Perma—What?!
Behind The Orchard Shop at Minnetrista, there is a secret garden. Unassuming as it is, you might walk right past it. But take a closer look. This garden is bursting with food! And people! And…dogs? This is the Permaculture Demonstration Garden at Minnetrista, started in partnership with The Permaculture Initiative.
Remember, remember the rules for the canner!
This is not the first time I have written a blog like this. However, I think this information bears repeating. It is the beginning of garden season. Many of us who want a veggie garden already have the plants in the ground. This also means it is coming into the season for some heavy duty canning.
Happy Anniversary, Oakhurst
In March, I told you about the renovation work that will be done at Oakhurst this summer. There have been some delays, but the work is starting now, just in time to mark the twentieth anniversary of the public opening of the house on May 27. This year also marks 120 years since George and Frances Ball moved into the house.
The Mighty Portland High School
Two disclaimers to this article: (1) This photo is not a featured artifact from the Minnetrista Heritage Collection, and (2) I am not a football fan. However, I do know a good story when I hear one.
4 Great Grasses
Ornamental grasses can bring height, texture, and color to your garden. They also provide food, shelter, and nesting material for birds and other wildlife. When you stop by your local plant seller, consider trying one of these.
What to expect in the world of canning at Minnetrista!
IT’S MAY! Can you believe it?! I think I get shocked by May every year. I mean, it seems like winter lasts forever but then, BOOM! It’s spring! Well, May means time for planting gardens for canning. It also means canning programming at Minnetrista is right around the corner! A few months back, I ran a few possibilities for canning workshop recipes by you. Now I’d like to tell you what I have planned so you all can mark your calendars!
A Walk through Historical Muncie Coming Soon
Recently, I told you about upcoming renovation work to be done on the Oakhurst house. It must be the season to refresh and re-do. Work has been going on in The Center Building’s lobby for the last several weeks, and now the Heritage Collection Gallery is getting new carpet.
Is it time yet?
The weather is warming, the days are longer, and the familiar sight of daffodil and tulip foliage emerging from their dormant rest is telling us it is spring! I’d say that this time of year, like no other, really gets the gardener motivated.
Benefits of Gardening for Food Preservation
I don’t know about you, but the first nice day of this year, which happened to be the first day of spring, I got out in my yard and started to prepare the soil for my garden. I don’ t know if I should actually call it a garden…more like a little patch where I can grow a few plants. One day I WILL have a garden though!
Refreshing Look to Come for the Oakhurst Home
Oakhurst, the home of George and Frances Ball and their daughter Elisabeth, celebrates both its 120th and its 20th anniversaries this year. The house was built in 1895 and opened for public tours on May 27, 1995. It was designed by Indianapolis architect Louis Gibson who wanted the house to fit naturally into the oak grove selected by the family. Gibson did not paint the house, expecting that the wood siding and shingles would age naturally. Eventually, though, the house was both varnished and painted.
A Look Back at a Powerful Flood
This month marks the 102nd anniversary of the devastating flood of 1913. On March 24 and 25, rain inundated Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, and New York. With a late spring thaw, the ground was either saturated or still frozen. In Indiana, the Ohio, White, and Wabash Rivers and all of their tributaries rose rapidly; causing massive flooding.
Ephemeral Beauty
Did you know that some flowers begin growth in the winter? Spring ephemerals often start blooming before spring even arrives. Even now, with six inches of snow accumulation and a temperature of 14 degrees, winter aconite, scilla, , crocus, and many more are inching above ground, unfurling leaves, and producing flower buds. The best time to see these early beauties is approaching—they bloom from mid-March through April.
Booze in Jars
When people see my canning storage at work, they often ask questions about why I have mostly empty bottles of rum, tequila, and brandy. What kind of canning workshops am I running?! I usually begin my response with some kind of joke about where all the booze went. Then, I give the real answer. Part of what I try to do at the canning workshops is try interesting, unique, and fun recipes that deviate a bit from the norm. The “norm” is usually just a recipe I’ve made or tried before—it is very subjective.
Ball Jars and Moonshiners
The Prohibition era of the 1920s and early 1930s generated plenty of colorful stories about rumrunners, bootleggers, and speakeasies. Moonshiners—those savvy entrepreneurs who produced their own high-proof distilled spirits—have their very own colorful Ball canning jar stories.
Anderson Joins Muncie in Celebrating 150 years
Muncie’s neighbor to the southwest is also celebrating its sesquicentennial this year. Yes, Anderson is 150 years old in 2015. Muncie and Anderson have a lot in common, including names derived from a shared Native American heritage, glass and auto manufacturing, and, of course, basketball.
Think Big!
Large annuals may be just what you need in certain spots in the landscape. They can add some height to a flower garden. You can also get more for your money by filling up a large space with just a few plants. Large perennials, like grasses, could also be used for these purposes. These are great because they come back every year, but unlike annuals they take more than a year to reach their full size.
Accessorize Your Ball Jars
Ball jars have been in resurgence over the last couple of years, haven’t they? You can find them everywhere—restaurants, trendy boutiques, back yard barbeques, and, of course, in people’s basements and on their shelves, still full of delicious food.
Quilts Displaying History
The history of Ball Corporation in a quilt! In 1976, this is what well-known Muncie artist Barbara Moll created for Ball Corporation’s new headquarters. Her five-panel creation documented the history of the company from its founding in 1880 in Buffalo, New York to the company’s entry into aerospace to the lid shortage of 1975.
Living on “McCall Street” in “Middletown”
It must have been a sight to see when local photographer Roger Pelham drove through the streets of Muncie taking pictures of houses in neighborhoods, from Westwood to Avondale to Normal City, for a special edition of McCall’s Magazine. This edition played on the notoriety of Muncie as the typical American community, as depicted by Robert and Helen Lynd in the Middletown books.