Cloverleaf Herb Farm

Sloooow Time and then Fast, fast, fast!

2012-02-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

I always enjoy the relatively slow time after the holidays. John and I always call January "the slow time." There's always work to do of course, but it's inside work and much of it is paperwork and planning or preparation. I usually consider work you can do sitting down as easier work. It also allows us to work on different projects. This year it was basement repairs from last fall's flooding. We repainted the walls and ceiling and now will pick out flooring. We don't have to install it - just pay for it! Then we'll finish up with the molding and put everything back together.

Now spring preparations begin in earnest. Each week I'll start a batch of seeds. Our order of soil, pots and supplies arrives. That means I can begin filling pots so they're ready to go when planting time arrives. By the end of the month, starter plants arrive and planting begins. I'm glad things pick up gradually. It gives me time to move from the slower winter pace to the busy springtime mode. There always comes a day when the spring rush hits - BOOM - and we're in full swing. Meanwhile, I'll organize the greenhouse and get things ready for spring.

As far as I know, there are still three toads hibernating in the greenhouse. Haven't seen them lately, but as the weather warms up, they usually poke themselves out of the dirt and burrow down again at night. With the protection of the greenhouse, hopefully they will all survive the winter.

I've been using the arnica rub that Tina and Maryanne make on my wrist to deal with a bout of tendonitis. All my aches and pains I blame on playing with Lucy. She loves to play and although she's not rough, she is strong. Of course the fact that I'm getting older doesn't factor in at all... Anyway, I've found the arnica rub very helpful. Arnica has been used for a long time to relieve pain, swelling and bruising. I figure it beats taking pain relievers constantly.

Don't forget! The shop is open three days a week (Thursday through Saturday) 9 am to 5 pm during February and March.

Mild Winter, so far!

2012-01-31T13:48:00.000-08:00

I'm pretty happy with our winter weather so far. It seems odd that so far, our biggest snowfall was in October. Snow is not good on the greenhouse, of course. Turning the heat on melts the snow off and it accumulates on the sides. We have to shovel that snow away, since the buildup of snow could eventually cause the sides to collapse. So less snow means less shoveling, which suits us. Since having the greenhouses, I have noticed that the majority of snowfalls occur overnight.

I also enjoyed the snow fog after the recent snowfall. Everything is quiet, white and kind of mysterious. I remember snow fog growing up in Mt. Gretna - perhaps because of the trees. Our back corner of the yard is still very wet. Will it ever dry out? When it gets cold, the standing water freezes and I can see all types of interesting things trapped in the ice. All sorts of leaves and twigs and frosted blades of grass frozen there in a kind of life-sized snow globe effect.

The relatively mild weather really has me thinking of spring and I'm seeing signs throughout the yard. Our witch hazel has bloomed with its tiny yellow and red flowers in January, several weeks earlier than its typical February bloom. Both the star magnolia and pussy willow have big, fat buds. I'm surprised at how much is green in the gardens. Pretty little salad burnet has not died off and there's still green parsley, cutting celery and chamomile. There's new green shoots of chives and new growth on bronze fennel, poppies, snapdragons, and reseeded cornflowers which never died off. All the outdoor rosemarys have survived up to this point. I always tell people to let cilantro reseed when it flowers to get a second crop as the weather cools off. With all the rain, I had a bumper crop in the fall. With the mild weather, it produced through December, and even now has some good green growth. All of this is soothing when I get antsy for spring.

"Winter Break" at Cloverleaf

2012-01-12T08:22:00.000-08:00

I'm back after a nice holiday break. Hope you all enjoyed your holidays. We had two very good holiday meals - one rather long and hectic and the second more subdued and relaxed. Very good food both times.

Thanks to all who came out for our Open House and throughout the holiday season. It was a good season for the business and overall a successful year. With the weather and the economy both on the poor side, I consider that quite an accomplishment.

And, believe it or not, I've started work for the spring season. Planted pansy seeds right after Christmas and after New Year's stared a batch of early perennials like cornflower, blue flax and "Lady" lavender. This is the only variety of lavender I start from seed. It is just amazing to me that the tiny seedlings in the little pack have as much aroma as a full-sized lavender plant! What a treat on a cold winter's day to enjoy the fragrance of fresh lavender.

John and I always laugh that January is our slow time. Not much work yet here at the farm and his busy time at work doesn't start for about a month. Once February comes, supplies arrive, there are seeds to start every week and we begin to gear up the greenhouse for spring.

Lots of the work now is cozy, indoor stuff - end of year routine, preparing orders for spring, etc. which leaves time for other things - like making bread. I love to make bread. First of all I love to eat it. Also, there's something very elemental about making bread plus I absolutely love the smell of yeast. I don't know why, but that smell ranks right up there for me along with my favorite herbal and floral scents. I make all kinds of bread. This week was honey wheat toasting bread. Most breads that are good for toasting have wheat germ in them. Also make a pesto bread, cinnamon (yummy with coffee), seeded bread with seeds and dried minced onions on top, and also found a new recipe that incorporates mashed butternut squash in the dough.

The other thing we accomplished was painting our basement. This was the first step in the refurbishment due to last fall's flooding. Next we'll have new flooring installed. We don't have to do that work - just pay for it!

Holiday Open House! Dec 2 & 3

2011-11-28T19:41:00.001-08:00

We hope to see many of you at our holiday open house on Friday and Saturday December 2 & 3 from 9 am to 5 pm. We'll have a selection of potted culinary herbs along with live topiaries in the greenhouse, shop specials on handmade soaps and some of our other popular items in the shop, herbal refreshments including hot mulled cider, and prize drawings. I'm hoping the weather will cooperate, although this year it might be asking a lot. We have a very nice selection of tree decorations this year, plus holiday and non-holiday arrangements, great gardening and herbal books, essential and fragrance oils, supplies to make your own body care gifts, lots of fragrant body care products and unique and garden themed gift ideas.

Also new for us this year, we'll be participating in a drop-in open house at our neighbors - Carissa Ressler at 1987 Cloverleaf Rd., just up the road from our place. The date is Saturday, December 10 from 2 - 7 pm. In addition to products from our shop, the open house will feature soy candles, hand designed jewelry, Pampered Chef goods, and fair trade scarves and other items. I'm looking forward to participating and hopefully meeting some new folks.

Lucy will be celebrating her birthday soon - her fifth! We've had her four years, since we adopted her when she was a year old. Here's my annual plea if you're considering adopting a pet. Please, pleas consider a shelter or rescue animal. There are so many animals - all ages and sizes and breeds looking, waiting, and I'm sure hoping for a good, loving home. I've had dogs my whole life and Lucy is one of the best. On some level, she seems to understand that things were bad, and then we came and they got lots better. So many adopted dogs are eager to please, in gratitude for their adoption. I also have to laugh when I see in the paper people selling or trying to sell mixed breed dogs for hundreds of dollars. I don't care what cute name you make up for them, they're still mutts. So if you're going to get a mixed breed, consider a dog or cat that really needs a home.

Fall in the Garden

2011-11-05T05:40:00.000-07:00

Originally written in late Oct:

I noticed a bumper crop of cilantro this fall. Cilantro is a cool weather annual like lettuce. It does well early in the season, but like lettuce, bolts when the weather gets hot. You can sometimes delay this in the garden by providing part shade, but you can't postpone it forever - it's just the nature of the plant. It then forms its white flower heads, which eventually become seeds. Let some seeds fall and you'll usually get a second crop when the weather begins to cool off again at the end of the season. It took awhile for the seed to germinate this year, but with all the moisture, it's a bumper crop. Harvest the foliage before frost and freeze for winter use.

Outside work is winding down although there's still weeding and cutting back to do. But now, I'm working mostly in the shop, trying to get things arranged and stocked for the holidays. It's nice to switch back and forth. One thing I've noticed about my work habits is that I don't like to do the same thing over and over. I worked in an office once and it was the same thing each week - same thing on Tuesdays, same thing Thursdays - I didn't care for that. This job is great. Very different tasks from spring through fall and winter. Also I like the process of growing, planting, harvesting and using the things I grow.

Our holiday open house will be December 2 and 3 from 9 -5. We've added some interesting gift items and some new soap scents from the "sisters." You can read about them in the newsletter coming out in November. It also lists other great, unique gift ideas and don't forget we have lots of supplies and containers for those who make their own products and gifts. We've had a few D.I.Y customers already. I'm always so impressed when people start early.

It's supposed to be a bad year for pumpkins, due to all the wet weather. Butternut squash seems to be plentiful though. I like it a lot, and if you roast it in the oven it gets delicious. Thyme is a perfect herb to pair with winter squash.

Early Fall

2011-11-05T05:37:00.000-07:00

Written earlier - our apologies to you and to Kathy that we are not as prompt in getting her Blog posts up! SO this was probably written in mid-October:

Even though the weather feels increasingly like fall, the garden still looks like late summer. Annual vines that were delayed, like hyacinth bean and mina, are full and looking gorgeous along with pineapple and mexican bush sage, pink and white anemones, flowers for drying like cockscomb, statice and gomprena and even late blooming roses. I'm not a huge fan of marigolds, but they sure look nice this time of year in their fall parade of colors. I cut back my calendula or pot marigold hard after the flood and they are re-blooming nicely. Nasturtiums are still going strong -- I just love their bright, vibrant colors.

I'm also surprised at how many things have really rebounded. I went through after the flood to clean things up. I cut back lots of things, perennial and annual, and waited to see what happened. Most things pushed out new growth and are looking good. Of course, they're still getting plenty of moisture. I said to John the other day that they always say one inch of moisture per week is generally sufficient for most plants to do well. Seems like we've had the inch every other day or so this season.

I'm working on the fall/holiday newsletter that will come out in the beginning of November. My friend Sandy, who does all of our computer work had a direct lightning strike this summer, which killed her computer. So we have reconstructed our mailing list. If you're reading the blog and do not receive your newsletter or wish to be switched to an e-newsletter, please let us know. Either call with your info (leave a message if you don't get me) or let us know when you visit. We think we've recreated the list pretty accurately, but we may have inadvertently deleted some names. We send out 2 newsletters per year, by mid-March and mid-November, so let us know if you haven't received yours.

Lucy is happy with the cooler weather. She loves to lie in the sun as long as the air is cool. She can also get back into the wilderness area as things start to die back. There are loads of interesting smells back there and she loves to check them all out.

Transition

2011-09-05T08:03:00.000-07:00

This is a transitional time of year for us. In the spring, it's all plants all the time. I pot plants, water plants, clean plants, sell plants, talk about plants. Now there's still plant work - I'm still harvesting plants from the gardens and we still have plants for sale that must be maintained. Fall is actually a great time to plant perennials. The temps are cooling off and there's usually more reliable rainfall in the autumn. Plants can get established and get a head start compared to spring planting. But the non-plant work gears up now too. I'm working on dried wreaths and arrangements for the shop, harvesting and bunching dried flowers from the gardens and replenishing our stock of bulk herbs grown here on the farm. Also restocking items from our "soap ladies" (the twisted sisters aka Maryanne and Tina) and also cat items and herbal teas from our vendor in State College. I'm also - gasp - getting items for the holidays. But I refuse to put up the tree in the shop until Thanksgiving week. Probably some stores have back to school items next to Christmas displays!

It's interesting, too because I notice sales start to shift. Although we sell items from the shop year-round, in the spring it's mostly plants. We're still selling plants - some sale perennials are left and also some larger sized perennials, but the shop sales are increasing significantly and will hopefully continue to do so through the holidays.

Lucy's still on the lookout for rabbits, but we haven't been seeing too many in the morning. I know there are some around, but they're the smarter ones and I guess they've figured out she should be avoided. Lucy does not like cats and is highly offended when they pass through her yard. She used to chase them immediately if she was out and saw one. She's much better now. I think she'd still love to chase them but knows we don't want her to, so she doesn't for the most part. I always laugh when people pooh-pooh animal intelligence. We got Lucy from the pound and I'm sure at some level she understands she was in a bad situation and we rescued her from it. Since we've had her, it's been apparent she wants to please us and that continues. I think it's her way of saying thanks.

Looking good in the garden - marigolds, calendula, nicotiana, vitex, emilia, profusion zinnias, lavender and roses reblooming, sedum.

Good News on the Toad Front

2011-08-29T07:52:00.000-07:00

Good news on the greenhouse toad front. Many of you knew of, and asked about the toad that lived in our greenhouse. The original toad lived there since we opened the greenhouse but he (or she) died a couple of years ago. He was 12+ years old, so it lived a good long life for a toad. Since then, we have had several new crops of young toads, but none took to the greenhouse. Until this year. We now have a small (this year's) toad that has moved into the greenhouse and settled into the back corner in the dirt pile there. I've added to the pile hoping to make it toad friendly. He (or she) is dug into the dirt comfortably for about a week. I assume it goes out at night to eat and returns to sleep in the day. I'm hoping he'll hibernate there for the winter and decide it's a nice place to live. At least it will be warm when winter comes. At first, as soon as I'd approach the back corner, he'd scoot back into the dirt. I've been talking to him and moving very slowly and he seems to be getting used to me moving around. Not at all tame like original toad - you could pet him - but hopefully this one will become people friendly. I know the kids loved to see the original, so hopefully this one will stick around.

Speaking of toads reminds me of bugs. I noticed the bug population was not really bad this year - only saw a handful of Japanese beetles. Grasshoppers are around - you can easily tell by the fairly large holes they make in leaves, but not as many as some other years. We did have lots of ants this spring, way more than usual. I wondered if that was because the very wet spring drove them out of the ground. Also had very few insects in the greenhouse this spring. Again, I assume due to the cool wet spring. We only spray when necessary, and then use spray that is organic and certified safe for organic crops.

I have noticed some of the end of season crops are behind this year. Annual vines like hyacinth bean, moonflower and mina haven't bloomed yet, nor have pineapple sage or other late season flowers. I think the screaming hot weather in July hurt them. Many plants will not set buds at high temperatures, particularly high nighttime temps. That and the dry weather in conjunction seemed to set them back. We still have plenty of time left though.

Birdhouses, bee skeps and Tomato Casserole!

2011-08-19T07:30:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why, but sometimes I get hooked on a particular thing and really enjoy it for a while. This happens mostly with smaller objects that I like to collect. It also happens as I buy things for the shop. One that has grabbed my attention for a while is small decorative birdhouses. Not the bigger outdoor ones for birds to actually occupy, but smaller ones in all kinds of shapes and colors so that you can find one to fit in any room. I don't know why they intrigue me so - I think it's the fact of being a little house and also a touch of the outdoors brought inside.

That also holds true for my longtime fascination with bee skeps, the rounded, woven, almost basket-like structure. Originally, they did house bees before they had the boxlike hives we see today. And the skeps became associated with herb gardens, probably since bees were attracted to many of the flowers in the herb garden. While shopping with Tina and Maryanne recently, I found a plaque and also skeps on a stick to be added to potted plants and containers. Those were great finds and I also have beeswax skeps for the Christmas tree - so cute!

Now that tomato season is in full swing, I hope you're enjoying them with mozzarella and basil and also as bruschetta. Here's another easy and delicious recipe I got from P. Allen Smith's TV show. Goes great as a side dish with almost any meal...

Baked Tomatoes
Chop and drain 10 to 12 Roma tomatoes in a colander. Stir occasionally to remove some of the juice. Combine the drained tomatoes with half a roasted red bell pepper, 1/2 cup chopped fresh basil, 1/3 cup Parmesan cheese, minced garlic to taste, and 1 tablespoon olive oil. Bake in a greased casserole dish for 30-35 minutes at 350.

The rabbits are getting smart. Word must have gotten around about Lucy. Most of them run as soon as they see her now. Even a small one took off immediately the other day and often the small ones will just sit. She did kick one out from under a shrub one day and now she goes back and checks it regularly!

A slight inkling of fall...

2011-08-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

Now that August has arrived it means a couple things. First, we're nearing the end of summer and I always think, "how did that happen?" At the beginning of summer, I think of the time stretching out in front of me and before I know it I'm looking backwards and thinking, "where did it go?" I read that the last two weeks of July are the hottest of the year, on average. So I think of the arrival of August as the start of more moderate weather. Not that there won't still be hot days, but there are mornings when I take Lucy out and I can feel a slight change in the air that makes me think fall is not too far off.

It's also prime time for harvesting and preserving your herbs. Other than newly planted herbs, everything should be well-established and ready for a large harvest. Annuals and herbaceous perennials (those that will die back in the fall - mint, oregano, etc.) can be cut back by a third to a half. Woody-stemmed perennials like thyme, sage and rosemary can be cut back by a third. You should stop these large harvest of woody perennials around Labor Day so the remaining foliage can offer some protection for the crown of the plant over winter. Pick a dry day and go out and harvest.

Either dry or freeze your bounty. If you're drying, make sure the herbs are thoroughly dry - crispy like cornflakes - before you store them in a glass jar or zippered bag away from heat or light.

Other ideas for dealing with an abundance of herbs - make an herbal vinegar or herb butter. The latter is very easy to do. Soften a stick of butter or margarine. Add about a tablespoon of chopped herb to butter and blend. Refrigerate to allow the flavor to develop. You can also freeze herb butters for a wintertime treat. Place the blended butter on plastic wrap. Shape into a log. Wrap in foil, label and freeze. When you take it out of the freezer, slice individual rounds and enjoy. Great on bread, rolls, rice, noodles, vegetables, grilled fish and more.

August is a slow time in the garden for perennials, but annuals tide us over. Looking good - calendula, nicotiana (fragrant at night), zinnias, annual statice, celosia, gem marigolds and snapdragons.

Dog Days

2011-08-05T13:54:00.000-07:00

Well, we're into the dog days now. I laugh when I hear that phrase because when it's hot, Lucy expends the least energy possible. She doesn't move unless she has to. I laugh when she sleeps on her back too. She bends her front legs and it really looks silly.

After a storm, I notice some plants have a growth spurt. Then as it shifts back to hot and dry, the plants go into a holding pattern. If you're watering herbs, concentrate on those like basil, dill and mint that want more moisture. Lavender, sage, thyme, rosemary (outside) and gray-leaved plants are very drought tolerant once they're established and will survive quite well without supplemental water. Herbs in containers dry out quickly and need regular watering and fertilizing.

I finally saw a swallowtail caterpillar - on curly parsley. Still haven't seen any monarch caterpillars although I've seen monarchs several times. John saw the heron almost land in the neighbor's pool. It veered off because they were out in the yard. Lucy saw it fly over and she was very interested. Big birds seem to intrigue her. Big enough to chase but they just fly away.

I've been drying a lot of flowers. Many kinds that are good for drying have that papery texture and feel. They're usually quite drought tolerant too. Annual statice comes in several colors and they bloom in succession. Gomphrena, or globe amaranth come in red or purple, pink and white. Cutting them regularly produces lots of reblooms.
Kent beauty oregano is grown for its flowers, not for culinary use. Its papery flower starts out green and changes to a pinky-purple. The stems are rather arching. I cut the stems, stand them in a vase and let them dry that way.

I've been enjoying
Cold Melon Soup.
Puree 1 medium cantaloupe, seeded and cubed along with 1/2 cup orange juice and 1 cup plain yogurt. You an add a dash of freshly grated nutmeg. Refrigerate any you don't eat right away.

Jasmine

2011-07-30T13:53:00.000-07:00

Jasmine has been a very popular plant for us. Every source I've read says it is not hardy here in zone 6. Ours has survived outside on the pergola for at least seven years. It's a vigorous vine that needs a support to climb. The rounded white flowers bloom in early summer and are deliciously fragrant. It's a sweet fragrant scent, but not cloyingly sweet. Many people talk about their fondness for the scent.

As sometimes happens, we lost our supplier for the small jasmine starter plants we got and potted up. So last year I decided to propagate some on my own. I thought cuttings would be easy. Usually, it's easy to root cuttings from a vigorous plant like jasmine. I did get a few to root, but the majority did not and the ones that did root took a long time. Last fall I decided to try layering. That involves taking a long stem, pinning it down into the soil and allowing roots to develop where it touches the soil. All you need for layering is stems long enough and flexible enough to pin - and patience. This was much more productive. All the stems rooted and several could be divided since they developed roots in several spots. So I potted the up in larger gallon sized pots with a trellis to start them climbing. They're available for sale now and if any are left, I'll hold them over for next year.

The plant sale continues and we have some good bargains, so if you still need something, stop by.

What looks good in the garden:

Verbena bonariensis or upright verbena - tall, but on thin, wiry stems and topped with a flat, purple flower. It reseeds reliably every year.

Blackberry lily - each orange flower lasts one day, but there are lots of them. They'll be ornamental through the fall as the blackberry-like seed pods develop.

Foliage plants like variegated sage and santolinas look good throughout the season and complement many flower colors.

Mid July in the Garden

2011-07-14T17:49:00.001-07:00

The butterfly bushes are blooming beautifully this year. Thanks to all the spring rain and good groundwater, the flowers are big and fat. I've never seen them look this good. In our bee and butterfly garden, we have a "Black Knight" which has the really dark purple flowers. In front of it blooms an unnamed lemon yellow daylily. What a pretty color combination. Another one I like is white coneflower and blue hyssop. It's the classic blue and white combo, plus I like the contrast in textures between the coarse coneflower and the finely cut linear foliage of hyssop. One day I was working by the hyssop and about every other stem had a bumblebee or a butterfly - mostly skippers - on it.

We never did anything to the thyme walk this spring because of the wet weather. It is so full and has been blooming several weeks. It's really one mass of flowers this summer. And the bees love it - honeybees, bumblebees, little tiny bees and other winged insects I can't identify. Also, at least one bunny's nest in the thyme walk. Think how good those bunnies smell! Lucy's been smelling around but she hasn't found them.

What looks good in the garden:

Anise hyssop - licorice scented, purple spiky flowers, bees love this too. Different than the blue hyssop above.

Coneflower - lots of big, cheerful flowers in several colors now.

Emilia - fuzzy scarlet flowers on wiry stems, deadhead for continuous blooming.

Love-lies-bleeding - chenille-like draping flowers. They'll continue to grow, but are striking even when small.

Cornflowers - loads of purple or blue flowers bloom constantly when they get going.

We've seen herons flying over, singly and a pair, but none have landed in the yard. I'm sure they're traveling between ponds.

One day, I was surprised to see a hops plant with about 90% of its leaves gone. It looked funny and I knew it wasn't like that the previous day. Looking closer, I saw big, hairy caterpillars on the few remaining leaves and the stems. They're the comma butterfly caterpillars which feed on hops. So I should have a bumper crop of them in the garden soon.

Most of my lavenders did not get trimmed in the spring because it was so wet. Then of course, blooms had formed and I didn't want to cut all the buds off. So now that they're done, it's time to trim them for shaping. I wound up cutting them all back hard. Most of them had nice new growth underneath and that will fill in nicely before it gets cold. A couple plants had little new growth and lots of deadwood. I just cut them back hard also. They may push out new foliage and be fine. If they don't, I'll pull them out and replace them in the fall. Sometimes with woody stemmed plants it is easier to start with a new plant.

What I'm harvesting now:

all varieties of mint

Chamomile flowers for tea

fast growing perennials like tarragon, savory, lemon balm, oregano, and catnip

basil - keep pinching back stems so plant is compact and full of foliage. If you don't use the cuttings with supper, dry/freeze.

My friend Sandy who does a lot of my computer work had a direct lightning strike to her house and it killed her computer. We'll be rebuilding our mailing list and the newsletter should still reach most people. The most likely to be missed are those who signed up this year. Also, once she's up and running I'll post the address for those getting an e-newsletter to submit their email address. Some of these storms this summer have been really bad. Each time one misses us, John breathes a big sigh of relief.

Plant Sale!

2011-07-01T06:17:00.000-07:00

Our plant sale is going on. Annuals are half off and perennials are by three, get one free (any varieties, mix and match). So if you have an empty space in the garden or a container to fill or just like to try out a new plant, we still have a lot to choose from.

A couple interesting perennials:
lady's bedstraw - grassy foliage with fairly tall, tiny but deliciously fragrant gold flowers
kent beauty oregano - grown for its flowers, rather than flavor, the flowers deepen to a pinky rose and dry well
anemone - late summer and fall blooming perennial with white or pink flowers like a single rose, prefers part shade

Once the bees have finished with the lavender flowers, cut off the flower stalks. Also prune your plants now to achieve a better shape.

Our thyme walk continues to bloom. Having different varieties means a much longer blooming season. And the bees - bumble and honey - just love thyme flowers. They work the area nearly all day long. Another bee favorite is anis hyssop with its spike of purple flowers. I like it (the leaves) mixed with peppermint for a refreshing tea.

I haven't yet seen signs of monarch caterpillars on the milkweed (swamp in the garden and wild out back) yet. There's also a milkweed moth which produces a caterpillar the same colors, but hairy! I'm seeing more butterflies, too - mostly small - loads of loopers and also skippers, but a few biggers ones too - an occasional yellow or black swallowtail and a couple of commas.

Annual vines are now established and with the hot summer weather will begin to grow like crazy. Remember they like a lot of moisture especially in the beginning. The mina or firecracker flower has put out the most growth so far (ahead of moonflower and hyacinth bean) but the others will catch up soon. Mina produces a spray of yellow, orange, and red flowers late summer and fall and the hummingbirds do like them in our garden.

Many perennials can be cut back after flowering. Some will rebloom, and all produce nice new foliage.

Into Summer...

2011-07-01T06:05:00.000-07:00

Now that summer has arrived, I try to do harvesting and drying every week. The vigorous perennial herbs like mint, oregano, savory and tarragon can be cut back halfway and will quickly rebound. None of my basils are large enough to harvest yet, although they can be pinched back regularly (above where new leaves emerge) to provide fresh basil for the kitchen and also to produce a full and compact plant with lots of foliage. Basils and mints also prefer more moisture than many drought tolerant Mediterranean herbs like thyme and rosemary. I'm also harvesting chamomile flowers to dry for tea.

What's looking nice in the garden:
rose campion - shockingly bright magenta flowers against silver foliage
perennial salvia - purple arching flowers in a large clump
perennial geranium - tallish groundcover with lots of purple flowers and lasting blooms
clary sage - long lasting, still looks great
yarrow - all are blooming, yellow, pink, and white. I prefer the yellow for bunching and drying. Also good for drying - the Pearl - which is white and resembles baby's breath
hollyhock - flowers look great at the back of the bed, rust on leaves hidden
hydrangeas - still gorgeous

Speaking of hollyhocks, rust is an ongoing problem. Certain plants are susceptible to various fungus diseases like holly hocks and rust or bee balm and mildew. The spores are in the air and hot, humid weather allows them to thrive. You can spray ornamentals with fungicide, but it won't remove what is there, so for perfectly clean plants you must begin spraying before you see any disease. A lower-tech solution is to cut back bad foliage and new foliage will emerge and be clean - at least for a while. An organic solution I use in the greenhouse for mildew on rosemary is 1 teaspoon baking soda mixed in a quart of water and sprayed heavily on affected plants.

2011-07-01T05:57:00.000-07:00

This entry was intended to be published in May.

Besides lavender, I've also started drying other herbs. It seems a little strange because I started drying while we were still planting. With the long, wet spring, it was hard to get anything in the ground until the second half of May. John, our helper Zach and I went on a planting spree and put in just under 200 plants in about 10 or 11 days. While we were doing that, I saw how many things were ready to harvest. The perennial herbs were certainly lush and full due to all the early rainfall.

The first thing I harvested were rose petals. I dry them to use in potpourri, to include in sleep pillows and to sell in the shop. We have several varieties of roses growing in the gardens. An unidentified dark pink, fragrant climbing rose dries well along with the single bi-colored and fragrant Rosa Mundi. These two only bloom once, almost always in June and usually close to the time lavender blooms. We also have some David Austin English roses. They are pretty, multi-petaled and somewhat fragrant, but the petals shrink considerably and also darken as they dry so I prefer the other two varieties for drying. I dry them flat on screens which works well.

I've cut back and dried oregano, lemon balm and tarragon along with a few varieties of mint. Many of the perennials are huge and I could easily harvest twice as much, except I've run out of drying room. Chamomile flowers are easy to dry and great for tea. They flower over a couple weeks, so that harvest continues. Remember that herbs will re-absorb moisture from the air on humid days so don't store your dried material until they are thoroughly dry-crispy, like cornflakes. If mold develops on dried herbs, they must be discarded.

What's looking good in the garden:
clary sage - tall, sturdy flower stalks that bloom a long time
rose campion - bright magenta flowers surrounded by soft, gray foliage
thymes - several varieties blooming with lilac flowers, making the bees very happy
valerian - tall white aromatic flowers
hydrangeas - big, beautiful and bright blue

Lavender in May

2011-07-01T05:45:00.000-07:00

This entry, as well as the next was intended to be published in May and although Kathy sent it to me then, I have been lax in getting them posted!

Lovely, lovely lavender! Although lavender's spring season has been creeping into May. with our slow start to spring this year, I figured it would be June this year. So I've been happily bunching and crafting. One day I made lavender hearts which I like as tree ornaments or package toppers at the holidays. Today, I started on weaving wands. It's just simple over and under weaving, but each one is slightly different due to the difference in individual stems. And it's always fragrant - however you are using it. I like the very dark purple flowers for dried bunches - pretty and fragrant and the lighter colors for the wands since the flowers are enclosed by ribbon.

Remember to pick lavender in the bud before the little blooms open. The opened flowers often fall off when dried, so you lose aroma. Stems on the plants that I haven't harvested I let go because the bees love it. When they're done with it, cut off the spent stems to prevent seeding and encourage rebloom. After spring blooming is the best time to trim plants in order to shape them.

Happy to report I'm seeing quite a few honeybees since the weather warmed up. Outside, they're very busy with thyme flowers as they bloom. In the greenhouse, they're all over the profusion zinnias. When I'm watering those plants, they move away impatiently, but hover nearby and come back as soon as I move on to another flat.

A customer asked about winter-hardy rosemary recently and asked if it was guaranteed to be hardy. It reminded me of an herbal scam - claiming zone 7 plants will be hardy in zone 6. Several varieties claim to be more winter-hardy, but I believe and will always tell people that I think the deciding factor is the severity of the winter. Lots of types survive a mild winter, not many at all a tough winter like the past one.
No guarantees!

Thank you - and see you at Landis Valley?

2011-05-01T13:02:00.000-07:00

Wanted to take a minute and thank everyone who came to our spring open house. The weather was crappy Friday and didn't improve until Saturday afternoon. But we had a steady stream of visitors both days. John and I both appreciate everyone slogging through the spring weather to visit. And almost everyone said they plan a return visit, so we can get to see people another time, or two.
Maybe we'll see you at Landis Valley. This year the garden faire is Friday and Saturday, May 6 & 7. We'll be in our usual spot in the Brothers' Courtyard. Pray for good weather!

You can plant perennials anytime you can work the ground. Annuals should be hardened off before planting. Place them outside, starting in a protected spot. Gradually expose them to more sun. Bring inside at night if the temperature is to dip below 40. After 5-7 days the plant will be acclimated to the outside and can be planted. Keep well watered until established. That should be easy this year!

I don't think the soil has warmed sufficiently yet to plant basil outside. It likes warm soil and nighttime temperatures in the 50's. It's fairly warm at night, but we need a few more sunny days to warm up the soil.

Established perennials will be lush and beautiful this year with all the ground water. If you have any perennials to divide, this is an excellent opportunity.
I've seen a couple bumblebees but haven't seen a single honeybee yet. I heard a bird chirping loudly on our deck and it was a pretty bluebird sitting atop a post. Also, I captured and released the first butterfly from the greenhouse - I think it was a painted lady. Usually at this time of year, they've been on a plant in a chrysalis and have just emerged as a butterfly. Later in the season, they just fly in and can't get out. Dragonflies are also not so smart - bees, on the other hand can find their way out.

Spring Open House! April 22 & 23

2011-04-21T10:09:00.000-07:00

Our OPEN HOUSE is coming up this Friday and Saturday from 9 AM to 5 PM!

Featuring:

Greenhouse and shop specials

Prize Drawings

Herbal Refreshments

Please come visit, but if you can't, remember we are now open Tuesday thru Saturday 9 AM to 5 PM. During April, May and June, we are also open on Wednesdays until 7 PM.

2011 Price List

2011-04-20T07:25:00.001-07:00

Although this was posted earlier, this format may make it easier to download and print.

The link at the right will bring you back to this page in the future.

Winter Wishes

2010-12-15T08:47:00.000-08:00

Now we're into the down season for gardening. Although, having said that I've already ordered starter plants and seeds for next spring.

Next, I‘ll work on orders for tags and pots and soil. So even though the calendar says winter, I'm thinking spring. I'll start my first batch of seeds in early January. All this spring oriented work helps me survive the cold weather. There‘s something magical about seeing baby seedlings growing inside in the depths of winter.

The eternal promise of spring never fails to inspire. I must say though, that I kind of enjoy the forced slowdown winter brings. l think it‘s Mother Nature's way of telling us to slow down and enjoy a break, There are also cold weather pleasures of brewing herbal tea and baking bread from scratch.

A great winter pleasure is curling up with perhaps, a cup of that herbal tea, and browsing through seed catalogs. If you haven't received any yet, they'll be arriving soon. The beautiful pictures and glowing descriptions always have me longing for spring. I get ideas for new plants to add to our inventory from several places- customer requests, reading reference books and perusing seed catalogs. Nearly every year, I find something to try in a catalog. Either a picture attracts me or the write-up sounds so good or they throw in that foolproof word for me-fragrant-and I'm ready to try it.

We still have some copies of the 2911 herbal calendar for sale.
Beautiful prints, herbal tips and recipes, too.

If you suffer from dry skin in the winter, here's some products to try:
Goat's milk lotion-very moisturizing and helps your shin retain moisture
Solid lotion bars-Fragrant, moisturizing, but not gloopy
Whipped shea butter-super moisturizing for your face

The farm is closed beginning Dec 24 for the holidays. The shop reopens Jan. 6 and will be open Thursday-Saturday 9am-5pm.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all.

Thanks to All!

2010-12-08T08:12:00.000-08:00

Thanks to everyone who came out to our recent holiday open house.
We had a great turnout both days and everyone was so nice with their comments. One regular customer came with her two teenagers and they said visiting us was on their list of fun things to do. With so much competition for people's time and attention, we appreciate the fact that everyone made the effort to stop by. Also, congratulations to our open house prize Winners. Megan Sweigart won the gift certificate and Rick Hamm won the soap sampler.

We have live myrtle and rosemary topiaries in the greenhouse and a selection of potted culinary herbs-basil, thyme, parsley, chives, etc. These will be available through December 25 during our regular hours~Tuesday-Saturday §am-5pm. lf you need something green and growing and fragrant to get through the winter, stop by. After Christmas, we shut down the greenhouses and will not have plants available until the greenhouse reopens in April.

New that we've had a hard freeze, the growing season is done for another year. But this year, I had roses, Jupiter's beard, snaps and calendula blooming at the beginning of December. That's even a little later than last year. <<< The poor calendula finally gave up the ghost after our last hard freeze.

I've been happily going through Tina Sam's new book, By the Hearth.
It‘s a compilation of the best from the first five years of her Essential Herbal magazine. I've gone through it several times, picking out articles here and there to read. New I'm focused on the kitchen section. Let me tell you, there are some great recipes in there. I've already marked some to try after the holidays.
It's a great gift idea for the herbies in your life.

It's been so cold these last few mornings that even Lucy doesn't dawdle to our walks. I'm glad she doesn’t want to stop and smell individual blades of grass!

Thoughts on a late fall day

2010-12-02T11:43:00.000-08:00

If you have rosemary planted in the garden, you still have plenty of time to enjoy and harvest it. Although not reliably winter hardy here, it will tolerate quite a hit of frost. Mine is almost always productive until Christmas, at least. Since it gets fairly big even in one season, it seems to take an extended period of cold to kill off the roots. This generally happens during a cold snap after the new year. Maybe the Winter will he mild enough so it will survive. If you‘re trying to overwinter rosemary in the house, choose a bright, cool location away from heat sources. If it dries out inside, it usually dies.

I'm enjoying Tina Sams' new book, "By the Hearth," along with her previous book, "Under the Sun," it's a compilation of the best of the first five years of The Essential Herbal, the bimonthly magazine she publishes. Whether your interest in herbs is gardening, cooking fragrance or medicinal, this book has something for you. Similar articles are grouped together, but you can also just open the book to any page and read an interesting article. Lots of recipes too, which l love. Makes a great gift for you or an herb lover you know. We have both books available in the shop

Lucy celebrates her fourth birthday in December. We've had her three years, as we got her from the Humane League when she was a year old. If you‘re considering a pet, please, please consider a dog or cat from a shelter or rescue organization. These are wonderful animals who desperately need a loving home. You don‘t need a purebred dog to get all the breed‘s good traits. Lucy's a black lab mix, but she has the sweet, friendly temperament of a lab. She is the sweetest dog and there are lots more like her waiting for a good home. Think about a black dog or cat. They are the last to be adopted!

Now that the leaves are off the trees, I'm seeing bird's nests up close. The mockingbird's is rather random, very angular and twiggy. The robin's is much more finished, almost woven. Later in the season a robin took over an abandoned mockingbird‘s nest and remodelled it-weaving over the twiggy base. A tiny woven nest in the magnolia must have belonged to a sparrow or wren. And I can see a couple leafy squirrel nests at the top of the tallest trees.

Settling in for Winter

2010-11-25T11:33:00.000-08:00

I noticed the other day how the farm is looking all settled in for winter. It starts in September when we take the shade cloth off the greenhouses. After seeing it with its dark covering for months, it looks strange to see the clear plastic and to be able to see inside the greenhouse from outside. The skids which hold all the outside plants in the spring are also put away. The gardens are cleaned up (for the most part) and even the garden signs are put away. Perennial stock plants are buried in rows in the vegetable garden to protect their roots over the winter.

Most of the leaves are off the trees, too. I didn't think the fall leaf show was spectacular this year~perhaps due to the dry summer. But I did admire the scarlet maple with its brilliant foliage- it's hard to beat maples for fall color. When we moved here, there was one tree in the yard-a large white pine. I wanted trees in the back corner so I joined the Arbor Day Foundation. The welcome gift was 10 tree saplings. They arrived in the mail in a plastic bag. John really laughed about these so-called "trees." We heeled them into the garden for a year or two to take hold and then planted them. Not all survived, but about 8 did. The scarlet maple is now about 20-25' tall, beautifully shaped and brilliant in the fall. All in about ten years time-so "ha" back on John for laughing at my trees.

Open house is approaching-Dec. 3 & 4 from 9am to 5pm. We have about half a dozen varieties of potted culinary herbs in the greenhouse, along with live topiaries. And the shop is brimming with all kinds of fragrant gift ideas and natural holiday decorations. We‘ll have specials in the shop, herbal refreshments and prize drawings.

My Italian parsley is just beautiful! All the fall rain produced a bumper crop of lush, dark green foliage. I'm adding parsley to almost every savory dish, and also drying alot.I put it on a cookie sheet, put it in the oven, close the door and just turn on the light. It takes awhile-about 24 hours-but it holds its color well and dries thoroughly. Just remove it before you preheat the oven!

Time Flies. Open House coming up!

2010-11-19T11:52:00.000-08:00

I swear the older I get the faster time goes by. Summer seems like yesterday and the spring season seems like a month or two ago. Now all my work centers around holiday preparations. I‘ve been working on filling and stocking the shop. We'll have all our popular favorites plus a few new additions - a new soap scent from the sisters, some new gift items and lots of interesting holiday decorations I've found. Last year I seemed to have trouble finding things that were suitably rustic , handmade or herbal. This year, my timing must have been better and I wound up with a good supply. I usually wait until Thanksgiving week to put up the tree in the shop and bring out the holiday arrangements and decorations. I hate to rush things too much. Christmas decorations before Halloween seems too early to me.

The fall newsletter is out. We send a paper or e-mail copy depending on your preference. If you don't receive our newsletter (we also have a spring edition) just give us your name and address or e-mail address and we’ll be happy to send you one.

We also have a small selection of basic culinary potted herbs in the greenhouse from about mid-November through Christmas, along with live topiaries for holiday decorating or gift-giving. If you want plants for the kitchen windowsill to get you through the winter months, this is the time. We do shut the greenhouses down at the end of December and don’t start them up again till March due to the cost of heating them. We usually get a few people asking for plants during the winter, but after the holidays we'll have no plants until spring.

Our holiday open house will be held Friday and Saturday December 3 & 4 from 9am to 5pm. We'll have plants and topiaries available in the greenhouse and open house specials, herbal refreshments and prize drawings in the shop. We know what a busy time this is and how many special activities occur each weekend, so we greatly appreciate everyone that takes time to cone out and visit with us. I do think we have a great selection of interesting, handmade herbal gifts.

Frost and a Trip Down Memory Lane

2010-11-10T07:44:00.000-08:00

We finally had a frost that knocked out most annuals in the garden We had several light frosts previously, but they did little except stick to the grass, and cause some spotting on the basils. This last blast blackened all my basils and killed off most annuals, except some cold tolerant ones like calendula which are still blooming. So we‘re removing those and doing some fall clean-up.

What about perennials? It usually takes a hard freeze to kill off the herbaceous (those that die down in the fall) perennials. My fall perennial clean-up is more selective. I've cut back top growth on tarragon, lemon balm, wormwood and oregano. This older growth was unsightly and there's fresh growth in a rosette at the base if I need any fresh. I'll continue around, doing the same for mints, catmint, feverfew, etc. Some things I just leave alone in the fall-

Woody-stemmed herbs like thyme, sage, lavender. No cutting allows foliage to provide some protection for the crown of the plant since it doesn't die back to the ground

Coneflower and other plants that provide seed for birds over the winter

Cold tolerant plants that look good and continue to produce - snaps are blooming again, parsley and sorrel look great and continue to provide harvest fresh or for drying, chives and burnet which will eventually freeze but often provide green foliage throughout the winter (sometimes even under snow)

My two sisters who live out of town visited recently. We had a good time. They like to go to the Mt. Joy Gift & Thrift shop and we visited the new thrift store in E-town. It too was very nice although their inventory was smaller since they had just opened the week we visited.

The best trip was a visit to Mt. Gretna where we grew up. We walked all the paths we used every day and it amazed me how things had grown up. Places I remember being fairly clear were quite overgrown. Some paths were narrow and looked unused. I guess even in Mt. Gretna people drive everywhere.

Animal Sightings

2010-10-27T08:55:00.000-07:00

Had two interesting animal sightings lately. Lucy‘s favorite place to explore is the back corner of our property - the wilderness area. It‘s wet ~ after the heavy rains it‘s actually swampy. It's full of grasses and wildflowers and wild plants. Good cover for animals and it has homes for field mice and other small critters for the larger ones to hunt. We get deer that come through from the woods and cornfields behind us. When we first moved here, there were often pheasants in the fall, although I haven‘t heard them for a few years now.

One day we walked around the corner and I thought what is that big, gray blob? Then I saw the long neck and the head and realized it was a blue heron. I was surprised - although it‘s wet, there's no pond and definitely no fish. It moved from the open area to the back of the high plants, so you really couldn't see it unless you were looking. It stayed for a few hours and we were getting concerned that it might be hurt. But it flew away quite effortlessly, so I guess it was just hanging out and resting. I've never been so close to a heron before - it was HUGE!

Lucy would like to go out in the morning when it's still dark, but I make her wait until it’s at least brightening. One morning when we rounded the corner I saw a red fox trotting through the grassy open area to the back, thick area which leads to the woods. I heard a fox passing through the yard one morning when it was still dark-it sounded like a high-pitched dog bark. It must have been moving fast because I heard one loud bark and then two, getting fainter as it was moving off. It certainly woke up Lucy and I put her out in the yard with the light on, but it was long gone by then. It does explain why we're seeing very few rabbits in the last month or so.

One year a red fox had babies underneath our shed. Boy, were they cute! They'd come out at dusk and play, chasing each other and wrestling - just like a litter of puppies. Maybe this one is the offspring of one of those pups.

A Tale of Two Seasons II

2010-10-22T08:52:00.000-07:00

It was a strange growing season-almost like two different seasons. "A Tale of Two Seasons“ we could call it.

In the spring, I remember the daffodils fading fast because we got a blast of hot weather early. The lilacs bloomed in April and the peonies bloomed at Mother's Day, which I don‘t ever remember happening before. All the spring bloomers were lush with the warm weather and the good groundwater from all the melting snow.

Then came mid-summer and the ridiculous temperatures (including 106) and very dry conditions. We water the gardens infrequently since we have a well and concentrate on the potted plants. The basils and mints wilted, but revived after the occasional big rains. Mid-season flowers like coneflower and black-eyed Susan didn‘t bloom A as fully and a lot of my annuals were just stunted. Drought tolerant herbs didn’t mind a bit-my gray santolina was beautiful!

The late season plants were really affected too. It took well into September for hyacinth bean vine to develop beans and its peak seemed to be in October.

Ditto for pineapple sage-full bloom in October, and the plant only got about half as tall as usual.

One of the prettiest fall bloomers-Mexican bush sage with its arching, fuzzy purple flowers also didn't bloom till October and was sparse compared to most years.

Things that did well despite the weather - blue flax, borage, calendula, Joe Pye weed,love-lies-bleeding, plumbago, verbena, yarrow, Jupiter's beard and perennial salvias.

Things that didn't do well - cosmos, four o'clocks, heliotrope, gem marigolds (although they came back in the fall) nasturtiums, statice, pincushion flower and swamp milkweed.

I was mighty impressed with a new ornamental, oregano-kent beauty, this year. This one is for flowers rather than flavor. They're papery, so they dry well. Start off green and turn pinky-purple. Used them a lot in arrangements-pretty neutral filler.

Hot summer results

2010-10-10T10:52:00.000-07:00

More fallout from the hot, dry summer. Our moonflower vine (annual, fragrant, night-blooming morning glory) hasn‘t bloomed in awhile. It certainly blooms better during wet seasons. Our record for blooms This in one evening is 24, and that was definitely in a wet year. This year, it bloomed occasionally, but then shut down during the extended dry spell. This isn't unusual-many plants bloom less or not at all during times of stress. It helps the roots of the plant to survive until conditions improve. I do water the moonflower every day, but it is very hard to duplicate the effect of a soaking rain even if you water every day. The longer the dry spell, the harder it is to get plants to respond. How that we've had some rain, hopefully things will improve.

I did notice some cilantro that reseeded itself in the garden. It grows well early in the season when it's relatively cool. Once the hot weather cones, it bolts like lettuce does. Of course, this year with the weather being very hot and coming early, the cilantro season was short. l always advise people to let some of plants second flower, then seed. The seed falls and you usually get a crop later in the season when it cools off again. My reseeding was sporadic probably due to the dryness.

One plant that loved the dry season is gomphrena or globe amaranth. It produces clover-like flowers that are papery and dry well. Colors are a mix of purple, pink and white or red. The plants get quite shrubby in one season and are very productive. My red ones got off to a slow start because something bit off the stalks early in the season. But they‘re producing well now and the mixed colors have loads of flowers. Many of the papery flowers that dry well seen to tolerate drought pretty well. Gray foliaged plants are also drought tolerant. Gray santolina has been wonderfully happy this year-catmint, too.

Greenhouse and shop are open Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm. We‘re getting to the end of perennial planting season. The shop has plenty of non-plant herbal products available.

Garden Questions

2010-10-03T10:43:00.000-07:00

People ask good questions to which I sometimes do not have an answer. A common one is, when you plant 2 or 3 or 5 of the same plant in an area and only one dies, what happened? I have an example in my garden now. I have three Greek columnar basils planted along the edge in one square of our four square garden. Greek basil is a very nice, upright, bushy form that grows into a small shrub in a season. My line makes a basil 'hedge' in the garden. The plant has great flavor so it's useful in the kitchen, and it has an upright habit that requires no pinching to branch out and it sets few flowers. The two end plants are fine and the middle one is very wilted. That's a pretty easy answer - with the very dry weather, the end plants have taken the soil moisture away from the middle one and once it did rain, the middle one perked Up again, so that was a good guess.

But often, the plants are the same sort, they‘re in the same type of soil and receiving the same cultural conditions. If it's not a disease or insect problem, a soil analysis may indicate a reason. But I generally tell folks, plants are like people - some are stronger than others. Being the same species does not mean the plants are exactly the Same.

If you're interested in drying hydrangea flowers, now is prime time. They should be starting to dry on the stem - not papery dry, but you feel them, you can notice some moisture is leaving the bloom. I cut mine, strip off the leaves, stand them in a vase and put the vase in a closet (or anywhere away from light.) Some people recommend putting a little water in the vase, but I never found this necessary. They dry in about a week or ten days if it‘s not humid. Newer blooms which replaced flowers I out earlier in the season are still full of moisture, so I'll check them in a couple weeks.
These later blooms really keep their blue color nicely.

A Visitor

2010-09-22T12:14:00.000-07:00

My niece from New Jersey visited recently. She's doing graduate work at Rutgers and visits occasionally. Her family (my sister & brother-in-law) live in Canada so it‘s hard to go home weekends to visit. She gets a break and some home cooking here. I made chicken Caprese - chicken breasts topped with tomato, basil, mozzarella and wrapped in bacon - what's not to like? She was impressed that the chicken was so moist. I use an old restaurant trick - soak the chicken in milk all day before draining and cooking. You‘re supposed to use buttermilk, and I do if I have it on hand for a particular recipe. otherwise, I use just regular low-fat milk and that works fine. Often, I'll add mustard, salt & pepper and herbs for added flavor.

She also went hone with a basil and a lavender plant. She lives in an apartment but has a small outdoor space and missed having some plants. She loves to go to the thrift store in Mount Joy run by the MCC. Loads of bargains there.

I‘m slowly making the transition from summer to fall. I enjoy the moderating weather - lower humidity and even on warm days, it's cool start in the morning. I grew up in Mt. Gretna, so the end of summer was always bittersweet. Summer was the big season and it was fading. I'm old enough that the idea of starting school before Labor Day is strange to me.

All my seasons seem to overlap in some ways. I‘ve already placed orders for starter plants for next spring. And I‘m doing a lot of work in the shop, so it will be ready for the holidays. Also working on the fall newsletter and will soon start ordering seeds for the spring. All this while summer slowly fades.

Finish up large harvests (up to one third) on woody stemmed perennials like thyme, sage, thyme and rosemary (borderline hardy). Since they don't die back, the remaining foliage provides some protection for the crown of the plant over Winter.

Butterfly Frenzy!

2010-09-17T11:52:00.000-07:00

I'm glad I had a witness or it might have been one of those hard to believe experiences. John and I were taking Lucy for a Walk. We walked around the greenhouse, between the greenhouse flowerbed and the bee & butterfly garden behind the second greenhouse and we walked right into a cloud of butterflies.

There were literally hundreds of them - they seemed to be fluttering between the two butterfly bushes in those two gardens. I've never seen so many together at once. The vast majority were the small whites and yellows (sulfers) and fritillaries, but there were also some swallowtails and a few skippers. It was a lovely summer sight and I'm glad to see that butterflies made a resurgence this year. I know you‘ll see more on sunny days so there‘s one benefit of all the sunny, dry weather this season.

The other thing lots of butterflies means is more rescues from the greenhouse. They fly in, cannot find their way out and have to be released. (not so smart, don‘t have this problem with bees) I know they only live a month or so, so I hated the thought of them trapped in there fluttering against the walls. So I check periodically, capture and release them. The big ones are much easier to catch. One day I walked in and there were about 15 congregated along the front wall!

The sweet autumn Clematis on the pergola is in full, fragrant bloom. It always reminds me of a flowery, white cloud. It is full of bumblebees busily working. Another plant loaded with bumblebees and butterflies now is sedum. If you have 'Autumn Joy' (reddish) or *Brilliant* (pinkish) Check them out. Loads of bees and a good variety of butterflies.

I‘m getting a good second crop of lavender, am still drying euphorbia (snow on the mountain) along with statice, gomphrena, and celosia. Although frost is still a while away, I'm starting to remove annuals that have suffered through the dry weather. Some just look beat.

Transitioning into Fall

2010-09-13T11:21:00.000-07:00

Although we haven't reached the official start of fall, I'm enjoying the transition. Some days are sunny, but not humid. You can feel the freshness in the air. When I take Lucy out for her early morning walk, it feels cool and sometimes even chilly. After feeling hot for so long, feeling chilly feels great. And I love sleeping with the windows open instead of the AC running. Even when we have hot days, you know it's not going to last for weeks at a time.

Fall is an excellent time to plant perennials. Planting now allows plants to become established, giving them a head start over plants put in during the spring season. Often, fall provides more reliable rainfall, which cuts down on watering requirements. We do offer larger sizes of a few perennial varieties in the fall, plus we have a few leftover half-price small perennial herbs and flowers for sale. Planting up until about mid October gives plants enough time to become established before cold weather sets in.

My other fall transition is switching from plants and greenhouse/garden work to preparing the shop for the fall and holiday seasons. I craft for the shop, prepare potpourri, harvest and dry flowers and bulk herbs and prepare orders for the wonderful, handmade products we offer.

Most of our products come from Maryanne and Tina, aka The Twisted Sisters, who supply us with handmade soaps, spritzes, oils, lip balms, lotion sticks, salt scrubs and Maryanne's beaded jewelry. We have a few other vendors who produce herbal teas, cat treats, goat's milk lotion, bubble bath, etc. Nearly all our herbal products are produced in small batches by home-based businesses.

Many people think we close or cut back hours drastically after the spring season. We are actually open five days a week, Tuesday-Saturday 9am-5pm through December. We have plants for sale during the fall and of course, lots of products for sale in the shop. So there's still plenty to see when you visit.

A Tale of Two Seasons

2010-09-06T08:34:00.000-07:00

It's a "Tale of Two Seasons" when it comes to this growing season. Remember early in the spring, flowering trees were early, bulbs faded fast, lilacs were two weeks early and my peonies bloomed at Mothers' Day. I think it was a combination of ample groundwater from all the melting snow and the blast of hot weather we had in mid-April.

Now we approach the end of summer and where are all the late season bloomers? Of my annual vines, moonflower and mina, or firecracker flower have just begun blooming recently. Hyacinth bean vine is just blooming now, so beans won't form for a couple weeks, pushing it's showy season into September. I have no flowers on pineapple sage yet. Even the gomphrena is poking along, although I'm starting to harvest flowers.

I read an article that said tomato plants won't form blooms above 90 and beans stop flower production at 85. So that long stretch of very high temperatures in July put a lot of vegetable plants on hold. The article didn't mention flowers, but most plants are biochemically engineered to protect themselves in times of stress. It seems the late bloomers shut down also in the extreme heat and are now playing catch-up. With the average frost date,we still have plenty of time for a good late season show.

With the weather extremes, I had some great garden successes and some super flops this year.

Successes:
Calendula - cheerful yellow and orange daisy-like blooms. Started early and still going strong. Harvesting resinous petals for use in skin care products.
Basils - Struggled during the dry spells, but came back like gangbusters after the big rains.
Jupiter's Beard - and excellent re-blooming perennial. Re-blooming well after minimal trimming.
Lavender - Good spring bloom and looks like the beginning of a healthy fall re-bloom.

Failures:
Nasturtiums - couldn't take the extreme heat. Stunted and few flowers.
4 o'clocks - Never really developed. Short and just a few flowers forming now.
Ornamental oregano - A pretty dried flower - just didn't produce the way it usually does.

The great thing about gardening is that there's always next year with different conditions and a chance to try again!

Butterfly Report

2010-08-21T13:07:00.000-07:00

I'm very happy to see that the butterfly population has increased.

I know it takes awhile for them to show up, and the larger species aren't around much until July, but things did seem slow until August. I'm seeing swallowtails regularly-mostly tigers, but also a few -black swallowtails. Their host plants (plants on which butterflies lay eggs and caterpillars feed until they form a chrysalis) are parsley, dill, fennel, rue and other plants in the parsley family. So don‘t smush any caterpillars you see on those herbs and you'll be rewarded soon with colorful, flying creatures.

I've sees a few monarchs. No sign of any caterpillars on my swamp milkweed in the garden, although we have plenty of wild milkweed in our fencerow and wild areas. Milkweeds are host plants for monarchs. Other species I've identified include commas, sulfers, hairstreaks, painted ladies, red admirals, buckeyes and sootywings.

Although I recognized all these as ones I had seen before, I didn't know them all by name. So I referred to my pocket guides to ID them. Both are small and easy to carry along outside. One is the Nat'1 Audubon Society guide. It has great color photos, lists characteristics to help ID, range and habitat and also host plants. The other is a Golden Guide to butterflies and moths. It has drawings, but they are colorful enough and detailed enough to make identification as easy as with a photo. It also gives descriptive details, measurements, range maps, host plants and includes drawings of larva (caterpillar) and pupa (chrysalis) stages. Both are easy to use for adults and older kids and although the text may be beyond younger kids, the photos and drawings can still be used for identification. Butterflies also like shallow puddles or saucers as a water source. Favorite nectar sources for adults include flat-headed flowers with multiple florets, like butterfly bush and swamp milkweed or daisy-like flowers. They need to be able to perch as they feed. What a pretty summer sight - a beautiful swallowtail with extended wings perched and happily feeding on a purple butterfly bush blossom.

Looking good in the garden - euphorbia, zinnias, celosia, Jupiter's Beard (reblooming), calendula, love-lies-bleeding and gem marigolds.

Long, hot summer

2010-08-14T13:00:00.000-07:00

It's been one long, hot summer. The weather extremes of the year seem to continue. Of course, we're not suffering through floods or hurricanes so it could be much worse. My summer schedule has been to work outside in the morning end retreat inside by lunch.`

Lucy has figured out the best time for her walks is early in the morning end after supper. She keeps getting up earlier and earlier. Today, she wanted to go out when it was still dark.

Here's another hot weather-cold dish recipe that's always been popular in our family. My mom made this a lot in the summer. The original recipe contains no herbs, but it you wanted to herb it up try adding parsley, dill or even a little mint.

Copper Penny Carrots
2 lb. sliced carrots
1 green pepper, diced
1 onion, sliced in rings
3/4 cup vinegar
1 can condensed tomato soup (undiluted)
1 cup oil
1 scant cup sugar
1 tsp. Worcester sauce

Cook carrots until tender. Layer carrots with peppers and onions in serving dish. Combine remaining ingredients. Pour over vegetables. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Serve cold.

We're still getting requests and question about cilantro. See our previous posting on cilantro for information and advice on its culture.

have HUGE euphorbia or snow on the mountain this year. It reseeded from last year, and with all the ground water from the snow, it got off to an amazing start and just kept growing to about 5 feet tall. It has very small flowers, but its main attraction is the very pretty green and white variegated foliage. I dry it for use in wreaths and arrangements - it makes wonderful, neutral filler. Euphorbias have milky sap, so after cutting, you must seal the stems by dipping in boiling water or sealing with a match or lighter. I get John to help and he uses the butane torch.

Never the Twain Shall Meet!

2010-08-05T17:01:00.000-07:00

I've had several people ask for cilantro plants in the last week.
Most people want cilantro when tomatoes come in season so they can prepare salsa. Unfortunately, you can't get cilantro to grow then tomatoes come in.

Cilantro is like lettuce - it°s a cool weather annual, with the heat of the summer, (which came early this year) it will bolt, flower and go to seed just like lettuce does then the weather heats up. We sell a slow-bolt variety and you can put your plants in partial shade, but this lengthens the season only slightly. Once it gets really hot, the nature of the plant is to flower, set seed and die.

I always recommend planting early, harvesting foliage and freezing it until tomato season. Allow your plants to flower and seed to drop. You should get a second crop late in the season as the weather cools off. If you can find seed now, you can plant during the second half of August for a late season crop.

In the spring, we carry a plant called Vietnamese coriander. It is a heat tolerant substitute for cilantro. To me, it smells and tastes like cilantro, although smell and taste are very individual. But if you plant cilantro and let it reseed, Vietnamese coriander will give you a substitute during the hot weather between cilantro crops. It is not winter hardy, but stems root easily in water,
if you want to hold some over inside during the winter

Speaking of cilantro, it can add a southwestern touch to the black bean salad recipe I posted a little while back. Just substitute cilantro for the savory in the original recipe and use lime basil in place of regular basil. Lime basil is also great on chicken and fish. I think I like it even better than lemon basil.

Another great basil is cinnamon basil. It's sweet, spicy flavor is far removed from Genovese basil (the one to use for pesto, spaghetti sauce, etc.). Chop it over fresh fruit, brew it for tea, or add a sprig or two to mint tea. You can also steep it in warmed milk, strain out the leaves and use the flavored milk to prepare instant pudding, muffins, quick brands, pound. cake, etc.

Late July

2010-07-31T07:01:00.000-07:00

We dodged another bullet. We‘ve been lucky this year. With all the severe storms we've had, here we've gotten only rain and some wind, but not enough to cause damage. Our neighbors lost a large limb from a willow tree. We‘re very open here, and windy, but our trees are mostly far enough away from the house. And the greenhouses have held up well. Well built (thanks John.)

Lucy's been doing bunny training. We have a few small and medium sized bunnies from at least two litters. They‘re young enough so they°re not too fearful of other animals and humans yet.

When we see them out walking, we put Lucy on the leash and let her get close enough to "encourage" them into the brush, but not close enough to get them. They seem to be learning. Last week, three of them scattered when they saw her coming. She goes out and looks for them in the areas where they hang out. It's a fun game for her.

I've been going through the gardens every couple weeks and doing a big cutting back. I deadhead both annual and perennial flowers, to promote longer blooming. I remove flowers from basil plants to delay seed promotion. And I cut back perennials hare after they bloom. This encourages new growth. It neatens up the plants and promotes re-bloom on some perennials - like hyssop, Jupiter's beard, catmint and salvia. Don't forget to let seed heads develop on biennials (like foxglove and sweet william) and annuals that you want to reseed - like dill. If you want to save seed from plants like snaps and calendula, deadhead them now to encourage more blooms, and let seed heads develop at the end of the season before frost.

This is a great time to trim and shape lavender plants if they are sprawly or unshapely. Cut back by about 30-40%, remove too long or branches with minimum foliage and cut off spent flower stalks.

Lots of harvesting once things revived with the rain- mints, basils, calendula petals (great for lotions, salves for skin irritations,) lemon verbena and lemon balm, marjoram, oregano, parsley. Also drying annual statice with its beautiful and long lasting colors celosia and lemon mint for wreaths and arrangements.

Watering Tips and Pretty Combos

2010-07-13T05:51:00.000-07:00

A lot of plants are suffering from the heat and dryness. Luckily, most herbs are pretty tough. Most culinary, Mediterranean herbs are drought tolerant once established. Lavender, thyme, sage, rosemary and savory like hot weather and will tolerate drought. Established perennial herbs like oregano and tarragon should weather these conditions too.

If you're going to water, concentrate on annuals like basil and perennials like mint that like more moisture. Of course, it's difficult to duplicate a soaking rain when you water. Soaker hoses work well. If you're watering with a hose, make sure to water in early morning or late evening. During the heat of the day, you'll lose water to evaporation.

Some pretty plant combinations I've been admiring throughout the season -

Pink Coneflower and Russian Sage - classic combination, pretty pastel colors and contrasting textures.

Butterfly Bush & Day lilies - dark purple "Black Knight" butterfly bush and lemon yellow day lilies, opposites on the color wheel.

Blue Hyssop and White Coneflower - classic blue & white color scheme. Fine texture vs. coarse texture.

Gray Santolina & Rye - this is all about foliage - shiny, bright, fine textured santolina and the bluish-green foliage of rue

Pink perennial Poppies and Blue Flax - big, showy poppies with a blue-black center and the needle-like foliage and sky blue blooms of blue flax.

Our plant sale is on-going. If you have an empty spot i your yard or are anxious to try a new plant, stop by. We have a good selection at great prices. Free basil with every purchase while supply lasts!

Believe it or not, I'm thinking of next spring! I'm potting plants to provide perennial divisions for next spring.

Hot Summer Recipes

2010-07-09T05:42:00.000-07:00

It's hot - very, very hot. When you work outside, hot weather can be a pain. I will say on those days when it was hot, but not humid, it wasn't too bad. So it really is the humidity! All I can do in this weather, is to work outside in the morning and retreat inside for the afternoon.

Lucy's hot weather routine - get up early (farmer's hours,) go for a walk and play a little, then expend the minimum amount of energy necessary for the rest of the day. This involves sleeping a lot. In the evening, play a little more and then go to sleep.

It's too hot to think, but here are a couple cool recipes for the dog days:

Black Bean Fiesta Salad

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 C. cooked corn
1 small red pepper, diced
1/4 C. chopped onion
3/4 C. cubed mozzarella
1 medium tomato, chopped

Mix ingredients. Combine dressing ingredients and pour over salad. Chill 2 hours or overnight.

Dressing:
3 T. light olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
pepper
1-1/2 T. wine vinegar
2 t. fresh basil, chopped
1 t. fresh savory, chopped

We serve lavender lemonade at our spring open house and it's always a hit. Wonderfully refreshing on a hot day.

Lavender Lemonade

Place 2 t. dried lavender flowers in a teapot or tea ball. Heat 2 C. water and add to teapot. Cover and let steep 5 minutes. Cool. When mixing lemonade concentrate, replace one can of water with lavender tea. Chill.

For a gourmet touch, fill ice cube trays half full and freeze. Place borage flowers on top of frozen cubes. Add water to fill tray and freeze. The cubes make a pretty addition to the lemonade or other cool summer drinks.

June in the Garden Part 2

2010-06-28T01:00:00.000-07:00

Some people prefer annuals for their color all summer long and some prefer perennials, since it's not necessary to plant them every year. But I do laugh when people say that the only work with perennials is to plant them.

They are not entirely carefree. Perennials should be dead headed, like annuals, to promote best blooming. Perennials have a season of bloom, from a relatively short 10-14 days to a long bloom of 3-4 weeks. After blooming, many perennials go into decline, in terms of appearance. Cutting back the old foliage and dead flower stalks encourages the plant to push out new fresh growth, improving the plant's appearance. Some perennials, like catmint, Jupiter's beard, salvias and coneflower will usually rebloom after being cut back. Eventually perennials need to be divided to prevent overcrowding or taking over too much space in the garden.

What's looking good in the garden-

lots of annuals - calendula or pot marigold with lots of tallow and orange daisy-like flowers
profusion zinnias - lots of color and low maintenance
nicotiana or flowering tobacco - white, tubular flowers, fragrant at night
tall verbena - pretty purple flowers for butterflies
lots of culinary herbs, too - all the culinary sages with gray or colored foliage. I particularly like Berggarten with its broad gray foliage. It almost shines in the garden
purple basils - just as yummy and beautiful color, too
lemon grass - starting to develop into a nice big clump
dill - I love the bluish-green foliage, bright yellow flowers and sharp aroma

Our plant sale begins July 3. Great time to try a new plant or fill in any holes in your garden. Annuals are half off and perennials are buy 3, get 1 free. We're out of a few things, but till have a very good selection. Stop by and see!

June In the Garden

2010-06-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Like a lot of other things, Lavender bloomed early this year. Once the florets open, the bees go wild.
When they're done and the blooms turn brown, trim off the flower stalks. This is a good time for shaping up your plants. I cut back my lavender hard early in the spring. I just didn't get around to all the plants. So now I'll go through and trim off all the floppy branches and the ones with bare wood and foliage at the end. There's a lot of new growth underneath, which will push out and be more compact and shrubby. The plants have plenty of time to push out new foliage before cold weather arrives.

What I've been harvesting-

culinary herbs - tarragon, oregano, savory, mints, lemon balm (cut off the little white flowers on the lemon balm like the ones in the picture before it seeds or it goes everywhere.)
golden yarrow - also early love in a mist seed pods, larkspur
chamomile flowers - lots of them!

What looks good in the garden-

hydrangeas - they look great
lady's bedstraw - looks like a ground cover, then gets tall with tiny gold flowers. Sweet fragrance like honey.
clary sage - sturdy, upright plants with long lasting blooms
hyssop - dark green foliage, dark blue flowers in a spike and the bees love it. Also anise hyssop, with purple flowers
coneflower - I just love them and when the goldfinches come to them, it's even better.

We have to keep Lucy away from a small bunny that's living in the back corner of the yard. It's out of the nest, but still awfully small to be chased. This is at least the second batch of babies so far this year.

Late Spring

2010-06-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

Lucy's had a good spring so far. There are bunnies to chase and holes to dig. She loves to be out with us when we're working. She does help dig holes, but John says she has no garden etiquette. She plops down in front us, sometimes on a plant. She likes to jump over plants when she's running. And there are sugar peas and alpine strawberries to eat from the garden. She thinks vegetables are a great treat.

We didn't plant any basil till the third week of May. It's pretty well established now. Remember to pinch your basil back - pinch the stem off just above a news set of leaves - so the plant will start to branch out, If you pinch when the stems get leggy for the first month, the plant will be full and you'll have lots of yummy foliage. Creek columnar is a low maintenance basil. Whether you pinch it or not, it grows like a little shrub. Very few flowers to remove and the flavor is great. A great herb and a good garden plant

Lavender is still blooming with some later varieties. After I've harvested, I always let the flowers stand for the bees. We've been seeing some honeybees, but not many. Beekeepers say it was another bad winter with up to 50% losses.

'When the bees are done with the lavender, cut off the spent flower stems. If you want to shape up your plant, this is the time. Cut off errant stems. Trim back by 1/3 to 1/2, as long as you don't go into old, hard wood. This plant will push out new foliage before fall.

What looks good in the garden:

Clary sage - big showy flowers,long lasting
Santolina - cute, yellow button flowers, I love the shiny gray foliage
Love in a mist -pretty cornflower-like bloom, attractive seedpod so its pretty a long time
Hydrangeas - in mass, they're hard to beat for color and effect

Return from Spring!

2010-06-04T07:46:00.000-07:00

Well, I'm back! We've made it through the peak of the season, and although there's lots of spring left, I've gotten enough accomplished outside so I can get back to blogging.

Thanks to everyone who has visited the farm this spring and also to all our Landis Valley customers.

We had a good show at Landis Valley. Friday is always our better day and it was great this year! The weather was pleasant, sales were brisk and we had extra help this year. Maryanne and Tina, my soap ladies were kind enough to lend a hand in addition to my friend Candy, who helps me every year. Candy and I waited on customers and Tina and Maryanne kept things stocked and watered, directed people and helped to answer questions. It was great! Our extra hands made a huge difference.

Saturday morning was pretty good and then it got windy - really windy. We wound up taking the tent down, which was a first. Even with the weather, it was still a good show.

We've been busy at the farm helping customers, working in the gardens, and beginning to harvest and dry herbs. I've cut back the vigorous perennials, like oregano, mint, tarragon and catnip. Those I either hang in bunches to dry or dry them on my nice rack of screened shelves that John made. Remember, herbs will re-absorb moisture from the air on humid days. I often finish the drying process in my dehydrator. Make sure your herbs are thoroughly dry before storing, so mold does not develop.

It's lavender season too. Harvest it in bud, before the individual florets open. Bunch and hang upside down where it's warm, dry and dark.

What looks good in the garden:

Snapdragons- easy, pretty and reliable
Jupiter's beard- rosy red flowers, cut back later for rebloom
Valerian- tall, white, fragrant
Lady's mantle- colorful filler with roses
Roses- lots of varieties, I like them fragrant

Spring Notes and Musings

2010-04-12T08:50:00.000-07:00

I was surprised at how quickly the snow melted (happy, too). Guess it was the perfect combination of warm weather and rain. Lucy misses chasing snowballs, but she was happy to see the grass again. On nice days, she gets an attack of spring fever and rolls around on the grass, kicking her legs. She's on the lookout for bunnies too.

Very little winter damage in the yard, I'm happy to report. A few things took a hit, but no worse than an average winter. Our star magnolia, with its white, shaggy flowers was in full bloom and got zapped on the last cold night. That's the risk with the early bloomers.

Our Greenhouse opened April 1. I'm hard at work potting seedlings and dividing perennials. Hope to move perennials out by mid-week.

It's still early to plant- I usually start planting perennials in the garden by mid-April, weather permitting. Annuals don't go out till mid-May. Most plants are ready for sale by the end of April and continuing through the season.

Our spring open house will be April 23 & 21~ from 9 to 5. Open house specials, refreshments and prize drawings.

We recently sent out our spring newsletter. If you would like to receive one and didn't, give us your name and address or e—mail address when you visit.

Mark your calendar for the Landis Valley Herb Faire Friday and Saturday May 7 & 8, 9-5. We'll be in our usual location across from the millstones in the Brothers Courtyard.

Lots and lots of growth in the garden now! Wormwood, valerian, coneflower, hyssop, chamomile, tarragon, chives, burnet - everywhere I look, something's growing - weeds, too!

Blog posts will be sporadic for the next two months, while we concentrate on plants and customers. Please bear with me - I shall return.

Garden Notes

2010-04-08T09:38:00.000-07:00

Dill is the 2010 herb of the year. All parts of the plant are useful. The ferny, blue-green foliage or dillweed can be chopped and added to carrots, green beans, fish, potato soup or macaroni salad. A sunny yellow flower adds just the right flavoring to a jar of pickles. Dill seed can be added to brine for pickling in the absence of foliage or flowers. Dill is a reseeding annual. Let seeds fall and your crop should come back reliably each year.

Garden updates—Brazilian button flower was new for us last year and lived up to its catalog description. The flowers are like those of fuzzy purple ageratum, but bigger and showier. Very nice for the back of the garden or a large container. Also, we’ll again carry several scented geranium varieties that had become unavailable. Back on the list are chocolate mint, ginger, lime and rose along with the new bitter lemon.

And - DON'T FORGET-

Spring Open House – April 23 & 24, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Greenhouse and shop specials.

Also, Landis Valley Herb & Garden Faire, May 7 & 8

Don't forget to check out our classes, listed in this older post.

Texture in the Garden

2010-04-05T09:25:00.000-07:00

Gardening is an evolving process. Tastes, sensibilities and interests change over time as you work with plants and expand your garden. Appreciation of color and flowers can lead to an interest in fragrance. More subtle differences in form, foliage and texture can develop from other gardening interests. Herbs add so much in terms of foliage and texture to nearly every garden setting.

Texture generally relates to a plant’s leaves, although it can include flowers. Fine textured foliage is generally narrow, needlelike, finely cut or ferny. The needlelike foliage of rosemary, narrow leaves of thyme or the ferny foliage of dill and fennel are examples. Coarse foliage is larger and often more complete. Hollyhock, sage, coneflower and lady’s mantle have coarse foliage.

In garden design, you strive for sameness to provide continuity, but also differences to provide interest. Alternating textures can provide subtle differences in a garden design tied together by repetition of like plants or colors. Among drifts of similar flowers or colors, a few interesting foliage plants can provide contrasting texture in any planting. In a shady spot, finely cut sweet cicely foliage would contrast nicely against broad foxglove and lady’s mantle leaves. In our sunny beds, narrow-leaved hyssop complements coarser coneflower and perennial salvia. Also, broad-leaved hollyhock, echinacea and joe-pye weed stand in contrast to finely cut Russian sage, hyssop and dianthus.

Herbs, whether they flower or not, can provide interesting textural notes with their foliage. Look at plants—flower and foliage—and begin to categorize them by texture.

Grass-like - Includes Chives, Lemon Grass and Blackberry Lily

Ferny - Includes Bleeding heart, Love-in-a-mist, Chervil and Feverfew

Finely cut - Includes Dill, Blue flax, Chamomile and Cosmos

Narrow/needlelike - Includes Rosemary, Curry plant, Lady’s bedstraw and Lavender

Broad - Includes Sage, Cleome, Comfrey, Many basils. Borage and Valerian

Look around your beds. If you have basil, borage and lovage growing together, add a contrasting foliage, like feverfew, love-in-a-mist, blue flax or parsley for textural variation.

Scented geraniums are great for adding textural interest. Although related, the differences in texture and foliage within the group are amazing. Peppermint and chocolate mint produce broad, fuzzy leaves. Foliage of concolor lace and lemon is small and crinkled. Nutmeg, lime and coconut have smooth, rounded leaves. Rose, apricot and lemon rose have coarse texture with deeply cut leaves. A collection of scented geraniums provides a bounty of contrast in terms of texture, foliage and fragrance.

Garden Question

2010-04-01T09:21:00.000-07:00

Q & A “Can I grow culinary herbs in containers?”

Yes! Nearly all culinary herbs have a form or variety that will grow and produce well in pots. Look for compact varieties of basil and sage. Creeping rosemary and savory look pretty trailing over the front of a container. Parsley, oregano, marjoram, chives, burnet and thyme varieties do well planted together in a large pot or singly in individual containers in a sunny location. You can add calendula, nasturtium or another edible flower for color and variety. Just make sure all the plants in one pot prefer either sun or shade. Containers also let you confine invasive mints to their own pots. Always choose containers with drainage holes to shed excess water and use only potting soil. Potted herbs should be fertilized regularly with either a water soluble or time release fertilizer.

NEW plants for 2010

2010-03-29T09:17:00.000-07:00

Kent Beauty oregano –
Origanum rotundifolium ‘Kent Beauty’
Like oregano ‘Herrenhausen’, this plant is ornamental rather than culinary and is grown particularly for its attractive flowers. The blooms resemble hops strobiles, and ripen from green to pinky-purple. Replaces dittany of crete, with similar flowers, but ‘Kent Beauty’ is perennial in Zone 6. (18” P)

Paris rosemary –Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Paris’
It’s not often that I try a plant based on one line in a catalog, but here’s an example. The supplier claims ‘Paris’ is the most frost hardy variety yet. I’ve had many conversations about rosemary’s hardiness and I believe it depends primarily on weather. Extended winter cold will kill off even the hardier varieties. However, here’s another choice (along with ‘Arp’ and ‘Hill Hardy’)—if you want to try maintaining a rosemary outside for more than one season. (up to 48” TP)

Bitter Lemon scented geranium – Pelargonium x citronellum ‘Bitter Lemon’
This fragrant variety is a descendent of the cultivar ‘Mabel Grey’ with an upright habit, large toothed leaf and pinkish-purple blooms. Popular fragrance in a form different from most lemon geraniums. (24”+ TP)

Cosmos ‘Rose Bonbon’ –
Cosmos bipinnatus ‘Rose Bonbon’
A very showy variety of an old garden favorite. Cosmos are tall, easy to grow and bloom abundantly. This double form produces rose pink flowers that more closely resemble an English rose or peony. Great cut flowers and attracts butterflies, too. (24”-36” A)

Dianthus – Dianthus superbus ‘Crimsonia’
Many of you know of my passion for the old-fashioned perennial dianthus or clove pinks. Their spicy-sweet fragrance is heavenly. Here’s a new color which is reported to be equally fragrant. Rich crimson color with deeply cut, fringed petals. (15”-20” P)

PLANT PROFILE: LEMON GRASS

2010-03-26T09:12:00.000-07:00

Lemon grass is an attractive and useful plant native to southeast Asia. It’s often paired with meat and fish in Thai cooking. It forms a large, grassy clump that’s an attractive addition to the garden. The blades have sharp edges and should be used only for tea. As the season progresses, the base of the stalks become bulbous. Break off a stalk at ground level and slice the rounded base for use in cooking.

Lemon grass is not winter hardy in temperate areas, but is easy to overwinter in a pot. Plant in a 10”-12” diameter pot with lightweight potting soil. Maintain throughout the summer. Before frost, cut back foliage in a fan shape. The plant goes dormant for the winter. It requires little light and just enough water to keep the roots alive. (water every 3-4 weeks.)

THINK SPRING!!

2010-03-24T08:54:00.000-07:00

THINK SPRING!!

There’s an old song with the lyrics “Some days are diamonds, some days are stones.” The same could be said about winter seasons. Some slide by quickly, without much inclement weather and produce occasional spring-like days. Others are a cold, hard, snowy slog toward spring. This winter was definitely the latter. Luckily starting seeds helps me maintain my sanity throughout the winter. Seeding flats, waiting for them to germinate and watching them grow under lights is proof positive that spring is approaching. Tending the seedlings as the inventory grows eases me into the spring routine. Before I know it, the greenhouses are full and another spring season is underway. Won’t we be thankful for that this year!

Each spring sees the arrival of some new varieties and this year happily, the return of some favorites that were temporarily out of stock.

Our spring open house will be held Friday and Saturday, April 23 & 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Nearly all plant varieties are available by then and we’ll have open house specials in both the shop and greenhouse. Don’t forget to mark May 7 & 8 on your calendar for the Landis Valley Herb Faire.

Also, check out our spring class schedule. I bet there’s at least one topic that interests you. Bring a friend and spend an enjoyable, informative evening with us.

Class Schedule

AROMATHERAPY: Thursday, April 15, 7 p.m. $20.00
Learn about the therapeutic properties of essential oils; for example, oils to energize, relax or to balance your mood. Easy ways to incorporate essential oils in your life. Includes samples of 2 oils.

WILDLIFE IN YOUR GARDEN: Thursday, May 13, 7 p.m. $15.00
In times of shrinking habitat, your garden can support butterflies, honeybees and hummingbirds. Learn about host and nectar plants, butterfly life cycles and garden maintenance that encourages pollinators to visit. Free plant included.

COOKING WITH DILL, BASIL AND THYME: Thursday, June 3, 7 p.m. $20.00
Learn to grow, maintain and use the herb of the year and two more culinary favorites. Growing and cooking tips, lots of recipes plus make an herb butter to enjoy at home. Choose one of the highlighted plants for your garden.

LEAF PRINTING: Thursday, June 17, 7 p.m. $20.00
Use simple materials—a variety of leaves and acrylic paints to create a unique printed treasure. Print a small bag and a notecard—all materials provided. Bring an additional prewashed 50% cotton item to print if you like.

Classes are limited in size, so please register early. Your payment is your reservation and is due in full when registering. If you’re unable to attend, you may send a substitute in your place. Complete the attached registration form.

Make checks payable and mail to: Cloverleaf Herb Farm, 1532 Cloverleaf Road, Mount Joy, PA 17552

Lavenders

2009-12-20T12:56:00.000-08:00

LAVENDER VARIETIES

Lavender is almost universally loved. What’s not to like—it has wonderful fragrance, aromatherapy and medicinal uses, and is an attractive plant in the garden. We carry nine varieties of lavender. All are fragrant and most are winter hardy here. The main differences will be the size of the plant and flower color. Here’s a guide to help you choose the right variety for your garden.

Compact forms are about 12”-15” tall (foliage) with flower stems standing above that. All plants are proportional, so compact varieties are shorter, not as wide and have shorter flower stalks than taller cultivars. ‘Hidcote’ and ‘Lady’ are very similar with attractive dark purple flowers. ‘Hidcote Pink’ has flowers that are pink in bud.

Mid-sized varieties run 18”-20” tall and are wider with slightly longer stems than compact types. ‘Munstead’ is extremely hardy, has lavender blooms and is the most common cultivar sold. ‘Twickel Purple’ has a slightly darker flower. Taller forms include ‘Grosso’ and ‘Alba’. They reach about 24” tall, with long stems reaching up an additional foot. ‘Grosso’ has purple flowers and blooms slightly later, which is nice for extending your season of bloom in the garden. ‘Alba’ has white flowers which are just as fragrant as purple blossoms.

We carry two cultivars that aren’t winter hardy here. Both have larger, showier flowers than perennial lavenders. French lavender has purple blooms and very fragrant, fringed foliage. ‘Kew Red’ has big, showy flowers in a purple-red shade that’s most unusual. These lavenders are generally treated as annuals and are very effective in mixed container plantings.

All lavenders love sun and well drained soil. Plant in as much sun as possible. You’ll need a minimum of 4-6 hours of sun per day for best blooming. Lavender doesn’t need particularly fertile soil, but it must drain quickly. Add compost or even sand to loosen clay soil and improve drainage. Planting in a raised bed or sunny slope promotes better drainage. Lavender likes soil on the alkaline side, so mix in some lime when planting.

“Gardeners are generous because nature is generous to them.”
… Elizabeth Lawrence

Sweet Potato & Carrot Bake - Recipe

2009-12-15T12:43:00.000-08:00

Try this healthier sweet potato dish with your holiday meal or serve with ham,
pork or chicken.

SWEET POTATO AND CARROT BAKE

1 cup carrots, sliced
¼ cup golden raisins
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
½ cup ginger ale
¼ tsp. each salt & pepper
3 Tbsp. oil
3 Tbsp. orange juice
½ cup dried apricots, cut into strips
Scant 1 tsp. fresh thyme or ½ tsp. dried thyme
Scant ¼ cup brown sugar

Toss carrots and potatoes with oil in a baking dish. Add apricots, raisins,
brown sugar, salt, pepper & thyme and mix well. Add liquids. Cover
and bake 1 hour 15 minutes at 350 degrees, stirring after 45 minutes.
Remove lid after 75 minutes; cook additional 10-15 minutes until
vegetables are tender and juices are thickened.

Herbal Tea

2009-12-10T12:25:00.000-08:00

How do I make herbal tea?

An herbal tea or infusion is made by steeping fresh or dried herbs in hot water. Use 1 Tablespoon fresh or 1 teaspoon dried herb per cup of water. Heat water to just below boiling. Add herbs directly to teapot or use a tea ball; add water. Wrap in towel or tea cozy and steep—generally 5 minutes, a little longer for milder herbs. Remove tea ball or strain liquid through fine mesh strainer. Add milk, lemon, honey, sugar to taste. You can make a simple tea using one herb—like mint—or blend several herbs together. Try other culinary herbs for tea like lemon balm or verbena, scented geraniums, anise hyssop, chamomile (use flowers), cinnamon basil or bee balm. A blend of savory herbs like rosemary, marjoram, savory and thyme also makes a delicious tea.

Santolina

2009-12-08T12:22:00.000-08:00

PLANT PROFILE: SANTOLINA

People notice santolina—it’s a pretty plant (it's the gray plant in this knot garden at Cloverleaf.) The strong camphor aroma indicates its use as an insect repellent, alongside other herbs like wormwood, rue and pennyroyal. But it’s an equally attractive garden plant. Both forms—gray and green—have attractive foliage and small yellow button flowers in the spring. Gray santolina has sparkly, textural foliage and green has narrow needlelike leaves.

Green is taller and faster growing, while gray is a broader plant. Both develop woody stems, do not die back in winter and love hot, dry weather. Plant in full sun (6-8 hours) and really well-drained soil—raised beds, sunny slopes or soil amended with compost and sand. After spring flowering, the foliage is attractive throughout the season. I particularly like gray santolina with deep toned flowers of late spring and summer.

Holiday Open House

2009-12-04T12:12:00.000-08:00

I’m happy to report another successful spring season—our twelfth! Thinking back to the beginning, and seeing how far we’ve progressed is very satisfying. Doing what I love and producing a popular product feels great. Many people asked about our spring season, concerned for us due to the slow economy. We had a great season, slightly surpassing our tenth anniversary year. Thanks to all who visited and told their friends, or dragged their friends along!

Join us for our Holiday Open House
Friday and Saturday, December 4 & 5 from 9 to 5.
Shop specials, potted herbs, refreshments, prize drawings.

Because the wet summer kept us busy with outside chores, it’s hard to believe it’s time to plan for the holidays. If you’re looking for a unique, handcrafted gift, dried herbs and spices for baking or some herbal relaxation after holiday preparations, please stop by. We have loads of herbal gift ideas. And do-it-yourselfers can stock up on supplies for creating their own herbal goodies.

During our open house, Friday & Saturday, December 4 & 5, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., we’ll feature specials on some popular items, like handmade soaps and herbal tea blends. The greenhouse holds basic culinary potted herbs and live topiaries. Also enjoy herbal refreshments and register for prize drawings.

GREAT GIFT IDEAS

MYSTIQUE SOAP – Dramatic color, fragrant tropical flower scent. Dominant scent notes seem to vary, making the fragrance changeable, but always yummy.

SPA SALT BARS - Big bars of soap loaded with salt, which acts like a water softener in the bath or shower. Lathers slowly, but produces rich, lotiony lather. Three fragrant scents.

ARNICA RUB - Easy to apply solid healing lotion contains natural ingredients and healing arnica. Arnica has a long history of treating minor muscle strains and sprains and also to treat discoloration and swelling from bruises.

SUPPLIES - For do-it-yourselfers eager to make your own natural gifts, we carry a great selection of base oils, butters and essential oils along with containers for packaging. Also, soap-making books and a DVD for those who say, “I always wanted to try that.”

GIFT BASKETS - Makes gift giving simple! A variety of fragrant herbal products in attractive baskets or holiday tins. Different sized gift baskets cover all price ranges.

LIP BALMS – Made with natural, moisturizing ingredients that are great for your lips all winter. From the richest blend—extra essential through orange creamsicle, strawberry, mocha, chocolate mint and other yummy flavors.

HERBAL NOTECARDS - We have boxed card sets based on garden themed watercolors and also herbal leaf print cards in sets. Leaf print cards are similar to stamping, but printed using actual herbal leaves.

GOAT’S MILK LOTION - Fragrant and moisturizing lotion good for dry and even sensitive skin. Customers with eczema report good results using goat’s milk lotion. Floral scents like lavender, lilac and gardenia through herbal fragrances—almond vanilla, citrus basil, etc.

Many people assume we close after the spring season. We’re actually open five days a week April – December. We close between Christmas and New Year’s and the shop is open three days a week January – March. By February, I’m working hard on spring preparations and before you know it, the greenhouses are full again. Think Spring !!

And now...

2009-09-01T11:41:00.000-07:00

If you are interested in drying any of your culinary herbs for winter use, this is prime time. Annuals and vigorously growing perennials like mint and oregano can be cut back by 1/3 to 1/2. Woody stemmed perennials, like sage, thyme, and rosemary should be cut back, no more than 1/3 at a time, since they grow more slowly. Hang in bushes to dry, or on screened racks, in a dehydrator or on very low heat in an oven. For oven drying, I usually just turn on the light and close the oven door - no heat on at all. It takes a while, but it is low, slow heat.

I'm also harvesting flowers for drying. I've done lavender, bright yellow yarrow and nigella (love in a mist) seed pods. Right now, it's annual statice among others. The plant is rather plain, just lobed leaves before the flower stems shoot up. But the colors are great - dark blue, white, lavender and rose, and statice holds its color longer than almost any other flower. Since it's not a very attractive garden plant, I grow it in rows in the vegetable garden. It's a good nectar plant for butterflies.

Plants that I'm admiring right now-

*Snapdragons - I plant dark, crimson and light pink together and the combo is beautiful. They bloom so nicely for so long - even longer than mums in the fall.

*Zinnia - I never have luck with the big, old-fashioned kinds due to mildew. But the little profusion zinnias make rounded mounds 12-15" tall, just covered with blooms. No mildew and very little deadheading.

*Euphorbia - Although it has small white flowers, the overall look is of a foliage plant. Fairly tall and nicely branched, it has pretty variegated green and white foliage. Great as
filler with cut flowers or dried for use in wreaths and arrangements.

We're in the process of updating our mailing list and will offer an e-version of our newsletter soon. If you would prefer this to your paper copy, please send your e-mail address to
chfmailing@aol. com

Lucy has recovered from her bee sting. She is enjoying chasing rabbits in the yard. She loves when they go in the high grass and she goes in and sniffs every square inch that they covered. She's so pleased with herself - I guess she thinks she's hunting.

August, and ...

2009-08-26T11:31:00.000-07:00

Well, at least it's not my imagination. You have to wonder sometimes when you get to my age. I read an article recently about the lack of butterflies this year. According to those who do butterfly counts, both numbers of species seen and total numbers of butterflies are down this year. Most experts seem to agree it has much to do with our cool, wet spring and early summer. The cool, wet spring led to fewer caterpillars hatching and the increase in fungal diseases which may have affected those that did hatch. Adult butterflies prefer hot, sunny days so the few that were around probably weren't too active. I have seen several monarchs, black swallowtails and finally, a couple of tiger swallowtails. Small butterflies are more numerous, but usually the gardens are full of them by now, and that's not the case. Also, I haven't seen any monarch caterpillars and just a few swallowtails. Can't have butterflies without caterpillars first. We can't do anything about the weather, but we can provide host plants which are a food source for caterpillars and nectar plants which feed butterflies.

The E-town fair is coming up-August 24-20,. It's great family fun with rides, great fair food and a strong emphasis on agriculture with judging of animals, plants and preserved and baked foods. It's held on the fairgrounds on E. High St. with the competitive exhibits displayed in the BIC social hall next door.

With adequate moisture throughout the summer, some of my plants are HUGE. I have a cinnamon basil plant that looks like a small shrub. It's about four feet tall and perfectly round and of course, smells divine. I planted two next to each other, and the second never thrived. People often ask why, when you plant two or gore plants together, one will survive and the second won't. Cultural conditions are the same, the soil cant, be vastly different. I always say plants are like people, some are stronger than others. Cinnamon basil is great chopped over fresh fruit, or infused in milk and used in baked goods.

The Herbal Harvest

2009-07-28T12:05:00.000-07:00

Midsummer and the herbal harvest continues. I'm constantly harvesting mints since they recover so fast. By now, annuals are well established so I've been harvesting all basils. Cutting back also removes flowers and encourages the plant to branch out and produce more foliage. Chamomile flowers are winding down, but plenty have been dried for tea. Bright, cheery calendula petals are useful in all sorts of skin preparations. Annual statice, probably the best dried flower for holding color, is at its peak. If you grow catnip for your cats, dry some to have for winter use.

I knew it was just a matter of time before Lucy had a nasty run-in with a bee. Well, she tried to eat one and got stung on the tip of her tongue-ouch! Of course, it was after office hours for the vet, so it was an emergency call. But the dr. did get the stinger out plus gave her benedryl which put her to sleep for awhile. About two days later, I was yelling "No bees" again, so I guess she'll never learn. We have a bumper crop of rabbits this year, so she has fun chasing them, usually early in the morning. She's very fast, so we don't let her chase the small ones. I had to capture one little bunny that hopped into greenhouse 2 and settled in between stacks of empty flats. I put him out at the fence line and hope he doesn't find his way back.

Several people have asked me about drying hydrangeas. I do dry a lot lot from our bushes out front. Unfortunately, I've never found a way to dry them at the peak of color and - have them hold both the color and form you want. I wait till later in the season- late August into September. The flowers begin to dry on the stalk. You can feel the getting papery. Then I cut them, stand them in a vase - no water - and put them in a closet away from the light. The color is often darker or more muted than the brilliant summer color. Right now, I'm cutting off blooms that have turned really brown. This will encourage some reblooming and these later flowers will hold a better blue color.

Seasons in the Garden

2009-07-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

I must be an "in the moment" type of person. When spring begins, I'm infatuated with all spring bloomers. Forsythia, then spring bulbs, flowering trees and shrubs, followed by fragrant lilac and dianthus, the clear white of candytuft, delicate columbine and bleeding heart, dame's rocket and tall valerian and oriental poppies. I think nothing can beat these beautiful spring blooms.

The season progresses, and now I'm admiring summer flowers that are equally impressive. Big stands of coneflower (purple or the equally attractive white) are colorful, showy, yet natural looking. St. John's wort, named for blooming around St. John's day is a pretty yellow mass attracting bees. Even though we thinned the russian sage this spring, it is a huge,mass with light stems and tall, long-lasting purple flowers. Calendula, nasturtiums and little gem marigolds are covered in masses of colorful blooms. Huge, fragrant white oriental lilies are almost ready to open. High summer can be bright and beautiful in the garden. In six weeks, I'll be admiring the end of season plants.

There are close to 1,000 varieties of salvia and so many of them are great garden plants. Flowers are long-lasting and many of them have colorful bracts which look good even when blooming is done. Some perennial varieties are good rebloomers if cut back after first flowering. Clary sage is the world's easiest biennial and a wonderfully sturdy plant.

Our plant sale is still going on and we have REALLY good prices now. So, if you have any holes in your garden or a container to fill, stop by and visit. It's also a good time to walk through the gardens-everything is lush and pretty.

I've been seeing a few large butterflies-monarchs and swallow-tails. Saw one monarch caterpillar on the wild milkweed along the fencerow. Don't squash any caterpillars you find on milk-weeds or parley, dill, fennel, rue since they will become butterflies.

Garden Musings

2009-07-08T07:16:00.000-07:00

Some garden projects take time and patience. Our pergola is an example. John built it several years ago. We planted vines, changing some over time, and waited for them to grow. We're finally seeing results this year. Sweet autumn clematis at the ends and jasmine on the sides have grown and created a nicely shaded spot. The jasmine started blooming in mid-June and smells wonderful. And I finally got to put out the metal table and chairs I've been hanging onto to create a shaded retreat.

Someone came last week, looked down through the pergola and said, "I'll take one of those." Patience has paid off.

I was getting very concerned about the small number of honeybees I've seen this year. Bee populations are being greatly reduced by the mysterious colony collapse disorder. Finally, this week, I've seen bees. We worked on cleaning up the thyme walk and bees were busy working the thyme blossoms. I've also seen them on lavender, hyssop and catmint. Perhaps the sunny, warm weather brought out more bees. Bumblebees are around too, and more plentiful than honeybees. They're pollinators too, but not as important as honeybees.

Since the bees have shown up, now I can worry about the lack of butterflies. I know they are more plentiful on warm, sunny days, but even in this sunny, dry stretch I haven't seen many. Most I've seen are small (like cabbage loopers) or medium (like red admirals). I've only seen one caterpillar which will become a swallowtail butterfly. It was munching on the rue, but. none on parsley, dill or fennel which are also host plants for the caterpillars. And I see no signs of any caterpillars on either the swamp milkweed or the wild milkweed which serve as hosts for monarch caterpillars. I think butterflies are like lots of animals-reduced habitat and more chemicals seem to be reducing their numbers. if you find big black, white and green striped caterpillars on your dill, parsley, fennel, rue, etc. don't smush them. In a bit, you'll be rewarded with a black or yellow and black swallowtail.

What's Happening in the Garden?

2009-07-01T07:08:00.000-07:00

Now that we've finally gotten a break from every day rain, I've been very busy in the gardens. Here are some things I've been working on:

Harvesting - culinary herbs like oregano, tarragon, mints, savory, <<< vigorous="" ones="" have="" been="" harvested="" at="" least="" cut="" small="" or="" unattractive="" off="" to="" concentrate="" oil="" production="" prevent="" also="" calendula="" great="" skin="" care="" chamomile="" flowers="" tea="" rose="" petals="" for="" start="" harvesting="" annuals="" herbs="" after="" they="" are="" established="" and="" actively="">

Cutting back perennials -
to neaten up after flowering and prevent reseeding (like valerian, hyssop, & comfrey >>>>)
to encourage rebloom - catmint, ornamental salvias, Jupiter's beard
deadheading to extend flowering-removing individual spent looms like zinnia or stems of spent blooms like emilia

I let some seeds stay on the pIant - for poppies, columbine and dianthus, I'll cut off seed stalks when ripe and save for next spring.

Others, like blue flax and sweet Cicely, I let stay on the plant to encourage reseeding in place.

After I have cut and dried lavender flowers, and after the bees have worked it, I cut stems off. After flowering is the time to trim lavender for shaping. The plant will have plenty of time to push out new growth before fall.

Now that it's not raining every day, keep annual vines like moonflower, hyacinth bean and mina well watered. They like lots of moisture, especially in the beginning.

Flowers I've been drying-yarrow, bee balm, lavender & nigella pods.

Using your herbs

2009-05-25T03:29:00.000-07:00

It's not too early to start thinking about using your culinary herbs. You can take cuttings to use fresh as soon as the plant becomes established. You can also freeze or dry culinary herbs so you have them to use after the growing season is done. I have already harvested tarragon, oregano and lemon balm which are now drying on my drying rack. Vigorous growers like these can be harvested at least three times throughout the season.

Speaking of lemon balm, many people are distressed at this fragrant plant's ability to spread rapidly. Although it is in the mint family, it doesn't spread by runners like spearmint, etc. When people complain about lemon balm going everywhere, I always think much of it is due to reseeding. The p!ant is perennial, and will increase in size each year, but if it's getting out of hand and going everywhere, it may be due to seeds dropping. Lemon balm has small, white flowere which are not particularly attractive, so remove them before they turn into seeds. If you can plant it in a corner or against a barrier, that will help contain its vigorous growth.

Lavender's first and best bloom time is in June. Harvest lavender flowers while it's still in bud. Eventually, each bud will open into a floret. However, these florets eventually fall off, so you'll lose a lot of fragrance by harvesting after flowers open.

Varieties of English lavender and hybrid lavandins are hardy here in zone 6. They're all fragrant, but the main differences are in size of the plant and flower color. Compact lavenders are 12-15" tall with shorter stemmed flowers. Mid-size are 18-20" tall and tall varieties have foliage about 24" with the flowers standing above that. Compact varieties we carry have purple or pink flowers, mid-size have lavender blooms and tall varieties have purple or white flowers. Lavender plants like lots and lots of sun, very well-drained soil and soil with a little higher ph. Mixing in a little lime when you plant lavender is a good idea.

Thanks for Landis Valley!

2009-05-20T15:23:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all who turned out at Landis Valley and helped to make the show a great success for us. The weather was great (unlike 2008) and everyone seemed anxious to get out after a week of rain. Lots of our local customer's just stop by to say hello and wait to shop until they visit the farm. Saves hauling all your plants around with you. You can always tell the experienced shoppers because they bring baskets, wagons, carts, etc. for their purchases.
People sometimes worry that we'll sell out of an item at Landis Valley and not have any left at the farm. we never take all of our stock to LV. In fact, we have to carefully decide what to take, because we can't take even one of every plant we carry. So there's still plenty of selection at the farm.

It was chilly at night at the beginning of the week. If you have basil planted in the ground and didn't cover it, don't be surprised if it's not happy. I always encourage people to wait until close to Memorial Day to plant basil directly in the ground. Basil, like tomatoes and peppers, likes hot weather.
Even if it's not cold enough to frost, if the soil is not sufficiently warm and nighttime temps aren't in the 50's, basil will just sit there waiting for it to warm up. It's hard to get a jump on heat loving plants unless Mother Nature cooperates.

Lucy had a wonderful time as we were packing up plants to go to Landis Valley. John backs the truck up to the greenhouse and we load the plants in. Lucy just loves to sit in the truck. She doesn't seem to care if it's going anywhere or not. Occasionally, she jumps in the back to check things out, but mostly she stays up front. Sometimes she sits in the driver's seat behind the wheel. If we could teach her to put her paws on the wheel, it would make a good photo.

Spring Open House!

2009-04-22T08:08:00.000-07:00

Spring Open House Week Specials

Join us for our spring open house,
Friday and Saturday, April 24 & 25 from 9 to 5
featuring shop specials,
herbal refreshments
and prize drawings.

Greenhouse specials Wednesday through Saturday.

Bay Laurel

2009-04-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

HERB OF THE YEAR BAY LAUREL

Herb of the year for 2009 is a popular culinary herb—bay or Laurus nobilis. Where it's hardy, bay grows into a tree. Here in Zone 6, it's not winter hardy and must be brought inside before frost. Bay is usually the most expensive herb in the greenhouse. It's difficult to propagate, and slow growing when young. However, when they reach a certain maturity, they grow easily and fairly rapidly. My 15 year old bay is about my height. Bay is not difficult to overwinter. Put in a sunny window, water thoroughly when dry and check for scale insects. Check to see if it needs transplanting in spring or summer, but move up only one pot size.
Bay leaves, fresh or dried, are used in many soups and stews. Remove leaves before serving due to sharp edges. Fresh leaves have an almost spicy flavor. We'll feature a bay flavored treat during our spring open house.

Cutting Celery

2009-04-17T08:00:00.000-07:00

PLANT PROFILE: CUTTING CELERY
Cutting celery is a great, but rather uncommon culinary herb. It's in the parsley family and grows like parsley, but tastes like celery. You use the foliage, because it does not develop a stalk. It looks similar to flat leaf parsley, but with a darker, larger leaf and a distinct celery flavor. It often survives through much of the winter. It seems more perennial than biennial, although with age, the flavor becomes stronger. Occasionally, I'll replace the plant and start fresh. Cutting celery can be substituted for celery in almost any recipe—the flavor is that good! I use it in soups, stews, tuna or chicken salad, green salads, etc. The foliage is easily harvested. Use it fresh, or freeze it or dry it for winter use.

Spring at Cloverleaf

2009-04-15T14:18:00.000-07:00

Spring is here - although it's coming slowly. One or two beautiful days and then more of the cold, rainy stuff. Since we didn't have much snow this winter, we really do need the rain. So I try not to complain about that. I'll stick to complaining about the wind - that doesn't serve any good purpose. Spring is in full swing in the greenhouse, though. I haven't moved perennials outside yet. We had some frost here this week and I hate to move small plants out in the rain. Maybe next week- or when I run out of room in the greenhouse - whichever comes first.

We still have openings in each of the classes on our spring class schedule. One class each in April and May and two in June. We always have a good time in the classes - it's always a nice bunch of people. So treat yourself or plan an evening out with a friend. We'd love to see you!

Don't forget our spring open house will be held Friday and Saturday april 24 & 25 9am to 5pm. Herbal refreshments, prize drawings and some shop specials. We'll also have specials on plants during open house week. Tuesday and Wednesday will be $1 off large perennials (second year plants) and Friday and Saturday will be 25 cents off small herbs, flowers, vegetables and scented geraniums (excluding bay.)

Lucy has been wild the last couple days - even more so than usual. Our poor helper, Zach, was sitting outside working when Lucy decides to jump on him and play. She grabbed my hat right off my head and ran happily around the yard. with it. She also got to chase a rabbit which was very exciting for her. I'm chalking it up to spring fever and hoping it doesn't last too long.

We've been cleaning up outside as time and weather permits. I've cut back sages - pretty hard this year. New growth is coming out on lavenders so I'm trimming just the deadwood from those. Thymes and hyssop are trimmed back to just above where new growth is emerging.

If you haven't been out yet, hope to see you soon.

Fragrant Flowers

2009-04-14T08:01:00.000-07:00

FRAGRANT FLOWERS
Along with their usefulness, fragrance was a quality that attracted me to herbs. In addition to herbs, we offer fragrant, old-fashioned ornamental plants. Fragrance adds another dimension to your garden along with flowers, color, form and texture. Think about adding one or more of these plants to your garden to enjoy.

Nicotiana – or flowering tobacco is fragrant at night. This is the plant's mechanism to attract particular pollinators. White, tubular flowers rise on 24"-30" stems. The annual flowers are sweetly fragrant and usually reseed readily.

Moonflower – is a white, fragrant, night-blooming morning glory. It's an annual vine that needs a post, fence or trellis to climb. The large, white blooms unfurl slowly at dusk. Both moonflower and ruicotiana are wonderful planted next to a seating area you enjoy in the evening.

Dianthus – The perennial dianthus we offer goes by the common name clove pink. The name describes well the spicy-sweet fragrance emitted by the single pink and/or white flowers. Flowers bloom in spring and are about 12" tall. Plant in front of a bed or along a walk so you can enjoy their fragrance. There are many varieties of dianthus, but often hybrids are not fragrant.

Heliotrope– It's old-fashioned name is cherry pie plant. To me, it's more of a sweetly vanilla-like aroma, but it's certainly fragrant. Dark purple flowers top 12" annual plants. Very nice in a sunny container near a seating area.

Jasmine – Jasmine's sweetly fragrant flowers bloom in summer. Sources say jasmine isn't hardy here, but ours has survived outside since we had the farm. The jasmine on the sides of the pergola is five years old. Consider it a woody, perennial vine and give it something substantial to climb. Attractive cut foliage succeeded by sweet, star-shaped flowers.

Catmint – Catmint is often mistaken for lavender when in bloom since it has similar, spikey purple flowers. But it's the foliage that's truly fragrant. The scent isn't floral, but more in the minty vein. Catmint makes a great border or edging plant since it spreads easily, but is not invasive. It produces the same look as lavender, but it's a much more tolerant plant.

Valerian – Sometimes called garden heliotrope, but very different in appearance. Valerian has tall (36"+) flower stalks with pinkish-white blooms. Like heliotrope, it's flowers are made up of multiple florets. The fragrance is clean and musky, rather than floral. Valerian is a perennial, which increases in size, so place it at the back of bed or border.

Our Shop and Classes

2009-04-10T07:59:00.000-07:00

The shop is filled with our unique mix of herbal products. Our display gardens offer a chance to see many plants we sell in a garden setting and give you ideas on plant combinations and garden themes. Inside, you'll find a spring class schedule. We offer classes on a variety of herbal /gardening topics. Classes are informal and great fun. I learn a lot from class participants— people always have a great tip, recipe or idea to share. We will again participate in the Landis Valley Herb Faire in May. Look for us in our regular spot. When you plan your garden or choose an herbal product, please think of us!

CLASSES
Marrying Herbs & Ornamentals April 16
Topiaries May 14
Salves & Balms June 4
Fragrant Potpourri June 18

"Now the earth with many flowers puts on her spring embroidery. Sappho

"Hardening off" plants

2009-04-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Q & A "How and why should I 'harden off' plants?"

Hardening off is a process that helps plants acclimate as they move from a protected greenhouse environment to the more demanding one in your garden. Start by placing plants outside in a protected spot without too much direct sun or wind. Each day, move them out to a more exposed position. If it gets below 40 degrees at night, bring them inside. Water thoroughly as they dry out during this time. At the end of the week, they are ready to plant. For annuals, harden off your plants 7-10 days before our last frost day (mid-May) and they'll be ready to go when planting is safe. Hardening off really helps—it lessens a lot of transplant shock. You can do "reverse hardening off' in fall as you bring plants inside, gradually acclimating them to lower inside light levels.

New for Spring!

2009-04-03T06:00:00.000-07:00

NEW FOR SPRING

Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) An easy to grow groundcover, plumbago's foliage reaches about 12". Lovely blue flowers cover the plant late in the season. Tolerates full sun to light shade and wants well-drained soil, although rich soil isn't necessary. Good fall foliage color. Shear established plants in spring to encourage new growth. (12" P)

Brazilian button flower (Centratherum intermediurn "Button Beauty") I wasn't familiar with this flower, but the glowing catalog description and photo convinced me to give it a try. It produces a fuzzy, lavender flower and fragrant foliage. Once established, it's heat and drought tolerant. Suitable for sunny beds and large containers (up to 24" A)

Cockscomb (Celosia argenta cristata) To complement the spike celosia we offer, here's a burgundy cockscomb perfect for drying. Velvety texture, dark flowers on well branched plants with center bloom and many smaller side stems. Excellent for dried arrangements and wreaths. (30-36" A)

Cornflower (Centaurea cyanus 'Black Ball') We've offered the standard blue cornflower for several years—here's a kissing cousin. Same rounded, multi-petaled flower, but in a rich chocolaty color. Color is similar to dark pincushion flower we offer—very showy, especially combined with white flowers. Sun-loving and should reseed if it's anything like the species. (24" A)

Scented geranium 'Concolor Lace' (Pelargonium sp. 'Concolor Lace') Scented geranium varieties are getting harder to find, but this sounds like a great one. Rather compact with light green leaves and small red flowers. Mild, sweet-nutty scent. Nice in mixed containers. (12" TP)

"People from a planet without flowers would think we must be mad with joy ... to have such things about us."

Iris Murdoch

Greenhouse Opens!

2009-04-01T07:22:00.000-07:00

The greenhouse opens today, April 1!

Beginning now, our spring hours are in effect:
April through June - Tuesday through Saturday 9am to 5pm and Wednesday 9am till 7pm.
From July through December, the greenhouse and shop are open Tuesday through Saturday 9am till 5pm.

One of the new plants listed in the newsletter-white sage-will not be available. Several customers had requested it, and I found a source. However, when I received my shipment of small plants, the white sage was not available. I'll try again next year.

Cur spring open house will be held Friday and Saturday April 24 and 25 from 9am till 5pm. We'll have prize drawings, herbal refreshments and some specials in the shop. On Wednesday and Thursday of open house week, our large size, second year perennials will be $1 off. On Friday and Saturday of open house week, small herbs, flowers and scented geraniums (excluding bay) will be 25 cents off per pot.

For those of you anxious to do some outside work on springlike days, you can clean up perennials, including cutting down old stalks if you didn't do it in the fall. Also, trim back butterfly bushes (fairly hard) between mid-March and mid-April. This will not affect the bloom and will produce sturdy branches rather than lanky, top-heavy branches that occur without trimming. You can rototill as soon as the ground can be worked. If you are adding amendments to your soil, do it before your final tilling so they are mixed in well.

Hang on-planting time is almost here!

Where do those plants come from?

2009-03-13T06:42:00.000-07:00

This time of year, it's easy to know what each day brings in terms of greenhouse work - potting!

We produce plants three ways - seedlings, which I grow, divisions from stock plants that we hold over winter, and rooted cuttings, which I buy and then pot. The cuttings come in a couple small orders and two larger orders. Once they arrive, I start with the smallest sizes and continue potting madly until they're all done. Some go quickly, others take longer because they must be cleaned or trimmed - always want the plants to look nice.

Seedlings are spaced out more evenly', I first plant seeds in January and continue weekly until the beginning of April. So there's a batch or two per week, depending on how quickly they germinate and mature. Sometimes I have to encourage them, if they're slow to pop through. Basils germinate in 2-3 days, while some perennials take several weeks. Right now, I'm waiting for the pokey angelica - it's started to germinate, but it's slow and spotty. The tiny seedlings are very individual. Some are tall, like fennel, the gomprena has red coloring on the underside of the leaves, some leaves are round, some toothed and some are veined, I generally know the variety,just by the leaf, without looking at the tag.

We also hold over stock plants in the garden, bring them into the greenhouse to push growth and then divide them into smaller plants. This is a fragrant job, since the foliage and sometimes even the roots are aromatic.Some plants have really, tough roots and you must take a knife to them to divide them. But they're tough and they survive.

I've decided the only greenhouse job I really don't enjoy is moving plants around. They have to be moved to make room, rotate stock, move from stock area to sales area, etc. But it's just not as much fun as the rest.

White outside, but green inside!

2009-03-06T06:23:00.000-08:00

I'm thinking about our recent brush with winter as I write this.

Last week, the "glancing blow" that was supposed to give us a couple inches of snow dumped the biggest snowfall of the season on us. We got 6-7" and then it blew all around! Although it was winter outside, it's spring in the greenhouse!

The week before, the first little plants arrived and now they have been transplanted along with all the seedlings that were ready to go. I've only filled a couple benches so far, but the sight and smells of fresh, green growing plants chases away the winter blues. As I pushed on the bottom of the packs to release the rootball, the fragrance of fresh lavender drifted up - just heavenly! I also transplanted what I consider to be the most fragrant lemon herb - lemon verbena.

Now we just have to keep them warm and cozy at night for the next couple of very cold nights and then temperatures should moderate and they will be well on their way.

Lucy just loves the snow. She considers it great fun to come along when we shovel snow away from the greenhouses (of course, she's playing and not shoveling.) She had a new toy, a football, to take along today and she loves chasing it. She's what is termed in the pet world an "aggressive chewer" meaning she'll chew on a toy until she destroys it. So far, the football has survived, but it's not as tough as the Konga toys which hold up very well.

The spring newsletter will be mailed in the next couple weeks and will also be posted here, so keep an eye out. Our spring class schedule - will be included with the newsletter. This year, we'll feature guest presenters, Maryanne and Tina, the soap ladies, for one of our classes. I'm also working on shop orders so the shop will be brimming with herbal goodies come April.

Next time-more on the potting frenzy that occurs this time of year.

Cloverleaf in the Winter - Part 2

2009-01-28T06:15:00.000-08:00

Winter interest in the garden sounds like an impossibility in our area. But the longer I garden the more I find of interest in the winter. There are a few plants which actually bloom in the winter. We have a witch hazel tree in the medicinal garden and it blooms with small yellow flowers in February.
Aconite and some hellebores also bloom in winter.

It's also a good time to appreciate the form of plants - particularly trees and shrubs. Without leaves, it's easier to notice their shape and even the arrangement of branches. We have a red-twig dogwood growing in our side border. It's actually a multi-stemmed shrub, unlike the common dogwood tree. It has flowers in the spring, but they're not too showy. Now, however, without its leaves you can really appreciate the bright red stems-looks especially pretty with snow cover.

Woody stemmed herbs which do not die back are still attractive in winter. Lavender, thyme, rosemary,(all my second year plants which survived last winter are still going strong) santolina, sage,etc. provide interesting form and foliage. Plantings, like our knot garden and thyme walk, that depend more on their form rather than color or bloom, look just as good as in summer and stand out more against the quiet winter landscape. Echinacea flowerheads, which I let stand to feed the finches are attractive, as are sedum's dried flowers and the bare, bleached stems of russian sage. I let these stand through the winter and just cut them off in the spring as new growth emerges from the base.

Some things stay green or at least produce new growth under a top that has died back. Much of chamomile's foliage remains green, ornamental candytuft has evergreen foliage and there's new foliage underneath on burnet, costmary and St. John's wort. There's winter interest out there. It just doesn't shout at you like it does in spring.

Cloverleaf in the Winter

2009-01-21T06:07:00.000-08:00

Hope you all enjoyed your holiday season and did not overeat or overspend. We had a great holiday. Lucy enjoyed herself-she got a new toy. She acts likes a kid does when obsessed with a new toy. She chewed on it for about six hours the first day - I actually think her mouth got tired. She ignored all her other toys and is just finally beginning to play with them again. But when John gets home, and she runs for a toy, it's always the new one. She is still on her hunt for field mice in the "wilderness area" at the back of our property. She dives on a spot with both front paws and buries her nose in the high grass, sniffing away. I'm sure any mouse in the area is long gone when it hears her bounding through the grass. Her tail wags like mad, so I guess she's enjoying herself.

The ice storms have been pretty and not too severe, so I guess we've been lucky. The last one encased each individual branch in ice and the red hawthorn berries and rose hips were each surrounded by its own icicle - very pretty. Late in the day it was kind of foggy-hazy. It looked like a painting with muted monochromatic colors. I do like the change in seasons. Winter has a scaled back, simplistic kind of beauty.

But, since I have started seeds and they have germinated into tiny little plants, it means spring is just around the corner! It's much easier to contend with winter when I can check the progress of the tiny herbs and flowers each day. I've started lavender "Lady" seedlings and the little plants smell just as fragrant as a full grown example. That's some good aromatherapy.

The shop is open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9-5 through March.

Last Minute Gifts & Winter Hours

2008-12-16T13:49:00.000-08:00

The greenhouse and herb shop are open Tuesday-Saturday from 9 to 5 through December,23. if you're looking for last-minute gift ideas, we still have any unique choices in the shop. If you're interested in some potted herbs for in the kitchen over the winter, we have those available in the greenhouse through the 23rd. After that, we will not have plants until next spring..

The farm will be closed for 2 weeks over the holidays. The shop reopens Thursday, January 8 and will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday 9-5 from January 8 through March. The greenhouse reopens in April. Look for the spring newsletter in March with lots of spring info.

Thanks to all who came out for our holiday open house. We had a good two days, even though the weather was cold. Of course, that meant the mulled cider tasted even better.

Lucy celebrated her one year anniversary with us recently. I don't think she knew it was a special day, but she was happy just as she usually is. She can get through the high grass area at'the back of our property. She loves it because it has lots of animal smells. Occasionally, she sees or smells a mouse in the grass and thinks she can burrow in and find them. So far, the mice are winning.

Wishing you all a happy holiday season. Think spring!

Holiday Open House

2008-11-24T11:46:00.000-08:00

Our holiday open house is coming up on Dec. 5&6 from 9 to 5. We'll serve herbal refreshments, have door prize drawing and run some specials only during open house. Packages of herbal teas, in a variety of flavors, will be buy 3, get 1 free. Packaged herb blends are buy 1, get second half off. Handmade soaps are priced at 3 for $8.75 and 6 for $17.45. Buying 3 soaps will save you -'f off one bar, and buying 6 equals a free bar!

With all the economic uncertainties, everyone will be cautious with their holiday spending. We're offering organically plants and natural herbal products. Almost, everything in our shop is handmade and about 90% is from local susuppliers, including our farm. People in this area really support small local businesses. It helps boost our local economy and provides customers with personal service and careful control of products.

We have a selection of basic culinary herbs and herbal topiaries in the greenhouse. We have a tree with natural and folksy ornaments in the shop and loads of fragrant body products, essential oils, organic candles, potpourri, books, notecards and gift items in the shop. Lots to see and enjoy!

We're coming up on the anniversary of adopting our dog, Lucy. If you're considering a pet for Christmas, or anytime, please consider adopting a pet from the Humane League or a rescue group. They have wonderful dogs (and cats) that desperately need a home. We've always had a dog, and Lucy is right at the top of the list. She has a sweet disposition and was house broken when we got her. She's a mutt, which is a perfect breed to me, but purebred dogs are available, too. I don't know if animals can be grateful, but she is a happy dog and her behavior reflects that.

A Great Fall Soup

2008-11-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

I come from a family of soup lovers. This one is delicious and fairly inexpensive. Oven roasting gives the vegetables great flavor. If you're using dried thyme, cut the amount in half. Thyme is a good herb in many soups.

1 medium butternut squash
2 sweet potatoes
1 T. olive oil
2 carrots, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 T. butter
5 C. chicken stock
1 T. fresh thyme
1/8 t. fresh nutmeg
1/2 C. light cream
salt & pepper

Cut squash in half, remove seeds, then cut into wedges. Scrub potatoes. Brush squash and potatoes with olive oil; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast in preheated 350 oven till very soft, about 1 hour & 15 minutes. Cool until vegetables can be handled. Scoop flesh into bowl and mash slightly. Saute carrots and onion in butter about 5 minutes. Add stock, thyme,nutmeg and simmer 10 minutes until carrots are soft. Add squash mash and simmer 10 minutes. Cool. Puree soup in batches in blender. Return soup to medium heat, stir in cream. Add salt and pepper to taste. Garnish with chopped chives.

Lucy loves to dawdle on her walks. Actually, she likes to smell every square inch that she covers, especially in the morning when she enjoys all the leftover smells from the animal excursions of the night before. She watched squirrels running in the trees for about 5 minutes one day. She smelled the neighbor's alpacas (Cloverleaf Alpacas) and thought they were interesting. She always looks up when geese fly over.

You're always working ahead in the greenhouse biz. I've already ordered little starter plants for next spring. Next up are seed orders. In just a couple months, I'll start seeds for the spring season.

Fall at Cloverleaf

2008-11-12T11:10:00.000-08:00

It's been a pretty fall season - some crisp, sunny days and finally some rain. We only have trees in the back corner of our yard and along the fenceline. The maples have turned red and orangey-yellow and the witch hazel is a pretty clear yellow. Viburnum was crimson red although it's dropping leaves now. I thought the snapdragons were finally done with a heavy frost, but they thawed out and look as good as ever. the rosemarys, which over-wintered last year, are full of blue flowers. There are a couple late roses hanging on and plants in protected spots still blooming jupiter's beard, catmint, lavender, calendula and hyssop. That's a lot of enjoyment for November.

Look for your fall newsletter soon. Info on our holiday open house on Dec. 5&6, plus details on what's in the shop and green-house for the holidays, a recipe and a peek ahead to spring.

Lucy is doing great. She's a sweet, happy dog. Not the bravest dog ever. On windy days, when bags or paper blow through the yard, she runs away. So we were surprised one windy day when she picked up a plastic milk jug that had blown into the yard and ran around with it for 20 minutes. She ran from the gardens to the fence line at full speed over and over: It was a great game because we didn't have to do anything but stand there and watch her. I think she has some kind of running dog in her, because she loves to run and she is fast.

Fall garden clean-up- remove annuals when the frost gets them. Cut back herbaceous perennials after a hard freeze, although I leave seedheads, like coneflower, that the birds will enjoy. Dig out non-hardy, summer blooming bulbs. Leave woody-stemmed herbs: rosemary, thyme, lavender, santolina, sage-alone. The foliage helps protect the crown of the plant over the winter. Wait till spring to trim these back.For mulching woody-stemmed plants, use pine branches or burlap, which allow air to circulate. Don't use leaves which will mat down when wet, preventing air circulation.

Gardening into Fall

2008-10-14T14:33:00.000-07:00

It certainly feels like fall, although we haven't had frost yet. Looking around the garden, I can see the growing season is coming to a close. But looking at specific plants, I'm amazed at how many things still look attractive.
The hyacinth bean vine, pineapple and Mexican bush sages are at their peaks. Pineapple sage is edible - both leaves and flowers. Mexican bush sage is not, but it produces beautiful, fuzzy purple flowers which dry well. Also still blooming - zinnias, gomphrena, Jupiter's beard, marigolds, love-lies-bleeding, nasturtium, lavender, sedum, anemones and an occasional rose.

In one bed, viburnum has turned dark red, but also blooming in that bed are bog sage, verbena, nicotiana, pincushion flower and four o'clocks. Next door, in the brick wall garden, bright blue hummingbird sage and dark blue hyssop flower. White cone-flower are done, but the seedheads look pretty alongside the blooms.

Although customers have told me the hummingbird sage does attract them, this summer we saw it firsthand. We rarely see humming-birds here, But we saw them a couple times, including once at the sage. The other places we saw them - pineapple sage and hyacinth bean vine. That one surprised me - not a tubular flower, they stayed there awhile.

Herbs are looking good, too. Since the rosemary survived last winter, it's blooming nicely now. Purple basil is gorgeous - dark and shiny. Basil will be the first thing to go, so if you want to dry or freeze it, cut it now. Parsley and cutting celery look so nice in the fall. If you've never tried cutting celery, you should. It grows and looks similar to parsley, but tastes like.celery and doesn't produce a stalk. I use it in place of celery in soup, stew, chicken and tuna salad (along with some lime basil) and anything else you use celery for. Dill has reseeded from the mid-summer crop and produced more pungent blue-green foliage.

August into September

2008-09-05T13:58:00.000-07:00

It's hard to remember a nicer August. Mornings were cool, days were warm, but it didn't rain enough. We did get an inch of rain recently and everything perked up nicely. Lavender is beginning to rebloom-not as much as June, but still enjoyable and another chance to harvest. Pink roses in the garden are reblooming, too. What a pretty combo. Catmint is also reblooming. Its spiky, lavender flowers resemble lavender so it's also good with roses.

I really appreciate plants that look good late in the season.

Some things to enjoy now:
Annual vines-Mina or firecracker vine (shown to the right) is full and blooming with sprays of red, orange and yellow flowers.

Hyacinth bean are huge. Seem to be blooming a little late, but are loaded with flowers now and should be loaded with beans in a couple weeks.

Pineapple sage-Pretty, tasty red tubular flowers.

Mexican bush sage-Mine hasn't bloomed yet, but the flowers are fuzzy, purple and plentiful.

Winter savory is covered in white blossoms now, and the trailing variety will follow soon.

Snaps-Maroon and pink are both nice, along with some odd colored sports.
Along with marigolds, I think snaps, parsley and nasturtiums look better the later they go in the season.
If you have garlic chives (picture to the left), which are tasty and pretty now, with plentiful, white blooms, cut off the flower stalks before the seed ripens or they will reseed everywhere.

I use Labor Day as the time for last BIG harvests from woody-stemmed herbs like sage, thyme and santolina. This allows them time to develop new foliage before cold weather sets in. I usually include rosemary in the category. Mine is so big, since it survived the winter outdoors that I'll continue to harvest it till we get a freeze.

Plant Sale!

2008-06-30T11:00:00.000-07:00

Our plant sale is going on now until we are sold out.
Great prices on everything,
but when they're gone - they're gone.

A Wet Spring

2008-06-05T17:04:00.000-07:00

The wet weather has produced lush growth on established perennials in the garden. I have already harvested oregano, lemon balm, tarragon and catnip. Mints are next. Most of these vigorous perennials can be harvested at least three times during the season. My Italian parsley never died off this winter. It was beautiful throughout April. Now, it has sent up thick stalks which are developing flowers. Seed heads follow and the plant declines. So it's time to yank out the parsley shrubs and replace them with new plants.

It should be a wonderful year for lavender. The winter was not severe, so I had very little dieback on my plants. They are budded up, waiting for some warm, sunny days. Don't forget to harvest lavender flowers when they are in bud.

Right now, early perennials like catnip, dianthus and Jupiter's beard are either blooming or will be soon. Snow white candytuft is finishing its bloom. Most perennials benefit from being cut back after they bloom. It encourages the plant to push new foliage. And many times, the plants will rebloom later in the season. If you want to gather seed or have your plant reseed, you must allow flowers to die on the stalk. The flowers will be followed by seedheads, with green seeds ripening to a darker color. Flowers on vigorous plants like lemon balm and garlic chives should be removed so they won't reseed everywhere.

Landis Valley & Under the Sun

2008-05-21T11:58:00.000-07:00

We returned from Landis Valley Herb Faire slightly soggy but very satisfied. I was impressed by the number of intrepid gardeners who braved the rain and cold to come out and buy plants. Friday was the worst weather we experienced since we've been going. I even saw people wearing gloves , in mid-May!

I stayed warm in multiple layers. Big thanks to my friend, Candy, who helped me on Friday. Saturday there was no rain, just a lot of mud to navigate around. Our two day sales were good. Just goes to show that gardeners are a tough lot.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by and helped make our weekend a success. Because of the rain, we didn't have our mailing list update out. To any LV friends who wish to remain on our mailing list, please call or email (chfmailing@aol.com) with your info.

I've been enjoying my copy of Under the Sun, a new herb book edited by Tina Sams of The Essential Herbal. The book compiles highlights from the first five years of the magazine. The articles are arranged in chapters like Gardening, In the Kitchen, Herbal First Aid, etc. There are quick tips and hints sprinkled throughout, and loads of recipes. I'm always looking for great new herbal recipes, so next I'll read through the recipes and decide which ones to try first.

The wet spring is producing lush results in the garden. Next week, I'll tackle garden chores - what we can accomplish and look forward to in the next couple of weeks.

Thank you!

2008-04-29T13:33:00.000-07:00

I wanted to take some time to again thank everyone for your support during our 10th anniversary sale and celebration. The response was phenomenal!

Throughout our ten years, I have noticed that our customers seem very invested in our success and you certainly showed that during the past week. The turnout and sales exceeded our expectations. We also felt good offering a savings to our loyal customers since we know how carefully everyone is watching their budget now. Thanks for all your positive comments on our plants, the blog and our anniversary.

Don't forget that if you bought plants from in the greenhouse that they should not be planted int he ground until about Mothers' Day, unless you are willing to cover them if necessary.

It's also a good idea to harden them off before planting. Put them outside on nice days, starting in a protected spot. Bring them in at night if temperatures dip. Gradually expose them to more sun over a 7-10 day period. This will toughen them up and acclimate them to outside conditions before planting. It makes planting much less stressful for the plants. After 7-10 days. you'll know if the temperature is safe for planting.

Special anniversary thanks to Maryanne & Tina for the soap samples, to Ramona for all her help, to Sandy for her office and newsletter expertise, to Zach for helping to amuse Lucy and mostly to John for all his help and support.

Our Spring Celebration!

2008-04-16T16:53:00.000-07:00

This Spring, we're celebrating the 10th anniversary of the opening of Cloverleaf Herb Farm.
To show our appreciation, we're holding a Flashback Sale during our anniversary celebration. From April 22 to 26, our plant prices will roll back to 1998 levels. You'll save 50 cents each on small plants (excluding bay laurel) and $1.00 each on large perennials.

During our Anniversary Open House, April 25 & 26, we'll feature sale items in the shop, along with refreshments and prize drawings. Please stop by and join in our celebration.

Wow - ten years! We've learned a lot, met so many nice people and planted loads of plants. Please visit and help us celebrate this spring.

Almost April!

2008-03-31T06:39:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed all the signs of life in your garden?

I'm surprised as I walk around the yard at how much is showing already. Although we had lots of ice, overall, temperatures this winter were not too bad. "We didn't have extended periods of cold weather. I guess that's the reason all my rosemary plants survived. Most have die-back at the tips, but the plants survived.

I had fresh parsley and cutting celery throughout the winter. There was always fresh, green foliage underneath the old. I see tiny, curled leaves of sorrel waiting to unfurl. I've had fresh, young chives for several weeks.

I've spotted tiny tips of tarragon poking through the soil. Burnet and Clary sage are fresh and green, and the chamomile foliage never died off this winter. Stepping on it releases that delicious apple fragrance.

The knot garden looks good already. The plants in it - germander, lavender and santolina do not die back in fall, but often suffer die-back or freeze-out in very bad winters. Even the thyme walk is perking up early, although a lot of the green is weeds which never died out.

If you didn't clean up dead foliage last fall, there's a good job to start on some of these nice days. I know there's new foliage underneath the old on my catmint. Even cutting back the old is a fragrant job. Also, cut back butterfly bushes hard between mid-March and mid-April. They will push out new foliage which is sturdy, avoiding the top-heavy, lanky branches which are found on untrimmed bushes.

Early March...

2008-03-31T06:35:00.000-07:00

Early March (Sorry we're late in getting this posted!)

The march toward spring continues. The basement has been filled with an assortment of seedlings, and small, starter plants have arrived, so in early March, we reopened the greenhouse. It's great to see it fill up with plants and to enjoy all the familiar herbal smells. There are other chores, but most of my time in is spent potting plants. It's hard to believe, but the greenhouse reopens April 1! That keeps me on track.

John and I pulled all our stock plants which are buried in the garden for the winter, and put them in the greenhouse. In a short time, they'll be ready to divide into new plants.

Lucy was a great help with this project. We had rows of holes where we pulled out plants, so she had a great time digging in the dirt. Mostly, she liked running back and forth between the garden and greenhouse over and over. She was good and tired the next day.

Many of you know we've had a toad living in the greenhouse since we opened. He (or she, I don't know) digs into the dirt and hibernates for the winter. Once we turn the heat on, he digs out during the day and reburies at night. Right on schedule, he appeared last week. Luckily, Lucy hasn't seen him yet. I've blocked access to him for now. He never moves too fast, but I'm sure he's really lethargic till things heat up. Figure I better keep dog and toad separated for now.

Spring 2008 Class Schedule

2008-03-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

DRIED FLOWER WREATH: Thursday, April 17, 7 p.m. $20.00
Design and craft your own dried flower wreath. Starting with a 10" grapevine base, participants will create a wreath, using a wide variety of dried herbs and flowers, including many grown on our farm. Bring a glue gun and plant scissors / shears.

EDIBLE FLOWERS: Thursday, May 15, 7 p.m. $15.00
Bring the beauty of flowers into the kitchen. Learn what flowers to use and ideas for adding them to various dishes. We'll learn to candy flowers and participants will take home several examples.

MAINTAINING YOUR GARDEN: Thursday, June 5, 7 p.m. $15.00
This class will give you step-by-step instructions for maintenance tasks throughout your garden. When to harvest herbs, deadheading flowers and cutting back perennials will be covered. Specific instructions and a timetable for accomplishing your tasks. Free plant to add to your garden.

SWEET ENDINGS — DESSERT HERBS: Thursday, June 19, 7 p.m. $15.00
Many people say they don't know how to use herbs in the kitchen. This class will give you lots of ideas. In addition to main dishes, herbs can enhance many desserts. Learn which herbs to use, culinary tips and lots of recipes.

Classes are limited in size, so please register early. Your payment is your reservation and is due in full when registering. If you're unable to attend, you may send a substitute in your place. Complete the attached registration form. Make checks payable and mail to:

CLOVERLEAF HERB FARM
1532 Cloverleaf Road, Mount Joy, PA 17552

Spring is on the way

2008-03-13T06:01:00.000-07:00

Spring is on the way.

Our Greenhouse opens April 1.
See our Classes above and
Download our Plant List for 2008

It stays light later, there's an occasional spring-like day and there are bits of green in the garden.

To me, spring arriving means a shipment of soil and pots. So, Lucy is learning to amuse herself in the greenhouse while I fill pots. On a sunny day, it's deliciously warm in the greenhouse. And there's the damp, earthy smell of warm soil.

Lots of seedlings growing under lights. They go from tiny little stalks to filled-out, recognizable little plants in a couple of weeks.

I like plants like swamp milkweed with big seeds. After germinating, the seed sits on top of the little stalk for awhile before dropping off. So you can see the seed and plant stage together. Swamp milkweed is a host plant for monarch butterfly caterpillars (and a moth too) so it's worth growing. We've had monarchs every year since we planted it in the garden.

Easter's early this year, daylight savings time is already here - spring will be here soon.

GARDEN DESIGN TIPS

2008-02-10T09:48:00.000-08:00

Many people shy away from 'designing' their gardens because they believe things must be drawn precisely to scale and in great detail. Actually, a fairly simple sketch can be quite helpful in planning a bed, border or an entire garden. Your design must take into account your individual site and conditions and of course, preferences for specific plants. Keep in mind the following design principles and apply them to your plan.

1. Unity – The various parts or rooms in your garden should be tied together as a cohesive whole. Repeating color themes or plant combinations helps to achieve this goal.
2. Proportion and scale – Very small plants in a large bed or large trees in a tiny yard won't be in proportion. Keep things in scale within beds and overall in your garden.
3. Texture and form – Contrast pays off here. Broad leaves next to finely cut foliage provide an attractive contrast. Different forms - vertical, rounded and trailing, should be combined within a planting.
4. Color – Use your favorite colors as a guide. Or provide contrast by using colors that are opposite on the color wheel - like purple and yellow. Green as a garden neutral fits in with any color scheme.
5. Focal points – Your eye will instinctively search for a focus. Use an impressive specimen plant, a vine trained on a trellis or an architectural element - a bench, fountain or bird bath.
6. Flow – This is a tough one for many people because it asks you to limit the number of varieties you plant. Choose a few varieties and plant in multiples (odd numbers are best). This will create a flowing design that is pleasing to the eye.
7. Style – Formal designs are symmetrical and use straight lines and geometric shapes. Informal designs are less symmetrical, use curved lines and a mixed color palette.

Our favorite Christmas present - and signs of Spring!

2008-01-25T06:52:00.000-08:00

Hope you enjoyed your holidays as much as we did. Our best gift was our new dog, Lucy. we lost our older dog last summer and decided it was time for a new addition. She looks like a black lab, but smaller, so she's mixed with something.

She's a year old, so she was housebroken. She's over the initial puppyness, although she still has her moments. She has a sweet disposition and likes everyone. This leads to her biggest problem - her greetings. They're very enthusiastic, to put it mildly. So that's what we're working on. She's improved since we got her - at least the wildness doesn't last as long!

We got Lucy at the Humane Society. Her previous owner died and no one in the family could take her. There are a lot of nice dogs looking for homes. If you're considering adding a pet, think about adopting one. The procedure was easy and the staff was very helpful. The Humane Society even paid for her first vet exam.

Spring is on the way. John was so happy when we passed the shortest day of the year. Now, at 5 o'clock, he says, "Look, it's still light."

The other sure sign of spring is seed starting. I started my first batch of pansies after Christmas. This week, it was more pansies and some early perennials - coneflower, blue flax and lavender "Lady". This is a fragrant, compact variety grown from seed rather than from cuttings.

Now there will be a short break. Soon, I'll start seeds every week. It won't be long before the greenhouses begin to fill up.

Stay tuned, and think spring!

Looking Ahead

2008-01-05T04:45:00.000-08:00

"With Years a richer life begins, the spirit mellows."
John T. Trowbridge.

Looking Ahead to Spring

We'll be celebrating next spring! April 2008 will mark the tenth anniversary of the opening of Cloverleaf Herb Farm. We'll feature a special sale during our spring open house to show our appreciation for your continued support. More details to follow in our spring newsletter and on our blog as it comes closer!

We'll expand our plant inventory with some new selections for spring. They will include an ornamental perennial, an herbal ground cover and a complementary color selection of a cool weather favorite.

Many of you know of my fondness for calendula or pot marigold. Its yellow or orange daisy-like flowers are ornamental and its healing resins are used in products to relieve skin irritations. Calendula will be celebrated as herb of the year for 2008.

The one pictured managed to live well into our mild November this past year.

Last Minute Herbal Gifts

2007-12-19T05:55:00.000-08:00

We'll be open through Saturday, December 22, so here are a few ideas for some relaxed last minute shopping!

SOAPS - Many of you are familiar with the wonderful handmade soaps we carry. They're fragrant, moisturizing and long-lasting. Once you try them, it's hard to go back to commercial soaps. They make great gifts and stocking stuffers. We've added some new varieties:

Blackberry-sage - Fragrant, fruity-herbal scent.
Apple snap - Perfect for fall and winter, with a warm, spicy fragrance.
Goat's milk - a very moisturizing, unscented soap.
Sun blossom - Fresh, mild fragrance.
Grapefruit-lily - Sharp grapefruit combined with sweet, floral scent.

TREE ORNAMENTS - We have unique items for your tree. Many are handcrafted using dried material grown on the farm. Others are crafted from metal, wood and other natural materials. Great additions for your natural or country decor.

HERBAL SNIFFING JAR - Just open and sniff. A combination of herbs and oils to help relieve congestion. I use mine often in the winter for sinus congestion and find it very helpful.

HEALING WAND – Healing essential oils in a simple to use form. The solid salve is easy to apply from the roll-on tube. Portable too - great to keep in the kitchen, desk, car or garage.

HERBAL FACIALS – Skin deserves some pampering during the winter. All natural ingredients in two sizes. Very popular for gifts and stocking stuffers.

WHIPPED SHEA BUTTERS - This is a luxurious treatment for your skin. Shea butter moisturizes, improves your skin's elasticity and helps neutralize the sun's effects on your skin. In citrus and wise woman scents.

Almost 10 years and growing

2007-11-08T06:44:00.000-08:00

My 20+ year interest in growing, using and learning about herbs led us to open Cloverleaf Herb Farm in 1998.

Our goal has always been to offer a wide variety of high quality plants and herbal products at a reasonable price. We specialize not only in herbs, but also old-fashioned plants. In our greenhouses, you'll find common and unusual varieties of culinary, medicinal and fragrance herbs. We offer 17 varieties of basil, 11 mints, 10 lavenders and 17 thymes. We carry unique varieties like costmary, lemon grass, vietnamese coriander, patchouli and valerian. We offer an extensive selection of tried and true old-fashioned plants. These are plants like hollyhock, larkspur, clove pinks, four o'clocks, Jupiter's beard, lithodora and bells of Ireland that were found in grandma's garden.

Many varieties of both herbs and ornamental plants are found in extensive themed gardens on our three acre property.

With the opening of our herb shop, our inventory expanded to include herb related products. Many are grown and harvested here at the farm. We offer bulk herbs and spices, dried flowers, decorative wreaths and arrangements, dried topiaries, potpourri and sleep pillows. In addition, we stock cosmetic and gift items like handmade soaps, body and linen sprays, organic candles, beaded jewelry and pet products. We carry herbal and gardening books, soapmaking supplies, containers and essential oils in the shop.

Gift certificates are available and we accept VISA, Mastercard and Discover for greenhouse and shop purchases. Our informative newsletters, sent in the spring and fall, cover a variety of herbal topics, plant profiles and recipes, etc. We offer a series of classes on herbal and gardening topics each spring.

April - Christmas, the greenhouse and herb shop are open Tuesday - Saturday, 9 AM to 5 PM, with additional hours in spring.

January through March, the shop is open Thursday - Saturday, 9 AM to 5 PM.

Come visit!

Welcome and what's new

2007-10-31T11:27:00.000-07:00

Welcome to our new Cloverleaf Herb Farm blog!

From time to time, we will post here to let you know what is going on at Cloverleaf.

We still have some perennials available and closer to the holidays, we will have smaller potted culinary herbs and also live topiaries for your own use or for gift giving.

Coming up is our Holiday Open House. This year, it will be held November 30th and December 1st, 9-5 and will feature lots of herbal goodies, some open house specials, door prizes and herbal refreshments.

We'll be posting again soon with some pictures of Cloverleaf in the fall.