Planting Season Reminds me of Forest Hill, Louisiana

It's that time of year, spring and all, and I've been planting a fair amount of flowers and vegatables in the garden beds. I'm reminded of a fabulous trip I took to Forest Hill, La. a couple years ago. Please read about it here. Forest Hill is THE place to go for plants of all kinds.

A good friend gave me this sign for my birthday earlier this year. I do love paisley (sounds like an herb, huh), but I hope to grow more than that this year. See the spinach on the right side? I'm off to a good start. What are you growing in your garden?

 

Flashback Friday -- Thoughts on "putting up."

A couple years ago, I wrote this post after I'd canned some peppers. I haven't done any canning this summer. I've never had good luck in Louisiana with tomatos. We have a few bell peppers, but not enough to preserve. I have some herbs -- basil, rosemary, mint. I guess I could dry them. We have a small fig tree that did well last year, but some kind of varmint has been helping himself lately, taking bites out of the biggest and juiciest figs on the tree. Our only crop worth noting this year has been cucumbers. We've grown and harvested so many cukes, I haven't been able to give them away fast enough. We like pickles, but we don't eat that many, so I havn't wanted to can them. Hmm, I wonder why we call it canning when we put the food in jars?

How does your garden grow?

Gardening

I’ve lived in Lake Charles almost five years, and I’m still trying to figure out how to garden here in the south. It’s completely different from gardening in the northeast. There are two growing seasons here instead of one – that’s a bonus. But I’ve struggled to get the knack of starting so early. Planting a garden in February just feels . . . wrong. In Pennsylvania, no one in their right mind plants a seed or puts in a flat of flowers before Memorial Day. Never know when you might get a rogue frost. It’s not unusual for it to snow on Easter back east. So until this year, I never got most of my plants in early enough, and before they’d start producing, the heat sapped the life right out of them. I’ve managed to grow peppers, cucumbers, spinach, and, to a lesser degree, lettuce. Oh, and a couple radishes. Herbs have done well. But strawberries? Withered away. Tomatoes? The plants grew but bore little fruit. And don’t dare take a vacation in June. We completely missed our blueberries last year. And the green beans succumbed to the heat and died of thirst.

This year, I planted the tomatoes early.




Because I love to garden, I went to the Garden Show at Burton Coliseum today. The flats of strawberries were oh so tempting. But unless I made jam, which I don’t, what would I do with that many? It was great fun to peruse all the beautiful plants. Such a wonderful assortment . . . orchids, bromeliads, perennials, vines, bonsai, herbs, hanging baskets, vegetables, trees.




A couple things I was interested in but didn’t see – composting ideas and rain barrels.

Worst aspect of gardening? Weeding. Especially when the beds are beleaguered with fire ants. I’d love to know how to get rid of these vicious pests. Most fire ant killers only make them move their mound over a couple feet.




Got any gardening tips for me?

Forest Hill, Louisiana – A Day at the Nurseries

We’ve lived in Louisiana a few months shy of four years now, and I’d heard of Forest Hill. Anytime the subject of landscaping came up, we’d always hear, “Go to Forest Hill.” Ask a neighbor about a particular plant in his yard . . . “Got it at Forest Hill.” Complain about the prices at local Lake Charles nurseries . . . “You gotta go to Forest Hill!” We had no idea where Forest Hill is. But in my mind, it became a landscaping legend, a mecca for mulchkins, the holy grail of gardening. And thus I began my pilgrimage this morning with a few friends of mine. And I discovered that Forest Hill is not a nursery. Oh, no. Forest Hill (about an hour and a half northeast of Lake Charles) is a small town with a population of 400-500 people. And home to approximately 200 nurseries and garden centers! Where does one begin?

We started at one called “Harold’s.” The place is huge. You go into the office, tell the man what you are looking for, and he makes a few circles on a map for you. What fun, just wandering around, looking at plants! The four of us bought quite a few, too. The low prices here will blow your garden gloves off.

This time of year, azaleas and wisteria are in full bloom. They grow tamed and cultivated in yards or wild and haphazard in the woods and along roadways. Either way, it’s a beautiful sight.

We went to Poole’s, although I couldn’t tell you which one. Supposedly, there are several Poole brothers who each own a different nursery. One nursery is simply called “The Other Brother.”

We ate lunch at a delightful diner called Lea’s in a town called Lecompte (pronounced La-Count. Seriously)

As the sign says, Lea’s is known for her pies.

And ham. The ham was good. And I had lemon meringue.

According to this sign, Lecompte has a pie festival in October. Wonderful time of year for another road trip!

So, if you live anywhere in the state of Louisiana and want to buy plants, flowers, trees . . . “Go to Forest Hill!”