Weekly News, 8.26.20

Happy Thursday!

As I walk around my landscape to admire my flower beds, or around the farm to check on the vegetable fields, the term pièce de résistance keeps coming to my mind. In the garden life, this time of year is very much that, like a grand finale of the growing season. Dictionary.com defines this noun as “the principal or most outstanding item in a series or creative artist’s work”. Whether things grew the way I had planned or not, this is the final result of our work planting and caring for the garden. I’m taking it all in, savoring the bounty of blooms, foliage, and fruit. 

Then my mind turns to a sudden urgency of making sure to make the most of these moment of late August. I start a list in my head… cut and dry parsley, freeze corn, can tomatoes, take photos of my flowers and make notes for next year, cut some of the flowers and grasses to make bouquets to bring inside. It won’t be long before the tomato plants stop producing and the flowers stop blooming. I don’t want to waste this moment in time and know I will soon miss it.



Here’s what’s new and interesting to know this week:

• bushels of tomatoes are on sale! We have a great harvest of them right now, and want to see them in canning jars or your freezer, rather than rotting in our fields. Call us at 724-926-2541 to order– please give at least 24 hours notice as we pick them fresh for you.
• we are transitioning the store to fall this week. I know many stores start this in July, but we don’t like to rush the seasons 🙂 Some brand new fall decor will be unpacked and displayed by next week. 
• mums are taking their time to open with color, due to the hot weather. We’ve started to bring some down to the store, and there will be many, many more over the next month.
• our staff is busy restocking the perennial benches today with fresh plants, including agastache, allium, amsonia hubrichtii, anemone, chelone (turtlehead), coreopsis, dianthus, 3 varieties of coneflower, eupatorium (joe pye weed), 5 types of perennial ferns, gaillardia (blanket flower), geranium, helenium, hibiscus, bee balm, 3 types of sedum, catmint, and more!
• our Management Team has been working hard to plan for staying open in November and December. We will be open for Christmas trees, wreaths, greens, and poinsettias. We are also super excited to offer wreath, centerpiece, and winter porch pot workshops! The class list and registration will be up by mid-September.

However you are creating beauty in your space at home, we are here for you! In the meantime, ENJOY the gardening season pièce de résistance.

Take care,

Melanie

It’s that time of year to rejuvenate your patio with some fall color! Join us to make a personal fall combo pot! Mums, kale, pansies, grasses and more will be available as well as the container and soil. $35 per person. Click a date below to register. Thursday, August 27 @ 6pm Thursday, September 3 @ 6pm Saturday, September 5 @ 2pm Saturday, September 12 @ 2pm Plant Spotlight – Climbing Hydrangea Vine Height:  35 feet Spread:  4 feet Sunlight:        Hardiness Zone:  5b Other Names:  Climbing Hydrangea Vine Description: One of the most sought-after climbers, this vine makes an excellent flowering cover for vertical structures and trees; attractive white lacecap-like flowers ringed with larger white blooms in mid summer; deep green glossy foliage; a self-clinging vine Ornamental Features Japanese Hydrangea Vine is smothered in stunning, fragrant white flowers along the branches from early to mid summer. It has forest green foliage throughout the season. The glossy heart-shaped leaves turn yellow in fall. The peeling brown bark adds an interesting dimension to the landscape. Landscape Attributes Japanese Hydrangea Vine is a multi-stemmed deciduous woody vine with a twining and trailing habit of growth. Its relatively coarse texture can be used to stand it apart from other landscape plants with finer foliage. This woody vine will require occasional maintenance and upkeep, and is best pruned in late winter once the threat of extreme cold has passed.  Japanese Hydrangea Vine is recommended for the following landscape applications; Hedges/Screening General Garden Use Planting & Growing Japanese Hydrangea Vine will grow to be about 35 feet tall at maturity, with a spread of 4 feet. As a climbing vine, it tends to be leggy near the base and should be underplanted with low-growing facer plants. It should be planted near a fence, trellis or other landscape structure where it can be trained to grow upwards on it, or allowed to trail off a retaining wall or slope. It grows at a slow rate, and under ideal conditions can be expected to live for 70 years or more. Upcoming Events: Thursday, August 27 @ 6pm Potting with a Twist: Fall Containers Saturday, August 29 @ 9:30am Yoga on the Farm Class held rain or shine in the outdoors, (we practice in a covered pavilion if it rains). There is no registration needed. Just show up at the greenhouse entrance by 9:20am. From there we walk together as a group over to our pond side yoga spot. Fee is $10 payable by cash or check to the instructor Kristen the day of. Bring a mat, large towel or blanket for the grass, and water. Join us! Thursday, September 3 @ 6pm Potting with a Twist: Fall Containers Saturday, September 5 @ 10am DIY Fire Pit Demonstration Click Here to Learn More & Register!

Happy PA Produce Month!  This month we celebrate the peak harvest of most PA vegetable crops. To do that, we’re sharing each Friday this month we’re giving away a Ball Preserving Starter Kit and a $25 Bedner’s Gift Card on our facebook page. Congratulations to Cyndy Nickerson, the winner last Friday! For a chance to win, look for and comment on our post this Friday morning. The winner will be randomly chosen and announced by 5pm Friday night. PA Produce Month Recipe