Gardens in Delmont tour display traditional designs, modern methods
Jun. 29—Patterned plantings, straw-bale beds, ponds and a pagoda will be on display July 8 in the Delmont Historical Preservation Society's Delmont Area Garden Tour.
Scheduled for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the tour will begin at The Olde Log House at Fairview and Overly streets in Delmont. There, guests will receive their tickets and tour maps.
Signs will direct participants to parking at the log house. Refreshments in the form of "traveling tea" will be included.
Owned by Delmont Borough and located next to Shields' Farm, the log house is a reconstruction of an early 1800s dwelling. Outside are gardens developed by preservation society members.
Leah Marx designed a rain garden in a natural swale and a Colonial garden, which was planted and maintained by society members Kelly, Brianna and Tim Artman. Member Dan Barber created a wildflower garden.
The Colonial garden features both the geometric patterns of a French country garden and the less formal plantings of an English cottage garden. Flowers, herbs and vegetables are nestled in woven wattle beds accessible via pathways.
Delmont Library's Outdoor Learning Center is one of the stops on the tour. The grounds feature native perennial plants as well as annuals intended to appeal to butterflies and other pollinators.
Certified as a Monarch Watch Way Station, the library garden provides plants crucial for monarch butterflies.
Penn State Master Gardener Janet Pfeiffer will welcome tour participants to her no-till, chemical-free garden. She produces herbs, tomatoes, peppers, rhubarb, asparagus and potatoes in a compact space.
Preservation society member Jim Gaffney's garden demonstrates the advantages of growing plants in bales of straw. Last year, his garden produced melons, strawberries, tomatoes, peppers, celery, broccoli, cucumbers, kale, lettuce, pole beans, potatoes, squash, eggplant and herbs.
The versatile gardening method starts by pouring a mixture of fertilization nutrients into the center of each bale. After decomposition begins within the straw, plants may be placed into the center of the bale. Gaffney placed landscaping fabric under the garden and built a network of trellises to support the plants as they grew upward.
The Jobe House in the Hollow showcases garden areas with ponds, a gazebo, a pergola and a pagoda — along with flowers, herbs, vegetables, bayberry bushes, an old-fashioned mock orange bush, a wisteria trellis and hydrangeas.
Central to the grounds is a log cabin originally built in 1820 and later moved to the site and reconstructed in 1986. A drying shed was added to the property.
Garden tour tickets cost $15 in advance, $20 on the day of the tour. Call or text 724-420-4455 for tickets and reservations.
Farmers market slated
Also on July 8, the Delmont Farmers Market will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the parking lot of Trinity United Church of Christ, 39 E. Pittsburgh St., Delmont. Across the street, visitors can check out refurbishment of an historic watering trough, an ongoing project of the preservation society and the Delmont Lions Club.
Jeff Himler is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Jeff by email at jhimler@triblive.com or via Twitter .
