I’ve always considered myself to be a minimalist, my plant purchases were well thought out and it never occurred to me to buy more that one of a variety. When I met my husband all of that changed! He grew up in Seattle and he introduced this suburbanite to the Washington Park Arboretum and the fabulous Joseph A. Witt Winter Garden It was all familiar stomping grounds to him. He orchestrated our many visits to the Volunteer Park Conservatory to see the ever-changing displays in these beautiful historic greenhouses. Due to this inspiration and my husband’s encouragement, our place here in Granite Falls is brimming with a beautiful mix of mature Viburnums, Witchhazels, Japanese and Sugar Maples. If it has fall color, cones, fruit, or flowers it is likely we have it and, yes, you will probably find more than one!
Apricot Alexis
When the gardening world started buzzing about Heirloom Chrysanthemums a few years back I threw my hat into the ring and ordered the minimum of five varieties to experiment with. Boy, have I been impressed with the results! Chrysanthemums of the type you see in the grocery store are relatively easy to grow in a hospitable environment, but I’ve learned that taking an English mum from a hard to acquire little cutting all the way to a beautiful exhibition size flower requires a bit of attention! Lately, English mums have become so popular it’s a competition to get your hands on even a few cuttings of the special varieties that produce these huge, intricate, fall flowers with vibrant colors that make me swoon! I was so impressed with last years results that, after tons of encouragement from my husband…(him saying “do it”, me saying “but where will I put them all?”) I went ahead and purchased 25 (OMG!) special Heirloom Chrysanthemum varieties because it’s really, really hard to pick just a few. I also joined the Mum Club!
For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
A time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace. (Ecclesiatstes 3:1-8)
This beautiful Barred Owl has been hanging around the farm this fall. We love the wildlife found here at Goebel Hill Farm and do everything we can to support it. We have replanted thousands of trees and hundreds of native plants and we wholeheartedly support our Granite Falls neighbor the Sarvey Wildlife Care Center.
October brings Sarvey’s 40th annual fundraising auction and to help out the animals, we have donated a collection of our prized dahlia tubers that will be mailed to the auction winner just in time for spring planting. It’s a win win! You can support a fabulous cause and grow your own beautiful flowers!
