Visit to garden in Cranberry is educational
CRANBERRY TWP — The Penn State Extension Butler County Master Gardeners are the caretakers of the Cranberry Township Municipal Center garden at 2525 Rochester Road.
Since 2011, Master Gardeners have designed and maintained the public garden. Most of its plants are labeled for easy identification.
Master Gardener volunteers working in the gardens always welcome any questions and are happy to talk about the plants growing there.
The pollinator garden was planted to showcase the importance of pollinators to the environment.
There are signs around the garden displaying important information about pollinators. Please read the signs as you enjoy the flowers and perhaps see some bees, butterflies, hummingbirds and other pollinators in action.
You may see birds coming to the feeders. A few bird feeders donated by a local resident and Master Gardener were recently added to the pollinator garden.
Birdwatchers will find this garden an enjoyable location to watch and appreciate birds. In addition, a native bee-nesting box is in place and serves as part of a research study that measures the effectiveness of these boxes in attracting native bees to the garden.
The garden has a combination of native as well as nonnative plants. Examples of native plants are coneflowers (Echinacea purpurea), bee balm (Monarda didyma), yarrow (Achillea millefolium), perennial sunflower (Helianthus), false sunflower (Heliopsis helianthoides) and New England asters (Symphyotrichum novae-angliae). Nonnative specimens include peonies, hydrangeas, cleome, shasta daisy and evening primrose.
The herb garden located just below the pollinator garden showcases four categories of herbs: sensory, culinary, medicinal and dye. Walking paths through the herb garden allow visitors to get close to the plants. Many of these plants are labeled for easy identification.In the sensory section, you may want to carefully pinch off a leaf and crush it to release its fragrance. The flowers of some herbs provide a pleasant scent, and a few just have interesting leaves or a unique feel. Look for basil, thyme, artemisia, scented geraniums, lavender, pineapple sage and others. Many of these herbs serve as pollinator magnets.In the culinary area, the edible flowers of borage and calendula are on display. Many chefs use basil, rosemary, sage, garlic, mint, oregano and thyme in their cooking.Also check out the lovage, which tastes like celery, or French tarragon, which has an anise/licorice flavor. Herbs add flavor to dishes without adding calories or salt.Medicinal herbs have been used for centuries for illnesses when pharmacies and doctors were not readily available.Some medicinal herbs are still used today. There are three interesting examples. Currently, horehound is used in cough drops. In the past, yarrow (Achillea) was used to stop bleeding, and its flowers were used to bring down a fever. The angelica plant (which looks similar to poisonous hemlock) was used to treat indigestion, coughs and colds.
Keep in mind that although some medicinal herbs were used for treatment in the past, they can have a toxic effect if used improperly. Always check with your health care professional before using or ingesting medicinal herbs.The dye garden helped homemakers in the past to color cloth. Plant dyes have been used for centuries and are still used by some fabric artists to color wool, yarn and cloth.For example, a yellow color can be produced by using parts of calendula, German camomile, goldenrod or yarrow. The culinary herb rosemary can produce a yellow-green color.The gardens are always open to the public. This summer, there are concerts at noon in the gazebo next to the gardens, so visit the gardens before or after the concerts.Peg Campbell has been a Penn State Master Gardener of Butler County since 2005.
