You know spring is just around the corner when Black Creek Greenhouses opens up their doors! Located in East Earl, Lancaster County, PA just past Morgantown, Berks County, PA Black Creek can be found at 211 E. Black Creek Road. (Their hours are Monday – Saturday 8AM – 5PM in season, never on Sundays.)

My friend Sara had reminded me they were open again for the season so off we went! When you get there it’s just so exciting after a winter of no plants. Row after row of plants in giant greenhouses!

Yesterday was mostly a supplies day for me. Gypsum, green sand, bone meal , dried blood and so on. I found four great (and inexpensive) baskets to plant as hanging baskets too!

But I did see a peony I could not live without and a hydrangea too. Ruby Slippers Oakleaf Hydrangea and Primevere Peony. I am ridiculously excited over both. The peony looks like a fried egg with it’s sunny yellow center and white outside. And Oakleaf hydrangeas do very well for me on the edge of the woods and these have blooms that turn to a reddish deep pink, and well that will give me a different pop of color in the shade and woodland gardens. You see, losing that tree to a lightening strike that we just took down provides another break in the canopy…so I will be planting more back there.

In the back I will be also adding oak saplings, hickory saplings, a couple of specimen Japanese Maples, flame azaleas, hellebores, mountain hydrangeas, and maybe even another Hosta or two. I have this evolving vision of my shade and woodland gardens back there. I have been watching the light and I am fairly certain that this will work.

Considering that visiting Black Creek is like being the proverbial kid in the candy store, I showed great restraint. I just love the place! Yesterday was a damp, blah, rainy day and we only noticed driving home because when you are in the big greenhouses surrounded by plants, all you notice are plants!

Keep Calm and Garden On!