August into September

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!

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

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

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!

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!

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!

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.