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Two trips to Aurora today and lots of new plants on site.  Vegetables are double stocked for what should be a good vegetable weekend.  I have moved out the last of a few varieties of vegetables so if you're picky about variety--shop soon.

The Shelton location is gearing up for a spectacular weekend as we celebrate our 25th anniversary.  We have a flower sitting or hanging on virtually every possible spot.  We're locked and loaded and ready for a great weekend of weather and entertainment.  Join us if you can.  Visit our website at www.bumpuppot.com for all the details.

Sunday May 1, 10:44 pm

A new day and the forecast says sun.  We will spend Monday morning putting the Shelton location back in order.  We moved a lot of plants to keep them dry and will reorganize it all.  We will also move hundreds of new bump up pots to the Shelton location and hope to be fully organized and stocked by 3:00 pm.

The Crete location is stocked very well.  I just returned from Crete and have loaded the place up.  More will arrive on Tuesday morning in preparation for a big Mother's Day weekend.  Took some very pretty Mother's Day planters there and succulent bowls.

The Aurora store is stocked well with vegetables and many bump up pots.  The second we are done at the Shelton location a new batch of bump up pots will be sent to Aurora.  I would hope by 5:00 to have them there.

The forecast for this week looks good.  IT'S PLANTING TIME!!!!

Sunday, May 1, 8:10 am

At Shelton today it continues to be cold.  No rain, but chilly and some wind.  The Shelton store will be open today.  The Crete location will run remotely from 9:00 am to 12 noon.  At noon, Jeanette will be in to assist customers at the Crete location.

I want to let everybody know our stocking status.  With the return of the sun and warmer weather this week, all three locations will explode with customers.  The issue for me is, can I get new, fresh, product to all three locations and do it fast enough.

The plan is to load trailers today that will head out to Crete at 5:00 am on Monday.  A second load will arrive on Tuesday morning.  The Crete location will be overstocked as much as we can get it by Thursday.  With Mother's Day weekend coming we will have plants placed every place we can possibly put them.

Also on Monday a new shipment will go to Aurora in the afternoon.  Several more shipments will arrive during the week so that the Aurora location will be overstocked for the weekend.

As soon as this weather breaks we will load up the Shelton store to capacity.
 
Mother's Day weekend is a different day than the usual.  When folks shop for Mother's Day they expect to buy Florist Quality plants, not Greenhouse Quality plants.  For us to provide Florist Quality plants we must keep the foliage and flower dry.  When it rains every single day--that is a huge challenge.  With ample planning and preparation--we will win this battle with mother nature!!  After all, Mother Nature has forgot, I've been battling her for 25 years!  We are absolutely excited about our celebration this coming weekend, May 6, 7, and 8 and we hope you will join us.

Saturday, May 30 2:11 pm

Ladies, I hate to say it but you're making a mistake.  If you've lived in Nebraska as long as I have, you know what comes right behind these cool, wet spells.  Ninety degrees, hot, drying winds and wammo summer is here.  Put on your boots, bring your umbrella and get those pots planted.  The patented genetics we grow today are strong and hardy.  A few cool nights and some rain won't hurt a thing.  They'll look crappy for a few days but when the sun returns they look spectacular!  Get them rooted in while it's cool and raining.  We are open today at the Crete, Shelton, and Aurora locations.

Enjoy the cool days.

Saturday, April 30th, 8:42 am

At the Shelton location we have had 1.5 inches of additional rain overnight.  Not raining now and believe it or not there is not one wiff of wind.  It is actually quite pleasant.  Chilly, wet, but very calm and the Shelton store will remain open as of now.  We will update if we decide to close.  The Crete store has also received ample rain but the store will open at 9:00 as planned.

Saturday, April 30th, 6:36 am

It has stopped raining in Shelton but there is some standing water.  The forecast looks like periods of rain throughout the day.  We will be open unless the standing water becomes a significant problem.  The water drains out quickly but it is hard to navigate the Shelton site after a heavy rain due to standing water.  We are open and plan to be open unless we get pouring rains.  Bring your umbrella and maybe even your rain boots if you plan on stopping.  Always feel free to call me or Kelli on our cell phones to check status and we will update here if and when we decide to close for a period of time.  We are covering plants to try and keep them dry but we will make it possible for you to shop by rolling covers when necessary.

The Crete store will be open and may run remotely, so there may not be a live, breathing person in person.  If you don't mind talking to someone on a computer, stop on down.

Aurora is open as usual.

Friday April 29th, 1:00 pm

As of this moment there is no rain at the Shelton, Crete or Aurora stores.  All three stores are open as normal, we will update as necessary.

Thursday April 28, 7:00 pm

The forecast for the Shelton location is simple.  A lot of rain in the next 48 hours.  Not sure about the Crete store forecast.  At our Shelton location we have moved plants under cover to avoid the heavy rains that are forecast for Friday and Saturday.  We are hopeful to be open Friday and Saturday but we will close if we have extensive rain.  We tend to pool water and it is difficult to navigate without boots.  Please check this blog as we will update often.  The Crete store will be open but may be running remotely so if you are uncomfortable talking to a strange little man that is on a computer screen 120 miles away you might want to wait till the store is staffed.  If you haven't experienced the remote sale you are missing out.  We had several bugs to start the week but are running good now.

Check this blog as the weekend progresses and we will post weather updates.

Thank You

Wednesday April 27, 5:30 pm

Open Air Nursery is closed for the balance of today.  Crete is open until 6:00 pm.  Aurora is on regular hours.

Wednesday April 27

Both the Shelton store and the Crete store are open.  We will remain open at Crete and Shelton unless more severe weather arrives.  Plant condition is excellent!!!!!

Wednesday, April 27

Open Air Nursery and Crete Bump Up Pot North Main will not open until 1:00 pm today.  At Shelton we have lots of standing water and it makes it difficult to navigate the place without boots.  It is amazing how quickly the water drains from here and we may open later today.  At 1:00 we will make a new post as to whether we will open for the remainder of the day.

Bump Up Pot north main in Crete will not open until 1:00 pm today.  It appears they have not had as much rain as Shelton but appears they may begin getting rain over the next few hours.  We will post later as to opening at Crete.

The Aurora store located at Schneider's Hardware has lots of concrete and they are open as usual.  I stocked new stuff there yesterday morning.  If you haven't been in yet I would stop and take a look.

Thank you for your understanding.

Tuesday, April 26

The ladies are heading out early because of a storm coming in from the south.  Open tomorrow morning at 9:00 am.

Thanks for your understanding.

Tuesday, April 26 10:30 pm

With the nasty weather predicted for tomorrow the plan is to open all stores as normal.  If we get severe weather we will close for the safety of our employees and us.  The Crete store will close at the first sign of severe weather.  Please check here on this link as if the gals from Crete call me and say they have weather coming in I will immediately update this site with information on closing.

Thanks for your understanding as we all LOVE mother nature!

Sunday, April 24

Update on our weather.  The sun is shining as we write this.  There has been some garden style rain showers off and on.  We will be open all day till 7:00 pm and will update here if the weather changes those plans.  Bring an umbrella just in case.  The Chubby Monkey is also open at 12 noon.  If it pours rain we will be sitting in the Monkey sit down area with the walls up watching the rain run off the roof but I guarantee I will have a chocolate dip cone in my hand and having a fantastic day.  Hope to see you soon.

Saturday, April 23 Crete Store

The Crete store is stocked to about 70% capacity as I simply ran out of time and energy to get it all done.  We will complete our stocking on Monday.  Many pretty bump up pots are there.  We are having some computer and software issues so because of this we will be open from 9-6 this Saturday and Sunday but starting on Monday our hours will be 12-6 each day until we get our remote software working.  This may be as soon as Monday or Tuesday.  Check back here and we'll update new hours when we can.

Tuesday, April 19 7:28 am

We are open at the Shelton location:  Hours 9:00 am to 7:00 pm;  7 days a week.

The Aurora store is stocked with bump up pots,  vegetables are coming soon.

We put the Crete store up yesterday, finishing touches today, and stock by Friday.  It should be open on Saturday, April 23.

Bump up pots will be moved to Trotters Garden Shop and Learning Center in Litchfield and Gee's Greenhouse in Sutton probably by Friday evening.  Check back for more details.

Monday, April 18th, 7:19 am

We will be opening at 11:00 am this morning due to rain.  This will allow time for our retail site to dry up a little bit.  We are in town so if you are traveling through from a distance and still want to stop just give us a call and we will meet you.

Sunday, April 17 6:15 pm

We will be closing at 6:30 on Sunday night, April 17.

Sunday, April 17 10:00 am

We are open today.  We have had over 4 inches of rain so there is standing water so bring your rain shoes and your umbrella.  If it pours rain today and we decide to close early we will post it here.

Saturday Night April 16

Due to April showers we will be closing at 6:30 tonight and we'll be going night crawler hunting.  Open at 9:00 am Sunday April 17.

Rainy Day Saturday

Light showers started about 9:00 and at this time it is rainy fairly steady.  Weather bug shows a little sunshine around 5:00 pm.  We will be open today if you want to shop and we do have umbrellas.

April Showers Bring May Flowers

As of this post, weather bug shows a slight chance of rain during the day tomorrow with partial sunshine.  The Shelton store is stocked and will be open for the weekend.  The Aurora store is stocked with bump up pots and the vegetables will arrive next week.  If we get a soaking rain and decide to close, we will post it here.

Thanks

Opening Soon

As of this post, the 10 day weather forecast looks good---so we stock.  The plan is to be open for our first day on Saturday, April 16th.  If my memory serves me, I think the earliest we have ever opened in our 25 year history is the 15th of April.  The plants are beautiful in the greenhouses and they are bursting at the seams.  More stuff is coming in for our June season and we need the space in the greenhouses so we will begin to stock our highway location in Shelton in the next hour. 

Hope to see you this spring and remember to use our weather blog to see if we have modified our hours of operation due to the weather.

We have modified our website some from last year.  At bumpuppot.com you will find buttons on the left side of the page and one of those buttons is called Weather Related.  We will update this site often according to the weather.  If we plan to open late due to cold weather or close early due to cold weather we will update it so you don't waste a trip to Shelton and find that we are closed.  As our Shelton facility is "open air", we do find it necessary at times to open late or close early in an attempt to keep plants in the best possible condition.  If in doubt, always check the Weather Related link.

Our anticipated opening date will be April 23rd, however if the spring weather holds as we think it might, we may open a week earlier which would be the 17th of April.  The Chubby Monkey will open on the 23rd of April.

This is our 25th anniversary and we have a nice celebration planned.  This celebration will be on Mother's Day weekend which is the 6th, 7th, and 8th of May.  We'll share the details of the weekend when we get closer.  Plan on coming out if you can.  Hopefully warm and sunny for the three days.