The Garden in Bloom

A few weeks ago I went with my girlfriend to the Pennsylvania Lavender Festival in Fairfield, PA. I came back with some new ideas for using the lavender and other herbs that we grow here in the Pry House Garden. We already use our lavender in making fragrant wands and sachets for sale in our bookshop. Perhaps these crafts can be the subject of another future blog post.

The lavender is in full bloom and buzzing with bees. It isn't the only thing flowering in the garden right now, so I thought I would share a few of my amateurish pictures to share some of the blooms from lately in the garden.

Blue-podded Blauwschokker Pea Blossoms

Red Admiral butterfly in the Lavender

yellow Calendula or Pot Marigold

Purple Coneflower or Echinacea

Thyme

Feverfew

Borage, sometimes called Starflower

A bumblebee in the lavender

St. John's Wort

Hyssop

Strawberry

Lambs Ear

Germander

Spearmint

A White Cabbage butterfly in the lavender

Limited Prosperity

It has been inexcusably long since this blog has been updated, but hopefully I can begin to make amends for that. I have been very busy with the garden over the past few weeks, and have had plenty of great help from our two new interns at the Pry House, Mike Wilburn and Caroline Schoonover.

Caroline, our expert weeder, in her anti-gnat hat

A few weeks ago I went to the Landis Valley Herb and Garden Faire in Lancaster, Pa, where I picked up numerous plants to add to the garden, including some that are fairly hard to find. It is quite an experience to see so many vendors selling such a colorful variety of plants, some common and familiar, some bizarre and exotic. I was able to procure numerous native medicinal plants and very happy with my haul. I was only constrained by my finances.

I returned from Lancaster with two dozen unique plants to add to the garden. I have also been finding some great additions locally, from the Washington County Master Gardeners plant sale, and the Middletown farmers market. All of these new additions have been planted in the garden and most are flourishing in their new home.

Unloading new plants with my grandmother

We recently cleared out the remaining areas in the rear of the garden. After a great deal of digging, turning, and transplanting, we now have two varieties of squash, pumpkins, watermelons, and gourds growing in the garden! They are doing very well and seem to have escaped the carnage of cutworms thus far! I started them from seedlings and am proud to see how well they are doing.

Summer Squash (with pokeweed in the background)

Summer Squash

Watermelon

I have been enjoying harvests of radishes, lettuce, claytonia, and various herbs for weeks now. I am hoping that more vegetables will be available soon, like peas and beans. If the flea beetles can be kept at bay, I should eventually have some tasty cabbages to harvest.

Claytonia, or Miner's Lettuce

Claytonia is an almost succulent leafy green. It is native to the west coast of the United States. It's flavor is very mild and it is well-suited to eating in green salads. It is called Miner's Lettuce because during the California Gold Rush many prospectors were purportedly saved from scurvy by eating the plant, which has a  high Vitamin C content.

Unfortunately not everything in the garden has gone perfectly. My tomatoes have all expired and my cucumbers  are just barely hanging on. I believe that these beds were accidentally exposed to herbicides. I will allow these beds to lay fallow for a time and try again to plant in the fall. Encouraging carrots to germinate has also been a challenge.

Most plants are doing very well though, and I am very pleased with my first efforts at gardening. The garden looks great and is fully under cultivation. Come and see some of our unique plants!

Lavender in bloom!

New plants and giveaways

I have been very busy in the garden lately. I have added a number of new plants to the garden, and most things are coming along very nicely. I have also been waging a losing battle with the weeds, digging them out with a full shovel.

One of my new additions is pole beans. I have made another trellis for them out of sticks from the woods. The bluebirds love to perch on it, but I haven't gotten a picture of it yet. The beans are sprouted and looking very healthy. Hopefully I can keep the critters off of them.

notice the bloodmeal sprinkled about to discourage critters

I have sown some new root vegetables too. I am trying two varieties of carrots, both heirlooms, of course, one white and one orange. They have not germinated yet, but I hope they will soon. I planted beets as well, and they are doing very well so far.

I also received some generous gifts for the garden over the weekend. Ike Mumma of the NPS at Antietam National Battlefield brought over an Alaskan cabbage plant. After seeing the garden on a visit to the house, a couple from Hagerstown brought an heirloom yellow tomato plant to add to the garden. Both are now in the garden and doing well so far.

Mr. Mumma's cabbage - flanked by mint springs to deter the critters

The new tomato

Other plants in the garden are doing very well, and already I am harvesting tasty things! My first plantings of red radishes are ready, so I have been pulling those. Some are sweet and others hot. Strawberries are also coming in and they sure are sweet and tasty!

Other plants out here in the garden are doing a little bit too well. I have a number of herbs that are spreading too much and need to be cut back. I hate to just throw them away though, so I am looking for people who are interested in taking some plants for themselves. Here is the list of plants that are available for the taking:

Peppermint

St. John's Wort

Lemon Balm

Oregano

Marjoram

Sage

Lamb's Ear

Rue

Let me know if you are interested. I would rather they go to good homes than the compost pile.

mint, St. John's wort, lemon balm

Enemies in the Garden

It has been a while since my last post, but the garden is progressing. As it gets warmer outside, more beds in the garden are being filled, some with pretty plants, others with weeds. Unfortunately all of this warm weather has also brought out some of my sworn enemies.

Public Enemy No. 1: The Groundhog

I planted my cabbages in the garden recently, much to the delight of the groundhog, who quickly nibbled most of them to nubs before I got any deterrents into place. Thankfully that is all she has seen fit to devour thus far, but it is very frustrating.

The National Park Service is attempting to trap the groundhog, but after a week the miserable little rodent is proving too smart to take the bait.

For now my best line of defense is sprinkling bloodmeal on the ground in each of the vulnerable beds. It seems to be working for now, though perhaps she has simply already eaten the choicest greens and will wait to return for more.

I intend several other tactics to repel furry pests of all stripes. This will include spraying vulnerable greens with cayenne pepper water, planting mints, calendula (pot marigolds), borage, or other plants which may discourage pests, and placing cotton bags of pet hair near the vegetables. If you have any other methods of passive resistance to recommend, please share them!

Public Enemy No. 2: Field Bindweed

Field Bindweed is a non-native, very invasive perennial plant. It is a relative of the Morning Glory and also has a rather attractive flower when in bloom. Unfortunately is also grows incredibly fast and out of control, strangling other plants and climbing on just about every surface imaginable. It spreads both by seed and by an unbelievably impressive root system which can grow many feet deep. It is also resistant to chemical herbicides of various stripes.

Bindweed has taken up residence in the Pry Garden and there seems to be very little I can do about it, short of constantly pulling it's surface shoots as quickly as I find them. The speed of the plant's growth is genuinely amazing. It threatens to strangle just about everything in the garden if left unchecked.

Enemies of the small and multi-legged persuasion are not yet a real problem, but that is merely a matter of time. My first current line of defense is planting some sacrificial crops near my vulnerable plants. I have planted radishes among my cabbages and peas, which will hopefully be more attractive to pests like flea beetles. When the time comes for worrying about cutworms, I will be employing protective rings to deter those nasty critters. Slugs are already an observable presence in the garden; my tactic with these slimy pests will be beer traps, something that has worked very well for me in the past. Slugs are attracted by containers of beer, in which they promptly drown. The possible pests are quite diverse, and I will likely wait and see what will be a problem before I go too crazy with my preemptive tactics.

Echinacea

 I have to thank Kevin Walker, historian in the cultural resources division at Antietam National Battlefield, for the contribution of some purple coneflowers, or echinacea purpurea, to the Pry Garden.

Echinacea was used during the 1800s similarly to today, as a treatment for colds, flu, and other common communicable diseases. For reasons that are not entirely known, it boosts the body's natural immune system. Echinacea is a common ingredient in over-the-counter remedies for shortening cold and flu.

Purple Coneflower in bloom

Spring Freeze

Spring may be here, but the cold is not quite ready to leave us. Our summery temperatures a couple weeks ago spoiled us, but we are back to more seasonable weather. For the second time since the official start of spring almost two weeks ago, we are expecting freezing temperatures overnight. As with our last freeze warning, I took some time this afternoon to cover the vulnerable plants and seedlings in the garden to protect them from the frost and cold.

I used old sheets, large burlap cocoa bean sacks, and straw to cover up the tender seedlings as well as some of the perennial herbs with vulnerable new growth. Hopefully it will keep the frost off the leaves and insulate the plants for in the wee hours of the morning.

Strawberries under a sheet

During the first frost I neglected to cover most of the hardier perennial plants, but a few of them were nipped by the frost. They will recover just fine, but I have taken care to cover those plants this time.

Marjoram with frost damage

Sage with frost damage

Lemon Balm with frost damage

Despite some cold nights, seedlings both indoors and outside are doing well. For the seedlings outside, it's just a matter of keeping some very invasive vines at bay, keeping the beds moist, and letting the plants do their work. Indoor seedlings should be ready for potting up soon and the cabbage plants can be moved outside. The next batch of seedlings should be along very shortly.

Radishes

Leaf Lettuce

Peas

Peas

Tomatoes