Gardens of the High Line

  • Post published:07/29/2017
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Those involved with the creation of the High Line gardens in New York City were always aware of their predecessor, the Bridge of Flowers in ShelburneFalls. Both gardens make use of disused railroad/trolley tracks to create a beautiful garden that will welcome strollers from the neighborhood and visitors from far away. But there is a difference between these two public gardens that goes beyond physical scale. In Gardens of the High Line by Piet Oudolf and Rick Darke…

Backyard Berries for Delight

  • Post published:07/22/2017
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If you have berries in your backyard you can have fresh blueberries on your cereal in the morning and raspberries on your shortcake or ice cream for your dinner dessert. As far as I am concerned these are the easiest backyard berries to plant and harvest, but I am considering adding thornless blackberries. No matter what kind of berries you want, the first thing to do is choose your site and prepare your soil. All berries need at…

Tranquility in the Shade

  • Post published:07/18/2017
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The Master Gardeners organized a wonderful garden tour to Philadelphia and environs.  Both Chanticleer and the Mt.CubaCenter gave us the shade of a woodland and I am so glad both were included. The first garden we went to was Chanticleer. Once the Rosengarten estate, it opened as a public garden in 1993. I had expected lush, but neat beds of exotic flowers, but what I found at Chanticleer was a peaceful garden with large potted plants in the…

Bloom Day – July 15, 2017

On this July Garden Blogger's Bloom Day in Massachusettss my blooms are quite spread out, although I am looking forward to clusters of blooming daylilies very soon. On our divided hellstrip we have several daylilies. I  got lucky in this section with congenial wine-y colors on the bee balm, daylily and echinacea. There are daylilies in several places in  the garden, but I can guarantee I don't remember many of their names. In between the South and North…

A.R.T.S. and Earth-Kind Rose Trials

  • Post published:07/09/2017
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Recently I met with Michael Schwartz at the Naugatuck Valley Community College in  Connecticut to visit the rose trial gardens of both Earth-Kind roses and the newer organization A.R.T.S. trials. The American Rose Trials for Sustainability (A.R.T.S.) was founded in 2012 when the All America Rose Selections (AARS) closed its doors. Schwartz is the trial director of both gardens, as well as the current president of the A.R.T.S. organization. Earth-Kind roses have been around for a number of…

Daylily Festival on Pickett Lane, Greenfield

  • Post published:07/06/2017
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It's time for the Annual Daylily Festival at 23 Picket Lane in Greenfield. There will be vendors selling their arts and crafts as well. The garden opens at 9 am and the Festival will close at 4 pm. Visitors can walk through the woods that Richard Willard has been clearing and weeding for several years, or you an take a buggy ride out to the daylily fields. Daylilies are marvelous plants, beautiful in many shades and colors and…

Wedding Disaster

  • Post published:07/05/2017
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During the Master Gardeners tour of beautiful gardens, we came upon a young couple  with their photographer taking historic photographs under the tranquil shade of old trees. The groom was handsome and  the  bridge was beautiful and wearing  a gorgeous wedding dress with delicate lace and a train. The photographer had endless directions for the happy couple - please kiss - now, bride, look demure - now look adoringly at each other. All was going swimmingly, although I…