Great Escapes: Gardens

Despite the lingering winter chill, spring has sprung and it’s time to dig out those gardening shovels and buy some seeds. There’s a lot of potential for your gardening season, but it’s best to get in the know now and see what resources are available to you for a successful harvest. And what better way to escape than with your own patch of green? Even if you are lacking in yard space, there is plenty around to share. Below are just a few gardening resources you should look into and read up on as the days grow longer and the frost finally, finally thaws.

1. Chestnut Hill Home and Garden Festival – This is still a little ways off, but mark your calendars for May 1 and make sure you hit up the Home & Garden Festival, now in its fourteenth year. It’s free with $5 all day parking, and the day will feature a number of festivities, from live music to rides to great food. And, of course, gardening. Over 150 home and  garden vendors are slated for this year’s lineup. There will also be a wide array of sustainable energy and organic vendors.

2. The Morris Arboretum – This gem from the University of Pennsylvania is known far and wide for being the state’s official arboretum. But it is also home to Chestnut Hill’s Community garden, with 108 separate plots in the space for your perfect home-away-from-home garden. Arboretum members and members of the Chestnut Hill Community Association are permitted to garden here, and there are a number of interesting horticultural classes and workshops available throughout the season. Contact volunteer coordinator Anna Herman for details.

3. Laurel Hill Gardens – This local flower and garden store offers a wide range of landscaping services, but also has everything a gardener needs no matter what your skill level. From annuals to perennials, succulents to starter vegetable plants, or terrariums for you indoor planters, this is a spot you can’t miss. Since 1981, Laurel Hill Gardens has mastered the art of the residential landscapes.

4. Chestnut Hill Flower and Garden – Chestnut Hill Flower and Garden lives on Germantown Avenue right at the corner of Mermaid Lane, and as warm weather approaches, this store will come to host some really durable and healthy starter plants for all your home-gardening year. If you don’t have the time to nurture some indoor seeds right now, buy your starters when you can plant them right outside. I’ve gotten a number of small tomato, squash, basil and other plants from this location, and they have served me well.

5. Herbiary – Those this one is off the typical beaten path, this non-traditional garden setting has a lot to offer. Not only does Herbiary website house a wide array of interesting and healthy recipes you can make with your own herbs and other plants, but there are a number of classes taught by experienced herbalist Maia Toll. Though the classes listed on the site are currently filled, there will certainly be more available as the weather warms up. And stop by the store to learn how you can start an herb garden of your own!