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How Does Your Garden Grow: Voting

Week 1: Annie Jenkins, Clarks Summit
When Annie and Matt Jenkins were in the process of moving from Ardmore, outside of Philadelphia, back to their hometown in the Abingtons, a spacious home on Nelson Street in Clarks Summit caught their eye. Once they saw the backyard garden, however, they were practically sold. According to Annie, the original garden was created by previous owners of the house. “I don’t want to take credit for something that they created,” she laughed.

Nearly two years later, the two have working hard at maintaining that garden and have added trees, herbs and other aspects to it, creating an English-type garden setting right in their backyard. “I don’t know if I would really call it a traditional English garden,” said Annie. “We don’t necessarily stick to that traditional format. We just see what works in it.”

The garden contains mostly perennials, many of which bloom at different points throughout the warmer months of the year. “Different colors bloom at different times of the year,” said Annie. “In the spring, the main color will be purple, and then a few weeks later the garden is all pink.” Daylilies, black-eyed susans, daisies and other colorful flowers, both domestic and wild, pepper the landscape, bordering a grey cobblestone path that leads to a trellis and then a square gardening area. A stone patio is set off to the side of the main garden, with a firepit and sitting area at the back of the garden.

Week 2: Kristen Jungbluth, Waverly
If brown is the new black and 40 is the new 30, then the use of containers is definitely one of the trends in gardening that has been gaining popularity in recent years. Kristin Jungbluth, of Oakford Woods in Waverly, has used container gardening for the past several years as a simple yet attractive alternative to flower beds.

Although Jungbluth’s yard could easily fit a garden bed, she cites another reason for choosing container gardening that most suburban and rural gardeners understand all too well: wild animals. Jungbluth said that keeping flowers contained to vases and other types of containers reduces the need to spray repellants. “We just have so many deer around here,” she said. “But we don’t have to spray as much with the containers.”

She said she enjoys creating pieces that feature one particular flower or plant as a larger statement that supersedes the smaller plants within the piece. For example, she created a piece featuring Lantana surrounded by smaller plants and flowers. Jungbluth also pointed out a piece she created featuring different colored Coleus: an ornamental, shade-loving plant. “I wanted to create a single statement piece with one type of plant, only with different colors,” she said.

Jungbluth, who hails from the Midwest, said she particularly likes that the pansies will last so long in Northeastern Pennsylvania’s climate. “I’ve never lived in a region where the pansies last more than a few months,” she said.

Week 3: Anthony Curra, Clarks Summit
For Anthony Curra of Fox Run Circle in Clarks Summit, it goes well beyond that. Curra’s garden serves as a source of hospitality for family and friends, a place where the people he loves can gather for a delicious meal, a dip in his pool or just a pleasant afternoon of relaxing in the sun. It is, as his mother puts it, “like a paradise in the backyard.”

When the Curras first moved from Long Island to the Clarks Summit area 24 years ago, Anthony’s wife Mary Curra said, there was nothing in the backyard but grass and a small clematis vine. Each year since, Curra has added flowers, vegetables, plants and trees.

Many of the plants that the Curras have in their back yard have come from family members, friends and neighbors. “Whenever our friends have an extra plant or something to get rid of, they think of us,” joked Mary. One of the garden’s centerpieces is a large trumpet vine, which has rooted itself around the wooden trellis leading from the Curra’s pool area to the rest of their backyard. Curra’s uncle gave him the vine about 20 years ago.

“It was just a scrap at the time, and now look at it.” said Curra.

Week 4: Becky Scioscia, Factoryville
Becky Scioscia of Factoryville not only enjoys gardening in her backyard, but also in her front yard. As a result, her garden is not only something that her own family can enjoy, but something that can be enjoyed by everyone who walks by.

Scioscia became interested in gardening when she and her husband, Steve, first moved into their home on College Avenue and saw that a previous owner had left behind some perennial plants.

Scioscia’s garden is a mix of flowers, small shrubbery and plants, with some whimsical touches. A stone path leads to a bird bath placed near a rock wall. A small, rustic table sits at the side of the house in a shaded area along the path to the back garden. And if passersby look closely, they will see special visitors to the garden: classic garden gnomes, which Scioscia said are there to bring luck and protection.

Each year at Halloween, the Scioscias pick a theme and then decorate their front garden according to that theme, creating a fun but spooky environment. “It’s fun for the children in town,” she said. “Every year we keep it a secret, and every year people are excited to find out what the theme will be.”

Week 5: Ron Grambo, Clarks Summit
Ron Grambo of Clarks Summit plans his garden in advance, sometimes even before the first snow of the previous winter has fallen. “I start placing my seed orders usually after Christmas dinner,” he said. Grambo has good reason for planning so far in advance. Almost every flower and plant in his gardening is an annual started from seed.
He said most years he starts with impatiens and then moves on to petunias.

A onetime CPA who is now an accounting professor at The University of Scranton, Grambo is extremely organized. He takes copious notes after planting his flowers to keep track of how each one has fared. Then, he makes his seed orders according to which he liked best. He begins planting seeds in January and usually finishes in April, and puts the seedlings in the ground around Memorial Day weekend. His sense of organization does not mean that he doesn’t allow for a bit of whimsy. “Whenever we have a graduation coming up in the family, I like to plant the school colors,” he said. “By the time we have the graduation party, when everything is in full bloom, it looks great.”
This year alone, he estimated that he planted approximately 900 plants.

Because of the layout of his backyard, Grambo combines container gardening around his pool area and along his deck with bed gardening beyond the patio area. He also decks out the front yard with shrubs and flower beds.

Week 6: Frank and Joanne Garnecki, Clarks Summit
For many, a white picket fence is the finishing touch to the quintessential American dream. Frank and Joanie Garnecki of Clarks Summit are living that dream, with a twist. Their very own white picket fence surrounds a vast garden containing a bountiful bevy of tall, colorful flowers and fresh vegetables.

The Garneckis have been gardening since they were young and have gardens for all 35 years of their married life. Their current garden has been around for about 10 years, since they first bought the house they now live in on Fairview Road. “One of the draws of buying this house was the size of the property,” said Joanie. “We knew it would be a good space to put in a garden.” The following spring after buying the home, the Garneckis got to work clearing what they said was a patch of mostly ragweed. However, in a manner of speaking, the Garnecki garden has actually been blossoming for more than nine decades. “In 1918, when Joanie’s grandmother came over to the United States from Italy, she was given a loaf of bread, a hunk of cheese and a bag of bean seeds,” said Frank. “She ate the bread and the cheese along the way, and then planted the seeds when she came to this country.” Since then, these heirloom seeds have been passed down through the generations. Her grandmother also gave the Garneckis an oleander tree which blooms on their patio, and Frank’s grandmother brought heirloom seeds over from her native Czechoslovakia in the 1960s. These seeds still produce the 24 tomato plants that the Garneckis plant each year. “It’s just nice to be able to plant something that was given to us from our grandmothers,” Frank said.

Week 7: Karen and Carmen Trovato,  West Abington Township
Rather than spend tons of money on a spa retreat or vacation getaway, Karen and Carmen Trovato simply step outside and enjoy their gardens. “They say that people garden as a form of therapy,” said Karen. “It’s true. Out here you can forget you have a care in the world.”

When the Trovatos first bought their land on the crest of Wilbur Hill in West Abington Township, the entire yard was a field. Now, eight years later, it has been transformed into a spacious yard with several gardens containing herbs, spices, vegetables and flowers. Karen said that in order to get the soil in working order, the Trovatos fertilized the ground with an abundant amount of horse manure. “Then we just started planting,” she said.

Upon traveling up the drive to the Trovato home, the first sight is the white trellis. Sunflowers, decorative trees and climbing vines surround the trellis and subsequent walkway. Eye catching plants near the walkway are the lush ornamental grasses that flank the front porch, which have grown to approximately 10 feet . Before arriving at the porch, a calming gurgle of the Trovato small garden pond can be heard. It is hidden from sight among shrubbery and flowers.

Week 8: Tom and Charlotte Davis, Factoryville
When Tom Davis and his wife, Charlotte, first began building their home at the end of Mathewson Terrace in Factoryville, they encountered an impenetrable bank of blue stone. “The house had to come up about four feet because of the rock,” said Davis. After construction, the Davises had another problem to tackle when they discovered water flowing from Watkins Street down the rock slope behind their house. “It would flow down the hill, across the road, and then down from the rocks,” Davis said.

Davis began asking the Wyoming County Conservation District for recommendations on storm water management and made modifications to his property. One of the first steps was to divert a majority of the water coming down from the rocks over to the woods along either of his property as well as his vegetable garden. Next, he planted a rain garden in a grassy space near the base of the rock slope to soak up water. Butterfly and burning bushes along with ornamental grasses, black-eyed Susans, purple cone flowers and more benefit from the water that pours down the slope.

Week 9: Marie King, Clarks Green
Marie King may live in the heart of Clarks Green, but a step outside her patio door takes her into a far different setting. Two waterfalls, lush greenery and colorful blossoms and foliage all conspire to create what King calls a gardening style “on the verge of wild.”

“I like some splashes of color, but also like to play with form and texture,” said King.

For example, she said that the purple basil she has planted is the perfect contrast to green sweet potato vines which drape nearby. Rhubarb leaves and a mysterious vine grown from her compost pile also add to the form and shape of her garden.

The colorfulness of the vegetable plants is reason enough to grow them. But King cited the movement to “grow local,” as well as the desire to defray food costs, as the ideal reason to grow vegetables in her backyard “wherever there is a spot.” And if there isn’t a spot, she’ll make one. A planter with green beans, which King said is on its third crop, offsets a taller container with a six-foot Morning Glory. Other planters contain okra, sugar snap peas, horseradish and herbs. “You can move the containers where they are able to get the best sunlight,” she said. “Then you don’t have to worry about shade.”

Week 10:  Jim and Tracie Lennox, Jessup
For Jim and Tracie Lennox of Jessup, the key to keeping their garden lush and bountiful this year was to plant a variety of vegetables that grow well in the garden and taste good on the dining table. While many gardens were hit by tomato blight and other types of plant rot, the Lennox garden has stayed chock full of cabbage, rhubarb, soy beans, green beans and other vegetable plants that thrive in below average temperatures and wet weather.

When it comes to planning and preparing the garden, the Lennox family works together. “I tell Jim what I want to plant, and he does the planting,” said Tracie. Gardening has becoming a family affair, too, with their older children – Grace, 5 and Eddie, 3 – helping out around the yard as Jimmy, 19 months, looks on. And with three growing children, Tracie said having a garden right outside the kitchen door combines the fun of being together as a family with the benefits of healthy eating. For example, each Friday, the family makes homemade pizza topped with fresh vegetables from the garden, including peppers and zucchini.

“Anything that gets them to eat healthy or eat their vegetables, I’m all for,” she said.

Week 11:  Morgan Family, Clarks Summit
Northeast Pennsylvania has four distinct seasons and many gardeners are increasingly taking advantage of each . At the house of Mitch and Sondra Morgan on Crossgate Drive in Clarks Summit, the garden is chock full of color all year round.

Mitch Morgan learned to garden from his grandparents, whom he said had great love for the hobby. His abilities were put to the test when the Morgans bought their house six years ago; their new property had previously been a cow pasture and had never been planted , so the Morgans added topsoil to promote plant and grass growth.

The Morgans had to figure how to plant along a steep pitch in the front yard. River stones, sturdy planters and stone walkways helped solve the problem.

Daughter Paige planted sunflowers at the base of the front yard and helps water the garden in the summertime, and both Paige and son Luke helped prepare the pumpkins for the fall garden. And irises from Mitch’s late grandmother’s garden, as well as peonies from his late mother’s garden, have been planted in the Morgan backyard, adding to the family experience. “I feel like I still have a piece of them,” said Mitch.

The Morgans aren’t the only ones who enjoy their garden. Passersby on Fairview Road can enjoy the annual sea of daylilies blooming from the edge of the yard. Morgan said one day an elderly couple pulled into the driveway and complimented him on the daylilies; the husband said it was their anniversary and asked if he could pick a bouquet for his wife. The couple told Mitch that they drive by every day just to see the daylilies.

“It’s nice to see that the garden is being enjoyed, not just by us but by other people,” said Mitch.

Week 12:  Abington Community Garden, South Abington Township
The Abington Community Garden is still going strong at the end of its second year. Situated on approximately two acres located next to the Abington Community Center along Winola Road in South Abington Township, the community garden gives local residents the opportunity to grow fresh produce and flowers for a small rental fee. The garden was the brainchild of the Abington Area Joint Recreation Board, which began planning for the garden in 2007 and broke ground in April 2008, and was made possible by volunteers such as Barbara Grabfelder and Carolyn Crowley. This year, more than one hundred tenants have rented plots at the garden.

Donna Zagrapan, one of the Abington Community Garden’s onsite master gardeners, and her fellow master gardeners work to educate other tenants on natural pest control and organic planting. For example, one tip that Zagrapan shares with garden tenants is to use plants with umbrella shaped flowers such as Queen Anne’s Lace or dill.

Mary Ellen Burke said she and her husband Steve rent a plot and one of the best benefits of being part of the garden is meeting new people and sharing ideas.

Ronnie and Christina Chastain are dorm parents at Baptist Bible College, and have limited space in which to grow produce. Christina said she first learned of the garden after her son Roman, 8, visited the site with Crowley, and felt it would be the perfect opportunity for quality family time. “It provides us with an area to spend time as a family with no cell phones or computers around, just us.” Another advantage, said Christina, is that they are able to teach their children the rewards of a job well done.

Week 13:   Beth Thompson and Jeff Kasprzak,  Ransom
As two longtime city dwellers born and raised in Brooklyn, N.Y., Jeff Kasprzak and Beth Thompson never had the space to grow the garden they’d always wanted. When the couple moved to their current home in Ransom, they finally had the space and acreage to plant everything they’d always wanted to plant while living in the city – and then some.  Dozens of varieties of trees, flowers and bushes are planted in their three-quarter acre yard. And despite being relatively new to gardening Thompson and Kasprzak can name every one not only by common name but also by genus and species.

Kasprzak and Thompson are unafraid to plant species that most gardeners in the area say won’t work locally. For example, some gardeners feel that roses won’t do as well in the Northeastern Pa. climate as they do in warmer zones. Kasprzak and Thompson said this just isn’t true, as evidenced by their 20-plus rose bushes which still stood in bloom through October. They suggested planted older, hardier breeds such as Rugosa Roses, which tend to be more tolerant to cold.

Using one’s local resources is something that Kasprzak and Thompson encourage. As members of the Northeast Pennsylvania Orchid Society, they said that they have received many tips from their fellow gardeners.