Do you enjoy gardening or want to start gardening?  Have you watched the TV show Escape to the Chateau? If you have, then you would recognize the term “potager garden”.  Join us on how to Create a Potager Garden presented by Sue Reinardy, UW-Extension Master Gardener Volunteer, virtually on Zoom on Thursday, April 8, 2021 at 10 am to Noon as part of a celebration of National Library Week at the Sherman & Ruth Weiss Community Library.  Attendees will have a chance to win a special Library T-shirt!
 
Potager is a French term for a kitchen garden.  These gardens can include not only vegetables but herbs, fruit, berries and cutting flowers.  During the presentation you will learn where to site your potager, what plants to include and how to maintain it through the growing season.
 
For the first 15 people who sign up, we will offer them a Take ‘N Make Kit of a Potager Starter Garden.  The kit consists of a container, donated by Marketplace Foods, and seeds and a planting medium donated by Sue Reinardy.
 
 You can register for the event by going to the following link – https://bit.ly/3rtyZq9  or by calling the library to register and to receive the link for the Zoom event. We suggest that if you don’t have the free Zoom app, download it before the program begins and go to the presentation at least 5 minutes before it starts. If you have any questions, please call the library at 715-634-2161 or email [email protected]

Gardeners are getting their seed starting supplies put together and in early to mid-April will begin the process.  I don't have the room or patience to start seeds indoors so I have embraced an outdoor seed starting method.  
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​I originally became aware of this method reading about the Winter Sown method.  But even that proved to be too much for me since I can never get around to putting my containers together until right about now, early March.  Since those seeds sit around doing nothing until the temperature is about right - no need to rush into this method.  
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How does it work?  

• Use plastic containers with enough room for 3-4” of potting mix and room above for plant growth
• Need a removable lid for when it gets warm in mid to late spring
• Needs drain holes on bottom and slits for air/water on top
• Label containers with seed type (use permanent marker so it doesn’t fade)
• Seeds that are cool weather or perennials do well
• Can set outside in winter/early spring and the seeds will germinate when appropriate
• Need to pull top on warm days and water when needed
• After several leaves (true leaves) have emerged and growth is robust – transplant into the garden

Websites to learn how:
http://wintersown.org/
http://getbusygardening.com/winter-sowing-seeds/
http://www.agardenforthehouse.com/2012/11/winter-sowing-101-6/

Spring started this week which gets gardeners excited like kids anticipating Christmas.  Except it is still way too early to start gardening.  Even starting seeds is at most about 6 weeks before planting and we usually can not plant until late May. 

I’ve always thought the astrological seasons were off kilter; even meteorological seasons are too early for those in Zone 3.  Yesterday we received about an inch of snow which is now melting on top of the foot of snowpack left from our winter that started before Thanksgiving (i.e. “fall”). 
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 What can a gardener rely on to determine the proper planting time?  

There is still time to order, receive and plant bulbs for next spring.  I doubt that how your garden looks next April or May is on your mind as the leaves begin to change color and start dropping.  However, if you take a few moments now there will be a reward next year.  

​My garden fence was built to deter deer from ravishing my vegetables.  The fencing is not made to turn away a small bunny and there are gaps under the gates.  After being on this property for 15 seasons, this is the first rabbit.  The wolves, coyotes, fox, and eagles may be credited for the lack of rabbits; that is until now.
 
Baptisia australis, common name False Indigo, is a native plant to the eastern U.S.  In addition to being advertised as tolerant of rabbits the plant is unappealing to deer, drought resistant, and tolerate of poor soils.  I thought it perfect for my garden since it likes full sun to part shade (my garden receives about 6 hours per day) and would provide some color between the spring ephemerals and the summer bulbs that grow alongside my raised beds.   At 3-4 feet tall, it would stand out, just what I wanted. 
 
Baptisia australis was named Perennial of the Year in 2010 by the Perennial Plant Association.  It seems appropriate because this plant is hardy in USDA zones 3 to 9, has multi-season interest, is tough, and is low maintenance. According to the Missouri Botanical Garden Plant Finder: “Over time, plants develop slowly expanding clumps with deep and extensive root systems, and should not be disturbed once established. Plants take on more of a shrubby appearance and tend to open up after bloom. Trimming or shearing foliage after bloom helps maintain rounded plant appearance and obviates a possible need for staking, but eliminates the developing seed pods which are so attractive.” 
 
In addition to this native, there are now new cultivars that come in yellow, pink, violet-blue, and creamy vanilla.  Baptisia attracts butterflies with its flowering for 3-4 weeks in June.  Both its blooms and dried seed pods can be used in floral arrangements.  The common name of False Indigo refers to the use of this plant by early Americans as a substitute, albeit an inferior one, for true indigo in making blue dyes.  I originally thought that the Latin "australis" was odd for a native North American plant and found out that it means "southern".   It can also refer to Australia.  
 
I’m putting up netting around the Baptisia and hoping for the best.  Maybe next year I’ll get some blooms? Or maybe it's time for another trip to the garden center?

If you are traveling in the Philadelphia area I highly recommend this list of gardens, all quite different.  Seeing woodland spring ephemerals in different settings taught me a new appreciation for what I tend to take for granted here at home.   Anytime during their long growing season these gardens will teach, display and provide pleasure to their visitors.  

​Morris Arboretum – As the name implies the arboretum is a teaching and research facility of the University of Pennsylvania.  It is set on the historic grounds of the summer home of John and Lydia Morris.  They have informative displays of trees, shrubs, and woodland perennials.  

​Longwood Gardens – One of many du Pont family gardens in the area.  The gardens are spread about on 1,100 acres of highly manicured display gardens.  We were there for six hours, more than enough time to see almost everything and spend time in their excellent garden shop.  According to their website they raise 75 percent of the plants used in their displays onsite producing about 110,000 plants of 1,000 different varieties.  Nearby is Kennett Square, a tidy small town with many retail shops and restaurants. 

​Mt. Cuba Center – The Center is set in the rolling hills of the Delaware Piedmont near Wilmington.   The property was developed by Mr. and Mrs. Lammot du Pont Copeland.  Mrs. Copeland is quoted in their intention for the property: “I want this to be a place where people will learn to appreciate our native plants and to see how these plants can enrich their lives so that they, in turn, will become conservators of our natural habitats.”.  If you go, I recommend scheduling a tour by one of their very knowledgeable tour guides.  If you can’t go to Mt. Cuba Center, you can still learn much by going to their website.  I have bookmarked as one of my favorites the native plant finder.  

​Winterthur – The home of Henry Francis du Pont, the 1,000 acres near Wilmington, DE includes 60 acres naturalist gardens, a research library, shops, museum, and the mansion chock full of American textiles and furniture.  The gardens are more in the background of Winterthur given all the other attractions of this property.  
​Chanticleer  - This garden was the last we visited, and I think the best.  Chanticleer is set on 47 acres of the former home of the Rosengarten family, members of the family still guide the foundation that manages the property.  This unique property employs seven Horticulturists who are each responsible for an area of the grounds.  Chanticleer advertises itself as a pleasure garden and definitely lives up to that name.  We felt as if we were invited guests, the horticulturists and grounds staff were about the grounds ready to answer our questions.  
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What a treat to have visited these gardens, each one unique in its own way.  And the Winnebago Master Gardener Volunteers are wonderful traveling companions.