Heath School Gardens

Over at Garden Rant Mary Gray’s guest rant bewailed the state of many school grounds, all concrete and lawn. I am very familiar with the school grounds that she describes, but I feel fortunate that the children in our small town have a very different school experience.

Heath Elementary School wellhead

The Heath Elementary School, which opened in 1996, was built in a pasture surrounded by woodland. When the school bus pulls off the dirt road onto the driveway it passes a path that leads to the school’s wellhead. This area is well used for science study, with information about the importance of clean water, and how it is kept clean.

Heath School Entry

The children debark they welcomed by perennials on either side of the entrance.

Heath School Playing Fields

The school and its grounds are held in the embrace of a woodland, where science can be studied, and the beauties of nature can inspire art classes. Perhaps inspire a poem or essay or two as well.

Heath School Meadow

The meadow fills the circular drive where buses and cars drive up to, and then away from the entry. Right now it looks all neat having just been given a back to school trim, but in the spring it is a hazy blue meadow of lupines, followed by a bouquet of summer wildflowers.

Heath School Vegetable Garden

The newest addition to the school landscape is the vegetable garden, punctuated by some bright annuals. This has been producing for three or four years now and the soil gets better every year.  There are some apple trees, too. I’d like to be able to tell you that the kids enjoy some of those vegetables at lunch but I am sure, absolutely sure, that they would never break the law which forbids this kind of activity. Isn’t the law interesting? There might be another lesson there.

This school with its gardens doesn’t come about just because it is a small school out in the country. It takes devoted and energetic parents who volunteer time, labor and money, and creative teachers who find a hundred ways to integrate the garden and the landscape into the Mass Curriculum Frameworks.  Heath is pretty lucky!

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.

Bloom Day August 2010

The cutting garden

I don’t think a cutting garden is really supposed to look like this. A cutting garden is supposed to give each plant room to breathe.  But here are scarlet bee balm, Hot Crayon Color zinnias from Renee’s Garden, bachelor’s buttons, gomphrena, and Hot Biscuits amaranth from Seed Savers looking like they are at a crowded cocktail party.  Golden rod and tansy and mint in the surrounding  field – all blooming.

Gomphrena

I thought Gomphrena would be great for bouquets so I bought two six packs from LaSalle’s Florist who has wonderful bedding plants in the summer. I did not realize this is also known as globe amaranth.  I stuck a couple of the plants next to the bush beans, and put one or two in planters. They have done beautifully and I plan to grow them again.

'Mothlight' hydrangea

I now have  four hydrangeas. I planted ‘Mothlight’ several years ago, and with very little help from me she is thriving, as you can see.  I only wish the weeping birch didn’t weep right on top of her.

'Limelight' hydrangea

‘Limelight’ joined a very small oakleaf hydrangea last summer. I’m happy to say that all three hydrangeas that will make up my erstwhile hydrangea hedge are doing very well and blooming, but Pinky Winky and the oakleaf are very small still.

Cosmos, 'Blue Paradise' phlox and Stargazer lilies

In the same bed with Mothlight and the weeping birch is my new ‘blue and white section.’  I took out a rampant spirea shrub and since I had no real plan for what to do next I thought I would just make sure everything was blue or white. With maybe a touch of yellow.  This is not give an excellent photo. The  new ‘Blue Paradise’ phlox is going by, but I think it will be more substantial in August next year.  You can also see a new sulphur yellow achillea and the Stargazers. I had forgotten about that  touch of pink.

Connecticut yankee delphiniums and cosmos

I didn’t expect the new ‘Connecticut Yankees’ to do much this year, but they are making a noble effort. I can always count on Renee’s cosmos to cover a lot of ground. This section is to the left of the previous photo and now we will go still further left.

Annual Veronica

The corner of this bed is filled with two varieties of cotoneaster.  I should have had faith that one type would be more than sufficient, if only I would have patience. Now they are both totally grown together and will never be separated. There was a bare spot in the corner that I filled with this pretty annual veronica from LaSalle’s.  It is very similar to the ‘Blue Eyes” veronica, an old variety, that came to me at a plant swap years ago as ‘blue eyed grass’ so I planted it in the lawn where it has spread, but rarely blooms because of the mowing. I promised myself I would dig up a little bit and put it in a more perennial spot, but I haven’t done it yet.

Achillea 'The Pearl' and Julie's dianthus

Achillea ‘The Pearl’ is such a depandable and useful plant, in the garden and in arrangements.  You can see one little pink dianthus that I had gotten at the Bridge of Flowers plant sale. Julie said it would bloom and bloom. And it has. It is a lovely little thing.  Other cheddar pinks are also still putting out a few bloom.

Champlain

I don’t know what this little Champlain (Canadian Explorer) rose is doing blooming at this time of year, especially since it is about to be eaten up by the Apart rugosa that has sent new shoots out. Right here.

Linda Campbell rugosa

I was also stunned to see this one blossom of Linda Campbell, a rose in the Sunken Garden, that I thought had died years ago – along with almost everything else in the Sunken Garden.  I will dig this up in the fall, and I think I will put it on the Rose Bank.

Rugosa alba

At the top edge of the Sunken Garden is a partial hedge of Rugosa alba.  This plant hopped down from above,

Rugosa alba

and this one looks like it is trying to make the leap.  It sure shows how tenacious rugosas and their roots are!

Pink Grootendorst rugosa

She doesn’t have a lot of blooms at this time of the year, but I really like Pink Grootendorst. She is on the new Rose Bank and has grown immensely since I planted her last year – just as I had hoped.  Double Red Knockouts are also blooming on the Rose Bank.

Sweet Peas

Saltwater Taffy Swirl sweet peas from Renee got off to a slow start, but they are beautiful right now. Fragrant, too.

Morning Glories

I love having morning glories right outside the window where we can see them in the morning. Going strong.

This ‘Terra Cotta’ achillea has been going strong too.  I have pink achilleas in the Lawn Beds and a deep pink in the Herb Bed. Of course, there is wild white yarrow growing by the roadsides.  Along with Queen Anne’s lace.

Thomas Affleck rose

Thomas Affleck, planted at the end of the Herb Bed last spring, has settled in nicely and has been in bloom all summer. The Fairy is another rose that blooms all summer dependably. I have two, one in each Lawn Bed.

Castor Bean

The Castor Bean was supposed to fill the whole circle in the middle of the lawn, but it has been slow going. Even though it has not reached a height of six or more feet as I had hoped, the color and size of the leaves still make a pretty dramatic impact.

Phlox and Cosmos

I think every perennial garden should have phlox.  This is a nameless pink phlox I got at the Bridge of Flowers last year and it is magnificent. This year I bought Blue Paradise at the Bridge of Flowers sale, and my own Miss Lingaard, a white phlox, which blooms in June, is still putting out some flowers.  I’ve already started thinking about what phlox I can add next year – and where I will find a place to put it.  This spot in the garden is very pink, which is unusual for an August garden. In addition to the pink phlox, there are two varieties of pink cosmos, pink echinacea, a few cheddar pinks, a pink achillea and the pink The Fairy rose.

'Fairy Tale Pink' daylily

Of course the daylilies are still blooming, nastursiums and Black Beauty lilies, and pots filled with petunias, Million Bells, geraniums, annual salvia, blooming mint, oregano, and circle garlic. All of a sudden I realize August is a really good month in my garden.

I thank Carol over at May Dreams Gardens for inspiring me, and so many others to keep this record for ourselves, and let us all see how seasons progress across the country.

Two Lasagna Gardens

Kara's lasagna herb garden

My neighbor Kara read my directions for making a lasagna garden – followed them, and this is what she got. A beautiful lasagna herb garden.  She will not need to add another layer of cardboard and soil to maintain this next year.

Kara's other lasagna bed

On the other side of the grass path, wide enough for a lawn mower, Kara planted mostly annuals. After the harvest she may want to add another layer of cardboard, water it well, and add a new layer of good soil. It will be ready for planting.

My lasagna beds

I followed my directions and planted two lasagna beds. One is a small cutting garden with zinnias, ornamental amaranth (partly eaten by deer), cornflowers and scarlet bee balm.  The sweet peas did not climb the white trellis but sprawled on the ground.  The other bed is summer squash and one winter squash. Other seedlings were eaten by earwigs.

My question is, why do my gardens always look out of control?

Garden Phlox

Garden phlox

Garden phlox can be one of the stars of  the summer garden.  I bought this unnamed pink phlox paniculata at the Bridge of Flowers plant sale last year and it looks great this year. There is no sign of mildew, but I can’t say whether that is because of the weather, or whether this is a mildew resistant variety.  Many gardeners avoid phlox because of the mildew which is common, but mildew does not hurt the plant, and I am skilled at ignoring things that others find more than annoying.

Miss Lingaard phlox in August

Late this spring I dug up some white Miss Lingaard phlox from among the weeds in the abandoned Sunken Garden and transplanted it into this bed. It doesn’t look like much this year, but I am looking forward to next spring.  Miss Lingaard is an old variety also known as Wedding Phlox because it blooms in June, earlier than most phlox. It has the benefit of being mildew resistant.

I tried to buy David, a Perennial Plant of the Year in 2002, but couldn’t find it anywhere. I guess I didn’t start early enough. This is a popular plant because of its big white flower heads – and mildew resistance.

Blue Paradise phlox

This spring I bought Blue Paradise at the Bridge of Flowers plant sale, and I got better bloom than I expected – but next year!  The color of this phlox is gorgeous, and it is supposed to be very mildew resistant.

Phlox is a wonderful plant for the summer garden in pale and brilliant shades, with eyes of different colors, and now even dwarf varieties that are happy in a container.  It only needs sun and ordinary garden soil. If you cut it back after bloom, you might get a second flush.

Muse Day August 2010

Flowers to honor Elsa

Yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening preparing for, and enjoying a memorial for Elsa Bakalar,  my friend, neighbor, colleague, and garden mentor who passed away in January at the age of 91.  The flowers at the buffet supper in Jan and Cal’s party barn were provided by The Passionate Gardeners, Mary, Susan and Eileen, gardeners who had come to learn from Elsa, and continued to help her in her garden- until that garden had to be given up.

Mary, Eileen and Susan

Many people did their part for Elsa yesterday. Scott Prior and his wife, Nanny Vonnegut, who own and maintain ‘Elsa’s Garden’ in Heath, invited neighbors and family for a tour and champagne toast to a beloved relative and friend. Cousin Stan read a section of Kipling’s poem Glory of the Garden with that famous line, “such gardens are not made
By singing:–”Oh, how beautiful!” and sitting in the shade . . .” Then we all trooped over to Jan and Cal’s barn, surrounded by a beautiful garden,  for a feast organized by Elsa’s nephew Jake and his wife Susan. Chief among this group were Elsa’s former grade school students, honorary daughters, Marie and Nicole who took major responsibilities for Elsa’s care in the years after her husband’s death in 2000.

A special treat of the evening was listening to a recording Nicole had made of Elsa reading the opening chapter of Dicken’s Bleak House. Elsa read Great Expectations to her fifth and sixth grade class every year – a wonderful choice for students at that age – and Elsa was wonderful reader.  It must be admitted that the sound of a loved one’s voice is evocative and heart breaking.

Today is Muse Day. I had forgotten, but a friend emailed me a poem by Mary de la Valette this morning that seemed serendipitous.  Kipling noted in his poem that  ”Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener’s work is done upon his knees.”  A very young Nicole  who spent her summers with Elsa in her ’summer camp’ found that she could have Elsa all to herself if she joined her in the garden  while everyone else still slept. One morning she asked Elsa if she liked teaching or gardening better. Without hesitation Elsa answered “gardening.”  It may have surprised and angered young Nicole who wanted to be much more important to her beloved teacher than an old garden, but it is clear to me that the garden was a sacred place for Elsa.

I do not have to go
To Sacred Places
In far-off lands.
The ground I stand on
Is holy.

Here, in this little garden
I tend
My pilgrimage ends.
The wild honeybees
The hummingbird moths
The flickering fireflies at dusk
Are a microcosm
Of the Universe.
Each seed that grows
Each spade of soil
Is full of miracles.

And I toil and sweat
And watch and wonder
And am full of love.
Living in place
In this place.
For truth and beauty
Dwell here.

I thank Carolyngail for making me stop and consider other muses the first day of every month.

Michael Shadrack and His Hostas



The ‘long bus’ turned so sharply off the paved road and onto a dirt track that all 40 of us garden bloggers collectively held our breath. Fortunately our driver was a real pro and soon we were driving through the woods where Kathy and Michael Shadrack, hosta experts, awaited us.

When the bus stopped Mike Shadrack leaped on to welcome us to his home and gardens.  With a nod to Frank Lloyd Wright Mike calls his house Fallingwater North because it is literally set over a stream. Its broad decks provide a deliciously dangerous view of the stream plunging into a deep wooded ravine.

In front of the house a marquee (that’s British for tent) had been set out with a proper cream tea. China cups, tea pots, milk, lemon and British scones (not the big dry kind you get in upscale bakeries) with clotted cream and strawberries were ready to help us restore our tissues before we set out to explore the shade beds planted with Mike’s hostas, and the sunny hill planted with scores of his wife’s daylilies.

Everywhere we looked were hostas of every size and hue, hostas in the woods, in beds and in pots. Shadrack explained that putting hostas in pots was one way to cut down on slug and snail damage. He also said that putting copper tape tied around the pots would act as a further deterrent. He also puts whole arrangements of min-hostas in a single pot.

I looked at the hostas growing in the dappled light of the woods and  wondered if there were no deer in New York state. In his ebullient and charming manner Shadrack told us all to be careful because we might bump into his “unique, patented deer fence.” He described this as a kind of web of monofilament fishing line that went from tree to tree.  I had heard that a single strand of  fishing line could be run around a garden at chest height to deter deer. The idea is that the deer cannot see the fishing line, but they will feel it. The touch of this invisible thing will confuse or frighten the deer and they will advance no farther and leave.  I haven’t tried this, but the idea fishing line going up and down and across from fence post to fence post, or from tree to tree sounds more dependable.

I certainly do know that hostas are deer candy. I have a few common plants growing by the Cottage Ornee and they are nibbled at all season long.

Michael Shadrack

Since most of the Buffalo gardens we had been visiting were small urban gardens, they had a fair amount of shade. And where gardeners have shade they will have hostas. In the small Timber Press Pocket Guide to Hostas ($19.95) by Diana Grenfell and Michael Shadrack, there are descriptions of 800 hostas  from mini to giant, and in every shade of green, yellow green, gold, and blue greens. Some are variegated and some are crinkled and some have fragrant flowers. There are hostas to please every taste.

In this book Shadrack and Grenfell  point out that  hostas can be a “foil early in the season to strap-shaped hemerocallis . . . later on, sun-tolerant hostas . . .  can accentuate the spikiness of yuccas.”

Shadrack reminded us that hostas are shade tolerant, not shade loving, meaning that high or dappled shade is best. Hostas need protection from the strongest sun of the day.  They need fertile soil that is moist but well drained, and a site that is protected from strong wind.

With Diana Grenfell, Shadrack has put all his knowledge and advice about hostas in the big New Encyclopedia of Hostas (Timber Press 49.95) and in November Timber Press will release The Book of Little Hostas: 200 Mini and Very Small Varieties. Just in time for holiday giving. Shadrack said he once took a photo of 100 potted mini hostas on one of his deck benches to show that every one of us has room for a substantial collection of different hostas.

Mini-hosta collection

The Shadrack garden was the final stop of the third day of touring Buffalo’s gardens for 70 garden bloggers from across the country, and from Canada. The only thing you can say about all garden bloggers, who write about their gardens online, is that they are passionate gardeners. We are also journalists, garden designers, garden coaches, garden magazine editors, and garden lecturers. If you would like to ‘meet’ some of the gardeners I met in Buffalo and see their posts and photographs of Buffalo’s gardens, logon to www.Buffa10.blogspot.com. I love the idea that Buffalo’s gardens have become an important tourist attraction.

Of  course when I returned home from Buffalo I found my own garden had undergone a growth spurt. Why is it that weeds don’t mind drought, and grow twice as fast as anything else?

I also saw that the Community Harvest has begun at Ev Hatch’s Field for the Hungry on Plain Road. If you would like to help with this harvest call Mark Maloni at Community Action 413-376-1181.,    If you cannot help with the harvest there because your own harvest is keeping you so busy, remember you can bring any extra produce to the Salvation Army or Center For Self-Reliance, or the Survival Center or any other food pantry near you.  Log on to www.parwmass.blogspot.com for more information about the Plant a Row program. ###

Between the Rows   July 24, 2010

Three Lilies

White Henryi lily

Last fall I planted six lilies in the herb bed right in front of the house. Three Henryi lilies which are gold, and three white Henryi lilies, all from Old House Gardens, one of my favorite bulb suppliers.  White Henryi was the first to blossom, dazzling white with its golden throat.

Mystery lily

Then this lily bloomed. I’ve got a bit of a prop to hold up the blossom so I could photograph it. It is neither the white or gold Henryi. A natural hybrid? Unlikely.  Probably just a mis-labelled bulb, so now I have three varieties of lily in this bed.

Henryi lily

Henry’s lily is beautiful with its recurved petals, but it has an extra layer of meaning for me because it is a Chinese wildflower. My husband Henry and I spent two separate years living and working in Beijing; we continue to learn about this important and complex culture.  Elizabeth Licata has Henry’s lily growing in her garden, and hers has reached the promised height of 6 feet.  I have hopes for next year.

For Henry

White Henryi lily

Last year I bought 3 golden Henryi lilies and 3 white Henryi lilies from Old House Gardens. The reason is obvious. My husband’s name is Henry.  When I was in Buffalo I saw a golden Henryi in Elizabeth Licata’s garden – but I didn’t recognize it because it was at least 6 feet tall!  I guess I have a lot of work to do on my  soil.  My lilies are barely three feet tall and the stems are not very sturdy. So far only the white Henryi is blooming; I can’t wait to see the gold.

New Friends and Their Blogs

Here is part of the crowd of 70 garden bloggers  at the Buffalo Botanical Garden. I was familiar with the blogs of some of these gardeners like Frances (lower left) of Fairegarden, and Susan (center in blue with hat) of Sustainable Gardening Blog, and Helen (in white under the camera) of Toronto Gardens.  Susan is one of the Garden Ranters; she and I worked briefly for an Australian organic gardening website Organic Gardener which made us virtual colleagues! Frances has beautifully photographed gardens in Tennesee, and Helen knows what it is like to garden in a harsh climate.

So I knew some of the garden blogs written by those who showed up for the third annual garden bloggers meet-up in Buffalo at the beginning of the month, but it is a whole other thing to actually meet and get to know those gardeners – and then read their blogs. I may not have been to their gardens (yet) but I do have a richer sense of their personalities and their tastes and passions.

I met lots of bloggers whose blogs I did not know – but I do know now. I have added several of these to my own blogroll, the list of inks to blogs in the right column.  There was a professional discussion at one point about the purpose or desirability of having a blogroll. Most of us thought they were helpful and necessary. I use my own blogroll as an easy way to visit my favorite blogs when I am putting up my post, and I use other people’s blogs as a recommendation. If I like a blog, I figure I will like their favorite blogs as well. I’ve added several new blogs to my blogroll.

I spent a day on the bus with Mary of My Northern Garden. She is the editor of Northern Garden Magazine, and freelance writer. I was interested in how Minnessota gardens differ in challenges from New England gardens. She was generous with information about gardening, and about blogging. She gave out copies of the magazine (beautiful!) which is a publication of the Minnesota State Horticultural Society.

Jean gardens in Louisiana, but her blog, Dig, Grow, Compost, Blog has useful information for all of us. Also it turns out her brother lives in the same area near Houston, Sienna Plantation, as my daughter!  Jean is also a garden coach and she gave me advice about that skill.

Cindy, one energetic lady, is   also from Texas. Her Corner of Katy is also near my daughter. When we visited we went to the immense Katy Mall and shopped. My husband got ‘cowboy shirts’ and a hat to wear in our field. I’m very interested in Texas gardens these days, but no matter where a person gardens, there is some advice that is good for all of us. Besides, our blogs are also about community and family – which are of interest to us all.

We have friends in Sacramento so I was happy to meet Leslie who is Growing a Garden in Davis.  Now I can keep an eye on what Leslie is doing –  and what my garden friends in Sacramento are likely to be doing.   I’ve added these and a few others to my blogroll, but if you’d like to check out blogs of others I met in Buffalo you can logon to the Buffa10 website which has links to them all, and links to recent posts – with great photos – about our garden tours in Buffalo. You will meet some great people.

Reluctantly leaving Mike Shadrack's hosta and daylily gardens