Autumn Sunset on Skywatch Friday
Flaming autumn leaves have all fallen, but our sunset provides continuing flame. For more sky views click on Skywatch Friday.
Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont
While visiting cousins in Vermont I made a stop at the Fletcher Free Library in Burlington, Vermont. As a retired librarian I always stop in to visit libraries along the way. The Fletcher Free Library was founded in 1873 by Mrs. Mary L. Fletcher and her daughter, beginning with $20,000. Half was to be spent on books and half for an endowment. What a wise woman Mrs. Fletcher was to know that a library would need that ongoing…
Fall Clean Up in the Garden
The weather has been kind to those of us who procrastinate and go about fall clean up in the garden with a little less energy than we once had. Right now I am buckling down and in the midst of working through my to-do list. I got an early start in the vegetable garden in late September. I pulled out finished squash and bean plants and put all that biomass in the compost bin. All the empty…
Honey Badger Garden Gloves – with Claws?
Recently I was sent a pair of Honey Badger Garden Gloves to try out. These gloves are made by a small company in Atlanta, Georgia. Before they sent them they asked if I preferred to have the 'claws' on the right hand or the left hand. I chose to have them on the right hand, my dominant hand. This offer came fairly late in the season but I still had a whole long peony bed to clean out.…
UMass Extension Garden Calendar for 2015 Available
The UMass Extension Garden Calendar for 2015 is now available. This excellent, and beautiful, calendar contains excellent information about garden chores throughout the year. Reminders of when to plant, when to mulch, when to prune, when to fertilize and much more. On some days you will get information about which plants attract pollinators, definitions of words like 'layering," and transplanting advice. I appreciate the fact that the low gloss paper takes my own notes very easily. The opening…
Time to Plant the Garlic
It is not widely known but I was crowned the Garlic Queen at the Heath Fair this year. It is only right that I was crowned by Rol Hesselbart, who gave me my first garlic cloves to use for planting. Hesselbart has been growing garlic and and saving the best bulbs to use as seed for many years. The bulbs he gave me were easily twice as big as the garlic you usually buy at the supermarket. It…
View From the Bedroom Window – September 2014
August was relatively cool this year, so it should have been no surprise that on September 2 it was 80 degrees and humid. The roofers came to put on a new roof - and were slowed down by a shower in the middle of the afternoon. As the month progressed it became cool again. There was two inches of torrential rain on September 6 - and the new roof is not leaking! Our granddaughter Tricia's wedding was held…
Garden Blogger’s Bloom Day – October 2014
Garden Blogger's Bloom Day arrives this October after two hard freezes. The trees are richly adorned adding most of the garden color at this time of the year. The roses are very nearly done, but Thomas Affleck, right near the door, has nearly a dozen blossoms left. In the rest of the garden there are a few scattered rugosa blossoms, and The Fairy is still making a bit of magic. This is the second year for Sedum 'Neon."…
Berries for the Birds
Many of us plant berry bushes, but do you specifically plant berries for the birds? Feeding the birds is a enjoyable activity, but because I have always had cats I have planted high bush cranberries, holly, and cotoneaster instead of putting up bird feeders. However, my first reason for planting these shrubs that produce autumnal berries is because they are beautiful. In addition to the plants I have deliberately put in my landscape I am lucky to have…
Asters and Mums – and Sheffies
Returning from a few days away I was happy to see that the asters are still blooming. These sunny quilled mums don't look like the cold and the rain bothered them at all. The Montauk daisies have started to bloom! Do think I can now say that the Sheffies, my late blooming Sheffield daisies, are finally blooming? I leave it up to you.