Steinbach Nutcrackers

The Steinbach Nutcracker signing occurs on Friday, December 9th this year, from 4-8 pm. Valley View Farms' relationship with the Steinbach family goes back to the early 1990s.

In 2003, we moved many of the nutcrackers out to the greenhouse for some elbow room

Herr Christian Steinbach would visit for a day or two in December to meet and greet admirers of his wooden toy factory's work. Nutcrackers, smokers, small wood carvings and ornaments that had been on display in our International Christmas Shop were brought back by our customers to have them signed by Herr Steinbach.

 

 

Herr Steinbach signs a nutcracker as his assistant looks on

But, he did much more than that. Each piece was signed and often contained a personal message. He would stamp or draw little designs on the bottom of the nutcracker and then take the time to fix any minor imperfections he would see in each one. Herr Steinbach would then pose with each collector for a quick Polaroid photo. Dressed in his traditional lederhosen, he was quite the character.

Kathy, Tim and Herr Steinbach delight the audience during a raffle drawing

For the past several years, Karla Steinbach, Herr Christian Steinbach's daughter, has come to Valley View to carry on this tradition. Karla is the 6th generation to head the Steinbach company in Hohenhameln, Germany.

Karla chats with collectors as she signs

She dresses in traditional German clothing as well,and, seated at a desk in the International Christmas Shop, looks at home signing nutcrackers and speaking to today's collectors.

Karla keeps the Steinbach tradition going

It's nice to know that these traditions, much like the art and craft of creating a a nutcracker from the forests of Germany, continue. Stop in if you have the chance, to meet Karla and speak to her about her work. And, if you miss this year's signing, look forward with us, to next year.

John Hessler, City Planner Extraordinaire

John Hessler manages Valley View's patio department for half of the year. He uses his artistic talent to create patio settings that people might enjoy on their porches and patios. But, by late summer, John switches hats as he begins to display our Department 56 Village Collection. John just finished designing and building the 11 different villages that we offer. The display sits in the center of our Christmas shop surrounded by over 100 decorated themed trees. John is a talented city planner---we've got an amazing 80 foot display as proof.

John Hessler shows us how its done!

I asked John which village is his personal favorite and he quickly answered "Christmas in the City". John's own collection includes over 30 buildings from that collection and another 30 from the North Pole series that he began collecting when his daughter Ashlee was just 3 months old. Ashlee is 20 now.
John is happy to share tips and techniques with customers everyday at the store. Every year we showcase John's talent during our Department 56 event, being held this year on the weekend of November 12th and 13th. We are also honored to have Department 56 Village artist Tom Bates with us on Saturday. Tom is the predominant designer of the Christmas in the City series, and also works on The Alpine Village, The Original Snow Village, and The North Pole Series. Take advantage of this unique opportunity to meet Tom and have him sign your Department 56 piece from 12-4 pm.

Tom Bates signing as Cathy Kramer talks to a collector

We are also pleased to have Ken Scwartz with us. Ken will be here all weekend to discuss the villages with collectors. Ken is the founder of one of the oldest Department 56 Collectors Clubs in the country. I'm pretty sure that between Ken and John, every possible question anyone may have about the villages, past and present, can be answered. Also, Cathy Kramer, our representative from Department 56, will be here to talk to folks about their village pieces.

Clockwise from top left: Tom Bates, Ken Scwartz, Kathy Foard, Cathy Kramer and John Hessler

John's display demonstration will be held this year on Sunday at 12:00. We'll all learn some great tips to make our villages more beautiful. I should mention that some of our most avid collectors work at Valley View Farms. Max Barton, whose mom and grandmother both work here, may be working as John's assistant.

John and his able assistant, Max

I would have added the photos of John's 11 villages, but photos just don't do it justice. Stop in and take a look yourself and meet John and the crew.

Planting Bulbs for Spring Color

Planting bulbs identifies a gardener as a true optimist. Who else would plant brown orbs of varying sizes hoping for brilliant Spring color?

The cooler night time temperatures and frosty fall mornings mean it is time to plant. Valley View Farms still has a complete selection of bulbs including daffodils, tulips, iris, hyacinths, alliums and much, much more.

Many of the bulbs are deer resistant, in fact, all animals leave the toxic bulbs of the daffodils alone. Others would benefit from an application of Bobbex when they are planted to keep pesky chipmunks and squirrels away.
Choose an area that receives six hours of sun or more for optimum results. Plant in a well drained area as most bulbs don't like "wet feet".  Add compost to the bed as you plant, but don't worry about adding a fertilizer right now. The best time to feed will be in the spring as the flowers fade.
In general, larger bulbs like tulip and daffodils should be placed 6-8 inches deep. Smaller, minor bulbs like crocus are fine planted just 3-4 inched deep.  Planting them deeper may prevent some varmints from getting to them and allows for adding winter-hardy pansies over the planting bed.
Choose tools that are comfortable for planting. Bulb planters are great for planting individual bulbs. Look for an auger for the household drill to speed things up a bit. Because I plant my bulbs in clumps of 6-12 bulbs, I generally use my garden shovel for most planting tasks. Plant pointy side up, but don't worry if your not sure which end is up; the bulb will grow towards light regardless.

There are many good websites with wonderful ideas for planting. Click here to view the new website from the folks in the Netherlands called Dig, Drop, Done. They have some videos and a gallery for some added inspiration.
Planting bulbs is easy. Add them to your garden now and you'll be enjoying spring flowers for years to come.

Pumpkin Art

We have some talented people working at Valley View Farms. One of our long-time employees, Carey Wilkerson, is especially artistic.

She personalizes Christmas ornaments in November and December, and creates hand-painted signs for all of our departments. This time of year, Carey also decorates pumpkins. Here are four of them that we presented to local television stations.

The ballerina pumpkin is painted pink. An added tutu and a tiara make this extreme makeover complete!

Talk about about a whopper of a hamburger;the burger and fixin's are made of felt. The lettuce is tissue paper. I love the sesame seeds made from pumpkin seeds.                                                              .

This scary pumpkin is painted black. Those eyes sure are creepy, but scarier yet are the roots. They are made from that spray foam found in the hardware store. Creepy!

My favorite decorated pumpkin is the puppy. Faux fur was used to create the adorable paws, tail and floppy ears. The puppy's muzzle is some type of clay. She is adorable!

Thanks, Carey, for sharing your creativity with us. Now when I pick out my pumpkins, it won't necessarily be for carving.

Fall To-Do list

 Calling all gardeners! Now is the BEST time for several tasks and projects for the home landscape. We've received plenty of rain late this summer. The soil temperatures remain warm even as the air cools. The timing is perfect for transplanting trees, shrubs, perennials and grass seed. And, if you're like a lot of us, most of the planting around the house was completed in spring, providing beautiful blooms and color in April and May but leaving the landscape a little bland right now.
 Here, in no particular order, is a fall to-do list.

• Plant pansies, mums and ornamental cabbage and kale for autumn color in pots and the garden.  

• Renovate the lawn; check our website for some seeding and fertilizing tips.
• Plant spring-flowering bulbs like tulips, daffodils and other colorful flowers.

• Plant perennials, trees and shrubs. They get a chance to be well rooted in time for spring. Look for plants with colorful leaves, late season flowers and attractive bark. Consider trees and shrubs with berries, like pyracantha, hawthorn, beauty berry and various hollies. They are beautiful and the birds love them.  

• Protect houseplants and tropical plants. Be prepared to bring them in before the first frost. Check leaves and stems for insects; spray with horticultural oil or insecticidal soap before moving plants inside. Repot  plants in the spring if necessary. 

• Dig up summer bulbs like dahlias, cannas and caladiums. Store them in a frost free area and replant in spring.
• Visit our water gardening department for information and a handout on how to overwinter your pond. Better yet, attend Tim's seminar on October 8th at 9 o'clock for tips from the expert.
• Tidy up. Recent storms have left branches and leaves in the lawn and garden
• Edge perennial beds.
• Remove spent flowers from daisy-flowered perennials and annuals to keep them flowering for the remainder of the fall season.

• Remove perennial weeds that have taken root in the garden.
• Empty the compost bin. We'll be filling them back up with leaves in no time.
• Keep a journal of successes and challenges in this year's garden. Take some photos to keep with the journal for reminders of the past season.
• Clean bird feeders to get ready for any of our feathered friends that aren't flying south.

Mostly, enjoy the fall. We'll have all the gardening supplies you'll need plus everything to decorate your home for autumn. Pumpkins of all sizes, gourds, Indian corn, corn stalks,and other fall decorations are displayed in abundance outside.

Fall wreaths and garlands, many ornaments for Halloween and our famous Halloween shop are stocked up and ready for visitors.

And, if you want to take a sneak peek at our Christmas display, you might find our elves hard at work.

The Hottest Pepper in the World?

 Buddah's real name is Al Goldenberg. He is a renowned 'chilehead', hosting a website called I Love it Spicy. Buddah reviews chile pepper products, lets others know about upcoming 'chilihead' events and hosts a forum where other like-minded pepper lovers can meet.
Last week, Buddah stopped by Valley View Farms to talk with Kathy and Carrie about hot peppers. Buddah, along with other chile pepper aficianados, had watched the world's hottest pepper designation change at least 3 times last year, going from India, to the UK and finally to Australia. Peppers are measured in Scoville units. The Australian pepper was measured at 1,300,000 Scoville heat units, making it 300,000 units hotter than the Bhut Jolokia pepper. Take a look at the following chart for an idea of just how hot this pepper is. I can hardly handle Jalapenos!

Buddah traced the latest pepper, known as Trinidad Scorpion Butch T's Strain, to a garden center in Cockeysville, MD. You guessed it; the hottest pepper in the world was traced right back to us. It  is our famous Trinidad Scorpion pepper! One of Valley View Farms' founders, Punkey Foard, collected several very hot peppers on his trips to Trinidad and Tobago during his winter vacations over many years. He took  the seed to our greenhouses where we started growing Trinidad Hot Peppers as part of our vegetable transplant offerings a couple of decades ago.Though we've made the claim that Trinidad Scorpion is the hottest pepper in the world, it wasn't until Buddah's interview that we learned it may be recognized by the world's experts for its fiery heat.Click here to watch the interview in its entirety.
Thank you, Buddah. See you in April 2012 when our pepper transplants will be available once again. 

Cherry Dazzle Crapemyrtle

We've all seen the beautiful red, pink, purple and white blooms of crapemyrtles in many yards and landscapes.

Look closely and you'll notice interesting bark patterns on many of the large trees as well. Crapemyrtles, in both tree and shrub forms, will add color from July through most of September. As an added bonus, once established, they are drought tolerant in our area. 

One of our favorite new varieties is called Cherry Dazzle. A dwarf, compact crapemyrtle, it grows just 3-4 feet high. Cherry red blooms add color to garden borders, containers and mass plantings. I love them in perennial borders where their rich, red blooms combine well with all sorts of plants, including ornamental grasses, echinacea, and liriope. Cherry Dazzle continues to add interest in the garden in autumn with its bright red foliage, contrasting beautifully with the rest of the fall garden and landscape.

You'll find many varieties of crapemyrtles ready to plant into gardens and containers now in our nursery. Our helpful signage will indicate height, width and care for each variety that is available.

Photos courtesy Gardener's Confidence Collection