The Penn State Master Gardner's Symposium

Today was the Penn State Master Gardener's Symposium. This is a once a year seminar that lasts one day. We make this one of the spring beginnings for the season each year.

Each year they have a number of speakers to talk about gardening from designing to vegetable garden and more. This year we heard from experts and doctors in their field for perennials, vegetable gardening, native gardening and we also had a local wild animal expert visit us.

Jack Hubley is a licensed falconer, with several licenses to keep and maintain several birds of prey. He often does shows mostly for children, trying to teach about the wildlife in this area and how they impact us and the gardens. I must admit he was the highlight of the day especially when he came with several of his animals.

He first showed us a skunk. He was trying to tell us how incredible they were when they weren't skunk pie in the middle of the road. And admittedly, I thought his skunk was actually delightful. This one was born a captive critter and had been desented at a very young age. Being born a captive critter, to be left in the wild it would become instant prey for the skunk's arch enemy (yes, there is an animal that will actually eat them).

He also brought us his red-tailed hawk. This little lady was hit by a truck on Route 30 some eight years ago when she dove after a meadow vole and into the path of the truck. A passing motorist saw the accident and called the Dover Wildlife Rescue and stayed with her until they arrived to rescue her. Her right wing was permanently damaged so her days as a free bird are no longer. She now visits schools and functions such as this one to show folks how magnificent her species truly is.

He also showed us the skunk's arch enemy - the Great Horned Owl. I know this bird as I see them at night around the house, especially when the baby rabbits leave the nest. Here he is showing the comparison size of the eyes of both human and Great Horned Owl. Not only do they eat rabbits, but cats and skunks. If you love your cat, you keep it in the house at night.

He showed us his male peregrine falcon. He did say this boy was a prima dona and the bird proved it every time Jack opened his mouth, the bird spoke up even louder. He told us about the birds and how they've been multiplying nicely, their numbers increasing annually - but not as good as the eagles. He also discribed the flight abilities of these birds and how impressive they are.

He also showed us a 6' black rat snake, a very common snake in this area. This is a snake you often see sunning itself stretched across the less traveled roads around here. Even though they aren't poisonous, I'd still rather keep my distance and allow them the respect they need.

He also showed up the white footed mouse (field mouse as we call them here) and the meadow vole, two of the most hunted animals on the planet. For being so tiny, these creatures are the corner stone of all predator life here.

The whole talk he was moving through the audience with his animals and only one person left the room when he got the snake out. The rest of us gardeners were able to handle all the mice, voles, snakes, skunks, and birds of prey he presented to us and could even appreciate them.

All in all, the day was incredible and well worth the money and the time. It started at 7:30 AM with coffee and breakfast and then a nice meal for lunch. It ended a little after 4PM because we decided to keep Jack Hubley and his animals a bit longer. It was a fun day and very enlightening. I look forward to next year already.

2010 Overview

2010 turned out to be an extremely rough year for the family. With my mother's passing, September 27 and some serious illness with the rest of the family, it was hard enough. Add to that the deaths of four friends and an aunt on Christmas Day and all this made for a very rough year.

Even going into January of 2011, things still hadn't settled. But now, everything seems to be getting better, evening out and calming down. I certainly hope so anyway. I am in need of some quiet, restful time.

Now, however, spring in right around the corner and the early spring events have already begun to start. My weekends are filling up quickly. But I still have quiet time, like this morning and they feel good.

A New Toy

Using some inheritated money, I was able to buy myself a new camera. I got a Canon 7D. This is a really cool camera and it arrived just in time to learn how to use it for spring.

I'm thinking I'm really going to need it this year.

Some winter pictures of my neighborhood.

The dog, Bratley no longer goes for walks with me anymore. His joints have begun to break down and even walks can get painful for him. So I opt to leave him at home now. He will still go to the mailbox with us and is actually beginning to enjoy car rides. He will be 12 in August.

I think I'm really going to like this camera. The sharpness is so totally on and I like the idea of using multiple points of focus. It appears to do really well in dim and low light as well as compensates with the white light for the sun. It has all kinds of adjustments for all types of lighting and has an extremely fast shutter speed for when we decide we want to photograph wildlife.

The sharpness brings out the depth of Tootsie's coloring in this shot. She is actually one of the prettiest diluted cocalicos I've ever seen. Even after three years, I'm still getting a charge out of this cat. She is silly, sensative and deeply bonded.

Something New

There were some things that I didn't get when we built this house. It seemed that on some fronts I was out voted.

The first was the hardwood floors, which I now have. They were put in about 5 years ago.

The second was the master bath which was put in about 3 years ago.

Today was the front door. I had wanted a nice fancy door for the front of the house, but was out voted for that as well. Now I have it. This door has a light in it to allow natural light to enter one of the darkest corners of the house. It isn't finished yet as the new trim needs painted, but that will come fairly quickly.

This door was custom made since I wanted specific things with it such as the brass caning to match the beautiful lock set that I had bought when we built the house. I now also have my button doorbell that I bought when we first built the house but the electrician refused to install it. Instead he put up a yucky plastic thing that looked tacky and didn't belong to the rest of my house. Of course the door was a contractor's grade steel door too.

There are still a couple of things I would like to do to my house, but one thing at a time. With each thing I get done, the closer I come to having the home I envisioned when we first built this place.

Roadside America shots

Traveling north along the Susquehanna River, we had to stop and take a couple of pictures of the river. This year has been hot and dry and the water level in the river is low and more calm than in other years.

Because of this, the waterlilies are in their glory! Along this part of the river it is rare to see them, expecially as they look here. We noticed them in the more calm spots all up and down the river as we sped along.

Egrets aren't usually seen along this river as well. They generally seem to like the more calm, shadier areas of smaller rivers and streams in the area, so to see several (there were six of them but three of them took wing before the shot was taken) in one spot on the Susquehanna River is something I don't see all that often.

As you can see, the river in this spot is relatively shallow and the water seems calm. In this part of the river there are small islands that peek above the water's crest and trees grow readily there. The bogs are above the water line as well and covered with grasses. In the foreground, the waterlilies happily help themselves to some sun.

Today, I was actually smacked on the shoulder by a couple of fighting hummingbirds! I was startled and amazed and had to check my should to make sure their wings didn't cut me. They continued to fly off still fighting each other. Those little wings felt like razor blades.

If you ask me again how I feel about where I am living, I might have to answer you. There should be no need for an answer. Just look at the pictures and discover how they make you feel.

This visitor

Yesterday Husband was outside preparing to burn some garden debris when out from underneath the pit came a 5' black snake.












Apparently it had been under there to rest and Shed it's skin.

More Eye Candy

Eye Candy

These shots were taken with a 75-300 4.ISO USM lens

Treasures from the Vegetable Garden

There are treasures from the garden. Here I have two Black Beauty eggplant, three Candy onions and two carrots that are two different varieties of three that I planted this year. Don't ask me what varieties because I remember not.

The rest of the onions will come out of the garden when I find a mesh bag to put them in.

One of the eggplant and the carrots are destined for the cooking pot this week. The onions, well, they really need that mesh bag and a cool dark place such as a root cellar. I have just the spot for them.

Let the feasting begin.

First and Foremost

First and Foremost, 2010, Frank A. Benardella.

For a number of years I've been attending the "Mid-Winters" rose convention put on by the Penn-Jersey District Rose Society. There I had the opportunity to meet and get to know Frank Benardella. A lovely man, avid rose breeder, active and a pleasure to be around. He passed away this past February.

When I realized I wanted two more miniatures, I looked at the varieties that I didn't have and decided on the very last one Frank had put into production before his death. First and Foremost is turning into a very lovely, strong, active rose reminding me of him. I'm very pleased with this rose so far. How it takes my winters will tell me how strong this little rose really is. I have two of these, one on each side of a stepping platform from the garden to the patio.

Oh, if you're wondering about the cage. Bratley, my dog, seems to have issues with the stepping platform and runs through the bed to get on the patio. The cage is around the tiny, baby roses to keep him from crushing them. Once they're established and have some size, the cages will come off.

I find the cages help for a number of reasons, mostly animals. I use the cages to keep rabbits and mice away from very young trees that still have green trunks. Especially over the winter, rabbits and mice will chew on the trunks of saplings, hence killing them. Larger scarfs or wraps around the trunks of larger trees will help keep bucks from rubbing on them, again killing the trees. Once the saplings have the thick bark on their trunks the rabbits and mice will let them be, while the deer seem to like the trees between the rabbit and the "mature" stages. At least this has been my experience.

I do have to admit to really liking First and Foremost. I think it is a very lovely rose.

The Chaste Tree (Vitex)

My husband mentioned just the other day that he wanted to enlarge the front corner bed to include a nice Autumn Blaze maple that is in the area. I just stared at him as he told me his plans.

Always in July the Chaste trees bloom. A very lovely shrub type tree that we generally keep as shrubs here. They are a large draw of pollinators as well as people, who stop along the road to view these lovely trees and often ask about them. The blooms will last only a few weeks, but in that time, they are covered with bees, wasps, hummingbirds, butterflies and all sorts of pollinators.

Getting back to my Husband and his ideas; as you can see, the Chaste tree in the picture is getting quite large and is planted far to close to the spruce behind it. I've been asking him for years to transplant the chaste trees and a variegated Japanese willow further into the garden, about ½ way between the spruce and the Autumn Flame maple. He always bulked at that saying it would make the bed far to large and the amount of mulch it would take to keep it nice would be great and at great expense. He didn't see what I saw and now he does. Of course, the three trees (shrubs) to be moved are far to large for him to handle now.

I'm not sure what we're going to do about these trees (shrubs) yet. There are three of them. Two chaste trees and one variegated Japanese willow. By moving them into the garden more, they will have more room to get large without crowding each other or the spruce and maple trees. They will fill in the entire corner of the garden, yet still be protected from the West winds in the winter.

I would still want to keep them as shrubs because they do want heavy pruning to keep up a good flower production and to keep them as trees with nice sized trunks, it might be to hard to keep them pruned at the top. Also I don't want them to big because the site calls for a more scrubby tree or shrub as they are now.

I will have to check with the local nurseries and see if they have the vitex (chaste trees) readily available. I might have to have these removed because of their size and replant new ones where I want them. That would be to bad because these are really beautiful show stoppers.

The only drawback to these plants are the long winter sleep. In my zone 6B garden, they are usually the first to lose their leaves and the very last to push them out in the spring. Often (and for the first two years anyway), I had to refrain from digging them out in the spring thinking they were dead. They don't push their leaves until the very end of May to the 1st of June. Yet, once they start, they don't waste a moment. My chaste trees are 7 years old, planted from a 2 gallon pot in the spring of 2003.

I will check the local nurseries to find out how readily available these plants are before I have these three removed. I want all three and if I have to I'll check into how much it would cost to have them transplanted by a professional who is licensed to do this kind of large shrub/tree transplanting. It might be too costly though.

I've included a link to Dave's Garden - a website that is an extensive database of plants. Here he describes the chaste tree as well as has reviews from folks who have them in their gardens, where to purchase them, etc.

http://davesgarden.com/guides/pf/showimage/39966/

A New Rose

A new rose for this year. Brigadoon. I have a feeling that this rose will do well in my garden. I've been looking at it for almost 4 years now and finally got it. I have a feeling that if it does well, I'll be considering this my favorite hybrid tea. I've liked this rose from the start and am happy to have it in my garden.

Another Photo Contest

For the past week I've been getting ready for another photo contest. What makes this contest a bit harder than the others is the lack of current photos I have to work with. Even though this is the best flush of the year, I still have to go out there to take the pictures which takes more time than you can imagine. Then the countless nights sitting up reviewing all the pictures to pick out the best ones and prepare them for a contest.

Now, think that I'll take over 1,000 pictures to have 10 that I think are good enough to enter. The F-Stop, weather, lighting and all conditions must be absolutely right to get a good garden shot that will be a winner.

There are usually three contests that I will enter a year. However, the past two I've entered only two. This year I'm going to enter all three again. I have to admit I have some really great shots this year.

Some of the photos that have made it to the table over the years are:






Summer Wine - 2009 American Rose Photo Contest (Nat'l) 1st place

Water Bearer 2007 - American Rose Photo Contest (Nat'l) - Princess of Court

Summer Fashion, 2007 -

Best in Show Penn/Jersey District Rose Society 2007

1st place American Rose Photo Contest (Nat'l).

Margaret Merril 2006 -

Best White - York Area Rose Society Contest

Rosa Eglanteria 2006 -

Best in Show - Penn Jersey District Photo Contest

1st Place - American Rose Society Photo Contest

These are just the more recent ones that I can remember that made it to the winner's table. There are many more that hang on my walls with their ribbons. Usually only the court and best in show make it to the winner's table. The rest are displayed handsomely with their ribbons.

I'm hoping to have some winners in this group of 2010 photos that we are now taking. Prospects do look good. If there are any, I'll be sure to post them.

Today's News

Today NBC did quite a long story on the oil leak in the Gulf. This entire affair does have me a bit upset as it appears to have many others upset as well. Why has it been a month with no sight to plugging this killer. Why has BP dragging their feet? The President is taking the blame for not plugging this leak yet. However, I think he's put himself in the hot seat to give BP time to figure something out. That's the impression I got anyway. It does appear that there are a lot of folks out there that are using him as an escape goat; too cowardly to own up to their own stupidity and greed. This seems to have been allowed to run rampart for far too long.

It's about 20 years ago, now, we bought a house in the suburbs of Lancaster. It was a cheaply built, but a pretty little house with a bit of property attached. I especially liked this property because of the 100 year old trees that stood in the boundaries. At the time, it was expensive for us, but we thought well worth it.

As settlement day came closer, we were approached by UGI about running a gas line through our property to the development behind us. They would gladly pay us $1,000 for the use of our property. It was tempting until I found out that they would cut down the largest and most beautiful tree on the property as well as most of the other ones. I changed my mind and told them "no". They would simply have to wait for the road to go through. Those trees supported some of the most beautiful and interesting wildlife, as well as some species of birds I still don't see in my present garden. I would lose all that. To me, those trees were worth well more than a mere $1,000.

How much are those wetlands in Louisiana worth to us...the people of the US? The wildlife it supports? How many species of animals will no longer exist should we allow this fiasco to continue? How are we going to teach our children that we need to take care of our planet for it to take care of us? Is this the kind of example we want them to learn by? Is putting up with the greed and false PR from folks who really don't care something we want them to use as roll models?

All those millions of dollars spent to clean up this mess, once the "powers to be" decide to finally clean it up, could have been spent on alternative energy that is clean and doesn't involve destroying the earth and those who live on it.

Our President stood before us today and accepted the blame for all of this. He said it was his job and that "the buck stops here." Personally, I think he is trying to do his best against odds that are overwhelming and against greed and deceit that has been rampart for a very long time. Maybe he'll be gone with the next election, maybe he'll be able to turn things around. But in all honesty, I think he is really trying to climb a mountain without supports. And he seems to be getting none. He came into office with a promise. A promise he seems to want to keep. A promise he may not be able to keep. But, he's been the most honest president we've had in ages.

When we built this house, we built it in a farmer's field. This was a place where the deer rested and the field birds flourished. When we moved in, I started planting trees. To date, I have 65 trees on my little property. It's home to numerous birds, both forest and field. The deer wander through it as do other creatures such as Snapping turtles, snakes and fox. Most of the trees I planted are East Coast native trees that produce the food and shelter the animals and insects enjoy. We're fugal with our energy consumption, using the shade of the trees to cool the house and property in the summer and less of the AC. I would love to put up solar panels on the roof to make my home self-sufficient but it is still priced a bit out of reach for us.

I am very unnerved about what is happening along Louisiana's Gulf shores. This was a huge mistake to think that we could drill for oil so close to something so tender and the wetlands that are sorely needed to protect the land from the ravages of nature. Our natural areas are so much more important than the pocket books of a few.

Maybe growing up so close to the Amish gave me a few hints on how to conserve, or maybe not. One thing I know I do have is a healthy respect for all life, no matter what form it takes. All things have a purpose and it isn't ours to chose who lives and who dies for a percentage of what there is to be had.

Just my personal opinion.

A Busy Weekend

This past Sunday was a trip to Longwood Gardens. Set up by my rose group, we had a wonderful time with a master gardener of the roses of this establishment. However, many of the questions we were asking and discussing with him were not just of roses. There were other plants that interested us as well.

We were also interested in the volunteer work there. It was a wonderful tour of the gardens through the eyes of the master gardeners that work there.


Even as we moved around the garden with our tour guide, there was a lilium exhibit there the same day. As we went into the conservatory, your nose headed you in the right direction. The display was incredible! Thousands of lilies, many of which were the fragrant orientals and hundreds of varieties.

After going through the exhibit (or in my case, before), we headed down to the tent where Longwood had quite the collection of rare and exotic varieties of lilies for sale! Oh, what fun!!!!!

The group following our guide into the outside rose garden. We all had a great time!

Inside the tent, Bob and I had the opportunity to chat with the main curator and the lily gardener. He helped us to pick out four lovely varieties that would do well with my Casa Blanca lilies that I keep right near the deck where we eat when we eat outside. The varieties I got are:

Alessia - a lovely oriental of which with yellow striping and red stamens. No spots.

Bell Song - two-toned pink oriental

Eudoxia - a bright orange/yellow oriental with red stamens (a very unusual and new variety) I'm curious to see what this one does.

Roi - a double (the only double I have) oriental with red stamens and some spotting.


Mountain Laurel - Candy Cane.

After all that walking, we stopped at the Terrace restaurant for a lunch of mushroom soup (the best in the country), a Philadelphia cheese steak sandwich, and a chocolate cupcake that was large enough to share.

On the way home, we stopped by my sister's house to visit for an hour or so. We had a lot of planning for family get-togethers and other things so it was a rewarding stop. We also planned on the plant exchange that I'd been arranging with my sisters for quite some time.

It was a very good day all the way around.

Early Spring and Sinus Infection

Shenck's Ferry Columbine. I found this little pretty at the Penn State Wildflower sale last year. I couldn't resist it since I live less than a mile from Shenck's Ferry Wildflower preserve. It is a really pretty columbine and seems to be quite happy under the locust tree among the giant hosta.

Other wildflowers I got there but not shown here are the little purple wild violets. I had bought six of them three years ago and they are colonizing the entire front bed, making a very lovely purple and blue ground cover. I do have to admit to being very happy with the wildflower I've gotten there.

We are having an early spring here. It is the beginning of May and the roses are in bloom! They are about 3 weeks early this year. As long as we can beat the Thrips, I'll be happy. There is blackspot every where though.

Leonie Lamesch, Polyantha. This little rose I got hoping it would turn into another Marie Pavie only in red rather than white/pink. The bush didn't get nearly as big, but this year is very exquisitely lovely covered in the flowers that first drew my attention to it. Such a beautiful little rose.

Hot Tamale, Miniature. This is an absolutely stunning vermilion red with yellow reverses. A smaller rose to maybe ½" across but the color is eyecatching. That plus the fact that it is continuously in bloom makes it a winner in my garden. It's sport, Ruby Baby is also in my garden but now shown. Ruby Baby is a slightly deeper red and without the yellow reverse. Still, everything else about the tiny rose is the same. Both command attention here.

Climbing Rainbow's End, Climbing Miniature. Just like it's parent plant, Climbing Rainbow's End is becoming a very stunning little rose on a very large plant. The flower usually ½" across is mostly yellow with the red edges, blooms constantly and climbs up the laundry poles very nicely. I really don't expect it to get as large as some of the full sized climbing roses, but it doesn't have to where I keep it. I have two of these (2 laundry poles) and they both seem to be quite happy there.

City of York, Large Flowering Climber. The fragrance of this climber will totally knock your socks off. I was sold on this rose the first moment I smelled it. Apparently there has been some trouble with the propagating of this rose the past couple of years because I've not been able to get a second one. This one is now big enough to take cuttings and make my own. I'll be doing that this year.

Blue Barlow Columbine. An old world looking columbine, this double is a very sweet little plant. I had gotten three of them about five years ago. Now I have the popping up just about everywhere. That's OK though. They are so pretty I let them naturalize. They don't seem to be so prolific that they would take over every thing, but they do fill in nicely.

It's nice having such a beautiful spring this year. I simply can't enjoy it enough.

A Sad Thing

Yoshino Gawa.....

After 4 days of sustained high winds of 20 to 40 mph, we suffered a loss. My beloved Yoshino Gawa tree peony was grabbed by the wind and broken completely off just below ground level. It was a healthy, mature tree peony and always a subject of our cameras every year in bloom.

I had been so excited to be able to get this bush eight years ago, thinking and I still do, that it was a beautiful tree peony.



Yoshino Gawa flower...

Husband thought that maybe we could save it, but seriously, it was completely broken off the root. I haven't seen they Yoshino in a couple of years so I will have to pick another to replace it next spring.

Tree peonies are pricey and I'll need time to save up the money to buy another. That's OK. By next spring I will be able to get one. In the meantime, I still have Rimpo.

The Great Seed Production

Today was the day for the Heirloom Seed Festival at the Landis Valley Museum. We go there every year to get young plants for the garden, especially herbs and tomatoes, all of various varieties of heirlooms. I enjoy the heirlooms better than the more common varieties that are sold in nurseries and garden centers because the older varieties were bred and raised for taste rather than diseas resistance.

This is a huge event that happens every year, the Friday and Saturday before Mother's Day. Normally by then the weather here is warm and usually sunny. This year, it was cold, windy but at least not raining.

For entertainment, they had a harp player who was really quite good. Husband thought she reminded him of one of the Celtic Women and I have to agree. Her choice in music as well as her look made me think of them too. She was selling CDs.

A woman checking the plants at one of the many vendors. I will usually check the tent first, then visit the rose lady in the event that she has any varieties (all from the late 1800s to early 1900s, usually once bloomers) that I might be interested in and today made a bee-line to the hosta man for a hosta I knew I wanted - blue mouse ears. I had a feeling the hosta guy would have what I was looking for and he did. There I got Blue Mouse Ears for my miniature hosta bed under the large oak and I also got a June hosta for under the Fringe tree (when it grows up).

At the entrance to the museum, there were a couple of vendors who had products other than heirloom plants and a pet sitter. Since pets weren't allowed into the museum, the pet sitters watched after pets who came with their owners. This way they weren't left in overheated cars to wait for their owners.

Besides having a pet sitter, the project also has a plant sitter where you can deposit your purchases and they will be tended to and watched over by folks until you are finished with your shopping and visiting and are ready to leave.

The Heirloom Seed Project is something that the Landis Valley Museum does to help keep and maintain the wonderful varieties of vegetables and herbs of years past. Many of these vegetables and herbs would be lost because many large plant nurseries will sell plants that are known to be heavy producers. Usually when you gain something like larger tomatoes, you lose something else - taste, fragrance or something that can be missed. In tomatoes, herbs or other vegetables it might be taste. In roses and flowers it would be fragrance.

I like the heirloom varieties of vegetables. This is also where I was introduced to the herb, Lovage. Not being a fan of the texture of celery, but loving the taste, this herb helps me get the best of celery without the parts I don't like.

Besides all the vendors and the Market Place, the entire museum is open for folks to enjoy. The little town has a museum, store, inn, several houses and barn where there are cattle, oxen, horses and other animals, a gun smith, post office and more. All the attendents are dressed in period clothing. The church now has displays of items of period as well as a documentary film of the Pennsylvania Germans and their symbols and beliefs. It is a wonderful place to visit and learn about the remarkable history of Pennsylvania.

Even though the wind really took the energy out of you, it was a nice day. For lunch was pulled pork sandwiches and of course the most yummy chicken corn noodle soup on the face of this earth. I can never go there without getting that soup for lunch.