Gardens

This year marks the centennial anniversary of the start of WWI, which lasted from July 28, 1914 through Armistice Day, November 11, 1918.

From the seeds of difficult wartime circumstances, the idea of victory gardens took root and bloomed. These vegetable, fruit, and herb gardens were planted at private residences and in public parks throughout the U.S., U.K., Canada, and Germany. Not only did the victory gardens reduce pressure on the public food supply, but gardeners – including children – felt empowered by their contributions and rewarded by the food they grew.

If you make it out to Edgefield for a concert, take time to stroll around the grounds, pint in hand. Take a quiet moment on a bench in the herb garden, walk through the magic red door to the vegetable garden, check out the fruit in the orchard, stop to enjoy the flowers in the Wedding Meadow…

But, whatever you do, do not ask the gardeners the following question:

Our mild climate allows the transition toward a brighter season to begin early.  Spring in our gardens begins in January. There are a surprising array of flowers quite willing to bloom while pummeled by rain and sleet, buried by snow, whipped by dry east winds, and frozen solid.

When the thermometer pushes 100 degrees, the winds roar down from the mountains, and the humidity dips, we gardeners scramble for water.  Plants in ornamental containers show stress in a day or so. Hanging baskets can dry out even faster. Nursery stock we’ve propagated and are raising for future planting usually needs to be soaked multiple times a day. In-ground plantings put in this spring are checked and hand-watered.

I’ll begin the blogs I post about McMenamins’ gardens by chatting about the most recent larger garden addition to the Kennedy School. It is also my personal favorite.