Last month when I went to visit Shelly Beck at the Greenfield Community Farm I learned that a new Heath neighbor of mine, Jessica Van Steensberg, is the Associate Director. I immediately had to meet her. I found her at the house on a three acre plot she bought with her husband Jeff Aho and moved into two years ago. Behind the house I saw hens free ranging everywhere, a big hog in a pen and a…
This year 2004, just after Thanksgiving, we will celebrate our 25th anniversary of living at End of the Road Farm. Twenty-five years ago we emptied our apartment over a greengrocer and two doors down from a supermarket into a U-Haul truck; then my husband Henry took off in the truck and I took off in the car with our three teenage girls for an old farmhouse in Heath where the nearest groceries, at Peter’s General Store, were…
As I prepare for Thanksgiving in my nice American kitchen I cannot help thinking of other Thanksgivings, most notably two that were celebrated in Beijing where we lived in the Friendship Hotel. The first was in 1989, and the second in 1995. While many things had changed in those five years, much much more car traffic, much much less bicycle riding (because of the vehicular traffic), the arrival of big department stores and McDonalds and Kentucky Fried Chicken,…
Suddenly there seem to be many young oak trees growing by the side of Heath roads. They are particularly noticeable at this time of year because they retain their leaves until late in the season, and they have turn a burnished shade of red. I do not know for sure which of the 600 species of oak they are, or even of the 70 species that grow in the United States, but it is possible they are Quercus…
It is not too late to order the 2014 UMass Garden Calendar. This is always beautiful, and this year the monthly photographs feature a floral happy dozen from potted tulips to Linda Campbell rugosa blossoms to a glorious sunflower. But the calendar is not only beautiful it contains a wealth of gardening advice and information for those of us in the norhteast. This year there is a thorough explanation of the USDA climate zones. I always forget…
The new Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds catalog for 2014 came in the mail the other day. For the past few years the Baker Creek catalog has been a thing of beauty, but this year's Whole Seed Catalog, billed as the World Largest Seed Catalog, is 355 glossy pages of fabulous photographs of heirloomvegetables. There are famous, beautiful and excellent nursery catalogs, but this book has taken the seed catalog to a whole new level. Jere Gettle is an…
This is the Redvein Enkianthus AFTER I chopped it down and removed it from the north lawn bed. It never looked the way it was photographed on websites and catalogs. It grew in a tight column - very slowly. In the meantime, the plants around it grow more quickly. The Blue Princess holly has come along very nicely and this year is full of berries. The creeping juniper on its other side also grew to almost engulf it.…
Broccoli is a popular vegetable at our house. I like to have a head of broccoli on hand and I’m always happy during gardening season when I go out and get enough for supper any time I like. Even after harvesting the main head of broccoli, I can always collect a few of the numerous side sprouts that appear over time, sufficient for dinner for two. I had never thought of broccoli as anything other except a…
On this November Garden Bloggers Bloom Day I only have a promise. I just brought my little Thanksgiving cactus (Schlumbergera truncata) in from the unheated Great Room. Now that it is in the warm I think it may actually bloom on the appointed day. Early in my blogging career (almost 6 years ago) I was assured that 'buds count.' Lucky for me. I visited a neighbor recently and her beautiful pale pink Thanksgiving cactus was in full glorious bloom. The…
The weather outside is frightful 29 degrees, breeze and clouds. Have to get the firewood in out of the snow. The birch is weeping golden tears. The holly with its scarlet berries doesn't mind the wind and snow. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.