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September 8, 2006

Plant Place: Flowers and vegetables highlight Neshannock garden

By Lugene Hudson

Most mornings, chances are good Ed Badger is tending to the gardens.

What a visual pleasure these flower and vegetable creations are — the joint effort of Ed and wife, Regina. At their Neshannock Township home, annuals and perennials blend in perfectly with the woodsy, natural background covering two acres.

With Ed using his carpentry skills, additions including a patio, brick steps, a pond and sheds emphasize and flatter the basics. Flowers of different colors and sizes tumble or drape from pots and planters, resulting in a colorful artist’s gallery of blossoms.

A welcoming sign ascending the driveway is the lovely Rose of Sharon. Farther along are tiger lilies and a 20-year-old plant called black snakenut, which ironically has white blooms. Regina said that according to native American Indian legend, the wildflower supposedly has magical or healing powers.

A solid tree line frames nearly three sides of the property, and one pine tree extends 50 or 60 feet into the air. A rhododendron bush the width of a refrigerator and tall coneflowers mixed in with tiny blooms strike a great balance. Further along a lone red rose bid good-bye to its season

“Everything is natural,” Regina said, explaining that they use no pesticides.

Back here, butterflies are free, hummingbirds have a smorgasbord of flowers to partake of for nectar and birds patrol the gardens for unwelcome critters.

Separate gardens are actually extension of one another. The Japanese garden near the front of the house features stones representing water.

“The small ones indicate a calm flow and the big rocks are for rapids,” Regina said.

Altogether, there are eight Japanese lanterns, a bench, blue hosta and other blooms in this “low-maintenance” section.

We moved to another garden to see calla in white, pink and yellow, and spider flowers. Sundials and ceramic alligators enhance the settings.

If there’s a centerpiece to this table of planti-ful menu, it is the pond built by these retired teachers. Twenty or so goldfish swim carefree and lily pads form an ornamental canopy. Regina scattered fish food into the water, and feeding time commenced. The soothing pond, from which a gentle waterfall spills, uses a pump.

“I like to sit on the bench at the edge of the pond and just watch,” Regina said.

With the sun emitting oven-like temperatures, I craved shade but wasn’t finished looking at a side garden where sturdy gladiolas ruled liked a dynasty near impatiens, astra, amazingly large hosta and bluegrass. Yellow lilies were planted to hide the stump of a tree Ed cut down. Ingenious thinking.

Deeper into the back yard were four rows of plump and pretty red raspberries and Ed’s 20-foot-by-40-foot vegetable garden — a produce store in itself. In late July, the sweet corn had tassels and the green beans were staked on poles.

Despite its size, according to Ed, “It can never be big enough.”

A person can easily conjure up ideas for a meal while venturing through row after row of vegetables such as sunchokes, which are part of the sunflower family and produce little flowers 3-inches across.”

“You have to wait for a frost until you can dig them up,” he said.

Eating will be good with Yukon potatoes, onions, tomatoes, turnips, parsnips, green peppers, beets and lettuce with morning dew still glistening on its leaves. Add butternut squash, carrots and mustard and you have a real feast in the making.

The Badgers compost everything and recycle all the garden waste, including rinds and peels

“It goes back into the soil and provides nutrients,” Regina said.

It’s sincerely nature’s way.

(To submit a Cruisin’ idea, contact Lugene Hudson at (724) 654-6651, extension 620 or lhudson@ncnewsonline.com.)

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Plant Place: Flowers and vegetables highlight Neshannock garden
by By Lugene Hudson , , Fri Sep 08, 2006, 08:19 AM EDT
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