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["Chrys B. Gardener" <cab69 AT cornell.edu>]

The Gardener’s Trail – Saturday September 21, 10 am – 4 pm

 Baker’s Acres, 1104 Auburn Road (Route 34) North Lansing   

   Nothing says fall like eating a fresh apple picked right off the tree! In addition to carrying one of upstate New York's most complete selections of flowering perennials, Baker's Acres also has a mature apple orchard with 25 varieties of old favorites like Macintosh, Macoun, Cortland, Gala, Empire and Jonagold, just to name a few. Take a wagon ride* around the nursery and stop off at the orchard where you can pick ten pounds of apples and get five pounds for free! Then take a stroll through the beautiful display gardens and find inspiration for your own garden - fall is the perfect time for new plantings, and many of their trees, shrubs and perennials will be on sale for this event.    (*Wagon rides $2.00 per person)

   Baker's Acres was founded 30 years ago by Bob and Jackie Baker. Now managed by daughter Reenie Sandsted as well as Cathy Kessler, the nursery features an alphabetically-arranged selection of hundreds of varieties of perennials, from Acanthus to Zauschneria. While you're there you can also enjoy lunch at Kendra's café and shop for garden and nature-themed gifts at Rae's Roost. 

 Cayuga Landscape, 2712 North Triphammer Road, Ithaca: 

   Those of us who love to garden in upstate New York must accept that this is deer habitat and that means woody plants must be protected, especially in winter when there is little else for the deer to eat. The staff at Cayuga Landscape also have to protect their nursery stock from deer every winter, and you can watch demonstrations of various deer repellent products and techniques that they use, including fences, barriers, and repellents at 11 am, 1 pm and 3 pm. For children, there will be mini-pumpkins to paint and take home throughout the day.

   For 34 years, Cayuga Landscape's mission has been to create and maintain imaginative and sustainable landscapes in Tompkins County, NY. They are a specialist nursery in deer-resistant plants and also stock a huge selection of trees in all sizes, especially native shade, flowering, and evergreen trees grown at their own nursery in the Town of Ithaca. These trees are naturally acclimated to the upstate NY climate!

 Der Rosenmeister, 190 Seven Mile Drive, Ithaca:

    If you have ever envied your neighbor's rambling rose draped gracefully over a pergola, then why not try your hand at growing old-fashioned climbing roses?  These vigorous roses may be grown on trellises or fences, as trailing groundcovers, or as large shrubs in the landscape.  Or try them twined around pillars, posts, or swags! Throughout the day Der Rosenmeister will demonstrate his techniques for fall pruning and tying roses in place to different types of support in the demonstration gardens. There will also be rose hips (fruits) to take home with instructions on how to germinate the seeds within. Learn to grow your own rose from seed!

   Der Rosenmeister is a rose nursery specializing in climbing and rambling roses, both old and new. A special education teacher during the school year, Lee Ginenthal spends much time researching, traveling, and collecting newly released as well as older, forgotten roses and running trials on them in Ithaca. Gorgeous rose gardens surround their hillside home and you can see roses trained as swags along the driveway, growing over pergolas and up posts.

Greentree Garden Supply, 606 Elmira Road, Ithaca: 

    Just because winter is coming doesn't mean that gardening has to slow down! Discover the world of growing plants indoors using lights and hydroponics. At 11 am watch a demonstration on setting up a hydroponics system and indoor lighting. There will be further demonstrations throughout the day on how to use this type of system. Learn how to propagate plants by cuttings and take a rosemary cutting home to grow indoors this winter. You can also get information about the merits of coconut coir vs. peat-based soil mixes, pick up some lawn care tips for the fall, and view a vertical 'pallet garden' with directions on how to build one.

   Located in Ithaca, N.Y., Greentree Garden Supply has Central New York's largest selection of specialist garden supply equipment for indoor and outdoor growing - everything from grow lights, lamps and bulbs, hydroponic systems and components, nutrients, fans, filters, meters, controllers, containers, accessories and more. GreenTree even sells its own line of high quality potting soils with a focus on environmentally sustainable ingredients.

 Indian Creek Farm, 1408 Trumansburg Road (Route 96) Ithaca:  

   Come on out to apple tasting paradise! First stop at the farm stand where there will be a selection of  different apple varieties to sample before you head out to pick. Hop on board a wagon ride (12 pm and 2 pm) and take a ride around the 40 acre farm and see what the staff is up to that day in the farm fields and orchards. You never know what you might see!  Indian Creek will have other veggies, fruits and flower available for u-pick that day as well, and it's a great spot to have a picnic while enjoying the beautiful view of the Cayuga Lake valley.

   Overlooking Finger Lakes wine country, and blessed with some of the world's best soil for growing fruit trees, Indian Creek Farm is among the oldest orchards in New York. They offer 40 acres of seasonal picking, including peaches, apples, tomatoes, peppers, pumpkins and more - just 3 minutes north of downtown Ithaca.

 Ithaca Agway, 213 South Fulton Street, Ithaca: 

   The secret to a beautiful spring garden full of crocuses, tulips and daffodils is to plant them in the fall, and it always feels like such a hopeful act to plant something so far in advance of when we actually see it grow. Learn about different spring bulb varieties, how to plant them and keep them blooming from year to year at talks scheduled at 10 am, 12 pm and 2 pm. There will also be a bulb potting stations set up all day where everyone can pot up a bulb to bloom indoors this winter!

   Ithaca Agway & True Value started in 1920 as the premier store for the GLF (Grange League Federation), a farmers' cooperative existing for the good of its customers. It provided the goods that family farmers needed at an affordable price. Today Ithaca Agway serves the basic needs of farmers, homeowners, landscapers and contractors in the Ithaca area, as well as customers looking for natural / holistic pet food, organic plant foods and pest control, and the newest varieties of perennials and annuals.

 Michaleen’s, 2826 North Triphammer Road, Ithaca: 

   Miniature fairy gardens and terrariums are a fun way keep gardening throughout the winter, and are especially well-suited for children. Demonstrations on making a fairy garden in a terrarium will take place at 10 am, 12 pm and 2 pm, and those who attend a demonstration will also receive a coupon for terrarium and fairy gardening products. Plus, everyone who stops in that day receives a free air-plant!

   Michaleen's has been a staple in the Ithaca area for over twenty years. Several years ago two greenhouses filled with flowering annuals and tropicals were added, and the nursery was expanded to meet the needs of the growing community. Michaleen's is a full service florist, garden center and nursery known for their unique flower arrangements, eclectic gifts, statuary and fountains.

 The Plantsmen, 482 Peruville Road, Groton: 

   While we associate fall with ripening fruits, this is also an important time for the ripening of seeds. The staff at The Plantsmen have expertise in field botany and local seed collection which they use to collect native plant seed and grow plants for all kinds of landscape situations from residential gardens to large-scale ecological projects. Staff will share their knowledge on how to collect and clean seeds of native plants at 11:30 am, 1:30 pm and 3:30 pm.  Throughout the day you can try some hands-on seed cleaning and take home a packet of freshly-packed seed. Drawing materials will be on hand for kids to decorate their own packs of seeds! Plus fall sales on trees, shrubs, perennials and more.

   The Plantsmen Nursery grows clean, robust plants in a spray-free environment - no pesticides, herbicides, fungicides or other chemical applications commonly used in plant production.  They grow and sell everything from landscape trees to ferns to organic veggie starts-including perennials, drought-tolerant and deer-resistant plants, vines, shrubs, ornamental grasses, fruit trees, fruit shrubs, and the greatest diversity of native plants found in any nursery in New York State.

 For photos and links to participating horticultural businesses, go to the Gardener’s Trail webpage. To see a map of event locations, go to the Gardener’s Trail map. For more information, contact event coordinator Chrys Gardener at cab69 AT cornell.edu, or (607)272-2292 ext 241.