August Tour: Sue’s Meadowbrook

In August, Carroll members were invited to come up to Adams County,  Pennsylvania to Sue’s fixer upper farmhouse for a tour followed by a picnic lunch and potluck.

Sue prefaced the tour with a talk about this apple growing area with rolling hills and soils so suitable for orchards. Meadowbrook was once surrounded by orchards, but is in the lowlands which can make fruit growing challenging without drainage tiles. Meadowbrook was originally settled in the 1780’s by PA Germans and Swiss who had migrated to what was then York County from Northampton County around the time of the American Revolution. The same related families lived in the house until it was sold as a farm consolidation parcel in the 1880’s as part of the big orchard growing industry.  Today, what was about 187 acres was subdivided down to 12, nearby properties having been built on land once belonging with the farm. The majority is woodlot with around 3 or so acres now serving as yard, orchard, pleasure and fruit/vegetable gardens.

Sue explained that she was facing challenges from particular weeds: quack grass that choked out perennials and Canadian thistle near the veg garden. She decided to cover some areas with cardboard and mulch to deprive the quack of light along the front walkway, putting in mostly annuals for a bit of color for the tour. In the veg garden along the periphery, a decision was made to cultivate and plant the problem areas with flowers so as not to allow the thistle to be neglected. So the garden is becoming a “Poor Man’s Potager” with both flowers and vegetables.  Another issue she discovered was spring floods that keep some areas in standing water for weeks. So, a fair number of shrub and tree plantings had to be replaced with ones that tolerate those wet to  later dry conditions. Also, certain times of the year are extremely windy due to air flow from the upper Blue Ridge and it was essential to plant a windbreak.

Sue is a “Plantswoman” which basically means she hardly ever meets a plants she doesn’t like. So, Meadowbrook is full of different garden areas and experiments. The goals are 4 seasons of interest, scented flowers, all kinds of edible fruits, nuts and veggies,  attraction of birds, butterflies and pollinators and organic as possible (although I have resorted to weed killer when all other attempts have failed.)

Because I was giving the tour, I did not have a camera on me at the time, so most pictures are after everyone left.

House and front yard pleasure gardens along walkways.

There are plantings on all sides of the house, but many are works in progress. I think the style is definitely Cottage Garden. It starts with spring bulbs, then all kinds of perennial plants and shrubs that bloom on into summer and fall. I just let the self seeders do their thing.

Edibles: Veg Garden, Small Fruits and Orchards

There is a good sized orchard of all different cultivars apples, pears, quince, shipova, grapes, persimmon, cherry and plums and a “Nuttery” of pecans, various walnuts and chestnuts. Small fruits are  blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, gooseberries, kiwis and currants. The veg garden started with early Asian greens in April and will continue production of most categories of produce until freezing weather. Plants that encourage pollinators and pest hunting insects are on the periphery.

Windbreak and Shrub Border

These shrubs and trees do one or more of the following: flower, have fruit, interesting branch shapes or bark, turn color in autumn. They must handle wet to dry situations and be suitable for windbreaks. They must provide cover or food for birds and other wildlife. Plantings include Aronias, specific Viburnums, Physocarpus, Sweet and Sour Gums,  Basketry, Curly and Pussy Willows, WInterberries, Dogwoods, Bayberries, Clethra, Itea,  Symphoricarpos, Taxodium Districhum, Spruces, Elderberries and Hazelnuts.