Weeding, Mowing – and a Surprise

Stanley Plum

Mostly I just weeded, and weeded all weekend, while Henry mowed and mowed.  The big job we did, almost, was to take down this Stanley plum tree in our little ‘orchard’ next to the vegetable garden and rasberry patch. This tree has suffered over the years, most notably during the year we lived in Beijing and had renters;  their horses had a fondness for fruit tree bark.  The chain saw gave out before we got down the main trunks. We will enjoy the ’sculpture’ until we get a new bar for the saw.

Plum black knot

The plum tree we took down was suffering from a severe case of black knot fungus.  There was no way to remove a few branches to clean up the tree and making it bear once more. Black knot is unmistakable and very ugly.  The knots will get bigger and bigger every year, and spread through out the tree, sapping its vitality until the tree is no longer productive. All I can do is keep a close eye on the remaining tree and cut out and burn any further knots.

Stanley plums

Fortunately we will be able to continue enjoying  self pollinating Stanley plums because our other tree is bearing. There is a bit of black knot on this tree, but I will  prune out the few affected branches.  Stanley plums are suseptible to black knot.  I don’t know where the original spores come from, possibly from wild cherry trees in  the area.

My compost pile

I had just gathered up and dumped the spent broccoli plants and last weeds for the day on our unlovely compost pile; Henry had put away the lawn mower and we were preparing to call it a day, when a little red Zipcar pulled up.  Usually when an unfamiliar car arrives at the End of the Road it is because the driver has made a wrong turn, but not this time.

Nick and Emily

The End of the Road was very familiar to Nick Griffin whose stepfather sold us the house in 1979.  He and his fiance Emily had been at a big wedding in Vermont and were so close to the vacation home of his youth that he could not resist trying to find it and see if he would remember any of the house or town after 30 years.  We gave him the tour, beginning with his old treehouse, which did have some renovations some number of years ago – and in need of more. It was fun to look at the changes in the house with them, describe the Fourth of July barn fire, talk about our first neighbor, Mabel Vreeland,  and reminisce about summer vacations and ski weekends with only a fireplace for heat. Brrrrr!  I like knowing about how previous owners enjoyed the house, and hearing about their fond memories.

Heath Fair Report

The Heath Fair begins for me on Thursday when a loyal crew sets up the Friends of  the  Heath Library tent, after which we bring in our exhibits. This year I was in charge of bringing in exhibits for Anthony and Drew, and Tynan, as well as my own. Talk about hectic.

When we arrived at the Fair on a sunny Saturday morning we found we had lots of winners. All the boys had won ribbons and Rory’s prizes totalled $10!  My herbs got a first and Carol Lively’s only got a second. We stood there and examined our entries together and laughed. Who could tell the difference?  Oh well, friendly competition.  I did take a second prize for my original Maple Walnut Wafers – a $15 prize.  Janis Steele-McCutchen took the first for her Maple Baklava! Competition was stiff in the Maple Confection class.

Carol Lively's First Prize Garden Basket

The Exhibit Hall was full of the Produce of the  area, not just Heath. There were vegetables, fruits, cheeses, maple syrup, flowers and flower arrangements, quilts, knitting, photographs, paintings, lego constructions, bread, cookies, pies, and a sense of humor.

This whale of a zucchini won a prize in the Vegetable Sculpture class. Well done!

Saturday was a perfect Fair Day, but the weather changed during the night. The rain was light in the morning, but got progressively harder as the day wore on. Did the vendors care? Did we care?  No!

Even the youngest riders in the gymkhana paid little attention to the rain.

The oxen waiting their turn at the ox draw certainly didn’t mind. There was a good crowd of oxen at the Fair this year, and a good audience. There were other ‘pulls’, the Horse Draw, the Tractor Pull and the Garden Tractor Pull.

The music tent was one of the places to sit and keep dry.  The music was great. Our New York City friend Helen got into the Fair spirit hula hooping to the music of the Sweetback Sisters from Brooklyn!

The kids had no interest in hooping under the tent when they could gyrate in the rain and get drenched. Much more fun.

The Heath Fair celebrates the agriculture present, and future of the area, but with a nod back to history and the old tasks that had to be done. This young person is learning how to make rope. You always needed a good stout piece of rope on a farm.

Very modern Kara made and wore this authentic outfit as a nod to Heath’s history – even though there was no Fair back in  the 19th century.  But we hope the  Fair will continue until our jeans and T-shirts look as quaint to Fairgoers as this beautiful dress.

Late Boys, Early Raspberries and Runaways

Drew and Anthony in the raspberries

All week we had been waiting for our daughter Kate and her family to arrive. We knew they had been at her husband’s family reunion at a state park in NY, celebrating his parents 80th and 90th birthday – and their 60th wedding anniversary. I expected them to arrive mid-week, but there was no word. We called Kate’s cell phone. We sent emails. We sent Facebook messages. No word. No word. No word. Had they been carjacked? We did internet research and found phone numbers for two of Greg’s sisters.  We called. We left messages. Finally, we heard. They stayed in the park (no Internet in the park!) camping after the official Sunday party, visiting and enjoying the park and the family.  And learning that Greg’s very proper parents had more than a whirlwind courtship. They met on a group date, went out together twice more before they had to part to their respective, distant homes. They corresponded and arranged a wedding that took place six weeks later.  Those mad romantic fools!

Drew and Anthony

Kate, Greg, Anthony and Drew finally arrived on the Fourth of July. A whirl to measure them on the door – and learn that Drew grew 7 inches in the last year and is now just a mite taller than his brother! Then off to a Mohawk Trails Concert with classical music, Broadway music – and Small Change joined by famous jazz French hornist (and Heathan) John Clark playing their special music. I don’t know how to classify it, but the boys, and we, had a great time!

Once home we sent the boys off to pick raspberries. Usually when they are here they pick blueberries, but the raspberries are early this year. You can see I really need to thin the raspberries better. Thinning and pruning sufficiently are two of my weaknesses. I find it so hard to cut back when the plants have been successful and grown vigorously. We had those raspberries on ice cream in the Cottage Ornee after supper. The evening was cooling down and the Cottage caught the breeze. The ice cream was still really good after a hot Fourth.

As we walked from the raspberry patch to the house the boys noticed a runaway rose.  This rose has not runaway into the field from it’s nearest neighbor, but from . . .  ?  It looks like one of the Farm Girls who grow some distance away. Did a bird spread the seed?

I used to think this was an apothecary rose, but now I am doubtful. Whatever it is, it is thriving in a very wet spot and spreading by root into the adjoining field.

The roses Terri Pettingill gave me from her mother’s house in Maine have never really thrived here, but this  one is sending roots out into the field as well.  Controlling roses is trickier than I ever thought it would be, and sometimes it requires a ruthlessness I have not been able to muster.

No Rain at the Annual Rose Viewing

The Rose Walk

The sky was gray and a few guests came early to the Rose Viewing, hoping to beat the rain, but blue skies arrived, as well as muggy temperatures, and more guests. It is always a pleasure to show people around the garden myself, but visitors can also go around with a rose list and map that my husband makes. Since I look on the Rose Viewing as a quasi-educational event I am always pleased to see people making notes on their rose list. I am also happy to be able to recommend nurseries like the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas which sends container grown roses through the mail in the spring. The advantage to container grown roses is that if the weather is bad, sleety, frosty or even too darn hot, the container plants can be kept watered and happy until they can be put safely in the ground.

Red Meidiland rose

There was a lot of discussion about whether the roses were all early, but after the spell of high temperatures that send the roses rushing into bloom, it got turned cold again. Another fire in the woodstove. It stayed cool and most of the roses relaxed, content with their more normal bloom times.  Remember our house and garden are more than 1600 feet above sea level and that means that nights are cool through most of the summer. One rose that is blooming early is this red Meidiland landscape rose that came as a sample from the hybridizer more than 15 years ago.  Usually it has only a few blossoms to show at the Rose Viewing which is always the last Sunday in June.  It has survived nicely, as has the White Meidiland next to it, but our weather is severe enough that it hasn’t attained the spread it is known for. You can image that this brilliant scarlet rose is quite a delightful shock when the other roses are in shades of pink and white.

In the Cottage Ornee

As delightful as it is to wander among the roses, enjoying all the fragrance, the day was hot, and it was equally delightful to sit down in the Cottage Ornee and visit. The Cottage quite magically seems to capture every wayward breeze, the lemonade was cold, the strawberries sweet, and the cookies delicious. If I do say so myself.  Then Sheila brought her handmade goat cheeses and Cheryl, pictured above with our neighbors the McCutchens, brought Strawberry Shortcake!

Growth – High and Low

One week old

The chicks are one week old! They all survived the USPS trip here and a week of hot weather which has actually been a great benefit. Chicks need 95 degree heat the first week.  I don’t know that I have ever gotten through the first week with no fatalities before so we are celebrating. The photo is a little fuzzy. It was hard to take the picture and hold the chick at the same time, but you can see that the baby fuzz is beginning to turn into feathers. This chick might be a New Hampshire Red – or it might be a Buff Orpington. Hard to tell the difference at this stage.

Winecap mushrooms

On my Saturday rounds I stopped at my neighbor’s house to trade fresh laid eggs for a box of winecap mushrooms. Al Canali and his wife are wonderful cooks, and gardeners. Mushrooms are Al’s latest enthusiasm. He took this photo of the winecaps before harvest.

Winecap mushroom farm

I took this photo of the Winecap farm after harvest. It is located in the damp shade under arching shrubs. All it took was good compost, wood chips and Winecap spawn. Al’s descriptions of how easy it is to grow Winecaps have inspired me. I think I have a perfect spot.

Al in his mushroom nook

After inspecting and tasting the Winecaps (delicious and nutty!) then visiting the Winecap farm, Al took me to his mushroom nook. He said he originally envisioned a Mushroom Nation, then thought a Mushroom State would suffice. He later thought a Mushroom Town would be adequate but now says he is satisfied with his Mushroom Nook where he has over 100 logs inoculated with shiitake and oyster mushrooms.

This area gets only two hours of sun a day, but it could be even shadier, Al said. You can see he has his bathtub for soaking the logs before (or maybe just after) inoculating them with the mushroom spawn. You can just see the handle of the copper drill behind Al.  Each log is drilled with multiple holes which are then filled with the spawn.

Inoculated log

Al explained that the white streaks indicate that the log is well inoculated, and that mushroom should result.

Mushroom ping

The light colored spot on this log is a ‘ping’, a sign that a mushroom will appear here soon.

Mushroom Nook

Al has labeled piles of logs for warm weather and cold weather mushrooms. Last year he said they had so many mushrooms that they ate them fresh, dried them and made duxelles, a mixture of minced mushrooms sauteed in butter with a little onion or shallots and a bit of wine, which they froze and were able to use over a long period of time.  I’m not ready to drill logs or find a shady nook on my sunny hill, but the idea of winecaps growing in wood chips is enticing.

The report from my garden is that bloom is bustin’ out all over.  The peonies are opening.  Most of my peonies are shades of pink.

Kansas peony

This may be my only deeply colored peony, although I did plant a Coral Charm a week or so ago.

Rosa alba semi-plena

The rugosa roses are always the first to bloom and have been out for about a week, but all of a sudden this rose burst into bloom. There is a lot of ‘all of a sudden’ this spring in the garden. As I look around at the beginning of rose bloom I am wondering whether we will have to change the date of the Annual Rose Viewing.  But I am not ready to make a decision yet. Stay tuned.

Fantasy – And Reality

Greenfield Farmers Market

Saturday I went into Greenfield to buy plants at the Greenfield Garden Club Plant sale, but also stopped at the Greenfield Farmers Market to buy beautiful lettuce from The Kitchen Garden for Gourmet Club, and I bought a pot of beautiful double white petunias from LaSalles.

Shoestring Farm Booth

The Farmers Market was full of vegetable starts, flats of annual seedlings, as well as the first greens of the season and huge bouquets of peonies from Hadley where spring has sprung to a greater degree than in Heath. Strolling among the Farmers Market booths my head is filled with fantasy visions of my own garden, equally productive and beautiful.

Shed Bed

When I got home I had to face the reality that I am still weeding and planting madly – and it is not a pretty sight. Some creature is daintily nibbling at the lettuce in the new Front Garden. That will require further investigation and thought.  Somehow the Shed Bed of Roses, next to the henhouse, is incredibly full of weeds and grass this spring. I hadn’t made even one pass through when daughter Diane arrived on Sunday afternoon for  a short visit. I immediately showed her the Shed Bed and we set to. She is such a cooperative and energetic daughter.  I got to use my fabulous West Country Rose Gloves to prune and hold roses out of the way while Diane dug out grass and weeds.  We noticed that the rose Mrs. Doreen Pike, a low rugosa with bright green foliage and pretty very double little blossoms, who had sent runners toward the back of the bed, had totally disappeared to the back of the bed leaving a big empty spot in the front. What to do?  And how to handle that empty spot considering the location of the bed next to the henhouse?

Chickens! There is a fenced chicken yard, but a few adventurous birds  routinely fly the coop for a day eating grass and bugs and taking ‘dust’ baths in the cultivated soil of the Shed Bed. Since I fear the dread ‘rose disease’ that spells certain doom for any rose planted where a rose lived before (at least for a couple of years) one solution to that empty space is a patch of annuals. Not good design, but functional. The problem is those chickens and their dust baths. I’m wondering if I can make a kind of cage out of chicken wire to put over the annual seedlings. The chickens won’t be able to dig them up and the annuals (maybe cosmos?) will grow up through the cage and pretty much hide it. It’s my only idea so far. What do you think?

On Your Mark . . .

Get Set . . .

And buy!  Gardeners are allowed to browse the hundreds of perennials laid out at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale – but no touching!  Not until the starting bell rings out.  This year the young woman in charge of the Annuals from LaSalle’s in Whately said for the first time she had two women poised over a single flat of gorgeous rich purple geraniums. They did not come to blows; they shared, half and half.

Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale

The sale runs til noon and committee members were on duty along with Carol Delorenzo, our Head Gardener, to answer questions about the suitability of a plant for a particular site, and share tips on plant care.

Bridge of Flowers Entry - Shelburne Side

I stopped at the Bridge on my way to the Sale for inspiration – which begins right at the entry.  I knew I would need to get home right after the sale to begin planting, which still continues.  I cleared out a spirea shrub that was not doing well and now I have a big new space that I am filling with blue and white flowers, Connecticut Yankee delphiniums, Blue Paradise phlox, White Seashell cosmos, annual light blue lobelia, Snow in summer and a white filipendula.  For a little accent I planted two beautiful golden Troillus globe flowers and a yellow yarrow.  Other perennials have been planted in other beds.  Most of the annuals will go in containers. Stay tuned.

Wisteria 5-19

One of the pleasures of the week has been watching the wisteria begin to bloom.

Wisteria 5-23

As the sun was  setting last night the air was filled with the sweet perfume of the wisteria. What a way to end the week.

Gardening There – and Here

Betsy and me in The Secret Garden

If there is anything more enjoyable than an afternoon working in one’s own garden, it is spending an afternoon working with a daughter in her garden.  Yesterday we visited Betsy for a garden consultation, nursery shopping and planting day. Betsy has done some landscaping around her house which is built on sand that hides many many stones. In fact the house is directly across the road from a granite quarry whose boulders form a major element of the landscaping. However,  she has not really been a gardener. That is changing. We went to Mahoney’s huge nursery, which is overwhelming, but between us we picked out an array of plants that she likes – and that are suitable for different areas of the property.

Betsy - finished with planting

This little sunny garden is not visible from the house and Betsy calls it her Secret Garden. It is filled with spring bloomers, Siberian and bearded iris, creeping phlox and ajuga. Quoting The Nonstop Garden: A Step-by-step Guide to Smart Plant Choices and Four Season Designs by Stephanie Cohen and Jennifer Benner, I helped Betsy choose plants that would extend her bloom season. I was so happy when I saw her light up at the sight of a pot of daisies. “I love daisies!” she said.  We bought daisies and pink echinacea, and a bargain pot of coreopsis, and a red bee balm I brought from my own garden.

Roadside garden

One of the appeals and challenges of Betsy’s property is the little woodland. It provides privacy for the house – and is home to a number of pink lady slippers!  Betsy is planting the western edge of the woods with shade lovers, like hostas and now a new bleeding heart with golden foliage, but the area between the woods and the busy road has been a bit of a desert wasteland. The soil is sand and stone in equal measure. The area gets shade from the quarry on the other side of the road and the woods. It only gets sun until about 1 in the afternoon at this time of the year.  With Henry hard at work digging $50 holes, we planted a pink mountain laurel, a big pink astilbe and Walker’s Low nepeta. The lesson for Betsy was stressing the importance of $50 holes for planting, loosening the tight roots of the potted plants, and  using a mixture of  two parts composted cow manure, 1 part peat moss and 1 part of the removed sandy soil around the plants. Unfortunately, Betsy couldn’t find any commercial compost makers in her area and has to make do with bags of composted cow manure – and we used a lot!  The final part of the lesson was deep watering and an admonition to keep watering these plants while they settle in and get established. This is especially important considering her sandy soil.

Rory, waterer and mouse hunter

Our grandson Rory, 13, was the major waterer. He doesn’t like spiders, but he was fascinated by the mouse that he found living in the hose reel. He also helped moving loads with the lawn tractor. There was work for us all.

We left Betsy to plant her new herbs. She was delighted and amazed to learn that some herbs are perennials. She bought peppermint, sage, marjoram and thyme. And a pot of Italian parsley. I left her with two big clumps of forget me nots from my garden. It was a memorable day.

Naturally I could not go to Mahoney’s without buying something for myself. Today I plant a healthy looking Pinky Winky hydrangea from Proven Winners. This will finish my hydrangea hedge. It will take a while to fill out, of course, but the oakleaf hydrangea, Limelight and Pinky Winky will make a 25 foot long hedge, underplanted with barren strawberry and daffodils. The daffodils are already there and the barren strawberry is slowly moving across the area.

So it’s been a busy week with the purchase of astrantia, echinacea, heucharella, baptisia and astilbe for my own garden as well as the gift of Pocahontas, Excel and Maiden’s Blush lilacs from my friend Jerry. I am planting and weeding and fertilizing. It’s spring!  More plant shopping at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale on Saturday, May 22 in Shelburne Falls!  And more shopping at the Greenfield Garden Club Extravaganza on May 29.  There is always room for more plants.

The Week That Was

Sargent Crabapple

It was quite a week, with two New York days, visiting parks, and the New York Botanical Garden’s Emily Dickinson Exhibit. (See my earlier posts) I came home to my own show – the Sargent Crab in the mucky Sunken Garden is in full bloom. So far it has been able to hold on to it’s leaves and flowers but ever since I got home late Wednesday the winds have been blowing, and the temperature has been dropping. Not below freezing, so far.

Although the Sunken Garden is still boggy, the winds have been drying. I have been watering the roses and vegetables. On April 1 I planted Renee’s Baby Leaf ‘Catalina’ spinach in the Herb Bed and it is just about ready for a thinning.  The soil here is good, and there is some protection from the wind.  The seeds and seedlings that I planted in the new Front Garden are also surviving. I must have slipped with the Red Sails lettuce because there are clumps in serious need of thinning. I think we’ll have our first garden salad this week.

Forget me nots

Of course I have flowers. The daffodils are continuing and the lilacs are just beginning to bloom, as are these tulips which I have no memory of planting. I can’t wait to see what color they are.  And the forget me nots! Last year at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale (coming up May 22 in Shelburne Falls) I bought two little pots and now I have all the forget me nots I could want. Plenty to share too.

Golden marjoram

Looking forward to this year’s Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale I have been potting up bits of golden marjoram for the new Herb Section of the sale. I’ll also be bringing some down to the Greenfield Garden Club’s Spring Extravaganza plant sale on May 29.   Friends of the Sunderland Library are having a Book and Plant Sale on Saturday, May 15 from 9-3 pm. Baked Goods too. All these local fund-raising sales are excellent ways to get good plants for your own garden and support the good works of many community organizations.

Busy Weekend

I am writing this on Sunday, just before I set off for adventures in Norwalk, Connecticut and New York City – lots of gardens everywhere – so my Monday Record is a little early.

Epimedium rubrum

I am afraid some of my more ephemeral blooms will not longer be lovely on Bloom Day, so here is Epimedium rubrum. I keep promising myself I will divide it, but no action so far.

Dicentra exima?

I thought this was a cut leaf bleeding heart, that is almost always in bloom, but it is white and I’m not sure about those blossoms. Any ideas?  I’m sorry the photo isn’t more clear.

Forget me nots

Last spring I saw forget-me-nots everywhere I went. Everyone had them except me.  I bought a couple of pots of forget-me-nots at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale (coming up May 22) and now I have forget-me-nots everywhere. They are just beginning to bloom.

Jasmine

When I wasn’t looking my sad, brown jasmine came back to life. It usually does, but it is always a surprise. It has been spending the winter in our Sitting Room which is bright but cool. I do water it, but it browns up anyway.  Surprised by all the new green, unnoticed until today, I took it out on the Welcoming Platform for a good washing and soaking.  I brushed off most of the dead leaves.

That was the easiest chore for the weekend. Lots of weeding, watering,  pruning roses,watering and admiring the lettuces, broccoli and spinach in the new Front Garden that came through all the cold weather – and today they came through temperatures in the 80’s!  I also planted two more roses: Celsiana, an alba on the Rose Walk and Therese Bugnet, a rugosa, on the Rose Bank. Everything has needed watering.   The other roses are slowly leafing out. Some look a little sad even though our winter was mild, but we’ll see how things develop.