The future of flax
This spring, Erica Runkles spread a new seed in her kitchen garden and lined the crop with a border of shells collected by her late mother.

The seeds sprouted, growing tall with light blue flowers, the color of the sky, she says. The flowers were so light, they dipped with the weight of a pollinating bee. These flax flowers were delicate enough to fly away in the wind yet what’s inside the stems is one of the strongest natural fibers.

While the crop in her Manor Township garden was new, flax has been grown and used as fiber throughout the world for more than 30,000 years. Watching her flax, Runkles thought of the back to her own ancestors growing the same crop and then processing it into yarn. This plant became something much more than beautiful.

“I’m taking something pretty elemental and making something that’s hardy and sturdy,” she says. “It gave me a new fascination of a new aspect of life.”

Runkles’ square yard of flax is a tiny part of a fiber revolution rooted in the past with hopes for the future. Growing flax has connections with farming, sustainability, manufacturing, clothing and climate change. The project starts in the smallest plots like hers.


If you have trees or plants of note or are planning a houseplant or garden event, tour or talk in the region, virtual or in real life, please share with [email protected] for future coverage in LNP | LancasterOnline.
Gardening to-do: divide perennials

Perennials may need to be divided if they've outgrown their space, if you want to spread them around your garden or if you want to give them away. If plants produce fewer flowers or die in the center, dividing can help their health, too.

  • Ideally, fall planting should be done in September through mid-October when soil temperatures are warm enough for roots to begin to establish.
  • Dig up the plant and shake soil from the roots.
  • Pull apart roots by hand, cut with shears or a knife or split with a spade.
  • Take a look at the roots and remove any plants that you don't want to move (like aggressive spreaders such as mint!).
  • If the plant is dying in the center, make divisions like cutting a pie and throw away the dead area in the middle. 
  • Be sure to water newly planted divisions if rainfall drops below 1 inch per week.
  • Learn more in this guide.
Goodbye, Gnome Village

A few years ago, the Warwick to Ephrata Rail Trail was about to cut through Don Reese’s backyard at his Akron home.

“Either I’m gonna dig that ugly stump up or do something. And I built that,” he said in 2019, pointing at the stump, decorated with a shingle roof, a front porch and three gnomes. “And every time I come out, there’d be a crowd out here laughing at it.”

Then he wondered, “Why not add another building.”

The buildings multiplied. The gnomes celebrate holidays like Halloween and Christmas. Their luminaria on Veterans Day brought some to tears. 

A few weeks ago, Don dismantled the village. "I have said many times I either aim for excellence or not at all and I felt like I was becoming less committed to keeping it fresh so I just could not let it slowly rot to nothing!” he wrote on Facebook.


While I focus on the plants in my garden, I appreciated Don's creativity and how he managed to be topical and funny (like the bunny masks above that showed up during the red phase of the pandemic.) Even if you don't have a fairy garden, take a look at how he upcycled materials into things like gnome hot air balloons, UFOs and giant flowers. You don't need a huge budget to add whimsy and wonder to your garden.
Did you plant anything this week?
I was too busy watering plants in the heatwave to plant anything. Did you plant something?
Yes
No
Things to do this week

There are lots of chances to learn something new about plants virtually. There also are in-person classes to dig in and make something in September (and into October).
Share your photos (or videos)

This helenium spotted at the Penn State trial farm near Landisville looks like a perfect fall plant for gardens and containers. 

The farm usually closes to the public at the end of August, but this year, it is open through Sept. 22. Also, the information about top plants from the flower trials, like this one, is still online. 

Maybe helenium isn't as widespread as asters and mums because of its common name: sneezeweed? That name comes not from allergies but from a long-ago use of the leaves. People dried them to make snuff, which was inhaled to cause sneezing to rid the body of evil spirits, according to the Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center.

Send me your photos of plants in your garden or travels. They may be included in an upcoming newsletter. Keep in touch on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.  

Thanks for reading.

Erin Negley