Happy New Year January 1, 2013

View from our bedroom January 1

Happy New Year to all!

“The Old Year has gone.  Let the dead past bury its own dead.  The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time.  All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!  ~Edward Payson Powell  (American author and journalist 1833-1915)

Celebration Season – Eat Your Heart Out

Heath Gourmet Club

Celebration Season this year has been quite lengthy. We had one rowdy family Christmas on December 22, but then a quiet adult Christmas  on December 25 with only one child and his lady, and a dear friend who always joins us for Christmas dinner. On December 29 the Heath Gourmet Club celebrated Christmas with a theme of Looks Like a Wreath to Me! Nearly every course was wreath-like. My savarin pans came in handy for the main course which was grape leaf covered rice and beef, with roasted cauliflower in the center and braised kale with colorful dice peppers surrounding it. My Green celebration bread was a big hit. Gourmet Club has been serving ourselves for over 31 years! Wonderful food with never a single failure, and friendship.

Wreath de Noel

The finale was not a Buche de Noel but a Wreath de Noel with lots of fabulous chocolate ganache, pistachio marzipan (home made) and topped off with a fondant ribbon.

Grand and great-granchildren

Yesterday, we drove throught the nearly 20 inches of snow that the last two days have brought for a final family Christmas. The eating continued with some of the Butternut Squash soup I made for Gourmet Club, and delicious pumpkin pie. The children all agreed that pumpkin is a vegetable and they were very happy to eat their vegetables.  It is impossible to get all the children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren together anytime except in the summer, but we had a very nice showing. They even stopped moving long enough for a posed photo.

Son, grandson and great granddaughters

There were a few quiet moments. Reading Aloud. Lola, the youngest, got a new copy of Maurice Sendak’s Nutshell Library. Happy reading. Happy day. Happy family. And a happy new year beginning tomorrow

How to Give a Gift Plant

Jerusalem cherry

A living plant can be a wonderful holiday gift whether it is chosen for its flowers or for its foliage. However, before you give a plant think about the recipient. Will she accept the plant as a long lived bouquet and then let it go to its eternal reward in the compost pile? After admiring the plant will she feel overwhelmed by the necessity of caring for the plant? Will she weep because she wanted to keep it alive, but to no avail?

Many blooming houseplants are given with no expectation that they will be kept for another blooming season. Forced amaryllis and paper whites may be among this category. The amaryllis is a spectacular holiday plant with blossoms that comes in a range of shades from brilliant red to pink to white, and some with stripes. It is easy to find large prepared and potted amaryllis bulbs online or in local garden centers. All you need to do is water the bulb well, and then wait for growth to start. The recipient will only need to water the plant regular and the reward will be large glamorous blooms that can last over a month.

Sun and cool temperatures, 55 to 65 degrees, will help produce sturdy flower stems, but the plant should be turned regularly so the plant is not always reaching in the same direction for sun.

Many people are perfectly happy to say good-bye to an amaryllis after it blooms, or pass it along to a friend who really wants to keep it going.

Less spectacular, but no less delightful are forced daffodils (narcissus). It used to be that people were happy to half-bury some paper-whites in pebbles in a pretty shallow bowl that could hold some water and stored in a cool basement while roots form. Nowadays, all manner of daffodils can be potted up from miniature brilliant yellow Tete-a-tetes, to the tall paper whites. They can be planted in planting mix along with a little bulb fertilizer. While they do need cool to cold temperatures to start root growth they do not need basement darkness. Give them light. The soil should be kept moist.

Conventional wisdom says these forced bulbs will never bloom again, but if you, or the recipient, want to try to bring these forced bulbs into bloom again the foliage should be left to ripen after the bloom period. Then in the spring the yellowed foliage can be cut back and the bulbs can be planted in the garden with a little bone meal or bulb fertilizer. They may come back, or they may not. I have experienced both outcomes, but there is nothing to be lost.

I just bought myself the gift of a Jerusalem cherry for my bedroom because the red ‘cherries’ make it look like a little Christmas tree. This plant, like the ornamental pepper is an annual, just like the petunias we enjoy in their season. There is absolutely no expectation that it will have a life much beyond the holiday season. It can be tossed with no regrets. Be aware that the fruits are not edible and children should be warned.

The Jerusalem cherry is perfect for my bedroom because nighttime temperatures are very cool, down to 50 degrees. Ornamental peppers need warmer temperatures even at night, and both plants need at least four hours of bright sun.

Another plant that needs cool temperatures, preferably day and night is the beautiful cyclamen which is available in shades of red, pink and white. I keep cyclamen in my bedroom or the sitting room (where no one ever sits, but just passes through) because these rooms have bright sun, but are cool day and night. However, I do bring the pot of lovely blooms out into the living area when we have holiday guests. Short periods of warm temperatures will not shorten bloom time very much.

I have noticed that kalanchoe are beginning to appear at the supermarket as well as at the garden center. These easy care succulents have thick, waxy foliage that stores water and make them relatively drought resistant. The tiny flowers growing in little bunches in shades of red, orange and yellow.  When choosing a gift kalanchoe look for one that still has most of the flowers in bud, and whose leaves are nice and plump showing that it has been cared for properly in the nursery. They need at least four hours of sun and cool nighttime temperatures.

Of course there is always the Christmas poinsettia in red, pink or white. It’s blooms last for a very long time because the flowers are actually bracts. When they finally fade, I always just throw the plant on the compost pile. Easy enjoyment with no second thoughts. A good attitude for beginning the holiday season, I think. Is a gift plant on your list this year?

Between the Rows  December 1, 2012

I Made This Christmas Wreath

My Christmas Wreath

One of the pleasures of belonging to the Greenfield Garden Club is the November meeting at Chapley Gardens where we have help and materials to make our own wreath.  This year I did pretty well. At least better than I did before.

weeds and hips in winter

Mother Nature decorates like this.

For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.

What Comes After Thanksgiving? The First Snow

The Major and Rory

Thanksgiving Day dawned mild and sunny.  There was little left to do in the morning at daughter Betsy’s house so there was time for a stroll and for The Major and grandson Rory to have a tete a tete.

Thanksgiving crowd

Things got a lot busier at daughter Diane’s house, especially in the Thanksgiving kitchen. Cooks and kibbitzers gathered near the stove to be there when the turkey came out of the oven.

The Thanksgiving table

It is impossible to get everyone in the frame at the Thanksgiving table but all 15 of us were there. We couldn’t reach the Texas branch of the family who were in Pittsburg (?) with the Lawn family but a toast was drunk to family and friends, near and far.

Lawn Bed

Post Thanksgiving weather was cold, breezy and raw. This morning we woke to snow. The flurries are slight, the air is still, and the temeprature is up to 32 degrees, but the ground is covered.

Japanese lantern

We are poised for a peaceful moment, but time does not stand still.

Christmas wreath

The Christmas wreath is hung and the dance towards Christmas has begun. The halls must be decked, the oven fired up and beds prepared for guests.

What Does Prosperity Look Like

One beautiful day this fall I was driving around doing my errands when I passed a farmhouse shaded by trees. I was forcefully struck by the beauty of the well kept house in a peaceful shade. I was also struck by the thought that this is what prosperity looks like.

As we have traveled through the political campaign season, and the harvest season on our way to Thanksgiving I cannot help thinking about what it means to be prosperous, personally, in our community, and in our nation.

According to my American Heritage Dictionary prosperity means “the condition of having good fortune or financial success.” I was interested that the first condition is having good fortune, with financial success coming second. Certainly the United States is fortunate in the wealth of its natural resources and the vast acreage of fertile farmlands. It is fortunate in its hardworking population; a population ever revitalized by immigrants from all over the world who bring intelligence, strength, creativity and energy to benefit the nation as they build prosperity for their own families.

The dictionary does not define financial success. What does it take to feel  financially successful? I don’t think it requires great wealth, but it does require a sufficiency. It requires enough to provide a safe and warm home, enough food and clothing, access to health care and something left over for pleasures of the mind and

spirit.

Fortunately it does not take great wealth to enjoy a rich life. A rich life is made up of loving family and friends, and of involvement with community enterprises. Rewarding work is a large part of a rich life, but rewarding work does not always bring great wealth as any teacher, farmer, bank manager, nurse, car mechanic, plumber or electrician will tell you.

Our region is fortunate in its rich history of prudence and prosperity. We have good farmlands, beautiful hills and rivers that attract visitors from around the world, and a multitude of small and large businesses. We are fortunate in our population of intelligent, energetic and creative people who make up a vibrant community engaging in business, agriculture, the arts, and service to their towns by volunteering for town offices and boards.

It takes intelligence and labor to build prosperity. Whether we labor in the fields, in supermarkets, in restaurants, schools, hospitals or offices, we have to think, solve problems, and build relationships. We have to plan, and plan again when circumstances change.

When I plan and work in my spring garden I spread my resources of compost, fertilizers and seeds. Yet I may have to alter plans, and possibly gather new resources as the season progresses bringing drought or flood, insects or disease, or some other concern of my own that shortens my hours of garden labor.

So as I travel to Shelburne and Greenfield, make side trips to Ashfield and Deerfield and other surrounding towns I admire the well kept farmhouses, suburban streets, and new condominiums, but I also travel past the food pantries at the Center for Self Reliance and the Survival Center. I donate money and bake bread for the Food Distribution at the Charlemont Federated Church. The Recorder joins with Wilson’s Department store to sponsor and promote Warm the Children, an effort that supplies over 1000 children with vital winter clothing. Not all of us are enjoying good fortune.

I read news of business closings on the front page of newspapers and I see the list of home foreclosures on the back pages. It is easy to see that it takes more than intelligence and energy to build prosperity. It takes good luck as well.

And so as Thanksgiving approaches and I set off to buy cranberries, pumpkin, and apples, my contributions to the Family Feast, along with my homegrown squash, I give thanks for my own good fortune. I pray for good fortune for us all. I pray that all our legislators will work together with wisdom to find a way to take us all down the road to prosperity for all.

Between the Rows  November 17, 2012

Cookies for Moonlight Magic

Cookies for Moonlight Magic

I’m still baking for the Family Feast tomorrow, but I just finished my cookies for Moonlight Magic in Shelburne Falls on Friday, November 23. Lots of  cookies for sale at the Visitors Center and lots of magic throughout the town.

For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.

Fourth of July – Red, White and Blue in Bloom

Red Meideland roses

Red roses.

Red and White Meideland roses

Red and white roses.

Mothlight hydrangea

White Mothlight hydrangea.

Switzerland shasta daisies

White Switzerland shasta daisies.

Connecticut Yankee delphiniums

Blue Connecticut Yankee delphiniums. Falling over, but unbowed.

For more Wordlessness this Independence Day Wednesday click here.

Weekend of Plants and Memorials

The Ladue Family on the Bridge of Flowers

This Mother’s Day weekend was filled with flowers, and memorials. The Ladue family, Kimberly, Troy and Lisa, visited the Bridge of Flowers and presented the Bridge committee with a donation that will help keep the Bridge in bloom. Their mother, Margaret Oliver Ladue was a flower lover and (among other things) worked in the gardens of an assisted living home. Through their family foundation, her children are able to support their mother’s interests in education with an annual scholarship and by supporting other organizations that reflect their mother’s interests. For more about the work of the foundation you can click here.

Edie Gerry, Buckland Library Trustee

I was also happy to attend the planting of an American Elm tree at the Buckland Public Library in memory of John Powell, a Buckland native whose final work for the town was the help he gave the Library with its new addition to make it energy efficient. I treasure my memories of John when he visited the library and we tried to figure out which books of his favorite authors he had not read, and his memories of the town in earlier days. Just this past week the Library received notice that it was awarded Silver Leed Certification.

Caitlin, Diane and Tricia

My Mother’s Day was filled with so much lively family that there was hardly time to take photographs. My gift was hours of labor in the gardens. Mowing, digging, planting, fence building – and the opening of the Cottage Ornee. I did one picture of daughter Diane with her two daughters as they prepared to leave, with potted plants for their gardens. For all of them including, daughter Betsy,  and grandsons Rory, Tynan, and Ryan (teenagers getting ready to drive!),not to mention the ones who could not be here, Philip, Chris, Kate, Greg, Anthony and Drew, I am truly grateful.

New Goals For the New Year

“What news? What news?” was often the cry when E. F. Benson’s delightfully pretentious Lucia met her neighbor Georgie coming across the Riseholm village green in “Queen Lucia,” the first of several books about the life in an English village before WWII.

When I return from Saturday morning rounds in my own rural village my husband always wants to know what news I bring home.

“What’s new?” is our inevitable query of neighbors at local gatherings.

The desire to be in the know, aware of the latest news and rumors, trends and fashions seems to be built into our genes. Right now, as we stand at the cusp of a new year, we gardeners are already being bombarded with catalogs promising the newest horticultural offerings, latest achievements in hybridizing and the dandiest new gadgets.

I’ve been doing a tiny survey to find out if any of the people I know make new year’s resolutions anymore. No one I asked admitted to doing such a thing, but several said they set themselves goals for the year, for their business, in their domestic life, and their social life. Some said they liked getting close to a goal – and then setting a new stretch goal. I think many gardeners will greet the new year with one or two new goals, and maybe even stretch a little further.

When I opened my Johnny’s catalog I was instantly launched into a suggested goal, “Create a season-long planting program (to) ensure a continuous supply, make efficient use of space and effectively schedule planting times.” That is a noble goal and one I set myself every year, but rarely manage to carry out to any great degree. This is a new year, however, and it is a goal I can commit to. Once again.

With all the talk about the eating local trend, and growing your own vegetables, even if you don’t own a piece of land, those with a deck might set a goal of learning to grow vegetables in containers. Cherry tomatoes are easy to grow in containers, and many lettuces can be harvested in the baby stage after only about 30 days. Renee’s Garden offers a new variety of zucchini that is suitable for container growing. Growing herbs in containers will save cooks a lot of money over the summer and fall. How much do you spend on parsley alone every season?

Every catalog will tout their new varieties. Johnny’s has a whole new vegetable for farmers that they are calling “Flower Sprouts,”  a cross between Brussels sprouts and kale. The mildly flavored rosette-like sprouts the color of Red Russian kale grow on stalks like Brussels sprouts. I hope some of the local farms grow will grow this.

Some catalogs like the Seed Savers Exchange (SSE) are offering newly available old varieties. Many hybrids are suitable for the home gardener because they have been bred for disease resistance, but many are also bred to ripen all at once and be less fragile, both qualities that are important for commercial growers whose crops have to be up to the rigors of long distance transportation, but not are not as concerned with flavor.

Mantilia from SSE is a new old butterhead that has won taste testing competitions and is “mild, tender and sweet.”  I love butterhead lettuces.

Heirloom seeds also help keep the gene pool robust and abundantly diverse. We never know what stresses or changing conditions will arise, affecting plant growth and thus our food supply. Scientists cannot make useful hybrids if they don’t have a large healthy gene pool at their disposal.

Bluestone Perennials touts their new use of biodegradable pots on their catalog cover, along with 120 new items. Their new pots are made of coir, coconut husk fibers. These fibrous pots allow for better air exchange which fosters good root growth. Since these pots go directly into the soil, there is no transplant shock. Actually, these coir pots appeared last year and I can attest to the benefits.

Bluestone has many familiar and unusual flowers on offer. I remember when Echinacea, coneflower, came in a dusky pink or white, but now there are pinks, gold orange and green; some, like ‘Milkshake,’ have large shaggy centers and recurved petals.

Then there are always new projects. Sometimes that is a planting project like a blueberry patch. Sometimes it is a new structure from a trellis to hold cukes or melons, and sometimes a garden shed. My garden shed has changed my life. Now my tools and supplies are organized and accessible.

We are planning a new fence around the vegetable garden which includes a small raspberry and black raspberry patch. This past year I had as much trouble from rabbits as from deer, but we hope a new fence around the whole area will solve the problem. I am even hoping for a nice gate.

As the year turns, and you turn to your garden catalogs, what new things do you hope for in 2012?  New plants? A new planting bed – ornamental or vegetal? Do you need a new tool – or a new tool sharpener? What new project are you considering?

Whatever new directions you take in your garden this year I wish you every success, and every pleasure. ###

Between the Rows  December 31, 2011