When James Hanselman of Hanselman Landscape needed containers for young nursery stock, he commissioned Jeff Hershey, his friend and a neighboring wood craftsman, with a sustainable option: build the new “grow boxes” from trees that had been removed from a nearby property.

“In keeping with our traditional hand-crafted approach in every aspect of garden care, it seemed fitting that we find a local craftsman to help us build these boxes,” smiles Hanselman.

The photos below show the full-circle journey from live trees, through the milling and assembly processes at Jeff’s lumber mill and workshop, to the final stage–as life-support structures in which saplings can receive nourishment and nurture in the HL nursery, until they are ready for installation in client gardens.

Gladly shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife

. . . quickly fly the years.
One season following another,
laden with happiness and tears.
~ Sheldon Harnick and Lewis Bock Jerrold, from Fiddler on the Roof (musical)

Gratefully shared by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& grateful daily “grace gift” recipient)

Sunrise and sunset over our back patio, grand reminders that I take time to still my racing soul and savor the grace and glory all around me.

“I hope to leave [my children] good health, an education, and possibly even a competence. But what are they going to do with these things if there be no more deer in the hills . . . no more chattering of teal as darkness covers the marshes; no more whistling of swift wings when the morning star pales in the east? And when the dawn-wind stirs through the ancient cottonwoods, and the gray light steals down from the hills over the old river sliding softly past its wide brown sandbars–what if there be no more goose music?”
~ Aldo Leopold (American author, naturalist, conservationist; 1887-1948)

Good news! Geese still glide over Ginkgo in Central Pennsylvania garden; March, 2021.

On the cold, sometimes dreary days when winter and spring seem to be playing an interminable game of hide and seek, how delightful to have the varied shades, textures, and shapes of evergreens to brighten the landscape! Here are a few of my favorites: glossy-leafed ‘Edith Bogue’ Magnolia, brightly- berried ‘Satyr Hill’ Holly, lush-needled Nordmann Fir, and the rare Sciadopitys verticillata (Umbrella Pine). Do you have a favorite evergreen that brightens your winter days? Let me know in the comments!

Contributed by Betty Hanselman
Gardener’s wife (& evergreen enthusiast!)

Success in a garden is from the ground up–literally! The health and beauty of garden plants depend on the soil in which they are planted, so investing in high-quality soil, soil amendments, and the right type of mulch is important and justifiable.

In many locales in Central Pennsylvania, new homes are built on soil that has been depleted of nutrients after many years of farming. This type of soil will inhibit rather than promote plant health. If this is your situation, when you begin to develop your outdoor spaces we advise you to spend the money to add topsoil that is nutrient rich, loosely textured, and as weed-free as possible. Good topsoil will provide the nutrients plants need, allow for adequate water penetration and drainage, and reduce competition from weeds.
If your garden is already established but not thriving, it may be that a fertilization regimen and an irrigation system will correct the nutritional and moisture deficits. Hanselman Landscape provides fertilization, irrigation, and weed control to encourage healthy, robust plant growth.