Doing a Bit of Herb Plunking Again!

Back left is lemon bee balm, 'Angel's perfume' scented geranium, clary sage, next is 'French Fringed' lavender, 'Coconut Punch' dianthus, 'Hummelo' betony and 'Blue Mound' rue

As you may know by now, I am an herbal plunker and an herb collector.  I do admit it.  I love the latest and greatest of herbs and so maybe in the end that's the answer.  I just love most herbs and feel the need to purchase them all!  I have tried for many years to come up with a good plan once they are purchased, herbally speaking.  But I buy so many herbs that we just fit them in where we can.  Sometimes we have great successes and other times not so much.  We will see how these perform together.  I just wanted to be able to see them and enjoy them!  So hopefully before the end of the season I will talk about what I purchased and see how each performed in the garden even planting this late.  I usually have everything I want planted by the end of May.  So this is a bit later than usual.  England is to blame!

The ickies and stickies persist in the 'Burgh!  I have been busy picking raspberries and make jam.  I have 16 jars already with another batch set up today to make tomorrow.  I think we are headed to another 100 jar season at this rate.  Hope you are having a great day wherever you may be.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Pennsylvania Herbal Road Trip Came to An End with More Herbs and A Sweet Remembrances Afternoon Tea!

So as I talked about the first day, we did start day three of our herbal adventure at the Herbal Springs Farmstead at Ephrata.  We were both lamenting the fact that there were more herbs to purchase there that were calling our names!  So we stopped by and met Rhoda's son, Dave because Rhoda was helping her daughter who was moving paint the new place!  We will see you again Rhoda!

Then we thought about going to the Landis Valley Village & Farm Museum to see their gardens and our friend, Shelley, after we came back said that is one place we need to go to next time!  So one of the stops on the Rosemary House bus trip was to Cloverleaf Herb Farm in Mt. Joy.  Kathy and John Musser (newly retired to the business) own and operate Cloverleaf in their backyard.  I was impressed with the neat and orderly appearance of every bed.  She has a lovely gift shop and even though it was later in the season, she still had interesting varieties of herbs and old-fashioned flowers.  One of the big events they attend every year in early May is the Herb & Garden Faire at Landis Valley Museum in Lancaster, PA.  Bonnie, we may have to do this next year.  I remember going to one early on and thought it was great.  They have approximately 80 vendors now and I bet it is not to be missed!

Entrance to the Gift Shop and Herbs and Flowers Under the Pergola!

Lots of Herbal Goodies in the Gift Shop!

A Lovely Knot Garden

The Thyme Bed Was Fabulous!

Kathy and John Musser Enjoying Their Lives!

Then one of the main reasons to go to central Pennsylvania was so we could stop and see the Reppert sisters at Rosemary House and have afternoon tea with Nancy at Sweet Remembrances.  Bonnie and I enjoy going to both places have been there many times and always enjoy our visits.

Lovely Herbs and Flowers to Walk Through and Stop to Enjoy!

A Whimsical Arbor of Broken Teapots!

A Remembrance Plaque for The Repperts!

Bonnie and I Getting Ready for Our Tea!

Old Country Roses Pattern

My First Pot from the Bottomless Tea Collection Was Assam!

A Summer Berry Salad Dressed with a Raspberry Vinaigrette!

The Sandwiches Were Egg Salad, Chicken Salad, Olive and Cream Cheese and A Zucchini Muffin with Relish!

Cream Scones Warm Out of the Oven (Oh, Boy!) and a Selection of Fruit!

Dessert Was Raspberry Cheesecake, Coconut Cake with Lemon Curd and Mexican Wedding Cakes!

I always enjoy taking a stroll through Rosemary House's herb and flower garden.  So full of life and charm.  Miss the birdhouse wall on the garage in the back of the property.  They had to replace the siding with vinyl and David said no more nails!  I love that they remember their parents with a plaque and I always stop to say a little prayer for both of them.  I was lucky to meet Bertha and Byron and have learned so much from Bertha and I am still learning.  Byron was a favorite on the bus trips because he always had such corny wonderful jokes and was a diehard Penn State fan.  I got a big bag of my favorite chai, Rosemary's chai and another favorite, Roastmary!  So glad that Susanna and David are carrying on with Rosemary House and Nancy has Sweet Remembrances.

So let's talk about Nancy's fabulous teas.  She does a SereniTea every Wednesday and the first Saturday of the month for any number of people by reservation between 11AM and 2 PM.  She also does fabulous themed teas to coincide with the Rosemary House schedule of events.   I call Nancy, "She who plays with her food"!  She does it so well.  She always starts with a lovely salad of seasonal fruit and greens with a delicious dressing.  Then comes the first of many pots of tea if you like.  I had three different flavors!  Then comes the tea tray and Nancy comes to go over the selections she has made for the day.  BTW, she always asks about food preferences when you make your reservation so you are sure to have just the food you can eat.  Bonnie's and my favorite part is that the scones come out of the oven warm and are so flaky and light!  I caught Bonnie picking up the flakes of the scones with her fingers so she wouldn't miss anything!  We never go away hungry from Sweet Remembrances.  In fact this time we both took dessert home.  The Herbal Husband enjoyed mine immensely!  I don't think Bonnie shared!  We are already trying to find a way to get back for another tea and maybe a class at Rosemary House in the fall.

We are really icky and sticky here in the 'Burgh!  The temperature is in the high 80's but feels like 90's!  So I hope you have enjoyed this latest PA/NJ herbal road trip.  Will get back to some herb garden news or maybe a post about my latest English trip.  Stay tuned.  Hope you had a great day!  Talk to you tomorrow!  

Off to the Jersey Shore! Oh Wait! No! It Was Off to the Jersey Herb Farm, An English Tearoom and Willowwood!!

So day two of the Pennsylvania road trip was actually extending the road trip into New Jersey!  One of my favorite and one of the best herb farms in the east is Well Sweep Herb Farm.  The Hyde family are collectors of plants specifically herbs.  It is like a wonderful place for the herb gardeners/collectors like Bonnie and I.  I am always at Well Sweep for their Christmas shop in November.  So Louise Hyde, grand dame of Well Sweep was surprised to see me in June!  I like to keep her guessing.  If you are looking for unusual herbs, Well Sweep is the place for you.  They have both a print and digital catalog and they do do mail order.  I have mail ordered in the last several years and it is like a wonderful Christmas surprise in May.  Very enjoyable, herbally speaking.

Look How Happy I am to be at Well Sweep!

They Have Beautiful Display Gardens with Everything Identified!

So Many Herb Varieties, So Little Time!

A Really Lovely Knot Garden!

Still Early in the Garden Season, But Already Looking Good!

We just had the best time going from bed to bed seeing all of the varieties of herbs that they offered!  It was a fabulous visit and of course, we came away with lots of plants!  Then it was off to one of my favorite tearooms in Chester, New Jersey called Sally Lunn's Tearoom & Restaurant.  I love their afternoon tea any time of day.  Sandwiches of egg, cucumber and cream cheese and salmon, fruit and a big oversized scone with clotted cream and jam.  Bonnie had one of the many specials of the day, lobster sliders and salad.  Everything was fresh made and delicious!  To top it off big glasses of iced tea because it was too hot for hot tea!  Always enjoy my visit to Sally Lunn's!

On Perry Street in Chester is My Favorite, Sally Lunn's!

My Afternoon Tea!

Bonnie's Lobster Sliders and Salad!

So I really don't have time usually to explore the Chester, NJ area because I have to rush back to pick up The Herbal Husband after his top show.  So I Googled before Bonnie and I started this adventure for gardens in the area and found the Willowwood Arboretum just 9 miles away from the tearoom.  Started in 1908 by two brothers, Harry and Robert Tubbs and Harry's adopted son, Dr. Benjamin Blackburn developed the land into Willowwood which has become New Jersey's most comprehensive and continuously operating arboretum.  A little Chanticleer like but different with a lot of land to explore.  Glad we got to see a small portion of this beautiful arboretum.  For dinner we went to Texas Roadhouse where I had the salmon.  It was delish!  

Has a Very Country Feel!

Lovely Cottage Garden!

A Beautiful House!

More Garden Space!

The Roserie!

My Salmon Dinner at the Texas Roadhouse!

 So ended the second day of our herbal road trip and I would say it was a very fun and herbally expansive day!  We have the ickies and stickies and now thunderstorms.  I am picking raspberries like crazy and making jam!  It is a very productive year already!  Hope you had a great day!  Talk to you tomorrow.

Pennsylvania Herbal Road Trip with Bonnie!

Bonnie and I enjoy going on herbal road trips together.  We have always said that our best times of the day are buying herb plants and having lunch, afternoon tea or dinner together.  So bottom line plants and food are our passions and frankly everything else is irrelevant!  Bonnie needed a break from her routine and so we headed to the east.  I worked on modeling our trip after one of Rosemary House's day trips which we couldn't go on because I was in England.  We were going to stop for lunch at one of our favorites, Jean Bonnet Tavern near Bedford, PA.  I see from their website that they have an herb garden and goats!  How did I miss that?  We stopped on our way home from the HSA national meeting last year on Mother's Day and while it was busy, we walked in and got a seat!  Love this place!

So I wanted to try something new, but tested and the ladies at Rosemary House came up with my answer, the tea cafe at the Oxford Hall Celtic Shop!  I had a chuckle with myself because of course, Bonnie remembered that New Cumberland is where we met up with the Rosemary House bus trips for years.  OK, so I forgot!  It is very easy to find.  Cindy and Steve Washburn have put their hearts and souls into the shop and the cafe.  They are running both the business and the cafe, cooking every day they are open!  Our hats off to their passion in life!  The cafe is a very small space, but they serve lovely fresh food.  I tried the tomato and pesto tart and Bonnie tried the Irish BLT.  Both were very good.  We took some sweet treats, a sugar cookie for me and a molasses one for Bonnie for the road.  Cindy told us the story of the business and talked about putting a green roof on the building and having a garden upstairs.  We would definitely like to see that the next time we are through New Cumberland!

Entrance to the Cafe with Lovely Garden Borders!

My Tomato and Pesto Tart Served with Salad on Top!

Lovely tomatoes in the center with pesto and phyllo pastry!

Bonnie's Irish BLT!

Next stop on the first day was the Ephrata Cloister one of the earliest religious communities in the United States founded in 1732.  Not much gardening here which was surprising.  It was a very peaceful place full of history though.

A Very Peaceful and Tranquil Place!

The Physican's Garden-A German Four Square with dye and medicinal plants

Our final stop on the first day was to Herbal Springs Farmstead.  I was using GPS but with the sound off at Bonnie's behest because she doesn't like to be told where to go!  Unfortunately, I got going the wrong way and the GPS was screaming to turn around even taking me around the block.  I thought it had gone crazy and turned it off.  Then we really got going the wrong way and ended in a bible church parking lot in a cornfield.  Such is life in central Pennsylvania!  We called and talked to the son who got us straightened out and Rhoda was waiting for us!  

A Farm Stand on Steroids!

Lovely Rhoda!  Just Thought of the Mary Tyler Moore Show When I Heard Her Name!

Their Vegetable Garden Behind the House

A Shed With Character!

Really Rhoda Martin has a passion and love of plants and she shows it in all of the choices she has for sale.  Unusual annuals and perennials and a very lovely selection of herbs.  She does hide some of the herbs (not really) but if you aren't looking in the right places, you will miss some real bargains.  And she was selling everything 50% off at the moment.  She said she had to stay competitive in Lancaster County.  We loved Rhoda's prices so much we started the third day with another stop at Rhoda's.  So all in all we had a great first day on the herbal hunt in Pennsylvania.  Can I just say in passing that small businesses need our support.  If you live in an area that has wonderful family owned and operated businesses, please support them with your business!  We ended the day with a steak at Carrabba's Italian Grill in Allentown.   Stay tuned for day two maybe tomorrow!

A beautiful hot and humid day here in the 'Burgh!  More plants to move around and plant!  Hope you had a great weekend.  Will be talking more herbs tomorrow as always.  Oh, BTW I have caught up on all of your comments and questions finally!  Talk to you later.

Moving Day in the Herb Garden!

A Fourth of July Tradition!  Blueberry Muffins!

Happy 4th of July to my readers in the United States!  Hopefully you will have a safe and happy time today!  We had our traditional blueberry muffins for breakfast!  The Herbal Husband and I had another great cloudy day to move some chives out of my main herb garden.  I think they will thrive along with an extra lovage that we love to cook with.  Have a few more plants to fit in and I will just have to keep everything weeded.

Lovage Right Between Two Chives!

My red bee balm is in full bloom in time for the 4th!  Just love the flowers and leaves.  Maybe will do a longer post soon.

The Bee Balm Has Taken Its Own Path in the Garden!

Rain has started here in the 'Burgh.  Hopefully it won't dampen the fireworks tonight!  Hope you have had a great holiday.  Talk to you tomorrow!

If Plan A Won't Work, We'll Try Plan B!

Well, day two of planting and of course we had to have a disagreement on what went where, herbally speaking.  I was hopeful that I would get my way, but in my heart of hearts I knew that The Herbal Husband's plan was better and a bit easier to execute.

I did come up with a plan for the other back bed that I am working on.  We are going to move some of the chives to the back and make a hedge out of it!  That will open up space in my main herb garden that is suddenly out of space.  That's what happens when everything is flourishing.  So we added some space above the rock wall and we both think it has turned out well.

Closeups of These Herbs and Flowers to Follow!

From left to right the herbs and flowers are as follows:  mint scented marigold or Texas tarragon, 'Summer Sunshine' germander, winter savory, 'Hot Papaya' coneflower, 'Apricot Beauty' foxglove, golden feverfew, variegated 'Berggarten' sage, chocolate flower, golden feverfew, 'Orange and Lemon' gaillardia, showy variegated calamint, lilac 'Miss Kim', 'Berggarten' sage and curry plant.

The 'Berggarten' sage and the curry plant

I am going to pull back the pineapple mint so that these plants have a chance.  We had another great day here.  Not too sunny and not too hot, just right!  I also picked another batch of raspberries for jam tomorrow.  I will have a whole box of jam already!  Hope you had a great day.  I will talk to you tomorrow.

Oh Dear! I Mean Deer! And A New Beginning But Have To Share!

I purchased quite a few herbs on this last road trip.  The Herbal Husband has relinquished his veggie garden to me.  So I have had to share space with a few of his leftovers, garlic and a lot of goldenrod!  Oh and a lot of weedy grasses!

A Volunteer Sunflower and Goldenrod Share the Space!

So I put in Mexican sages, a milkweed called 'Hello Yellow', 'Lemon Gem' marigolds, 'Moonshine' yarrow, a perennial bachelor button called 'Amethyst Dream', verbena bonariensis which I hope will self-sow and gray santolina.  Hopefully everything will coexist.

Hopefully only a one time visit!

Oh and we have a new resident under the pine trees.  A young fawn!  Hope it will not find the new garden too enticing!  The Herbal Husband cut some scapes from the garlic and spread it around the perimeter of the garden.  It was a beautiful day in the 'Burgh.  Not too hot and had a little breeze.  Perfect for planting.  Hope you are having a great weekend.  Talk to you tomorrow.

Bye to June, Hello to July! Yikes!

First Batch of Raspberries Set Up June 30, 2016!

First Batch of the 2016 Raspberry Jam Season, July 1, 2016!

So I didn't have such a productive blogging month in June.  Hopefully July will be a bit better.  Am going to try the 31 days of blogging technique I used last December.  I will do my best to catch you up on what's going on in the herb garden and trips.  Yes, I said trips.  I took a short but eventful trip with my herbal companion, Bonnie ten days ago.  OK, we had afternoon tea and bought herbs.  Our two favorite pastimes when we are together.  We are very guilty!  Here are some of the herbal treasures I got from Well Sweep Herb Farm. 

These Need To Be Planted In a Hurry!

Been working diligently to find empty spaces!  It is a huge task!  So hopefully you will see my progress or should I say our progress because without The Herbal Husband's help it wouldn't be possible in the coming days.   So Facebook reminded me this morning that my first batch of raspberry jam last season was set up today.  So I already have a batch done a day sooner!  My summer has begun. We have sort of cooled down in the weather department here in the 'Burgh.  Maybe a bit of rain today, but a warmer weekend with no rain to look forward for the holiday!  So I will just be here blogging.  Please stop by if you get the chance!  Talk to you soon!