It Only Happens Once a Year: Spring in the South Mountain region of PA and MD

(4/1) The long winter in the South Mountain region of Pennsylvania and Maryland is finally at an end to the relief of all. Many of the small family businesses and historical venues on the Gettysburg Wine and Fruit Agritourism Trail have events lined up for April sure to please the gardeners, runners, hikers, historians, bakers and artists in the area who have a touch of spring fever.

Carol Weiser of Weiser’s Greenhouse in York Spring, Pennsylvania spent many of those snowy days in her greenhouses planting seeds and transplanting flower plugs so that all would be ready for their April opening. The scent of flowers in bloom and a riot of color on the tables will surround you as you wander from one greenhouse to another looking at the variety of bedding and vegetable plants. Hanging baskets of weeping petunias for sunny sites give way to baskets of impatiens and ivy grown for shady porches and decks. Hanging baskets filled with petunias, million bells, ivy geraniums (pelargoniums) and lantana create a wave of texture and color as you walk down the greenhouse aisle. A specialty of the house is Al’s Pouches, full of cascading flowers to place where traditional baskets won’t work.

Weiser’s Greenhouse opened in 1985 and continues to be a family owned and operated business with family members involved in all aspects of the growing season from seed to sale. Knowledgeable family members are easy to find and will help answer questions and make suggestions for your particular garden and flower needs. The experience of going to a greenhouse where the plants are cultivated and grown, where healthy plants are the norm and not the exception, and where your questions are welcomed and answered by a business owner like Carol is sure to bring the joy of gardening – even if just a hanging basket or two – back into your life.

The extreme cold of the winter months in the South Mountain region may have caused damage to some established shrubbery beds, rose bushes and perennial herbs. Boyer Nurseries & Orchards has been a family owned and operated business in Biglerville, Pennsylvania since 1900, when W.W. Boyer recognized the need for locally sourced fruit trees for area growers. The Garden Center, which began as a sideline 50 years ago to help busy farmers find a rose bush or two for their wives, is now a well stocked nursery business. Plan ample time for your visit to stroll through the hundreds of varieties of azaleas, rhododendrons, flowering shrubs, vines, perennials, evergreens, shade, fruit and flowering trees. Those rose bushes that encouraged the development of the Garden Center decades ago are still an important part of Boyer’s nursery: they now have over one thousand varieties of roses to choose from. Don’t forget your camera when you head out to visit this member’s Garden Center, which is surrounded by acres of fruit trees and nestled next to the South Mountain. Their Garden Center motto speaks volumes about what makes small family businesses such dependable businesses to shop from: Boyer’s - where quality, variety and a fair price really mean something!

If April showers get in the way of flower and plant shopping, take advantage of the classes offered by various members on the Trail in Biglerville. Hollabaugh Brothers Fruit Farm and Market is offering a class on making desserts in their on-site commercial kitchen April 18. Four generations of farmers have worked this fruit farm, and each generation brings about their own change. The bakery and classes are the gift of generation number four for all to enjoy. If learning to create artisanal breads with fresh, whole grain flours interests you, explore the offerings at Oyler’s Organic Farm and Market workshop April 11 in their on-site commercial kitchen to experience the joy of baking bread as well as making perfect pie crusts. Farm families have always diversified to create a steady source of income throughout the year as crops are seasonal. These two family farms show how diversification on the farm satisfies two needs: the farmer is able to have a product to sell in the winter and spring months while the consumer is able to experience the joy of learning in a casual and enjoyable environment.

While rich in agricultural product and history, the South Mountain region is also home to a variety of artists and artisans who work in an array of mediums to create their interpretation of the landscape that surrounds them. Village Artisans Gallery in Boiling Springs offers a demonstration series, Artists in Action, where a temporary studio is set up in the gallery for an artist at work. Both entertaining and enlightening about the process of making some "thing" into art, the series helps to introduce artists and their work to residents of the region. In a similar vein, McKesson House in Fairfield offers classes whereby attendees learn how to create a new look for old furniture, creating a whole new look for something worn and old with Five and Divine’s Chalk Painting workshops. Through this process resources already used for furniture get recycled back into use in a new and beautiful way. In a similar vein, McKesson House will give two Essential Oils classes in April, teaching how Essential oils, the natural aromatic compounds found in the seeds, bark, stems, roots, flowers, and other parts of plants, are used for medicinal and therapeutic benefits. In this way a natural resource becomes a useful product.

Historians in the South Mountain region can take a Spring ramble with Franklin County’s Spring into History Ramble on April 18. Three of the Trail’s historical venues are a part of this event: Conococheague Institute in Mercersburg, the Allison Antrim Museum in Greencastle, and the Franklin County Old Jail Museum House. Each of these venues will showcase a piece of history of the region on this ramble. The Conococheague Institute will have an open house with living history interpreters as well as a basketry class that day. In addition, heirloom seeds from the Seed Savers Exchange: non-hybrid, untreated, non-GMO, organic seeds will be available for sale in the gift shop for the summer garden.

The Allison Antrim Museum will highlight the Underground Railroad in Franklin County; on exhibit will be a slave collar and the story of the man forced to wear it as a slave before he was set free. The Franklin County Old Jail Museum, built in 1818 and a survivor of the Burning of Chambersburg in 1864, holds two centuries of history within its walls. Just down the street is the Mary Ritner boarding house, another Underground Railroad site, which served as John Brown’s northern headquarters during the raid on Harper’s Ferry in the summer of 1859. These are just three of the many stops available for free on April 18. History that influenced a nation right here in the South Mountain region of Pennsylvania and Maryland.

Hikers, bikers and runners enjoy the scenic highways and byways, trails and parks of the South Mountain region. Two events of note will take place on the Trail, rain or shine in April with two members’ events: the Flannery’s Pub Run in Mercersburg on April 18 and the 6th annual Ironmaster’s Challenge benefitting in part Ironmaster’s Mansion, an historic venue on the Trail, on April 26. For the Flannery’s Pub Run, participants can choose from either a 5K run or the 1/2 Marathon (13.1 miles). The course starts in Mercersburg and travels through the agricultural back country to finish in Greencastle. The 5K run starts in Greencastle and finishes at the Marathon finish line. For those who enjoy the challenge of the terrain of the South Mountain, there is the Ironmaster’s Challenge. Participants get to pick between two tracks: the 50K Ultra or the 15K Challenge. Both of these tracks will provide the same amazing vista views, grueling ascents, spring wildflowers, rock scrambles, rushing streams and placid lakesides through Pine Grove Furnace State Park and Michaux State Forest.

The Gettysburg Wine and Fruit Trail is committed to promoting and supporting small family farms and businesses in the South Mountain region of Pennsylvania and Maryland; in supporting the work of those who work to protect and maintain the historical treasures and jewels of the South Mountain region; and in encouraging residents and visitors alike to visit and explore the Trail which follows the South Mountain from Jefferson, Maryland to Dillsburg, PA; from Carlisle, PA to Hagerstown, Maryland.