There is very little color out in the snowy garden. These last scarlet berries on the highbush cranberry (a native plant) are a dramatic exclamation. I guess I didn't do all the necessary dead heading last summer. This seedcase was left on a tree peony, a remnant of the last season. But look . . . could these be buds on that same tree peony? A promise of the new season? The lilac buds are beginning to swell…
The Chinese Year of the Tiger has been rung in with drums and dancing, and jiaozi, the delicious stuffed dumplings that are said to be shaped like silver money and symbolize a year stuffed with good things – and riches. We have celebrated many Chinese New Years since our first trip to live and work in Beijing in 1989. While there we learned that while there are 12 animals in the 12 year Chinese zodiac, the full cycle…
I won a box of hamentaschen from Kosher.com. I made a comment on one of my favorite blogs, Our Grandmother's Kitchens, and this is my reward. Hamentaschen are a treat served at the feast of Purim when the beautiful Queen Esther saved her Jewish people from the machinations of the wicken Hamen. I am ready to celebrate all holidays that are commemorated with sweet treats like this.
It seemed only appropriate to serve Beauty Heart radish at our Valentine’s dinner. We were introduced to the beautiful pinky red radishes when we were living in Beijing where it is very popular. Members of my Women of China work unit brought some pickled Xin Li Mei radish to a picnic outing. They called it Beauty Heart which I much prefer to Red Meat, as it is sometimes called in seed catalogs. It is also called Watermelon radish…
As we prepared to leave the bookmaking workshop at The Art Garden, Jane Wegscheider, our teacher and muse, said those of us planning to attend the Valentine workshop should start collecting the memorabilia or photographs that we would need. Hmmmm. This suggested that we would not be making traditional Valentines with lace and ribbon, or even clever and artistic Valentines like those Sandra Denis was selling down at the Arts Coop in Shelburne Falls. I was particularly taken with…
Elsa Bakalar was my friend. This morning I got the call that I had been dreading. Elsa passed away peacefully on January 29. We moved to Heath in December of 1979, but I did not meet Elsa, who also lived in Heath until I began writing a weekly garden column, Between the Rows, for The Recorder. I had heard about Elsa and her garden and finally got up my courage to ask her for an interview. It must…
Tom Fischer, Editor in Chief of Timber Press, has created a small, inexpensive book with more than 100 gorgeous photographs by Clive Nichols of 100 plants in the ranges of 10 colors - scarlet, orange, lime, blue, mahogany, and more! My garden, full of roses as it is, is heavy on pink, but when I look through this book I can't help imagining a color themed garden. Lots of people have blue and white gardens, which are easy…
Last week I attended a Garden Writers workshop in Boston to learn about new trends in the garden, and in the blogs. Paul Tukey of Safe Lawns fame was on hand, too. Although we had never met I did interview him last spring when I was doing a radio show in Beverley. Phone interview are a necessity in this world we we are all so spread out, but nothing beats talking to someone in the flesh. Paul is the…
There are all kinds of gardens, perennial gardens, cutting gardens, and vegetable gardens, but right now the only garden that is giving me special pleasure is Jane Wegscheider's Art Garden in Shelburne Falls. The Art Garden is a welcoming and well stocked studio space that is available to the public, including children, to express and develop their creativity. And we don't have to do it alone. Jane is on hand to teach and demonstrate and inspire - as…
Mycotecture is a term created to describe buildings made of mushrooms, or more specifically, made of bricks made of mushroom roots known as mycelium. "Mycelium doesn't taste very good, but once it's dried, it has some remarkable properties. It's nontoxic, fireproof and mold- and water-resistant, and it traps more heat than fiberglass insulation. It's also stronger, pound for pound, than concrete. In December, Ross completed what is believed to be the first structure made entirely of mushroom. .…