RAIN BARRELS, SUCCULENTS, BUGS, HERBS and more

Franklin County Master Gardener Workshops offer a range of topics.

Still time to register and attend the ATTACTING BUTTERFLIES workshop on Sat., June 21 from 9-11 am ($10). Learn how to attract these beauties to your yard and keep them coming back.

Of special note is the upcoming RAINDROPS KEEP FALLING ON MY HEAD rain barrel workshop on Sat., July 12 from 9-11 am. Participants are given the option of making a rain barrel to take home ($40-such a deal!) or just sit in ($10) and learn how to do it. These are great way to store and use water in your garden.



Our Master Gardeners purchase all the materials needed to make a rain barrel to take home. Pre-registration is required to make sure we have enough materials.



A truly unique offering is RAILROAD GARDENING held at the Clark's Knob Freestyle Garden Railway at Master Gardener Bob Hyatt's Orrstown home on Sat., June 28 from 9-11 am ($10). Learn about starting a railroad garden, designing the layout and adding special touches. Bob's layout has a natural garden look and he has incorporated miniature and dwarf plants to maintain scale. Call to register and get directions.

Railroad Garden at Bob Hyatt's House

Herb Series #2: USING YOUR HERBS is a hands-on workshop offering cooking and crafting ideas on Sat., July 19 from 8:30 - 12:30 ($15 incl. materials). Harvest herbs from the demonstration garden, watch refreshments being made for the break and then make herbal scrubbies and sachets to take home.

Family-friendly BUG OUT! invites children and families to have "buggy" adventure on Sat., July 28 from 10-noon ($10 per child-must be accompanied by an adult). Meet at the "Clubhouse" next to the barn for a short lesson on bugs then grab the nets and head outside. More fun than a Mason jar full of fireflies!

TOMATO TASTING DAY - Moved to Saturday by popular demand.

If you were never able to make this fun and informative event in the past, join us on Sat., August 23.  Do a blind taste tests on tomatoes and rate them, enjoy the salsa contest and vote on your favorite, see who wins the biggest and the ugliest tomato contests and more. Public event. No registration required.

All workshops and events are held at 181 Franklin Farm Lane unless noted. Call 717-263-9226 to register. Credit cards accepted.

RAILROAD GARDENING

Two hobby tracks meet at a junction

By Carol Kagan, Master Gardener

When Bob Hyatt goes out into his Orrstown backyard he can choose to tinker with the trains or manage the miniature landscape that goes in and around the loops of train track.

At an early age his father gave him an American Flyer train followed by an HO scale set. “My Grandmother used to take me to the switching yard in Allentown to watch the trains,” Hyatt said.

One of Bob's trains

Hyatt’s career experience and Master Gardener training prepared him for giving both turfgrass management and landscape gardening workshops.

For this Franklin County Master Gardener, his life-long interest in trains and pleasure in landscape gardening merged into his Clark’s Knob Freestyle Garden Railroad.

This year for the first time, Hyatt will be holding a “Beginning Railroad Gardening” workshop on Saturday, June 28 from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m. Participants will learn the "ins" and "outs" of this unique style of gardening at Hyatt's home on Shives Lane. 

The workshop will provide information on starting a railroad garden as well as designing a layout and adding the finishing touches.


World's oldest railroad garden, Bekonscot Model Village, England, est. 1929

 The popularity of having train models follows the history of railroading as people sought to bring some of the excitement into their own homes and yards. Moving from large outdoor trains to small sized and toy indoor models, around 1970 trains began to be designed specifically for use outdoors - rugged with the motor parts enclosed.

“It’s not a cheap hobby,” said Hyatt, who has been adding to his layout since 2002. He currently has about 400 feet of track in three loops and uses “G” gauge (1/29^th scale) trains and brass track.

Deciding what kind of railroad garden is a first step. Some railways may just meander through the existing normal-sized plants in a yard or garden. Other railways are stationed at a village and may even have a theme such as the Old West or a logging or coal town. 

Bob Hyatt adjusting his homemade coal factory

Hyatt used stones from his property to build a number of walls and focal points. He uses brass track which weathers while the stainless steel stays bright. “I like a more natural look,” he said, noting that he does have houses to put out in an area alongside the track.

One of the many beautiful succulents Bob has available

To maintain a realistic scale, the plants he uses are typically dwarf varieties or small succulents. After finding plants for his layout, Hyatt has expanded into a small business selling these types to other outdoor railroaders as well as miniature container and fairy gardeners.

He has had several Open Houses. “It’s a lot of work to get ready for an open house and some friends come and help.”

Open House 2013

This is when friends and family visit Clark’s Knob Freestyle Garden Railroad and can appreciate how Hyatt has coupled two of his favorite hobbies.

Some links of interest:

Bekonscot Model Village

Fairy Garden Workshop Draws Big Crowd

by Carol Kagan, Master Gardener


Detail from a miniature container garden (Photo: J Kaufman)

“Look closely. The beautiful may be small,” said Master Gardener Juanita Kaufman, quoting Immanuel Kant.



The crowd found Juanita to be enthusiastic and a good presenter.

Fifty four people came to the February 1 workshop “Fairy Gardening,” to look at and learn how to create small gardens. Brenda Hollar, a Master gardener from Washington County, Md., came because she wants to make one.

Kaufman’s enthusiasm and experience in making fairy gardens were evident. “I’m not actually gardening. I’m just having fun,” she said. Her displays included several of her container gardens, her handmade houses, and the outdoor accessories she brings in for the winter.

Kaufman made these out of a coffee can (L) & bleach bottle (R)

Although called fairy gardens, these miniature displays can also feature gnomes or, let your imagination go to small animals or different people. "You determine what your world looks like," Kaufman said.

Examples of accessories that can be used

Miniature gardening also includes bonsai (bone’-sigh) and railroad gardening. A Master Gardener workshop on bonsai is scheduled for February 22. The railroad gardening this year will be held off-site at a railroad garden and is planned for early August.


An outdoor garden (Photo: J Kaufman)

These gardens can be in a container or in ground as part of an outdoor area. Containers can be moved outside during the growing season and can enhance a patio, porch or any area of a garden.







Kathy Rogers, Waynesboro, likes the idea of the small gardens. She plans to make a container garden and “start small.” Andy Junker, Chambersburg, said her active life includes a lot of travel and an indoor container wouldn’t work. She may try to incorporate one in her outdoor landscape.

Kaufman went through various steps to create a garden. She noted her experience, including mistakes made and corrected, as she went from choosing a site (and where not to put one), a theme and the scale (look before you buy). Site preparation includes thinking about access to utilities and the garden itself (small enough to be ‘reachable”).

Linda Shuey came from Carlisle with her husband. She liked the “do’s and don’ts” Kaufman included. “And my husband seems to be fascinated, too,” she added.

“Kids that never grew up and got out of the doll house love these,” Kaufman said, noting that “there is a sense of magic and whimsy.”

A very small fairy garden

Seeing these fairy gardens as a wonderful way to create a childhood experience, Marlene Schlusser, Carlisle, has already tried two. “I know I need a lot of help,” she said, noting that she likes all the miniature items. “Scale may be” a problem she has to consider.

“Children love these things — they’re drawn to them like magnets,” Kaufman said. Nancy Pollard, University of Illinois Extension horticulture educator, says creating an indoor fairy garden can get children interested in gardening and nature, and, some creative teachers have incorporated exchanging notes with the fairies in their class activities.

Justin Lindley, Hagerstown, attended because his daughter Faith, 7, along with her younger sister, is interested in creating a fairy garden. “They like it all,” he said, indicating that picking a theme would curtail them from buying everything.

Prune these plants or they will overtake the tiny adobe house.

Some designs require “teeny, tiny plants” to keep with a very small themed design and the mature size of plants should be considered. “You have to keep [the plants] small. Otherwise, it may seem like a creature feature where the plants ate the house.”

Anne Boggs and daughter, Storie, Chambersburg, came to learn how to make these. “My daughter is interested in making a garden, probably along a Lord of the Rings theme,” said Boggs, adding “Her birthday is coming soon.”

Anne & Storie Boggs plan to make a container garden

Kaufman also included information about the care and maintenance of your creations, emphasizing careful watering techniques and pruning. For areas outside, watch where you drag the hose or the lawn mower exhausts.

Like most of those present, Hollar said at the end of the workshop that she learned how to make a fairy garden and she will try. Perhaps she will be able to give a workshop in Washington County and spread the knowledge.

 

E-mail notification of workshops and events - send your e-mail address to the Extension Service office at jlw69@psu.edu. You may also register for workshops by e-mailing or calling the office at 717-263-9226

 

Check these links for more information

 

Univ. of Illinois Extension Service: Fairy Gardens
Univ. of Illinois Extension Service: Plant Palette/Fairy Gardens

Rusk County, TX Master Gardeners: Designing a Fairy Garden
Univ. of Illinois-Urbana: Fairy Gardens
PA Herb Festival Workshops: Garden in Miniature - 
workshop - all supplies included
Rosemary House, Mechanicsburg, PA: Fairy Festival

And for those who wanted it, Juanita has generously agreed to share her Grandmother's zucchini bread recipe.

Grooming Brooming

Witch's Broom on Norway Spruce
Picture courtesy of Garden Professor Bert Cregg

A commenter over at the Garden Professor’s Facebook page linked to this article about Witch’s Broom, and the intrepid conifer enthusiasts who climb trees, risking life and limb to harvest them, with the hope of finding a source for the next great dwarf cultivar, so beloved of Railway, and Fairy Garden enthusiasts, and even home landscapers wanting a slower growing, denser leaved, and smaller specimen for their landscapes. From the article:

Hermsen and Larson are part of a tiny group of plant fanatics — they estimate they number about 200 nationwide — who traipse through forests collecting witch's brooms. The term, which dates to the Middle Ages, refers to tree mutations made up of dense masses of shoots growing from a single point. They look like balls of twigs woven together and can grow to several feet across. Each is the only one of its kind in the world. They are genetically unique.

They were dubbed "witch's brooms" in Medieval Europe because it was believed witches placed them high in trees, and even rested in them.

Intrigued, I started googling around, and found some interesting stuff about Witch’s Brooms.

Here’s Garden Professor Bert Cregg:

Witch’s brooms are growth anomalies that occur on various trees, most commonly conifers, Brooms can be caused by a variety of factors including diseases, aphids, environmental stress and random mutations. In some cases the growth defect is only present when the causal agent, say, a pathogen is present. In others, however, the growth mutation can be propagated by grafting scion wood from the witch’s broom onto a regular rootstock. In fact, this is the origin of many forms of dwarf and unusual ornamental conifers. Because of this, brooms are often a prized commodity and ‘Broom hunting’ is an active past-time for conifer enthusiasts such as members of the American Conifer Society.

Here’s his Fact Sheet on Spruces, and some of the cultivars originally gleaned from a naturally occurring Witch’s Broom.

‘Nidiformis’, the Nest Spruce, which itself was a witches’ broom that had been found on a Norway Spruce. Photo Credit Bill Barge

Whenever someone walks through a collection of dwarf, contorted, drooping, variegated, or otherwise unusual conifers such as the Harper Collection at Hidden Lake Gardens, one of the first questions is “Where did these trees come from?” In a few cases the trees represent relatively rare species that we don’t see often in this part of the world. However, in most cases these unusual trees represent genetic mutants of otherwise common conifers such as Pinus strobus, Picea glauca, Picea abies, Tsuga canadensis or other run-of-the-mill species. The trees we see in collections that are prized by conifer connoisseurs are the result of genetic mutations that result in unusual color or variegation, extremely slow growth rate, or loss of apical dominance. The mutations usually happen one of two ways: seedling mutants or witch’s brooms. Seedling growers that grow tens of thousands of seedlings from a given species will occasionally find individuals with unusual growth characteristics such as variegated or weeping form. Scions from these trees can be grafted onto other seedlings to propagate trees with the unusual trait. Likewise, mutations can arise within an individual tree. These are called witch’s brooms or “sports”. The unusual trees are propagated by grafting scions from the witch’s broom onto seedlings. If the mutation results in a weeping form, different forms of the tree can be produced depending upon where the scion is grafted. Grafting high on the normal tree (or standard) results in a weeping form, whereas grafting at ground level results in a prostrate or low growing form.

It’s not just conifers, either. The spotlight specimen in the Gass Garden, is a Vine Maple, Acer circinatum, first described during the Lewis and Clarke Expedition.

Witches Broom of Vine Maple - Photo Credit Harold Greer for Oregon State University

There’s a dwarf cultivar of A. circinatum named ‘Little Gem’ that was originally discovered as a witch’s broom.

A. circinatum 'Little Gem' - Picture courtesy of Oregon State University

Serendipitous web surfing can be very enlightening.

Gardening in Miniature

“Look Closely, the Beautiful May Be Small”  Immanuel Kant

Fairy Garden Booth at the Ass'n for Horticulture Professionals
Trade Show in August. Picture courtesy of Holly Scoggins

Two of the fasting growing hobbies in the horticulture world are Fairy Gardens and Railway Gardens. Consumer horticulture writer George Weigel recently noted the phenomenon in his "Trends for 2013" video, which you can view here. Garden Professor Bert Cregg of Michigan State University has also commented on the trend, and recommends this article from Digger Magazine on Railway Gardens.

Scene on a typical 32 mm gauge UK garden railway
Picture Courtesy of Wikpedia Commons

Fellow Garden Professor Holly Scoggins of Virginia Tech attended a trade show in August of this year, and noticed the proliferation of Fairy Garden plants and paraphernalia.  The eXtension Master Gardener blog has a recent post up about some cool conifers that work well in these environments.

Luckily for us, Franklin County Master Gardeners Juanita Kauffman (Fairy Gardens) and Bob Hyatt (Railway Gardens) have been enthusiasts for the hobbies for several years now, and have put together a workshop to share their knowledge with the public. Come to the Saturday, January 12th workshop from 9:00 - 11:00 a.m. to learn proper selection, care and maintenance of dwarf, compact, slow and low-growing, or tiny-leaved plants best suited for miniaturized landscapes, as well as general information about these fast growing hobbies.  The fee is $10.00. Contact the Extension Office at 263-9226 to register.

Pinus banksiana 'Uncle Fogy' Taltree Arboretum (Indiana)
Photo credit: Foy Spicer

Locally, Appalachian Nurseries, a wholesaler of landscape trees and shrubs, also has a retail business specializing in dwarf, or small leafed, slow growing plants for use in these miniaturized gardens and landscapes.

And the Mainline Hobby shop in Blue Ridge Summit caters to the model railroading marketplace.

Update:  Click to see pictures of Bob's Railway Garden.