Audrey Lengbeyer is the current President of the Cape St. Claire Garden Club. Twenty-three years ago, Audrey and her husband chose Cape St. Claire to raise their family. It's the small-town atmosphere that made them feel welcome and at home. Audrey invited me into her beautiful yard to talk about our community and of course, gardening.
Photos from the annual plant sale courtesy of Audrey.
Photos of Audrey's garden (taken by Audrey)
Click here to learn more about the Bay Wise Certification program.
Click here so you can learn how to submit a design for the Cape St. Claire Garden Club 50th anniversary.
Deadline August 1st.
Deadline August 1st.
Transcript of conversation:
Audrey: Yeah, Cape St. Claire is the closest thing to our childhood, right? That's why I'm here. This community is amazing. I just feel so at home here. So after this last plant sale, one of our new members came up to me and she said, you know what? I finally feel like I live here now. Like I'm part of something in this community now and I feel at home. I feel like I'm really home. That was like, okay, now I know why I do this. That's why. To make her feel that this is her home. What a compliment, what an honor to be a part of that, right?
My name is Audrey Langbeyer and I've been a Cape resident for 23 years. I'm the current president of the Cape St. Claire Garden Club. My favorite thing about living in Cape St. Claire is how all the people in the community are involved with various things. So many different things. So many clubs and troops and I love Main Beach.
Kara: Yeah. Me too. We can walk to it. We're so lucky.
Audrey:Yeah, we're so lucky. So lucky.
Kara: What's your favorite thing to do in the Cape?
Audrey: Walk to main beach.
Kara: Yes. Yeah. Yeah, me too. Or we'll go down to the oysters now.
Audrey: Right. And into bump into people I know at the shopping center. It's so lovely.
Kara: Yeah. Any trip to the shopping center is double the time you think it's right.
Audrey:And main beach and maybe always like bump into billion people down there. It's the best.
Kara: Where were you born and raised?
Audrey:I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I was raised in East Lansing and Okemos.
Kara: Tell me about your trajectory and how you got to Cape St. Claire.
Audrey: So my husband is professor. And when he was a grad student, he applied to like 100 different schools. And one of them was the US Naval Academy. We all laughed at him like, you at the Naval Academy? But ended up that they wanted him. we picked, he probably got like 10 offers. And we went visiting lots of places. And we really liked Annapolis. Oh, that's so great. And he liked the job.
Kara: And how did you end up in this community?
Audrey: So when we first moved here, we rented for a year over off West Street. And then we spent the year like driving around, looking at neighborhoods, going to yard sales, talking to people. And we saw Cape St. Claire and we loved it.
Kara:What did you love about it?
Audrey: We loved seeing the kids in the ball fields, the kids on their bikes. It just had such a nice feel of like leave it to beaver 50s, you know, people just out talking to each other as opposed to these other communities where you wouldn't even see a person. You'd see the car pulling the driveway into the garage and that's it. Gone. So yeah, we just, we thought we want to raise our kids in this community. It's such a great place to raise kids. the beaches.
Kara: Okay, so let's talk about the garden club. How did you first get involved? Did somebody pull you in or did you know about it ahead of time or online? Tell me that story.
Audrey:I think I just wanted to make friends and I saw the calendar had the garden club and I've always loved plants. My mom's an
avid gardener too. So I grew up gardening and so I thought well let me go check it out you know and the first meeting I went to I actually was pregnant already with Cassia and I had a sonogram appointment scheduled too but I was like so I went to the meeting and then I went I left in the middle of it and the sonogram point was so quick that I went back because I was like you know and so they're like where'd you go and I held up the thing and they you know they were the first people I told that I was pregnant because it was 10 weeks you know And it was so nice just to have people to tell that to, because I didn't know anybody in the community. Right. So that's how I started.
Kara: Oh, I love that. OK, so how many years ago would that be now?
Audrey: 23. Wow. I it was right when I moved here, you know, because I just wanted to meet people.
Kara:OK, so like you found your tribe. Yeah. And you stayed with them for 23 years. And now you're president. Yeah. So the tagline on the website is gardening fun and fellowship. And you've kind of already talked about the fellowship.
It's a lot more than just plants. Yes, completely. So tell me more about that, like about the camaraderie and the friends that you've made.
Audrey: Yeah, it really is about the people. mean, it's just such a lovely group of people. And we were just there for each other. You know, when someone has a loss, we're there and we send them a card. it's just about being together and going up together, going through life together. And people have babies and people get married and people, you know,
Yeah, it's lovely. We haven't had a garden club marriage yet. You know, that would be so fun, wouldn't it?
Kara: It would be amazing. Yeah. who would do the flowers?
Audrey: Yeah, you know, there's a lot of widows in the group, you know, so it's just, it's good to know that we're there for them when they need help and we help each other and you know, so it really is about the people. And we do learn about plants and we're all learning together. That's really the most fun things. Just learning together and experiencing the seasons together.
Kara: I love that. Are there meetings once a month?
Audrey:It's always been a meeting every month, the first Tuesday of the month. And it's in the Cape calendar. So I guess that's how I found it.
Kara: And then at the meetings, you guys have speakers and stuff too, right? So there's an educational component.
Audrey: Yeah, definitely. We have three speakers a year. And then we also do three workshops. So we have more hands -on learning experience. And then we have two potlucks a year. And then we have our fundraiser, the plant sale.
And then we also handle yard of the month and beautification for four different beds in Cape St. Claire.
Kara: So that's a lot. OK, so let's try and break that down a little bit. Let's start with those local projects of the beautification. So tell me about the ones you're responsible for.
Audrey: So we maintain four beds. One is the clubhouse front garden in front of the clubhouse, the two island beds in Green Holly and Cape Sinclair Road, and then the Segree Memorial Park.It's behind the library by the walking path.
Kara: And those four spaces, so have you planted things or perennials or annuals? How does that work? Is it like constantly redoing it every year or just maintaining?
Audrey: It's more maintaining. mean, the clubhouse beds were redone in 2016, I think, and that was a big push. Yeah, we dug it all out and cleaned it all up. But now it's mostly just weeding and watering if it doesn't rain. and we plant some annuals here and there. each bed is separately, it's not coordinated. So each person who's in charge of their own bed, it's really their call. So the Segree garden is interesting because it's a partnership with the county. So the county will help if some, know, so recently they lost their roses in there. And so it was just completely up to them what they wanted to replace them with. And the clubhouse is in partnership with the improvement association. So you know, they have input and they sometimes they fund, you know, when we want to plant annuals or need new plants, something dies.
Kara: Yeah. I'm assuming the same with the two entryways too, right?
Audrey: So that's so those are interesting because they're in the roadway. They have to be under three feet. And so anything that comes above that, people get very nervous about accidents. Right. And so sometimes this challenge to keep that maintained in the heat. It gets so hot and it's not the safest place. So if you're listening, you know, and you drive by, please slow down and please give lots of birth and, you know, stop and say thank you, because that would mean a lot.
Kara: Okay, so another thing that you mentioned was Yard of the Month. One of those groups is in charge. What are they looking for in an award -winning yard?
Audrey: The criteria for Yard of the Month are neatness, design, creativity, including color, texture, and form, and overall appeal. Yeah, so Yard of the Month is like a Cape tradition. I mean, people are crazy about it. We get so many letters when people win. They're like, it makes their day. And people will say, can we please have a Yard of the Month sign to keep so we can, I wanna give it to my husband. Recently someone passed and they wanted a Yard of the Month for her before she, you know, I just can't believe how people care about it so much, you know? Sometimes we get letters like, we can't believe you did this for yard of the month, you know? And I'm always like, wow, people are actually paying attention to this, you know?
Kara: My yard is so much prettier than the one that you picked! haha
Audrey: Or like one time, so we have people who've gotten it over and over and over again, including members.
You do not have to be a member to win. It's just, we drive around, every yard is automatically entered. And people try to nominate people who are like, don't take nominations, it's not based on who you know.
Kara: People are passionate.
Audrey: Yeah, they're really into it.
Kara: I get so excited when I drive by and see the signs. And then I'll slow down and really look and either take ideas or, I wonder how they did that or that must have taken a lot of work. Right, right, yeah. It's so spectacular and so fun. It's just one more thing.
you know, to be grateful for living here.
Audrey: Yeah. Yeah. I never thought of it. It is like the strawberry festival on the July 4th. It's like part of that whole Americana small town.
Kara: No, absolutely. OK, so I know the plant sale was a few weeks ago. Tell me a little bit more about the tradition itself. But I also want you to tell me about you managed to keep it going during the pandemic and how that came about.
Audrey: Yeah. So it's been going as long as I've been in the club. When I first joined, it was like all the plants were a dollar.
We labeled them using popsicle sticks and a Sharpie marker. You know, was very quaint and sweet. And we used to do it out by the guard shack. And then when they, you know, they redid the guard shack. So we went to the field and it's just a much bigger space and fits us better. So it's, we've been there since. And let's see. So during the pandemic, obviously we couldn't hold a gathering, right? It was like against the law to hold a gathering. we brainstormed and I thought, well, let's just take it all virtual. So I built a Shopify site and I had no idea what I was doing. just, know, Shopify has great customer support. So I just winged it and I kind of have fun doing stuff like that, winging and just trying it out and learning as I go. It's how I learn just by doing. So we set it up, we did it in my driveway. We lined the whole thing with shelves, unloaded the trucks right into the driveway.
and then fulfilled orders. So in 2007, we started ordering native and novel perennials from a wholesaler in Pennsylvania. And we call them the red cup plants because we pop them up in the red cups. And so those are always grown right here behind you on this, you know, before the pool's open, it's just covered with lots of plants. So we started back here and those plants went in first. And then my kids ran the box up to the driveway. And then, you know, there the veggie station, the annual station, the Cape perennial station. And then I was up under the oak tree and I would just double check that everything was right. And then we laid them out and they were alphabetized by last name.
Kara: And I think you gave an option of picking up her delivery. I think I was working at the time and I picked delivery and I was like, this is really incredible. Is this going to happen? And sure enough, this lovely woman pulls into my driveway, here are your plants. And it was one of those interactions during the pandemic where you're like yay a person!! A person with plants!
Audrey: Yes, yes, it was so fun. was so, and people were mad about gardening during the pandemic, right? You can't go anywhere. It was our biggest sale ever. Up to that point, it was our, I mean, it was like triple the volume of stuff we had done before. Yeah, people, couldn't go anywhere. They wanted to grow their own food. They wanted to finally had time to get out in the garden. It was magical. Yeah. And people, people were so appreciative and so positive about it.
Kara: But that was really, really impressive and the fact that you pulled that off.
Audrey: So 2020 and 2021 were the pandemic years, totally virtual. then in 22, 23, 24, we did what we call a hybrid sale. So we have the pre -orders and pickups here for big things like trees, shrubs, things like that that we don't want to haul to the field. And then at the field for all the pretty things.
KaraHow does your family react to this being sort of like ground center for all things plant?
Audrey: Well, when they're little, they love it. They think it's all a big party. I mean, my kids all grew up potting these plants and loving on them, watering them. And they all know, they know all the names of the plants. And it's a homeschooler's dream, right? And they all think it's so fun. Like, they've said things to me like, don't pull all the weeds. I want to do the weeding. And ridiculous things you think would only be in a comic strip, you know?
So when they're young, they love it. And even my 22 -year -old, she still really likes it. So she now heads up the red cup. The red cup, sir. I don't even do them anymore. It's all her. By May, by the time the plants leave, we're all like, oh, you know, like enough. But I think if we didn't do it, I think she would miss it.
Kara: OK, so I know from seeing your Facebook posts and from what you've shown me in your lovely home that you're all about sustainability and especially reusing. So tell me more about that philosophy and how that plays into gardening for you and your work with the club.
Audrey: Sure. And I don't think it's just me. I think there's a lot of people who are drawn to gardening who share those values. Absolutely. So there's a lot of people in our club who are even more enthusiastic about it than I am. From my perspective, we're in a world awash with things, too many things. Every one of us feels like we have too many things, right? Right. So in that world, why not reuse as much as we can? So everyone buys plants.
The pots are obviously reusable. And then from a budgetary standpoint, why would we buy them if we can reuse people's? So all that requires is someone to be the drop point. The ones we don't use, we take to the Providence Center. So some of our garden club volunteers help with that. That's so great. I think sometimes you ask for blinds too, right? For labeling. Yes. So I mentioned the popsicle sticks. So I thought, this is ridiculous. Surely there's something better to write on
popsicle sticks. So then it was craft sticks, the wider ones, and then we found the blinds. And those are perfect because they're smooth and white. And for a while, we were sharpening on those. And my daughter would sit there in the driveway and write like 50 daylily labels or hasta labels. And then we got a printer. And we just love reusing things instead of creating more waste.
Kara: Do you? I'm sure the answer is yes. But you compost at home? Yes, I do. Tell me a little bit about that.
I've tried once or twice before and failed miserably. Okay, tell me about your composting process.
Audrey: Well, the first thing is that compost happens, you know, it just rots. And the only reason it's a problem is that it smells or attracts pests or, know, so really there's so many ways to do it. It's just a matter of finding one that doesn't bother you pest -wise and smell -wise, right? So like some people, there's all different ways. People just make a pile in their garden. You know, they get one of those things from the county and they just dump stuff in it. I have a double drum composter.
Kara: I have one too.
Audrey: It's like up on a stand that too so I can rotate it and so the key thing with that is that it's always about the carbon to nitrogen ratio That's the thing. So you need a ton of carbon which is dried leaves paper hay and Then just a tiny bit of nitrogen which includes kitchen waste grass clippings or right grass clippings stink to high heaven But you need a lot of leaves to balance it out. So that's the key is Getting enough of that.
Yeah, so I go around in the fall and I collect people's leaves and I particularly love the ones that are chipped because they decompose so much faster. And I pile them by the composter because I don't have enough leaves just for myself for all the kitchen waste I have. And I also use them to mulch my beds. So I go around collecting leaves. And I've met people, my fellow leaf hoarders at the curb because they're like, these are mine. I'm like, OK. It's so funny to, you have a fellow leaf hoarder friend. My pile. Right, So I just pile them up back there and I just, you every time I flip the composter, I fill the bin almost completely with dried leaves because as it decomposes, it gets smaller. So you start with almost all leaves and you just keep adding the kitchen waste to it. But what you get out of that though is that rich, you know, like dark compost, but it's so good for everything. Yeah. And I also take the garden club.
compost in here and I've also composted stuff for like other Cape organizations who are trying to, know, compostable plates and stuff and I have put them in there. And actually the garden club, we have another really wonderful volunteer, Tracy Millward -Bourne and she took the club zero waste. We don't have any disposable plates, cups, silverware, napkins, anything anymore. It's all reusable. She launders them, washes them and we compost, you know, any food waste
So that's her. So it's not just me. Tracy, Jean, many other people in the club. I think gardeners in general share those values.
Kara: Well, I think you're, I want to say tied to the earth, but that's really not quite right. But it is kind of what I'm trying to say, right? You're more even an awareness that maybe the rest of us going around in our lives don't appreciate as much. And so I think that's what it is. It's an appreciation of what it takes to make things grow. And if the earth isn't healthy,
then it won't grow. So if you're a gardener, you're the first person to get that.
Audrey: Right, you're in the garden all day long in the sunshine, playing in the dirt, and you just feel very tied to the earth. Where we live, especially so close to the water, our soil is sandy. Yes, very sandy. Very sandy. So what are some tips or tricks for those of us who want to start gardens in this incredibly sandy soil? Yeah, so soil is definitely the most important thing about gardening, 100%. People say there's a saying,dig a $25 hole and put in a $2 plant rather than a $2 hole and a $25 plant. And that means adding amendment. So it's just all about adding organic matter to the soil. And that can be, can go to the store and you can buy compost or composted manure and put that in the planting hole. So that's a really quick fix. If you're planning a bed for the long term, the best thing to do is to first dump a ton of wood chips on like years before, because it breaks down. So this garden has probably had like 30 loads, and I mean like Richard's tree service size loads of wood chips dumped on it, because every year I have, I ask them to dump it in my driveway and we schlep it all over and dump it in the beds, and it breaks down over time, you know, so it doesn't stay there. That's why I can keep doing it. And it just makes the soil darker and richer. And all that compost holds moisture and nutrients and microorganisms and worms, and that's what feeds the plants. So if you have time, the best thing to do is to start with wood chips or leach, leaves, anything, anything that'll decompose your home composter, but you just can't make that kind of volume. There's a Baywise initiative in the garden club. think like we got up to 16 or 17 of the members got Baywise certified, including the What does that mean Baywise? So it's run by the master gardener program. They'll send a team out to talk with you and just walk through your yard. And there's this whole checklist. They call it the yardstick.
Kara: Okay, you've got a really like thick binder with lots of cool things.
Audrey: Yeah, so this is my garden and this is when we had the clubhouse done and it's like they give you inches on the yardstick and if you have 30, then you're considered bay -wise. And it's really simple stuff like do you pick up your pet waste? Do you have a rain barrel? Do you clear the gutters in front of your house? Really, like you're probably already doing so many things that are positive for the bay, but the main thing is soaking the water in and not letting it just run off and pollute the bay.pet waste and all that stuff. and people use like chemical fertilizers. Yeah, exactly. it's, know, people, they, people always feel intimidated, but they're super lovely. They, and it's really more a learning process than an evaluation, you know. Do they come out for free? It's totally free. The only thing that's not free is if you want the sign that says I'm Baywise certified, you have to pay for that. But the service is totally free.
Kara: Okay, so we were talking about anniversaries and next year is the 50th anniversary of the Garden Club. Yes. In March. Tell me a little bit about your marking the occasion. There's an art contest. Tell me.
Audrey: So a few years ago we had a Garden Club t -shirt for the first time. It was drawn by a member at the time. It had milkweed in it. got milkweed on it. So everyone loved it, you know. We all got our shirts and then we sold the rest to the public. And so we thought, well, one thing we can do is definitely have a 50th anniversary t-shirt.
And we thought, well, let's open it to the community of Cape St. Claire. Anyone who wants to submit art can. So that's the deadline's August 1st. So we hope some of you artists out there will pick up a pen and paper and send us something. How do they submit? They can just send a JPEG or a PDF to our email. So if people want to join the Garden Club, how do they find you and how can they sign up? And who is invited to sign up? So we're open to anybody. Obviously, we're here mostly for Capers. Our voting members are Capers.
But you can just Google the Cape St. Clair Garden Club and you'll find our blog and you'll find our email address and you just shoot us an email or you just show up first Tuesday of the month at the clubhouse. Yeah. And we're super welcoming. So you just come and fill out a membership form. It's $10 a year per family. So if you know if a couple wants to join just $10. Yeah. And we have a lot of fun.
Kara: And then if you have time would you be amenable to walking around and showing your garden. Yeah. OK. Good. Good.
Okay, so we're recording. so let's start here. Okay. So we're next to your pool and you've got this beautiful deck that you've built yourself and these are potted plants. Yep. So are these ones that you do, you renew every single year?
Audrey: Some of the things in them come back but mostly renew every year. Yeah. These plants are tender but you can pinch the tips and put them in water. What does that mean tender? They can't survive winter.
They need to be taken inside or, but if you, I don't know if you know this trick, but you can pinch the tops off of coleus, sweet potato vine, and some others, and put them in water, and the roots will just grow in the water, and you just grow them in a sunny window, and then as soon as the chance of frost has passed, like in April, you can plant them out again. I had no idea. Yeah. Sometimes annuals will throw seed, and they will grow from seed. So for example, this is an entire pot full of seedlings from Salocia, which is the feather plume. Annual and I had one in there I guess and the whole pots full of them So those are from seed this one survives so sometimes things that are sold as annuals will survive a mild winter and you know the climate's warming so we've actually been recategorized as Zone eight now we used to be zone seven and you've got lilies. Yeah And those come back year after year and you've got some herbs too. Yes So this is one thing that's great about pots is that they always get full Sun
because you can put them exactly where you want them. So as my garden matures, you can see there's just a ton of mature trees and things have gotten shadier and shadier. And so I've gotten more and more into pots because I can grow things that I can't find room for in the yard. Do you cook with them? Yes. Yes, we love fresh herbs. And I recently learned how to make chimichurri sauce. That's our new favorite thing. It is so yummy. My god. Yeah. On everything. Yeah.
Kara: OK, so take me wherever you want to go. OK. Sure.
Audrey: So one of the things I learned in England was I went to this other garden called Beth Chateau's garden. So Beth Chateau was way ahead of her time and she really taught us about putting plants where they actually want to be. Her garden, one section is totally gravelly and dry as a bone and then another section is practically a bog. And so that was her contribution. And so when I got home, I planted this lavender in the crack. between the pool deck and the screen room. Literally a six inch crack, look at it. It's gorgeous. It's so happy there and I've killed so many lavenders out there and so if you want to plant lavender and there's some other plants too that just love hot sandy rosemary is like that. Yes. You can literally plant it in a crack and you can't tell now because the sun, it's morning right, but the sun, it gets full western sun. It's gorgeous, I mean it's like three feet across and two feet high.
and hundreds and hundreds of flowers. It's beautiful. happy there, and it's literally the worst soil. So this is my sunny, this is the sunniest spot in my yard, and also the wettest. So the water comes down this way. So this has actually got a lot of native plants in it, because they love full sun and wet soil.
Kara" OK, so how long have you lived in this house? told me. 23. 23 OK, what did this yard look like when you first moved in?
Audrey: So the fence was there. Yes. It was very sandy, weedy, you know, there wasn't a lawn. And then all around the perimeter were those multi -flora rose vines. Yeah. Thorny, but deciduous. during the winter, you could just see right through. So the first thing we did, I was nine months pregnant with Cassia and we went to the Eastern Shore and we bought 50 little Leland Cypress trees that were two feet high. And we tore out, I mean, I didn't, my husband tore
all the stuff around the perimeter. And then we planted these dinky dink little trees. grow fast though. Yeah, and I literally have a picture of Cassie, know, baby Cassie on this tiny tree. Yeah, and they do grow really quickly. Yeah, so those are them. Okay, so you put the trees in first. Right. Then what went next? Then I went through a phase where I would like have an enthusiasm every year. So one year it was Japanese maples and I found this retailer on the West Coast that specialized in Japanese maples. And I picked
12 of them and I had them sent and I planted those and then I had a camellia kick. What's a camellia? I don't know what that is. So it's that evergreen with the darker leaves, the round darker leaves. Oh, I see it. Yep, and they're all around, very shade tolerant and they bloom. The neat thing about them is they bloom like October through March. Okay. So in a time where you have no other flowers, you have camellias and they are covered in bees.
You know, and I have a couple Magnolias. I love Magnolias. And then I have a friend over on Riverview who collects conifers. I don't know what that is. Conifers are trees that don't bloom. You know what I mean? Like the pines, spruces, those. He gave me this golden bald cypress. You see how the foliage is gold? And he gave me that gold conifer by the umbrella. my gosh. Yeah.
Kara: When I think of gardening, I don't think of trees.And now I'm rethinking what I think of gardening.
Audrey:Yeah. We all start that way. Like flowers. Yes. Oh, so pretty, pretty, pretty flowers, you know? And then when you join a garden club, you meet someone who's been gardening for 20 years. And she says, Audrey, it's not about the flowers. It's about the foliage. you ponder that for a decade. And then it starts to make sense. And then you start playing with it. And then you become that person who's been around for 20 years. We all start like that.
Kara: But you're so thoughtful about all of this greenery and it's so gorgeous, because we're standing in your yard, we're looking at the house, looking outward, and there's plenty of color, right, to my left. But then there's all these different shades of green and all these different textures, and I love textures, architecture or fabric. And it's purposeful, but it's also artistic in a way, right?
Audrey:It's like painting with plants. That's what it is. Yeah, instead of pigments, you're using living things to paint with.
Kara: Yeah, and they each have a shape. I mean, this whole side of the yard looks like an impressionist painting. It's so beautiful. So we do have colorful blooms, and it is the end of June. So tell me right now what is blooming. What am I seeing?
Audrey: So this pink one is Phlox Kim. It's a native, and it's a very dwarf, which I love. And I struggle with that because plants that are short almost often get eaten by the plants that are tall. So I struggle to keep the front of the border low, you know, I have to constantly push back. Do you see the feathery stuff in there? Yeah. That is a native plant, Swamp Sunflower, very quick spreading. OK. So every spring I push her back, know. Yep. Stay back there. Yes. Because she gets very tall as well. She's beautiful. She blooms in October, one of the last natives to bloom. Yeah, but I also have, since I have such a deep yard, the sight lines are really, really long. So if I only planted things like Phlox Kim, you wouldn't be able to see them back there.
Does that make sense? absolutely. So I also have, this is the common orange daylily, which is on many people's hate list. why? She's also an aggressive spreader, and she's not native. So some people don't approve of that. Got it. Here, she competes with everything. You can see she can't take over. She's barely holding on herself. Absolutely. So doesn't bother me. Yeah, I love her too. And then the hydrangeas, of course. There's the mop heads that are blue.
And then this is the native smooth hydrangea. The white? Yep, the white one is the native.
Kara: So what about shape? So this kind of has this wonderful kind of curvy, not straight line. How did you determine where everything should go?
Audrey: Yeah, I mean, just kind of winged it and learned as I went. And now I do do garden design for other people. But in the beginning, I didn't know anything. And I'm really into self -learning. That's why I love doing projects and learning. And I want my kids to do that as well, learn by doing.
So, I mean, if you're a new beginner, my advice is just go out there and have fun. You'll learn. You'll learn without even realizing you're learning. And the point is to have fun, right? So just go out there, try your best, and you you can move stuff. you know, people often are afraid to plant something because they think it's in the wrong place. You can move it later if you don't like it. And, you know, so the best times to move plants are like March, April, October, November. Those are my favorite times. Some people say May. For me, that's pushing it. It's getting too hot. So in those two seasons, you can dig up anything and dig a new hole and move it over there. So just go out and experiment and if you don't like it, you can move it later.
Kara: I love that. I wish everything in life was like that. Yeah. Like, don't worry, you can redo it. Right. so great. Where is your... I'm guessing your composting is over there because... You want to walk that way? Okay, so when you said you had a double barrel drum and I said I do too. Okay, mine is...
one sixteenth the size of yours. Yours must be five feet by three feet at least. Yeah. How many gallons is that? Do you know? don't know. It's big. This is a 55 gallon bucket. So maybe each side is 55 gallons. That's what I would say. OK, that is large.
Is that a big effort to turn that sucker?
Audrey: No, you can try it. Do you want to try it? So the reason it's that tall is both so the crank is up higher and also you can put a wheelbarrow right underneath. If you want to try it, you're welcome to. sure. Do you mind walking back there?
Kara:
Alright, so there's this big oak tree. Big oak tree. Yeah. And a big crank. And I feel like this is going to take a lot of woman power here. that's not that bad. But you have to go all... Okay, now it's bad. Holy crap, Audrey. I can't even get it around. Yeah.
Audrey: And you spin that whole thing around. You spin that handle eight times and the big drum will turn one
Kara: OH my god, I only did once. Okay, that's my workout for the day. Yeah. Holy cannoli. That's amazing.
Audrey: So the compost gets heavy when it's sitting there decomposing. Yes. And then when you're trying to get it past that hump, you know, where it's laying there, it can be hard. Absolutely.
Kara: Okay, that's what I'm going to say. I'm going to say it was the heavy compost and that's why I couldn't get it around.
Audrey: I have delegated this to my daughters as well. my gosh. It is hard work. It's so big. Yeah.
Kara: But for a garden this size, it completely makes sense.
Audrey: Yeah, well you're making stuff you would normally have to buy, right? You have to go pay for it or you can make your own. Absolutely. And I need a lot of it.
Kara: Well, you need a ton. Yeah. Where is, is it a water barrel that has the frogs yeah, yeah. Let's go over here. OK. So beautiful. This is my fig tree. Do you get fruit? Yeah. Yeah, it's the most reliable fruiting thing in this climate. I just planted some blueberries. We'll see how that goes. Raspberries are also really easy.
They fruit very reliably. Okay, here's my frog barrel. hi, frog barrel. Do you see the big one? I think he's starting to get feet. Where are you looking? If I get too close, they swim down. I see him. see him? Yep. So the biggest one. (audio fades out.)
Kara:
Thanks to Audrey for the chat and fantastic tour of her beautiful garden. Check out more about the Cape St. Claire Garden Club on our website, capestclairepodcast.com. This podcast is produced by me, Kara McGurk -Allison. Theme song by me, Mike Lyxx, and William Allison. Be sure to like and share this episode. Tell all your friends to take a listen, because we all love living in Cape St. Claire.
Audrey: Yeah, Cape St. Claire is the closest thing to our childhood, right? That's why I'm here. This community is amazing. I just feel so at home here. So after this last plant sale, one of our new members came up to me and she said, you know what? I finally feel like I live here now. Like I'm part of something in this community now and I feel at home. I feel like I'm really home. That was like, okay, now I know why I do this. That's why. To make her feel that this is her home. What a compliment, what an honor to be a part of that, right?
My name is Audrey Langbeyer and I've been a Cape resident for 23 years. I'm the current president of the Cape St. Claire Garden Club. My favorite thing about living in Cape St. Claire is how all the people in the community are involved with various things. So many different things. So many clubs and troops and I love Main Beach.
Kara: Yeah. Me too. We can walk to it. We're so lucky.
Audrey:Yeah, we're so lucky. So lucky.
Kara: What's your favorite thing to do in the Cape?
Audrey: Walk to main beach.
Kara: Yes. Yeah. Yeah, me too. Or we'll go down to the oysters now.
Audrey: Right. And into bump into people I know at the shopping center. It's so lovely.
Kara: Yeah. Any trip to the shopping center is double the time you think it's right.
Audrey:And main beach and maybe always like bump into billion people down there. It's the best.
Kara: Where were you born and raised?
Audrey:I was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and I was raised in East Lansing and Okemos.
Kara: Tell me about your trajectory and how you got to Cape St. Claire.
Audrey: So my husband is professor. And when he was a grad student, he applied to like 100 different schools. And one of them was the US Naval Academy. We all laughed at him like, you at the Naval Academy? But ended up that they wanted him. we picked, he probably got like 10 offers. And we went visiting lots of places. And we really liked Annapolis. Oh, that's so great. And he liked the job.
Kara: And how did you end up in this community?
Audrey: So when we first moved here, we rented for a year over off West Street. And then we spent the year like driving around, looking at neighborhoods, going to yard sales, talking to people. And we saw Cape St. Claire and we loved it.
Kara:What did you love about it?
Audrey: We loved seeing the kids in the ball fields, the kids on their bikes. It just had such a nice feel of like leave it to beaver 50s, you know, people just out talking to each other as opposed to these other communities where you wouldn't even see a person. You'd see the car pulling the driveway into the garage and that's it. Gone. So yeah, we just, we thought we want to raise our kids in this community. It's such a great place to raise kids. the beaches.
Kara: Okay, so let's talk about the garden club. How did you first get involved? Did somebody pull you in or did you know about it ahead of time or online? Tell me that story.
Audrey:I think I just wanted to make friends and I saw the calendar had the garden club and I've always loved plants. My mom's an
avid gardener too. So I grew up gardening and so I thought well let me go check it out you know and the first meeting I went to I actually was pregnant already with Cassia and I had a sonogram appointment scheduled too but I was like so I went to the meeting and then I went I left in the middle of it and the sonogram point was so quick that I went back because I was like you know and so they're like where'd you go and I held up the thing and they you know they were the first people I told that I was pregnant because it was 10 weeks you know And it was so nice just to have people to tell that to, because I didn't know anybody in the community. Right. So that's how I started.
Kara: Oh, I love that. OK, so how many years ago would that be now?
Audrey: 23. Wow. I it was right when I moved here, you know, because I just wanted to meet people.
Kara:OK, so like you found your tribe. Yeah. And you stayed with them for 23 years. And now you're president. Yeah. So the tagline on the website is gardening fun and fellowship. And you've kind of already talked about the fellowship.
It's a lot more than just plants. Yes, completely. So tell me more about that, like about the camaraderie and the friends that you've made.
Audrey: Yeah, it really is about the people. mean, it's just such a lovely group of people. And we were just there for each other. You know, when someone has a loss, we're there and we send them a card. it's just about being together and going up together, going through life together. And people have babies and people get married and people, you know,
Yeah, it's lovely. We haven't had a garden club marriage yet. You know, that would be so fun, wouldn't it?
Kara: It would be amazing. Yeah. who would do the flowers?
Audrey: Yeah, you know, there's a lot of widows in the group, you know, so it's just, it's good to know that we're there for them when they need help and we help each other and you know, so it really is about the people. And we do learn about plants and we're all learning together. That's really the most fun things. Just learning together and experiencing the seasons together.
Kara: I love that. Are there meetings once a month?
Audrey:It's always been a meeting every month, the first Tuesday of the month. And it's in the Cape calendar. So I guess that's how I found it.
Kara: And then at the meetings, you guys have speakers and stuff too, right? So there's an educational component.
Audrey: Yeah, definitely. We have three speakers a year. And then we also do three workshops. So we have more hands -on learning experience. And then we have two potlucks a year. And then we have our fundraiser, the plant sale.
And then we also handle yard of the month and beautification for four different beds in Cape St. Claire.
Kara: So that's a lot. OK, so let's try and break that down a little bit. Let's start with those local projects of the beautification. So tell me about the ones you're responsible for.
Audrey: So we maintain four beds. One is the clubhouse front garden in front of the clubhouse, the two island beds in Green Holly and Cape Sinclair Road, and then the Segree Memorial Park.It's behind the library by the walking path.
Kara: And those four spaces, so have you planted things or perennials or annuals? How does that work? Is it like constantly redoing it every year or just maintaining?
Audrey: It's more maintaining. mean, the clubhouse beds were redone in 2016, I think, and that was a big push. Yeah, we dug it all out and cleaned it all up. But now it's mostly just weeding and watering if it doesn't rain. and we plant some annuals here and there. each bed is separately, it's not coordinated. So each person who's in charge of their own bed, it's really their call. So the Segree garden is interesting because it's a partnership with the county. So the county will help if some, know, so recently they lost their roses in there. And so it was just completely up to them what they wanted to replace them with. And the clubhouse is in partnership with the improvement association. So you know, they have input and they sometimes they fund, you know, when we want to plant annuals or need new plants, something dies.
Kara: Yeah. I'm assuming the same with the two entryways too, right?
Audrey: So that's so those are interesting because they're in the roadway. They have to be under three feet. And so anything that comes above that, people get very nervous about accidents. Right. And so sometimes this challenge to keep that maintained in the heat. It gets so hot and it's not the safest place. So if you're listening, you know, and you drive by, please slow down and please give lots of birth and, you know, stop and say thank you, because that would mean a lot.
Kara: Okay, so another thing that you mentioned was Yard of the Month. One of those groups is in charge. What are they looking for in an award -winning yard?
Audrey: The criteria for Yard of the Month are neatness, design, creativity, including color, texture, and form, and overall appeal. Yeah, so Yard of the Month is like a Cape tradition. I mean, people are crazy about it. We get so many letters when people win. They're like, it makes their day. And people will say, can we please have a Yard of the Month sign to keep so we can, I wanna give it to my husband. Recently someone passed and they wanted a Yard of the Month for her before she, you know, I just can't believe how people care about it so much, you know? Sometimes we get letters like, we can't believe you did this for yard of the month, you know? And I'm always like, wow, people are actually paying attention to this, you know?
Kara: My yard is so much prettier than the one that you picked! haha
Audrey: Or like one time, so we have people who've gotten it over and over and over again, including members.
You do not have to be a member to win. It's just, we drive around, every yard is automatically entered. And people try to nominate people who are like, don't take nominations, it's not based on who you know.
Kara: People are passionate.
Audrey: Yeah, they're really into it.
Kara: I get so excited when I drive by and see the signs. And then I'll slow down and really look and either take ideas or, I wonder how they did that or that must have taken a lot of work. Right, right, yeah. It's so spectacular and so fun. It's just one more thing.
you know, to be grateful for living here.
Audrey: Yeah. Yeah. I never thought of it. It is like the strawberry festival on the July 4th. It's like part of that whole Americana small town.
Kara: No, absolutely. OK, so I know the plant sale was a few weeks ago. Tell me a little bit more about the tradition itself. But I also want you to tell me about you managed to keep it going during the pandemic and how that came about.
Audrey: Yeah. So it's been going as long as I've been in the club. When I first joined, it was like all the plants were a dollar.
We labeled them using popsicle sticks and a Sharpie marker. You know, was very quaint and sweet. And we used to do it out by the guard shack. And then when they, you know, they redid the guard shack. So we went to the field and it's just a much bigger space and fits us better. So it's, we've been there since. And let's see. So during the pandemic, obviously we couldn't hold a gathering, right? It was like against the law to hold a gathering. we brainstormed and I thought, well, let's just take it all virtual. So I built a Shopify site and I had no idea what I was doing. just, know, Shopify has great customer support. So I just winged it and I kind of have fun doing stuff like that, winging and just trying it out and learning as I go. It's how I learn just by doing. So we set it up, we did it in my driveway. We lined the whole thing with shelves, unloaded the trucks right into the driveway.
and then fulfilled orders. So in 2007, we started ordering native and novel perennials from a wholesaler in Pennsylvania. And we call them the red cup plants because we pop them up in the red cups. And so those are always grown right here behind you on this, you know, before the pool's open, it's just covered with lots of plants. So we started back here and those plants went in first. And then my kids ran the box up to the driveway. And then, you know, there the veggie station, the annual station, the Cape perennial station. And then I was up under the oak tree and I would just double check that everything was right. And then we laid them out and they were alphabetized by last name.
Kara: And I think you gave an option of picking up her delivery. I think I was working at the time and I picked delivery and I was like, this is really incredible. Is this going to happen? And sure enough, this lovely woman pulls into my driveway, here are your plants. And it was one of those interactions during the pandemic where you're like yay a person!! A person with plants!
Audrey: Yes, yes, it was so fun. was so, and people were mad about gardening during the pandemic, right? You can't go anywhere. It was our biggest sale ever. Up to that point, it was our, I mean, it was like triple the volume of stuff we had done before. Yeah, people, couldn't go anywhere. They wanted to grow their own food. They wanted to finally had time to get out in the garden. It was magical. Yeah. And people, people were so appreciative and so positive about it.
Kara: But that was really, really impressive and the fact that you pulled that off.
Audrey: So 2020 and 2021 were the pandemic years, totally virtual. then in 22, 23, 24, we did what we call a hybrid sale. So we have the pre -orders and pickups here for big things like trees, shrubs, things like that that we don't want to haul to the field. And then at the field for all the pretty things.
KaraHow does your family react to this being sort of like ground center for all things plant?
Audrey: Well, when they're little, they love it. They think it's all a big party. I mean, my kids all grew up potting these plants and loving on them, watering them. And they all know, they know all the names of the plants. And it's a homeschooler's dream, right? And they all think it's so fun. Like, they've said things to me like, don't pull all the weeds. I want to do the weeding. And ridiculous things you think would only be in a comic strip, you know?
So when they're young, they love it. And even my 22 -year -old, she still really likes it. So she now heads up the red cup. The red cup, sir. I don't even do them anymore. It's all her. By May, by the time the plants leave, we're all like, oh, you know, like enough. But I think if we didn't do it, I think she would miss it.
Kara: OK, so I know from seeing your Facebook posts and from what you've shown me in your lovely home that you're all about sustainability and especially reusing. So tell me more about that philosophy and how that plays into gardening for you and your work with the club.
Audrey: Sure. And I don't think it's just me. I think there's a lot of people who are drawn to gardening who share those values. Absolutely. So there's a lot of people in our club who are even more enthusiastic about it than I am. From my perspective, we're in a world awash with things, too many things. Every one of us feels like we have too many things, right? Right. So in that world, why not reuse as much as we can? So everyone buys plants.
The pots are obviously reusable. And then from a budgetary standpoint, why would we buy them if we can reuse people's? So all that requires is someone to be the drop point. The ones we don't use, we take to the Providence Center. So some of our garden club volunteers help with that. That's so great. I think sometimes you ask for blinds too, right? For labeling. Yes. So I mentioned the popsicle sticks. So I thought, this is ridiculous. Surely there's something better to write on
popsicle sticks. So then it was craft sticks, the wider ones, and then we found the blinds. And those are perfect because they're smooth and white. And for a while, we were sharpening on those. And my daughter would sit there in the driveway and write like 50 daylily labels or hasta labels. And then we got a printer. And we just love reusing things instead of creating more waste.
Kara: Do you? I'm sure the answer is yes. But you compost at home? Yes, I do. Tell me a little bit about that.
I've tried once or twice before and failed miserably. Okay, tell me about your composting process.
Audrey: Well, the first thing is that compost happens, you know, it just rots. And the only reason it's a problem is that it smells or attracts pests or, know, so really there's so many ways to do it. It's just a matter of finding one that doesn't bother you pest -wise and smell -wise, right? So like some people, there's all different ways. People just make a pile in their garden. You know, they get one of those things from the county and they just dump stuff in it. I have a double drum composter.
Kara: I have one too.
Audrey: It's like up on a stand that too so I can rotate it and so the key thing with that is that it's always about the carbon to nitrogen ratio That's the thing. So you need a ton of carbon which is dried leaves paper hay and Then just a tiny bit of nitrogen which includes kitchen waste grass clippings or right grass clippings stink to high heaven But you need a lot of leaves to balance it out. So that's the key is Getting enough of that.
Yeah, so I go around in the fall and I collect people's leaves and I particularly love the ones that are chipped because they decompose so much faster. And I pile them by the composter because I don't have enough leaves just for myself for all the kitchen waste I have. And I also use them to mulch my beds. So I go around collecting leaves. And I've met people, my fellow leaf hoarders at the curb because they're like, these are mine. I'm like, OK. It's so funny to, you have a fellow leaf hoarder friend. My pile. Right, So I just pile them up back there and I just, you every time I flip the composter, I fill the bin almost completely with dried leaves because as it decomposes, it gets smaller. So you start with almost all leaves and you just keep adding the kitchen waste to it. But what you get out of that though is that rich, you know, like dark compost, but it's so good for everything. Yeah. And I also take the garden club.
compost in here and I've also composted stuff for like other Cape organizations who are trying to, know, compostable plates and stuff and I have put them in there. And actually the garden club, we have another really wonderful volunteer, Tracy Millward -Bourne and she took the club zero waste. We don't have any disposable plates, cups, silverware, napkins, anything anymore. It's all reusable. She launders them, washes them and we compost, you know, any food waste
So that's her. So it's not just me. Tracy, Jean, many other people in the club. I think gardeners in general share those values.
Kara: Well, I think you're, I want to say tied to the earth, but that's really not quite right. But it is kind of what I'm trying to say, right? You're more even an awareness that maybe the rest of us going around in our lives don't appreciate as much. And so I think that's what it is. It's an appreciation of what it takes to make things grow. And if the earth isn't healthy,
then it won't grow. So if you're a gardener, you're the first person to get that.
Audrey: Right, you're in the garden all day long in the sunshine, playing in the dirt, and you just feel very tied to the earth. Where we live, especially so close to the water, our soil is sandy. Yes, very sandy. Very sandy. So what are some tips or tricks for those of us who want to start gardens in this incredibly sandy soil? Yeah, so soil is definitely the most important thing about gardening, 100%. People say there's a saying,dig a $25 hole and put in a $2 plant rather than a $2 hole and a $25 plant. And that means adding amendment. So it's just all about adding organic matter to the soil. And that can be, can go to the store and you can buy compost or composted manure and put that in the planting hole. So that's a really quick fix. If you're planning a bed for the long term, the best thing to do is to first dump a ton of wood chips on like years before, because it breaks down. So this garden has probably had like 30 loads, and I mean like Richard's tree service size loads of wood chips dumped on it, because every year I have, I ask them to dump it in my driveway and we schlep it all over and dump it in the beds, and it breaks down over time, you know, so it doesn't stay there. That's why I can keep doing it. And it just makes the soil darker and richer. And all that compost holds moisture and nutrients and microorganisms and worms, and that's what feeds the plants. So if you have time, the best thing to do is to start with wood chips or leach, leaves, anything, anything that'll decompose your home composter, but you just can't make that kind of volume. There's a Baywise initiative in the garden club. think like we got up to 16 or 17 of the members got Baywise certified, including the What does that mean Baywise? So it's run by the master gardener program. They'll send a team out to talk with you and just walk through your yard. And there's this whole checklist. They call it the yardstick.
Kara: Okay, you've got a really like thick binder with lots of cool things.
Audrey: Yeah, so this is my garden and this is when we had the clubhouse done and it's like they give you inches on the yardstick and if you have 30, then you're considered bay -wise. And it's really simple stuff like do you pick up your pet waste? Do you have a rain barrel? Do you clear the gutters in front of your house? Really, like you're probably already doing so many things that are positive for the bay, but the main thing is soaking the water in and not letting it just run off and pollute the bay.pet waste and all that stuff. and people use like chemical fertilizers. Yeah, exactly. it's, know, people, they, people always feel intimidated, but they're super lovely. They, and it's really more a learning process than an evaluation, you know. Do they come out for free? It's totally free. The only thing that's not free is if you want the sign that says I'm Baywise certified, you have to pay for that. But the service is totally free.
Kara: Okay, so we were talking about anniversaries and next year is the 50th anniversary of the Garden Club. Yes. In March. Tell me a little bit about your marking the occasion. There's an art contest. Tell me.
Audrey: So a few years ago we had a Garden Club t -shirt for the first time. It was drawn by a member at the time. It had milkweed in it. got milkweed on it. So everyone loved it, you know. We all got our shirts and then we sold the rest to the public. And so we thought, well, one thing we can do is definitely have a 50th anniversary t-shirt.
And we thought, well, let's open it to the community of Cape St. Claire. Anyone who wants to submit art can. So that's the deadline's August 1st. So we hope some of you artists out there will pick up a pen and paper and send us something. How do they submit? They can just send a JPEG or a PDF to our email. So if people want to join the Garden Club, how do they find you and how can they sign up? And who is invited to sign up? So we're open to anybody. Obviously, we're here mostly for Capers. Our voting members are Capers.
But you can just Google the Cape St. Clair Garden Club and you'll find our blog and you'll find our email address and you just shoot us an email or you just show up first Tuesday of the month at the clubhouse. Yeah. And we're super welcoming. So you just come and fill out a membership form. It's $10 a year per family. So if you know if a couple wants to join just $10. Yeah. And we have a lot of fun.
Kara: And then if you have time would you be amenable to walking around and showing your garden. Yeah. OK. Good. Good.
Okay, so we're recording. so let's start here. Okay. So we're next to your pool and you've got this beautiful deck that you've built yourself and these are potted plants. Yep. So are these ones that you do, you renew every single year?
Audrey: Some of the things in them come back but mostly renew every year. Yeah. These plants are tender but you can pinch the tips and put them in water. What does that mean tender? They can't survive winter.
They need to be taken inside or, but if you, I don't know if you know this trick, but you can pinch the tops off of coleus, sweet potato vine, and some others, and put them in water, and the roots will just grow in the water, and you just grow them in a sunny window, and then as soon as the chance of frost has passed, like in April, you can plant them out again. I had no idea. Yeah. Sometimes annuals will throw seed, and they will grow from seed. So for example, this is an entire pot full of seedlings from Salocia, which is the feather plume. Annual and I had one in there I guess and the whole pots full of them So those are from seed this one survives so sometimes things that are sold as annuals will survive a mild winter and you know the climate's warming so we've actually been recategorized as Zone eight now we used to be zone seven and you've got lilies. Yeah And those come back year after year and you've got some herbs too. Yes So this is one thing that's great about pots is that they always get full Sun
because you can put them exactly where you want them. So as my garden matures, you can see there's just a ton of mature trees and things have gotten shadier and shadier. And so I've gotten more and more into pots because I can grow things that I can't find room for in the yard. Do you cook with them? Yes. Yes, we love fresh herbs. And I recently learned how to make chimichurri sauce. That's our new favorite thing. It is so yummy. My god. Yeah. On everything. Yeah.
Kara: OK, so take me wherever you want to go. OK. Sure.
Audrey: So one of the things I learned in England was I went to this other garden called Beth Chateau's garden. So Beth Chateau was way ahead of her time and she really taught us about putting plants where they actually want to be. Her garden, one section is totally gravelly and dry as a bone and then another section is practically a bog. And so that was her contribution. And so when I got home, I planted this lavender in the crack. between the pool deck and the screen room. Literally a six inch crack, look at it. It's gorgeous. It's so happy there and I've killed so many lavenders out there and so if you want to plant lavender and there's some other plants too that just love hot sandy rosemary is like that. Yes. You can literally plant it in a crack and you can't tell now because the sun, it's morning right, but the sun, it gets full western sun. It's gorgeous, I mean it's like three feet across and two feet high.
and hundreds and hundreds of flowers. It's beautiful. happy there, and it's literally the worst soil. So this is my sunny, this is the sunniest spot in my yard, and also the wettest. So the water comes down this way. So this has actually got a lot of native plants in it, because they love full sun and wet soil.
Kara" OK, so how long have you lived in this house? told me. 23. 23 OK, what did this yard look like when you first moved in?
Audrey: So the fence was there. Yes. It was very sandy, weedy, you know, there wasn't a lawn. And then all around the perimeter were those multi -flora rose vines. Yeah. Thorny, but deciduous. during the winter, you could just see right through. So the first thing we did, I was nine months pregnant with Cassia and we went to the Eastern Shore and we bought 50 little Leland Cypress trees that were two feet high. And we tore out, I mean, I didn't, my husband tore
all the stuff around the perimeter. And then we planted these dinky dink little trees. grow fast though. Yeah, and I literally have a picture of Cassie, know, baby Cassie on this tiny tree. Yeah, and they do grow really quickly. Yeah, so those are them. Okay, so you put the trees in first. Right. Then what went next? Then I went through a phase where I would like have an enthusiasm every year. So one year it was Japanese maples and I found this retailer on the West Coast that specialized in Japanese maples. And I picked
12 of them and I had them sent and I planted those and then I had a camellia kick. What's a camellia? I don't know what that is. So it's that evergreen with the darker leaves, the round darker leaves. Oh, I see it. Yep, and they're all around, very shade tolerant and they bloom. The neat thing about them is they bloom like October through March. Okay. So in a time where you have no other flowers, you have camellias and they are covered in bees.
You know, and I have a couple Magnolias. I love Magnolias. And then I have a friend over on Riverview who collects conifers. I don't know what that is. Conifers are trees that don't bloom. You know what I mean? Like the pines, spruces, those. He gave me this golden bald cypress. You see how the foliage is gold? And he gave me that gold conifer by the umbrella. my gosh. Yeah.
Kara: When I think of gardening, I don't think of trees.And now I'm rethinking what I think of gardening.
Audrey:Yeah. We all start that way. Like flowers. Yes. Oh, so pretty, pretty, pretty flowers, you know? And then when you join a garden club, you meet someone who's been gardening for 20 years. And she says, Audrey, it's not about the flowers. It's about the foliage. you ponder that for a decade. And then it starts to make sense. And then you start playing with it. And then you become that person who's been around for 20 years. We all start like that.
Kara: But you're so thoughtful about all of this greenery and it's so gorgeous, because we're standing in your yard, we're looking at the house, looking outward, and there's plenty of color, right, to my left. But then there's all these different shades of green and all these different textures, and I love textures, architecture or fabric. And it's purposeful, but it's also artistic in a way, right?
Audrey:It's like painting with plants. That's what it is. Yeah, instead of pigments, you're using living things to paint with.
Kara: Yeah, and they each have a shape. I mean, this whole side of the yard looks like an impressionist painting. It's so beautiful. So we do have colorful blooms, and it is the end of June. So tell me right now what is blooming. What am I seeing?
Audrey: So this pink one is Phlox Kim. It's a native, and it's a very dwarf, which I love. And I struggle with that because plants that are short almost often get eaten by the plants that are tall. So I struggle to keep the front of the border low, you know, I have to constantly push back. Do you see the feathery stuff in there? Yeah. That is a native plant, Swamp Sunflower, very quick spreading. OK. So every spring I push her back, know. Yep. Stay back there. Yes. Because she gets very tall as well. She's beautiful. She blooms in October, one of the last natives to bloom. Yeah, but I also have, since I have such a deep yard, the sight lines are really, really long. So if I only planted things like Phlox Kim, you wouldn't be able to see them back there.
Does that make sense? absolutely. So I also have, this is the common orange daylily, which is on many people's hate list. why? She's also an aggressive spreader, and she's not native. So some people don't approve of that. Got it. Here, she competes with everything. You can see she can't take over. She's barely holding on herself. Absolutely. So doesn't bother me. Yeah, I love her too. And then the hydrangeas, of course. There's the mop heads that are blue.
And then this is the native smooth hydrangea. The white? Yep, the white one is the native.
Kara: So what about shape? So this kind of has this wonderful kind of curvy, not straight line. How did you determine where everything should go?
Audrey: Yeah, I mean, just kind of winged it and learned as I went. And now I do do garden design for other people. But in the beginning, I didn't know anything. And I'm really into self -learning. That's why I love doing projects and learning. And I want my kids to do that as well, learn by doing.
So, I mean, if you're a new beginner, my advice is just go out there and have fun. You'll learn. You'll learn without even realizing you're learning. And the point is to have fun, right? So just go out there, try your best, and you you can move stuff. you know, people often are afraid to plant something because they think it's in the wrong place. You can move it later if you don't like it. And, you know, so the best times to move plants are like March, April, October, November. Those are my favorite times. Some people say May. For me, that's pushing it. It's getting too hot. So in those two seasons, you can dig up anything and dig a new hole and move it over there. So just go out and experiment and if you don't like it, you can move it later.
Kara: I love that. I wish everything in life was like that. Yeah. Like, don't worry, you can redo it. Right. so great. Where is your... I'm guessing your composting is over there because... You want to walk that way? Okay, so when you said you had a double barrel drum and I said I do too. Okay, mine is...
one sixteenth the size of yours. Yours must be five feet by three feet at least. Yeah. How many gallons is that? Do you know? don't know. It's big. This is a 55 gallon bucket. So maybe each side is 55 gallons. That's what I would say. OK, that is large.
Is that a big effort to turn that sucker?
Audrey: No, you can try it. Do you want to try it? So the reason it's that tall is both so the crank is up higher and also you can put a wheelbarrow right underneath. If you want to try it, you're welcome to. sure. Do you mind walking back there?
Kara:
Alright, so there's this big oak tree. Big oak tree. Yeah. And a big crank. And I feel like this is going to take a lot of woman power here. that's not that bad. But you have to go all... Okay, now it's bad. Holy crap, Audrey. I can't even get it around. Yeah.
Audrey: And you spin that whole thing around. You spin that handle eight times and the big drum will turn one
Kara: OH my god, I only did once. Okay, that's my workout for the day. Yeah. Holy cannoli. That's amazing.
Audrey: So the compost gets heavy when it's sitting there decomposing. Yes. And then when you're trying to get it past that hump, you know, where it's laying there, it can be hard. Absolutely.
Kara: Okay, that's what I'm going to say. I'm going to say it was the heavy compost and that's why I couldn't get it around.
Audrey: I have delegated this to my daughters as well. my gosh. It is hard work. It's so big. Yeah.
Kara: But for a garden this size, it completely makes sense.
Audrey: Yeah, well you're making stuff you would normally have to buy, right? You have to go pay for it or you can make your own. Absolutely. And I need a lot of it.
Kara: Well, you need a ton. Yeah. Where is, is it a water barrel that has the frogs yeah, yeah. Let's go over here. OK. So beautiful. This is my fig tree. Do you get fruit? Yeah. Yeah, it's the most reliable fruiting thing in this climate. I just planted some blueberries. We'll see how that goes. Raspberries are also really easy.
They fruit very reliably. Okay, here's my frog barrel. hi, frog barrel. Do you see the big one? I think he's starting to get feet. Where are you looking? If I get too close, they swim down. I see him. see him? Yep. So the biggest one. (audio fades out.)
Kara:
Thanks to Audrey for the chat and fantastic tour of her beautiful garden. Check out more about the Cape St. Claire Garden Club on our website, capestclairepodcast.com. This podcast is produced by me, Kara McGurk -Allison. Theme song by me, Mike Lyxx, and William Allison. Be sure to like and share this episode. Tell all your friends to take a listen, because we all love living in Cape St. Claire.