Spring Private Garden Tours 2021 in Charlottesville, Virginia

Several years ago I joined a local Charlottesville Virginia plant exchange and garden discussion Facebook group. It's an active group with many sharing plants or collecting my excess! We're all happy that plants will find new homes and not simply be tossed on the compost pile. Select times of the year you can sign up for tours of home gardens.

Yesterday my mother and I visited three gardens located in the Key West neighborhood of Charlottesville. Our car navigator led us a bit astray and we initially drove right past the first garden on our list. On our way we noticed a colorful flowerbed that stood out from all the rest. It ended up being the home we were trying to locate! Leslie's garden is not easily missed as you cruise through Key West. This time of year the Iris is showing off as are the Peonies.

Leslie's garden was an empty palette when she began gardening their property 13 years ago. Originally starting small with a 12' long strip of flowers her gardens now encircle the home. Recently a massive swath of pink Daffodils have been added to the adjoining forest area and happily cascade down the back hillside to meet the Rivanna River. I'm told by other neighborhood gardeners she is often spotted tending to her plants. 

All three Key West gardens that we visited are located in deer country so a wide array of tactics are employed to help protect plants. Electric fencing, the rotation of various deer repellant products, and extremely tall fencing and netting help keep the deer away from special plant areas. Also plant selection is crucial, planting things they don't usually dine on unless extremely desperate but nothing is 100% when you're dealing with deer.

One pretty spot in Leslie's garden is the Lotus pond. The pink flowers tend to burst upward in June and crescendo on July 4th. Leslie invited us to be sure to come back and see the show!

We so enjoyed our day out meeting fellow nature lovers and seeing a diverse set of gardens that were all equally amazing. I hope this peek at Leslie's garden gives you a taste of what's on tour this year.

~Rebecca

  

Recycle Reuse, Buy vintage this Christmas and Holiday Gift Giving Season

Renaker vintage collectibles for the Cat Lover, ForsythiaHill

It's that time of year again where we try to find that perfect gift for family and friends. Amazon seems to be the go to place for buying new items and Ebay has long been the place for collectors. The growing trend is vintage gift giving. I've always thought it more personal and definitely more unique to buy a nicely cared for vintage item. Not just another throw away but something they might want to hold onto and treasure because of its uniqueness.

Warm vintage Angora Hat, ForsythiaHill

I've been selling vintage for family and friends for 10 years now and my buyers really are excited about their purchases. Totally unique one of a kind items that they comment about in their online product review after purchase. I love matching old items in new homes to be appreciated and adored.

Art Nouveau early 1900's Gold Jewelry Box, ForsythiaHill

Etsy is a fun place to shop as they have combined a wide range of artisan items with vintage. You can set your search setting to only shop for art or vintage if you like. The stigma that a gift can only be new in order for it to be appreciated is fading, year after year. Shoppers are becoming more conscientious about saving natural resources by gift giving a previously used item. More and more online resale sites are popping up as the ease of selling a used item goes mainstream. I'm seeing newer used items on these sites while authentic vintage items (more than 20 years old) are still being found mainly on Etsy and Ebay, along with a few more less popular sites such as Bonanza and Ruby Lane.

Large fabric printed 1980s Rabbit, ForsythiaHill

It's trendy to gift give vintage but maybe not as cool to give a new used item as these items can still be found new. The key to success is to find a unique item that is difficult to find, one that brings back memories, something that can be physically used or something kitsch. An item that never gets old is vintage Pyrex. Who doesn't love and use Pyrex! One year I gifted an adorable retro cat hand towel to a friend. She loved it! Ornaments are also a fun item to give.

Amazing vintage Poodle Pin, ForsythiaHill

I love selling vintage because of the history each items holds. It's a treasure hunt often for me as a seller just to locate a similar item to date it or determine its authenticity. Over 10 years I've found homes for thousands of items and I've seen the trend expand from just personal buying to shopping for a gift.

Gardening books, these for the Rose Lover, ForsythiaHill

I also like selling vintage because I like being a part of the reuse, recycle movement to help our planet which by all accounts is failing. Not only does no new manufacturing go into the products I sell but I also only pack items using previously used boxes and packing paper. I don't know too many sellers that go to this extreme but it is personally important for me. I've never once had to buy a box or paper! Friends bring me boxes, an optical shop saves boxes for me, and I get bubble wrap and paper from freecycle. The only shipping product I buy is tape. I also am conscious of the delivery method I use and even have my postal carrier's cell phone number. Nearly all my shipping is done at my house, I rarely drive to the post office.

I hope you will consider shopping for vintage this holiday season for a host of good reasons! Right now I'm running a SALE in my vintage shop, ForsythiaHill during the Black Friday, Small Business Saturday, and Cyber Monday sales. I also sell on ebay, ruralreality. Go check them out, I thank you in advance!

~Rebecca

A look back at Gardening in 2014

Entryway to our front door, the Rose Trellis 

As Fall of 2014 winds down, I just stashed away my last digging fork and managed to crack my favorite spade shovel in half. At least it was during my last transplant of a native Red Cedar. I only had to use half a shovel for the last scoops of dirt. Such is the life of a gardener, wearing out tools and putting holes in gardening gloves.

One variety of my Grandmother's Peony collection

I seemed to stay around the house a little more this year. This tends to happen as plants get established and regular insect visitors come around more and more. My Grandmother's Peony collection is coming along so nicely that I transplanted (what I hope to be) the white doubles to a new section of my front flowerbed. This bed looked really good this year and pollinators tended to hang out here more than other beds in the yard.

One of our Eastern American Toads on guard for pests

My vegetable garden was a disaster and shockingly the only tomato plants I had success with were in pots or sprung up on their own beside the well fertilized chicken coop. Pepper plants grew and grew producing a lot of fruit this year... I gave up on trying them in the garden and now only grow them in pots on my very hot upper deck. They love to bask in the sun.

Just this year I discovered that Kousa Dogwood bear fruit.

Tiring of planting veggies that never produce or get eaten by critters, I switched my focus to fruit. I now have a nice assortment of Black Raspberries, native Blackberries, and Thornless Blackberry plants. I finally have an Elderberry that has made it past the deer and rabbit nibbling stage and actually saw some berries this year. My lone Blueberry plant is doing very well and I transplanted it to a more open spot, holding my breath that I did not kill another one.  My Fig had a few teeny figs this year as did my favorite grape, the Muscadine. I never have paid attention to the suggestion to dig up old Strawberry plants. I just let them keep laying down new extensions of themselves and seem to have some fruit to enjoy. I even decided to transplant native Strawberries 2 years ago and man have they taken off. I adore them (this is the wild berry that has white blooms - not the yellow blooming tasteless aggressive plant that is most often found in yards).

Freakiest bug of the year, Crowned Slug Moth Caterpillar

The only fruit damages that came about late in the season were to my Sickle Pear tree and my Peach trees. Darn those deer. Obviously someone has been having a good time rubbing their antlers on my young trees. I should have known better to leave them unprotected and alone in the back field - my fault really. They are not dead yet but they might never recover.

Lovely assortment of Dahlia's from Ted's Garden

My friend Ted has an amazing assortment of plants. A collector of Dahlia bulbs, you never know how many or what variety you will discover in late Summer. This is the first year that I noticed he has two Persimmon trees in his yard (the Latin name means, Food for the Gods)! He has been nice to share some fruit with me. In the past I've tried using the fruit in cake and cookies but have never found a pleasing way to use them until this year. They are a great addition to my morning oatmeal and to pancakes! High in Vitamin A & C and found to be a cancer cell killer! Ted's yard bursts with color and variety, I love exploring and each year I seem to find another interesting plant.

Spending Fall on the trails around Monticello

It's always sad to see barren Winter approach but I do love sitting beside the wood stove planning next years gardens and adventures. My garden beds will spring up refreshed full of new grow and energy, I hope to feel the same way!

~ Rebecca

One of the best flowers to grow, Foxgloves

Monticello Wine and Roses Open House

Charles de Mills, quarter rose, petals open quartered so many

Yesterday I went to the annual Monticello Wine and Roses Open House. It was PEAK rose bloom time at Tufton Farm, the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and if you like roses this is an event not to miss. My friend Sue who has been gardening since the age of 4 met me there and it was fun trying to jointly identify the plants at Tufton. She has collected roses for years and acquired another shrub at the event.

Rose Garden at Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants

I was late for the lecture on antique roses held by Rosarian Connie Hilker of Hartwood Roses but I did get to smell the many rose cuttings she had on display. Sue and I agreed that the Portland from Glendora Rose was our favorite. Roses vary in scent from Spicy to Musk to Deeply Floral. I tend to like the deeply floral because I am on the hunt for the best rose to add to my tea. The stronger the scent, the stronger the flavor. Connie has a wonderful website and I was especially interested in the proper way to grow your own roses from cuttings. Many historic roses have been lost but it was interesting to know that Rose Rustlers are on the hunt for interesting and rare plants. I wanna be one of them!

HATS, a required gardening implement

What I like most about Tufton is their commitment to historic plants. Curator, Peggy Cornett is a walking encyclopedia on plants and she took a group of hardcore gardeners (I have no idea why they say we all look alike) on a tour of the gardens.

Curator Peggy Cornett with a Double Swamp Rose

This was my second tour with Peggy and it's amazing to hear her rattle off plant names and share their history. Rare rose cuttings have been rooted and plants preserved at Tufton. Several roses came from the Hollywood Cemetery in Richmond. A place I must, must, must visit.

Bee Apiary at Tufton Farm

Monticello Beekeeper Paul Legrand shared his hands on experience giving many great tips. Did you know there are 2400 different bee species and the bees you buy are not native. In the winter the hive is 91 degrees because of the wing beating from the bees. A queen lays around 15,000 eggs A DAY.

For some time I have wanted a few hives but it's not as easy as it sounds and you must be committed to protecting the hive year around from disease and predators. Bears, skunks, and mites all love bees. Paul gave some great tips as to how to best do this and have long lasting hives. Animals under your care require attention and time so not unlike Chickens you need to have time to look out for their welfare. There is a wonderful local group, Central Virginia Beekeepers that is a must to join if you are going to keep bees. They meet monthly just down the road from Forsythia Hill at Ivy Creek Nature Center.

Blue Morning Glory Vine

Fushia Clematis

Old Fashioned Banshee Rose like my Grandmothers

I don't believe I've smelled so many roses in one place. It was "the thing" to do. There were a few other plant highlights, the Sweet Shrub was intoxicating, permeating the air, even stronger than the roses. A large blue Morning Glory and a Fushia Clematis were trying terribly hard to invade the roses.

Get out and about and smell the roses!

-Rebecca