Strawberry Hill Farms, Part 1

Over the weekend, Scott and I went to a farm so I could get one plant (on which I will report later). I told him we'd only be there five minutes, but this farm is a huge plant vendor with several warehouses full of fruits, vegetables, and ornamentals. We were there longer than five minutes. I had to wander around and take pictures, of course.

Speaking of which, the camera I'm using now is Scott's, so many thanks are due.

Anyway, people come from all over the state to go to this farm and get plants, so we had to park a good walk away from the cluster of buildings. As we approached them, this was the first thing we saw: discounted cole crops! I think these were marked down to $2 for a four-pack.

I've never seen so many petunias, or in so many colors. There were several rows of tables like this scattered around, covered in petunias. I had to water petunias regularly as a child, and I've never been a fan. They're too sticky for me, and they need to be deadheaded all the time. That said, they are nice to look at.

Here are some tables of salvia and marigolds. I love purple and yellow together, though I don't know if I like how marigolds smell. I'm going to get some next year regardless to put around my tomatoes (assuming I grow tomatoes again next year).

Here's just a section of one of the greenhouses containing ornamental hanging baskets. There was so much to see--I could have spent days wandering around and perusing the selection.

They even have a variety of ferns!

These were the only coleus I saw, but they're nothing to shake a stick at. Sadly I did not have time to sniff all these varieties to find out which were sweet-smelling. Those are my favorites.

Here's a great spider plant. I hope mine gets this full someday.

This begonia looks like a looking-glass begonia, only with polka dots. I don't know what would go well with this plant, but it's impressive on its own.

Now, this is what I came for: a purple shamrock. The species was not denoted on the tags, but I believe these are Oxalis regnelli 'Charmed Wine'. The one I ended up purchasing is on the bottom left. Their leaves are slightly variegated, which is different from the individuals in the greenhouse.

A better shot of the leaves. They look like butterflies in person, too. Some of them were flowering, but people don't cultivate purple shamrocks for their flowers.

All these pictures don't encompass one-fiftieth of the plants at Strawberry Hill. It's truly amazing. Maybe that's why people flock from all over. It was plant overload on my brain, which is why the visit was so fun.

Next post: more views from Strawberry Hill.