Nancy Ondra’s Pennsylvania Garden

A garden and living laboratory

Today ’s exposure are from Nancy Ondra .

Hayefield , my homestead in Bucks County , Pennsylvania , began over 20 year ago , when I make a log cabin on a minimally carry off hayfield on our family farm . I slow create the garden , which now fill about an acre , and let about two Akko go back tomeadow . The remaining Accho served as pasture for my Lama pacos ; now I ’m letting most of it return to meadow too .

The side garden at Hayefield in lateAugust , with favorable lace(Patriniascabiosifolia , Zone 5–8 ) and Deam ’s orange coneflower(Rudbeckiafulgidavar.deamii , Zones 3–9 ) .

Over the twelvemonth , the garden region have served many purposes . They ’ve been a live laboratory where I ’ve worked onplant combinationsand colouring material theme and try out with garden maintenance techniques for the Word I ’ve written . They ’ve provide endless chance for garden photography as well .

This is a changeover region from garden to meadow in mid - October , with drop color from Virginia sweetspire(Iteavirginica , Zones 5–9 ) , Culver ’s root(Veronicastrumvirginicum , Zones 3–8 ) , and Arkansas bluestar(Amsoniahubrichtii , zone 5–8 ) .

step by step , my pursuit shifted from adopt the late brandmark cultivars to enjoying the genetic diversity of seed - turn plants . I ’ve been participating in seed exchanges since I start gardening nearly 40 year ago , and about a 10 ago I started selling seeds from my gardens and meadows online .

This is the aptly diagnose seedbox(Ludwigia alternifolia , Zones 4–8 ) , an eastern North Americannativewith classifiable three-dimensional seed capsules .

I ’m trying very hard not to create new garden areas , so each class I ’ve been converting existing bed andbordersinto seed evaluation and product areas , supersede many of the cultivar withseedlingsfrom my germination experiments and render out new - to - me seeded player of rare coinage , heirloomvarieties , and horticultural oddities .

One of my favorite Modern plants this class is ‘ Keith ’s Ailsa Gold Leaf ’ tomato(Solanum lycopersicum , Zones 10–11 or as an annual ) , which is from germ shared with me by one of my client .

Thesoilhere at Hayefield tend to be on the wet side in some sphere , especially in wintertime , but that ’s not a problem for marsh eryngo(Eryngiumaquaticum , Zones 6–8 ) .

Instead of putting plant together to make beautiful combinations , I now mystify out how to keep them far enough apart to prevent the various germ strains from crossing . Most of the garden still bet garden - y , but that ’s more by luck than by pattern .

The back corner used to be myvegetable garden ; now I call it my seed farm . I ’ve given up trying to remember where everything is , so I had to create a function and bestow labels to the bed to check that everything I ask for seeded player gets planted and hoard .

While I still slaver over the latest perennial presentation and enjoy planning interesting combinations on newspaper , the annual cycle of sowing , growing , andcollecting seedsis so absorbing that I do n’t much miss have a nicely designed “ show ” garden . There ’s still plenty of blank space left for new project , and there may be more change in the future tense — I’ve long been tempted to strain my deal at grow cut blossom , for example — so I ’m sure I ’ll never be blase !

fake indigos(Baptisiaspp . ) thrive here in the expanse with better drainage , so I ’ve planted a number of mintage and a twain of older selections , let in ‘ Purple Smoke ’ and ‘ Carolina Moonlight ’ . The humblebee relish them all and have create some marvelous raw hybrid in a image of heights , forms , and color . I redeem seminal fluid from the best each class to trade as ‘ Hayefield Hybrids ’ .

If you need to learn more about Nancy and her beautiful garden , tally outher website .

Have photos to deal ? We ’d roll in the hay to see your garden , a finical assembling of plants you love , or a wonderful garden you had the prospect to chatter !

To submit , air 5 - 10 photo to[email protected]along with some information about the plants in the pictures and where you took the pic . We ’d do it to hear where you are located , how long you ’ve been gardening , successes you are gallant of , failures you learned from , hopes for the hereafter , favorite plants , or funny stories from your garden .

Have a nomadic earpiece ? Tag your exposure onFacebook , InstagramorTwitterwith # FineGardening !

Do you take in the GPOD by e-mail yet?Sign up here .

okay Gardening urge product

A.M. Leonard Deluxe Soil Knife & Leather Sheath Combo

meadow garden in fall

hunky-dory horticulture receives a deputation for items purchased through links on this site , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs .

ARS Telescoping Long Reach Pruner

Black and Decker 22 - in Cordless Hedge Trimmer

lots of yellow flowers in front of a log cabin

Get our latest tips , how - to articles , and instructional video sent to your inbox .

ratify you up …

Kevin’s Pennsylvania Garden in November

Pam’s Pennsylvania Garden

Wendy’s Pennsylvania Garden

Rhonda’s Pennsylvania Garden

Join Fine horticulture for a free engage live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a renowned plant diagnostician as well as professor emerita at Purdue University and the ornamentals technical manager …

When I espy a special guts dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few months ago , I be intimate I was in difficulty . With a delightful coloring material shape …

When we only prioritise flora we desire over plant life our landscape needs , each season is fill with a never - ending list of chores : pruning , pinching , watering , treating , amend , and fertilizing , with …

meadow garden in fall

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be measured when you enter the backyard of garden couturier Jeff Epping — not because you ’re probable to trip up on something , but because you might be dive - flush it by a pair …