More Than Maple Farmers

My neighbors, Brooks McCutchen and Janis Steele, are very models of the modern maple sugarers.  When I went to visit their sugarhouse I saw the familiar steam billowing from the roof, but as I got closer I saw modern elements.

Inside the sugarhouse is a huge steamy stainless steel evaporator but there is no fire in sight. This operation is run mostly by solar power.

Solar power is not the only modern element. McCutchen and Steele use a reverse osmosis technique that removes most of the water from the maple sap before it goes into the evaporator. Reverse osmosis means the sap takes only about 45 minutes to emerge from the evaporator; then it is drawn off into stainless kegs. This is called small batch sugaring, and each batch will be slightly different in color and taste. Which brings us to the modern marketing of Berkshire Sweet Gold Maple Syrup.

We live in a rural area, so most of us are familiar with how difficult it is for small farmers to make a fair wage. The rise of Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) farms, farm stands, and farmers’ markets are some of the ways local farmers have found to make a more secure living. After doing some wholesale selling, McCutchen and Steele decided to do only direct sales. You can buy their syrup at their Heath farmstand on Route 8A, at any of the dozen or craft shows they attend up and down the eastern seaboard, or buy mailorder through their website, www.berkshiresweetgold.com.

Berkshire Sweet Gold farmstand

Besides using new technologies and marketing strategies, McCutchen and Steele take an innovative approach to working on their farm. They consider themselves carbon farmers, as well as maple farmers. They manage their mixed woodland, which includes the sugarbush, to sequester carbon.

As we talked they reminded me that at the turn of the 20^th century 80% of Heath was open farmland and the soil was becoming depleted. There are not many open fields anymore but McCutchen explained that it is the mixed forests that have grown up that are rebuilding the soil, putting carbon back into the soil. “Carbon is the core for providing the structure of healthy soil,” he said.

Knowing that both McCutchen and Steele had professional careers as a psychologist and anthopologist respectivley before they became farmers of any sort, I asked them how they came to this new career.

McCutchen said it was not such a leap as I might have imagined. He was 13 when he came to Heath with his parents Leighton and Martha McCutchen. He attended Mohawk for a short period but then chose to finish high school by correspondence, and went to work at the same time for farmers in the town. “Elmer Sherman made maple syrup as a seasonal product on his farm. He was very fussy about doing things right,” McCutchen said.

After graduation he attended The College of the Atlantic; that is where he and Steele met, both majoring in Human Ecology. “Psychology can be too much in the head,” McCutchen said, “but anthropology is based on land, on language and communication. It is a more natural progression.”

Steele said that as a Montreal native, she grew up where all the kids went sugaring in season. “Ninety percent of the world’s maple syrup comes from Canada so now when we bring our syrup up to my family we are stopped at the border and everyone laughs that we would bring syrup into the country,” she said.

“I haven’t really left anthropology. I’ve just shifted my topical focus. I’m still a member of the American Anthropological Association and have a sub-group membership in Culture and Agriculture.  This June Brooks and I are giving a paper on Variance Agriculture and the Ecosystem Marketplace at an Agriculture Food and Human Values Society conference,” Steele said.

She explained that variance agriculture and marketing, emphasize the particular variety of a crop. Those of us who garden certainly have our favorite varieties of lettuce, tomato, and squash and can understand this concept, as can those who drink specialty wines and liquors.  McCutchen and Steele believe that giving information about variety is another element that small farmers can use in their marketing for greater profit – enough to make a fair wage.

Steel and McCutchen also remind, and educate people, that maple syrup can be used for more than pancakes. Going beyond pancakes, McCutchen  says small amounts of maple syrup can be used in cooking, not as a sweetener, but to help balance flavors. The grading system of A, B, and C is no longer used; the color of the syrup is an indicator of intensity of flavor. He said that if you have a lemon based sauce or marinade a bit of light amber syrup can help achieve that balance; if it is balsamic vinegar a darker syrup; and if it is soysauce based a black amber syrup (which is not really black) can be used. You will find many excellent recipes on their website and at the farm stand. I am going to try the sautéed green beans and garlic tossed with a bit of Berkshire Sweet Gold and a few dried cranberries.

I think small family farms are still one of our American ideals. The making of Berkshire Sweet Gold maple syrup supports a family (children and grandparents work as well), supports the community economy, maintains the rural landscape we all love, and protects our environment.  ###

Fashions for the Ladies Who Mulch

The Ladies Who Lunch need to refresh their wardrobes with a new little black dress from time to time. While I was in Boston for the Flower Show I stepped into Macy’s to get a new pair of little blue jeans.  I like the styling of these which have retained the integrity of the originals designed by Levi Strauss. Blue jeans are  a staple of the gardener’s wardrobe, so easy to dress down, and versatile when combined with shades of blue – delphinium, larkspur and iris. I like to emulate Barbara Damrosch, my fashion and gardening idol, when I go out for a session in the sun. Classic  navy blue jeans cry out for more blue, as Barbara knows. Note the blue and gray nitrile Atlas gloves.

The trug is a vintage piece that I acquired when my friend and mentor the late Elsa Bakalar moved from her house and garden to a retirement village.  It acts as a kind of amulet, providing the confidence to overcome the weeds and slugs.

A hat is essential for working in the sun. I carried this hat along with many memories back from our time in Beijing. This is a traditional hat still worn by Chinese farmers.  It is very light, with a shallow crown that keeps me cool. It still has the original shoelace chin ties which are especially useful in the Heath breezes. With a cool head I can ponder the chore list – off to the vegetables, or shall I gather rosebuds?

Of course, that special season of the year, Black Fly Season, requires a special hat – and long sleeves. I buy many of my accessories at Avery’s General Store and Fashion Emporium in the Village of Charlemont. They not only had the hat in my favorite shade of rose pink but the gauzy veil with functional elastic edging. When I return from a trip to Avery’s I know there will be no flies on me.

Ladies who lunch wear kid gloves, but for pruning the roses these are the gloves for me. A friend who understands the challenges of the rose gardener gave them to me last year. They are West County Gardener Rose Gloves and I was pleased that they were made in my west county neighborhood, but alas, they are made in some west county of California. I like them more than any gloves I wore at dancing class in 1954.

No ensemble is complete without the proper footwear. My Ladybug clogs are coordinated with the blue jeans and blue Atlas gloves. The versatility of the clogs cannot be overestimated. They  walk with ease and flair through dewy grass, the fine turf of a garden party, and even a stroll through a garden center or nursery.

To dress up the little blue jeans, all it takes is a softer hat. My style choice is to add a chiffon scarf for that uptown look, an overblouse in an abstract flower print and the effect  –   timeless style.

Beatrix Farrand

Edith Wharton's Home - The Mount in Lenox, MA

Probably the first thing I knew about Beatrix Farrand is that she was the niece of Edith Wharton, and designed the approach to Wharton’s home, The Mount,  in the Berkshires.  Although she did not have anything to do with  the rest of the gardens, I cannot believe that Aunt and Niece did not sit together and talk about what might be done during the years she lived there, 1902-1911. When you have talent in the family, surely it would be used. Visitors to The Mount today will enjoy the beautiful house, and the gardens that have been undergoing restoration for several years now.  If you are in the Berkshires you should not miss the opportunity to visit.

Beatrix Farrand (1872-1959) was one of the earliest women to work professionally as landscape designers. Most of her work has disappeared, as gardens can do so quickly. Still, Dunbarton Oaks and the old campus at Princeton, as well as a few others bear her stamp to this day. A new book, Beatrix Farrand: Private Gardens, Public Landscapes by Judith B. Tankard, gives a full view of her life and work.

Relatively close to me (I could go there and back in a day) is the Bellefield Garden in Hyde Park. This garden is now under the supervision of the Beatrix Farrand Garden Association, Inc. The garden is open every day from dawn to dusk.

It is not surprising that many of the private estate gardens Farrand worked on are in Maine. Her family had a summer estate in Bar Harbor and she lived at Reef Point. After a fire she took many plants from Reef Point and moved to Garland Farm on Mount Desert Island. She lived there until her death.

Garland Farm is now the home of the Beatrix Farrand Society.  Work continues to restore the gardens. This summer a number of events will be held including programs by Dr. Douglas Tallamy the author of Bringing Nature Home and Barbara Damrosch, author of A Garden Primer and a Maine neighbor.

One of the important influences on Farrand’s work was the famed Bristish gardener, Gertrude Jekyll. They did meet and  Beatrix visited several of Gertrude’s gardens, but it was mostly the books that she read and studied that taught her about Gertrude’s work and principles. Wood and Garden, Lilies for English Gardens, Wall and Water Gardens, and Color in the Garden were all on Beatrix’s library shelves.

In 1948 when Beatrix was 76 she bought Jekyll’s papers including garden plans, working drawings and correspondence, which gave her great pleasure in her later years.

The April issue of Garden Design magazine just arrived with an emphasis on California gardens including the Santa Barbara Botanic Garden which was founded in 1926. Beatrix joined the Board in 1938 and worked on the Master Plan with Lockwood deForest, Jr. Her approach was more formal than deForest’s but their collaboration was easy, perhaps because they were both devoted to the use of native plants.

A Wild Garden – Grrrrrrr!

There were a lot of young children at the Boston Flower Show, some clutching a parent’s hand, and some being wheeled about in stroller splendor. It might not always have been exciting, but the youngsters and their parents enjoyed this jungle garden with a grassy lion . . .

a giraffe made of flowers . . .  .

and a really scary crocodile right at the edge of the exhibit. No one wanted to touch – and a good thing too.

Driven to Spring

The Boston Flower Show is back!  There were flowers everywhere, in all kinds of arrangements and gardens.

There was also a lot of water – a pond like this one with a stone ‘lily pad’ that appeared to float on the water. The pond was surrounded by azaleas, conifers and bulbs. I may have to do a whole posting about water in fountains and streams.

There were flower arrangements like this simple vase of brilliant tulips for a table setting.

as well as  any number of big bouquets of mixed flowers and foliage,

and single color arrangements like this bouquet of white roses, snapdragons, stocks and chrysanthemums.

There were cakes made entirely of dried flowers, including hydrangea blossoms, dusty miller and roses, but for those who want a real cake for a really special occasion

there were real cakes created by any number of skilled bakers.

Looking at all these flowers was inspiring and there were flowers for sale

inside the Flower Show . . . .

just outside the Flower Show doors . . . .

at South Station and at any one of a thousand street corners.

Real and Imaginary

My Garden by Kevin Henkes

I celebrated the arrival of my friend Kathryn Galbraith‘s new book Arbor Day Square and then I saw My Garden by Kevin Henkes on the New Book shelf at the Heath Library.

As a former librarian I know it used to be difficult to find books for young children about gardening, whether real gardens with real information, or about imaginary gardens, but happily that seems to be changing. Kevin Henkes is one of my favorites authors and illustrators because he has so much understanding of a child’s ecstatic emotions, happy or sad. In My Garden a little girl is bursting with joyful imagination.

She  helps her mother in a real garden, watering, weeding and chasing away the rabbits. She also imagines her own brilliant garden where the rabbits are chocolate, where there are no weeds, where tomatoes are “as big as beach balls, and the carrots would be invisible because I don’t like carrots.”

Even when we have children helping us with real garden chores on a summer day we should always remember that there may be a lot more going on in their minds than where to dump the weeds or put away the watering can.

Arbor Day Celebration

Arbor Day Square

I got the most wonderful present in the mail today – Arbor Day Square – written by my good friend Kathryn Galbraith. We met more than 30 years ago when we both lived in NYC and were taking a writing class at the New School of Social Research.  Kathryn and I both left the city at about the same time, but she left for the State of Washington where she went on to write beautiful books for children.

Obviously I was thrilled to see her new book, Arbor Day Square, because it is about how important trees are to a community as well as love of family and a family history. Katie and Papa are among the new settlers in a prairie town that we see grow until the townspeople recognize they have no trees:

“There are no trees on the prairie.

No trees for climbing.

Or for shade.

No trees for fruit or warm winter fires.

No trees for birds. Or for beauty.”

That recognition is the first step to the first Arbor Day Tree Planting in that community, a celebration that continues every year. Papa turns into a grandpa, and Katie a mama with a child of her own.

Kathryn’s books always tell gentle stories with charm and humor. I love Boo, Bunny!  (illustrated by Jeff Mack) that I sent to my two Great-granddaughters last Halloween, and Traveling Babies (illustrated by Jane Dippold) which I bought for the Buckland Library as well as for gifts for family children.

Here in Heath trees are important for sugaring, and for firewood, as well as for birds, and shade. And for beauty.  Thank you Kathryn for this beautiful story, and your timing is perfect. Here in Massachusetts Arbor Day is celebrated the last Friday in April, so I have enough time to get a tree to plant on that day. I think it will be a witch hazel named Diane – for family love, spring bloom, and beauty at every season

Wood Chips and Mulch More

Wood chip paths

After soil building, mulching  is probably the number two topic for gardeners.  Kerry Mendez, author of The Ultimate Gardener’s Top Ten Lists, talks about both these important topics in her talks and in her book.

There was also considerable discussion at the Trillium Workshop I attended on Sunday.  I mulch all I can, and have stories to tell myself.

Last year our town left piles of wood chips all over town for us gardeners to use as we wish.  The wood chips were one benefit of the historic ice storm in December 2008.  I have used them over cardboard to make paths in my garden. They will break down as any mulch will, so they need to be refreshed from time to time.

I have also used a light layer of wood chips to mulch areas of my Lawn Beds which include shrubs and perennials. Some will say not to do this because wood chips eat up the nitrogen in the soil.  Some new research says  that only the very top layer of soil is affected in this way and that wood chips are not a danger to your perennials.

Some people like Jeff Farrell of Trillium,  use hay as mulch, other says it makes ‘weeds’ come up all over the garden.  Some say, well, you have to use really rotten hay as mulch.  Daniel Botkin of Laughing Dog Farm says he uses rotten hay, and keeps piling it on so that any new weeds that germinate are quickly killed.

Jeff Farrell says that not only does he not have trouble using hay as mulch, he has gotten weeds using straw. I have used straw and not had weeds. What this means is that you pays your money and takes your chances —  as so often in life. I think one of the reasons people have such different experiences is that we cannot know in these stories what else is going on.  Our use of mulch or any other technique is rarely a scientific controlled expriment.

I liked using a light layer of grass clippings as mulch – until I realized I was planting dandelions all through my vegetable garden. I don’t mind dandelions in the lawn but I curse them in the veggie garden.

Buckwheat Hulls

There are fancy mulches that you can buy buy the truckload or the bag.  You can mulch with two or three inches of weedfree compost which looks great and is good for your soil. You can buy shredded bark , dyed or plain.  Lisa Newman of Trillium warned us that cocoa hulls are very poisonous to dogs. They look great but can be deadly if you or your neighbors have dogs. She recommended buckwheat hulls which are equally handsome. You can even mulch with stones.

The one thing you and your landscaping company must not do is make mulch volcanoes, mound up mulch, around your trees. This can really harm your trees.

We are all busy, and all looking for ways to eliminate some gardening chores.  Mulching can control weeds, conserve moisture and lighten our labor. There are many ways to do it, and we need to consider the particular situation.

Flowers and More Flowers

Kerry Mendez and me

What a weekend. While I am waiting for the snow to melt I had a glorious weekend thinking about – and looking at flowers!

On Saturday I got to meet Kerry Mendez, the spirited, humorous and knowledgeable keynote speaker at the Master Gardener’s Spring Symposium on Saturday. She engaged the audience in lively conversation and talked about how to have a successful flower garden- choose the right plant for the right site – and gave great design tips.  Fortunately, if you can’t attend any of her talks you can get her excellent and useful book The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Top Ten Lists.

Do you have dry shade, want unusual perennials, need annuals? Kerry has lists for you that will give you quickly accessible information and suggestions.

That was on Saturday. On Sunday I attended the first workshop given by the three charming and skilled gardeners,  Jeff Farrell, Lisa Newman, and Gloria Pacosa who formed Trillium Workshops just a month ago.

Gloria Pacosa at work

There was information about planting and maintaining a separate cutting garden,  including many annuals that bloom all summer, so  that you don’t ruin the effect of your borders and gardens when you want to bring  flowers into the house.  I also learned a lot about arranging flowers – not my forte – but Gloria Pacosa is a master. I learned that the best time to pick flowers is early in the evening when flowers have gained a day’s worth of sun and energy, that they should be conditioned by standing in clean deep water in clean containers overnight, and that I need to soak my floral foam until it is really saturated. Of course, I learned A Lot  more, and you’ll be hearing more of that over time.

Jeff told me that Horticulture magazine is publishing a follow-up article about Elsa Bakalar’s Heath gardens this spring. I wrote  the original article for Horticulture, published in 1987, in which Elsa expounded on her theories about color in the garden.  The follow up article includes interviews with Jeff who began working with Elsa on her garden over 20 years ago, and has continued maintaining it with the new owner, the artist Scott Prior and his wife. The article will include many photographs of the garden taken last summer. Those who would like to visit the garden again, or for the first time, can join one (or all) of the three Trillum tours of Elsa’s garden scheduled for June 20, July 18, and September 19.  For more information about registration logon to the Trillium blog.

As Beautiful as the Day

Daylilies are as beautiful as the day, and come in all the colors of the day, pale pink dawns, watery yellows of a sunshower, brilliant golds of noon, and all the ruddy shades of  sunset.

Richard Willard who grows about 500 daylilies at Silver Garden Daylilies says that when people think about orange daylilies they think of the common roadside variety, and “yet there are beautiful big orange daylilies with seven inch blossoms that you can see from a distance,” he said.

Richard Willard

Daylilies are also ‘beautiful for a day.’ This means they are not suitable for dinner party arrangements as I found out to my dismay in my early days of gardening and dinner partying. However, when I mentioned this problem to Willard, he said that was true, however they remain bright and shining all day in an arrangement which means they make stunning bouquets for church altars, ladies luncheons, or any other event that occurs during the day. The gardener just has to pick them that morning. Fortunately, a bouquet of mixed daylilies doesn’t take much arranging, just a nice big vase.

Willard grew up on farms in Vermont and spent a lot of time in his grandfather’s and mother’s garden. When he began his own garden in Greenfield 25 years ago he started with perennials, but “They were so much work, cutting back, and dividing. I had trouble keeping up.”

A few daylilies were included in the garden and he soon discovered, “Ohhh. These are easy!” That revelation was the beginning of a collection of about 500 varieties.  A mere drop in the bucket of those available because Willard explained that there are 58,000 daylilies in the official database.

It took time for the daylily collection to grow, but by 1991, while he worked to help revive the Greenfield Garden Club, he realized he needed more room. At Club meetings he became acquainted with  Ken and Carol Doerpholz who had a cut flower and herb farm out on Glenbrook Road.

The Doerpholzes had land but needed help with their garden, and Willard needed garden space, but had willing hands. Theirs was a partnership made in the garden.

Like other gardeners before him, Willard found that he soon had more daylilies than he could handle; ten years ago he began selling a few. Nowadays, he has a sale about once a month during bloom season at Glenbrook Gardens. Gardeners can visit the garden, make their choices and have the plant dug right on the spot. This year’s dates are June 19, July 10, and August 7. The garden is open from 9 am til 4 pm on those days.

He also brings plants to the Lavender Festival in Buckland on June 26 and 27, and is ready with his shovel at the July 17 Daylily Open House Sale at Glenbrook Gardens. For full information about daylily and Herban events with Johnson Hill Farm and  Stockbridge Herb farm logon to www.silvergardendaylilies.com. The website includes a color photo gallery of all daylilies for sale with information about size and bloom season.

It is the ease of growing daylilies that appeals to Willard, and to many gardeners. “There is no special advice,” Willard said. “There is not much weeding because the plants increase in size and grow so thickly. In the fall, I just cut back the foliage and spread good compost. I use no other fertilizers.”

Here at the End of the Road I am planting daylilies on a bank to eliminate mowing, and erosion. We will see if I have chosen carefully enough to gain  a long season of bloom.

Willard remains very active in the Greenfield Garden Club’s activities, the Spring Extravaganza plant sale which raises money for Club projects like grants for schools, and caring for the gardens at Trap Rock Plain at the intersection of Silver and Federal Streets.

Richard Willard is one of the presenters at this year’s Annual Master Gardener’s Spring Symposium on Saturday, March 20^th at Frontier Regional High School in South Deerfield. He’ll be discussing ways to Dig, Divide, Dine and Decorate with Daylilies.

This annual event is a great way to gear up for spring chores. If you haven’t bought all your seeds or chosen all your plants you might be inspired by John Barry’s presentation on Flowering Shrubs that Really Like It Here, or Dan Kitteredge’s talk on Growing Nutrient Dense Food. Deb Habib of the wonderful Seeds of Solidarity Farm will talk about no-till gardening and how we can Grow Food Everywhere in our communities.

There are sessions on herbs, Integrated Pest Management, wild spring edibles and more. For a full list and information on how to register logon to www.wmassmastergardeners.org or call Bridget Heller at (413) 665-8662, or email Rae Davis at margaretraedavis@verizon.net.

This year the featured speaker is Kerry Mendez of Perennially Yours speaking on Tips for Low Maintenance, High Impact Perennial Gardens which will include ornamental flowering shrubs.

In addition to all the informational sessions, vendors will be on site with local products, and the World Eye will be selling books, including Kerry Mendez’s The Ultimate Flower Gardener’s Top Ten Lists - 70 Garden-Transforming Lists, Money Saving Shortcuts, Design Tips & Smart Plant Picks for Zones 3, 4 and 5.

Between the Rows   March 13, 2010