Rose Month Sale of The Roses at the End of the Road

My Book

June is Rose Month and I haven’t celebrated at all – so far - but I will begin the celebration with a Special Sale Price for The Roses at the End of the Road. For all orders I receive  by June 30 the cost will be $12 with no tax or shipping charge. Click here for ordering information

The Roses at the End of the is not a how-to book although I do include some basic information. The most basic information I give is to choose roses for your garden that are disease resistant and hardy. Hardy in the sense that the roses don’t need a lot of fussing. I have never had time for fussing with any plant, not even a rose. The book will introduce you to my neighbors and the adventures we have in our gardens.  There is Elsa Bakalar whose husband was willing to take his rifle and go to any lengths to preserve her garden from invaders, 85 year old Mabel who was  willing to round up the cows on my lawn and Rachel who invited me to dig a rose that has proved to have as much stamina as all the old farm wives in town, women I can only hope to emulate.

I never expected to be known as The Rose Lady, but the roses at the end of the road brought me so much pleasure, and I have been fortunate enough to be able to share that pleasure with my neighbors and friends. We had a wedding among the roses – just what daughter Kate dreamed of the day I planted my first rose. The Rose Walk has been my invitation to talk to garden clubs and others about the pleasures to be found in the garden. I even got to speak at the Massachusetts Horticultural Society last year. What an honor! And what fun to talk with all those enthusiastic gardeners.

I will also be offering a free copy of the  book, in a drawing on June 24. All you have to do is leave a comment on this post and tell me about your roses – or why you don’t  grow roses.  All comments must be left by midnight on June 23. On the morning of June 24 a winner will be chosen at random. Once I have the winner’s address the book will go out, inscribed as the winner wishes.

June is Rose Month, and here at the End of the Road we are celebrating.  Don’t forget, The Annual Rose Viewing will be held on Sunday, June 30 from 1-4 pm and I hope those in the area will join us on the Rose Walk, and in the Cottage Ornee for cookies and lemonade.

Applejack, will greet you first at the Rose Viewing

Bloom Day on June 15, 2013

Potted Annuals on the Piazza

In order to beat the promised two (more) days of heavy rain, I dashed out  to get photos for Bloom Day just  as the rain began on Thursday. I’ve potted up many of the annuals: geraniums, fuschia, petunias, snapdragons, blue and white lobelia, and rosemary. I still have a few that have to be put in the ground.

Stocks in the Herb Bed

These stocks were a gift from a friend. I didn’t totally realize how big the clump would get, and I certainly hadn’t counted on the rain beating them down over the lilies, thalictrum and parsley.

Siberian irises

These blue Siberian irises bloom at the eastern end of the Herb Bed, but also in the Southern Lawn Bed, and in the field. I think I threw a thinned out clump in the field years ago. That spot is damp and the irises took root and continue to thrive in less than idea conditions. Since then I have taken other thinned clumps and put them along the driveway/road. Some of them have taken quite well. We moved a lot of daylilies early this spring and set those clumps along the road as well.  With all  the rain we have had I think they may take root. I am hopeful.

Campanula ‘Joan Elliottt’

Some plants are real troopers.  ‘Joan Elliott is beaten down, too, but she continues to bloom in the Lawn Bed, and in a weedy spot near our hazel nut trees.

Miss Canada Lilac

The Miss Canada lilac has no real fragrance, but she is putting on a great show this year. I think she has liked all the rain.  All the other lilacs are finished.

Salvia ‘May NIght’

Salvia ‘May Night’ is standing tall in spite of wind and rain.

Rugosa ‘Agnes’

‘Agnes’ is slowly taking hold  on the Rose Bank. She is just one of the many rugosas here at the End of the Road. Others beginning to bloom are Dart’s Dash and Scabrosa.

‘Blanc Double de Coubert’ rugosa

All rugosas  are very hardy. The Rugosa albas that grow at the top of the Sunken garden in rocky soil choked with weeds come through with amazing stamina every year, but this popular white rugosa has taken a beating from ice and winter, but it looks like it may recover this year.

Rugosa ‘Sitka’

‘Sitka’ was planted two years ago and it looks very good this year. She is named after the town in Alaska where she was first found.

Rose from Woodslawn Farm in Colrain

I just love this sturdy old rose. I received a root that has thrived and is spreading. It is loaded with these sweet little pink flowers  with big golden hearts.

Harrison’s Yellow rose

Harrison’s Yellow is not quite as vigorous as the pink rose from Woodslawn Farm but it has the same fine foliage on thin spiny branches.

Peony Buds

Usually at least half the peonies are blooming by now, but this cold wet spring I only have buds. There will be a good show, but not until later in the month – which is fine, because the Annual Rose Viewing this year will be on Sunday, June 30,1-4 pm.  The Rose Viewing (our Garden Open Today event) is always on the last Sunday in June, so it has never been this late. Even so, the peonies should still be looking very good on the 30th.

Ox eye daisies

All through June I have been admiring roadside daisies, and was happy to see a clump come up in our lawn. They’ll be cut down this weekend when we mow the whole lawn – including old daffodil foliage.

Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day hosted by Carol on May Dreams Gardens has provided us all with a great way to record our garden’s bloom season, and see what is blooming all over our great land.

Two Gardens on the Whately Garden Tour – June 15

Patio pond at Nicole & Joe Pietraszkiewicz’s garden

The Garden Tour Season is well begun. Next Saturday, June 15, the Whately Garden Tour sponsored by the Historical Society includes 5 five diverse Whately gardens that will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine. There are woodland gardens, gardens that reflect other cultures, cottage gardens and gardens that welcome all kinds of wildlife.

A Garden for Family and Friends

Joe and Nicole Pietraszkiewicz

Last week I visited Nicole and Joe Pietraszkiewicz  who bought a newly built house set in the woods 35 years ago.  Nowadays, that house sits amid lawns and bowers, with a sunny deck, and a stone patio that includes a tiny pond edged with plants. Nicole said “ We didn’t know what we were doing when we moved here. We had no grand plan for the garden; it just developed.”

For many years the couple was busy with their three daughters and all their activities and did not spend too much time thinking about gardens. However, almost immediately after moving, there was a storm that brought a tree down on their boat, and grazed the house. It was clear that trees needed to be removed.

Trees were cleared slowly and shade gave way to sun for lawns and flowers. The deck and large stone patio are surrounded by flower beds. This is the summer garden, planted with all manner of sun loving perennials, garden phlox, liatris, campanulas, columbine, bleeding heart, cranesbills, bee balm and more. There are interesting grasses, and shrubs that enclose the patio.

I was particularly taken by the fragrant Olympia lilac, that blooms later than other lilacs in a shade of deep purple. Other flowering shrubs include a magnificent Rose of Sharon, and butterfly bushes.

“It all developed slowly,” Nicole said. “All trial and error.” She never thought it would be fun, but as we left the summer garden through one of the two arches twined with clematis that Joe built, and into the autumn garden, it was clear that she has indeed had fun. She smiled and said, “I have ideas and then Joe makes them come true.” A small hesitation before she added, “Of course, he has some ideas of his own, too.” She also made sure to give him credit for all the stone work, and the pond that includes a pump, exactly like the one at her grandparents’ house when she was a girl.

This is a wonderful garden, clearly built for sociability, for enjoying friends, and family, most especially including six grandchildren.

 A Garden for Butterflies

Bill and Joe’s planting in a stone outcropping

Another garden on the Whately Garden Tour has a different terrain and a different approach.  Bill Brenner and Joe Wysinski are both veterinarians and both are fascinated by the natural world. Their garden moves down a rocky slope to a stream and pergola.

Brenner is a past president and current editor of the Massachusetts Butterfly Club (www.massbutterflies.org) and their garden is planted with flowers that attract and support butterflies. He explained that they even allow the ‘weed’ lamb’s quarters in the garden because it is a host plant for the sooty wing black skipper.

In addition to the lamb’s quarters they grow columbine, bee balm, trumpet honeysuckle, agastache, 25 species of salvia, turtlehead, Echinacea, coreopsis, liatris, queen of the prairie, ox eye daisies and zinnias. Violets are grown because they are a host plant for the endangered silver-bordered fritillary. It would be impossible to name all the useful plants in this very floriferous garden. Even the stone outcroppings provide a place for low plantings.

The garden also includes trees and shrubs left by the previous owners. Blueberry bushes and apple trees feed them as well as all the pollinators.

Butterflies are not the only pollinators that make use of this rich garden. Brenner and Wysinski have identified at least a half dozen species of bumblee bee that visit the garden, including mason bees and cuckoo bees. “We try to identify them, just because it’s fun,” Brenner said.

Their passion for butterflies has led them to caring for all pollinators, those that are beautiful, and those that are barely visible.  They use no sprays or chemicals in their garden. For them the garden is all about sustaining life.

For me garden tours are all about the pleasure of seeing how many ways people approach their landscapes, and the many kinds of plants that can be used to create different effects and moods. Garden tours provide two of my favorite things, new information and inspiration. Both will be on offer in Whately June 15^th.

Tickets for the Whately Garden Tour can be reserved by calling Barbara Drollette at 413-665-4818. They are also available at Lasalle Florists and Bay State Perennial Farm, Whately( $12 in advance, $15 day-of-tour). Ticket holders will receive a 10% discount on plant purchases at Lasalle’s and Bay State on the day-of-tour. The Whately Historical Society Museum at the Milk Bottle, 218 Chestnut Plain, will be open on June 15, 10-3pm for ticket sales and viewing of exhibits.

A Warning About Impatiens

I also want to pass on a warning. All spring I have been hearing about a disease that is killing impatiens. These plants are still available in garden centers and they may be fine, but gardeners should know there is a risk. I was in touch with Tina Smith, UMass Extension Floriculture Specialist, and this is what she told me. “Impatiens Downy Mildew is a new disease in home gardens that kills garden impatiens. Although impatiens may be free from disease when you plant them, the plants can become infected by disease spores that spread on wind currents or from overwintering spores in the ground from infected plants last year. There is no control for this disease once plants are infected. No other plants are susceptible, however all impatiens walleriana are susceptible, which includes double impatiens, seed, vegetative, hanging baskets and hybrids with I. walleriana such as  ‘Fusion’ series. It will also infect wild impatiens (Jewel weed). Gardeners are encouraged to plant alternative shade plants such as New Guinea impatiens, begonias, lobelia, torenia and coleus. New Guinea impatiens (Impatienshawkeri) and SunPatiens® are not affected.” For a fact sheet with pictures see “Impatiens Downy Mildew in Home Gardens” at http://extension.umass.edu/floriculture/”

Moosewood in the Woods, Moose in the Field

Moosewood AKA Striped Maple

Yesterday we took a (wet) walk in the woods and saw  this moosewood tree. It is more properly known as a striped maple, and more properly still as Acer pensylvanicum. It is a small understory tree, very tolerant of shade, and has very large leaves.

Young Moose

Late in the afternoon, there was a flash of brown passing my window. I ran outside to see what it was. A moose. A young moose, who only stopped briefly to pose and let me get this photo.  Though I saw them both in one day, they are otherwise unrelated.

To see what else is (almost) wordless this Wednesday click here.

An Unusual Rock Garden on the Forbes Library Garden Tour

A rock garden

The Forbes Library Garden Tour descripton of this garden included a ‘rock garden’. This is not the kind of rock garden I expected, but it made a great edge between the road and the ‘real’ rock garden that is comprised of native plants, and larger stones. I thought it resembled a dry river bed. Though not intended to support flowers, it is possible to see some tiny wild flowers making themselves at home in this unusual rock garden.

The full rock garden

The dry river bed, and the real rock garden surrounding a large tree make up most of the front yard in this suburban street. The owner of this garden said she had been devoted to reducing lawn for 40 years! There is a bit of lawn. The property backs up onto a woodland where deer wander and the lawn helps reduce ticks. An important consideration.

Rocky dripline

The same type of rocks are used for the roof driplines . A nice touch. And only one of the nice touches in this beautiful garden.

Do you have a rock garden? Of any kind?

Honeybees in the Air

Honeybees at Warm Colors Apiary Bee Yard

Honeybees are in the air, literally and figuratively. A friend, Edward Maeder, who just moved to an old house in Greenfield suddenly saw clouds of honeybees and saw that a swarm had settled into the barn attached to his house. He raced to visit Don Conlon of Warm Colors Apiary to find someone who could help him. A local beekeeper who had also been at the Apiary returned with Maeder and said that he and a friend would remove the swarm. There is an old beekeepers’s adage: A swarm in May is worth a load of hay/ A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon/ But a swarm in July ain’t worth a fly.

However, before the swarm could be collected, the bees moved into the wall of the house. A little research revealed that two years ago another swarm of bees had been removed from that wall. Though the bees had been removed whatever honeycomb and honey they had made had not been removed. The new wandering swarm smelled the old honeycomb and moved right in. Local beekeepers are always happy to be called in to collect a swarm, especially in May.

My Experience With Honeybees

My husband and I had a similar experience. Our first spring in Heath we set up two beehives right in back of the house. People had advised against this because of the local bears who were known to make quick work of a hive. I thought bears would not come so near the house. Wrong again, Pat.

Though there was very little for them to enjoy, bears came two weeks later and tore the hives apart. We realized we’d have to put beekeeping aside until we figured out a good way to protect the hives. In the meantime we put the hive remnants, with whatever honeycomb remained, in a corner of our old barn. A couple of years later we saw that honeybees had been attracted the broken hives by the fragrance of honeycomb and set up housekeeping. We just let them stay there. Unfortunately, they were destroyed along with the hives when our barn was hit by lightning in 1990.

A couple of weeks ago Nan Fischlein and I gave a tour of the Bridge of Flowers to three first grade classes from the Discovery School at Four Corners. They had been studying bridges and pollinators and the Bridge provided the perfect example for both studies. The classes are in the process of designing and planting a butterfly garden.

Butterflies and bees are both important pollinators. Cross pollination is vital for many crops. All the orchardists in the area treasure their honeybees, and hope the weather will cooperate to give the bees lots of nectar and pollen, and therefore the orchardists lots of apples, pears, peaches and plums. Many farmers around the country bring in truckloads of beehives to pollinate their crops. Honeybees and other pollinators are vital to our food supply. It is good that children are being taught at an early age of their importance.

Honeybee History and Information

Greenfield holds a place in the history of beekeeping. Lorenzo L. Langstroth, inventor of the moveable frame beehive, was also the minister of the Second Congregational  Church between 1843 and 1848. His invention came after he left Greenfield and he received a patent for his hive in 1852. Still, there is a memorial in front of the church that reads as follows:

Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth

December 25, 1810

October 6, 1895

Pastor of the Second Congregational Church, Greenfield, Massachusetts

1843 – 1848

Inventor of the moveable-frame bee-hive which made modern beekeeping possible, 1851

Scholar, Observer, Author, Friend of Mankind

This tablet is erected as acknowledgement of the debt of beekeepers of the world to his skills and unselfish leadership

July 18, 1948

While Langstroth found a way get honey out of a hive without destroying it, other problems have beset honeybees and other pollinators since 1851. There is the use of pesticides and herbides that kill many useful insects. There is the recent mysterious problem of Colony Collapse Disorder which causes the bees to leave the hive and die. Beekeepers have been known to lose half their hives over one winter, from a still unknown cause.

An even more serious problem is the varroa mite, which has been a scourge of bees since the 1980s. Varroa mites suck the blood from mature honeybees and the brood. They are a serious problem for bees all over the world.

Considering all the threats to the honeybee and other pollinators, and therefore threats to our food supply, we can all help by eliminating pesticides and herbicides in our gardens.

Pollen is an important bee food. We can plant pollen and nectar producing plants that are especially valuable. Do not despise the dandelion. They are an important source of nectar and pollen in the early spring. Other common plants that are especially useful are marigolds, zinnias, cosmos geraniums and sunflowers, to name few. The vegetable and herb garden needs pollinators and  it supplies good bee food: mints, bee balm, sage, thyme, squash, cucumbers, raspberries and strawberries. I have planted a pink agastache (hyssop) in my vegetable garden to attract pollinators. When planting for pollinators plant a big visible clump. A few plants dotted about will not do the job.

Maple trees, fruit trees, mountain ash, poplars and willows also supply pollen.

Bees, butterflies and other pollinators need water. This is an opportunity for a birdbath or fountain.

How do you welcome pollinators to your garden?

Between the Rows   June 1, 2013

Hungry Cowbird and Beauty

Cowbird June 6, 2013

Yesterday morning I watched what I later confirmed was a cowbird being fed by another  bird. I just happened to look out the front window and there was this little bird (fully fledged) standing still and looking around while another bird, a different type of bird, much the same size was running around picking up insects from the lawn and bringing them over to the cowbird. Through the window I couldn’t hear the cowbird squawking, or whining piteously, but I could see its little beak opening and shutting, until its meal was brought to it.  I could almost imagine it tapping its tiny claw, wondering what was taking so long.

Out came the bird guide book. I knew that  cowbirds were famous for laying their eggs in another bird’s nest, and that the foster parents cared for that interloper as well as they could, as it grew bigger faster than their own brood. I never dreamed that the cowbird could stand around in its fledged adolescence and still get its foster parents to keep feeding it. It was quite a fascinating sight.  This sort of behavior is called brood parasitism.

Ordinarily, I would not trust my own ability to identify a bird but my Peterson’s Guide does describe this feeding behavior between cowbirds and other birds as a common phenomenon.

Tree peony – name lost

On a more serenely beautiful note, my white tree peony, that has endured various bouts of storm damage over the past couple of years came into bloom.  Tree peonies are not really trees, but they do have a shrubby form that does not die back over winter as the herbaceous peonies do. Tree peonies need to be planted more deeply that herbaceous peonies, but they are just as hardy and long lived. They bloom earlier and the blossoms are more ephemeral, but all the more treasured because of this.

Rhododendrons and More Rhododendrons

Rhododendron

Rhododendrons are in full spectacular bloom now. Many many of them are a single variety magenta variety. This is a shame because rhodies come in so many beautiful colors and shades. My  friend Jerry (who I wrote about earlier)  has been planting rhodies on his hill side for nearly 15 years, and now has a varied collection of about 400 rhododendrons in gorgeous colors. I do not know all the variety names but here is a sampling.

Rododendron with bee

Bees love rhododendron flowers.

Red rhododendron

Shades of pink rhododendron

Lavender rhododendron

Calsap Rhododendron

White rhododendron

Scintillation rhododendron

Scintillation is a very beautiful and popular rhododendron.

Given the right acidic soil rhodies are not difficult to grow. The main thing to remember is that they are shallow rooted plants. As Jerry says, “Keep it simple, just a dimple.” Do not dig a $50 hole and plant them deeply.  Dig a shallow hole and then bring the soil up around the roots and mulch. I have had to transplant half my rhodies because I planted them too deep. They did not die, but they did not thrive, and they did not bloom until they were properly planted.

For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.

Monday Bloom Record June 3, 2013

Boule de Neige and Rangoon rhododendrons

One 2013 resolution is to keep a good Bloom Record this year, noting bloom twice a month on the 1st and 15th of every month. After a lot of rain, about 4+ inches, and then hot! weather, things are really moving in the  garden. This is high rhodie season. Rangoon is nearly done, Boule de Neige is in full flower and Goldbusch is not quite blooming.

Calsap rhodie

Calsap is just beginning to bloom. I transplanted it a couple of years ago and it is doing much better. I remembered the rhodie planting rule – Keep it Simple, Just a Dimple. I had previously planted it too deep and it did not thrive. Another lesson implemented.

Tiarella

The tiarellas in the lawn reduction area are blooming and beginning to spread.

Heucherella

Heucherellas are a heuchera-tiarella hybrid. The foliage is heuchera-like and the flowers are more tiarella-like.

Campanula ‘Joan Elliott’

Campanula ‘Joan Elliott’ is a beautiful plant, and a good spreader. Trouble free – with divisions to give friends.

Carolina Lupine

I bought Carolina Lupine at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale last year and it is settling in and doing well. It sent up several tiny new shoots. Next year it should be quite spectacular.

Columbine

This isn’t a very good photo, but I wanted to note that it is columbine season! These are spreading happily under the Mothlight hydrangea.

Azalea

One small azalea is blooming, the other will bloom soon.

Annuals in Container

I finally potted up some annuals – geraniums, fuschia, lobelia,    , and rosemary.

Guan Yin Mian

The (brief) star of this season is Guan Yin Mian, one of my four tree peonies. The two red ones are also in bloom but not as lushly. The white tree peony has a single bud. Soon the herbaceous peonies will come into bloom.

Also blooming, Salvia ‘May Night’ has just begun. as have some of the alliums, at least those the deer haven’t eaten. Troillus is blooming and the pink bleeding heart is just about done, as are the lilacs.

Spring is arriving in fits and starts, but it is firmly here. Now I have to finish planting vegetable seeds!

For Sage Advice – Seek the Salvia

Salvia officinalis in bloom

Right now I have two sage plants in my herb garden right in front of our house. I have a Salvia officinalis plant that has survived several winters, and a brand new meadow sage, Salvia verticillata Evelina. I have since learned that there is a showier S. verticillata named Purple Rain with deep purple flowers. Soon I will add two or three six packs of the annual Victoria Blue salvia which I use as a kind of faux lavender hedge around the roses in the Shed Bed.

The salvias are a very large family of flowers. They are very easy to grow, usually requiring only a sunny site, though they can tolerate some shade, and fertile well drained soil. They are sturdy and require little care.

I used to think all salvias were blue, but there are salvias in shades of white, red, purple, yellow, pink, and bicolor salvias. Many are perennials, but some familiar salvias are treated as annuals in our climate. Some  grow low and creeping, and a few, like the deep pink and white Hot Lips, act like vines even though they do not have tendrils to hold them up.

Sage has been an important plant for centuries. The naturalist and historian Pliny the Elder (23-79 CE) first named these plants salvia, because they were thought to have great medicinal properties. The medicinal Salvia officinalis is the culinary sage I have in my garden. It was thought to retard aging, preserving the memory, as well as relieving depression. Sage tea has been used to aid digestion. In fact, I have read that sage is included in stuffings, not only because it is so flavorful, but because it is a digestive aid.

People don’t use sage much medicinally any more, but it is a basic of the pantry. I use sage in stuffings, and sometimes in a sauteed apple, onion, and sage side dish to go with pork or chicken, as well as many other dishes. I pick the leaves fresh, as I need them, beginning in May and going into the fall. In late August or September I trim the shrubby plant, and put those leafy trimmings in a paper bag to dry out in our hot attic space. When dry they can be stored in glass jars.

Salvia ‘May Night’

Beyond culinary and medicinal uses the large perennial salvia family has many cultivars that are beautiful in the flower garden.  May Night is popular in our area, partly because it is hardy, but also because the 18-24 inch spikes of deep blue begin to bloom in June and continue all summer. Rose Queen is similar, slightly shorter, with rose pink flower spikes.            Plumosa is another rosy salvia, but the 18 inch flower spikes are plume-y, which makes it very unusual.

Wild Thing, a Salvia greggii, is more tender, but this autumn sage produces cherry red flowers with purple calyxes.  It is a stunner, and very attractive to hummingbirds and butterflies.

Equally tender is S. guarantica Black & Blue which bears cobalt blue flowers on black stems. It is much taller than Wild Thing, reaching a height between three and five feet. They will probably not overwinter, but I always think that if you like a tender perennial like this it is worth trying as an annual. Sometimes you will get a surprise if it comes back the following spring.

Hot Lips is a graceful white and pink bicolor salvia. I saw it growing along the fence at the Smith College Botanical Garden, weaving itself among the other perennials in that ornamental bed.

Madeline is similar to Hot Lips because it has a bicolor flower, but blue and white.

While salvias are drought resistant, one type, Salvia uliginosa, aptly called the bog salvia, does prefer damp spots. It is tall and can reach a height of 6 feet. It is a handsome plant and has become more popular. Given damp conditions it will send out underground runners and is easy to divide. It will grow in drier conditions if given a good humusy soil, but it will not grow as large, or spread as energetically. Like other perennial salvias it should be cut down to the ground when you put the garden to bed.

For those who like to start their own plants from seed Summer Jewel Red was an All-America Selections winner in 2011 while Summer Jewel Pink was a winner in 2012. AAS winners are chosen after being tested in different parts of the country to find the best and most dependable new plants. When gardeners see the AAS logo on a seed packet they can be assured that they are getting quality seed of a quality plant.

Salvias are such a large family, with so many popular cultivars that it is not difficult to find a good selection of plants at local garden centers, through catalogs, or at the seed rack.

***********************************

Don’t forget the Forbes Library Garden Tour next Saturday, June 8 from 10 – 3 pm. The tickets are $15.00 ($20.00 on the day of the tour) and can be bought at Forbes Library, State St. Fruit in Northampton, Cooper’s Corner in Florence, Hadley Garden Center and Bay State Perennial Farm in Whately.