Tanger Arboretum

Last weekend my husband and I spent the weekend in Lancaster County, PA. We’ve been to Amish country many times, and honestly- how many smorgasbords, Amish farms, and quilt shops can one enjoy in a single lifetime? Instead of doing “the Amish thing” we decided to drive around the town of Lancaster itself and see what we could find to do. As we drove around the downtown district we noticed signs for Wheatland, President Buchanan’s home. We followed the signs to a beautiful historic neighborhood. Much to our delight we discovered that Wheatland is also the home of the Louise Arnold Tanger Arboretum. The arboretum provides detailed maps of all the gardens and trees on the estate for the visitor to explore all on his or her own.

Now, not being from the South (I’m a Pacific Northwest Girl), I don’t have much experience with many of the trees I saw there. For example, I don’t know much about Magnolias. I didn’t know that the magnolia grandiflora produced a fruit. But, there it is!

I also had never even heard of a Franklin tree (franklinia alatamaha). What beautiful flowers! John and William Bartram discovered a grove of these trees in Georgia back in 1765 and named it after their good friend Benjamin Franklin.

Of course, the arboretum contains the obligatory Crape Myrtle (lagerstroemia indica). Being rather new to this part of the country, I’ve mistaken them for late-blooming lilacs from a distance. I want one.

Wheatland boasts a kitchen garden of its own, which I will discuss another day. However, I did find these Black-eyed Susans beautiful. They are much smaller and more delicate than the giant cone-flower variety I have in my own yard. I prefer the smaller ones, I think.

We finished our tour with a moment in Wheatland’s flower garden, brimming with phlox.

Patio Princess

I decided this year to try growing Burpee’s “Patio Princess” tomatoes. Since we aren’t allowed to put anything resembling a vegetable in the ground here (more on this subject another day), I thought these tomatoes bred specifically for container growing might be just the ticket. Burpee says they will send the plants (3) to you based on the proper growing time for your region. Mid-April my tomato plants arrived on my doorstep. They were in terrific shape and the timing was perfect. Unfortunately, I was not quite ready to plant them, even though the weather was fine. I placed them under the grow lights with my herb seedlings for about a week until I was ready to plant them. When things settled down and I was finally ready, I planted them in terra cotta pots and placed them on my front steps where they would get the most light.

They have produced quite beautifully, and we pick small (2 inch or so) tomatoes nearly every day. The flavor is very mild (milder than I was hoping for), but they are nice for topping a fresh salad.

I must say I was surprised by a few things concerning Patio Princess. My plants look nothing like the picture featured on Burpee’s website. Their plant is compact with the fruit trailing over the sides of the pot. Mine, on the other hand, grew much taller than I expected (2 feet), and once the fruit began to grow in size I was forced to stake the plants for fear of the fruit tearing the plants apart from the weight. Patio Princess is closer to a miniature version of a regular tomato plant, and might be more aptly described as a dwarf tomato plant.

Overall, I count the Patio Princess a success where space is limited or rules don’t allow a vegetable garden. I plan on planting these again next summer.