“I do everything wrong,” Rol Hesselbart said as we looked over his garlic harvest. And, he pointed out, he did everything wrong in Michigan and Virginia before he started doing everything wrong in Heath. Hesselbart, naturalist, educator and retired national park ranger, is known locally for the size and quality of his garlic bulbs. I am one of the lucky few who scored a few to plant myself this month. His growing techniques have evolved slightly since he…
The rain fell. The sun is shining. The trees are glowing. The leaf peepers will be happy this weekend!
Cindy at My Corner of Katy asks us to post three photos on Thursday. They don't even have to be related. The assumption is they might be related to gardening I suppose and you might wonder what toddler snowsuits have to do with my garden. Well, I consider that my garden includes that most tender crop, all the children of my community. I am very happy that our local independent department store, Wilson's, and my newspaper, The Recorder,…
We gardeners are always counting the days - til spring, til time to plant tomatoes, til the first peas or lettuce, til the first frost . . . I could go on and on. One good way of counting the days is with the help of the University of Massachusetts (of which I am a proud alum) Garden Calendar for 2011. The Calendar is put together by the UMass Extension Center for Agriculture. I am so grateful for…
Richard Richardson turned his grief over the passings of his brother and daughter into a magical garden that is now open to the public. The Three Sisters Sanctuary, right next to Richardson's business Good Time Stoves in Goshen, has been in the making for 18 years. The story of the garden is now told on its own website, along with information about events like concerts and plays, and how you can hold your own event in this amazing…
The children of the Erving Elementary Preschool were so proud of the sunflowers they grew that they sent representatives to the Recorder/Greenfield Garden Club Sunflower Contest in August. When the children returned to Erving they carried back prize ribbons for the heaviest sunflower head and for the third tallest. But their garden is about more than glory. The preschool class of 3 and 4 year olds, led by teacher Mary Glabach with the assistance of Kristin Lilly, Becky…
One of my favorite poets, John Donne, made a little money from time to time writing epithalamions, wedding songs for the nobles who wanted to add a little extra dash to their nuptials. Hiring a poet is all very well, if you don't have a truly talented, loving and insightful friend. Fortunately for our friend Rebecca, one of her best friends wrote and read what I consider an epithalamion at her wedding. I will not give you the…