Perennials Last

Daylilies galore

Gardeners who use perennials know that they are the most economical flowers they can purchase because many of them last years and years with only a minimal of care. Some of our favorites are pictured on this page. With literally hundreds of varieties you can make your garden a showpiece in the neighborhood.

Scarlet Monardas Misc. Monardas Perennial Phlox

Shasta Daisies Gallardia Dwarf Blue Salvia

Your Garden Could Look Like This

Astilbe and Golden Yarrow Astilbe in several colors with Hosta

Heuchera with Gaillardia & Sedum Giant Hostas

All of the above are perennials that like partial sun and shade and bloom during late June and July. Most of the above enjoy morning sun and afternoon shade. And there are many varieties to choose from in all categories of perennials, but you see how the contrasting colors show up well when planted together.

You can see these plants in bloom in our gardens to get ideas for your garden and we usually have plants available through the summer for your convenience. This is our fiftieth year in business and gardens have been part of us the entire time. Be sure to walk through our gardens at different times of the year to see what is blooming.

Have a Bloomin Good Summer

Trees and Shrubs

In our nursery this summer are a collection of versatile plants that will give your yard the look above, with color texture, blooms in most all seasons and best of all low maintenance year around. Click on www.ashcombe.com to see the selection of trees and shrubs we carry. An especially good plant for durability is the butterfly bush, which come in various colors and sizes.

An extensive amount of care information is available in the nursery area as well as knowledgeable staff so that you get the right plant for the location you want it in. There are free care sheets with information about black walnut’s and their effect on other plants. Below are a few of the interesting shrubs you’ll find in our nursery this summer.

Hydrangeas Golden Smokebush

Roses Japanese maples

Butterfly Bush Golden Arborvitae

New Pinnochio Hydrangea Red Smokebush

Fun things about a Garden

Grow potatoes in a container.

Yes you can grow potatoes in a container as long as it is 18 inches deep and 18 inches wide. Use a loose compost soil mix and fill container with it. Plant seed potatoes about 6 inches deep with eyes (sprouts) facing up. Put about five potatoes in the container and water it well so the potatoes will swell and grow. Use early varieties for this project as later ones may be subject to potato blight. If you plant in mid April and your vines grow well you can expect to harvest some potatoes in late July and August.

Lettuce for early and late

We want to have fresh veggies as long as we can and lettuce is one of those versatile plants that give us crops in this area during May and June and then a Fall Crop in Sept. and Oct. In the spring to get an start use transplants and for the fall crop direct seeding is recommended. There are many colorful varieties of leaf lettuce and they add color to your garden.

Top Ten Signs You’ve Gone Over the Garden Edge

10. Your favorite poem is "Roses are Red, Violets are Blue.

9.   Your kids are named Rose, Violet, Daisy and Zucchini.

8.   You have 8 X 10 family pictures of your Tomatoes and Peppers on your office shelf.

7.   Your idea of Saturday Date Night is going out in the garden and hand pollinating the plants.

6.   You think a cocktail is liquid fertilizer.

5.   You rush home from work and go straight to the garden and hug your roses. (Ouch!) Then, you go in to your house and see you family.

4.   On Christmas Eve, visions of "Sugar Peas" dance in your head.

3.   After the first frost, you are seen holding funeral services in your garden.

2. You take your kids multiple vitamins from them to use as a supplement to your plants fertilizer.

And, the number one sign that you have gone over the garden edge is..

There are more than 1,000 varieties of tomatoes currently being grown in the U.S.

Cool as a cucumber?  It's true ... the inside of a cucumber on the vine measures as much as 20 degrees cooler than the outside air on a warm day.

Potatoes are the most popular vegetable among Americans. Second and third place go to head lettuce and onions.

Tips from Ashcombe

Local is best, say most experts on foods and organic is even better since pesticides

can be difficult to remove from fresh produce. Even better is to grow your own so

you know the source.

In the event you don’t have time or space to grow your own PA has some good

sources you may want to investigate. The web site Localharvest.org has a myriad of

places you can buy from including Farms, Farmers Markets, Grocers, and

Restaurants as well as farm markets like Ashcombe where seasonal local produce is

sold from May to October.

Once again on the web you can find a list of PA Farm Markets that will tell you

location by County as well as items sold in season.

Treat your family to the best in local produce this year by choosing one or more of

the above. Or you may want to try the square foot garden pictured above.

Square Foot Gardening

A square foot garden generally is a raised bed filled with good earth and compost mix so that packing and erosion from rain don’t affect your vegetables or small fruits. It can measure three feet wide or four feet if you prefer and as long as you want, since you can reach in from either side to plant, tend and harvest your crops. The height can vary from 6 inches to 12 inches depending on how deep you want your roots to grow.

A plant or seeds can be sown in each square foot depending on the habit of the plant you want to grow. For example lots of carrot seeds will fit into a square foot, but it may take several feet if you decide to grow a squash or pumpkin in it. The nice thing about this type of garden is that is easily tilled and watered and is accessible even for the handicapped.

In 2009 here at Ashcombe we had our first square foot garden made with 2 by 12 inch boards. A special corner piece holds the boards together. These can be purchased here or at a home improvement store.

We were amazed at the amount of fresh vegetables we were able to harvest all season long from our square foot garden and as early crops came out later ones were put in. The carrots lasted well into November and were very tasty.