Chanticleer Gardens

 Winter is a great time for planning trips. Last year I got to take a fabulous trip to visit multiple gardens in the greater Philadelphia area. My favorite of the trip was Chanticleer Gardens in Wayne, PA. (I am receiving no money for this post) If you enjoy public gardens at all, then you should make this one a priority! The estate is very large and entrance fees are minimal. 

The Japanese Garden, Vegetable Garden and Dry Gardens were all lovely and interesting but nothing compares to the view from the house patio. The English landscape garden is just stunning. 

Not far from their is the formal planting where the swimming pool used to be. So much detail goes into such a lovely garden with such a variety of plants and water features. 

You can also enjoy multiple trails through the woods and enjoy the shade plantings like I did with my friends Jewell and Elise. 

In addition to this, there are green houses, a fake "ruin" (or folly) near the dry garden, and other plantings I've not mentioned. It's absolutely worth the drive. For more information, check out their website at https://www.chanticleergarden.org/. 

What public gardens do you enjoy visiting? Feel free to write about it below. 

Enjoying Your Garden In Winter Part 2

 In my last post, I wrote about identifying the best areas to focus your winter gardens. After all, there's no point in putting lots of beautiful plants out back where you'll never notice them. Now I want to get your brain thinking about all the different things you can add to your landscape to add winter interest. You'd be surprised how many options you have. 

First is the most obvious - evergreens. However, do you realize what a large variety of evergreens there are to work with? You can have a variety of needled plants like pine and spruce or wide leaf evergreens like holly or rhododendrons. Evergreens come in lots of colors too from limey chartreuse green to blue junipers to variegated bushes. You can also get a wide variety of shapes from small, ground hugging plants to enormous hemlocks. You can achieve a lot of interest and variety with evergreens alone. 

That's just the beginning though. Many plants produce colorful berries in winter from bright red winter berry, to blue juniper to purple beauty berry. As a bonus, many birds enjoy these berries and will come to your yard for them too. Pay attention at the garden center when buying plants because many of these plants require a male and female plant to have berries. 

You can also be thinking in terms of plants that

Winter Aconites at Longwood

have lovely bark in winter. Red twig dogwood is very popular for this reason but you can also enjoy white birch trees or some ornamental cherries. 

I am not one for a lot of artificial décor in the garden but in winter, simple pieces of statuary or décor can go a long way. Pots can be filled with cut evergreens all winter. Bird baths can also attract birds when not frozen over. 

Finally, think in terms of bringing Spring early. Plants like hellebore, crocus, winter aconite and witch hazel can bloom as early as February and bring the first taste of spring. Last March I was really impressed with how lovely the outside landscaping looked at Longwood Gardens and there's no reason you can't have some of those plants yourself. 

Is that enough to get your creativity flowing? You too can have a lovely winter garden in your own yard and escape the winter blues. Feel free to share any of your winter growing tips in the comments below. 

Enjoying Your Garden In Winter Part 1

 Winter is absolutely the low point of the year for gardeners. It's our time of rest and dreaming/planning. However, if you derive physical and mental health benefits from your garden, then loosing all of it for several months can be difficult. I've been thinking about this lately and how I can still get some enjoyment from my garden even in the cold dark months. Here are some ideas I've had to enjoy the landscape as much as possible, even if you live in the north like I do. 

First, consider your views out the window. Even the most enthusiastic snow bunny will spend more time indoors in the winter. What do you see out your windows? Sit in your most comfy chairs and observe what you can see outside. Perhaps you may wish to move your furniture so as to enjoy the outside more. 

Second, can you create a walking path outside? Even a smaller yard like ours would lend itself to a circular stroll. Even here in PA there are some nicer days in the winter when I can bundle up and enjoy a walk around the garden. 

Third, eventually I'd like to improve our outdoor fire pit to encourage winter use. On the unusually warm day you can have a bonfire outside and drink warm tea. 

Once you have identified the areas of your garden are most visible in the winter and would bring the most enjoyment, then you need to identify unpleasant things to be removed or covered. Maybe you still have fall pumpkins out rotting that need to go in the compost. If you're like us, you probably still have children's summer toys lying around, or some trash that has blown about. Give things a clean up. If you have an ugly view that needs to be covered up, start thinking about how you can do that. 

After you've gotten the problems taken care of, you're ready to add in beauty. How to do that? Well, that's in part 2! How do you enjoy your garden in winter? I'd love to hear your ideas. 

Easiest Home Grown Groceries for Storage

 Recent price increases at the grocery store have many people contemplating growing their own food to off set costs. Here in zone 6b, I can reliably have fresh food in the garden from June till, well, about now. However, if you want to grow food for winter, then you're looking at food preservation. Normally, this brings to mind either a large freezer or shelves of home canned food. However, there are several kinds of food you can store for months without a freezer or a canner or even a dehydrator. So if you want to start preserving your own food next year, here is the best place to start. 

Trail of Tears Black Beans

First: The Allium Family

Alliums are all kinds of onions: green onions, bunching onions, leeks, garlic, shallots etc. I've had great success with storing onions and garlic by just curing them (brushing the dirt off of them and hanging them to dry for a few weeks out of the sun) and keeping them in the basement. So easy. This year I learned that leeks can be harvested in the fall, sliced at about a quarter inch thick and then air dried. Again, so easy. Now I have lots of onions in storage. 

Second: Dried Beans

Admittedly, this is our first year growing dried beans but we are hooked. My husband grew Trail Of Tears black beans and really enjoyed the experience as well as gathering a considerable harvest. Shelling the beans takes time but you can always do it while watching tv and then they store in the basement for months. It's so simple. 

Third: Winter Squash

Pie pumpkins of all kinds, as well as any kind of winter squash (butternut, acorn, turks turban, etc...) just need to be cured out in the sun for a few weeks before placing them in storage. So yummy! Many will keep for months in the basement. 

Fourth: Herbs

So admittedly, this one isn't as impressive but many herbs such as thyme, oregano, dill and chamomile will air dry on their own and add flavor to your food all winter. 

Fifth: Potatoes

Pumpkins store well. 

So, I've not grown a lot of potatoes as an adult due to lack of space although I have plans for next year. However, growing up, we would save a large bin of potatoes in the basement for months enjoying them most of the winter. 

The most important thing with all of these vegetables is to keep them in  a dark cool place with NO WATER. Water will cause molding quickly so dryness is key. That's it really. You can absolutely do this yourself. 

Do you grow food for storage? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below!

Helpful Hints for Cool Weather Crops

 You can grow lots of yummy vegetables in the Spring and Fall like lettuce, spinach, kale, peas, cabbage, and kholrabi to name a few. However, as I myself am still learning, there are some helpful

tricks to ensure gardening success and I want to share with you some of what I'm learning first hand. 

It's super important to know your climate. If you live in the North wear temps rarely, if ever get over 90 degrees, then you can grow cool weather crops all summer, no problem! If you live in the South were it rarely gets below 20 degrees in the winter, then you can grow cool weather crops through the winter. However, if you live in the middle like I do (Zone 6b) then both the winter and summer are no good for cool weather veggies. The ideal time to be growing them is April - June and Sept - October and that can be tricky since many of these veggies need more time to grow. Here is how you can get around that. 

First, go for faster growing varieties. You'll notice that on the seed packets, it will tell you how long it takes to grow. Be sure to pick out the varieties that have the fewest "days to maturity". 

Second, consider buying seedlings from the nursery. I know, I hate spending the extra money too and would rather just use seeds but to get a plant to maturity in the days we have available, it would really help you out. 

Third, conversely, you can set up a seed starting station in your house to grow your own seedlings. This will require special grow lights but the investment could be worth it over time. In the summer, I started fall crops outdoors in the shade in a container. It worked great until the slugs found it. So next year I'll try again with some slug repellant. 

Fourth, you'll need to start some fall crops in July while it's still hot. I always plant them near my hose so it's easy to keep them well watered which will help them combat the heat. I also mulch them as soon as they're about 4 inches tall to help keep the soil cool. Some people also use shade cloth which would help as well. 

Finally, you can also extend the growing season in the fall by mulching around your plants or covering them with a clear covering. 

Harvesting fresh veggies in the fall and winter is very rewarding. It's worth the extra effort to make it happen. What do you like growing in the Spring and Fall? Feel free to write in the comments below!

How to Extend Your Vegetable Garden Into Fall

 Recently, a relative said to me, "Your garden is about done, isn't it?" Readers, it's mid-September here in York County, PA and I am by no means, done. If I'm done harvesting food before Christmas, I'm going to be disappointed. Now, the point of this post isn't to brag but to let you know, you can have a productive vegetable garden all through fall too! Fresh, homegrown vegetables are delicious and so healthy so spreading out the amount of time you get them is a total win! Here are some things to think about. 

My garden in Mid September

1. Pick the right variety of plants. One of the main culprits of the season ending is that you're plants are either A) varieties that set fruit and die or B)highly susceptible to disease which they get and die. Knowing that, look for varieties of indeterminate tomatoes that will continue to produce until frost. Especially look for disease resistant varieties. I love my Martha Washington Indeterminate tomatoes which are still going strong and I've not sprayed them with anything all summer. 

2. Practice succession planting. I'm harvesting green beans this week because I planted more in the middle of July. You don't have to plant a lot, just a small patch here and there to continue harvesting for fresh eating. Some plants need too much time before harvest to do this but many, such as green beans and zucchini grow quickly and lend themselves to multiple plantings. 

3. Include some vegetable varieties that shine in fall. This is the time of year for pumpkins, winter squash, pop corn, Brussel sprouts, dried beans and more. Some vegetables take a long time to grow but it's worth it when fall comes and you're still hauling in delicious food. It's especially worth in February when you can get a winter squash out of your basement and enjoy the yummiest soup ever. 

4. Embrace cool weather crops. All brassicas (cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, etc) love cooler weather. Spinach, peas, lettuce, carrots, and turnips love cooler weather. For more info on growing them, check out this link. 

5. Finally, stay on top of things. If you've kept on top of the weeds, watered when necessary, mulched as much as possible, harvested veggies instead of letting them rot on the plant (like my next door neighbors) and removed diseased material out of your garden through the summer, you are in a great place to relax in the fall. I'm only really out in the garden a few times a week this time of year and getting a lot out of it. 

So there you are, you can totally do this and maximize your vegetable returns. How is your fall garden? Feel free to comment below!

Beautiful Plants for Terrible Clay Soil

 I have the worst clay soil I've ever seen. It is just the worst. For most of the summer you can't dig into it without a pick axe. Seriously, it's like walking on concrete. It's a wonder that ANYTHING grows in this dirt. But there are things that will grow! If you have clay soil too, here are some great perennials that will endure rock hard soil and dry conditions. 

Solidaster gets a bad rap but it's a great native wildflower that attracts lots of beneficial insects. and No, it's not bothering your allergies. 

I just planted these black eyed susans this year and they're already covered in flowers. 

Not sure how it happens but I have large, gorgeous reblooming bearded Iris that bloom every spring and fall. So pretty!

Baptisia, also known at False Indigo, puts on a beautiful show every spring. 

Comfrey will thrive even in hard clay.

Butterfly weed blooms for weeks and also
 attracts pollinators. 

So there are six suggestions to get you started. I can testify that they are all very hardy and lovely.  I should mention they are all in full sun. What plants have you had success with in clay soil? Feel free to post in the comments below.