Next stop...Lunch! We had lunch at Prairie Trail Herb Farm. My Sister and I used to come to this farm for Herbal Slumber Parties. The owner had a deal with some B&B owners nearby, but I asked about them and she said they are now private residences.
I love herb farms. They are my favorite kind of garden centers.
When we sat down for lunch they had little scones and smoothies waiting for us on the tables.
And I loved all the plants in the tea pots and sugar bowls and such.
For lunch we had chicken salad and fruit, and a choice of raspberry bread pudding or rhubarb crisp with ice cream. .
Herb gardeners tend to make gardens up in themes, such as tea gardens (I could have used some of this chamomile last night)
And here is why I like herb farms so well. You get tons and tons
of plant choices. Many I've never even heard of.
After spending a couple of hours at Prairie Trail, we went to The Calender Garden at DeFries Gardens. This was a private residence for years, owned by John DeFries and his wife, Elisabeth. When he passed away, she donated the property and farmhouse to the Elkhart County Parks. The Calendar Garden is funded by her and the landscape designer is Jon Cutrell. This was taken right out of a brochure, as you can probably tell.
I love herb farms. They are my favorite kind of garden centers.
When we sat down for lunch they had little scones and smoothies waiting for us on the tables.
The napkin rings were made out of clear shower curtain hangers. I would probably have wrapped the ribbon around the entire ring, but it was still very crafty. The bright colorful napkins shows through the rings.
And I loved all the plants in the tea pots and sugar bowls and such.
For lunch we had chicken salad and fruit, and a choice of raspberry bread pudding or rhubarb crisp with ice cream. .
Herb gardeners tend to make gardens up in themes, such as tea gardens (I could have used some of this chamomile last night)
fairy gardens, and wheelbarrow gardens(?). I think that was more for display. But it's fun to use herbs for theme gardens.
And here is why I like herb farms so well. You get tons and tons
of plant choices. Many I've never even heard of.
After spending a couple of hours at Prairie Trail, we went to The Calender Garden at DeFries Gardens. This was a private residence for years, owned by John DeFries and his wife, Elisabeth. When he passed away, she donated the property and farmhouse to the Elkhart County Parks. The Calendar Garden is funded by her and the landscape designer is Jon Cutrell. This was taken right out of a brochure, as you can probably tell.
This place was absolutely stunning.
Enter here...
The garden is laid out in a circle, with four quadrants in the center representing Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. The circular path around the quadrants are made of brick, and every few bricks are stamped with a date.
When you find your birthday, and look at that quadrant, you can see what is blooming at that time of year.
See the pedestal with the white ball in the corner of the pic (not the one up close) Those are moved every year to the date where there is going to be a full moon. I didn't know that until I read the pamphlet.
They have a beautiful greenhouse in the winter quadrant.
A water feature in the direct center of the garden.
The outside circle around the garden is mostly Indiana native plants. I love to see different colors and textures of green planted together.
When you find your birthday, and look at that quadrant, you can see what is blooming at that time of year.
A very cool thing you can do is stand on your birthday, and see what is blooming during that season.
This was the best view to get pics of the garden.
See the pedestal with the white ball in the corner of the pic (not the one up close) Those are moved every year to the date where there is going to be a full moon. I didn't know that until I read the pamphlet.
They have a beautiful greenhouse in the winter quadrant.
A water feature in the direct center of the garden.
The outside circle around the garden is mostly Indiana native plants. I love to see different colors and textures of green planted together.
I could go on and on with the pictures of this garden as I took tons. But this post is long and I need to get busy. I have comments to reply to, a house to build, bees to check on, and a class reunion to attend tonight with my husband. If all goes well, the two hives I have in town will be moving to the country Monday evening.
Contact info
Prairie Trail Herb Farm
PrairieTrailFarm.com
574-642-3555
She also has an e-mail newsletter you can get on and she offers a lot of classes.
The Calendar Garden is part of the parks department in Elkhart County. For the park contact info
Elkhart County Parks
211 W. Lincoln Avenue
Goshen, IN 46526
574-535-6458
for more pics (and probably much better pics) go to
DeFries Garden is located at 17477 C. R. 46 1.25 miles east of New Paris, IN.
Cindy Bee
That circular garden through the seasons looks like a place I'd like to visit sometime! Thanks for sharing that one.
ReplyDeleteWow what a great trip. I love the flowers the birthday brick thing is very cool. Thanks for the tour.
ReplyDeleteI went to my High School reunion last month it was so much fun,funny I could hardly recognize people from 40 years ago Wow that is a long time. I am getting old.Maybe it was just my eyes or my memory who knows. Have fun. B