Episode 3405

- [Announcer] On this "Volunteer Gardener," Annette Shrader leads us on a full circle tour of the Grand Gardens of a historic home site in Nashville. Here there are deep border beds with graceful shrubs ready to bloom, spectacular established trees, pretty and dependable perennials, and roses with their showy flowers. Plus there's a kitchen garden in the same spot where 200 years ago vegetables were planted to sustain the family. We'll get great design tips all along the way too. Then Jeff Poppen learns the sustainable agriculture methods used at Kelley's Berry Farm in Castalian Springs that make blackberry, blueberry, and strawberry season so special. Join us. The well-designed gardens and wide-ranging plant palette create a charming and inviting space that compliments this historic home in a cohesive and pleasing way.

- We live in a fast-paced world today. We want modern everything, modern garden, modern homes. And along the way there have been historical homes, historical gardens, and we are in the Richland West End area of Nashville and we're gonna see what has been restored in this lovely home and gardens. This home was built in 1804. I am standing in the location at that time when it was originally built, that there was a garden. And I want to speak with Steve Sirls. He is the current owner, and he has been key in developing the footprints and rebuilding these gardens. Steve, I'm gonna turn this over to you so you can fill us, bring us up to date.

- Goodness, that's a big step, but I'll be glad to. In 1804 when the house was built for Jane Erwin Dickinson, there were 299 acres here. And as they were building the house, the gardens would've been going in at the same time. Not like the gardens that we see today, they would be more of a utilitarian type of garden.

- Yeah. That would help to feed the family.

- To feed the family, right?

- Yes. When you bought this home, were these gardens already established and-

- There were really a few gardens here, but they'd been neglected for about 15 or 20 years. So we just sort of started from scratch and that's what we have today. And the things that I've added on to, and Allen Decuyper and I have both worked on.

- [Annette] I would be so honored if you would lead us on a tour of the gardens.

- [Steve] I can't wait.

- [Annette] I understand that this is one of your newer areas here in the shade.

- This is a garden that was carved out recently under magnolia trees for a specific purpose. And the purpose is one of my favorite sculptors who has since passed away. His name is Olen Bryant and he was a professor at Austin Peay University in Clarksville. And these are his creations. And I just had the idea to bring them all together so I could always remember him.

- Yeah, and this is such a fitting surround that you have done with to highlight them.

- Well, I think it's perfect for these little guys.

- It is. Let's go and see what combinations of shade plants that you've planted in here.

- [Steve] Great idea, and the first one that you pointed out earlier is the Helleborus foetidus or commonly called stinking hellebore. It reseeds itself everywhere in this garden. It loves shade, it loves sun. But we also have several hostas, and one of my favorite things that I'm trying this year is Berginia.

- You and meet both.

- And I've planted five and I've never been successful, but I think I will under this magnolia tree.

- It looks healthy. Okay, and then you do have other hellebore in here I see.

- Oh, lots. Yeah.

- And they can take sun and shade, can't they?

- They can take both. They don't like direct afternoon sun in the summertime.

- Right. That's true. Now then this is a very nice example of the fern here.

- [Steve] Autumn fern is a must for many shade gardens 'cause it stays green during the winter, And when it reappears in the springtime with its bronze foliage-

- I love it.

- It's exquisite.

- [Annette] It is. And then this carving right here is-

- [Steve] This is by an artist called Bill Ralston. And Bill Ralston has done several of the bird paths in this garden. And he was a professor at Vanderbilt.

- I think that is a very pleasing, it just gives an atmosphere, doesn't it?

- Well, and since we are a bird sanctuary-

- That's a good thing.

- It's a perfect place.

- Well, along this pathway where I see the different types of hostas you have here. That one right there is that-

- That is a new one.

- Snake eyes.

- [Steve] It does look like that, doesn't it?

- [Annette] I think that's snake eyes. That's really pretty.

- I love the variegation.

- [Annette] And he's gonna get this big. So let's walk out into the sunlight. You can't stop on this corner without looking up. And that is a beautiful tree

- That is a locust, and it is commented on a lot from people that walk by here. It's called locust Frisia, and it stays that color all summer long.

- [Annette] And does it have the typical locust blooms?

- [Steve] It does have a couple, but not prolific like the honey locusts that we know in Tennessee.

- [Annette] So you can't predict the weather with this one?

- [Steve] No, not at all. Not at all. It's May, Annette, so things are on their way. We've just had the colorful season of azaleas and different things blooming. This is next.

- [Annette] We see hydrangeas.

- [Steve] Hydrangeas, astilbe, perennial begonia.

- [Annette] And I see Japanese anemone.

- [Steve] Yes, that Japanese anemone is called Honorine Jobert, and she blooms in October and it's magnificent to come back then.

- [Annette] I Think the good thing about anemones are that they are there for fall, and they're red ones, and white ones, and pink ones.

- [Steve] And they last through the first frost.

- [Annette] You also have this beautiful begonia.

- [Steve] Begonia grandis is just a miracle plant here. Some people say it's weedy. I let it go where it wants to, and if it gets too much, I just pull it out and it's still there.

- [Annette] Well, you know, they say that coverage keeps out weeds, so that's your ground cover.

- [Steve] Well, it doesn't keep out hackberry seedlings.

- I understand. Well, rounding the corner here in front of us. I see brick. I see mossy brick. This has a history, doesn't it?

- [Steve] The brick's interesting here because there's a site of the original kiln, brick kiln in the back. And all of these brick and the brick on the walk as we walked in, were dug up in different places and installed as terraces. But they would've originally been leftovers from the house.

- [Annette] Yes, and where would they have gotten the materials they made this with?

- [Steve] The material came from the Richland Creek, the clay, which is the back property line of the Craighead House.

- [Annette] Oh, that's great history. This is a beautiful display for a container, now. This has got a lot of interesting plants in it.

- Thank you, and yes, my containers are different and interesting. And that's for one reason. I plant in the fall what will last all winter and into next spring, and then I add to it.

- Oh, I see.

- And it's certainly a lot less expensive to pull in a red or a pink to go with the things that are winter hardy.

- [Annette] Yeah, the Heuchera and then the sedge. And then Dusty Miller will overwinter.

- [Steve] Oh, totally. That's it. That's been there since last October.

- And you've got a geranium. And I love the little tropical that you have-

- I love the little tropical.

- that picks up the color. And there's nothing like seeing a big splash of blue in the garden. I love that.

- [Steve] That's me.

- [Annette] I think I see blue benches. And I see a long border here. What have you highlighted here to give this all summer interest?

- Well, thanks for noticing the blue benches. It's one of my favorite things.

- Caught my eyes.

- I have many favorite things. But this border is a working piece of art, I think. I feel that it really is. It's four different types of hydrangeas. It's three different types of astilbe, and all summer long it does something for you. And then in the fall the other things start, and the bulbs come up through the middle of it. So it's pretty magic.

- [Annette] Yes, and I see some of the magic. You've had little Caesar Siberian iris, I see.

- That was earlier.

- Yes, I can see that.

- [Steve] And the two cherry trees were earlier.

- [Annette] Yes, and then in the fall you're gonna have sedum.

- [Steve] Sedum is always there. And it is a wonderful color in the fall, as you know. I studied astilbe be to put here. The one in the front is a ground cover. And it's a Chinese astilbe. The one in the back is a Chinese astilbe, but it's four feet tall and it really works in the middle of the hydrangea.

- Here is the bloom stalk to one of these astilbes. And when that blooms, it's gonna be at least this tall, isn't it.

- [Steve] At least, and the hydrangeas will continue to be that tall as well.

- [Annette] Yeah, I see your Annabelle-

- [Steve] And of course they are true Annabelles, so they will all spill out here.

- And is that Limelight?

- That is Limelight, yes.

- [Annette] Now again, I see the blue, how it leads, how taking a color, and how adequately you have done this with your gardens, how you bring that blue pop, and it just leads us, our eyes through the garden,

- [Steve] Wow, it does, doesn't it? Yeah, that's amazing.

- [Annette] I think you knew that.

- No, I never thought about it.

- I like this, that piece of artwork back-

- [Steve] That's a local artist and I can't think of his name.

- [Annette] That's okay. It's beautiful. And I see you have bleeding heart in here.

- [Steve] Oh, but that used to be primary, now it's secondary because everything gets so big.

- Well, that's okay. Not only do I love arbors, I love what you have exfoliate on this one.

- [Steve] It's a pear, and this year we have at least six pears, and we've not had pears on it before, so it's really an exciting year.

- [Annette] Well, I hope that you get to sample the fruits of your labor.

- [Steve] Probably no pear of preserves, but maybe one.

- [Annette] Well, you can make a salad with it. As we step through this arbor, we're about to step into the 1800's. We are in a kitchen garden area.

- This actually was the site of the 1823 kitchen for the house. And it was destroyed or taken down probably in 1950. I'm not real sure of that date. But we have paid homage to that and developed the kitchen garden around the old site. And it provides salad material. And as we said earlier, pears, and cabbage and red vein sorrel, and all kinds of things.

- Horseradish.

- Horseradish, lots.

- [Annette] And I see something. This is Jomanda.

- [Steve] It is.

- [Annette] And I love this plant because it's evergreen and it blooms-

- And especially spilling out of a border like that.

- [Annette] That's excellent usage of that. So I love the cloches that you have put over these.

- [Steve] They're necessary for rabbits so rabbits don't eat everything.

- [Annette] Yeah, so all of this in this area is consumable, right?

- It is.

- [Annette] So tell me what you would do with this sorrel.

- [Steve] Red vein sorrel is used for decorations for platters. And it can be cooked as well, just like sorrel. But you notice the red veins in it, which is just exquisite. Plus it's a great winter plant 'cause it stays up in the wintertime.

- [Annette] Oh, I didn't know that. I do see something unusual. I don't recall seeing a White Columbine.

- [Steve] Well, that one just appeared, so who knows?

- Well, it was a gift.

- I'm glad. I'm happy.

- [Annette] And you've got that purple broccoli.

- Yeah, isn't that great?

- I know it is.

- [Steve] That's that whole row is purple broccoli.

- [Annette] And those are prize winning lettuce hands.

- [Steve] That lettuce is just wonderful. And it's perfect for a salad right now

- [Annette] I have to say, you're not supposed to covet, but I do covet, you've got leaks.

- We have so many leaks. It's unbelievable. I have to thin them. And Alan loves cooking leak soup with those. But the beauty of them will be their bloom cycle in about three weeks. They look more like an allium than-

- They are.

- The leek is an allium.

- It it is. Yeah.

- So they're exquisite.

- [Annette] So what do you do for soil prep?

- Not a whole lot, but I do, every spring we add as we plant to enhance what's here. We started with some enhancement early on in 1997. But mostly every time we plant.

- [Annette] Among a most desired plant, a calycanthus.

- That is called commonly a Carolina allspice. But this particular one is called Venus. And the name fits.

- Oh, it is exquisite. I haven't used that word today. And below it I see that you not only can garden in the soil, but you have a very good array of citrus and different trees here

- The cirus tree has to go in a pot, and usually a pot that retains moisture because they have to go inside during the wintertime. And now is when they're producing their fruit for, I mean, it'll be ready to harvest in January.

- Yes, now I had Meyer lemon.

- That's what those are.

- [Annette] Yeah, and aren't they self pollinating?

- I they must be.

- I think they are. Okay. Now I, my eyes quickly drawn to this tree.

- [Steve] I really enjoy dwarf plants. I look for dwarf plants everywhere I go and how they're used. And this is a ginkgo that has been bred to be on a pole like that. But as we move around there, there's a dwarf ginkgo that's been in that particular container for 10 years. And its size has remained about like that the whole time.

- [Annette] And I love the way you're gonna have a mandevilla and you made your own little tepee thing up here. And this is another lemon or-

- [Steve] It's another Meyers lemon, and see the blooms and all the new Meyers lemons that are coming on?

- The fragrance is just... Oh, I'm not gonna do it, I'll have polling on my nose. That's beautiful. Now then this, I don't know.

- [Steve] It's a dwarf elm. Ulmus. And again, it's been in that pot for several years.

- [Annette] So you have to take this in?

- No.

- Wow.

- [Steve] No, it stays. The ginkgos, they both stay out.

- [Annette] Yes, for sure. Gee, I'm sorry, I left my clippers in the car. Tell us about this gorgeous rose.

- I found Eden in a catalog a couple of years ago, and this is the first year that she's really shown herself. I don't know whether it was the winter or what, but the catalogs all say it's a fantastic rose, and they were right.

- [Annette] It's just, it's indescribable. And I believe you have some Clematis in there.

- [Steve] Yes, and it was beautiful until last night's storm.

- [Annette] Oh, that's all right. We we know things come and go.

- [Steve] Yeah, they do. And that's the magic of gardening.

- [Annette] I know. Well, I would have to say and this is an awe moment right here. Now then we have made a 360 degree walk-

- Well we have.

- around this beautiful garden And I have a few things that are along this front walk here that-

- Well, and to, to put it simply, I love talking about this garden.

- I know.

- So it's not a problem.

- I would do. You know, I feel like I'm at the beach, but not quite. How did this get Here?

- [Steve] That got here 26 years ago and it came to me as a hardy palm. And I researched it with my friend Todd Breyer, and we've decided that it's actually called a needle palm. And it has made it through many, many hard winters.

- Well, that's really interesting because-

- It's amazing.

- We've been below zero in those 20 something years

- We have. Right.

- Wow. And then majesty above us right here.

- Majesty of weeping katsura. Everyone should have one, if you've got a space. It's a glorious tree. It creates a room underneath.

- It absolutely does.

- [Steve] It's great shade for hostas.

- [Annette] Yeah. Well now well how old is that tree?

- [Steve] Oh, it's probably 25, 26 years old.

- [Annette] That's when a garden really starts to mature, isn't it?

- [Steve] It does, and I prune on it quite a bit, just to keep it sort of outta your face.

- [Annette] Yes, yes. Aren't peonies lovely.

- [Steve] They are. And they have been this spring. So lovely, it's been wonderful to come out here every morning and watch them open. And this is one of the last ones to bloom, so I'm glad we caught it.

- [Annette] And we're beginning to see all the color that you have in here and white-

- Minnie Pearl.

- I see white.

- Minnie Pearl.

- [Annette] That beautiful white flock over there. I know that it's very, very dependable.

- As she was.

- That's right. And it's very well behaved, just like her.

- Yeah, there you go.

- [Annette] We love yellow in a garden, don't we?

- [Steve] I do, I think it really stands out and it makes a statement.

- [Annette] Yes, it does. And this is a beautiful rose.

- Julia Child

- Julia Childs.

- [Steve] You can't beat it. It blooms all summer and it's just disease free.

- Is this a Floribunda rose, I believe.

- Yes. I believe it is.

- And you know, I also think that those shiny green leaves are far less susceptible.

- [Steve] Well they are. And look how healthy they are. And I don't do a lot of fungus prevention stuff because it's pets and everything, I just don't do it.

- [Annette] Well, and you know, the colors that blend together here, right here, it's in its green stage, the acanthus there with the green-

- The acanthus with the barberry and the barberry coming out with all its rainbow colors. And then the white Siberian iris.

- [Annette] Yeah, that looks like swans in flight.

- [Steve] It does, and then the red of the Japanese maple behind it to me is just color echoes that are magic.

- [Annette] And you know, even if there were no blooms on that Siberian iris, think about what color without... You don't have to have a flower.

- [Steve] That's the way I feel.

- And looking into this garden and the inviting points that are in it, and what has been, and what's here today, and what's yet to come, it's expansive. It goes, well it's 365 days a year-

- Makes me happy

- in this garden. And that's what a garden is all about. And I can't tell you how much it has meant to do the whole perimeter here and realize coming from you has been the history of this wonderful home and the gardens, and that you've given all of your knowledge that you've had through the years, it's just been indeed a pleasure and an honor to know what you have done in this garden and what you do for the community as well.

- [Steve] Thank you.

- And I just cannot thank you enough, and I shall cherish this blue bench in my thoughts.

- Well, it's an honor for us because we love everything that PPS does for the community and for us. So thank you for being here.

- Let's go on and get into summer now. We've had spring.

- That's right.

- Today we're at Kelley's Berry Farm, right on the Cumberland River outside of Lebanon, Tennessee. And Jon, thank you so much for having us out here.

- Thank you for coming.

- Yeah, you've been growing berries a long time, haven't you?

- Yes. I believe we planted the first blueberries 1980. 40 something years.

- We plant ours in too, and nobody ever heard blueberries around here.

- Nobody knew what a blueberry was around here. They said, oh, what do you do with the blueberry? Make a blueberry muffin's the only thing I know.

- Yeah, well, today I'd like to learn about how you get the ground in good shape and good heart for growing berries. I noticed you have cover crops.

- [Jon] Yeah. The cover crops. Usually annual rye grass and radishes, and got some clover.

- [Jeff] Yeah, so here's some red clover. And then we have rye grass. And they grow well together, don't they?

- [Jon] They do grow well together. And it's kind of a cool weather, we plant 'em in the fall and it grows all winter, really. It doesn't ever quit growing. So it's just building more organic matter to go back in the ground.

- Yeah, well I found in gardening that organic matter is really the key to-

- That's the key to growing any kind of plants, I think. The longer you farm you know organic matter's the true test you gotta have.

- Organic matter's what matters.

- That's what matters. It is, it really does.

- Yeah. Do you grow cover crops in the summertime? It's a real fast growing grass when it's hot, and you can mow it down, it'll come right back, and then disc it up late summer, and plow it under, and just let it work all winter.

- Yeah. All right, so strawberries that you have here, these are planted in the fall.

- [Jon] We plant the fall strawberries.

- [Jeff] About when?

- [Jon] Mid September. And then they grow real well. They're cool weather plants, so they grow in the fall, and then they're real hardy, so you don't have to worry about 'em in the winter too much. But in the spring you gotta worry about the blooms.

- [Jeff] Yeah, I noticed you have some of the cloth here you have to cover-

- [Jon] Yeah, we have to cover 'em when the blooming period is, and which is right now we're gonna have to cover 'em again.

- [Jeff] I think you will, another a couple days.

- [Jon] Another couple days it's gonna be frosty again.

- [Jeff] Yeah, do you ever add minerals, lime, or anything like that?

- Oh, we add horse manure. Yeah, we do that every summer.

- Do you rot it a little bit first?

- Well, you compost it. It is gotta be old. It can't be fresh. Maybe two or three years old at least. And just spread it out and plow it and disc it in, and then form the rows up. And that really helps. All the organic matter you can get in the ground is the best.

- Yeah, and your grounds, are they clay?

- [Jon] It's kind of sandy soil. We're right here on the river. And it's not much clay too much in it.

- [Jeff] So this is river bottom land, really.

- It's, yeah, pretty much river bottom. The water goes right through the soil pretty quick.

- Yeah. Well, besides strawberries, I know you grow blueberries here. Do you have to do anything different to them to keep the soil more acidic?

- Yeah, we spread out the sulfur on the blueberries.

- About how much per plant?

- About a handful around each plant. You just shake it around. You know, they got pelletized or the powder. But yeah, you just put it around every year, put a handful around it, and that keeps the pH down. And on the blackberries and the strawberries, they like lime, so we gotta kind of keep 'em separate so you don't let the lime dust blow in the blueberries.

- Yeah, that's right. The lime is really important.

- It's important to the calcium in the lime for the strawberries and the blackberries.

- Well, besides the minerals, and the cover crops, and your horse manure, what other sort of sustainable practices do you do?

- Well, we got the honeybees. And they come in. And we don't have too many, we don't use any insecticides because of the bees. And if you got healthy plants, then, you know, they kind of fight the insects, theirselves, the plants do.

- Your plants are healthy, you're not gonna have to use anything.

- That's right. You come to realize that pretty quick.

- [Jeff] Do you use mulches in your berries? I mean, this plastic here, but-

- The plastic on the strawberries. I do, on the blackberries and the blueberries. We used the, where they cut it, one year we went where they mulched all the limbs up and we used that-

- On the side of the road.

- On the side of the road. We used to get the, you know, where they'd grind all that up and put it underneath there and let it rot down.

- Okay. And between the blackberries, what do you grow in between the rows?

- I just got-

- More grass.

- Yeah, just grass. Rye grass and fescue in there. And just mow it and, you know, just keep it mowed down.

- Yeah. But you don't mow it real close like you do a lawn. You wanna leave it.

- Oh, you wanna leave it. The only time I mow to close is when we're harvesting.

- For the people.

- Yeah, for the people in there to pick their own. Most people don't like walking in tall grass, so I gotta kind of let the customers get in there easy.

- Right, but I've noticed that if you keep it mowed real close to the ground, the ground it's not good for it.

- No. It heats the ground up and it gets hard. Well I leave it four or five inches even when I do mow it.

- I always mow high.

- Yeah, you gotta mow it high. There again, you'll kill the grass. If you mow it too close and then you just-

- Or you end up with just Bermuda grass.

- That's right. You don't want that. You want a good blade.

- [Jeff] Do you find the rye grass, can that be invasive and spread to the-

- No, it's not. You kinda keep it at it's, it stays in its own place. It'll just grow up. In the wintertime, it'll grow two feet, or maybe three. You know, I mean, it builds the ground up pretty good. And plus it has a good walkway.

- Makes a great path.

- Good path, yeah. Keeps the soil there and it doesn't wash. The roots stay.

- Well, Jon, thank you so much.

- Yes sir. Thanks for coming.

- Pleasure to seeing you.

- Good to see you.

- About farming.

- Appreciate it.