Mount Blanc rugosa The Last Rose Viewing has come and gone, but it was an unforgettable day - Rain! I always said 'It never rains on the Rose Viewing' but that record was broken on Sunday when there was mist - and then real rain. But hardy souls turned up anyway dressed in slickers and boots, umbrellas at the ready. Rose Viewing attendees It was not only raining, it was cold. Those little girls were not happy. This…
Carload of plants including divisions from Heath Garden to Greenfield Now that I have planted Greenfield hellstrip I can make the official announcement: we are the proud owners of a small house with a small yard in Greenfield. The house has garden space on the south side and a rectangular back yard, but there is only a small front yard plus a hellstrip, which a polite person might call a curbside garden. Once it is planted. The house…
This year the Annual Rose Viewing will be the Last Rose Viewing - at the End of Knott Road in Heath. The Rachel Rose, named for one of Heath's grand dames, will be holding court with other notables like The Queen of Denmark and Madame Plantier. Mount Blanc rugosa The rugosas are among the first roses to bloom in June. Fragrant Mount Blanc is one of my favorites. Thomas Affleck rose Thomas Affleck does not have the promised…
The Amherst Historical Society is helping the Garden Club of Amherst celebrate their 100th anniversary - in its own way. The Amherst Historical Society will hold its Annual Garden Tour June 27 from 10:00-4:00. Tickets are available at A.J. Hastings, Andrews Greenhouse, Amherst Books and Hadley Garden Center. For more information click here. 100 YEARS! In celebration of its 100th anniversary, the Garden Club of Amherst is holding a lecture by Roger Swain, the former host of PBS Victory Garden, Sunday June…
Ruah Donnelly’s house overlooks a wooded ravine, a tapestry of shades of green and shifting light. There is not a flower in sight. Donnelly says that over her years as a gardener she has experienced a growing struggle between wanting art in the garden and wanting to conserve the landscape. While she thinks conservation is winning the battle, any visitor to this garden and landscape will see no struggle, only beauty. Donnelly’s garden is only one of the…
On this June Garden Bloggers Bloom Day we feel summer has finally come to our hill in western Massachusetts. Consistent warm weather has been a long time coming and some plants show cold damage that arrived all too late in the season. This section of our lawn remains a flowery mead because I have planted daffodils here and we have to wait this long before mowing down the spent daffodil foliage. At this time of the garden season…
Virginia Rechtschaffen has always loved trees. She and her husband Rob even once owned a house in Belchertown that came complete with an orchard. Lots of trees. For the past 20 years she and Rob have lived in Northampton and accomplished something I would have thought impossible. Their in-town garden is embraced by a ring of large trees with a heart of sunshine at its center. How did they do it? Virginia said when they moved into the…
The Garden Tour Season is upon us! The entry garden above is one of the gardens on the 22nd Forbes Library Garden Tour which will be held on Saturday, June 13 from 10 am to 3 pm. Your ticket is a map of the six varied gardens on this self guided tour. Tickets are $15, but $20 the day of the tour, and are available at Forbes Library and businesses like Bay State Perennial Farm and State Street…
Many of us take soil for granted. I just spoke to my daughter who said she broke sod for a tiny new vegetable garden. After taking away the sod she said she filled that space with good dirt. When I asked what good dirt was she said bags of organic dirt from Home Depot. We’re still talking dirt, even though she talked about good and bad dirt, soil. I may get dirty while working in my garden,…
The Fifth Annual Bee Fest will be held at the Second Congregational Church on Bank Row in Greenfield on Saturday, June 6 at 10 am. The event includes the Langstroth Lecture from 10-11 m - honoring the Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth who once served at the church and who discovered 'bee space' and created the modern bee hive with movable frames. There will also be activities for children including a Honey Bee Tea Party and a Bee Parade through…