Late Spring

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!

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

Lavenders

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