The Take Joy Society outing yesterday started in Mercersburg, Pennsylvania with lunch at Flannery's. . . .
Our goal was to visit Trayer's Farm and Greenhouse in nearby Welsh Run so we did not spend any time in town except for lunch. Mercersburg has some interesting history, however. President James Buchanan grew up in Mercersburg and was born in a log cabin in nearby Cove Gap. The cabin is now situated on the campus of Mercersburg Academy, a college preparatory boarding school for grades 9 through 12. Founded in 1893 the Academy "produced several Rhodes scholars, three Medal of Honor recipients, a Nobel laureate, two Academy Award winners, and 54 Olympians (including 12 gold medalists)." Jimmy Stewart was one of its graduates. It is interesting to note that Mercersburg had a population of 1,410 people in 1910 and 1,561 in 2010. It has not grown very much in a hundred years!
We had a beautiful Spring Day to go plant shopping. The Greenhouse was way out in the countryside so it was a lovely ride in farm country. . . .
There were plants galore. . . .
They had the cutest miniature gardens. . . .
Our purchases. . . .
This wagon was mine. As you can see I have plans. . . .
Then I saw these so I had to get one of them, too. . . .
When I got home I spent the rest of the afternoon planting and potting my purchases. I added the topiary and the three flowers that came with it to my miniature garden I keep on my front porch. . . .
Have you been able to get out to a garden center yet this Spring where you live? Even if you don't buy something, it's always fun to walk amongst the flowers!
❤️Take Joy❤️
What an esteemed academy- Maybe I could send my grands there!
ReplyDeleteI spent most of the morning planting some of the annuals I bought last week at our nursery. Your pot looks darling. I especially like the topiary and the cute little well. A nice spot for the fairies to rest. ♥
Did you check the tuition?! If you board there it's $59,000 a year! I love topiaries. I hope it overwinters in the house OK next winter.
DeleteI know I always say this but you ladies have the BEST outings. PS - your greenhouses down there are FAR ahead of anything we've got going on around in upstate NY right now. We had snow at late as last week, so Spring is just creeping into view here. I do love those miniature gardens. I might have to get one of my own. My new place has south & west exposures so plenty of nice bright sun, but I don't have a ton of space - one or two of these little gardens would be perfect for my wide windowsills, which are 18-inches deep! And I love those little round "ball" tree topiaries. They're just classic. Can't wait to see what you do with all your greenhouse goodies. I bet Olivia will want to "help" Grandma in the garden this year. Once we had enough land to really have gardens [both flower & vegetable], my parents spent many hours each Winter poring over seed & nursery catalogs, deciding what & where to plant. Do you plot out what you do each year on graph paper? Or do you just go out in the garden, survey the space a bit and then have at it? Either way - what fun! I'm jealous. But I do take good care of my plants [both real & faux]. They do so much to soften & "humanize" a home I think. Or maybe "naturalize" is a better word. Definitely brings the outdoors inside at least - that's for sure. I'm looking forward to seeing your 2018 garden. Lots of photos, please & thank you! Oh, you must be getting ready [and getting REALLY excited] for your trip across the Pond. How thrilling! Lots of news & photos about this too, please. But mostly, be sure to just enjoy where you are & what you're doing. One tip I got when I went to Europe [in high school] that I strongly recommend. Keep a journal & jot down what you did at the end of each day. However brief your notes are, they'll really help. Later on you can always add to your notes, fill in with more description etc - if you want to & when you have time. Forty years later I'm SO glad I did my journal. Now they help me to remember a lot about a trip that NOW often feels like a dream. Have a great weekend, Cathy! Peace.
ReplyDeleteYou've moved?! It sounds like a cottage with those wide windowsills. I would LOVE to have wide windowsills. Whenever we tour a home with wide windowsills I come home with the idea to build little shelves in front of my windows and boxing them in to give me the "look" I'd love for my home, but it never quite happens.
DeleteI don't have a vegetable garden--just my perennial flower beds. The plants I buy each year are annuals for my pots or a few perennials to add to or replace what didn't come back in my flower beds.
I'll be journaling my trip as I do every day anyway, but I have a special journal I made for my week on Martha's Vineyard and will use that for England.
I hope Spring arrives soon for you. 🌷
Love, love, love the miniature and fairy gardens! What a fun day for you.
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DeleteI haven’t seen a post from you in such a long time, perhaps I should check my junk mail and see if it is going there. But today here you are! What a lovely trip to the nursery. Most of my plants are in and my mom has everything in place in her vegetable garden. It sounds as though you are going to England for Susan’s picnic! I hope you will tell us all about it and take loads of pictures. Wow, that is just going to be so exciting! And I always enjoy reading Janet Miller...I was like you, “she moved?” I am envious of her windowsills!
ReplyDeleteWaving from Texas,
Chris
Good to hear from you, Chris. I have not been posting much of late. I haven't had much interesting to talk about or show except my grandchildren and they are off-limits on the Internet now. I miss everyone! But, yes, I will be posting about England! But probably not much until June because we will be home only a week before we go off on a 5-day Memorial Day weekend on the Chesapeake Bay with our kids and grandkids. It's the same place I wrote about under "Scotland MD" on Morning Musings. This will be the first time to be there with grandkids. So my May is full of blogging material! It may take me all summer to share it all. PLUS, our 4th grandchild is due the end of June--another girl!
DeleteI loved seeing your outing! I especially loved the miniature gardens. Excited for you anticipating your 4th grandchild & that you will have another granddaughter to cherish! Love you Sis! xoxo
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