Madison Indiana, Lanthier Winery

The next several posts will feature my recent vacation in Madison, Indiana and then Lake Geneva, Delavan and Williams Bay Wisconsin.  There are many beautiful gardens and nature preserves in all the areas, and I wish I had been able to visit all of them.  Readers will be getting a taste of fall in the North with these photos.

I visited my sister, Jean in Madison, Indiana and volunteered with her at the Madison Chautauqua Festival of Art.  The original Chautauqua was founded in 1901 and was a 10 day religious, literary, scientific, political, theatrical and musical mix of performances, demonstrations, sermons and lectures.  The last year the event was held was 1929.  The Great Depression put an end to it.  In the early 1970's the Chautauqua was revived as an art festival.  Now the Chautauqua is a fine arts and crafts show with 250 artists and craftsmen from all over the US.  There is also a concurrent local arts and crafts show near the Courthouse called Old Court Days. There is a lot of musical entertainment as well, and of course delicious food.

Madison is located on the Ohio River and there is a beautiful river walk and park area near the historic and vibrant downtown. Madison has been recognized as "The prettiest small town in the Midwest " by the Ladies Home Journal and the "Best preserved town in the Midwest" by the Chicago Tribune.  I agree.

This post will feature pictures of the Lanthier Winery gardens which is situated right across the street from the river park.  They have the best blackberry wine I have ever tasted.  Unfortunately I forgot to go back to get a bottle or two on Sunday and they were closed on Monday when I was heading out of town.  Good excuse to make another trip up there.  Madison is located about an hour east of Louisville, so it is about a 7 or 8 hour drive from Birmingham.

This year the weather was perfect for the Chautauqua.  70's and partly cloudy.

The Winery Retail Center

You might want to visit sometime, so take a look at:
Lanthier Winery Web Address


or

visitmadison.org/

Garden Photo Tour

 There were long lines waiting for tastings on the days of the festival.

 Espaliered Pyrycanthus

 I loved their displays of gourds and pumpkins, both in and out of the potted plants.

 One of the entrances to the winery.

Wine cork mulch!

The balloons are there only during the festival, they are not a daily display.

 These were taken on Monday after the festival at a time when the winery is closed.  They do not gate or fence off the gardens.  Everyone is welcome to enjoy them at anytime.  I was very grateful for the early morning quiet in the garden. Even though it was an overcast day it was very beautiful.

 There are many little gazebos and shelters where patrons can sit and sip wine and enjoy the garden.

The next post will be about my sister's garden and the gardens of Lanier Mansion State Historic Site.

The Lemongrass Is In Its New Home

The lemongrass that looked like it was about to swallow the birdbath is in its new home this afternoon after a big battle on my part to get it dug up then moved.  I had to work and work to even get it out.  I made several rounds of digging with both a shovel and a spade and it finally began to lift a little.  It must have had pretty deep roots to be that stubborn.  I had first cut it way back to make it a little easier to move.  The fragrance of lemon kept me alert and energetic at least.  It was so heavy when I finally got it moving that I couldn't lift into the wheelbarrow and had to drag it across the lawn to its new home.  It is now residing in the garden bed where I had okra planted this past summer.  That is the most northerly bed and is right in front of the compost piles and newest blueberry bushes.  I hope that it has survived its ordeal and will grow well again next summer.

Yesterday friend Chris and I made the trip to Petals From the Past for their open house.  It was a delicious sampling as usual of all kinds of snacks and desserts.  I chose to drink their hot cider and there were only a couple of things I missed sampling.  One of the things we tasted were very sweet and good persimmon slices. Right away I decided it would be a good thing to have a persimmon tree if they taste that good.  We talked to Jason and he was very enthusiastic about the variety he served which is called fuyu.  When ripe, they are not as astringent as most persimmons and are perfect for both eating raw and cooking.  They ripen in the fall and are a soft orange color with flattish bottoms. They can be used in breads, made into jellies, roasted, and used in salads.  He didn't have any of the smaller more affordable trees left in stock, but will get some in January and I have been put on his list for an e-mail notification. Persimmon trees (diospyrols kaki ) of the fuyu variety is  a Japanese tree that grows In zones 6 to 10 in the US and is easy maintenance with usually high yields.  It grows 12 to 15 ft. tall, is tolerant of most soil conditions, drought tolerant , doesn't need spraying , grows in full to partial sun and has buttery yellow blossoms. Since they provide fruit in the fall, it would be a good thing to have, as all of the blue and black berries and the figs are finished producing in the summer.  I purchased some persimmons to bring home for December cooking and serving.  They will last for several weeks in the fridge, but I have already eaten two or 3 of them, so if I do not have enough willpower  there may not be any left for Christmas. 

Chris and I shopped for her new shade garden and picked up a wax myrtle for the far end where she needs the view into her neighbor's garden blocked and also got three native azaleas that will have yellow/orange sweet smelling blossoms.  She has already planted 3 oak leaf hydrangeas and an Alabama croton.  I gave her the white bottlebrush buckeye that I had been saving for her and we will now have the  bones of her garden finished when she gets those planted.  In the spring we will add the smaller plants like ferns, wild geraniums, pshlox, etc.  She wants to have a beautiful spring show of all natives when the garden is finished. Next time I am there the shrubs will be in, and I will take some more pictures to show the progress.

After my struggle with the lemongrass today, I started a new compost pile.  It is time to let the older one "cook"  I made this one with some fencing material I had rescued from my son's home.  I used tent stakes to secure it and made it about a 3 ft. diameter circle.  It is right next to the old one.  This is a perfect time to start a new pile as there is lots of brown material available in the form of leaves right now.  I also threw in some spent potting soil.  If there is  more brown material in the compost (carbon based)   than green (nitrogen based) it will speed the decomposition process. Almost every time I add kitchen scraps, I try to add a layer of soil or brown material.  I try to have a leaf pile somewhere in the garden all year that I can use for this purpose.  I will be turning the old pile now more often to help with decomposition as well as adding a little bit of lime.  By spring it should have turned into beautiful "black gold" for the veggie beds.

I have been reading a book written by the man who owns Rora Farms (the best eggs ever) titled Born Again Dirt. The author, Noah Sanders emphasizes that it is the health of our soils that is of utmost importance.  Noah says that using manufactured fertilizers (instead of organic) feeds the plants but not the soil, and that instead we should feed the soil which will then feed the plants which is the natural order of things. He says that if we have healthy soil we will have more healthy plants that will be more resistant to disease and pests.  You can get his book by contacting www.bornagaindirt.com

Happy Planting,
Gma Susie

First Killling Frost

It finally happened this past weekend.  Our first killing  frost arrived after a very warm and lovely Thanksgiving Day.  All of the remaining zinnias and cosmos are now gone until next summer.  They stayed with us a good long time, and I had even seen a couple of gulf frittilaries still around last week.  I covered the basil hoping to save it for a week or two more, but it succumbed to the cold temperatures even under plastic.  The sage and tarragon, which are tender perennials, made it through for now, and I was happy to be able to use them in my soup stock this week.  We have a delicious batch of turkey vegetable soup to enjoy on these cold evenings.

Our lettuce is looking great, and sure did taste good in the turkey sandwiches over the weekend.

The pineapple sage is still blooming in the planter next to the driveway.  I am surprised that it didn't freeze out.  I think all the cement block and the cement of the driveway probably absorbs the heat from the sun and then keeps the plants warmer through the night. The knockout roses are still blooming away as well, and the lavender is still blooming.  We also have some fall blooms on the dianthus along the rock garden path that have made it through. 

On Sunday afternoon Allen chopped up leaves with the mower and I have used them as mulch to cover over the lantana  I cut back that afternoon.  We still have a lot of leaves that will fall off the oak tree and I will let him mulch some onto the lawn, but I really need them out in the back garden to help reestablish the top soil that was lost from the storm. 

I cut back and pulled out what I could of the swamp sunflower stalks and started the general cleanup of the garden behind the fence at the end of the driveway.  I am thinking that I am also going to severely prune the confederate jasmine that is getting too close to the climbing roses.  The fence needs to have waterproofing put on , and that vine is just way too overgrown. I had to cut back some of it over the weekend just to be able to clean up the end of the driveway.  I always feel so mean when I severely prune plants.  I end up talking to the plants and telling them I am sorry.  I do not apologize to privet, although I should.  It is not the privet's fault that some well meaning person brought it here where it doesn't belong.  It is so horribly invasive.

I have moved some hellibores (lenten roses) to put under the oak tree next to the Christmas ferns, and will keep moving a few plants in there whenever I get a chance.  I had to move the hellibores quickly so that they wouldn't get water seal on them when Allen worked on the fence.  They were right up next to it and there would have been no way to avoid getting that toxic stuff on the plants. He has been very careful about using tarps to protect the plants and the soil.

We had a lovely rain and some thunderstorm early this morning and then it remained cloudy all day so that the rain could soak in to the soil and not evaporate right away.  It has been so very dry here for the last few weeks and rain really beats watering for the good health of the plants.  There is no more rain expected in the forecast for the next several days and it is supposed to be near 70 again over the weekend.  I hope we get into our more normal winter weather pattern soon. I should probably be careful what I wish for!

If you like to look at plant catalogs as part of your winter entertainment, and create your wish list for the spring check out the Gardens Alive! catalog.  It is filled with great organic plants and fertilizers and pest control products.  www.gardensalive.com.  I love their little lady bug logo. I still like to have catalogs I can hold in my hand and look through.  They do send them out if you don't want to just shop online.  The phone number if you want to order one that way is:  513.354.1482. Enjoy!

Happy gardening , Gma Susie

Back at Home and Camp McDowell Musin

At home, my new little succulent garden.  It contains hen and chicks, a creeping sedum, one of the little steppable succulents and now the autumn joy sedum.  Of course, most of what is visible at the present moment is rocks, but if it survives winter, I think it will look pretty next summer.

I returned from Camp McDowell Sunday, but not before going on a sensory awareness hike with Maggie Johnston as leader.  Maggie is the director of the environmental education center at Camp McDowell, and I have known her for many years.  We first met on a trail  m aintenance trip in the Bankhead Forest when I was a member of the Alabama Trail Association.  She led us up the trail in a group, and then had us wait while she went on ahead to put somelaminated cards out on the trail.  One by one we went on and followed the directions on the cards.  When we got to a  hollow, she was waiting with paper on little clipboards so that we could write or draw about our experience.  Here is what I wrote:  


11/18/2012

I am sitting on a fallen log in the sun at Camp McDowell. I just ended  a short, solitary sensory hike.  I hugged trees, enjoyed the soft brilliant green moss along the trail, felt the texture of bark, listened to the sound of the wind in the trees and danced to thank the sun.  I listened to the sound the wind made in the trees and sounds my footsteps made in the leaves on the trail.  I thought a lot about my friend, Joe, who taught me so much of what I know about the flora in Alabama.  It was a whole new world for this transplanted Northerner.  I am thankful for Maggie who spends so much of her life teaching what she knows about this beautiful treasure so that others will appreciate it and want to preserve what is here.

As the sun hits the branches over to my right I notice a spider web sparkling between some branches and then as I look again the sunlight catches many many single strings of spider web connecting branches of the shrubs.  There are many small flying insects everywhere as well.  Does the spider know are here?  Are some of them its next meal?

Looking around some more, I see a tangle of green thorny vines growing up over the oak leaf hydrangeas.  There  are a few reddish leaves left on the hydrangeas, and looking up, the evergreen hemlocks provide a soft background for the scene.  There is a puzzle of straight trunked, leaning trunked, and and windy and bending trunked deciduous trees in front.  the small new oak behind me has some brilliant red leaves left on it that look too big in relation to its tiny trunk and branches.  The gray, fallen leaves of the big leaf magnolias look like old used rags scattered across the forest floor.

Maggie tells us there are only 3 more minutes for this contemplative time.  I do not want to leave.



  

Back at home, our snow peas are getting ready to produce. (left) We may have some for Thanksgiving dinner, or at least by the weekend.















We have many more leaves left on our oak leaf hydrangeas than were left at Camp McDowell.  They are about an hour north of where we live.Oak leaf hydrangeas are beautiful all year round.  Even when the leaves are gone they have a beautiful shaggy bark, and they are one of the first plants to start leafing out in the spring.  They have large white flowers at the end of May and into June, that turn pink and then papery and can be used in flower arrangements fresh or dried. 

(left) One of our heirloom roses that flowers in the spring and then again in the fall.  In the summer it tends to get black spot, and most of the leaves fall off.  I always think it is dying and then it bounces back like this.  The buds change color as they open.  Unfortunately I have no idea what variety this is.  Maybe next time I go to Petals From The Past, I can find it again  and this time I will keep a record of what it is.       www.petalsfromthepast.com/map.htm.
Dried rose hips from roses that have not  been sprayed with poisons may be used to make a tasty tea, and they are a good source of vitamin C. They can also be used in wines and jams. The scented petals can be used in salads, pies,syrup, vinegars, sorbets and other sweets.  Just be sure use only organic plants.  Petals From the Past is a good source for heirloom roses.

If you live in the Birmingham area, make sure to go to Petals From the Past for their open house On Saturday December 1 from 9 to 5 and Sunday December 2 from 1 to 5.  I try to go every year.  They have delicious food and drinks to try and many of the garden accessories are on sale and make great gifts for gardeners.

Their next workshop is Saturday January 19 when Dr. Arlie Powell will discuss Small Fruits in the Home Vegetable Garden.  from 10:30 AM to noon. Check it out on their website.

On Saturday January 26th, 2013 the workshop is basic design principles for creating an edible self-sustainable garden. 

I have rambled on long enough.  Happy planting and Happy Thanksgiving!
Gma Susie

Camp McDowell

Well, I wasn't home for too long  before I left again for one of my favorite weekends of the year.  Most years I am blessed to be able to volunteer for a lovely group of folks who have a retreat at  Camp McDowell , an Episcopal camp and environmental center in Nauvoo, Al near Jasper.  When I have a break I get to enjoy the hiking trails and the quiet meditation spots scattered around the property.  There are over 900 acres which include forest, creek, and canyons. The camp includes conference center facilities and also a children's camp area. People of every faith and background are able to use the facilities and it is always full of activity. If you want to know more go to www.campmcdowell.com/Share.  Today I had a break in the middle of the afternoon so I took a walk in the beautiful sunshine.  I think the temps were in the 60's, so it was a perfect day for a walk.  I found a eucalyptus tree in the herb garden and took a little snippet of leaf to enjoy the smell while I walked.  I had no idea that eucalyptus trees would grow in this climate, so now I want to find one to put in my garden.  I have no idea where it will go, but oh that smell is so heavenly!

Photo taken earlier in the year .  The area in the foreground is one of the gardens I have started to redo as it has gotten over crowded.  On my to do list is to find out if the native grasses I have planted there can be divided so that I can use some in other parts of the garden. 

Before I left home on Friday, I did get to move a few plants around, and because we have not had rain since Monday and none was expected for the weekend I rushed to get all the potted things, the new plantings and the veggie garden watered.  The snow peas have blossoms on them so we will be feasting on them soon.  I like them raw in salads and also in stir fry.  We still have bok choy available, and 2 spinach plants plus lots of lettuce.  None of the tender herbs have  been frozen out yet, so I may get another batch of pesto made when I get home. One of the things I did get done was to plant the rose bush and the 2 lilies that my sister had given me while I was in Wisconsin last week.  I relocated a couple of new plantings of iris to put the lilies in and felt guilty about not letting the poor little things get used to one place before moving them to another.  I hope they do OK with yet another disruption. I also  moved some of the autumn joy sedum from the garden pictured above into the new little succulent garden I started last week.

I left the camera at home so that Allen could use it, so sorry, no pictures of Camp McDowell.  I hope you do take a look at their web site, and that you check out their plans for an amazing new addition to the camp facilities that will include much more accessible space for folks with disabilities, and special needs, as well a demonstration farm.  I hope that I am able to do some of the volunteer work needed in that area.  I love it up here!

Time to take a walk back to the lodge ( the only internet access is in the office).  Another bonus of being away from the city is the incredible show of starry sky and crescent moon tonight.

Happy planting! 
Gma Susie

Back To Wisconsin

I spent this last weekend in Wisconsin visiting family again and watching my grandson play football in the high school playoffs.  His team didn't get to go on to the championship game, but it was great that they got into finals!  It was a first for the Lake Geneva Badgers. 

Saturday was very windy and threatening rain, but my sister Sandi and I went to work in her garden to get it ready for the winter.  We dumped the soil out of pots and stacked them for the winter, cleaned up the storage shed and put tools away, and sorted out little fences to hang up for the winter, put away the bird bath, etc.  We always have a lot of fun working together, and the work gets done so much more quickly when there are two of us.  We laugh a lot, too!  After we worked at her house, we went to my son's house and helped clean all the piles of leaves out of the gutters.  More laughter, because no matter where we stood to steady the ladder, we got showered with leaves!  On Sunday morning I got out and pruned back my daughter-in-law's roses so that she could put the styrofoam covers on them for the winter.
 We were glad to get all of this done, because a winter storm was on its way.  The storm hit Sunday afternoon with really strong winds and rain, and then freezing temperatures on Monday morning when I left.  They also got snow on Monday night . 

The view of Lake Como from my son's house. the lake near the house  was filled with ducks on Monday morning.

A pretty corner in my son's garden.  The statuary is now all tucked away in the garage for the winter.

The rose garden and arbor at my son's house.

 

My sister sent me home with a little fairy rose bush that she had had in a pot on the deck for the summer, and also a couple of lilies.  She never lets me leave without a plant or two to try in my garden down here.  Most of them do OK in our heat.  It is survival of the fittest in my garden.  Not too much gets coddled after it once gets established, so I hope these little guys make it. 

We had a hard frost this morning, but only on the North side of the house.  I didn't see any on the South side this morning.  It was very odd to look out the windows and see frost on the grass in the back and not in the front.  The back is a little bit downhill, so I guess  that is why it settled there.
We will most likely be raking leaves Thanksgiving weekend.  They are starting to come down.
Happy planting,
Gma Susie

Castle House and Gardens/ Santa Cruz, CA

 Castle House and Gardens in Santa Cruz, California was the venue for my niece's wedding.  It is an absolutely romantic and perfect place to get married.  They were married under the redwood trees and the guests were treated to  cocktails in the rose garden around the fountain before going to the terrace up at the house for the reception.  Castle House and gardens coordinated with the catering and they also do the flower arranging so that everything went very smoothly.
I was able to go early and take pictures of some of the garden before the guests arrived.

 There is lots of vertical interest throughout the garden. 

 More vertical interest.

There are many arches and arbors scattered about.

 To the right is the chicken house.  There is also a pig pen.

There is also a succulent garden toward the back.  I am fascinated by the patterns of the leaves.

 I love the unusual garden decorations.  I have no idea what this old tool was for.

 To the left is the entrance to the ladies room in an outbuilding in the garden.

 Back to the rose garden and fountain.

 Front view of the castle house.

Fireplace at the end of the pool terrace. The owners lit the fire when it got dark .  The dinner tables were all set out on the adjoining terrace.



I hope you enjoyed the little tour!
Happy gardening.

Gma Susie