Maybe it’s the blanket of snow that feels like it has covered the ground all winter. Or the constant threat of additional snow that the weatherman has left hanging over our heads. And it doesn’t help that our temperatures have stubbornly refused to rise much above freezing.

All Bets are Off for an Early Spring

Then there are all of the Farmer’s Almanac devotees who keep insisting that forty more inches of snow are a sure thing to strike precisely on March 7th in this area! I’m not buying that one, but then again I wouldn’t place any wagers against it either, especially after my sorry prediction last month that the worst of winter was already behind us.

I’m sure it will sink in any day now that spring really is just around the corner, and maybe the weather will finally offer some evidence to confirm that. In the meantime here’s a list of the local garden shows and expos to help convince us that we really should be starting seeds indoors now, in spite of what’s going on outdoors.

Pennsylvania Garden Expo

Back after a year off, the Pennsylvania Garden Expo takes place in Harrisburg at the Farm Show Complex and will run from February 26 through February 28. Seminars include sessions on; “Container Vegetables: You can grow fantastic vegetables in pots,” “Home Greenhouses and Cold Frames: build one and grow more,” and “Dynamic Bonsai Design.”

Roger Swain, one of my favorite garden speakers will be on hand to present three separate lectures; “If You Can Eat It, Grow It,” “Planting Villages: How Gardens Make Good Neighbors,” and “Perennially Yours; what to plant, where to plant it and how to care for it and you.”

Mid-Atlantic Garden Show

The Mid-Atlantic Garden Show will be held in York, PA and runs from March 4th through the 7th on the York Fairgrounds. P. Allen Smith will be the keynote speaker and he’ll be joined by a line up of regional experts conducting a variety of garden related workshops and seminars.

There will also be plenty of green vendors offering a range of flower, garden, and outdoor living accessories. The landscape display gardens will take your mind off of winter and make it difficult to believe that you are actually indoors as you gather ideas to use in your own backyard.

Philadelphia Flower Show

Without a doubt the largest gardening show in the region is the Philadelphia Flower Show, which takes place from February 28th through March 7th at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.

A sample of the lectures and demonstrations ti be offered include:
•    Flower Power: Flower Arranging for Wellness
•    Pots are Hot: Growing Vegetables in Containers
•    The Future of Plant Collecting
•    Starting the Herb Garden Naturally
•    Healing through Horticulture, the Value of Horticulture as Therapy
•    Flower Design Techniques on a Dime

Maryland Home and Garden Show

A little further south is the Maryland Home & Garden Show at the Maryland State Fairgrounds in Timonium that will be held on March 6th – 7th and also from the 12th – 14th. The show includes landscape gardens, home improvement exhibits, and a plant and craft marketplace.

Seminars will cover topics such as; Growing herbs and vegetables in containers, Beekeeping for beginners, Bonsai from your backyard, Terrariums and dish gardens, and Growing vegetables in an urban setting. The “Mole Hunter” will also be on hand to show you how to triumph over those destructive underground pests.

If you are outside of the Central Pennsylvania region, don’t let that stop you from finding similar green events right in your own neighborhood. It may not feel like it but just a little bit longer and we’ll be able to exchange those snow shovels for garden spades!

For me, the latest thoughts of warmer days and backyard gardening were inspired by the Backyard Fruit Growers Winter meeting that I attended. Great speakers, fellow gardeners, and the opportunity exchange new ideas always make it a worthwhile event.

Native Pollinators and Vintage Fruits

The main focus of this year’s winter meeting was on native pollinating insects and apples. Alex Surcica a researcher from the Franklin County Extension spent the morning talking about native pollinators with an emphasis on bumblebees and some of the solitary pollinators.

The afternoon session was a discussion of “All Things Fruit” with much of the conversation devoted to heirloom and antique apples. Tom Burford of Vintage Virginia Apples was the guest speaker and shared a wealth of information related to the culture, history, and future of the apple in America.

Interesting Facts about Bees, Wasps, and other Pollinators

Here are a few fascinating tidbits that were picked up during BYFG Winter Meeting:

• Bees are our most important pollinator but butterflies play an important role in maintaining genetic diversity because of the way that they flutter here and there spreading pollen to individual plants in scattered areas.

• Wasps are carnivores, while honeybees follow a strict vegetarian diet. A worker bee’s stinger is a modified egg laying appendage.

• There are native pollinators such as squash bees that will visit a single family of plants. Solitary squash bees pollinate and feed on pumpkin, gourds, and squash flowers and are much more efficient with them than honeybees.

• 80 % of the world’s almonds are produced in a single California valley and there are not enough honeybees in the entire country to pollinate them all. Over a million colonies of domestic bees are transported to California each winter, but more bees are imported from places as far away as Australia just to pollinate the almond crop!

• Honeybee workers are assigned distinct roles related to pollination, some collect nectar, others are responsible for gathering pollen, and still others serve a dual role and collect both pollen and nectar as part of their designated job assignments.

• Bees forming new colonies in the spring will have smaller sized bees early in the season because the queen has to manage all of the chores of building the hive, caring for the young, and gathering food. Subsequent generations of the bees or wasps will grow larger and healthier because there is a community of workers to help care for them.

• Bumblebees generate an electrical charge as they travel that attracts and causes pollen to jump onto them as they pass through flowers. Bees are hairy in comparison to wasps and that hair is an asset in the pollination process.

• There are many, many different types of native and solitary bees; digger bees, polyester bees, sweat bees, wood nesting bees, carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, mason bees, and cuckoo bees. Cuckoo bees will invade other hives, kill the queen, and force the workers to care for her own offspring.

• Native plants are four times more attractive to native bees. Hybrid plants are even less attractive to native bees. Plant flowers in groups or drifts to attract native bees and plan for a succession of blooms throughout the season to provide for them. Native bees also need nesting areas, access to water, and sheltered sites to overwinter.

• Pussy Willow and Crocus are two plants that can produce pollen early in the season when native bees have limited supplies of good pollen sources.

Alex also discussed various wasps that serve an important role in nature and around our gardens. These are just some of the notes that I took during the lecture. It’s clear that one could easily devote years studying just a single variety of bee or wasp. I have had an intense fascination with bees extending back to my amateurish attempts at beekeeping years ago. I hope to get back into it one day and plan to write more about bees here in the near future.

Next time, I’ll run through my notes again and share some of the information about fruit that was presented by Tom Burford during the annual BYFG’s Winter Meeting.

The herb fair takes place on Friday May 8th and Saturday May 9th, 2009. The “gate” opens at 9am and closes at 5pm on both days. This event is described as the biggest plant sale on the East Coast and while I can’t confirm that billing, it is one of my favorite gardening events, and one that I look forward to each year.

Heirlooms, Rare Plants, and Flowers for Sale

If you’re looking for heirloom vegetable transplants, you’ll find plenty of them available for sale at the Herb and Garden Fair. In addition there are other rare and unusual plants, tropicals, culinary and medicinal herbs, annual and perennial flowers, antique roses, bonsai, cacti, and even plants to stock your pond or water garden!

Among my favorite vendors are the students from Manheim Central High School’s Future Farmers of America who will be on hand to sell their popular heirloom tomato plants. Happy Cat Farm is another vendor that I seek out for their selection of heirloom peppers, and Landis Valley’s own Heirloom Seed Project Marketplace offers a  variety of seeds, transplants, and even fruit trees.

Other interesting vendors include; the Homegrown Edible Landscaping Company, Spring Thyme Nursery, Flowers Forever, the Happy Jalapeno, Sunny Sprouts Greenhouse, Cloverleaf Herb Farm, and Butterfly Oasis. You can download the event flyer for a complete listing of participating vendors.

A Great Place to Find that Perfect Mother’s Day Gift

This is a good opportunity for local gardeners and shoppers to locate that perfect Mother’s Day gift. Choose from hanging baskets, embroidery, candles, plant holders, jewelry, or handmade crafts such as paintings, pottery, herbal products, hand carved flowers, and more.

The Lancaster County Master Gardeners will host a display and provide visitors with an opportunity to ask  questions and collect useful gardening information. Lunch and snacks will be available on the grounds or you can bring your own, the Weathervane, Landis Valley Museum’s store will also be open during the event.

The Herb & Garden Faire will go on, rain or shine, but I’m hoping for at least a short break in the precipitation… not that I’m ever going to complain about much needed rainfall for the garden.

The programs will take place in State College, PA on the campus of the Penn State University. This is the 18th annual conference that PASA has sponsored and it’s obvious that they really know how to organize things and always put on a fantastic conference.

This has become my favorite agriculture event with all sorts of information and activities of interest to farmers, gardeners, and anyone concerned about the quality of our food supply. I highly recommend attending if you have the opportunity, and here’s a brief preview of the planned festivities:

Pre-Conference Educational Tracks Focused on the Farm and Garden

The pre-conference tracks are separate sessions focusing on specific topics that take place in advance of the main conference program. The pre-conference track topics include:

• Sustainable Forest Farming and Management,
• 21st Century Victory Gardening,
• Farmers Market Success Strategies,
• Integrated Pest Management & Bio-Controls,
• Green Learning (a program for high school students),
• Innovative Cover Cropping Systems, and
• Techniques for Improving Organic Vegetable Production.

That’s just a sampling of the pre-conference tracks, there are 13 separate tracks in total and you can get the specifics on each of them at the PASA website. My biggest dilemma is picking just one class from this line-up of great courses!

Interesting and Informative Sustainable Agriculture Workshops

There’s an even wider selection of workshops scheduled on Friday and Saturday when the conference officially opens. A few of the interesting topics on the schedule include the following:

• Year-Round Growing: Focus on Mulching & Tunnels
• Bugs ‘n Bunnies: How to Outwit Them in the Backyard Garden
• How to Grow, Harvest, Manage, and Market Nut Crops
• Overwintering Techniques for Successful Blackberry Production
• Culinary Herbs: Growing, Harvesting and Processing
• Integrated Forest Management: Making a Living in the Woods
• Certified Organic Apple Production
• Plant Your Own Patch! American Ginseng Forest Farming
• Small Space Community Food Production
• The Plight of the Honey Bees & How to Help Them Thrive
• Year-Round Backyard Mini-Farming
• Pollinators, Predators & Plants: Building Landscapes to Attract Beneficial Insects

Looks like more tough choices in deciding which of the concurrent sessions to take in! Well the good news is that all of the sessions are professionally recorded and available even if you can’t make it to the conference.

Other Farming for the Future Conference Activities and Features

In addition there will be keynote speakers, plenty of entertainment, tasty organic meals, the FarmArts Project, sustainable vendors and displays, a benefit auction, and much more. You’ll also have a chance to make new friends and meet people who share your passion for organic gardening and sustainable farming.

New to the conference this year will be a sustainable agriculture job fair, organized roundtable discussions, annual meeting of the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Working Group (NESAWG), designated infant care space, and a knitting circle hosted by the Northern Tier Fiber Artists.

Visit the PASA website for all of the details and to register for the conference. Some of the meal plans and pre-conference educational tracks are likely to sell out, so don’t drag your feet if there is a particular program that you would like to attend. Hope to see you there!

This has become my favorite spring gardening event because there is always a great turnout of terrific vendors offering all sorts of interesting plants, seeds, crafts, and gardening accessories for sale.

If you’re drawn towards unique, rare, and heirloom plant varieties then the herb fair is the perfect place to do a little shopping for the garden. From vegetable transplants, berry canes, herb plants, water lilies, fruit trees, antique roses, ornamentals, and native plants… you can find them all for sale this weekend at the museum.

It’s not just about heirloom plants though, the Weathervane Museum Store will be open with its collection of books, gifts and artwork featuring PA German craftsmanship. In addition some of the vendors specialize in a variety of handmade crafts such as baskets, brooms, pottery, herbal soaps, and other handcrafted items for the home and garden.

The Herb & Garden Faire takes place on Friday, May 9th and Saturday, May 10th. Hours are from 9am to 5pm on both days and admission is $6.00 with children under 5 admitted for free. You can find directions and more information on the Landis Valley Museum website, or view the vendor list here.

So if you need to pick up a few heirloom tomato plants, some herbs for the kitchen garden, or a last minute Mother’s Day gift, just stop in at Landis Valley Museum this weekend and be sure to say hello if you see me wandering around with an armload of vegetable seedlings.

If you need a break from all of the snow and cold that is probably still lingering outside your door, then a trip to explore the exhibits, workshops, and lectures at your own nearby garden expo may be the perfect way to spend a weekend afternoon.

2008 Mid-Atlantic Garden Show

Opening today is the Mid-Atlantic Garden Show in York PA at the Toyota Arena on the York Fairgrounds. This garden show runs from February 28 – March 2, 2008. Hours are 12 noon to 8 pm today, 10 am to 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, and 10 am to 5 pm when the show closes on Sunday.

Gardening workshops will offer the following topics and more:

• Hi Tech Flowers from South of the Border
• Honey Bees in the Garden
• Tree Care for the Home Garden
• Bonsai, the Living Art
• The Way to a Clear Healthy Pond
• Bay Laurel Kitchen Wreath
• Great Plants For Your Backyard Wildlife Sanctuary

Also on hand this Saturday will be Rebecca Kolls of “Rebecca’s Garden” serving as the featured speaker and providing a lecture about organic gardening and a separate workshop on designing containers.

Jazzin It Up in Philadelphia

If you’re seeking a grander scale and want orchestras, brass bands, parades, and jazz as part of your gardening event then just head over to the Pennsylvania Convention Center and enjoy the 2008 Philadelphia Flower Show taking place from March 2^nd through the 9^th.

This event is one of the leading gardening shows in the entire country and dates back to 1829. The theme of this year’s show is “Jazz It Up” and promises to add some excitement with the music and gardening styles from the “Big Easy,” New Orleans.

In addition to the entertainment there will be plenty of great gardening ideas of interest to the vegetable gardener including: composting, bee keeping, container gardening, mulching tips, tree care, and information on growing herbs. There’s also a full line-up of All-Star Culinary Demonstrations that I’m sure will provide new ideas for using those fresh herbs.

Interesting gardening presentations will include the following subjects:

• Cooking with Herbs in the Louisiana Kitchen
• Attracting Birds to Your Backyard
• Vegetables, Fruits and a Touch of Flowers
• Who Goes There; Bugs in Your Garden, Friend or Foe?
• Seed Starting for Great Vegetables
• Beauty and Bounty in a Cook’s Garden
• Incredible Edibles

2008 Pennsylvania Garden Expo

Finally next weekend will see the Harrisburg Farm Show Complex open its doors for the Pennsylvania Garden Expo. The expo begins on Thursday, March 6^th and runs through Sunday the 9^th.

Special events include Family Night on Saturday evening, and the benefit auction which will be held on Sunday afternoon. The auction will benefit the Future Farmers of America (FFA) Horticulture Programs in Central PA.

Scheduled gardening lectures that caught my eye included:

• Spare the Spray: Let Bugs Do Your Garden Pest Control
• Bonsai: A New Look for an Old Tree
• Soft/Biorational Pest Control
• A Green Way to Solving Your Garden Problems
• Organic Lawn Care
• Edible Herbal Bonsai Miniature Landscape
• Trade Secrets to Eco-Friendly Water Gardening

As usual, Roger Swain of the “Victory Garden” and Horticulture magazine will share his humor and extensive gardening expertise to keep you both informed and entertained on a variety of gardening topics.

So even if you can’t get out into the garden yet there may be a gardening show in your area that will help pass the time until spring arrives in your particular growing region.

Both gatherings will offer plenty of information and dialogue that will be of interest to all backyard vegetable, fruit, and herb growers.

2008 Farming for the Future Conference

First up the 2008 Farming for the Future Conference kicks off with the pre-conference tracks starting today and the main workshops and lectures scheduled for Friday, February 8^th and Saturday, February 9^th.

The conference is organized by the Pennsylvania Association for Sustainable Agriculture and is a great resource for everyone from the home gardener, to the commercial farmer, and anyone interested in the quality of food that is grown and processed in their community.

For more information on this Sustainable Agriculture Conference visit the PASA website where you can obtain complete information on all the activities, view speaker biographies, check the topics and schedules for the gardening and farming workshops, download a conference brochure, and get directions to the Penn Stater Conference Center in State College, PA.

BYFG Winter Workshops

Unfortunately the Backyard Fruit Grower’s Winter Workshops are scheduled for the same weekend as the PASA Conference this year, so you’ll have to make a choice about which event you’ll attend.

The BYFG workshops are open to the public and will be held at the Landis Valley Museum near Lancaster, PA on Saturday, February 9^th. The two hour workshops are $5 for BYFG members and $10 per workshop for the general public.

I was especially interested in the workshop on growing figs that will be presented by Bassem Samaan. Bassem was born in Beirut, Lebanon and currently grows over 40 varieties of figs in Bethlehem, PA. He will share his knowledge of growing figs and reminisce on the exotic fruits of his childhood in the Lebanese countryside.

BYFG/Heirloom Seed Project Workshop Schedule:

• 10:00 AM – Noon
  • Apple Pruning Hands-On Workshop
  • Growing Figs in South Central PA
  • Heirloom Seed Saving Techniques
• 1:00 – 3:00 PM
  • Appreciating Our Native Pawpaws
  • How to Grow Espaliered Fruit Trees
  • Keeping Honey Bees for the Beginner

This is a little advance notice of the upcoming Landis Valley Museum Herb & Garden Faire that will be held near Lancaster, PA next week.

Garden Fair Dates and Times

This is its 20^th year for this annual event and the herb faire dates are May 11^th and the 12^th with the festivities running from 9 am to 5 pm on both days. Parking is free and admission for the day is only $6 per person. You can get additional information from the Landis Valley Museum’s Calendar of Events.

The Landis Valley Herb & Garden Faire is my favorite gardening event in the area and is one of the largest plant and garden sales held on the entire East Coast. One of the things that make this garden faire special is that there are so many rare, unusual, and heirloom plant varieties avaliable for sale.

Heirloom Plants, Seeds, and More

The Heirloom Seed Project will be on hand as usual, offering old-fashioned and historic plants and seeds for you to select from. The event’s vendor list currently displays over eighty merchants including a large number that specialize in heirloom vegetables, fruits, herbs, and even flowers such as antique roses.

If you’re looking for something unusual or searching for a hard to locate plant this is a great opportunity to obtain varieties that you won’t find at the average nursery or greenhouse. You’ll also find bonsai plants, aquatic gardening supplies, crafts, gourmet food items, herbal products, handmade soaps, candles, and much more.

So load up your market baskets, wagons, and plant carts and make plans to attend the 2007 Landis Valley Museum’s Herb and Garden Faire. For the gardening enthusiast you’re not likely to find a bigger and better selection of incredible plants including many uncommon and heirloom varieties.