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LOU ANN GOOD
Lancaster Farming Staff
DRUMORE (Lancaster Co.)
What’s the secret for growing
a gorgeous blooming flower
garden?
“It starts with a soil test,”
said Ann Zemsky. “I can’t stress
that enough.”
Ann enrolled in the Penn
State master gardener program.
“It’s an excellent program,”
Ann said, one that has enabled
her to design gardens using
shrubs, perennials, ornamental
grasses, and annuals to provide
year-round color and pleasure
for both birds and for the family.
“Consider your growing con
ditions,” she said. Nonetheless,
she often discovers the best spot
through experimentation. Be
cause it is considered more visu
ally appealing to cluster plants
in threes or uneven numbers, she
will buy three of the same vari
ety. Instead of planting them in
the same area, she often plants
flowers in three different spots
to determine where they will do
best. The next season, she will
transplant the plants if they are
not thriving.
Although the natural wooded
habitat offers a wonderful view
of wildlife, it certainly has its
drawbacks for growing vegeta
bles and flowers.
To discourage squirrels from
digging up bulbs, the Zemskys
place ground oyster shells
around the bulbs when planting.
For 15 years the azalea bushes
produced no blossoms because
the deer nibbled the buds. Since
the azaleas were moved to a new
spot, they bloom profusely every
year.
To protect raspberries from
birds, Zemsky erected overhead
netting. They needed to cover
little trees such as the white oak,
which deer consider “their ice
cream.”
Another consideration when
plantings is to be aware that
some trees such as black walnut
trees are toxic to some plants,
but beneficial to bee balm, day
lilies, hostas, Japanese maples,
and astilla.
Novice gardeners often make
the mistake of planting shrubs
and flowers around the house.
When inside, they can’t see a
thing. The Zemskys planted
their gardens to provide a
breathtaking views from inside
their home.
One of the largest areas is a
45x90-foot walled garden. This
includes both vegetable and
flowering plants. The walled
garden keeps out deer, ground
The right plant in the hogs, rabbits, and squirrels,
right place is the secret to Ann tends to plant vegetables
success.
Surrounded with acres of
blooming plants, the Zemskys’
gardens offer breathtaking
beauty.
It isn’t without intensive
labor, trial and error, and exten
sive reading that the Zemskys’
gardens have become a visual
delight.
“The secret is to have the
right plant for the right place.
Most problems stem by placing a
plant in the wrong spot,” Ann
said of the need to differentiate
between shade and sun-loving
plants, and between dry and
moist soil requirements.
About 25 years ago, when the
Zemskys purchased the farm
perched in the southern end of
Lancaster County, the wooded
land had already been cleared.
But the land was so hilly that
most of the topsoil had washed
away and was not suitable for
farming.
The slate soil was a gardener’s
nightmare. To remedy the soil,
the Zemskys had truckloads of
topsoil, mushroom soil, and
compost brought in and mixed
together and then soil tested.
“If you know you have acid
soil, grow things that like it or
amend it,” Ann said.
The Zemskys had purchased
the land to build a vacation get
away from their Philadelphia
home. They left much of the
land reforest itself naturally,
and planted fruit and numerous
other trees purchased through
the conservation district’s
Although the natural wooded habitat offers a wonderful sery bed to insert small plants
view of wildlife, it also has drawbacks. Wildlife can quickly that may become lost among
devour plants, buds, and vegetables. bigger plants. After the plant is
annual sale.
Seven years ago, the Zemskys
moved on the site permanently
and began to established flower
beds.
Ann Zemsky draws a rough plot plan similar to a map to determine where perennials
are planted. During the different seasons she Jots notes on observations such as a spot
that needs more color. This helps determine where and what is needed to make gardens
visually appealing.
that are harder to find at road- established for a year, she will
side stands such as English-style replant in a more permanent
cucumbers. Oriental soybeans, spot.
shallots, leeks, herbs, and Another way to insert color
greens, and different size plantings in
“I’m big on IPM (integrated the garden is to use potted
plant management),” Ann said. plants. Although they require
To delay blooms, prune a plant to half its size in Jype. In
mass plantings, prune several of the plants but let others
alone to extend flowering.
She strives to be an organic gar
dener but admits to bouts of
frustration and resorting to oc
casional use of insecticides. She
spends many hours hand pick
ing off beetles and slugs from
plants.
Ann and her husband are re
tired and Ann jokes that they
are now full-time gardeners. She
realizes they may not always be
as agile in working among the
gardens. In preparation of this
stage, she is planting more
flowering shrubs, which require
less care. Clematis, which most
people plant where it can climb,
is allowed to grow throughout
other plants that provide natu
ral climbing support.
She uses butterfly bush cutt
ings as stakes for peas and other
“Everybody should com
post,” Ann said. She and her
husband devised a simple
system of wiring together
wooden pallets where grass,
leaves, and kitchen waste can be
chucked and composted in
place.
Ann has what she calls a nur-
more watering, the plants can be
SSSS't at . * bubbler provides Cm-
Wage area. Pots can also be mg gurgling sounds.
moved to a protected area to
winterize. When replanting a
plant that is pot bound, be sure
to spread apart the roots or the
plant will strangle itself.
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ent of “pass*along plants,” many of which she considers
to be her
Ann Zemsky recom
mends the Penn State
Master Gardener program
to those interested in gar
dening.