Intelligent Design - Worthington Forge

Recently I visited Worthington Forge in Doylestown with a client to discuss some custom pieces he wanted to have made. I have had the pleasure to work with Ed Worthington several times over the years to have custom railings, signpost and furniture built. He has not only a talent for the technical aspects of metal work - but also an incredible imagination, visible to anyone passing by his studio on Stump Road. 

Stone and iron animals frolic on the lawn.

The tools of the trade, hung neatly on the wall.

A three headed dragon and scorpion oversee work in the studio.

A stone and iron unicorn rears up on the front lawn.

A colorful piece of work - perhaps a gate or railing - leans against the workbench filled with odds and ends.

Ed is well-known for his "bamboo" style of metal work.

Several leafy clusters sprout from the lawn.

Through the iron reeds you can see the walls of a stone barn.

The color of stone and iron are nearly indistinguishable. 

The weather station holds an anemometer, a rain gauge and smiling sun.

Above the door a spider waits.

A patina-ed collection of evergreens "grows" in from of the real thing.

Ed is quite fond of spiders, these metal ones can be found on his shop and vehicles.

A beautifully detailed set of cattails. 

My client commissioned this beautiful end table in the bamboo-style of metal work.

"Reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated."

November 30th was Mark Twain's Birthday and so we posted the following message to facebook:

Happy birthday Mark Twain! Did you know he lived at Wave Hill (a beautiful public Garden in NYC) from 1901 to 1902? Of winter there he wrote: “I believe we have the noblest roaring blasts here I have ever known on land; they sing their hoarse song through the tree-tops with a splendid energy that thrills me and uplifts me and makes me want to live always.”

It would have his 176th birthday, Mark Twain was born during a visit by Halley's Comet, and he predicted that he would "go out with it" as well. He died the day following the comet's subsequent return. Twain had been interested in parapsychology most of his life and believed he had also predicted his brother death. He is buried in the Woodlawn Cemetery in Elmira, NY where his wife's family was from and near to where our designer, Sharon, grew up. She can attest that area is also known for its ferocious winters!

In his life Twain achieved great success as a writer and public speaker. A talented author and humorist, his wit and satire earned praise from critics and peers and are still enjoyed to this day! Here is a little history on his one-time home, Wave Hill:

A Brief History of Wave Hill 
1843-1903 
Wave Hill House was built as a country home in 1843 by jurist William Lewis Morris. From 1866-1903 it was owned by William Henry Appleton, who enlarged the house in 1866-69 and again in 1890. A publishing scion, Appleton brought to Wave Hill such pioneering natural scientists as Thomas Henry Huxley. Huxley was astounded by the site, declaring the Palisades across the river one of the world's greatest natural wonders. 

Theodore Roosevelt's family rented Wave Hill during the summers of 1870 and ‘71, when the future president was a youth of 12 and 13. Teddy's time here significantly deepened his love of nature and love of the outdoors that would later prompt him to secure the preservation of millions of acres of American parkland. 

Mark Twain leased the estate from 1901-1903, setting up a treehouse parlor in the branches of a chestnut tree on the lawn. Of winter at Wave Hill he wrote, I believe we have the noblest roaring blasts here I have ever known on land; they sing their hoarse song through the big tree-tops with a splendid energy that thrills me and stirs me and uplifts me and makes me want to live always. 

1903-1960 
In 1903, George W. Perkins, a partner of J.P. Morgan, purchased Wave Hill House. Since 1895 he had been accumulating properties to create a great estate along the river including Oliver Harriman's adjacent villa on the site of what is now Glyndor House. Perkins devoted much of his extraordinary energy to planning the grounds so as to enhance the property's magnificent vistas. To the garden and greenhouses built by Appleton, Perkins added greenhouses, a swimming pool, terraces and the recreational facility that we now call the Ecology Building. The land was graded and contoured, rare trees and shrubs were planted on the broad lawns, and gardens were created to blend harmoniously with the natural beauty of the Hudson River highlands. Across the river, Perkin's involvement at the inception of the Palisades Interstate Park Commission was pivotal in preserving the Palisades. 

The Perkins family resided in Glyndor House and leased Wave Hill House to an eminent zoologist, Bashford Dean. Dean's hobby was collecting medieval European armor, and he built Armor Hall to house his remarkable collection. A selection of 197 choice pieces was subsequently donated to or acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art. 

Other famous residents of Wave Hill House have included the conductor Arturo Toscanini (1942-1945) and chief members of the British Delegation to the United Nations (1950-1956). 

Wave Hill Today 
In 1960, the Perkins-Freeman family deeded Wave Hill to the City of New York; Wave Hill, Inc., was formed in 1965 as a non-profit corporation. Today, as one of 34 New York City-owned cultural institutions, Wave Hill's mission is to celebrate the artistry and legacy of its gardens and landscapes, to preserve its magnificent views, and to explore human connections to the natural world through programs in horticulture, education and the arts.

Wave Hill House 
Wave Hill House has been the home of not just one prominent family—but of many. Though unrelated, each successive resident shared an appreciation of Wave Hill's relationship to the Palisades, the Hudson River, and the estate's role in the preservation of Riverdale as a distinctive community. 

The original house was built in Greek Revival style in 1843-44 by William Lewis Morris, a New York City attorney. The Morrises lived here until the death of Mrs. Morris in 1852. William Henry Appleton, a world renowned publisher, bought Wave Hill in 1866 from the Morris heirs. The Appletons used the place as a summer residence. It was leased in 1870-71 to New York banker Theodore Roosevelt, Sr. whose adolescent son developed a love of nature that endured through a lifetime as military hero, conservationist, Governor, and President. Another celebrated tenant, Mark Twain, made Wave Hill a social milieu of literary greats during 1901-03. 

Financier George W. Perkins lived in Glyndor House. He bought Wave Hill House in 1903, and from 1909-1928 leased it to Dr. Bashford Dean, first curator of Arms and Armor at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Dean gained Perkins' approval to build the Armor Hall wing to house his collections. The wing was designed by Fieldston resident, architect Dwight James Baum. Following Dr. Dean's death in 1928, choice pieces of the collection went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art where they are still on view today. 

The Perkins' daughter, Dorothy, and son-in-law, Edward W. Freeman, remodeled the house in 1933. They leased the house to the great maestro Arturo Toscanini from 1942-45; and to the chief British delegates to the UN, Sir Gladwyn Jebb and Sir Pierson Dixon, from 1950-56. In 1960, the Perkins and Freeman families gave the Wave Hill estate to the City of New York. 

Glyndor House 
This house, in Georgian Revival style, is the third to stand on this magnificent site overlooking the Palisades. The first was a Victorian style villa built in the 1860's by the New York financier, Oliver Harriman, called Nonesuch. It was purchased in 1895 by George Walbridge Perkins (1862 -1920). Perkins and his wife, Evelina Ball, remodeled and enlarged the house to include guest rooms and a ballroom with the professional assistance of C. Grant La Farge, architect and son of the famous stained glass artist and designer. Perkins named the transformed house Glyndor (a combination of letters from the names of his family). 

Perkins, with the help of architect Robert M. Byers, created greenhouses, an outdoor swimming pool and a two-story recreation building. The roof of this structure was covered with sod to provide a viewing platform, or terrace, to enjoy the Hudson River and the Palisades. An underground tunnel, lined with Guastavino tiles, connected Glyndor with the recreation building which contained a billiard room, bowling alley and squash court. The location of the recreation building may have been selected by Perkins to help prevent a future grid system of streets in the area; it is directly in the path of a projected street. The recreation building, now known as the Ecology Building, and its rooftop terrace still exist today. The design of the gardens and terraces was conceived, in part, to unify the three estates acquired over time by Perkins. The grey stone building, Wave Hill House, was on one of the parcels acquired by Perkins. Albert Millard, trained as a gardener in Vienna, worked with Perkins on the original layout of the grounds. 

George W. Perkins died at the age of 58 in 1920. In 1926, the house was struck by lightning and severely damaged. Mrs. Perkins had it demolished. The present building, designed by New York architects Butler and Corse, rose on the site in a year's time. In 1960, following Evelina Ball Perkins' passing, the Perkins and Freeman families gave the Wave Hill estate to the City of New York. 

http://www.wavehill.org/about/history.html

Mercer Tiles

Earlier this year we included several Mercer tiles in the masonry trim of a clients fireplace. Here are some pictures of the tiles along with the history related to their creator Henry Chapman Mercer, whose influence is so evident in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. 

Henry Chapman Mercer was historian, archaeologist, collector and ceramist -- a Renaissance man of the early 20th century. He was born in Doylestown, Pennsylvania, at the heart of historic Bucks County on June 24, 1856. His one-man building boom, leaving a legacy of three structures on the National Historic Landmark register, began when he was 52. Mercer traveled the world on the largess of a devoted aunt and studied law and ancient history. He graduated from Harvard with a law-degree (although he never practiced) and was curator of American and Pre-historic Archaeology at the Museum of the University of Pennsvlvania from 1894 to 1897. Mercer conducted site excavations in the Yucatan Peninsula and in the Delaware, Ohio and Tennessee River valleys. Leaving his position with the Museum in the late 1890s, Mercer devoted himself to finding old American artifacts and learning about German pottery.

In 1897, while searching for fireplace tools in a junk dealer's barn, Mercer found a jumble of objects made obsolete by the Industrial Revolution. He realized these pre-1850 work related implements might one day be the prized findings of future archaeologists. Mercer seized upon this priceless opportunity to preserve the endangered artifacts and display them in their diversity. Mercer himself went to work on his collection, which he called "The Tools of the Nation Maker. " He pledged it would be "worth its weight in gold in a hundred years hence. "

 
Mercer believed that American society was being destroyed by industrialism, which inspired his search for American artifacts. Mercer founded Moravian Pottery and Tile Works in 1898 after apprenticing himself to a Pennsylvania German potter. Mercer was also influenced by the American Arts and Crafts Movement. Mercer is well known for his research and books about ancient tool making, his ceramic tile creations, and his engineering and architecture. He wrote extensively on his interests, which included archeology, early tool making, German stove plates, and ceramics. He assembled the collection of early American tools now housed in the Mercer Museum.

The Moravian Pottery & Tile Works is a history museum located in Doylestown, Pennsylvania. The museum is included in a National Historic Landmark District along with the Mercer Museum and Fonthill. These three structures are the only poured-in-place concrete structures built by Mercer. Handmade tiles are still produced in a manner similar to that developed by the pottery's founder and builder, Henry Chapman Mercer. Tile designs are reissues of original designs. Mercer was a major proponent of the Arts and Crafts movement in America. He directed the work at the pottery from 1898 until his death in 1930. Mercer generally did not affix a potter's mark to tiles made while he directed the work. Following his death, there were several marks used to indicate that a tile had originated there. When the Bucks County Department of Parks and Recreation took over the Tile Works as a working museum, all tiles made by the museum were impressed on the obverse with a stylized "MOR", the words "Bucks County" and the year of manufacture. The reproduction tiles made today are made using Mercer's original molds, clay that is obtained locally and has properties similar to those of Mercer's original source, slips and glazes that follow Mercer's final formulations, although some have been modified to reduce the lead and heavy metal content to less toxic levels.

Mercer's tiles are used in the floor of the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania and in many other noteworthy buildings and houses. In the Pennsylvania State Capitol, Mercer created a series of mosaic images for the floor of the building. The series of four hundred mosaics trace the history of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania from prehistoric times. The Pennsylvania State Capitol is the largest single collection of Mercer's tiles. Other collections of tiles by Mercer can be found at Rockefeller's New York estate, Grauman's Chinese Theater, the casino at Monte Carlo, and the St. Louis Public Library.

The Tile Works is one of three poured-in-place concrete structures built by Mercer. The others include Fonthill, which is located on the same property and served as his home; and the Mercer Museum, located approximately one mile away. The Bucks County Historical Society now owns Fonthill, which is open to the public, and the Mercer Museum. The Moravian Pottery and Tile Works is owned and operated by the Bucks County Department of Parks & Recreation. These three buildings make up "the Mercer Mile". All three buildings were designed and constructed by Henry Mercer in the early part of the 20th century using reinforced concrete. Henry Mercer had a boundless collection of early American every day objects and ancient artifacts at the dawn of the 20th century. In a stroke of genius, he built the Mercer Museum to contain it, preserving the past in timeless fashion. The Mercer Museum's expanding collection contains more than 50,000 tools and artifacts. It represents the soul of early America and the heritage of Bucks County, while hinting at the men and women who experienced the era.
 
The architecturally significant building completed between 1913 and 1916 by Mercer, eight laborers and "Lucy" the horse is a National Historic Landmark. Rising seven stories and constructed entirely of reinforced concrete, its towers, gables and parapets announce the diversity inside. You will find more than 60 Early American trades represented, including a wealth of woodworking, metalworking, agricultural, textile and dairy tools. The oldest artifacts in the museum are Native American implements dating from 6,000 B.C. to 8,000 B.C.

The Spruance Library, located in the Mercer Museum, is a research library containing primary source material for historians, genealogists and students of Bucks County history. More than 20,000 volumes of books, periodicals, pamphlets, maps, prints and photographs are preserved in the library, including the papers of Henry C. Mercer. The Mercer collection - and the period of history it preserves - embodies the character that created the nation: ingenuity, vision and hard work. Henry Ford stated that the Mercer museum was the only museum worth visiting in the United States, and the Mercer Museum was apparently Henry Ford's inspiration for his own museum. The Mercer Museum houses over forty thousand artifacts from early American society.

 
Mercer died on March 2, 1930 at Fonthill, the home he designed and constructed.
(All information collected via web-search and re-assembled for clarity)

Fall - The Season of Change

Although December marks the official end of the year, fall is when we in the landscape field begin to slow down and hibernate - or like a tree, go dormant - for the winter. This is the season when we are wrapping up any remaining construction projects, performing fall clean-ups and completing follow-up details. As we do this, I have been looking back on the past year, the landscaping projects we completed and the unusual weather we had to face!

This landscape season has brought us some of the wildest weather on record: from the long-forgotten drought in July to the record breaking rainfall of August, several hurricanes, an earthquake and the never-before-seen snowstorm in October. It has certainly been a difficult year to work outdoors! Still we have had some wonderful clients and amazing projects, most notably an outdoor fireplace, travertine patio and so many beautiful plantings (especially the creative container gardens, a personal favorite of mine)

As we enter the season of change there are some positive changes taking place here at Martin Shaw, LLC. Some unique opportunities have come our way and we are in the process of deciding how to best incorporate them into our business. We will let you know as soon as the details are ironed out - which, honestly, may be a while yet - but suffice to say we will be offering better (and bigger) ways to communicate with our clients, maybe even the world.....

With so much going on I admit I have not released a newsletter update recently and have shared more blog content than I have written myself lately. I have come to rely pretty heavily on the 400 characters or less allowed on our facebook page and do feel that we have shared some really great information there. Now that the landscape and gardening season - if not all the details - are coming to a close though, you can look forward to some fresh content. Have something you want to know more about? Tell us and we will try to make it a feature of an upcoming post. And if you want to know know what's changing, stayed tuned!

Fallingwater, Fallingdown?

We recently shared the following facts about the Frank Lloyd Wright masterpiece, Fallingwater on our facebook page:

Originally conceived as a quaint cottage retreat with a veiw of the Bear Creek waterfalls, Fallingwater became a part of the landscape and Wrights masterpeice. The Kaufmanns established a budget of $30,000, for which they would pay Wright $8,000 to design and oversee its construction. When the final price tag ultimately reached $155,000 he was compensated as originally agreed. - http://www.fallingwater.org/ 

Another Fallingwater post has caught our eye:

This story was featured on the Fast Company Design website and can be found at the original link: http://www.fastcodesign.com/1665091/fallingwater-turns-75-how-is-it-still-standing.

 The interective graphics are located on the AIA Site at: http://info.aia.org/aiarchitect/2011/0923/fallingwater_interactive/fallingwater_interactive.html

Fallingwater Turns 75.

 How Is It Still Standing?!

Frank Lloyd Wright’s career masterpiece is three quarters of a century old. The American Institute of Architects pays tribute with a comprehensive microsite that includes an interactive feature on Fallingwater’s (many) structural repairs.

Fallingwater has turned 75. Which is pretty amazing considering that the thing probably should’ve keeled over ages ago. Frank Lloyd Wright’s photogenic masterpiece was a structural catastrophe. Even before the client, Pittsburgh businessman Edgar Kaufmann, had a chance to move in, the famed cantilevered concrete balconies betrayed evidence of deflection. By the 1990s, the place had aged so badly, its sagging terraces were sorely obvious and cracks veined the parapet beams. Tests showed that the concrete was stressed to 95% of its failure strength.

All of which the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the society of professional architects, documents dutifully in a concise interactive graphic on the (many) structural repairs at Fallingwater. The graphic is part of a larger package honoring the house on its 75th birthday. It includes photographs, an interview with Fallingwater’s director, and glowing anecdotes from architects on what Fallingwater means to them.

In many ways, though, it’s the structural failures that tell us more about Wright--and the phenomenal boundlessness of his ego--than any doxology ever could. We learn, for instance, that Kaufmann had doubts about the building’s structural stability at the outset, so he tapped consulting engineers to vet Wright’s plans. Sure enough, they determined that the concrete and steel in the main floor girders needed at least double the proposed reinforcement. Wright balked mightily at the suggestion that his plans fell short; Kaufmann backed down. Years later, after Kaufmann's son donated the house to a conservation society, preservationists had to sink millions of dollars into fixing what Wright refused to address early on.

First, to temporarily halt the deflection, a single line of steel shoring was installed, which required construction workers to divert the stream and drill anchor bolts into the waterway’s bedrock. Then to strengthen the cantilevers, entire swaths of the building had to be deconstructed. That gave workers ample room to pour concrete and install post-tensioning cables that are hydraulically tightened from the exterior, effectively relieving stress on the old girders. In short, an entire secondary structural system had to be invented to ensure that Fallingwater achieves the most basic imperative of a building: that it stands up.

New York, New York! (It's greener thank you think) - Part 3: Central Park and Olmsted

SHAPER OF THE AMERICAN LANDSCAPE

Perhaps more than any other person, Frederick Law Olmsted (1822-1903) affected the way America looks. He is best known as the creator of major urban parks, but across the nation, from the green spaces that help define our towns and cities, to suburban life, to protected wilderness areas, he left the imprint of his fertile mind and boundless energy. Out of his deep love for the land and his social commitment he fathered the profession of landscape architecture in America.

Olmsted's unique contributions stemmed in part from the conjunction of strongly felt personal values and the needs of a young nation. America was experiencing unprecedented growth in the mid-19th century, making the transition from a rural people to a complex urban society. City life became more stressful as the crowds grew, the pace quickened, and the countryside was pushed into the distance. Olmsted and others saw the need for preserving green and open spaces where people could escape city pressures, places that nourished body and spirit. His intuitive understanding of the historical changes he was living through and his rare combination of idealism, artistry, intelligence, and practical knowledge enabled him to help soften the shocks of industrialization. Unable to separate his love and respect for the land from his belief in democracy, Olmsted saw parks as bastions of the democratic ideals of community and equality. He confronted a period of rapid mechanization and unabashed materialism with a natural sensibility and the old Jefferson virtues of restraint and rural simplicity, values still represented in his parks.

Olmsted was a true renaissance man whose many interests and ceaseless flow of ideas led him into experimental farming, writing and publishing, public health administration, preservation, and urban and regional planning. With other reformers, he pushed for the protection of Yosemite Valley. His 1864 report on the park was the first systematic justification for public protection of natural areas, emphasizing the duty of a democratic society to ensure that the "body of the people" have access to natural beauty.

Situated between 59th street and 110 streets in the heart of New York City, Central Park is arguably the most well known of all the parks that Olmsted had a hand in. Although he was the park's superintendent, he had no hand in the call for a park. Andrew Jackson Downing was the original force behind the park. He and his partner, Calvert Vaux were to submit a design for the park. In 1852 Downing died in a riverboat accident and Vaux asked Olmsted to take his place. In 1858 they entered the competition to design the park, with an entry they called Greensward, which was chosen as the park's design. The design of the park had many aspects that would become trademarks of Olmsted's designs. There were winding paths, scenic views and large open areas for people to relax in. Olmsted served as the chief architect from 1858-1861, which allowed him to supervise the construction and to make any changes that he felt necessary.

Olmsted and Vaux worked off and on with the Park's Commission on the park. Serving as the chief architect from 1858-1861 Olmsted was a presence at the construction site to make sure the collaborative vision was fulfilled. Theirs would be a park conforming to the real contours of nature with rich woodlands, winding paths and hills and valleys. Theirs would be a park replete with Vaux’s architectural vision, which united design and nature with the human spirit. Olmsted was fastidious in his attention to detail and both fought the ugly demon of political infighting to make sure events conformed to their original plan. They succeeded heroically against a succession of negativity until 1877 when the team was dismissed from the project. Olmsted and Vaux devoted twenty years of their lives to the hoped for realization of a dream only to fall victims to the city bureaucracy and petty political infighting. There is no single tribute or monument in the Park to their collaborative effort. Their memory for most is simply a footnote in history.

In what he created and what he preserved for the future, Olmsted's legacy is incalculable. The informal natural setting he made popular characterizes the American Landscape. Beyond the hundreds of parks enjoyed by millions of people, Olmsted and his firm set the standard for hospital and institutional grounds, campuses, zoos, railway stations, parkways, private estates, and residential subdivisions across the country. Olmsted's principles of democratic expansion and public access still guide and inspire urban planners. From the broadest concepts to the smallest details of his profession, the sign of Olmsted's hand is everywhere in our lives.

(Information gleaned from Wikipedia, The Central Park website and fan sites)

We recently spent a late summer weekend in NewYork City and got to experience Olmsted's vision

 

Off the Clock

We just submitted our "Off the Clock" project  to a trade publication in the hopes it will be featured, drawing additional interest to what we feel is an important effort. If you follow our blog you know that we are strong proponants and participants in Community Gardening and so we are proud to share our latest volunteer venture with you! Please feel free to contact us if you want to get involved - in either our garden, or your own. We are always happy to share resources that can help the idea speread to other communities. Additional information can be found on the News & Press or Resources section of our website. You can also follow the progress of our project: The Sandy Ridge Community Garden on facebook.

Food pantries are a valuable resource for families struggling to provide needed nutrition. Because they rely on an inexpensive, shelf stable and simple to prepare source of food though, pantries are filled with processed products. These foods are high in salt, calories and preservatives. Fresh produce is so needed and appreciated by these organizations and their clients. Fresh vegetables can be grown almost anywhere with only a few resources and a minimum investment, and its availability can have a positive impact on the health of the recipients.

I was inspired by the idea that an unused piece of land can be transformed by the efforts of a community to provide, beauty, education and food. As a landscape designer and company owner I saw the creation of a community garden as a way to use my knowledge, tools and resources to help others. Several years ago I was fortunate to become involved with the creation of an urban garden in the area. It provided me with the experience, training, contacts and support I needed to begin a similar project in my own community. After exploring several potential sites, I approached the pastor of the Doylestown Mennonite Church about a section of land on their property. He, the trustees and congregation welcomed the idea and allowed me the use of their grounds, facilities, and provided support in any way they could.

The garden began with an announcement in the local paper gathering interested community members for a meeting to discuss the idea. 17 people attended and I outlined my plan, asking for input, assistance and supplies. We agreed to raise a communal-style garden, donating at least 50% of the produce to local food pantries. With-in several weeks my company, Martin Shaw LLC Landscape Design & Construction, had tilled the ground, I had secured supplies, seed and seedling donations from local businesses while volunteers amended, fenced and planted the garden. Our progress was covered by several local publications bringing more volunteers and donations.

Thanks to the generosity of donors and volunteers we filled the 35’ X 145’ space with tomatoes, potatoes, onions, greens, beans, squash, melons and herbs. Our work days were held three times a week and attracted between 6 to 8 volunteers each time. I managed tasks, coordinated events and maintained communication with weekly e-mails to a list of 45 addresses and shared information, photos and ideas on a Facebook with a page that has garnered over 65 fans so far. Several potlucks and occasional meetings brought even more volunteers together socially, spawning friendships and activities beyond the garden.

Volunteers with a variety of backgrounds and opinions – Penn State Master Gardeners, Italian immigrants and Mennonite farmers - came together, worked through their differing opinions on care, watered, weeded and harvested. Together we donated nearly 90% of the harvest raised to local food pantries, for a total of near 900 pounds! I was also able to co-ordinate with a local girl-scout completing her service project to create a cookbook for pantry recipients that would help them make healthy meals and elementary students learning about business by fundraising. The idea is now spreading in our community; I have already consulted with several groups interested in creating their own community gardens.

I am inspired to continue now not only by the idea – but by the reality - of what we achieved: friendship, cooperation, compromise, training, interest and a bounty for community members in all walks of life.

Martin Shaw, LLC landscape employees prepared the garden site in early May.

By June the garden was lush and full of plants producing nutritious vegetables.

Volunteers gathered for the first big harvest of potatoes;

 a donation that provided 21 pounds of fresh food.

Participation was strong right through the fall clean-up.

Volunteers gathered to plant donated seedlings on a chilly morning.

(The arbor/bench was built and donated by a congregation member.)

A potluck picnic in July drew volunteers together for food and friendship.

Media:

Facebook by searching “Sandy Ridge Community Garden”

Patch: http://doylestown.patch.com/articles/a-giving-garden, http://doylestown.patch.com/articles/fresh-and-simple-a-recipe-for-success 

Inteligencer Newspaper: www.phillyburbs.com/my_town/doylestown/community-garden-sows-seeds-of-sharing/article_ec5b0865-124d-51a3-96fb-5f2c743e1e25.html?mode=story

The Second Season

Football season is here and now that we finally have some nice fall weather, I wanted to share an event that I attended last month. It was a lovely mid September afternoon - one of the rare sunny ones this year - that I went to Fordhook Farms in Doylestown, PA to attend a media event hosted by George Ball of Burpee Seed. George wanted to share his ideas for the "Second Season". Garden writers, bloggers, TV and radio personalities (including locals Derek Fell and my friend, Mike McGrath) gathered on the veranda overlooking the gardens to hear Georges ideas, ask questions and share their own.

Too many gardeners are focused on the summer season, but neglect the beautiful fall weather that follows. Unlike the hot, dry and sometimes downright unpleasant days of summer, the autumn is typically accompanied by moderate temperatures, rainfall and plenty of sunshine. For many years now the landscape and nursery industries have promoted that "Fall is for Planting" because these features allow newly installed plants to focus their efforts on root growth and demand less from homeowners. By September the vacations are over and the kids are back in school allowing for better care while co-operative weather further reduces the need.

Vegetable gardens benefit similarly from the improved conditions as do the gardeners who tend them. George suggests that instead of perceiving fall as a time of  preparation for hibernation, we view it as a second season for growth. He adds the concept of "Garden-Gating" to this idea. Garden-gating ties the bounty of the harvest to the many fall events frequently celebrated by tail-gating. Instead of unhealthy snack-foods, George suggests serving flavorful healthy appetizers made using produce fresh from the garden! To demonstrate this, the staff of Burpee Seeds at Fordhook Farms prepared a table full of delicious recipes using Burpee Seeds produce grown at Fordhook. They were kind enough to share the recipes with me so that you can try them as well.

Here are Burpee Seeds recipes, photos of the event and a video interview with George Ball describing the benefits of the Garden-Gating and Second Season. You can also read his blog Heronswood Voice

Mike McGrath, host of public radio show You Bet Your Garden, smiles across a table filled with garden-fresh food.

Burpee's Garden-Gating Party Recipes

PLAYOFF PIZZA WITH LEEKS

Ingredients:

5-6 'Dawn Giant' leeks

1     teaspoon fresh common thyme
6     leaves fresh sweet basil, chopped
5     'Power Pops' cherry tomatoes, cut in half
1     'Early Italian' garlic clove, minced
½    cup Feta cheese
1     tablespoon olive oil
Pinch of ground black pepper
1     oven-ready pizza crust

Directions:

Prepare ready-made pizza crust as directed in oven until almost crisp.  Take out of oven.  (Naan bread works well.)  Cut leeks.  Add 1 tablespoon olive oil in pan and sauté leeks, adding a little ground black pepper.  Add garlic just as leeks start to caramelize.  Cook for a few minutes more.  Add scallions to pizza.  Sprinkle with feta cheese and add cut cherry tomatoes.  Heat in oven for 5 minutes.  Ready to serve.

SIDELINE SALSA

Ingredients:

4  'Little Mama' tomatoes, chopped
1  'Texas Supersweet' onion, chopped
3  'Evergreen Long White Bunching' scallions, chopped
1  'El Gordo' jalapeno, very finely chopped
½ cup 'Calypso' cilantro, finely chopped
1  fresh lime, juiced
Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

Blend all ingredients in medium bowl and serve with chips.

A decorative - and edible - Garden-Gating centerpeice.

STUFFED CHERRY PEPPERS

Ingredients:

6   'Cherry Stuffer' peppers

1   8 oz. cream cheese
½  cup shredded Havarti cheese
¼  cup fresh chives, finely chopped
Fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions:

Core and deseed peppers.  Cut in half.  Combine cheeses and fresh chives, add black pepper to taste. Stuff halved peppers with mixture.  Refrigerate for 1 hour before serving.

Melon Medley

Ingredients:

½  'Big Tasty' watermelon 
1   'Burpee's Hybrid' cantaloupe
½  'Super Dew' honeydew melon
4   tablespoons fresh spearmint, finely chopped
½  fresh lime, juiced

Directions:

Ball melons.  Add spearmint and lime juice.  Blend.  Refrigerate for 4 hours.  Can be prepared the day before.  Top with a few fresh spearmint leaves when ready to serve.

ROASTED PEPPERS

Ingredients:

'Big Daddy' yellow peppers

Red peppers (any variety is fine)

Directions:

Wash and core peppers, removing seeds.  Place on grill, cook until each side is blackened.  Place in brown paper bag and let sit until cool.  Remove pepper skins and discard.  Slice peppers and place in serving dish.  Drizzle with olive oil.  May top with fresh cloves of garlic.

Many thanks to George Ball and  the staff of Fordhook for their hard work, including Kelly, Kriten and Laura!

END-ZONE EGGPLANT HOAGIES

Ingredients:
2  'Early Midnight' eggplants
6  large eggs, beaten with whisk
¼ cup curly parsley, finely chopped
2  cups dried seasoned breadcrumbs
1  tablespoon garlic powder
1  teaspoon dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
½ dozen foot-long sub rolls
1  head 'EZ Serve' romaine lettuce leaves, whole
1  head 'Iceberg A' lettuce, thinly sliced
1  'Red Delicious' onion, thinly sliced
1  16-ounce fresh mozzarella ball, thinly sliced
Grilled peppers are optional    
Oil for frying*
Condiments 

Directions:
Peel eggplant lengthwise leaving 1-inch increments of skin on it.  Remove ends.  Slice eggplant into quarter-inch circles.  As slicing, lay all circles on paper towels, layering to absorb moisture as it takes away any bitterness.  Leave on paper towels until ready to batter dip.  Combine breadcrumbs, garlic powder and oregano in vessel and set aside.

Beat eggs with whisk.  Add parsley and whisk in.  Place eggplant circles into egg mixture in batches and coat.  Remove circles one at a time, allow excess egg to drip, and coat each side in breadcrumb mixture.  Stack all breaded eggplant on platter while coating.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees for melting mozzarella once eggplant is fried.  Add enough oil to large frying pan to fully coat bottom.  Use oil of preference (canola is suggested).  Heat over medium-high heat.  When hot, add eggplant circles in batches and fry to golden brown on each side, about 2 minutes.  If burning, lower heat.  

Stack eggplant on paper towels to drain, layering to absorb excess oil.  Add oil to pan as necessary and be sure to heat each time.  Place eggplant on sheet pans and melt mozzarella slices in preheated oven.  Slice sub rolls lengthwise.  Place romaine leaves to cover rolls.  Sprinkle heavily with shredded 'Iceberg A' lettuce.  Layer eggplant slices on lettuce, overlapping.  If preferred, top with grilled peppers.  Suggested condiments are (but not limited to) heated marinara sauce, sliced 'Big Mama' tomatoes, Italian dressing, and sliced onion.
* Eggplant can be fried on baking sheets on the grill.  Oil baking sheets, place on grill, and heat on high until oil is hot.  Place eggplant on sheets, keeping grill lid closed while cooking to retain heat.  This process may take longer to brown eggplants.

PLEASE NOTE: Although Burpee suggests specific varieties for the vegetables used in each recipe, one may substitute another favorite or standard variety for each vegetable if needed.

Filming scenes for an interveiw with George Ball of Burpee Seed by The Morning Call

Fall Landscaping Tips

How to stay warm outdoors & what to grow

This year is flying by - it's time to switch gears from worrying about how your yard will make it through the summer heat, to enjoying cooler temperatures. LandscapingNetwork.com has gathered together excellent tips that will help you extend the use of your outdoor living space into fall and guide you in selecting the best plants for the season.

Staying Warm

Tip 1: Constructing a shade structure with a solid roof and then installing patio heaters along the roofline traps the heat, making your outdoor kitchen or patio much warmer. 

Tip 2: Erecting a windbreak helps to keep decks and patios warmer during transitional seasons. A windbreak can be a man-made fence or wall, or a row of shrubs or trees. 

What to Grow

Tip 3: Think vegetable season is over? Think again; Plant a fall crop such as kale, broccoli or radishes. It also isn't too early to start thinking about building a protective cover for your raised veggie beds that will prevent frost damage come winter. 

Tip 4: Select plants that will have maximum curb appeal during the fall for your home's front yard. Try combining smokebush, blue switch grass, yarrow and oakleaf hydrangea.