Down Memory Lane at the End of the Road

  • Post published:07/12/2015
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As I begin planting new gardens in Greenfield, I have been reminiscing about the adventures we’ve had with gardens at the End of the Road. When we moved here in November of 1979 I must confess to having very little garden experience. In 1972-3 I had a very tiny vegetable garden at my Grinnell Street House. Then we moved to North Berwick, Maine and in the spring of 1975 I planted a large vegetable garden there.             I…

Shades of White for Winter, Spring and Summer

  • Post published:03/04/2015
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There are many shades of white in this world. Snow white is what I have been looking at for three frigid months now, but I dream of shades of white for spring and summer. First come the snowdrops - as white as snow. A very welcome white. Rhododendrons bloom towards the end of May, but 'Boule de Neige'  (Snowball) has a memory of the white winter. Somehow this pristine white seems prettier than the snow. High summer and…

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…

Sastrugi Finally Forms at the End of the Road

  • Post published:02/02/2015
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It hasn't been a great winter for the formation of sastrugi. The snow has been heavy and wet, not much given to drifting. But this last snow storm brought frigid temperatures and high gusting winds. The result is the first sastrugi of the year forming at the western lip of the Sunken Garden. The word sastrugi is from a Russian word which means snow wave  or caves. We have all noticed them. More now. The sastrugi  shifts and…

Weather Review for 2014 at the End of the Road

  • Post published:01/29/2015
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A year ago I determined that I would keep a Weather Review for the year. The purpose of the Weather Review was an aide memoire because I can never remember whether last summer was droughty - or was it the year before.  I  wasn't able to stick to a strict schedule of photography, but here we go for a quick run through the year.  January 2014 was a month of extremes with  early morning temperatures that ranged from…

“Blizzard for the Ages” a Bust in Heath

  • Post published:01/27/2015
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All was quiet and beautiful after a slight snowfall, but the "Blizzard for the Ages" was predicted. Everyone prepared to hunker down. Supermarkets and libraries were unusually busy as hunkering has many aspects. Pots of water set aside along with firewood and flashlight batteries. A state of emergency was declared for Massachusetts and all non-emergency workers  told to stay home. The snow, a fine dry snow, did not begin in Heath until 10 pm on Monday, January 26.…

My Amaryllis Mystery

  • Post published:01/19/2015
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I suppose my amaryllis mystery began on December 11, 2014 when I rather belatedly bought boxed amaryllis bulbs ready for planting and blooming. I knew they would not bloom in time for Christmas, but glamorous amaryllis flowers  are welcome in January and February as well. I potted all three bulbs up as directed. I did notice that the Athene white amaryllis seemed to have been pruned back more severely or more  recently than the other two. I kept…

Dinner Theater at the End of the Road

  • Post published:10/01/2014
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A different kind of Dinner Theater. At this time of the year we are sitting down at our dining table in front of  big windows that look out across the lawn, to the hills beyond, and into the sky for supper right at sunset. The show is brief and doesn't take us  all the way to dessert, but it is spectacular. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.

View from the Bedroom Window – April 2014

  • Post published:05/13/2014
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March's snow and frigid temperatures (the coldest March in year) are ALMOST gone. The view from the bedroom window has really changed. April 6 was the first day we were able to go out in the garden - for a while. 30 degrees at 7 am with a high of 50 degrees. Oh no! After days of frosty temperatures, and some rain - Snow!  Two inches. But it warmed up and was mostly gone  by evening. And this…