Best Kept Secrets Tour

Sure, Lancaster County is ALL about the shopping. There's the outlet malls, the Amish 'stuff' stores, but there's one kind of shopping that's been kept secret for years. Where do the locals go? Where do they find the best stuff?

It's your lucky day! I'm going to tell you about the Best Kept Secrets Christmas Tour. This 'tour' is set up like a home or garden tour where each stop is a unique, It takes place December 3rd thru the 12th.

Springtime (Finally!)

Today is the day! One of my favorite places has opened for business for the year. Perfect Pots Container Gardens is my 'go to' place for the perennials that I plant around the Inn. Yes, I could easily go to HD or the 'L' place or another big-box store. But those places aren't likely to have the quality and service that I've come to enjoy at Perfect Pots. There's even a place where you can bring your own pots, baskets or containers and fill them right there! What a cool idea! The owner, Laura Lapp provides an area with tools, soil, gloves and additives (fertilizer and insect control if you need it). Bring your empty containers, buy just the right amount of plants and take home beautiful, healthy works of art! 

My Happy Place

Beer Near Here

I'll bet you didn't know that in the state of Pennsylvania, there are more than 100 breweries, providing some 60,000 jobs. That's not only a huge economic impact, but it provides beer-lovers with a lot of choices. I'll also venture to say that you have no idea which county in Pennsylvania has the most breweries. Well, you can probably guess... Lancaster.

How fortunate for us and our guests! The furthest away is probably  Stoudt's in Adamstown or Union Barrel Works in Reamstown. One of our favorites is more local, Lancaster Brewing Company (I'm partial to the Strawberry Wheat) 

In addition, there's Appalachian Brewing in Lititz; Iron Hill and Spring House (Taproom in Lancaster and Brewing Company in Conestoga);  Bube's in Mount Joy;  Rumspringa Brewing Company in Intercourse; JoBoy's and Swashbuckler Brewing Company in Manheim (at the PA Renaissance Faire) and St. Boniface Craft Brewing in Ephrata .

For beer-lovers, this should keep you occupied for at least a week!

Local Flowers

I LOVE plants! Each spring, I can hardly wait to get out and start digging in my window boxes, hanging baskets and flower beds. This year, because of the warmer weather we had early in April, the urge hit sooner than usual, but inside projects were still not complete and there were guests to attend to. So, the first opportunity I got to pull on my garden gloves and get out my tools was late last week.

This year, I approached things a little differently. For the past few years, I've gone 'nursery hopping' with fellow innkeepers from the Artist's Inn, Flowers & Thyme and The Harvest Moon. However, due to crazy schedules, we weren't able to get together this year. So, I was on my own. Time and budget were important factors to consider.

A few miles away from The Australian Walkabout Inn is a little place called Perfect Pots Container Gardens. Yes, it's a nursery and greenhouse like so many multitude of others here in Lancaster County, but it's just a little different. Not only is it locally owned and operated, but it provides a service like no other place that I know of. I actually took my hanging baskets and window boxes into the shop, filled them there with the plants suggested by owner Laura Lapp, and brought them home. Laura even supplied some extra potting soil, fertilizer and insect repellent. Best of all, I got to leave the mess behind (ok I did clean up after myself - habit, you know) I brought my wonderful creations home this morning after Laura kept them safe from the threatening frosty night temps over the weekend.

You can even drop your containers (pots, baskets, boxes, whatever!) at Perfect Pots Container Gardens and Laura will fill them for you, while keeping in mind the light and watering requirements, desired color presentation and, most importantly, your budget.

Recently, we joined the Lancaster County Chamber of Commerce's Think Local initiative. By joining, we've agreed to:

• Think local first before making purchases;
• Employ local people;
• Contribute to the local tax base; 
• Support the local community

I can't think of a better way to support my local community! I get beautiful accents for my B&B AND I get the satisfaction of knowing that I helped someone else put dinner on their table. Thank you, Laura!