Indiana's Oldest Herb Farm Offers Beautiful Flowers, Herbs, Food and Wine
The 2008 season is going to be wonderful for our customers at Stream Cliff. When thoughts abound about gardening it brings some of the most important blessings one finds in life. Plants are certainly pleasing to the eye as well as fragrant, but just think of all the other benefits plants provide. To think "green" is to first appreciate how much plants, through gardening, give to the environment. It is not often we consider that plants release oxygen which is certainly necessary to support life, but plants give us food and seasonings, help with lifting our spirits and give healing. Now we know plants are even going to help our world by supplying ingredients for our nation's needed energy. There is a profound need for adults who garden to teach growing techniques to young people, it will improve both their lives and also the world at large.
The hours and days for the Farm remain the same. We are open each Wed., Thurs., Fri. and Sat. from 10:00am to 5:00pm, and Sunday 12:00pm to 5:00pm. Everything is closed each Monday and Tuesday. We will also be closed July 4th. Tearoom hours are 11:00am to 4:00pm Wed. through Sat. and 12:00 to 4:00pm on Sunday from March 26 through October 12.
You will find a vast array of plants for purchase. There will be a great selection of our specialty annuals, vines and more varieties of perennial flowers, as well as a huge assortment of culinary herbs. Greg, our son and horticulturist, is very interested in hostas so he is always on the look out for us to have beautiful hostas. Hydrangeas are very popular and we have many from which to select, as well as many clematis, roses (including the wonderful Knock-Out). The Herb of the Year this year is the calendula and this has been such a useful healing herb as well as the bloom being edible. We will have this plant as well. If you love plants be sure to visit often as we try to rotate different plants each week on sale, even early in our season.
Recently, I gave a lecture at the "Green Expo" in Indianapolis and mentioned we do not grow our plants like most commercial growers. It starts with hand selecting varieties that are tried and true, yet including new and interesting ones. Many times we are asked why our plants get much larger than those purchased elsewhere. We feel it is because we do not use plant growth regulators, also known as PGR's, inhibitors or retardants. They are used to control the growth of plants, thus extending the "shelf life" for the seller, but in our opinion they stunt the overall size of the plants. For annuals, they especially affect the ultimate size. Plants at Stream Cliff are grown as naturally as possible. We use organic pest control when needed and this year we anticipate using more non-toxic measures such as yellow sticky tape in the greenhouses. Last, but not least, of the good news about buying plants at Stream Cliff, is we are not raising our already modest prices on plants this year. Growers using fossil fuel are really in a difficult situation with energy costs and this is why we decided to install a water furnace to heat our greenhouses. It has been a complicated system to install, but has been wonderful and will allow us to hold the line on plant prices.
New this year is Stream Cliff's Cooking School featuring the use of herbs and wine for delicious food. There are many gardening, craft and art classes offered this year, plus special holiday events so be sure to check all our many offerings. You may sign up for classes and special events that require pre-registration in person, by mail, phone, fax or on the internet at www.streamclifffarm.com. We will also help you organize a special visit for groups of fifteen or more. When you visit the Farm, be sure and stop and say "Hello" as I like to meet our visitors personally. (You will usually find me wearing a hat.) At the Farm, we are looking forward to a wonderful season of joy.