In and Out of My Garden: Plant Shopping in Lancaster County

Monday, May 5, 2014

Plant Shopping in Lancaster County

Home at Landis Farm

This weekend was our annual plant buying trip to Lancaster County, where Eileen, Prudy, Judy and I meet at the farm and spend Thursday, Friday, and Saturday driving all over Lancaster County. We go to Amish farms and greenhouses, and a few garden centers, where we pick out our plants for our pots and summer gardens. We have been buying our plants in PA for years now, so many of the places remember us and greet us with "here come the ladies from Virginia"! We buy a lot of plants, so we think they are always pretty happy to see us. Prudy's daughter Abby also joined us on Thursday to buy her plants, so a second generation is now joining in the fun. I write often about our trips to Lancaster County, which we take at least twice a year, usually in the fall and in the spring. We love it up there, and feel like the cottage at Landis Farm where we have been staying for 25 years is like our second home. We know our way around pretty well, and know just which are the best places, where to look for cheap and cheerful (flea market) furniture, and where to get the best ice cream sodas. Important stuff.

We always eat well in PA. We went to Ciros, an Italian restaurant, on Thursday night. Friday we had sandwiches and salads from Weavers (where we get our bacon), and on Saturday night we made tacos and margaritas for Cinco de Mayo. Pancakes and sausages for breakfast on Sunday morning, and then we were off. Another great trip to Lancaster County.

Kreider's Greenhouse

Each greenhouse is our favorite for something--best geraniums, best hanging baskets, cheapest fillers, best herbs, best perennials. We also found a new greenhouse on Saturday morning, which was really spectacular. I'm saving those pictures for tomorrow.