Love.Yarn.Shop.

Having a yarn shop next to the artistic gardening of Lars Shick at Yonder Mountain on Main Street in Bethlehem, makes everyday in the summer both a joy and education.  One day he’s putting in a new stone wall, tucking in chunks of Peach Citrine he recently acquired.  The next day he’s poking little succulents into a rock garden.  Then this morning, on the way to the shop, I spot curved iron rods spanning from the house to the shed, getting ready to support some climbing plants (maybe Hardy Kiwi or Honeysuckle?).  Then the plants!  The native Showy Lady Slipper; an unusual Chinese hydrangea, Deinanthe Caerulea; native Twisted Stalk (Varigated Streptopus); the intersectional Peony, Itoh Peony, a cross between a Tree Peony and a Herbaceous Peony.  Lars is into edibles, also:  he has American Chestnuts, fruit trees, Skirret (a sweet white root crop that was popular in Tudor England), Hardy Kiwis, amongst others.  The rock gardens, the ponds, the chicken coop, even the old bus, make exploring his gardens a requisite when visiting Bethlehem. So if you are my customer, I’ll be asking, “Have you been next door?”