Greenfield Winter Fare 2014

  • Post published:01/30/2014
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If I am counting correctly this is the 7th Greenfield Annual Winter Fare which will bring truckloads of fresh local vegetables to Greenfield High School on Saturday, February 1.  Enter from Kent Street off Silver Street. Beyond  vegetables there will be preserved products like pickles and syrup, honey and jams. Frozen meat!  And to keep you shopping from 10 am til 1 pm music will be provided by Last Night's Fun, and soup provided by The Brass Buckle,…

Sastrugi – from the Russian

  • Post published:01/29/2014
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Sastrugi is the word for the snow waves and caves. It comes from the Russian. Sometimes it makes very large, much larger than here, waves. I think it has been too cold and the snow has been too dry for that to happen with our latest snow fall. Sometimes the sastrugi takes the form of gentle ripples. For more (almost) Wordlessness this Wednesday click here

Garden Planning III – Mixed Borders and Rock Gardens

  • Post published:01/26/2014
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                     Garden Planning takes a new direction after you have decided how much time you have, what activities you want to enjoy in the garden, and what the garden needs in terms of soil improvement. You will also have decided whether you want a strictly ornamental garden, or if you want to include edibles.             In urban and suburban settings the first consideration is the front yard. Most front…

Parsley, Eryngium and the American Horticultural Society

  • Post published:01/23/2014
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  One of the benefits of membership in the American Horticultural Society is the arrival of The American Gardener every other month. This month the cover photo was of an Eryngium or sea holly, and the amazing news that this is a relative of parsley. This isn't exactly one of  the weird and wonderful facts I love to collect, but I certainly found it unexpected. The delightful and informative article by Barbara Perry Lawton catalogs a number of…

Ginkgo – The Ancient Maidenhair Tree

  • Post published:01/20/2014
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While we were living in Beijing we became fascinated with the ginkgo tree, sometimes called the maidenhair tree. This is an ancient tree and fossilized leaves dating back 270 MILLION years have been found. They saw the rise and fall of the dinosaur. Today it grows in many temperate and sub-tropical areas of the world because it is so unusual and beautiful and because it is so adaptable. It even tolerates pollution and is used in cities as…

Garden Planning II – What Does the Garden Need?

  • Post published:01/19/2014
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               For me garden planning is difficult because I am always rushing about with a new idea for a new project. Things work out in the end, but I understand the unfettered enthusiasm that a new gardener, or a gardener with a new space, feels as she looks out at that space. However, I know that the best way forward is to move thoughtfully, and maybe with a pad and pencil in hand.             First, inventory your…

Mystery Melt – and the Solution?

  • Post published:01/17/2014
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What is a mystery melt? Yesterday morning we had snow showers, and cold temperatures all afternoon.  When I went out to the henhouse I noticed this mystery melt  that ran from the top of the slope towards our wellhead. I  thought it was so strange to have such a clearly demarked area when the cold temperatures kept the veil of snow intact everywhere else. We have a lot of water on  our hill with intermittent streams that have…

View from the Bedroom Window – December 2013

  • Post published:01/15/2014
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December 8 - The view from the bedroom window has been varied all this month. Temperatures ranged  from a windy zero degrees on December 17,  but on December 8 it was mild with a mere dusting of snow. December 15 - Three or 4 inches of snow on the 13th and another 10 inches on the 14th.  We barely made it home after Gourmet Club that  night, the road was unplowed and the snow was still falling thickly.…

A Heath Calendar for 2014 – Some Flowers

  • Post published:01/14/2014
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My Heath Calendar cannot begin with flowers. The only flowers at the End of the Road are a few Christmas cactus blooms and a wonderful pink cyclamen. February is still cold and snowy. This 'possum found shelter and a snack in the compost bin next to the hen house. March and still no blooms in Heath. Still the Talcott Greenhouse at Mt. Holyoke College and the Lyman Plant House at Smith College are full of bloom and hope…

Garden Planning I – What Do You Need?

  • Post published:01/12/2014
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There is a pile of seed and plant catalogs next to my chair so garden planning for 2014 has begun. I already have existing gardens, the big fenced Potager, the blueberry patch, the  Herb Bed, the little Front Garden for early vegetables, the Daylily Bank, the Rose Bank, the Shed Bed, the Rose Walk, the Peony Border, and the two Lawn Beds, north and south, which means my garden planning is in the nature of review and renew.…