Hershey Gardens in the Fall

 This is not my normal post with helpful DIY tips for your garden. I just had a fantastic experience today and want all of you to have it too. I want to point out that Hershey pays me NOTHING (although I'd take it if they offered. he he). Maybe you've never heard of, or at least never visited Hershey Gardens in Hershey, PA. Maybe you've been but didn't go this year because of COVID 19. Maybe you think of it as a nice place to go in the summer but not so much in the fall. 

First off, they are open. (Get all the info you need at their website) You only have to wear a mask when indoors, not in the actual gardens. The tickets today were $13.50 per adult but there are ways to get discounts. (Again, see the website). 

Secondly, it is well worth going in the fall. My friend Jewell and I went this morning and even in drizzly weather, it was gorgeous. The rose gardens STILL look amazing (I wouldn't count on that after a hard frost though so go soon!). Also, their displays of annual beds was lovely. Of course, there's always the beautiful arboretum which will only get better as the foliage really starts to change. 

For those of you with kids, they have a big butterfly house and a lovely children's garden which is very interactive. My daughter Hannah loves it. 

Since a picture is worth a thousand words, I'll leave it at that and let you see theses pictures from this morning. 

My favorite rose. It's called Twilight Zone

The rose garden is just stunning.

Elephant Grass. And Jewell.

The awesome thing about the annual beds is that they're always changing. 

Swan Lake with part of the rose garden and arboretum behind. 

Seed Saving for Newbies

 Starting with a bit of honesty here, I'm not the expert on seed saving. There are folks out there who've been doing this for decades with all kinds of success and variety. That's not me. Yet. However, if you're wondering about maybe trying a little yourself, I can share with you some good ways to get started. 

Why should you save seeds? I partly do it as an activity with my daughter Hannah. It's a good educational project to learn about plant biology. I partly also do it to save money. Saved seeds means I don't have to buy more next year. Finally, if you do this over time, the plants will actually start to acclimate to your specific climate and soil conditions making them perfect for you. I haven't been doing it long enough to enjoy the last benefit but we'll get there. 

Please note that all seed saving is best done with heirloom plants. It has to do with how long that variety has been around. Seeds from hybrid plants will probably germinate for you but the flower or fruit may not look like what you expect. You can tell if an plant is heirloom (or open pollinated) from the seed packet you originally bought. 

My excursions into seed saving have centered around vegetables and flowers. First, if you've grown

peas or beans this year and the plants are still out there in the garden somewhere, then you might have some great seeds outside waiting for you. Just look for any old, dried pods that you didn't get around to pick. Open the pods up and separate out the seeds inside (see picture). 

With flowers, I enjoy saving zinnia and marigold seeds the most although my daughter is saving 4 o'clock seeds this year too. Leave a few flowers on the plant until they turn brown and dry and then pluck off the heads. You'll find the seeds under where the petals used to be (see the other picture). 

When storing seeds, note that moisture is your worst enemy. I keep the seeds out on trays till they are 100 percent dry and then store them in a sealed jar in the basement. Next spring I'll be ready to go. If you're interested in more information on this subject, I"ll include some links below. Do you do seed saving? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below. 

A Garden Guide to Save Seeds

How To Save Seeds

Strawberries!!!

Everybody loves strawberries. They are so juicy and delicious and amazing eaten several different ways. However, if you've never had fresh, home grown strawberries, then you have been missing out. Strawberries are right up there with tomatoes for food that is way better home grown than bought in a store. You CAN grow your own strawberries, but there are a few things you should know.

You can find lots of good articles on the basics of growing strawberries already on the web like these:

How To Grow Strawberries, Better Homes and Gardens


Strawberries: Planting, Growing and Harvesting

However, here are my personal tips for success.

Right now it is March and here in central PA, you can plant strawberry crowns now. In fact, I planted mine in February two years ago. Buying crowns instead of plants is far more affordable and they'll still do just fine. I purchased mine in a bunch of 25.

Mulch around your plants with pine needles. You can rake them up under any pine tree. I've gotta give cudos to Barbara Pleasant for this bit of advice. The biggest problem with growing Strawberries is the weeds and pine needles are great for keeping them down. They also keep the strawberries out of the mud so they're less apt to rot.

Now, the first year you have your plants you have to pinch off the flowers so the plants will get established. It's awful, I know. But perennial food plants are an investment in the future. Once you get them going right, you'll be getting food for years.

On your second year (and every year there after), when the strawberry plant starts to flower, sprinkle a general purpose fertilizer around the plants (but not ON them) to give them a boost.

When you see small, white berries start to form, dust the plants with Diatomacious Earth to keep slugs and beetles from eating the berries before you can. You can find it at any hardware store or garden center.

Strawberries can be eaten fresh, frozen, made into jam and canned. Also, kids LOVE them. My daughter gets excited to check for fresh berries throughout the summer. They really are worth the time. Do you have any tips for growing strawberries? Please share in the comments below.

Seed Starting With Kids

Generally speaking, I hate seed starting. It's a lot of work to do it well and requires a lot of special equipment, or at least a sun room. If you go through all of that successfully (meaning the seeds sprout) then you have to go through the process of hardening them off. What a pain! However, if you turn seed starting into a fun and educational project I can do with my daughter, then I'll consider it.
This year, I'd love to try "Red Cherry Marigolds" from Baker Creek Seeds in my front window boxes so I started them inside this week. If you too are blessed with special little helpers, then this is for you!

Heads up, this project will be really messy so plan accordingly.

Here is what you'll need:
>One or more cardboard egg carton (not Styrofoam)
>Potting soil
>Seeds
>Baking sheet or tray
>Small watering can

1. Let your helper fill the egg carton half full of soil. (I found it was easier for her if I put the soil into a large bowl first.)
2. Have your helper sprinkle water over the soil to dampen it, then create a small hole in the center for the seeds.

3. Put one or two seeds in each hole. (I let my helper do this but had to fix it when she put a lot of seeds in one hold and said they were having a party. She's three.)
4. Let your helper finish filling the egg carton with soil and water more.
5. Place egg cartons on tray and place in a sunny window.

Like I said, we used marigolds for this but other great seeds for little ones (because of the larger size of seed and ease of germination) include sunflowers, zinnias, bachelor buttons, green beans, peas, and corn. About the beginning of May, you can plant the seedlings outside by just separating the different sections of egg carton with scissors. The card board can be planted and will disintegrate over time.

Have you ever done seed starting with kids? Be sure to post about it in the comments below. 

The Basics of Winter Sowing

This topic is rather exciting for me because I think it will be so useful for many of my friends. Most of the people I hang out with don't have a lot of time and energy to put into gardening, enjoy doing projects with their kids, and would like to save a few bucks. Winter sowing, in theory at least, can accomplish all three of these things.

Having somewhat limited space with a baby, a cat, and a toddler (I have a husband too but he would leave my plants alone) makes seed starting an impossibility. Also, the cost of special lights, trays, soil, warming pads and any other equipment makes seed starting way more costly than just buying plants at the nursery in the spring. However, if you can do direct seeding outside then it's much cheaper than buying plants. Winter sowing is a way to put these methods together.

Here are the basic steps.
1. Get a few plastic jugs such as milk cartons and cut three sides of the container so you can "hinge" it open at 3-4 inches from the bottom. You MUST put holes in the bottom for drainage. Otherwise your seeds are toast.

2. Fill the bottom 3 inches or so with soil. I used Miracle Grow Seed Starting Potting Soil because that's what I had on hand. You can use any decent potting soil. (One website I read suggested peeing on dirt to add nitrogen. You can try that and let me know how it goes.)

3. Thoroughly water the soil and let it drain a bit. Then plant 3-6 seeds in the soil and be sure they are covered.

4. Duct tape the container back together and leave the cap off for ventilation.

5. Set the containers outside in the sun. Don't heat them or protect them. Do this soon, after February it will be too late.

6. Forget about them! Let nature take it's course till the plant is big enough in the spring to be transplanted.

Pretty easy huh? Winter sowing is also a great project to do with your kids. If it works well this year, then this will definitely become part of my new gardening routine. Have you tried winter sowing? Please post about it in the comments below!

Toddler Proof Christmas Decorating Part 1

I realize this post is a departure from my normal subject matter but my garden is all but done for the year and this topic is very pertinent right now. Before becoming a stay at home mom, I actually got paid to decorate private homes and businesses for Christmas and I miss it, but having a two year old has brought new challenges. If you too, would like a festive home but have little ones (or pets, come to think of it) then this post is for you!

First, and I hate to state the obvious, consider scaling back on decorations in general. I'm a flaming hypocrite for saying it but think of it this way: you may love that wooden nativity set (and yes, it's not fragile) but do you want to pick it up off the floor six times a day? Me neither.

Second, embrace soft textiles. The stores are full of festive throw blankets and decorative pillows. You kids can't break them and they'll also keep you warm and comfortable - win, win! Just keep the grape juice and sharpies out of the family room....

Third, floating shelves are your friends. If you do want to display figurines, candles and vases that are breakable, then clear off your floating shelves and re-decorate them for Christmas. You can get your regular stuff back out in January. Floating shelves can make your house look festive and beautiful without your heirlooms getting broken.

Fourth, have a designated mess zone. I've actually heard moms say they dread making cookies with their kids because of the mess. How sad, because crafts and baking projects are the stuff that priceless memories are made of! So, designate a place in your house, for me it's my dining area, where the kids are allowed to make a mess. Ideally, there won't be carpet or anything else you don't want getting dirty.

Finally, be careful with poinsettia's and decorative berries like Holly and pepper berry. None of them are good for your pets or kids. They're beautiful but I'm not having them in my home until my kids are old enough that I don't have to worry about them eating them.

So, those are my best tips. How do you decorate with kids in mind? Stay tuned for next week when I share my tips for your Christmas tree.

Garden Center Review: Ashcombe Farm and Green House

Every once in a while it's good to try something new, so here's my first garden center review. Anyone who's into gardening loves a good garden center so here's my take on Ashcombe Farm and Greenhouse in Mechanicsburg, PA. Please note I'm not getting paid by them or any other garden center to write reviews.

So, I'd heard about Ashcombe's from my co-workers back when I was a full time florist. However, I just assumed it was a small green house in a field some where. Out of desperation for some winter savory, I decided to follow the signs off of route 15 in Cumberland county and see if they carried unusual herbs. Boy, was I surprised to find a massive barn encompassing a gift shop, a cafe/ice cream parlor, a winery booth and more. Outside of the barn was several green houses with the largest selection of plants I've seen anywhere. They also have a picnic area, a children's garden and a separate area for bushes and pond plants.

If you're looking for a great selection, Ashcombe has it. Their herb selection was amazing. (Yes, they have winter savory). Imagine whole rooms full of tomato, pepper, and any other kind of vegetable and flower plant you can think of. Having a two year old, I was a big fan of the children's garden which is a bit rough around the edges but my daughter didn't notice. She loved it. The picnic area is very pretty and we really enjoyed the ice cream parlor too.

Where there any down sides? Sure. Most of the gift shop was way too expensive for me. It's not the cheapest place to get plants either but if you want an unusual variety then I think it's still worth it. Some plants seemed reasonably priced to me and other seemed too expensive. Also, their clearance plant section was overpriced. If a plant looks that bad, you've got to mark it down more than 25% to get me to buy it.

Getting back to positives, the staff were all helpful and pleasant. They also have a lot of special events, including stuff for kids. Over all, I'd definitely recommend going there but give yourself lots of time and prioritize your budget ahead of time. For more information, check out their website at www.ashcome.com. Have you been to Ashcombe? Feel free to write about your experience below!

Gardening Books for Young Children

What do you do when you love gardening and want your kids to love it too? Buy them cool books, of course! We've been blessed to receive lots of great kids books as gifts and because folks know how much I love gardening, they've given us some great books on growing things for my little girl. All four books below are really for younger kids as my daughter is almost two, and I really recommend them. For convenience, I'll add a link where you can buy one for your own kids/grand kids but I don't make any money from Amazon.

1. Two Little Gardeners by Margaret Wise Brown.

A Little Golden Book Classic, "Two Little Gardeners" has some great vintage illustrations and I love how Ms. Brown (she also wrote Good Night Moon) weaves together poetry and prose. Ultimately, it's very educational but keeps children's attention through story telling. This one is my favorite right now.

Two Little Gardeners on Amazon

2. Who's In The Garden? by Phillis Gershator

Designed for toddlers, this board book is super colorful. My daughter likes the peek a boo parts and turning the pages herself. The book focuses more on the little creatures in the garden (and they don't need to glorify rabbits in the garden if you ask me) but it's super cute and holds up to a lot of abuse.

Who's In The Garden on Amazon

3. Secrets of the Vegetable Garden by Carron Brown and Giordano Poloni

One of a series by Usborne Books, this book covers a lot about growing plants from seeds and the great flashlight trick makes it really attention grabbing for kids. My daughter isn't quite old enough to appreciate it fully but it would be great for preschoolers. I enjoy how it not only covers basic gardening but also touches on bees and pollination as well as other insects and bugs in the garden. It's very educational.

Secrets of the Vegetable Garden on Amazon

4. The Garden In Our Yard by Greg Henry Quinn

Published in 1995, it makes me feel old to say this book has been around 20 years. It's similar to "Two Little Gardeners" in that it tells the story of gardening from Spring through Winter and makes educational information seem entertaining by turning it into narrative. The rhyming in the story telling also makes it more fun for kids.

The Garden In Our Yard

For now, those are the gardening books we've been reading. What children's books on gardening do you love? I'd love to hear about it in the comments below.