Cold Climate Gardening

On April 19th I met my sister in Ithaca, NY. She is a graduate of Cornell University, and has made many visits since then. We were going to the ACNARGS meeting in the afternoon, but first she wanted to show me a few of her favorite places.

One of the places she wanted to take me was the Agway store in Ithaca. In my area Agway is a feed store that is slowly morphing into a lawn and garden store as the farms die away. Sure, you can get a replacement spark plug for your lawn mower, or pick up a flat of pansies–if you’re not fussy about what kind or color of pansies you get. But Agway as a garden destination? I was dubious.

Thanks at least in part to the fact that Cornell is the land-grant university for New York State and has its own agriculture school, Ithaca is a gardening town. It’s actually been a while since I’ve visited our local Agway, but if memory serves, the Ithaca Agway is bigger. The whole back half of the store is devoted to gardening. The seed racks carry selections from Renee’s Garden, Seeds of Change, and Botanical Interests. They had stacks of 1040 seed flats that you could buy by the each, without purchasing a “kit” of cell packs, peat pots and other stuff that you didn’t necessarily need. They had an extensive collection of garden gloves and tools.

More Birdbaths

They also had many of the same birdbaths that I had seen in Austin. These two images are of one birdbath that I don’t recall seeing in Austin. I particularly like the little perching island that enables birds to drink from the center as well as the sides. I also took the time to read the price tags, and discovered that these birdbaths are made by Campania. They make a lot more than birdbaths, in several different styles, but they only sell retail, so you’re only going to see a fraction of what they offer at any given location, though I imagine the retailers can special order something for you.

This glazed birdbath is made by Burley Clay Products. This one is glazed but they make a lot of planters and pots that are unglazed, but look aged. They also make crocks, which is good to know if you want to make old-fashioned pickles or sauerkraut.

Sundials

The Ithaca Agway also carried sundials by Rome Industries. Sundials are another form of garden art that is at least somewhat functional, which is why both sundials and birdbaths appeal to me. At least, I always imagine having one near the vegetable garden, and if you only wanted an approximate idea of what time it was, you could amble over to the sundial instead of walking all the way down to the house. For it to be accurate, you would have to be able to adjust it for the correct coordinates.

If I could have any sundial of my choosing, I’d like a replica of the one at Yaddo. Well, I’d prefer it to have my latitude and longitude, and instead of saying Yaddo on it, hmmm. Maybe Purdy? I guess I don’t have to worry about it, as I don’t think copies are being made. But I love the intricate engraving and the poem and motto it displays.

There is another cool one at Binghamton University, where you stand in a certain spot and become the gnomon for a human sized sundial.

Stumble it!

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