How to see the top flowers and pollen maters in Lancaster County, and the Idea Garden for free | Home & Garden

Lancaster County has a farm lined with flowering plants for the best in show.

In one corner, volunteers test the plants that pollen maters like. In the field, hemp testing is underway.

And in another space is a garden full of native plants and vegetables.

After the shutdown of COVID-19, the Southeastern Agricultural Research Expansion Center near Mannheim was opened to the public. The site is open daily for free and allows home gardeners to get ideas and learn which plants perform best in our climate.Here is a guide to what you will find at the center..

How to visit

Pennsylvania State University Southeast Agricultural Research and Extension Center, 1446 Auction Road, Manheim is open daily from dawn to dusk until August 31st.

The site typically hosts a summer garden experience where you can enjoy tours, speakers, and dining. This year, the site offers a free guided tour on Wednesday, July 21st at 11:30 am. Thursday, July 22nd, 8:30 am and 11:30 am. Wednesday, July 28th, 8:30 am and 11:30 am. Wednesday, August 4th, 8:30 am and 11:30 am. lanc.news/FieldDay.. The trial is not open to the public from 8 am to 3 pm during the tour.

Flower and perennial exam

Ag scientists grow and evaluate hundreds of plants in the gardens near Spooky Nook Sports. They know which plants, from yarrow to zinnia, perform best in the local climate.

Last year, the site wasn’t open to the public, but staff continued the exam, says Sinclair Adam, a flower exam director and horticultural extension educator.They didn’t get the help of more than 100 volunteers, but somehow Evaluate plants for growth and uniformity, flowers and leaves.. The best performing information can be found at the following website: lanc.news/FlowerTrial..

Companies around the world send plants for testing. Several people dropped out during the pandemic. One sold so many plants to a new gardener, who spared some for the exam, says Adams. Still, the farm has nearly 1,000 entries for flower exams and 100 new entries for perennial exams.

In the center, look for a combination of plants and containers with a blue flag. These won excellent ratings in the first summer rating.There is also Online rating information And in print, in a thick book underneath the central pergola, says intern Abbey Holst. Or you can find something that catches your eye, regardless of rating.

Idea garden

The Master Gardener has several demonstration gardens on the site to share tips for trying at home. There are butterfly gardens, traditional botanical gardens, stilt gardens, compost boxes, rooftop greening, and Hügelkulturium on logs and branches.

As the site was closed to volunteers for over a year, some plants died, some spread, and weeds were taken over. Volunteers were welcomed in May. It was enough time to clean up, but not enough to grow everything as planned, says Michele Pique, a volunteer at the Vegetable and Herb Garden.

Still, her group planted gardens with themes from countries around the world. In the Irish garden, potatoes grow in painted five-gallon buckets, and hops (used for brewing beer) climb trellis. In the Turkish garden, the morning glory and nasturtium vines grow next to the loom made of twigs, allowing visitors to weave live fabrics.

“The perfect activity for the family,” says Pique. “Children can help.”

They also took the time to create the first phase of Keyhole gardenThere is compost in the center, the plants surrounding the bottle, and the stone walls to fit the garden in a small space.

Pollen mater’s plant

Pollen maters help plants produce flowers and fruits.

Which plants help pollen maters?

Volunteers from the Pennsylvania State Master Gardener monitor the plants in the central garden to see which plants are most popular with pollen maters.

they MVP plant: Clustered mountain mint (pycnanthemum muticum) attracted the most insect diversity. Other top performers are the Eupatorium perfoliatum, the coastal plain Joe Pye (euthrochium dubium), the swamp milkweed (asclepias incarnata), and the hard solidagorigida.

All these and other plants are in the pollen mater’s yard near the site parking lot.

Even on hot days last week, pollen maters gathered in tall plants such as Joe Pai and smooth oxeye and short plants such as the threadless coreopsis.

You can see the plants that pollen maters like and know when they will bloom in your garden.

Farm trial

The center has more than 150 acres of land for testing various crops, with a focus on agriculture rather than gardening, with the exception of flowers and plants near the entrance. Data from the experiment may be useful to the agricultural industry, which is also shared with teachers so that students can do their own research.

In these experiments, grains, soybeans, hemp..

These exams are generally off limits, except for special events such as the Farming for Success Field Day on September 21st. In the high tunnel near the flower test, you can see two of the strawberry and tomato tests in the container. Visitors can’t get inside the building, but they can see the crops from outside the tunnel, Adam says.