Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM)

I’ve been trying to write this blog for a year. Last year I was diagnosed with Inclusion Body Myositis (IBM).   It is a somewhat rare affliction.   According to some experts, IBM affects about 15 people in 100,000. It is apparently both an inflammatory and a degenerative muscle disease.  The cause is unknown and there is no cure.  Falling down is what we do.

I continue to garden with help.  I continually search for tools to make gardening possible for me. 

There is so much more to explore in the world of gardening.  As I reinvent myself, I plan to post highlights and lowlights of my gardening world.  I hope you’ll come along for the ride.

Pictures from Hortulus Farm, Garden and Nursery  a non-profit foundation in Wrightstown, Pa. Bucks County. The reasonably priced plant sales’ profits go towards preserving the beautiful grounds and gardens.  It was definitely worth the trip.

Chanticleer

Tea Cup Garden planter bed.

I visited Chanticleer in Wayne, Pa for the first time in May.

I can truthfully say I have never seen a more beautiful garden.  The use of color and texture is breathtaking.  In the large gardens, there is a subtle beauty with repeating colors drawing your eye along.  The smaller beds contain more than a few surprises. The gardens flow from area to area. 

I took a few pictures but there is no way I could capture the creative artistry that is Chanticleer.  I hope to go back soon to take in more of the design artistry.

Tea Cup Courtyard Garden

Weigela drapes across a stone stair wall

Established plantings of deutzia cascade on the edges of the Tennis Garden  

Pool Garden

Great lawn surrounded by mature trees, shrubs and perennials

Chanticleer house terrace

Read all about Chanticleer including history, plant lists and what’s blooming now here.

Chesapeake Arboretum

Lake Hughes at Chesapeake Arboretum

Chesapeake Arboretum is located at 624 Oak Grove Rd., Chesapeake, Virginia. Forty-eight acres “dedicated to promoting horticultural and environmental awareness through displays, education and research.” It is a pretty spot with well-maintained trails in a beautiful area of Virginia just 10 to 20 minutes from Virginia Beach.

From a large River Birch, Betula nigra, with cinnamon colored exfoliating bark

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To a young Live Oak, Quercus virginiana, with its leathery, evergreen leaves, well-marked native trees and shrubs line wide paths.

A map and plant list to the Native Garden Woodland Walk can be picked up at the kiosk near the 18^th century farmhouse headquarters. The arboretum also includes a Camellia Grove, Holly Garden and Stewartia Grove.

Chesapeake is the second largest city by land area in the Commonwealth of Virginia with sophisticated shopping centers and excellent restaurants amid large fields and rural farms. With hurricane Irene bearing down on this beautiful area, I hope any damage is minimal.

See Clemson University Extension information on River Birch and Live Oak. 

Curiosity

We went to watch the kids play soccer in Forty Fort, PA near Wilkes Barre last weekend. I looked up the steep hill from the soccer fields and wondered what was on the other side. Of course I climbed the hill. On the other side I was surprised by the beautiful Susquehanna River.

The Susquehanna is 444 miles long and stretches from New York through Pennsylvania to the Chesapeake Bay in Maryland.

In 1936 St. Patrick’s Day flood brought construction funding from Washington. Levees were built to protect the valley from up to a 36 foot flood stage.

Eighteen inches of rain from Hurricane Agnes in 1972 caused the Susquehanna to burst through the levees. The flood killed 6 people and destroyed 25,000 homes. It washed away a cemetery and left caskets floating in local yards. Signs along the trail commemerate the devastation of the flood and the suffering of the residents. It wasn’t until the spring of 1996 the new levee system was started. It was completed in January 2003.

The Forty Fort Levee is 2.7 miles of a 12 mile River Common Walk trail system. It was a beautiful day for soccer or a walk along the river. The peaceful surroundings belie the awesome power of the river.

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Old Rose

Rosa 'Zephirine Drouhin' (Zeff-e-REEN Drew-HEEN) thornless Bourbon rose


I seem to be enamored of roses this spring. Or maybe it’s a very good year for roses. Or maybe I’m just taking more time to stop and smell the roses.

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This pretty rose is on an arbor at Miller’s House Garden behind the Lukenbach Mill in Bethlehem’s Colonial Industrial Quarter. 'Zephirine Drouhin' was introduced in 1868.

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Jill M. Nicolaus on davesgarden.com wrote, “Sweetly scented, fluffy pink blooms, tough as nails, shade tolerant, and nearly thornless…does that sound like your average hybrid rose?” Jill explains her experience with this rose.

‘Kathleen Harrop’, another old Bourbon rose. grows on the opposite side of the arbor. It is also thornless and a sport of ‘Zepherine Drouhin’.
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Most of the plants at Miller’s House Garden are labeled. You can pick up a plant map in the little message box on the left side of the entrance path. The garden is maintained by the Bethlehem Garden Club.

(More info on 'Zephirine Drouhin' from NC State University here.)

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Miller’s House Garden

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A look into the past with heirloom plants.

The Miller’s House Garden will be on Historic Bethlehem Partnership’s “Outdoor Rooms to View” House Tour on Saturday, June 6th. The garden is located next to Luckenbach Mill in the Bethlehem Colonial Industrial Quarter along the Monocacy Creek on Old York Road.

Dedicated 1989, the garden has been planned, planted and maintained by the Bethlehem Garden Club. The garden is representative of a Victorian Era garden – the time period when the grist mill was rebuilt after a fire.

According to the Miller’s House Garden Committee’s research of early Bethlehem gardens, “Climbing roses and wisteria made spectacular displays all around town.” In today’s garden, Wisteria sinensis (circa 1816) grows against the Memorial Garden wall. Rose Zaphirine drouhin (circa 1868) climbs the arbor in the Rose Garden.

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In the Kitchen Gardens, Hyacinth Bean Lablab purpurea (circa 1804) with attractive purple flowers and purple bean pods twines itself around a black metal obelisk. The hyacinth bean was once grown in Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello gardens. The beans were used dried making it a good winter staple. Also included are the heirloom tomato Lycopersicon esculentum Yellow Pear (predates 1800) and many herbs.

Herbs used for seasoning, drying and medicines are abundant in the Herb Garden. Lavender, oregano, sage, hyssop, chives, dill, feverfew, thyme, and horehound grow as examples of what might have been used in this era.

Gooseberry Ribes hirtellum (circa 1750) for gooseberry jam as well as currents Ribes triste (circa 1750) and rhubarb Rheum rhabarbarum (circa 1800) grow in the Mary Christman Memorial garden.

Yarrow, globe thistle, larkspur, pineapple sage, salvia, verbascum, peony and catmint are among the many flowering plants in the Drying Garden and Fragrant Garden.

A new Hillside Garden, started last year, contains examples of shrubs, grasses and perennials popular with later Victorian era gardeners. The Shed Garden is host to dogwood, sweet shrub and other flowering plants and trees.

The German four-square style garden is an adventure in garden history.

A complete list of plants will be available on the June 6th “Rooms to View” House Tour.

Master Gardeners will be available throughout the day with helpful gardening information and will be happy to talk to you about your gardening triumphs or troubles.

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Wave Hill

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The 28 acre public garden in the Bronx, New York overlooks the Hudson River. Since I didn’t get any great pictures of the river, you’ll have to trust me that there are many spectacular river views.

Wave Hill was built as a country home in 1843 and donated to the city of New York in 1960.

Color coordinated perennial beds inside a rustic fence surround the conservatory.

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Tropical plants like the bromeliad line conservatory benches.

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Old Stone walls and pergola covered walkways add charm to the gardens.

The garden pool is home to tropical and hardy water plants.

I didn’t have enough time at Wave Hill. I left many paths unexplored. Many plants, trees, shrubs and complete gardens whizzed buy. The Wild Garden with it's re-seeding annuals in organized chaos deserved closer examination.

It was an interesting (but quick) visit to a bit of nature in a big city.

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Wave Hill, New York Public Garden and Cultural Center
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