Garden Tours Are Us

Fort Wayne Home & Garden Show - 2009

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 07:42:00 +0000

Let the gardening season begin!

For us - meaning Mom and me - the Ft. Wayne Home & Garden Show is the kick-off for the gardening season. No, we can't go home from it and run right out and start digging in the dirt, but we start really planning for the not-far-away days when we can. Seeds are bought, maybe some bulbs, and we get to see some perennials up close that we might want to get for our gardens.

We arrived at the Memorial Coliseum a few minutes before the doors opened to the general public, but since we were both members of the AHS, we got to enter through the exhibitors' door - early even! The usual hallway of spring blooms greeted us as we made our way into the garden expo hall.

Landscape displays were to the left...

right...

and center...

...but we made a beeline for the rear of the hall, where Dr. Lori was going to be speaking at noon.

Dr. Lori is a certified fine art and antiques appraiser, an award-winning TV personality and TV talk show host, and a nationally syndicated columnist. Today, she was offering one free antique appraisal and I'd brought one of the books in my Winnie-the-Pooh collection - a 1946 French edition.

What makes my French Pooh book unique, besides being a relatively rare item, is that I believed it to be signed by A.A. Milne. The inscription didn't contain "A.A. Milne," rather it was signed, "For Vi, From blue," with the familiar fluorish under the name. But I knew that Milne was known to his friends and family as "Blue."

My turn came and Dr. Lori asked me how I acquired the book (online from a used book store in France) and what I'd paid for it. She explained that it was a relatively rare item, in good condition (though it had some acid burn on the dust jacket), and confirmed that it was indeed signed by Milne. When all was said and done, her appraisal was over 300 times what I'd paid for it. I was a happy girl! No plans to sell it just now, though.

Now that that was out of the way, we proceeded to check out the various gardening displays and exhibits. I always love to visit the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory booth, because they bring so many wonderful plants from their greenhouse, with extremely reasonable prices on them.

This year was no exception, and though my intention upon attending this year's show was to just look and not buy, I was a goner when I saw the variegated Bougainvillea in bloom and the variegated Jade plant. Sold. Both of them!

The next favorite spot for me is the Three Rivers Orchid Society booth.

Ohhhh, such loveliness and fragrance all in one spot! There were several beautiful orchids for sale, but I settled for taking some pictures of some of my favorites.

I spoke with one of the members regarding the lack of rebloom of a couple of my orchids, and she provided some advice (repot and move to a new location).

I don't know if it's because this is my third year in a row attending the show, but I was underwhelmed by the landscaping displays. There wasn't much new in the way of design or hardscape and the lack of actual plantings didn't help. I did like the use of large flat rocks for walkways, in comparison to the use of smaller ones so commonly seen.

In the aisles between displays were several extremely large stone or clay pots heavily planted and situated with park benches. These were quite attractive and lots of positive comments were overheard as we passed by them.

We paid a visit to the booths of local garden centers and nurseries, several of which were familiar to us from previous shows. Lots of wonderful offerings were there for the buying, but I resisted since I'd already purchased two more plants than I'd intended.

Succulents of all kinds seemed to be in abundance and I wondered if it was a reflection of the hot, dry summers we've had in recent years.

There were several booths by businesses that didn't have plants to sell, but plenty of garden decor and whimsy.

Rusty Gate Decor
(Notice the bird feeder stakes.)

One of my favorite displays was by DeWald Gardens, new to the show this year.

DeWald Gardens is the first greenhouse in Indiana and one of only four nationwide to receive the distinction of "Up and Coming Greenhouse Business for 2008" . Steve and Maria DeWald both have had successful careers as plant research scientists and have Ph.Ds in horticulture. Maria, who was born in Italy and lived in Venezuela (her accent is charming!), has had her container designs featured in several gardening magazines.

Their display showed a lot of class and I loved the pottery. There were beautifully planted containers, several healthy coleus cultivars (one of their specialties), and a gorgeous Japanese Maple bonsai for sale. I had a delightful conversation with the owner and plan to visit them in the coming months.

We left the garden expo hall and walked over to the home section of the show. Here was where you could see exhibits for home improvement, lawn equipment, cooking equipment, and various other related businesses. There were plenty of food items for sale and sample as well.

One of the more unusual booths was by River City Links, which is an 18-hole putting course in Ft. Wayne. It is a well-known fact that I am the black sheep of a golfing family, due to my lack of ability to cause a driver to make contact with a teeny tiny white ball, no matter how hard I concentrate on keeping my head down.

Both of our girls played on their college golf teams and went to state with their high school golf team, no thanks to my genes. However, I can putt. Go figure. River City Links gave the opportunity to make a hole-in-one for a free round of golf. Mom and I both managed to do it, so guess what we will be doing this summer?

I'm not sure why home and garden shows feature exotic pets, but it's not the first time we've seen this. At the Indianapolis show Mom and I attended last year, there were sugar gliders. Today's show in Ft. Wayne had snakes. Now I happen to think snakes are cool, but not everyone shares my enthusiasm, so I've kept the photo of the milk and corn snakes to the right at thumbnail size. If you would like to see it in all its glorious, scaly beauty, just click on it.

I still had a few dollars burning a hole in my pocket, so I purchased a couple of packets of seeds from Renee's Garden (sold by the Conservatory): Cerinthe 'Pride of Gibralter' (Cerinthe major atropurpurea) and Butterfly Monarda 'Bergamo Bouquet' (Monarda hybrida). Both are annuals here. The Allen County Public Library was giving away free packets of French Dwarf Marigold seeds at the Master Gardener's booth, so we picked up one of those, too.

Mom and I both purchased new hose nozzles, invented by a fireman, and guaranteed for life and guaranteed not to leak. If they'd been cheaper (we paid $25 each), I would have bought three of them instead of just one, but one of the nice features is the washer is integrated so no worries about losing it when switching it from one hose to another.

One of the fun things about going to a local home and garden show such as this is that you run into people that you haven't seen in awhile. Both of us saw several friends and acquaintances and stopped to chat for a little bit before moving on. We left the show buoyed by the goodness of it all and with a lighter heart, in spite of the cold wind that greeted us as we went out the door.

Spring is on the way!

Witch hazel (Hamamelis x intermedia ‘Pallida’) in full bloom at the show, courtesy of Blue River Nursery.

Thomas Edison and Henry Ford Estates - Ft. Myers, FL

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 07:32:00 +0000

"Be courageous! Whatever setbacks America has encountered, it has always emerged as a stronger and more prosperous nation.... Be brave as your fathers before you. Have faith and go forward."

~ Thomas Alva Edison ~

Thomas Edison was born in Ohio. I've seen his birthplace in Milan and it's not all that far from where I live. I learned much about him in my Ohio History class in junior high school, but before today, about all I could remember to tell you about him is that he invented the phonograph and the light bulb. Now one of those is not exactly true, but more on that later.

Edison lived in several places, but he spent his winters in Fort Myers, Florida. He built his "Seminole Lodge" home there and his good friend Henry Ford had a home right next to his. Much of his work in Florida was dedicated to botanical research and development to find a plant that could be grown domestically that would produce enough latex for commercial use. This, of course, was of interest to Ford as well, since tires for his cars were made from latex rubber.

When we were about halfway to Fort Myers to tour the Edison and Ford Winter Estates, which were an hour and a half south of us, I remembered that I had forgotten to bring my AHS (American Horticultural Society) membership card along. This was a costly oversight, since that would have allowed me to take the Home and Gardens Tour for free. Instead, I had to pay the $20 fee.

It was a beautiful day that we chose for making our trip here and we meandered through the grounds, which were on both sides of McGregor Boulevard. The Edison and Ford homes, as well as the guest house and cottage, overlook the Caloosahatchee River, which empties into the Gulf of Mexico.

We took the self-guided tour where we were provided with recordings on a device that we wore like a necklace. When we came to a location with a numbered sign, we pressed that number on the device and it would play a short message with information about that location. I found it ironic that Edison was credited with so many inventions that involved telecommunication and here we were, using just such a device to tell us about it.

Edison home - Seminole Lodge

Edison and his second wife, Mina, were both interested in plants and flowers, for different reasons. Mr. Edison was interested in breeding goldenrod for latex production and eventually produced a variety that grew four times as tall as most goldenrod and produced more than twice as much latex. This goldenrod was named for him - Solidago edisoniana - and a specimen of it is mounted in a case on the wall in his laboratory.

Mina loved the beauty of flowers, and grew a variety of them, both for use as a backdrop for her entertaining and as a way to entice birds. She was instrumental in the formation of the Audubon Society.

We visited the Moonlight Garden, where she planted white-flowering plants so they could be seen at night. Today, there are other colors here, but still many with white blooms.

Rosa 'Mrs. B. R. Cant'

The bougainvilleas on the property are impressive, especially the large purple one located just east of the Edison home. Climbing over 20 feet tall, it was covered with blooms, and was simply amazing. Crazy amazing.

And then there were the pink ones across the street where the research labs are located. These are in a row as a hedge and they were a solid mass of blooms - more crazy amazing.

The next part of our visit was a look at Edison's laboratory. Here, he spent countless hours working with four assistants on his research and experiments.

He was a workaholic who once attributed his success to the fact that he had no clock in his laboratory. He often worked such long hours that he took naps on his desk, on the lab tables and even on the floor. His wife had a cot brought in, where he took his naps from then on.

Edison spent his last ten years working almost exclusively on the development of the goldenrod as a viable resource for producing latex on a commercial level, but at the time of his death, he hadn't yet accomplished it. Mina continued to run the lab for five years more, but no breakthrough was ever made and the lab shut down.

There is a museum on the grounds, highlighting Edison's life and his inventions. It was really neat to see some of the things he is credited with inventing and many originals and prototypes are on display there. He invented a baby's high chair and even had a company that produced baby furniture.

"Of all my inventions, I liked the phonograph best...."

Photo by Jenna DeCraene

One of the most astounding things we saw on the grounds was the gigantic Banyan tree (Ficus benghalensis). It was originally brought to Edison by Harvey Firestone from India as a four-foot-tall specimen and it now covers nearly an acre. There are several similar figs throughout the property, as well as many, many different palms.

The largest Banyan tree in the United States is here.

Orchid Lane, which was a path behind the Edison house, had many orchids growing in the trees, but only a few of them were in bloom while we were there. They were scattered throughout the property in other trees, too.

Oh, that light bulb thing? There were others before Edison that had invented various forms of the light bulb, but it was Edison who found a way to produce one that could stay lit for long periods of time and be used commercially. With 1093 patents to his credit, he was always looking for new ways to improve items already invented and to improve life for people in general.

More scenes from the Edison and Ford Winter Estates

The outside of the Moonlight Garden

Bamboo

Banana

Friendship Walk

The Herb Garden by the laboratory

Gardenia

Lipstick Tree (Bixa orellana) - its seeds are used for dyes

Just another little lizard...

Mysore Fig

Henry Ford's home was under renovation and not open to the public during our visit. We were given rain checks for a return visit, though it's doubtful we'll do that.

A couple of Ford's cars

Edison's swimming pool

Rain barrel

Pier on the Caloosahatchee River

Pond

Tree Crinum

Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow Flower (Brunfelsia latifolia)

Orchid (?) growing on tree

Unknown Crinum

Staghorn (Platycerium sp.)

L-R: Me, Aunt Kay, Thomas Edison, Jenna, Uncle Bob

On the Eleventh Day of Christmas...

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 04:46:00 +0000

...my true love gave to me...a trip to the Conservatoreeeeee! (Sing it real fast and it works.)

What better way to spend a foggy, damp, cold afternoon that to escape to one of my favorite places, especially in winter. We try to make a few trips throughout the year to the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in downtown Fort Wayne, Indiana. Today was the last day of their Christmas display, "Home For the Holidays," and I really didn't want to let it end without a visit.

We'd had freezing rain in the early morning hours and while it didn't appear to coat things with ice, there was a light layer on the roads. We had to be careful, but it wasn't unsafe if you drove a little slower than normal. Besides, we needed this pleasant diversion after the power outages Christmas week and the dreaded chore of taking down the decorations.

The first thing we saw when we walked into the main room was the old Ford truck and the Poinsettia tree. The "Home For the Holidays" theme was to depict the post-World War II era.

The next thing we noticed was the wonderful fragrance. Without looking, I recognized it and knew when I looked to my right, I would see their magnificent Brugmansia in bloom.

The last time I'd been here, they had just pruned it severely. That was disappointing, because I always love to see it and smell it, but today was proof that the pruning was a good thing. I wish we could grow these outside year round so ours could get this big!

There were several kinds of Poinsettias displayed throughout the Showcase Garden Room. As is the case with any colorful plant, seeing them en masse is stunning, and when it's red, it's even more so.

I also enjoyed the variants of Poinsettia we saw there...

I especially like this golden apricot color. That's Cordyline in the background. They make good use of it throughout this room.

These shaded red ones almost looked spray-painted, but they weren't.

Mini and ruffly

Usually this room and the next (the tropical rain forest) contain many specimens of orchids, but I only saw four today, and two of those weren't in bloom. There was a Dendrobium on its last bloom, but the Phalaenopsis was very nice.

Hausermann's Charm 'Justin'

Before moving on to the next room, we stopped to admire the Clerodendron. It was here that I first saw one and was spurred to purchase one of my own.

Nearby, there was a proliferate vine that I didn't recognize and wasn't labeled. I meant to ask before we left, but I forgot. If any readers know what it is, please let me know!

In the next room - the Tropical Gardens - there is a noticeable rise in temperature and humidity. Coupled with the lush greenness that surrounded us, we could almost imagine that we were far away from the winter that was on the other side of the walls.

Here, there were the usual suspects that we always enjoy when we visit (minus the orchids).

Powder Puff Tree (Calliandra haematocephala)

South African Honeysuckle (Turraea obtusifolia)

Hibiscus rosa-sinensis 'Matensis'

This is an 8-foot tall Angel Wing Begonia that appears to be the same as my smaller one, 'Sophia'. It was just as beautiful looking up from below as it was looking at the spotted top side of the leaves.

Fiddlehead of a Lacy Tree Fern (Sphaeropteris cooperi)

Ixora (?)

And then, something new! While I've seen the Amazon Lily plants here before, I'd never seen them in bloom until today. I've had one of my own for more than two years and it has never bloomed. Now I know what to look forward to, if mine ever decides to bless me.

Eucoris grandiflora

The Desert Room is my least favorite of the three rooms at the conservatory and it makes me glad that I don't live in such a climate. I think I would tire of it quickly, although it does have some pretty unique plants.

Turpentine Bush (Ericameria laricifolia)

Agave, sprouting a bloom

Before leaving, we passed back through the Showcase Garden. We took with us a few more parting images.

Toledo Botanical Garden - Toledo, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 03:18:00 +0000

Last Friday, my friend Marsha and I set out on An Adventure and after spending the first part of our day at The Butterfly House, we looked for a lunch location. We settled on Applebee's and after enjoying a wonderful shrimp spinach salad with soup, we succumbed to dessert. I had the Chocolate Chocolate Chocolate something or other and I left the restaurant in a Chocolate Stupor. M-m-m-m-m-m.....

It was the first time that either Marsha or I had been to the Toledo Botanical Garden and we didn't let the light drizzle that fell off and on all day to put a damper on things. We'd brought our umbrellas, but it wasn't enough for us to really need them. We took our time strolling through the gardens, which are located on over 60 acres on the west side of Toledo.

We decided to visit the gift shop first, since we were late in arriving and the shop would close at 5:00. It has many unique items, with one room devoted to beautiful and unusual glass items, some of which were Chihuly-esque.

I chose a small glass bird made by an artist from Switzerland that will hang in my kitchen window. There were plants for sale as well, at a 40% discount, and I purchased the two remaining hardy Agapanthus. At six dollars each and with multiple bulbs in each pot, these were a bargain and I won't have to lift them for winter like I have to do with the ones presently in my garden.

We stashed our treasures in the car and then made our way to the gardens themselves. On a warmer, sunnier day, the Shade Garden would be a soothing haven, with its lush green trees, shrubs, and small pond with an gazebo overlooking it.

Within the shade garden, by the gazebo, is the Aquatic Garden.

There was a grotto sitting area and many, many hostas, those staples of any shade garden worth its salt. The Hosta Collection here is accredited by the North American Plants Collection Consortium (NAPCC).

On our way to other parts of the gardens, we decided to take a detour to one of the other buildings on the property. This one housed art on display, some of which was for sale. Most of them were watercolors (my favorite medium) and there were a couple that I thought were exceptional.

Returning to the gardens, we visited the Pioneer Garden, which grew heirloom plants, plus a few unusual varieties, such as tobacco and cotton. The log cabin is authentic, moved from its original location to the gardens, and was inhabited by Peter Navarre, thought to be one of Toledo's first inhabitants. The large apple tree by the cabin is believed to have been planted by Johnny Appleseed.

There was a long fence lined with grapes that were ripe for the picking. Marsha and I both had a taste and I have to say they were the sweetest I've ever had. Maybe seeded Concord?

Below the grapes was a long row of Lantana in the most luscious shades of red and orange. I have pink and yellow Lantana in window boxes at the front of my house and I wish they were hardy here. I think I'll try to overwinter them.

Nearby was the Dahlia Display Garden which showcased many varieties and colors of dahlias, all of which were on plants nearly six feet tall.

The entrance to the Rose Garden was impressive and so lush that you really couldn't tell what laid beyond. The grasses there gave no indication that beds of roses were behind them and we were somewhat surprised to walk through and find so many still in bloom.

Just behind the Rose Garden was the Vegetable Garden, which utilizes the French Intensive Wide Bed method. There wasn't much yet left for harvesting, except for the tomatoes, much as it is in my own garden. But I'm sure it looked fabulous in July! The Tin Man was an interesting touch.

We walked over one of the bridges over Crosby Lake, to the Perennial Garden, which is divided into sections such as the Color Garden, the Grass Garden, the Green Garden, and the Cottage Garden.

In the midst of these is the English Border.

Everything was so well-kept, we remarked about how many people and man-hours it must take to keep a garden this large looking this good, especially during a summer with drought conditions that we've had this year.

The Green Garden was mostly in large raised beds and contained various types of trees and shrubs.

The entrance to the Cottage Garden beckoned...

My favorite part of the Cottage Garden was the stone wall, which provided a very romantic setting that would have been beautiful for a wedding.

And speaking of weddings, there were preparations going on for one on the grounds later that evening. The 'getaway' vehicle was parked there and even with the windows up on the car, you could smell the age of it. It was a Buick Eight 'Special' and in immaculate condition.

There is a resident Great Blue Heron on the grounds, which we were fortunate enough to see.

Several sculptures and art pieces are scattered throughout the garden, but my favorite was this Tree of Life metal art:

Art is an important part of the gardens and their mission. Grants from the Ohio Arts Council make much of the art that is present here possible. The Blair Museum of Lithophanes is on site and we would have loved to have seen that, but it wasn't open the day we were there.

Like the large pink flowers? They're glass!

The beautiful Japanese Anemones that so far have eluded me in my
own garden. I've planted more, and they are preparing for bloom,
but we'll see if they are still there next spring.

Somehow, we missed the Herb Garden. This means a return trip - as if we need an excuse to make our way back to this beautiful place. I'd like to see it in late spring/early summer, when the azaleas are in bloom. I'd like to see it in all its seasons and with it only being an hour and a half away, it's a possibility!

The Butterfly House - Whitehouse, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 13 Sep 2008 02:25:00 +0000

My friend Marsha and I go on an adventure every now and then. We call them adventures because we never know exactly where our day will take us or when our day will end. We've been scared to death in the middle of the woods at night, looking for a Tupperware container because...well...it was there. And no matter where we go, we always manage to take the 'scenic route', if you know what I mean.

Yesterday, our adventure took us to points northward, with our first stop at The Butterfly House in Whitehouse, Ohio. Just that morning my neighbor had told me about it on the phone and since Marsha and I were headed that way anyway, we decided to stop and see it.

There is a large building that houses a nice gift shop, which is what you see when you first enter. On the floor is a mosaic of a Monarch butterfly that a local artist created. From there, you go through a double-door entry into the very large room where the butterflies are housed. It is quite humid in there and the temperature is kept at around 80°F. Occasionally, fans come on to circulate the air.

There is classical music playing in the background and just seeing all the butterflies quietly fluttering about, creates a very relaxing experience. It almost seems like the butterflies are moving to the rhythm of the music.

There are butterflies from all over the world - and lots of them - but the ones that grab your attention right away are the large brilliant blue ones - the Blue Morphos. They're nearly always in motion, so it's difficult to get a still photo of them, but one had lost part of a wing and I caught it resting.

They're native to Mexico, Central America, and the northern part of South America. As is the case with many butterflies, the obverse side of their wings looks very different than the top, with both being beautiful in their own way.

Many of the butterflies feed on rotting food, so there are plates of overripe bananas placed at various locations throughout the room. Though there are plenty of flowers blooming from which they can drink nectar, there are also sponges soaked with sugar water for them to feed from.

In addition to all the butterflies, there was one very special moth in the house as well. High up in the peak of the netted ceiling was a Madagascar Moon Moth.

This is a male, and the tails on the males can reach seven inches long! They're related to the Luna Moth, except that they're much larger. They do all their feeding in the larval stage as the adult moths have no mouths and live only four or five days, so we were lucky to get to see it.

We spent over an hour watching the butterflies and trying to get pictures of most of the different species. I had a Blue Morpho land on my head as I was trying to photograph another one and Marsha had a butterfly land on her camera as she was doing the same.

In addition to the free-flying flutterbys, they had a display of chrysalides in various stages of development that you could see.

There were newly-emerged butterflies trying to unfold their wings and waiting for them to harden enough that they could fly.

Outside The Butterfly House, there are butterfly gardens. It was drizzling while we were there, but it wasn't enough to keep us from strolling through the gardens and taking several pictures of the flowers grown for the benefit of the butterflies.

Please enjoy this slideshow of butterfly photos I took yesterday:

YET TO COME: Part II of our Adventure - Lunch and the Toledo Botanical Gardens.

Schoepfle Garden - Birmingham, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 03:15:00 +0000

Sue wanted to go on a road trip. Well, okay, let's go! Mom, Sue and I had traveled together last October to Cleveland to accept an award on behalf of the Smiley Park Children's Garden. Of course, we had a great time, which is not surprising when you get three garden lovers together.

This time, we headed towards Cleveland again, although we stopped short, first in Avon. That's the home of Petitti's largest greenhouse location in the Cleveland area. We have been there twice before and because we don't have such places near us, we're like little kids in a candy store when we set foot inside.

We're quickly approaching my personal cut-off point for planting (September 1st), so if I was going to add to the gardens, it was now or never. Still, I tried to show restraint, for my budget's sake, which was hard because of the great sales going on. I came away with some Clumping Bamboo (Fargesia denudata), Variegated Bladder Campion (Silene uniflora 'Druett's Variegated'), Speedwell (Veronica repens 'Sunshine'), Campanula garganica 'Dickson's Gold', Cut-leaved Anemone (Anemone multifida 'Annabella Deep Rose'), Japanese Anemone 'Party Dress' (a double pink), and Golden Japanese Forest Grass (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola'). The last four are not new to our gardens; I just wanted more of them.

We loaded our purchases into the Suburban and headed back west to Schoepfle Garden. The gardens are located just south of I-90 and consist of 70 acres of botanical gardens and natural woodlands bordering the Vermilion River. It began in 1936 when Otto Schoepfle purchased the house and land that had belonged to his grandparents and turned it into beautiful gardens. He donated it to the Lorain County Metroparks in 1969 and continued to watch over it until his death in 1992.

We walked down a path to the newly-built children's garden. It opened just last year, but already is a favorite spot for locals to bring their kids. It is very child-friendly, with various areas inviting interaction. Mom and Sue were taking good notes on what they saw, for ideas they could possibly use for the Smiley Park Children's Garden in Van Wert.

Crawl through the Flutapillar!

Find your way through the maze!

Take a ride on the carousel!

Climb on the rock mountain!

And yes, there's an area where you really can play in the water!

The musical theme is carried through on the walkway . . .

. . . and with planters

The rest of the property was well laid-out for casual meandering this way and that, with many beautiful trees, shrubs, topiaries, display gardens, and natural beauty no matter which way you turned. We spent a couple of hours here, both in the gardens and in the gift shop that is located in the Visitor's Center.

Scenes from Schoepfle Garden

Pergola entrance to woodlands

It's Surprise Lily time around here!
(Lycoris squamigera)

Mid-afternoon sun shining through the trees

Variegated Sweet Gum
(Liquidambar styraciflua 'Variegata')

Woodland ferns

Japanese Umbrella Pine
(Sciadopitys verticillata)

Japanese Anemones

One of many frogs that populate the pond

Lilium henryi

One of many topiaries in the Formal Garden. (Dog)

Formal Garden with sculpted hedges

The dahlias were in full bloom and the bees and butterflies were helping themselves to the nectar.

While there many beautiful plants and flowers in bloom, there were signs that autumn is right around the corner, including some early leaf color changes and dropping. No doubt the hot, dry weather has caused some trees to begin this change earlier than normal.

How quickly the summer passes...

Indiana Flower & Patio Show 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 03:56:00 +0000

With not a cloud in the sky and a hint of spring in the air (yay!), Mom and I drove the 2½ hours to Indianapolis to attend the Flower and Patio Show, held at the Indiana State Fairgrounds.

We'd never been to the show before, so we didn't know what to expect, but we both found it similar to other shows in recent years.

The focus was definitely on patios and their construction with stone, including water features and fire pits. There were some beautiful scenarios that I would welcome in our backyard if I had a few thousand dollars to spend. Still, there were details that I could incorporate on a lesser scale.

We spent about four hours walking through the displays, which followed the Hollywood theme of "A Red Carpet Affair."

"Under the Tuscan Sun"

"It's a Wonderful Life"

"A River Runs Through It"

"Swiss Family Robinson"

By far, the most elegant display was put together by McNamara Florists and was an interpretation of Father of the Bride. It showcased the beauty of all-white flowers.

JP Parker Company Flowers had some unusual fresh cut flowers for sale, along with the standard favorites. Mom bought some pretty orangy yellow tulips for a friend of hers that's been under the weather.

It's hard to describe the color of these glads and even the photo doesn't quite capture it, but they were unusual and lovely.

This is the bloom of the Leucadendron, which I'd never heard of before, but I love it. The foliage reminds me of a euphorbia, but the flower bud itself of something else that I can't recall the name of right now.

I've always loved the Capetown Stars, a.k.a. Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum dubium), which is a South African native bulb.

From some of the other displays......

Having nothing to do with patios or flowers, there were sugar gliders for sale. Mom and I had never heard of them, but they were absolutely adorable. They're "pocket pets" originating from Australia and expensive.

To listen to the people hawking them, you'd think they were nearly the ideal pet. I researched them after I got home and that's not quite the story, but they were pretty unique and cute all the same. Yes, that's a Cheerio he's eating in the photograph.

There were several vendors selling bulbs, seeds, and plants as well as tools and whimsy for the garden and the home. I walked away from the show with a ceramic pot, a triangular metal wind chime, and several packets of seeds.

Allisonville Nursery had a booth at the show and I knew it was on our way home, in Fishers, so we stopped in. It isn't stocked with perennials and the like for spring yet, of course, but there were several shrubs and trees to choose from.

Some large and really lovely Red Twig Dogwoods (Cornus sericea 'Cardinal') were calling my name very loudly and I had to acquiesce to three of them before they would leave me alone.

I also purchased a small white ceramic pot with silk paper whites and another small metal pot with some dwarf spring irises. Their gift area is outstanding with a huge variety of items for just about every room in the house as well as for outside in the garden or patio area.

Each and every employee we talked to (and that was several of them) was very friendly and went out of their way to be helpful. Mom and I had a wonderful chat with Jeff, the owner, before we got back in the car to head home. We both agreed we'd love to see this place when they're fully stocked for spring and the summer planting season.

Ft. Wayne Home and Garden Show 2008

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 03:54:00 +0000

Much anticipated for several weeks as winter winds down, Mom and I attended the Ft. Wayne (IN) Home and Garden Show on its opening day. Walking into the Expo Hall at the Memorial Coliseum brought a smile to both our faces as we walked between all that greenness that you could also smell.

The show was heavier on the home than the garden, as usual, and since neither Mom nor I were all that interested in the home aspect of things, we breezed through those exhibits, with a stop to purchase a snack of German roasted pecans.

There was a King Tut replica exhibit that I suppose was nice enough, but it seemed a little strange to me to be looking at replicas of the actual items from his tomb. And even stranger that there were miniature replicas of the replicas available for purchase.

In the Garden Gallery, where we spent the most time, we browsed exhibits by several landscapers, nurseries and garden centers. There were several beautiful patio exhibits, but most were out of the realm of possibility for my property. Oh, we have the square footage to accommodate any of them, but even if the style matched our home, we couldn't afford the price tag. Still, they were fun to look at.

The emphasis was on stone, stone, and more stone, with water feature accents. As you first walked in, to the right was a unique water feature by Planscape. The stonescaping was beautiful, but the wow factor was provided by the waterfall. It seemed as if there was rain falling from one side of the pergola. I can just imagine how soothing it would be to relax there and listen to that.

Woodland Water Gardens of Columbia City had a display with a babbling brook, waterfalls, and footbridge that impressed me the most. It wasn't exactly the waterfalls, but the contemporary look and lines of the stone bridge that really got my attention.

There were squiggles cut into the stone to allow the water to pass through to the other side, where the water bed continued. I overheard many positive comments from other admirers while I was photographing the display.

Country View Greenhouse from South Whitley had a nice display with some of the less common perennials for sale. I returned to this vendor at least three times, making a purchase of a nice 'Red Lady' hellebore and speaking with the young owner. I was very impressed with him and what he had to offer and will be making a trip there when planting season rolls around. He specializes in rare plants and I'm anxious to see what else he has at his greenhouses.

The Three Rivers Orchid Society had a lot to drool over, besides offering advice about growing orchids. It took all the restraint I could muster to resist buying one, but it helps that I have a hard time making decisions. I just don't know which one I would have bought, had I decided to!

Always full of temptations is the area occupied by the Tulip Tree Gift Shop from the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory. I've long known that this is a great place to pick up interesting plants at very reasonable prices and today was no different. For $8.50, I purchased a very healthy variegated Abutilon.

Another place to visit this summer will be Blue River Nursery, also near Columbia City. Though they didn't have a large display, I saw some of the most unusual trees and shrubs there.

Attracting a lot of attention and comment was the Golden Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia 'Chief Joseph'). Even more attention-getting was the price of the larger one of two, which was less than three feet tall - $499. But not to worry. A much smaller version which was about a foot tall could be had for $109.

Okay, now for the highlight of the day...

FELDER RUSHING!!!

If you've never had the pleasure of hearing this man speak, too bad for you. Mom had mentioned hearing him when she was in Atlanta a couple of years ago, and I have a couple of his books, including Tough Plants For Northern Gardens, but I didn't know what a wonderfully engaging person he was.

He was scheduled for several speaking sessions the first two days of the show, and Mom and I were in the front row for the first one. The small room was jam-packed and when it was nearing the time for him to end his presentation, the crowd asked him to keep going. Unfortunately for us, the room was scheduled for another session so he wasn't able to. He graciously autographed our books for us and we left, talking all the way down the hall about what a great time the last hour had been.

At this point, Mom and I parted ways and I went back to browse the Garden Gallery. I joined her awhile later in the children's area, where she had wanted to hear Felder again as he was to make a presentation about children's gardening. As I walked up, I noticed Mom and another woman sitting on chairs with Felder sandwiched between them, looking at his laptop. Apparently, they were the only two people who showed up.

I joined them and for the next hour or so, we four had great discussions about educational opportunities for teaching gardening to kids (and the lack of them), ideas for elements that can be incorporated into children's gardens, and more detailed discussion about some of what he had presented earlier. Mom and I felt very fortunate to have been able to spend the time in the company of such greatness.

Now Felder would probably scoff at that last sentence, because in spite of his numerous degrees and vast experience, this man is like your next-door neighbor. In fact, I wish he was my next-door neighbor, because then I could join him around his fire pit while sipping a beverage and shooting the breeze.

I like this man, because of his philosophy on gardening. If you like how you garden, then that's all that matters. What's important is that you garden and not be afraid to try things out of the ordinary. How many people do you know that have a bottle tree, a hanging pot planted with lettuce, and bags of potting soil planted with cabbage, pansies, artemisia, sedum, and euonymus growing in the back of their pick-up truck?

Felder, if you're out there and happen to read this: Thank you for what you do for the gardening world and for sharing a bit of yourself with us on Thursday. You, sir, have got it going on.

A Breath of Spring at the Conservatory

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 04:06:00 +0000

It's been tradition for the last few years to make at least one trip to the Foellinger-Freimann Botanical Conservatory in Ft. Wayne, Indiana, in the middle of winter. We need this to preserve our sanity, because it's this time of year that we are bored with winter and needing spring in the worst way. The conservatory conjures up our memories of warmer weather with its colorful blooms and lush green plant life.

Last year, Mom and I went in February to see "the stinky plant" and play miniature golf (yes - in the conservatory!), but this year Kara and Adam joined us, as did Jenna, and we spent over an hour drinking in the colors and scents. Some of the blooming plants are changed out every few months or so, and featured today were Florist's cyclamen, Eyeball plants, Gerbera daisies, and various primulas.

There are three main rooms to the conservatory:

The Showcase Garden, featuring seasonal displays among the permanent plants.
The Tropical Gardens, which is home to palms, many tropical plants, and a waterfall.
The Desert Room, with many species of cacti and other desert plants.

Outdoors there are gardens with displays of trees, shrubs and ornamental grasses as well as perennials. Too cold to tour those today, though.

And without further adieu, the conservatory as seen through my camera today . . .

Florist's Cyclamen (Cyclamen persicum)
and
Foxtail Ferns (Asparagus densiflorus)

Cordyline, Croton (Codiaeum variegatum),
and Gerbera Daisies (Gerbera jamesonii)

Tropical Hibiscus (Hibiscus rosa-sinensis)

Camellia bud

Eyeball Plant (Spilanthes oleracea)

Primulas and Juncus

Ornamental Kale (Brassica oleracea) and ? Convallaria ?

Iresine.
(Thanks, Kerri!)

Snowbush (Breynia disticha)

African Daisy (Osteospermum)

Sanchezia speciosia

Primulas and Foxtail Ferns

South African Honeysuckle (Turraea obtusifolia)

Tropical Gardens View

Ixora

Red Powderpuff (Calliandra haematocephala)

Fishtail Palm (Caryota mitis)

Detail of Calathea louisae
This is how this was labeled, but I'm not sure it's correct.

Desert Room View

Soap Tree Yucca (Yucca elata)

Desert Barberry or Red Barberry (Berberis haematocarpa)

Turpentine Bush (Ericameria laricifolia)

Unknown cactus

And now for the orchids. Ohhhhhh, the orchids......

After we finished browsing the conservatory, of course we had to spend some time in their wonderful gift shop, The Tulip Tree. I fought with myself to keep from taking home a variegated Abutilon and a small Snowbush, and was able to resist. This time. But with their excellent low prices on their plants and knowing they will be at The Ft. Wayne Home and Garden Show in a few weeks, I'm not counting it as a win yet.

I did buy a stuffed house wren that makes chirping sounds. There were several species of singing birds, but this one sounded very realistic and like the house wrens we have all the time around here, so I got it for our kitties' enjoyment. When we got home and I started it chirping, Jilly came running right to it from upstairs. It got Baby's attention, but Simon didn't even look its way. It's interesting that the two indoor cats weren't as intrigued as Jilly, who is one of the outside cats.

And now, what you really want to know is - did I get a new orchid?

Children's Discovery Garden at Wegerzyn Gardens - Dayton, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 07:04:00 +0000

Jenna got a new dog last Saturday - a black Schnorkie born on September 3rd. I'm not a dog person but if I were, I'd be jealous because this little living floor mop is just about the cutest thing ever. Weighing in at a whopping 4.7 pounds, she's a mix between a miniature Schnauzer and a Yorkshire Terrier. And I got to name her.

Bella

Last night, Jenna came home with Bella because Romie was going to dogsit. Mom, Kara, Jenna and I had made plans to attend a cat show today. Mom and I had been to two of them before, Kara had gone with us once, and Jenna had never been. Kara came last night too and we spent the evening hanging out and watching cute little Bella do her cute little puppy stuff, like peeing on the floor.

This morning, after stopping at Walmart to fill the van with gas and buy snack crackers and chocolate (provisions, you know), we picked Mom up and headed down 75 in the pouring rain to the 52nd Annual Cat Fanciers Association Cat Show held at Hara Arena in Dayton. What better way to spend a miserable rainy gloomy day? (Well, I did tell Mom if we hadn't had such a fun day planned, it would have taken the Jaws of Life to get me out of the house on a day like today.)

We had just walked in the door and didn't make it past the first row of cats when Kara was smitten by a gray Persian for sale. She oohed and she ahhed and held "Glitzy" and whined around until we dragged her away. Kara and Adam already have two cats - Oreo and Cali - and when she called Adam to ask about buying another one, he told her fine, as long as she found new homes for Oreo and Cali. HA!

We spent about an hour and a half walking through the aisles of gorgeous show cats and watching the judging in several rings. Ah, such fluffy loveliness there was!

Maine Coon

As we left the arena, Jenna mumbled something about being hungry and we discussed the possibility of eating somewhere soon. On the drive down, we had planned out our itinerary which included a quick stop at the Children's Discovery Garden in Dayton as well as Andy's Garden Center in Troy.

We took a quick tour through the children's garden and at this point, Jenna was nearly fainting from hunger. Kara responded to this with a proposal that we not waste time eating lunch since we only had so much time before things closed and that we eat supper after we were done shopping. Jenna rolled her eyes as we handed her a box of crackers and the bag of chocolate truffles.

When I say we took a quick tour of the children's garden, I mean quick. I looked at the time stamp on the photos I took while we were there and from beginning to end, it was only 12 minutes. Why, you ask? Well, it was pouring down rain and only true gardeners would be doing this in the first place. But we saw enough of this fine garden to know we'll be back next year when the weather is better and more things are in flower.

Next stop was north of Dayton, just outside Troy at Andy's Garden. Mom and I had stopped here in the spring of 2006 on the way home from the Cincinnati Flower Show, but we only had about fifteen minutes to shop because they were getting ready to close. We were impressed with what they had to offer and vowed to return in the spring of 2007 when we were ready to buy plants for the new growing season, but for some reason or another, that didn't happen.

Of course, visiting at this time of year didn't afford us the opportunity to buy live plants for our gardens, but they were having a Christmas preview weekend and spring bulbs were 50% off, so we managed to walk out of there with less money than when we entered the front door. I bought a 'Limona' amaryllis, three bulbs of Hyacinth 'Woodstock', and a bag of 'Sagitta' Narcissus. I wanted some 'Thalia' Narcissus but they were sold out.

As we were driving out to get back on 75 to go home, Jenna was starting to salivate because she knew we were going to be eating supper now. However, we still had time to stop at Andy's Piqua location, so she had to hold out a little longer. You see, Jenna doesn't go on these jaunts with us very often, so she's not familiar with the routine. I'm not sure she likes how we do things, because Jenna is really into her food, but she was a good sport.

Before we got to Piqua, we stopped at Petmart for Jenna to buy some Wee Wee Pads for Bella, since the babysitting wasn't going so well back at home. Romie reported by phone that Bella had had a couple more accidents in addition to those she had last night. Potty training is sooo much fun.

Andy's Piqua location is their original store and is located in a residential neighborhood. It's smaller than the Troy location, but oozes small-town charm and had the same wonderful holiday offerings their other store did. I did a little Christmas shopping and found what I think was their last bag of 'Thalia' narcissus! Between the two stores, I also bought a couple of Christmas tree ornaments and some other decorations.

Finally, Jenna got to eat. Mom said she'd treat us all to supper at Cracker Barrel and by the time we sat down there, we all were pretty hungry. Jenna had started to gnaw on the seat belt.

By 5:30, we were on our way home with full tummies. Kara asked if everyone was happy with their purchases of the day, and Jenna piped right up, "Yeah, I'm pretty darn happy with my Wee Wee Pads." That's all she had bought all day!

We dropped Mom off at home, and as soon as the rest of us got back to our house, Romie and I left again to go to his mom's. It was her 80th birthday and we joined the rest of the family in wishing her a happy birthday. She's an amazing mother of ten, and she sure doesn't seem like the typical 80-year-old.

Kara and Jenna returned to their homes and so did we. Busy, busy day, but just the kind we like - spent with family, making memories.

Schedel Arboretum and Gardens - Elmore, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sun, 07 Oct 2007 05:56:00 +0000

This must be the best-kept gardening secret in Northwest Ohio. Neither Mom nor I had ever heard of Schedel Arboretum and Gardens until I read about them in an e-mail from Ohio Magazine. I saw that they were literally just off the Ohio Turnpike near Elmore, Ohio, and we'd be passing right by on the way home, except that I had no intention of just passing by without stopping!

From the time we walked through the gate and up the chrysanthemum-lined drive, we knew it was a very good thing that we'd taken the time to visit this place. Once the estate of Joseph and Marie Schedel, the 17 acres the property encompasses is a true paradise. They purchased the property and home in 1929 for the purpose of developing it into an arboretum and gardens and that's just what they did, in a big way. It was opened to the public in 1991.

Located at a bend on the Portage River, there are two levels of terrain, with the lower level allowing a protected area where many species of plants and trees can be grown that would otherwise not survive here. There are 25 varieties of Japanese Maples, 16 species of pine, and nearly 50 kinds of lilacs. Each spring, over 15,000 annuals are planted from those grown in their own greenhouse.

There wasn't a single area of the gardens that I didn't enjoy, but the star of the show is the Japanese Garden. It takes up a very large portion of the property and like the other gardens, was groomed immaculately. It had waterfalls, a babbling brook, typical Japanese structures, and of course, the maples. While we were there, a wedding party was having a photo shoot.

A grove of Dawn Redwood trees, some of the oldest on the continent, was begun in the 1950s. The trees are native to China and were believed to be extinct until 1941, when one was found in a remote area of China. All the trees in North America are descendants from trees grown from seeds of that tree. We have two Dawn Redwoods in our yard and hopefully ours will grow up to be beauties like we saw here.

There are also Bristlecone pines. The Bristlecone pine is the oldest living organism on the planet. These trees can live to the ripe old age of nearly 5000 years. Of course, now I want one.

In the kitchen garden, we were astounded at the many varieties of peppers! The tour booklet says there are more than 80 different ornamental peppers and I believe it. I saw some shapes and colors that I'd never seen before. I grew 'Chilly' this year and now a whole new peppery world has been opened to me.

In addition to permanent artistic sculptures, through October 31st, there is a temporary exhibit, "Small Yet Mighty," featuring the work of nine regional sculptors. Their works are situated throughout the arboretum and gardens and at the back of the property, Emanuel Enriq uez was working on a marble sculpture of flamenco dancers.

From Bowling Green, Ohio, Emanuel is the artist responsible for the bronze sculpture of boys looking through a fence at the Toledo Mud Hens home field at Fifth Third Stadium, as well as "Alone Together," displayed here at Schedel in the Rose Garden.

We were really surprised to see the gardens looking so vibrant and lovely at this late time in the year and especially after the hot, dry summer we've had. But it was absolutely lush and bright and we commented on how it must look in June . We intend to come back and find out.

For more information, visit their website: Schedel Arboretum and Gardens

More Images From the Gardens
(As usual, clicking on any photograph will bring up
a larger image, showing greater detail.)

Franklin Park Antiques & Gardens Fair and Topiary Park - Columbus, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sun, 16 Sep 2007 05:41:00 +0000

I was on my own today. Mom had classes with the rest of the Master Gardeners so I took the car and headed to Franklin Park Conservatory. This was the second day of their annual Antiques and Gardens Fair. Vendors were located in various places throughout the conservatory and I spent an hour or so browsing what they had to offer.

I particularly enjoyed the stone and pottery vendors as well as a nursery that was offering mostly native plants. I bought an orchid - Nodding Ladies' Tresses - which I'll be able to plant and leave in the ground year round. I knew Mom would want one, so I bought one for her, too.

The antique dealers came from places like Virginia, New Jersey, and the Carolinas, and had some very high quality things, but way over my budget. One business had framed vintage botanical prints from the 1500s. Very nice!

I took my purchases to the car, then returned to the conservatory to make a quick sweep through the plant rooms. With most everyone's attention on the fair, I pretty much had the rooms in the conservatory to myself, which was a really relaxing way to see it. The butterfly exhibit from earlier in the summer had ended a few weeks ago, but there were still a few hanging around.

Heliconius sp.

There is a permanent Chihuly display at the conservatory and though I've seen it twice before, it never fails to be awe-inspiring. The glass art fits in so well with the plants, it's hard for me to imagine the gardens without them now.

From the conservatory, I drove to Old Deaf School Park, which is home to the Topiary Gardens.

The park is the former site of one of the buildings of the Deaf School. The building burned in 1981 and had to be demolished, with the property lying dormant for seven years. It then was turned into a park and sculptor James Mason conceived the idea of recreating Georges Seurat's painting, A Sunday on the Island of La Grande Jatte, with topiaries of yew trees. Known for adding whimsical touches to his works, he included a cat in the rendering of the park scene, a feature not seen in the original. The docent at the visitor's center told me about this and said to be sure to look for it.

I wandered around the beautiful park, admiring the topiaries, chatting with a man who was setting up white chairs for his wedding later that afternoon, and looking for the cat. I thought I'd found it, but when I reported back to the visitor's center, it turned out I hadn't. Of course, I had to go back and locate it, which I did, and it was in an unexpected yet natural place and it made me smile.

Just down the street from the Topiary Gardens was Kelton House. This historical residence was also on one of the Master Gardeners' tours yesterday and is normally only open by appointment. Since it was so close, I decided to see if by chance I could visit the gardens behind it, even if I couldn't go inside the house.

When I got there, it was obvious that there was a wedding reception being held outside in the gardens. As I walked up the sidewalk, a couple members of the wedding party were standing at the end of the driveway, so I went up to them and asked if the gardens were really as beautiful as I'd heard. They assured me they were, and I was welcome to "go back there and mingle and take a few pictures" if I liked. I was hesitant, but they insisted, so I crashed the reception.

I was only back there for a few minutes and acted like I was supposed to be there. The reception was nearly over anyway, and lots of people were leaving, so no one paid much attention to me and I got to see Kelton House gardens. The house has an interesting history, being a stop on the Underground Railroad.

By this time, I was needing to get back to OSU to pick Mom up from her classes, so I drove back, past a war protest on High Street, parked the car, and waited in the gazebo in front of Howlett Hall. I spoke with Mom on her cell phone and she still had a 45-minute session to attend. She knew one of the presenters, who said I was more than welcome to sit in on that session, so I did. Ideas for working with children in the gardens were presented, with a very interesting segment on vermiculture.

Following this, the conference was over and we headed for home. We'd had a very fun, very busy three days, but we were both ready to get home and rest up from it. Actually, I think Mom could have kept going indefinitely, but not me. I wish there was some way for her to transfer some of that seemingly endless supply of energy she has, to me. I could sure use it.

At the end of the day, we both came home with some new plants, new pieces of whimsy for our gardens, a couple of gardening books, and more great memories of another successful mother-daughter gardening trip. While I didn't really gather any specific ideas for my own garden, I know that I'll be inspired as I'm working in it and will remember things I've seen on these trips and may implement something I probably wouldn't have, had I not been around to these garden-focused places.

***************************************************

My take of green things:

Heuchera americana 'Ginger Ale'
Euphorbia 'Efanthia'
Hemerocallis 'Hush Little Baby'
Polemonium reptans 'Stairway to Heaven'
Carex 'Blue Zinger'
Spiranthes cernua f. odorata
Liriope muscari 'Variegata'
Echinacea purpurea 'Pink Double Delight'
Allium sphaerocephalon
Astilbe simplicifolia 'Sprite' (Mom bought this for me, because it's her favorite)
Amorphophallus rivieri 'Konjac' (Mom bought this one for me, too, as they were offering them at a special price for Master Gardeners)

Columbus Park of Roses - Columbus, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:38:00 +0000

In Whetstone Park on the west side of Columbus, lies a showcase of roses the likes of which I've never seen before. As Mom and I walked through the entrance and saw what lay in front of us, we knew we'd hit the mother lode of rose blooms. Thirteen acres. 11,000 rose bushes. 350 varieties, including the newest hybrids as well as heritage roses dating back to the 1500s.

The Park of Roses opened in 1953, after excavating the top 24 inches of soil, of which the top 11-15 inches were sandy loam. This was mixed with commercial fertilizer and 21,000 bales of imported peat moss and returned to the site and allowed to settle before planting.

USA Today named Columbus Park of Roses one of the Top Ten Rose Gardens in the world, putting it right in there with world-renowned Sissinghurst. It is one of 133 AARS-approved public display gardens. (All-America Rose Selections, Inc.)

We were rather surprised to see the roses in such full bloom, especially after the hot, dry summer we'd had, but there were very few of them that weren't putting on a show of color. They had healthy foliage and no aphids or Japanese Beetles. No black spot. No powdery mildew. Amazing.
We spent well over an hour going up and down the rows, taking in the beauty of the blooms and making a mental list of our favorites. I don't really have room for any more roses, but I noted a couple that I just might have to squeeze in next year. I took photos of those that caught my eye, and there were many . . .

'Rainbow Sorbet'

'Peace'

Before I began gardening, if you would have asked me to name a rose, 'Peace' is what I would have said. It was the only one whose name I knew.

'Scentimental'

'Strike It Rich'

'Moondance'

'Lynn Anderson'

'Betty Boop'
(Parent to my 'Topsy Turvy')

'Flirtatious'

'About Face'

Heritage Rose Garden

The Heritage Rose Garden contains many varieties of the old roses, most of which I'd never heard. The design of this part of the gardens was 'Old World' as well, with pergolas and arbors.

'Belinda' Musk Rose

'Celesiana' Musk Rose Hips

'Golden Wings' with rose hips

'Dortmund'

Chinensis Mutabilis

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

As you can imagine, this is a popular place for weddings and today was no exception.

What a full day we had that had started with the gardens on the campus of OSU, took us to Baker's Acres Greenhouses, then Tracy DiSabato-Aust's Hiddenhaven, and finally here at Columbus Park of Roses. A gardener's dream day!

Hiddenhaven: The Gardens of Tracy DiSabato - Columbus, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:32:00 +0000

We drove down and around some rural roads this afternoon, not unlike those of our home territory in the northwest part of the state. Except that there were hills. The locals wouldn't call them that, I'm sure, but they're more than we ever see out our back door and they roll just enough to add some character to the countryside.

Somewhere outside of Columbus, we turned off the road and drove a little ways back a lane, parked the car and headed off on foot, in the direction of the rooster crows. What a bucolic scene this was, as the lane meandered through the woods, leading to a comfortable haven of a house, surrounded by well-tended and well-designed perennial gardens.

This was the home of Tracy DiSabato-Aust, internationally-known garden designer, speaker, and author of two books and numerous magazine articles. Tracy had been gracious enough to open her personal gardens to the Master Gardeners and one straggler (me).

Mom and I had arrived before the Master Gardener bus group, so we enjoyed some one-on-one time with Tracy and some of her neighbors and friends, as well as several of her six cats. And let me tell you, her cats are every bit as charming as Tracy herself. Neo staked his claim to my lap within minutes and I was more than happy to be a cat chair for awhile. We just hit it off right away.

A short while later, the Master Gardeners arrived and our visit officially began with Tracy giving a little history of how Hiddenhaven gardens came to be and what she does to create their beauty. Maintenance of the gardens is taken care of by Tracy and her husband, with help from friends on occasion, when things are especially busy, like during spring planting.

Since the gardens are 98% organic, with chemicals being used only when absolutely necessary, pest control is for the most part by hand. Cutting the chewers in two and crushing the other creepy crawlers is the method of choice, but garlic spray is sometimes used. We got to see this first-hand, as Tracy grabbed a grasshopper and crushed it with her "big-girl shoes," as she calls them.

Tracy also explained how cutting back perennials can manipulate both their size and bloom time. I've done that with a couple of my own plants the last two summers, but I'll be much more bold with my pruners now that I know it's 'okay.'

To the side of the log house is a glass conservatory, which was open to us today. Blue ceramic tiles decorated the floor and stairs of the upper level, where a table and chairs as well as a sitting chair were situated. A forged iron railing ran across the upper level and there were two ceiling fans with lights at the ceiling's peak. Shelves rounded the opposite end, and these were laden with potted plants. There was a section where several large specimens were planted with their roots below floor level.

With so much to see, the time spent there went very quickly, but Tracy and her friends were available to answer any questions about plant identification, pruning, siting of specific plants and recommendations for combinations. We made several rounds in and around and through the 4000-plus square feet of beds, and each time, we saw something we didn't see before.

One thing that stood out for me, the nearly novice gardener, was her use of annuals mixed in with the established perennials. Many of the gardens I've visited in the last three summers have made use of annuals and perennials together, of course, but most have tended to keep the two somewhat separate. If they are mixed in, there is a general boundary between the two, whether it be by spacing or by container. In these gardens, the annuals grew right alongside the perennials, grasses, shrubs and trees, as if they'd been there from the beginning of time, not merely since the middle of May.

There were the usual surprises of whimsy here and there, and several sculptures and statuary pieces that were as well-placed as any living thing we saw.

I especially liked the statue of a girl lifting her hands to the sky and judging from the comments I heard as others passed by, I wasn't alone in my admiration of it.

A just-right-sized pond lies behind the house, with a meadow beyond, which plays host to many butterflies, both real and one very large stationary one. A tree house was the launching pad for a zip line that ran across the pond - all sorts of fun, everywhere you looked!

As the tour reached an end, Tracy had both of her books available for purchase and for signing:

This was a rare and appreciated opportunity to glean golden nuggets of practical advice from someone well-respected in the horticulture world and who was more than willing to share her expertise with us on a nearly-perfect September afternoon.

* Clicking on a photo will bring up a larger version *

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Tracy DiSabato-Aust has over thirty years in the horticulture field. She obtained her B.S. and M.S. degree in Horticulture from The Ohio State University and has achieved international acclaim as a garden designer and speaker. She has worked with Longwood Gardens in the U.S., Montreal Botanical Garden in Canada, the Kalmthout Arboretum in Belgium, and Knightshayes Court in England.

Her first book, The Well-Tended Perennial Garden, has become the biggest selling book in Timber Press' publishing history. Tracy has contributed or been featured in articles in many magazines, including Fine Gardening (she is a contributing editor), Horticulture, Country Gardens, Garden Gate, Organic Gardening, Midwest Living, American Nurseryman, Real Simple, and Garden Design.

When she isn't in the garden or on the lecture circuit, she is training and competing as a triathlete.

The Gardens of The Ohio State University - Columbus, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 05:21:00 +0000

It's a pretty well-known fact that I'm not a morning person. Oh, I can get up early if I have to but I really dislike having to get up before my body feels like it. It's not that I'm lazy; I just keep different hours than most of the full-time employed population. While they're in a deep sleep at 2:00 a.m., I might be doing dishes or laundry or any one of a number of household chores. Such is the life of a night owl.

But I was in the company of my mom this weekend. My mom, who is both a night owl and an early bird and never lets the grass grow under her feet. God bless her. She woke me up this morning by turning the bedside light on and said something to the effect of, "CHOP! CHOP! Time's a wastin'!" I rolled over and ignored her for five more minutes.

After a complimentary breakfast at the hotel, we drove a short distance to Howlett Hall on the campus of Ohio State University, where Mom got registered for the Conference. She was supposed to take "Tour #3", which she had paid for, but since we were going to Tracy DiSabato's garden in the afternoon, she decided to forgo her tour and we made up our own.

Just north of Howlett are the Annual Trial Gardens, where annuals are test-grown for various companies such as Jackson & Perkins, Proven Winners, etc.

The flower beds were awash with color and we went up and down the rows, noting our favorites for possible future purchase.

All across the front of Howlett Hall are perennial gardens and we spent quite a bit of time admiring the various plants and flowers. Many were going to seed since it's that time of year for it, but there were also lots of beautiful blooms to be seen.

From there, we walked a block or so to Chadwick Arboretum and the Labyrinth Garden. To get there, we had to pass the Agriculture Administration Building and I remembered that our former next-door neighbors, Tom and Susan Shockey, both worked here at Ohio State, with Tom working specifically in horticulture. I said to Mom, "Since we're here, why don't we go in and see if Tom or Susan are here?" She agreed we should, even though I wasn't sure this was where we'd find either one of them.

As I opened the front door, I happened to look behind me and noticed a man walking up the sidewalk. I couldn't believe what and who I was seeing. None other than Mr. Thomas Shockey! We spent the next fifteen minutes catching up and Tom promised that he and Susan would stop in the next time they were up our way.

Chadwick Arboretum is located just north of the Ag Building, and we walked through the cool shade of trees to the Labyrinth. The idea of a public labyrinth such as this is that when you take the time to walk the entire labyrinth with its left and right turns, your mind and body will be calmed.

I walked it and will have to say that I found my mind going to the same places it does when I'm out working in my gardens. I contemplate things, make plans, and generally just let my mind go where it will. Walking the labyrinth was worth the time it took and the cement pathways laid out in the labyrinth pattern are aesthetically pleasing as well. There are many other public labyrinths worldwide.

By the time we finished walking through the various gardens on the OSU campus, it was getting to be time that we headed out of town to meet up with the Master Gardeners for the tour of Tracy DiSabato's garden.

We left campus early enough to make a stop at Baker's Acres, near Alexandria, northeast of Columbus. Mom and I both receive their print catalog and wanted to visit them since we were going to be in the area.

Even this late in the season, they still had a large assortment of plants to choose from.

We didn't have a lot of time to spend here, but we made a few selections, then jumped back in the car and headed for Tracy's, and that visit deserves its own post.

To be continued . . .

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Viola 'Gem Plum Antique'
Dahlia 'Delighting Glow'

Inniswood Metro Gardens - Westerville (Columbus), OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 05:08:00 +0000

Traveling to Columbus is normally about a two-hour trip to the northwest side, but it doesn't seem to take that long when you're riding in the car with my mom. It's debatable as to who can out-talk whom, but I think my mom has a slight edge over me. In any case, it makes the trip go very fast and we were there in no time.

Earlier in the week, I had e-mailed Tracy DiSabato, inquiring about visiting her gardens, Hiddenhaven, located near Columbus. Again, this was on the same tour the Master Gardeners were taking that Mom didn't get signed up for. We both wanted to see her gardens and meet Tracy in the worst way. She had replied to my e-mail yesterday to invite us to come along with the Master Gardeners when they were to visit on Friday afternoon. Woo hoo!

So we stopped at Tuttle Crossing as we got to Columbus and purchased Tracy's books so she could autograph them when we visited. I was familiar with Tracy and her works, but hadn't yet purchased her books, nor had Mom.

Quick stops were also made at Oakland Nursery , Baker's Village Garden Center, and Cedarbrook Garden Center. Next to Baker's was Morgan House, and we ate our lunch here. There are three floors to their gift shop and it was too much fun browsing the goodies while waiting for our table.

We both managed to escape that place without parting with more money than the price of our lunches, but we liked the ghost we saw just outside the entrance.

We'd planned to visit Inniswood Metro Gardens with a friend of Mom's, who lived near them and used to work there. We picked Eleanor up at her house and drove to Inniswood to see not only the fabulous gardens, but the Big Bugs. Mom and I had both been to the 123-acre gardens previously, but it had been quite a few years ago, so it was pretty much like seeing them for the first time.

The Innis sisters, Grace and Mary, bequeathed their 37-acre estate to Columbus Metro Parks in 1972 in order to preserve their gardens for the enjoyment of others. And I'm glad they did. Mom, Eleanor and I had a wonderful time leisurely strolling through the gardens.

There are several:

Rose Garden

This time of year, there usually aren't that many roses in bloom, but I do remember being here before and seeing the colonnade in full bloom, and it's impressive. Still, there were a few putting on a bit of a show of late season bloom.

Herb Garden

This might be my favorite part of the gardens. The texture and design looks just right to me.

There are perennials dotted here and there for color, a water feature, statuary, and the pathways meander through in a way that allows you to see everything this garden has to offer.

Rock Garden

Here is the perfect garden waterfall and there's a bench for sitting nearby so you can relax, reflect and take in the serene beauty of the rock gardens.

The Secret Garden

Here is my second favorite place.

Children will love it here and if you bring yours, be prepared to spend a fair amount of time here.

You won't mind though, because the charm of the labyrinth, which tells a story as you walk it . . .

the grotto, with its fountains and maze corridors . . .

and the tree house . . .

. . . all call on the child in each of us. Can I change my mind? This is my favorite part of the gardens.

Sisters Garden

This part of the gardens was opened in 2002 and mimics a typical prairie homestead.

And of course there were THE BUGS! Eight of them were showcased throughout the gardens:

Ant

Dragonfly

Praying Mantis

Spider

Ladybug

Damselfly

Grasshopper

Assassin Bug

Other images from Inniswood:

Fall-blooming Crocus

Gomphrena

Mandevilla

Milkweed

Spiderwort

Dahlia 'Tahiti Sunrise'

Girl in Herb Garden

Unknown (Anyone know??)

Japanese Lantern

Mom and I had a great time with Eleanor. It had been a little while since she and Mom had seen each other and I know it was 32 years since I had seen her and her husband, Dick. They had attended our wedding in 1975, but I would have recognized her anywhere. I'm sure I've changed more than she has, since I was 17 when I got married and will celebrate my 50th birthday next Wednesday. (Ouch!)

We took Eleanor back home and said our goodbyes, then headed to our hotel, the Baymont Inn near The Ohio State University campus. We were ready for some rest, since we not only had had a full day, but had more of the same planned for the next two.

Smiley Park Children's Garden - Van Wert, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 05:02:00 +0000

When my mom enrolled in Master Gardener training three years ago, she did it so she could learn more about something she loved - gardening. Mom had always had gardens and beautiful ones, too. She already knew more about flowers and plants than most people I knew and I wondered why she would want to put herself through the classes, but little did I know (nor did she) where it would lead.

Master Gardeners are required to give 50 hours of service in the form of a project as part of earning their designation as a Master Gardener. In Mom's class, each member submitted an idea, then the group voted on the ideas to choose how they would give their time back to the community in which they lived.

Mom had a vision of a community children's garden where area kids could learn about the growing process and all that was involved in caring for a garden. She saw it as a happy, fun place for them to be, while learning in the process. She had seen children's gardens in other parts of the country and wanted this for her own hometown. The group voted and Mom's idea was chosen.

Only those involved in this mammoth project could have any idea of the degree of cooperation, volunteerism, and philanthropy it took to bring this garden to fruition. Yesterday, though the gardens are not yet completed, it was presented to the community and there was an official ribbon-cutting ceremony.

L-R: Andy Kleinschmidt, Austin & Stephanie Adams,
Ollie Adams, Louise Hartwig

The star of the show is the Butterfly House, designed by Twyla Hayes and funded by KAM Manufacturing, which produces products for Vera Bradley, maker of the colorful, stylish fabric accessories such as handbags and luggage. The child-proportioned house is pink with a green roof and has a netted garden behind it, where butterflies will live.

The house is trimmed in Vera Bradley's Bermuda Pink pattern, and is the first time the company has allowed their copyrighted prints to be used outside the company. One of Vera Bradley's two founders, Pat Miller, was on hand for the ribbon cutting and addressed the crowd of about 300 children and parents.

Ollie Adams, co-owner of KAM, also spoke, as did Van Wert mayor Don Farmer, City Parks Director Sue Heppeard, OSU County Extension Agent Andy Kleinschmidt, and my mom, Louise Hartwig. The mayor presented keys to the city to Ms. Miller, Adams, and Kleinschmidt.

The highlight of the opening was the release of 200 Painted Lady butterflies by the children in attendance. Fifty of them were released inside the butterfly house, while the rest were let go outside.

It was thrilling to see all those butterflies rising from the crowd and immediately many of them landed on the flowers planted in the gardens. The looks on the faces of the children as they opened their little packets and saw the butterflies flutter out was just the beginning of what these children will experience here in the time to come.

There is a red-roofed gazebo situated in the center of the gardens, surrounded by a low wall lined with ceramic tiles made by third-, fourth- and fifth- grade children of the county. Nearby is a granite rhinoceros for climbing.

The Secret Garden is a touching tribute to Melody Mohr Hicks, given by her family. There is a small table and chairs made of cement in the shape of mushrooms, surrounded by mulberry trees which will eventually grow to give this garden a secluded feel.

A garden of this magnitude has required thousands of dollars in donations since Master Gardeners has no money of their own. They have a plant sale in the spring and host a garden walk, which helps fund their projects, but they rely on volunteers for work and the generosity of individuals and corporate donations to make projects such as this a reality.

One way that individuals and groups can help contribute to the Children's Garden is through the purchase of a personalized brick. There are two sizes for purchase, with the smaller one at $100 and the larger one costing $200.

There will be ongoing maintenance costs, so even when the gardens are completed, there will be a need for donations, which can be made through the OSU Extension Office in Van Wert.

Future gardens planned are a "Healthy Me" Garden, Rainbow Garden , Sundial Garden, Enabling Garden for the handicapped, 100 Acre Wood, Discovery Garden, Pollination Garden, and "Petals and Feathers" Garden.

The Children's Garden is located in Smiley Park, across from the Van Wert Airport on Leeson Avenue on the west side of town.

I can't end this post without saying a few words about my mom to those of you who don't know her or who have never met her. Those of you who have, know I don't need to say any more. You have seen her in action.

My mom was just a farm girl who grew up and stayed in our rural community, but her zest for life and the ideas that come out of that pretty head of hers know no bounds. She's an incredibly positive person who knows how to get things done, whether it be for herself or for others. "Can't" just isn't in her vocabulary.

To be sure, she's had a supporting cast - mainly my dad - but the creativity and motivation for what she does pours forth from her like the fountain of youth, which surely she drinks from daily. How one person can have so much drive, ambition, and energy - and still have it at 73 - is beyond me. I didn't inherit it. But I'm proud that she is the woman, along with my dad, who raised me. As a family, we are surely blessed.

EDIT: The Van Wert Times-Bulletin has posted a video of the ribbon-cutting ceremony on their website.

Mulberry Creek Herb Farm & Corso's Nursery - Sandusky, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 28 Jul 2007 04:54:00 +0000

Back on Father's Day, Dad asked me if I would like to go on a bus trip with him and Mom. The YWCA in Van Wert was taking a trip to the Sandusky, Ohio area, with stops at an herb farm, winery, city gardens, a carousel museum, and a garden center. Oh, and there was ice cream involved. Dad's treat. Count me in!

Yesterday, we boarded an Executive Coach bus between 6:30 and 7:00 a.m. and headed northeast. We stopped at a McDonald's in Findlay for breakfast, where I had an Egg McMuffin, which is one of only two things I'll eat there. This is one thing that McDonald's gets right besides their fries.

Our first visit of the day was to Mulberry Creek Herb Farm. What a lovely place out in the country near Huron, Ohio. The owner gave us a very informative tour of his gardens there (which are all organic) and imparted lots of information we can really use.

I was on a quest for 'Kent Beauty' oregano and was disappointed that yet another place I've looked didn't have it. Mark showed me a couple of other rotundifolia oreganos that he'd recommend but didn't have for sale either, but they're all very pretty and it's late in the season so I'm really not surprised there weren't any left.

Mark informed us that if we purchased one of any plant he had for sale, we could have a second one for free. Well, who can resist a deal like that? I tried to show restraint though, and purchased Large Yellow Foxglove (Digitalis grandiflora), which is a perennial foxglove (versus the traditional biennial variety). I wanted to buy some hard-neck garlic (Allium sativum var. ophioscorodon 'Music'), but didn't see any, so I asked about it. It was curing out, but I was able to purchase two of them for planting in October.

Mulberry Creek Farms features many, many miniatures and there were charming fairy gardens planted as well as a large train landscape that had scenes peppered with miniatures that were amazingly similar to their full-sized counterparts.

After being treated to black cherry ice cream with chocolate morsels and spiced with cardamom (Yum!), we got back on the bus and headed for Sandusky.

We stopped for lunch at The Angry Trout, which overlooks Sandusky Bay, where I had salad, meat loaf, mashed potatoes, a hard roll and carrot cake for dessert.

Next stop was Firelands Winery, where we viewed a video presentation about the history and business of growing grapes and winemaking in the microclimate here around Lake Erie. The grapes are grown on Isle St. George, which has a unique growing situation:

Only a mile and a half wide and even less in length, Isle St. George is crisscrossed by a network of underground limestone caves. As the warm lake water circulates through these caves, ground frost is delayed until late fall. When the fall air becomes cooler, the warm lake water heats the surrounding air and land. Before winter sets in, the lake islands enjoy a 200-day frost-free growing season, remarkable and unusual for this climate. On North Bass Island, the grapes are harvested as much as six weeks after harvesting ends on the mainland. The United States Government has recognized the area's unique climate, soil, topographic and historic conditions that produce distinctive characteristics in the grapes grown here, and has established the area from the Bass Island and the southern shore of Lake Erie - stretching from Toledo into New York State - as the Lake Erie Appellation of Origin. When a Lake Erie designation is indicated on the label of a wine, it means that the grapes used in the wine came from this specific viticulture area.¹

After tasting five of the wines they offer at Firelands, we took a tour of the facilities and took time to shop their gift shop and make wine purchases. I didn't buy any bottles of wine, although the ice wine in the slender blue bottles tempted me ($29.95 stopped me).

There were some old-fashioned blown glass ornaments I'd seen in one of their display cases upstairs but I didn't see any for sale in the gift shop. I wanted one, because most of the ornaments on our Christmas tree are this type. I asked about them and was told they were out of stock. Would they consider selling one from the display case? The sales associate quietly said, "Sure, let's go pick one out." I always say that it doesn't hurt to ask, and I now have a blown glass cluster of grapes for our Christmas tree, and this will be a nice memento of our visit to the winery.

We traveled to downtown Sandusky, where we were supposed to leave the bus and take a walking tour of the city gardens, but the weather had other plans. Due to the rain, we stayed in the bus and an employee of the city parks department narrated our mobile tour of the beautiful gardens.

Adjacent to the downtown gardens was the Carousel Museum, housed in the former Post Office. We were given an informative presentation about some of the history of carousel horses and got to see an artist painting a horse that would later be won by someone who had purchased a lottery ticket for it.

Then we took a ride! I can't remember the last time I rode on a carousel, and it's amazing how such a simple thing can be so much fun.

I picked up another blown glass ornament here, of a carousel horse.

Corso's in Sandusky was our next stop and it was somewhat of a feeding frenzy. I mean, you know what happens when you dump a bunch of gardeners off in a large nursery having a sale and offering you a free plant, don't you? Here's what happened to me:

Coleus 'Fishnet Stockings', Viola cornuta 'Columbine', Sedum makinoi 'Ogon'

Time to head home, but not before stopping at Toft's Dairy for ice cream. For two dollars, I got a pint of Caramel Mountain Tracks which Toft's describes as "Caramel Turtles climbing mountains of toffee ice cream flowing with streams of Mackinac Fudge and praline pecans." Oh myyyyyyyy... I couldn't finish it all so Mom did me the favor.

Though tiring, it was a wonderful day with a great group of people, not the least of which were two that mean more than the world to me. Love you, Mom and Dad!

¹"Our Process", Firelands Winery website.

Gene Stratton-Porter State Historical Site & Gardens - Rome City, IN

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 14:46:00 +0000

Romie and I spent the weekend in Kendallville, Indiana, attending the annual Midwest GeoBash get-together of geocachers. It was great seeing old caching friends and meeting some that we'd previously only known online. We did some caching of course, and logged our 500th cache find (over three years) by the time the 'Bash was over.

As we were traveling up State Road 3 and I was looking at the map, I realized we were going to be very close to the Gene Stratton-Porter State Historical Site. There were two caches to be found there, but I was most excited about seeing Gene's gardens and possibly getting to see fellow garden blogger earth_girl again. She is overseeing the restoration of the gardens there and I met her back in February when Mom and I attended the Home & Garden Show in Ft. Wayne.

Saturday morning, I called the site and asked for Martha. She just happened to be there, which she told me she "never is," so our meeting was meant to be! A little while later, we were hugging each other in greeting, and taking a leisurely stroll through the gardens.

Living where I do, Gene Stratton Porter (1863-1924) is familiar to me, but in case you've never heard of her, she was a naturalist and recorded her observations in her writings and photographs. She was the author of twelve novels, seven nature books, two books of poetry, several children's books and numerous magazine articles. Copies of her books have been sold more than any other American author's works. Eight of her novels were made into movies.

Gene's home near Rome City encompasses 125 acres, ten of which were originally owned by Gene and her husband. The property overlooks Sylvan Lake and is heavily wooded, with trails for exploring. The gardens are a beautiful sunny island in the middle of the Wildflower Woods, and showcases many of the natural treasures that Gene strove to preserve.

We walked through the long arbor, covered with kiwi vine and wisteria and in the shade of that arbor, you could look in any direction and see the various beds of native and 'tame' plants, many original to Gene's gardens. Below our feet was the original flagstone walkway paved with stones chosen by Gene herself.

At the entrance to the arbor, there is a stone in the shape of the state of Indiana. Martha shared details of the past work and future plans for restoration of the gardens.

We walked past the small garden pond which had oodles of green frogs sunning themselves among the lily pads, through the woods, down to Sylvan Lake.

We saw a beautiful view of the lake and Forget-Me-Nots were in bloom on one side of the path and Spotted Jewel Weed (orange) and Pale Jewel Weed (yellow) were blooming on the other.

Martha had a surprise for me. There was a tree that I'd noticed earlier, as it had unusual veining in the leaves and I commented on it. Martha told me it was a *somethingicantremembernow* and that it was one of the things they knew Gene had planted herself. Martha walked me over to the Garden Shed and showed me various pots filled with small plants that had been gleaned from the gardens. There were some saplings of *that tree* and she offered one to me. I chose the largest one, of course, since I'm not getting any younger and any tree I plant now needs as much of a head start as it can get.

I appreciated this gift more than Martha may know, although she's a gardener, so she might know after all. I love being able to go through my garden and see those special plantings that were gifts from friends or came from unique places. This tree would be both. In return, I will be putting together packets of seeds from my own garden plants to share with Martha for the gardens there.

Romie went golfing during the time I visited the gardens, and I knew he would love them, so we plan to return at a later date so he can see the beauty of this place. I wouldn't put it past him to ask if the cabin is for sale. He's always dreamed of living in a cabin in the woods by a lake and this would fit the bill quite nicely.

Gene and her daughter Jeannette are both buried here.

Red Spotted Purple butterfly (Limenitis arthemis)

Tiger Lilies

Works by Gene Stratton-Porter

The Song of the Cardinal, 1903
Freckles, 1904
At the Foot of the Rainbow, 1907
A Girl of the Limberlost, 1909
The Harvester, 1911
Laddie, 1913
Michael O’Halloran, 1915
A Daughter of the Land, 1918
The Keeper of the Bees, 1921
Her Father’s Daughter, 1921
The White Flag, 1923
The Magic Garden, 1927

Nature Books

What I Have Done with Birds, 1907
Birds of the Bible, 1909
Music of the Wild, 1910
Moths of the Limberlost, 1912
Birds of the Limberlost, 1914
Homing with the Birds, 1919
Wings, 1923
Tales You Won’t Believe, 1925

Poetry and Essays

After the Flood, 1912
Morning Face, 1916
The Fire Bird, 1922
Jesus of the Emerald, 1923
Let Us Highly Resolve, 1927

Not listed on the Gene Stratton-Porter Historical Site website, is Strike at Shane's. According to Amazon:

A recently discovered work of Gene Stratton-Porter, this work was a prize winner in the American Humane Society's contest of 1893 and was published anonymously. It is the fictional story of the Shanes, a farm family of Indiana in the late 19th century.

Photo of Gene Stratton-Porter from NACS website

In addition to her blog, The Good Earth, Martha maintains a blog about the Gene Stratton-Porter gardens, called GSP Outdoors.

EDIT: I think the tree that Martha gave to me is a Cornelian Cherry Tree, which is in the Dogwood Family (Cornus sp.)

EDIT AGAIN: Martha has confirmed that the tree is indeed a Cornelian Cherry. So I'm not senile yet. Whew!

2007 Van Wert County Master Gardeners Garden Walk - OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 14:40:00 +0000

Kara and Adam drove down from Defiance this morning so that Kara and I could take in the Van Wert County Master Gardeners Garden Walk. Romie and Adam were spending the day on the golf course, while Kara and I headed for points south.

I was excited for Kara to take this tour because as a Master Gardener, my mom had a chance to see the gardens the day before and she raved about them. Kara is new to gardening, but she's got a very green thumb and she's been bitten by 'the bug,' so it was going to be fun to witness her excitement at seeing the different gardens.

First on the tour was the home of Michael and Debra Kitson. This was a cozy and charming garden and well manicured. It was clear that a great deal of effort had been made to keep things green and growing in this hot and dry summer.

The back of their house greeted us with a wisteria-covered pergola leading to the patio and deck.

One of the highlights for both Kara and me was the water garden up on the deck.

We also enjoyed seeing the morning glories vine over a length of jute twine from a metal stake to the wood fence. Beautiful blooms were open for us, as it was still early in the day.

Next, we parked at my parents' house and walked across the street to Kevin and Brenda Merkle's home, which is beautifully landscaped and has an in-ground pool at the back, overlooking the Willow Bend Golf Course.

I've always loved this house and enjoyed seeing the back of it up close and personal. It was a warm day today and the pool looked very inviting!

We walked back towards Washington Place subdivision, to the home of Barry and Judy Thatcher.

Elegance was the theme here, and there were container plantings in abundance.

It was amazing that the flowers and plants all looked so lush and healthy and they must spend a great deal of time watering, since container plantings dry out even faster than those in the ground.

The veranda and patio area was just gorgeous, with an outdoor room look to it. It reminded me of some of the room settings that Mom and I saw at the Cincinnati Flower Show. I sat for a bit, just to take it all in, and while the look was formal, the feeling was comfortable and casual.

A little further down the street took us to Bob and Kathy Schnipke's home, where Kara and I both were awed by the small pond and waterfall by the patio area.

There were several koi and goldfish swimming around and the water lilies were blooming. Two small frog fountains added to the charm.

Bob and Kathy's gardens were very neatly groomed as well.

Kara and I admired the beautiful roses and the bright blue lobelia.

We got back into the car and drove south of town to the farm home of Clint and Amy Mosier. The property is quite large and includes a large pond.

The possibilities here are endless and while Clint and Amy have done a lot of work already, with rockscaping and plantings, the sheer size of their gardens will keep them busy just maintaining what they've already done.

It has a prairie look to it, which compliments their home in the country.

After we left the Mosier's, Kara and I had a little cross-country adventure due to a missed turn. During this little 'detour,' I discovered that I have failed as a mother, neglecting to teach Kara my excellent map-reading skills.

We managed to find our way to the next stop on the tour, however, which was the home of John and Leslie Simon.

They have a gorgeous wooded lot where the house is situated and there are many beautiful flower beds surrounding it, including some with English Roses.

When we first got there, we passed some dianthus that was being enjoyed by a couple of Tiger Swallowtail butterflies.

The main garden is in full sun and is surrounded by a picket fence. The individual beds with perennials and herbs are framed by wooden borders and is quite colorful. Adjacent to this garden is a potting shed, of which I'm envious. Doesn't every gardener long for a potting shed? There is also a small greenhouse nearby.

The Simons have identified their plants with unique markers crafted of silver wire and pieces of colored glass. I didn't ask Leslie if she made them herself, but I suspect she may have.

After touring the Simons' gardens, we turned back north to the log home of Ed Freund. Ed built the home himself and the focus here was on trees. Many, many beautiful large pines and birches, as well as several other kinds of trees are seen here and Ed had each kind labeled for identification.

I've always had a fondness for paperbark birch and there was a grouping of these along with some river birch. I love the interesting bark on both of them.

Everything here was very well-kept, including the container plantings at the back door and on the deck.

We had a nice chat with Ed and he brought me up to date on his sister Beth, who shares my birthday. Ed and Beth's parents are John and Marlene Freund, former owners of Freund's Nursery. Marlene and my mom shared a hospital room when Beth and I were born, however I think that's the only time I've ever met Beth and I don't really remember it.

Kara and I moved on to the next home, that of Gordon and Paula Stemen. The brick walkways were especially attractive for their white picket fenced garden. It was in the style of a knot garden, with a center area and four separate flower beds surrounding it, divided by brick walkways, which had thyme growing between and over the bricks in places. Thyme is just one of many plants that can withstand light foot traffic.

Some of the bricks had "OHIO" imprinted in them and I wondered to myself if they would notice if one of them went missing. I thought they probably would, so I left only with a cookie and a bottle of water, which was provided at this stop.

The blue ceramic pots caught my eye, as I'm partial to them myself. Beautiful combinations of annuals filled them and once again I marveled at the health of the plants.

One of the best bottle trees I've ever seen was here and again, the blue ones caught my attention. The placement of the tree added to its attractiveness, as it was set in among other large trees with ornamental grasses near its base.

The ninth and final home on the tour was that of George and Altha Brooks.

Altha's passion is daylilies, and there were over 70 named varieties in various gardens on their property. This is the daylily's time to shine and they do that very well here.

A yellow double (whose name escapes me now ) was my favorite and I saw a white one ('Ice Carnival') for the first time. White daylilies aren't common.

The patio area is constructed of flagstone and leads to a wood deck. On the patio is a water feature, also constructed of flagstone. There were many blue ceramic pots here as well, all beautifully planted.

It was a warm and windy day and by the time Kara and I finished the tour, we were tired, but we came away with many ideas that we could incorporate into our own gardens. That's the wonderful thing about garden tours like this and we're glad that people take the time and effort that participating in these things requires.

Thank you to all of the host gardeners and also the Master Gardener volunteers who worked to help the homeowners today. Bravo to you all - it was wonderful!

Franklin Park Conservatory "Blooms & Butterflies" - Columbus, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Fri, 22 Jun 2007 14:32:00 +0000

My friend Marsha and I had been planning this trip to Columbus, our state capital, for several months now. It didn't start out being on the calendar for June, but different life events prevented us from making the trip until now. That's usually how it is with Marsha and me - we live about 13 miles from each other, yet we only manage to see each other every other month. If we're lucky.

We left Marsha's house around 9:30 and traveled in the TRVL BUG down US 33 to the heart of Columbus, home of beautiful Franklin Park and the Franklin Park Conservatory. The grounds, which encompass 93 acres, have an interesting history:

1852 - the first county fair was held
1874 - became the official site of the Ohio State Fair
1880 - General Sherman gave his "War, it is all hell" speech to a reunion of Civil War veterans
1886 - The Ohio State Fair location was moved and Franklin Park was abandoned
1895 - The original glass conservatory, modeled after the Glass Palace at The Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, was constructed and opened to the public

1927-1929 - Animals were kept in the basement of the Conservatory, and later became part of the first Columbus Zoo
1992 - From April until October, AmeriFlora 92 was held on the grounds
1994 - The Conservatory became the first in the nation to showcase a seasonal butterfly exhibition: Blooms & Butterflies

2003-2004 - The Conservatory was host to a display of Dale Chihuly's works and purchased nearly the entire collection, making the Conservatory the only public botanical garden in the world to house a permanent signature Chihuly collection

I'd seen the original "Chihuly at The Conservatory" exhibit in 2004 and instantly became a fan. At that time, they were selling limited edition Chihuly prints and I bought two, intending to use them in Jenna's room, which we were redecorating at the time. Where are they now? Still in their tubes.

Our first stop, once we entered the conservatory, was the gift shop. Priorities, you know. There weren't many people in there at all, including the two shop employees, and we oohed and ahhed over the wonderful items they had for sale and squealed and giggled as we played with the cute toys they had for kids. Big kids have fun with them, too.

They had triangular prism boxes that we had fun with and then I got an idea to put one in front of my camera lens, just to see if I could take a picture through it:

We both purchased a few things, then hurried over to the Tropical Rainforest, where at 1:00 they were releasing butterflies that had emerged overnight. A docent gave a little information about each butterfly as she released it.

The variety of species fluttering about in that room was quite impressive, not to mention the brilliant colors and markings on some of them. We spent quite a bit of time in there, snapping photo after photo and trying to capture digital images of the beauties. They seemed to taunt us by landing on a flower perch, posing seductively, only to flit away just as we were ready to release the shutter.

The results of my efforts:

Buckeye (Junonia coenia)

I didn't label each butterfly, because I don't know what most of them are, so if anyone knows the name for any of these, I'd appreciate you sharing your knowledge!

While wandering around, I noticed this butterfly hanging upside down, being very still, so I took its picture. I then went around to the other side and took a picture of it from that direction. The difference is amazing, isn't it?

After checking ourselves for hitchhikers, we left the rain forest to explore other areas of the conservatory, as well as stroll around the grounds. The effects of too little rain could be seen here, too, in ragged blooms, small blooms and the lack of blooms.

The hot, dry weather brought out another negative - Japanese Beetles.

We saw them everywhere on just about everything outside. They definitely have a Japanese Beetle issue here and I wonder what they do for control, or if they do anything. With a property this size, I would think it would be quite difficult.

There is a beautiful tribute garden, in the form of a red ribbon of begonias at the foot of a 14-foot bronze sculpture entitled Reach Out. It was done in 1992 by Alfred Tibor, a local sculptor and Holocaust survivor who emigrated to the US in 1957 from Hungary. If you look closely, you can see the hands in the sculpture, right in front of the tree:

As I was getting ready to take a picture of the sculpture itself, I noticed a fluffy white cloud making its way across the sky, so I waited just a bit to take my picture so the hands could 'hold' the cloud.

We walked back into the conservatory to gather up our treasures that we'd purchased at the gift shop and we made a little detour into a room for kids that emphasized recycling. On one wall, there was a mural of butterflies and flowers made of recycled lids.

On opposite end walls, artist Michelle Stitzlein's found object butterfly art was featured and was constructed entirely of recycled materials. Piano keys, chair casters, pop bottle caps, and glass insulators are just a few of the things she used.

There is an extensive collection of orchids housed in the conservatory, though the majority of them are not in bloom at the moment.

It was about 3:00 in the afternoon when left Franklin Park and headed for Dublin, which is on the northwest side of Columbus. Not having had lunch, we stopped on the way, to eat at Skyline Chili. We don't have those restaurants in our corner of the state, so we took advantage of the fact that they do have them here. Very, very good stuff, that is!

Next stop was Oakland Nurseries. I'd researched online to find a nice nursery for us to visit, and this was well worth the stop. They have three stores in the Columbus area and we checked out the Dublin location. Click on the photo below and look closely at the sign that's hanging on the front of their store . . .

Twenty per cent off everything in the store. Oh boy. We could be in big trouble here. But we were good girls and neither of us bought much of anything. Not that we didn't see LOTS of things that tempted us, because we surely did, especially with the reduced prices to sweeten the deal. But we both have children with upcoming weddings, so we can't have everything we want. They sure had some lovely hydrangeas.

I didn't get out of there without buying a hat, though. It is a fairly well-known fact among my family and friends that I have an unusually large head. Thus, I generally can't wear hats because they don't fit and when I find one that does, I look either silly or downright ugly in it. But I found a gardening hat here that actually looked ... well ... good.

SOLD.

After we left the nursery, we stopped at Coldwater Creek, which was just around the corner and was a brand new store of theirs, opened for the first day on Tuesday. I was looking for a dress that I'd seen in their catalog that was a real possibility for me to wear for Jenna's wedding and I wanted to try it on in the store, if possible. They had it, it fit, I liked it, and it was sixty per cent off!

I found a couple of other things, too, and as a grand opening bonus, I got a freshwater pearl necklace and earring set valued at $69.99 for no additional charge. Lovely! As we were leaving the store, the manager said to Marsha, "You're not walking out of here with nothing, are you?" to which Marsha replied, "Yeah, I guess so." The manager walked over and handed her a necklace and earring set, too! Marsha gave her a hug and thanked her. Actually, Marsha probably earned that set, because you know how it is when two women go shopping together - you're bad for each other in a way that men just don't 'get'. Marsha was much worse for me than I was for her this time, though. That free jewelry set was her commission for the sale.

Home was a two plus-hour drive away, but it went by very fast, because Marsha and I never run out of things to talk about. I think it would be this way even if we saw each other every other day instead of every other month. Being with girlfriends is so much fun!

2007 Peony Festival Garden Tour - Van Wert, OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 02 Jun 2007 14:19:00 +0000

In the 1930s, Van Wert, Ohio became known as The Peony Capitol of the World, due to the large number of commercial peony farms in the area. Each year, a festival was held, with a major parade and the crowning of Queen Jubilee, so named for the 'Jubilee' peony that was grown in the Van Wert area.

During World War II, the festival was discontinued, but was resurrected in 1955 and held annually on the first weekend of June until it was once again discontinued in 1960. While peonies are no longer produced commercially in Van Wert, the festival was begun again in 1992.

Today, I met my girlfriend Jane in Fountain Park to partake of a couple of this year's festival activities. We walked up Jefferson Street to tour three gardens that were opened to the public for their annual Home Garden and Landscaping Tour.

We started with the gardens of Dave and Janice Kirchenbauer, which I have toured previously. I'm not sure how old their home is, but the original owners planted a Chinese Tree Peony, the first in Van Wert County, in 1917. The peony still grows there today! Their gardens are young, but very pretty, and I especially liked the shade garden.

The second home on the tour was that of Jeff and Diane Hood.

The first floor of their 1901 home was open for visitation as well, and it had much of the original beautiful wood trimmings.

The gardens surrounding the home were some of the most manicured I've ever seen. While I could never accomplish this in my own gardens, just seeing these gave me a sense that all was right with the world. I'll bet the insides of their drawers and cupboards are just as neat. There's something calming about seeing such neatness and order like that.

Third to be visited was the home of Deb Lehman. I attended high school with Deb at Wayne Trace in the early '70s and had not seen her in many, many years.

She lives in a brick house that I've always admired and she's cultivated the grounds in a way that's very complimentary to the style of the house. We chatted for some time and she mentioned that she'd like to come see my gardens, so maybe I'll see her again this summer.

Jane and I then walked back to Fountain Park, where Artrageous! was being held.

This is a high quality art fair and I could have spent a month's worth of pay with very little effort. Watercolors, pottery, jewelry, and unique garden decor items were all tempting me. I did succumb to a pair of dragonfly earrings, as well as a set of raku refrigerator magnets and a pottery bowl with a small wooden spreader that I'll use for dips or a cheese ball.

Jane needed to leave, so we parted with a hug and I headed out to the Extension Office at the fairgrounds, where the flower show was being held at 1:00. It was just a little after 12:00 and the judging was still taking place, so I wasn't able to see much. Mom is an accredited judge and she was doing her thing. I glanced around a bit, but didn't stay long, as I didn't want to disturb the judging.

There were two other homes on the garden tour, but they were located in northern Van Wert County, so I went to those on my way home. I first stopped at Lincoln Ridge Farms, which are owned by Jeff and Cathy Thomas.

This is also home to Lincoln Candle Company and I bought their peony-scented one called "Van Wert Peony Festival." I've given one of these to several out-of-town guests as a memento of their visit here. The candle company and the farms are so named because they're located just off of historic Lincoln Highway, the first highway to cross the entire United States.

While the candle barn and the surrounding area are charming, what I really enjoyed was the Serenity Garden. Cathy took me on a personal tour of this peaceful woodland treasure that she and Jeff have created as a little hideaway. Cathy likes to see things growing in a natural type setting and this accomplishes that in a wonderful way. If I lived here, I'd spend lots of time in this garden, as Jeff and Cathy do.

Before I left for the final stop on the garden tour, I picked out a Bloody Dock (Rumex sanguineus) plant to take with me. Every time I ever see this plant in a garden center, I contemplate purchasing it and never do. To prevent this from happening again, today I bought it. Now I don't have to worry about that anymore!

A few miles away was the home of Tom and Leann Gordon. In their back yard is seven acres of an abandoned stone quarry.

This makes a beautiful pond/lake setting for them, as it's wooded all around. There is a woodland trail leading to a restful lookout over the water with a bench for sitting. Today, there was a nice breeze blowing there, which felt great, considering the temperature was in the low 90s.

They have several small gardens around the property, each named for their grandchildren. An absolutely gorgeous waterfall is named Bailey Falls because it was constructed for and used during the baptism of their granddaughter, Bailey. Tom has large bins where he grows things like strawberries, onions, and gourds which he hopes to use to make Purple Martin houses.

I ran into my cousin Vickie and her daughter as I was leaving for home. I haven't seen her in a long time and we had a nice chat. I continued out the driveway and around the south end of the pond, where I stopped to take a picture of the stunning Red Hot Poker (Kniphofia uvaria) plants in full bloom. I hope mine look like that someday!

Once I got home, we had to get ready to go to Adam's brother's graduation party over near Defiance. We went to Lowe's to pick up a few things and of course, I had to go through the garden center. I found an absolutely gorgeous variegated lacecap hydrangea that was screaming "Buy me!" so I did. I also got a Purple Bell Vine (Rhodochiton atrosanguineum) that I'd seen a couple of weeks ago. It's Jodi's fault that I bought that one, since she mentioned it in her blog that it was one of her favorite vines shortly after I saw it the first time.

So that was my wonderful day, and it had a pretty good end to it, too. WE GOT RAIN.

Eagle Creek Garden Center - Bainbridge (Cleveland), OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sun, 27 May 2007 05:00:00 +0000

When Mom and I attended the Cleveland Botanical Garden Flower Show in 2005, we were impressed with the quality of the plants that the vendors presented for purchase there, and wanted to visit those garden centers to see what else they had to offer. But we hadn't allowed enough time for that, and returned home knowing we'd missed out on some great plants.

This year, we made plans to stay overnight and spend the second day in Cleveland, nursery hopping. Ohhhhhhhh...what a great idea that was! Prior to our trip, we knew we wanted to go to Lowe's Greenhouse since we'd gotten such nice things from them two years earlier, then I consulted with Cleveland resident Kim (blackswamp_girl) as to any other nurseries that we shouldn't miss. She suggested Eagle Creek and Petitti's.

I use Google Earth for planning such trips and if you've never used it, you're in for a treat. You can actually see a satellite photo of the area you're searching. Not only that, you can do a search for any type business and it will bring up all those businesses in or near the location you submit, and it will show the location on the photo and give a link to their website. I found that both Eagle Creek and Lowe's were on Chillicothe Road and there was a garden center called Breezewood in between the two. All three were within four miles of each other!

So after a breakfast at Hampton Inn in Solon (which had one of the cleanest hotel rooms I've ever been in - it even smelled clean), Mom and I began our nursery tour with Eagle Creek Garden Center.

Eagle Creek Growers - 18548 Chillicothe Rd., Bainbridge, OH

Just driving up to their location told us this was no ordinary garden center. It looked like a resort.

They had a huge assortment of all things gardening.

We'd never been in any kind of garden center such as this and we were duly impressed. We spent about two hours there, perusing the plant offerings as well as the decorator items they had in abundance.

'Rooms' were set up and there were items for both inside the home and outside in the garden.

I have a weakness for bright blue pots and Eagle Creek had LOTS of them. I bought a small one. Yes, only one.

They had a lovely assortment of Jackson & Perkins roses, including nearly every one I'd ever had on my want list. I got to see 'Disneyland' in full bloom, which will soon be in bloom for the first time at my house as well.

Mom especially loved this one. I think it was 'Double Delight' but I'm not sure.

They also have a farm market inside, with wonderful edible offerings of all kinds.

We both purchased some nice things here, but we knew we had to pace ourselves or we'd be making another stop - at the bank - before the day was out. (Oh, who are we kidding. *cough*MasterCard*cough*)

Next stop: Breezewood Garden Center...

Petitti Garden Center - Avon (Cleveland), OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 26 May 2007 14:17:00 +0000

Petitti Garden Center - 33777 Chester Rd., Avon, OH

It was now about 4:30 in the afternoon, and we still needed to go north to Avon, which is on the south shore of Lake Erie. Pettiti's has several locations in the Cleveland area, but the one in Avon is the newest, having just opened in March of this year.

We first got a glimpse of it as we traveled west on Interstate 90 and we nearly drove off the road from the gawking. We had to go past it and north a bit, then back east on a smaller road. We passed a Walmart that was much larger than ours and looked like it had a generous garden center, so even though we'd been rubbing elbows with a much higher class of greenery, you just never know, so we stopped there for a bit. I did come out with a small Nishiki willow, which I returned to our local Walmart once we got home. (There was a good reason for that.)

Petitti's was open until 8:00 p.m. and it was after 6:00 when we got there. Plenty of time to look around, right? HA! We were so naive about this place, but that changed when we walked in the front door. Toto, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore. Or as the gentleman behind us said, "Good God Almighty..."

You know, I don't know if I can adequately put into words a description of this mega-nursery. It's the Cabela's of gardening. You name it; they've got it, and more. Oodles more. I wanted to promptly rent a U-Haul and load it up. And that greenhouse! The ceiling is 40 feet tall.

There was a large assortment of fountains and statuary.

All their trees and bushes were 50% off, which wasn't a huge temptation for me until I came to the Japanese Maples.

Gorgeous large specimen trees, including 'Autumn Moon' and another green one that I would have purchased, even though I'd already spent too much money. Problem was, we had no room in the van for it.

If you are ever in the Cleveland area or even remotely close, you have to visit Petitti's. In fact, find a reason to be near them. It is unlike anything we'd ever seen and though they didn't have the 'Pink Octopus' Campanula either, I think they had everything else.

We didn't find most of their plant prices to be any higher than anywhere else, nor those of the pottery, of which they had a huge selection. It's just that they have such a large and beautiful selection of all things gardening, you'll find things that you didn't know you needed until you got here.

This is just the Heuchera section:

Only the ones in the blue pots are $19.99. They are the 'New in Blue', which are the new introductions.

I'm not sure where you might use this big pot, but it was cool. A woman said to my mom, as she stood for this picture, "Either that pot is really big, or you're really short." A little of both, I think!

Just in case you're interested in purchasing the urn - $3999.99 and it's yours. Plus delivery.

They even had a pet shop within their store. I didn't notice any pets for sale, but they had everything you might need for them!

There was a Smith & Hawken section. Lowe's had a smaller one of those, too.

Just for this weekend, the Scott's Miracle Gro NASCAR Busch Racing Series Car #60 was on display in the greenhouse.

Other displays...

We left for home at about 8:30 and we talked about what a wonderful trip we'd had. I don't think there's anyone else in the world that I'd rather travel with on a trip like this than my mom. She's always up for any kind of adventure and though she's 72 years old, she has more energy than I do (she always has). Some of my best memories of times with my mom are these gardening jaunts that we take every now and again.

We were almost home, going around Defiance and chatting away when I noticed flashing lights in my rear view mirror. I looked down at my speedometer and it read 56 mph. I said to Mom,"I don't know if he's trying to pull me over, or if he's headed somewhere else, because I'm not speeding." But he didn't go around, so I slowed and pulled to the side of the road. Yes, he wanted me. Gulp.

Apparently, we were in a construction zone and the speed limit was 45 mph. We'd both missed the sign that was posted several miles back and because of the holiday weekend, no one was working and it was dark, so we didn't notice the construction to the west of the highway. He generously let me go with only a warning and I was grateful. With construction zone fines being double, that would have likely cost me more than I'd spent the entire weekend. Whew!

We got back to my house around midnight, where Mom discovered that Romie had locked her keys in her car. She'd put them on the floor and he'd not found them, assumed she'd taken them with her, and locked up her car. She took our van home and would drive back out in the morning with the spare set of keys.

So while exhausted from all the running around and the adrenaline rush from seeing all the wonderful nurseries and the flower show, this was one of the most enjoyable gardening trips Mom and I have taken yet.

Lowe's Greenhouse - Chagrin Falls (Cleveland), OH

noreply@blogger.com (Kylee Baumle) — Sat, 26 May 2007 14:12:00 +0000

Lowe's Greenhouse - 16540 Chillicothe Rd., Chagrin Falls, OH

Next up was Lowe's Greenhouse, which was the impetus for our current nursery tour. It was more like the traditional garden center we were used to, but larger. It seemed to be a little more personal than the nurseries we'd just been to, and we spent a couple of hours there.

Again, lovely plants and some that we'd not seen in the other places, which is one reason we enjoy nursery hopping so much. Each place has something a little bit different than the others.

We had a nice conversation with Mary Lynn, and she was quite helpful with answering our questions.

I spied some blue pots, but was able to resist buying one. I've always told my girls, "You can never have too many white shirts," and I think now I'll have to add, "You can never have too many blue pots." I just love them.

While this wasn't the largest greenhouse we'd visited so far, it seemed like they had a more varied selection of plants that we'd not encountered in our previous gardening ventures. It was here that I made the most purchases, which included a Lewisia, a German Bearded Iris, a Wisteria that will actually bloom because it already has flower buds on it, a variegated Abutilon, an Aruncus, and a vining Jasmine.

Last stop on the tour: Petitti Garden Center...