A Plethora of Peas – From Snaps to Sweet

  • Post published:02/27/2015
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There are peas that need to be shelled, peas that only need to be snapped, peas named snow, and sweet peas that can be smelled. There are pea plants that are small, and many that are tall. There is a pea for every taste, and every eye and nose. Peas are one of the first vegetables that can be planted in the spring. What more could one ask of a humble legume? All peas prefer a fairly neutral…

Amherst Orchid Society – Spring Orchid Show

  • Post published:02/24/2015
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On Sunday I drove down to Northampton and the  annual Orchid Show put on by the Amherst Orchid Society. I do not grow orchids because I always think they require a greenhouse. However, anyone who has ever received a phaleanopsis orchid as a gift knows that it will live happily on a bright, but not sunny, windowsill.  I walked through the orchid show with Bill Benner, a member of the Amherst Orchid Society, who has about 100 orchid…

Garden-pedia by Paula Bennett and Maria Zampini

  • Post published:02/21/2015
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With all the bad weather I’ve been happy to sit by the woodstove and read two new books from St. Lynn’s Press. Garden-pedia: An A to Z Guide to Gardening Terms by Paula Bennett and Maria Zampini ($16.95 paperback) is an excellent book for the novice gardener. There are so many terms that arise even in catalogs and other places that can confuse and confound. Writers and speakers may be trying to write or speak plainly, but sometimes…

Greenfield’s Winter Fare – February 21, 2015

  • Post published:02/19/2015
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Greenfield's Winter Fare is more than a Farmer's Market. Last month I attended the first  Winter Farmers Market of the year, held at the Greenfield Middle School. I came home with two heavy bags full of apples, winter squash, watermelon radish, golden beets, bread and frozen ground lamb.  And wonderful bread from El Jardin bakery.  Walking into that space was like walking into Ali Baba's cave full of jewels. A little brighter, but with so much wealth spread…

Sampler of White Flowers for Summer and Fall

  • Post published:02/16/2015
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Last week I talked about some of the white spring flowers, but a whole array of white flowers bloom well into the fall. I can only mention a few. White Flowers for Summer One of the more unusual white flowers that grows in my garden is Artemesia lactiflora. Most of us think of artemesias as having silvery foliage and insignificant flowers. My Artemesia lactiflora grows in a very upright clump with reddish-maroon stems and very dark toothed foliage.…

Bonnie Kate’s Wedding

  • Post published:02/14/2015
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On this Valentine's Day I'd like to share the story of daughter bonnie Kate's wedding, a chapter from my book The Roses at the End of the Road. Bonnie Kate’s Wedding        Our daughter Kate was never much interested in the garden, but when I planted the first roses in 1981 and laid out the plan for the Rose Walk, she did express a romantic desire to be married amid the roses. On a June Sunday in 1994 it…

Street Art: The Audubon Mural Project

  • Post published:02/12/2015
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The February Audubon Newsletter features an amazing art project - painting portraits of all 314 climate threatened or endangered birds on  the roll down security gates in  the Hamilton Heights area of NYC, where coincidently,  John James Audubon once lived. This is the brainstorm of gallery owner Avi Gitler, and artist Tom Sanford. Street art to spread the word about the plight of these birds. The New York Times thought this was a great idea too. The Newsletter…

Bright and White and BarelyFreezing

  • Post published:02/11/2015
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It is bright and white and barely freezing. The snow has stopped. The plow arrived. One car got  out. The snow has fallen and drifted into the Sunken Garden, half burying the Sargent Crabtree. The western wall is over six feet high - also buried. If you look closely you'll see a tiny branch at the right of this photo, hinting of the three hydrangeas now buried - and probably damaged. Sigh. We are really really happy that…

White Flowers That Bloom in the Spring – Tra la

  • Post published:02/09/2015
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As I look out at the newly white fields, I cannot help but think about the white flowers that bloom in the spring. There are so many, from shrubs, tall perennials, and low blooming groundcovers. White flowers bring a cool serenity to the garden and they are visible after sunset in the gloaming. Many of us have a desk or a favorite chair by a window where we read or do other close work like quilting. When we…

From Heath to Cambridge, MA

  • Post published:02/06/2015
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On Thursday the snow stopped long enough for me to make my escape from Heath, onward to Cambridge, MA for a visit with my son and a writer's workshop organized by the Garden Writer's Association. And what did I see when I got to Cambridge, MA?  Snow. And ice. And icy icy sidewalks.  I should have brought my YakTrax. I think snow is more of a problem in a city, but the trip was more than worth it.…