A Fortuitous Happenstance

     As I was gathering together all the supplies needed to plant my herbs I traveled up to nearby Harleysville to purchase some oversize flower pots and some potting soil.  The place was a flurry of activity as others were there with the same intention.  It was a busy Saturday and the roads were crowded with weekend shoppers.  So on the way home I decided to take, in the words of Robert Frost, a road less traveled by.  Going over the back roads of Lower Salford I spied a small sign that simply said "Herb Fest."  I quickly followed the arrow on the sign and it led me to the Heckler Plains Farmstead.

 

 
     To my good fortune I discovered that the historical site was conducting a sale of fresh herbs and blooming plants.  I gladly supplemented the previously purchased herbs with some new varieties, including one I was not familiar with, Pineapple Sage.  I thought it would be a welcome addition to the dill, rosemary, thyme, chives and parsley already in my possession.

 

     When I arrived back home I happily began to set the herbs in my pots and it was not until the job was complete that I came in to investigate just what pineapple sage really was.  Imagine my surprise when I discovered that it is not at all like the sage I have grown in years past and enjoy in a refreshing summer tea.  No, it is quite different all together.  From what I learned it grows quite large, up to 5 feet high and just as wide and sprouts red blooms that attract butterflies and hummingbirds.  It is officially an annual but with some care will bloom year after year and is easily reproduced with cuttings.



     Gee, guess I'll need a bigger pot!