Garden Open House

The open house on Saturday was a great success. Visitors came from as far away as Wichita, Kansas, just to visit the garden and say hello. The purpose of the event was to dedicate an entire day to visiting with readers of my newspaper columns and blogs. It was an honor to get to meet so many folks and hear what they had to say. Several brought gardening questions along with compliments and comments, all of which were appreciated.

There were two ladies from Wichita, Kansas who came, with one very tolerant and pleasant young man. They told us they learned about Long Creek Herb Farm from our mystery writer friend, Susan Wittig Albert. Her book,  China Bayles Book of Days, lists interesting things to do each day of the year, and for June 22nd, one of their birthdays, "Visit Long Creek Herb Farm." They decided to take China Bayles' advice and come see how we garden. 

One of the pleasant surprises of the day was having kids come with their parents and grandparents. Not lots of kids, but several, ranging in ages from about 10 to 14 or so. Interesting and interested kids, asking questions, tasting the herbs, enjoying being in the garden. Anytime kids can be encouraged to garden, to know where food comes from, and learn, is a joy to me. Thanks to everyone of you who brought your kids. And to China Bayles, by way of Susan Wittig Albert, for sending wonderful visitors to our garden! You can see her newest book, The Darling Dahlias and the Cucumber Tree, about to be released in July, here and order it for your summer reading. Her book, Wormwood, won the IHA Book of the Year Award, as well!


It was fun having a group from the Table Rock Art Guild in the garden, as well. I taught the first oil painting class 25 years ago to a group of 9 ladies in Kimberling City and that group formed what is now the Table Rock Art Guild. Several brought cameras to take photos, either to sell as photos, or to use for painting. A few times over the years we've had art groups visit and spend the day painting.

If you click on the photo to enlarge it, you can probably see the row of Potawatamie lima beans, a Native American pole bean, growing just beyond the birdhouse.

I hadn't seen several of the Art Guild folks for a few years, so it was a treat to get to visit over lemonade and cookies.

The grape arbor and herb shop porch gave a shady place to sit after garden tours. It was a hot, steamy day, but little showers, lasting no more than a couple of minutes, helped cool things a bit.

Getting to share the garden, to show off my plant collections and new plant trials, was an enjoyable treat. We enjoyed it so much, we might even do it again next year. And Molly has the right idea, a nap on the porch. Now, to just find the time.