Orra White Hitchcock

  • Post published:03/19/2011
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Orra White Hitchcock was a college president’s wife, a mother of eight, and an artist. The art she created, drawings and watercolor paintings of flowers, grasses and other plants, were scientifically accurate yet transformed by a lyrical delicacy and artistry. An exhibit  of her work, Orra White Hitchcock (1796–1863): An Amherst Woman of Art and Science, co-curated by Daria D'Arienzo and Robert L. Herbert, will run through May 29 at the Mead Museum of Art at Amherst College.…

I Won Tropicannas!

  • Post published:03/18/2011
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There was a Giveaway over at Garden Rant and I won some Tropicannas from Tessalaar Plants!  I'm not exactly sure what, but I think this new Tropicanna Gold is coming my way. Cannas are dramatic plants so I am very excited.  I don't think they will be in bloom in time for the Franklin Land Trust Farm and Garden Tour on June 25 and 26, but it will be a great treat for mid-summer. They will not overwinter…

Garden of Fresh Possibilities

  • Post published:03/17/2011
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Fresh Possibilities are just what I am looking for at this time of the year, so it is no surprise that I have been spending happy evenings with Kim Smith's beautiful book that includes so many of her own delicate paintings of flowers, birds and butterflies. Kim Smith gardens, and paints, in Gloucester.  Over the years her garden has grown, as has her concern about conservation and her delight in the roads to literature and art that her…

Foliage Follow-Up

I don't have any unusual foliage, but I had to participate in Foliage Follow-Up this time because of all the vigorous growth I have seen over the past month. The days are longer and the plants have woken up. My scented geraniums are full of new foliage. This pelargonium is from  a cutting I took. I think I'll move it to a regular pot  in a couple of weeks. This jade tree is over 20 years old, but…

Bloom Day March 2011

  • Post published:03/15/2011
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You must all know that the abutilon is blooming this Bloom Day, as it always is.  The only other blooms I have are  Narcissus bulbocodium conspicuus, and Baby Moon miniature daffodils from Brent and Becky's bulbs. I brought the more floriferous pot to church on Sunday and left them there in the hopes that there would still be a good amount of bloom for next Sunday. It is wonderful to have such a sign of spring to share…

Monday Report March 14

  • Post published:03/14/2011
  • Post comments:6 Comments

This is an end-of- winter Monday Report. Next Monday it will be Spring. The temperature this am is 32 degrees and we are enjoying a snow flurry. Grrrrrr.  But you can see there has been a lot of snow melt. Warmth is predicted for this afternoon.  Although the season has been most unusual, the maple sugarers seem to be having a good run. Even though the snow was very deep with plow piles along here, the exposure is…

Grow the Good Life

  • Post published:03/13/2011
  • Post comments:4 Comments

Why do we garden?  Each gardener will have her own list that might include loving flowers, wanting a beautiful yard, loving to eat sun warmed tomatoes, wanting to save money, liking the exercise, wanting to care for the environment, wanting specialty vegetables for gourmet cooking, wanting to save money on the food bill or just plain liking to play in the dirt. Michele Owens lays out her reasons in the title of her new book, Grow the Good…

The NEW Buckland Public Library

  • Post published:03/11/2011
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Tonight, on my cable TV show Let's Talk,  I am interviewing Mary Ellen Jepsen, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Buckland Library, about the new addition which is scheduled to open next week.  This is a happy day for me because I served as librarian when the building process began in 2004. And it is a happy day for the town which finally has an ADA compliant library that also has much needed room for the…

Three Special Events for Thursday

  • Post published:03/10/2011
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Some events are not just for one day. The wonderful art exhibit at Mead Art Museum on  the Amherst College campus, will run until May 29.  There is no admission charge and the Mead is open from 9 am til midnight!  There is no excuse for Amherst students to not get their art assignments done.  Closed Mondays, and closed  at 5 pm on Friday and Saturday.  I guess those students need a little time for social life. Orra…

Planting the Wild Garden

My friend Kathryn Galbraith and I met inNew York City more than 30 years ago when we were both taking a writing class at the New School. She was working on her first novel for children, Come Spring, about Rennie, a little girl who is moving (again) to a new house, not just an apartment, and looking to put down roots. Kathryn has a special insight and understanding of the hearts of children, and this is a tender…