I spent Arbor Day weekend in the countryside outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, speaking and conducting workshops at Terrain, the new garden center opened by the company that owns Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie, among others. The best word or phrase I can come up with to describe Terrain, besides stunningly beautiful is well-appointed. It is by far the most perfectly organized and detail-oriented garden center I have visited to date. I could have set up a cot in a corner somewhere and moved in for a month, and I would have been comfortable and engaged for the duration. Not only was the overall space beautiful and harmonious, but every single inch seemed to be accounted for.

The effect on my brain was simultaneously relaxing and overwhelming. As a result I took very few pictures, barely enough to provide you with a tour.

This is the outdoor cafe in the early morning before customers arrived. By lunch this place was packed, but you know, it was a special weekend and they had barbecue and beer on tap. For a special treat, I recommend booking a reservation in the fancier cafe area.

I was at Terrain for two days yet I did not have nearly enough time to explore… after all they had brought me out to do a job and that was my primary focus. I’d love to go back again as a regular customer and have the full experience over the course of a full day: slowly meandering among the plants and displays from building to building, followed by lunch in the cafe. When they first told me there was a cafe on site I was sold. Spending hours labouring over plant-buying decision-making is hard work! But the cafe at Terrain doesn’t just serve any old food, they serve GOOD FOOD. Again, I was always either too hungry or too rushed or without camera to take a photo but every meal they prepared for me was delicious and beautifully presented. When I arrived at my hotel after a long day of travel there was a boxed meal waiting for me prepared by the chef. It contained: a microgreens salad topped with seasonal asparagus and Parmesan shavings. The salad dressing was perfect, and not too heavy on the vinegar as is often my complaint with most restaurant salads. This was accompanied by some kind of whitefish (I’m not sure what but it might have been poached) and a side of what I believe was basil-infused oil. There was also a box of toasted baguette slices with herbed butter. I generally try to avoid sugar, but the desert was an espresso-soaked tiramisu presented in a glass jar. How could I NOT eat that? And then I pretty much didn’t sleep that night, but it was worth it.

On day two my lunch contained a similar salad (I requested it again because it was THAT good), although this one had yummy, soft white beans instead of asparagus. There was also a split pea soup served in another glass canning jar and a miniature bread loaf baked and served right in a tiny terracotta pot! I wish I’d got a picture of that but I didn’t have my camera on hand. On Saturday my guests took me out to a local restaurant that featured a 100 mile menu. The food was great but the highlight was actually a Mexican ice cream place called, La Michoacana where I chose the most unusual flavor on the menu, corn ice cream topped with chili powder! Folks, I had corn ice cream in a small town in Pennsylvania! Who knew?

And now I am hungry, having just described food for two paragraphs.

This was where I conducted my workshops. Nice little set-up and the weather was beautiful!

Back to Terrain. While conducting workshops I was introduced to their potting soil, specially prepared for Terrain by Organic Mechanic. It is by far the most beautiful potting soil I have ever used. I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that potting soil. I could not stop running my hands through it. It has the absolute perfect texture and consistency, and is comprised of all of the best ingredients including coir instead of peat, rice hulls, and worm castings. Why can’t someone over here make a prepared potting soil even remotely as good as this one?

Some other highlights I managed to photograph:

The Mushroom House. This is where they do production work preparing mixed containers and the like. Apparently, this area is the mushroom capital of the world and mushrooms were once grown in this little house and several more like it that used to sit on the property. I was especially impressed by the little display food gardens in front.

I’m kicking myself for not buying one of these wooden pots. I’m a sucker for weathered wood. But then I would have had to fit it in my luggage and that was not possible since I avoided baggage mayhem by bringing carry-on only.

This is Tim and Shannon, two Terrain employees who generously helped me out, and showed me around the area. They rule! Also, Tim and his wife own a seed company called Happy Cat Organics, and recently sent me some tomato seeds including a variety called ‘Tim’s Black Ruffles’, a cross between two of my personal favorites, ‘Black Krim’ and ‘Zapotec Pink Pleated’ crossed and stabilized by Tim himself. I have a bunch of seedlings going right now and will be growing it this year! I predict it will become a favourite.

Inside “The Shed”. I’m only showing you this picture because they’ve got those excellent OXO brand watering cans hanging in the foreground. I was so excited to see them in person I might have squealed. Out loud. I would have bought one but I shifted my allegiance to a different, and dare I say, “better” watering can about a month ago.

One of my favorite displays was this box setup outside The Shed showing every kind of mulch and soil amender they had available for purchase.

One of my favourite spots, “Vegetable Alley.” The beans are a bit early, even for Pennsylvania but… They had a really nice assortment of lettuces, and I’ve only recently outed myself as having a small lettuce addiction so I’ll just say that it was kind of my version of heaven.

This is another one of those little charming details that I appreciate. All of the potted plants were displayed in old wooden and mesh trays instead of those ugly plastic things the rest of us have to live with. If only I could find some of these for personal use.

Even the fencing area is beautifully arranged. You can see a hand-painted sign in the background that directs people to the cafe.

A close-up on the sign.

My book on display. Even that was well-presented!

And here’s what I bought. I came out relatively unscathed since I didn’t have a lot of time to shop, can’t take plants over the border, and didn’t have much room in my luggage. I think I’ve left a few odds and ends out, but I am already forgetting what it was. The two seed packets with vintage-inspired illustrations were purchased at Terrain but the others were purchased across the street at Target. I purchased several more than are shown but they have already been opened, sown, and scattered somewhere among my various seed storage methods. We don’t have Target here in Canada so the trip was a bit of cultural anthropology in itself. Shannon and I spent a good hour or more walking up and down the aisles marveling at the curious items and getting high on off-gassing plastics. I also bought water flavored with mint, which I’ve got to say was oddly unpleasant and seemed kind of silly since you can simply add some mint to water to achieve the same effect.

You’ll recognize the old-thymey letter-press cards from my Holiday gift round-up. I’m not sure how the metal globe thing is supposed to be used, but it looked like something I could have fun experimenting with. Amy Goldman’s “The Compleat Squash” was a total score since a friend just recently informed me that it is out of print, and to top it off I got it for half price from the sale section. I was so excited to discover it on sale I mentally patted myself on the back as if I had achieved something miraculous in finding and then purchasing it.