Snow and Ice – And Snow Again
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En Francais – s’il vous plait
With all the trouble we bloggers can have with scrapers stealing our stellar images it is good to know that there are honorable people all around the world. I received an email from M. Frederic Douard from a French bioenergy company asking to use my Hawley firewood image on their website. Permission was given, d'accord! And I am the photo du jour! You can't really see it on this screen shot, but when the cursor hovers over the…
Jere Gettle and Comstock, Ferre Seeds
Fourteen years ago, at the age of 17, Jere Gettle put together his first list of heirloom seeds and mailed it to 550 gardeners. Now he oversees a veritable empire consisting of the Baker Creek Heirloom Seed Company, the Bakersville Pioneer Village complete with seed store, bakery, restaurant, jail, herbal apothecary, music barns with monthly festivals and more in Missouri, and the Petaluma Seed Bank in California, which opened last spring. Most recently he bought the Comstock, Ferre…
First Bloom Day of 2011
And naturally I have the ever dependable abutilon or parlor maple in bloom. Can you see how many buds are coming along? The Christmas cactus is almost gone by. But not quite. This year I am forcing a lot of bulbs. I haven't done much of this before and my timing seems to be off. These are mostly miniature daffodills I think. I know that is what is in the rectangular pot, at least. I have pots and pots…
Beauty Heart Radish
One of the New Plants for 2011 profiled in the new issue of The American Gardener published by the American Horticultural Society is a Watermelon Radish from Renee's Garden. I am ashamed to say that when I first came across this beautiful vegetable in Beijing I insisted on calling it a turnip. Who ever heard of a radish as big as a baseball? My Chinese colleagues insisted on calling it a radish, but in spite of the fact…
Making the Ascent…
Snowstorm! The chickens can't wait... I wish I had a portable chicken house! No joke.
January Sunrise
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Carry on Cyclamen
As you can see from the photo I am not skilled at carrying over a cyclamen. I buy one or two in November or early December, and they look great right through and past Valentine's Day. But once they lose all their blossoms and start to wilt all over I never know quite what to do. Today I got my e-leaflet from the Massachusetts Horticultural Society and saw the clearest directions for handling cyclamen after bloom that I…
Winterfares Coming Up
Have you been longing for fresh greens and the chance to meet the farmers in our area? Long no more. It is time for Winterfares! This Saturday the winter farmer's market will be held at the Smith Vocational School in Northampton on January 15 from 10 am to 2 pm. Fresh greens, apples, honey, yogurt, root veggies, local grain, bread, the Soup Cafe (bring your own cup) and workshops. This is a delicious and healthy event - pure…
Review and Renew in 2011
Janus, the Roman god whose two faces could look backward to the past, and forward to the future, gave his name to the month of January. He is a god of doorways, and the special patron of all new beginnings, a perfect symbol for the new year, when all things seem possible and sure of success. The month of January is a good time for the gardener to look backward to review the events of the past year,…