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Unique Concepts Attract Visitors To Willow Pond Farm
JINNY WILT
Adams Co. Correspondent
FAIRFIELD (Adams Co.) -
Nestled in the valley east of
South Mountain, the northern
extension of Virginia's Blue
Ridge near Fairfield in Adams
County, sits Willow Pond Farm,
home to a couple who recently
retired after 32 years as
American diplomats.
Visitors to the herb and ever
lastings farm, established in
1994 by Tom and Madeline
Wajda (pronounced Vy-da), may
walk through 10 demonstration
gardens of edible flowers, and
culinary and medicinal herbs all
developed by the couple. There s
also a butterfly garden, a cres
cent-shaped silver garden, a
200-foot long perennial border, a
garden for scented geraniums,
an everlasting flower garden
and one for Biblical plants.
Tom said he hopes to plant
the Biblical garden in such a
way that it looks like an open
book with Old Testament plants
on one page and New Testament
plants on the other.
A five-acre wildflower mead
ow is also open to visitors. And
in the summer there are accom
modations for a picnic lunch
under a huge black walnut tree.
Standing in one of two green
houses the Wajdas added to
their 30-acre farm, Tom said
with a chuckle as he surveyed
the tables of herbs in front of
him, "No matter how many
greenhouses you have, you do
not have enough space."
Noting that mint is the herb
of 1998, he pointed to one table
that was laden with 25 varieties
of mint that will be sold by the
couple in a shop they opened in
a summerhouse replete with a
walk-in fireplace and located
next to their stone home -
thought to have been built by
the same mason who construct
ed the Fairfield Inn - and at a
farmer's market in center
square Gettysburg. They also
can be found at herb festivals,
and garden and craft shows
throughout Maryland and
Pennsylvania.
At the various outlets, the
couple offers for sale live, fresh
cut and dried herbs, herbal vine
gars, jellies, honey, herbal
blends for dips and flavorings,
herbal teas, herbal soaps, herbal
gift baskets, dried flowers and
arrangements, as well as books
on herb culture, preservation,
cooking and medicinal uses of
herbs. At Christmas and in the
fall they also have rosemary top
iaries.
Tom walks further into the
greenhouse pointing to scented
geraniums. "We have 65 vari
eties of scented geraniums.
Everything form the standard,
good old-fashioned rose to red
flowering geraniums."
Madelaine suddenly inter
jects, "Look your lemon tree's
about to bloom." And sure
enough, perched atop the small
tree is a bud. Tom adds that he
has taken cuttings from the
Ponderosa Lemon Tree which
they got in Connecticut "that are
coming on quite nicely"
Next Tom shows off the
angelica which he explains he is
quite proud of because it is diffi
cult to propagate unless you
have fresh seed. "I simply took
the seed off the plant last
August My experience with
buying seed is that by the time
you get them they don't work
Even the fresh seeds only have a
50 percent germination
rate...when February or March
rolls around and you toss these
into a pot hoping to have the
seeds germinate...two years run
ning I had zero germination
from purchased seeds. But
taken from my own they've
worked," he said.
Explaining that he had just
spent three hours potting
plants, he said, "There's basil
over here and basil over there.
This is sweet marjoram and
there's more sweet marjoram,"
he said pointing in front of him.
His plans were to continue with
his potting using popular herbs
of the day - St. John's Wort and
valerian.
When asked how much time
the two spend on their endeavor,
Tom, who is a master gardener,
answers with a sigh, "All of the
time."
While he is busy with the
growing of herbs, Madeline, who
studied cuisine in France while
the couple lived in that country
as members for the U.S. Foreign
Service, offers classes in herbal
cooking and herb preservation.
She also gives classes on dried
flower arranging and provides
advice and products for herbal
weddings. Tom offers classes on
herb propagation and culture.
Madeline uses herbs in her
daily cooking, explaining that if
you drop the salt and fat from
your diet you need to replace it
with something and herbs are
the perfect choice to add flavor.
Walking through the gar
dens, she tells of one program
the couple offers in the summer
time. "It's called Weed and Eat.
You are invited to come out at 5
p.m. and Tom will take you on a
tour of the gardens and tell you
all about the plants and then at
6 p.m. you get to the gardens
while I cook a meal for you. At
7 p.m. we eat."
And then, with a twinkle in
her eyes that seemed to denote
her pleasure at thinking of the
program, she said, "I'd rather
cook than weed."
The couple who have grown
herbs from Iran to New Zealand
to France and, finally to
Canada, decided in 1992 to turn
their serious hobby into a seri
ous business and began looking
for a "retirement" farm in the
foothills of the Appalachian
Mountains.
"We wanted to be within a
couple of hours of Washington,
D.C., because we had friends
and family in that area. We
wanted to have a house with
some character and we wanted
ideally 20 acres and some water
and some out-buildings that
were useable. So we got this
1760 s house and two ponds and
30 acres," Tom said.
In the completely refurnished
modern kitchen, Madeline
brings out a box packed with
some of her jellies The delec
table treat can be found in fla
vors from apple blossom to violet
with others such as basil/toma
to, lemon balm grape, lilac, pars
ley and pineapple sage cider
among numerous kinds.
A note in their catalog states,
"All of our jellies and vinegars
are carefully made by Madeline,
one batch at a time, with fresh
herbs from our garden. This is
a time-intensive process (on a
good day she makes 100 jars oi
jelly), but it insures that you will
receive a product of unparalleled
taste and quality."
Tom and Madeline Wajda check plants in the greenhouse to the rear of their home
along Tract Road in Adams County.
Madeline's herbal honeys
come in such flavors as cinna
mon basil, lemon verbena and
rosemary.
The couple will hold the
Willow Pond Farm National
Herb Week Open House May 2-
4. On May 8-9 they will be at
the Landis Valley Herb Fair in
Lancaster and on May 23, they'll
be at Baltimore Herb Festival,
Leakin Park, Baltimore, Md.
Because mint is the year's
herb, the couple offers these tips
for growing mint: Mint prefers
part sun, but will grow well in
full sun and tolerates a fail
amount of shade. Mints spread
easily and need to be contained.
Do this by cutting the bottom
out of a large (3-4 gallon) plastic
pot or a plastic bucket. Dig a
hole and bury the pot leaving
three inches above ground. Fill
the pot with soil and plant your
mint in it. Trim back any
branches that start to trail out
side the pot.
Harvest mints every four
weeks during the growing sea
son. Cut them back to about two
inches above the ground, fertil
ize and water, and watch them
come back again.
House Hunt:
Home
HUNTINGDON (Huntingdon
Co.) - If you are thinking about
buying or building a home,
maybe "just looking," or inter
ested in financing remodeling,
the "House Hunt '9B: Questions
and Answers on Home
Ownership" educational pro
gram will provide you with up
to-date information about the
homeownership process.
"House Hunt '9B" will be held
on Tuesday, March 31, from 6-
8:30 p.m. at the Ellis Hall
Ballroom on the Juniata College
Campus, 18th Street, Hunting
don. "House Hunt '9B" is a com
munity education program of
the Penn State Cooperative
Extension in Huntingdon
County in cooperation with
many local businesses.
At the "House Hunt ’9B" you
can talk with more than 20
experts in the housing and
Drying mint: Mint (and other
herbs) can be dried by hanging
them in a dry area out of direct
sunlight. Drying time is three to
ten days. You can also use your
microwave. Place the mint
leaves between layers of paper
towels and dry on high for two
minutes. Check the leaves for
dryness, and continue the
process 30 seconds at a time
until all the leaves are dry (usu
ally not more than 5 minutes
total).
Mint Recipes:
Mint Butter Cookies
Makes 5 dozen.
cup butter
egg
2 1/2 cups flour
3 tablespoons finely chop
ped fresh (or 1 table
spoon dried) mint*
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon mint extract
Cream butter and sugar, add
egg and mix well. Mix in flour
and baking soda, then mint and
mint extract. Roll into two long
rolls about 1 1/2 inch in diame
ter and refrigerate overnight.
Slice into 1/8-inch slices, sprin
kle with sugar, and bake on a
Ownership Answers
finance industry who will have
helpful information at display
tables available from 6-8:30 p.m.
Seminars with in-depth infor
mation about the homeowner
ship process start at 6:30 p.m.
Information about Pennsyl
vania's Fair Housing Act, will be
available as well as pre-qualify
ing financial information. A
ARE VITAMINS
DESTROYED IN
FOOD PREPARATION?
Some vitamin loss occurs the
minute food is harvested. Modem
methods of harvesting, storage,
transportation, processing and
preparation minimizes these loss
es. Vitamin losses occur by oxida
tion, by light, heat, exposure to
acids and alkali and by leaching
into water. Considerable amounts
greased cookie sheet at 350
degrees for 10-12 minutes.
*Rose geranium, lemon ver
bena, or tarragon may be used
instead of mint. If you do use
these herbs, replace the mint<
extract with 1 teaspoon of rose
water, lemon extract, or vanilla, I
respectively.
Mint Vinaigrette '
2 tablespoons cider vine-"
gar
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3
tablespoons chopped
fresh mint (or 1 table
spoon dried)
3/4 cup safflower or corn oil
3 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of paprika
Combine all ingredients
except oil in mixing bowl.
Slowly add oil, whisking all the
while. (Or combine all ingredi
ents in blender for about 15 sec
onds). Check for taste: add
sugar or mint if desired. Serve
on greens or fruit salads.
*Try chopped mint with
cooked peas or green beans (add
mint just before serving).
*Have a cup of peppermint to
relieve indigestion.
question and answer period will
be part of each session
Refreshments will be available
"House - Hunt '9B" is open to
the public and walk-in atten
dance is welcome. For more
information, call the Penn State
Cooperative Extension Office in
Huntingdon County at (814)643-
1660.
of various nutrients remain even
in food, however, even after it has
gone through processing. You can
take some food preparation steps
to prevent vitamin loss: Peel thin
ly or cook in skin; cut food into
large pieces; use a minimuin
amount of water, cook with the hfl
on; serve immediately; cook until
just tender, not mushy; store in t* -
frigerator or freezer and cov»
tightly.