When news of the impending arrival of Tropical Storm Irene hit the airwaves last August, West Hawley residents Lorraine and Jerry McCarthy quickly packed up their car and dashed to their house on Long Island to batten down the hatches. However, the storm bypassed Long Island and hit Hawley with ferocious energy, destroying roads, flooding the Chickley River, and leaving the McCarthy’s land with up to three feet of silt and sand in two large areas of the…
As Athol celebrates its 250th anniversary, the Athol Bird and Nature Club celebrates the gardens of Athol, 12 in 12 a self-guided tour of 12 outstanding gardens on Sunday, July 15 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Four themes dominate this tour: the drama of glorious gardening and natural rock, the surprise of secret treasures, the bounty of home vegetable gardens and locally grown food, and the ecology of gardens that appeal to birds, butterflies and other…
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When a 5 foot tall bug appears on the Bridge of Flowers we all take notice. Especially when it is a shimmering shade of emerald green I wasn't the only one taking photos of this beautiful creature. But beauty is as beauty does, and the Emerald Ash Borer is no beauty infesting and killing ash trees. The USDA Forest Service has created a website with full information about how to watch ash trees for damage. These bugs are…
Denise Leonard, current chair of the Greenfield Agricultural Commission, past president of the New England Border Collies Association, and chief farmer at TANSTAAFL Farm is one of the featured farmers on the Greenfield Garden Club’ annual garden tour which is including farms for the first time this year. THIS VERY DAY! July 7! Denise explained that her husband David came up with the name of their farm when they were still living in Leverett more than 25 years…
With the first lettuces cleaned out of the garden it was time for a vermicompost harvest. Vermicompost, compost filled with worm castings, otherwise know as worm manure, is a rich compost that will get my second or third plantings well nourished. I have written about my vermicomposting adventures before here. Once the weather became dependably warmer, over 50 degrees, I moved our worm bin outside. It now lives on the north side of the house where it is…
Red roses. Red and white roses. White Mothlight hydrangea. White Switzerland shasta daisies. Blue Connecticut Yankee delphiniums. Falling over, but unbowed. For more Wordlessness this Independence Day Wednesday click here.
It's summer and I've been out viewing plants and gardens and then relaxing at a local pond. Summer doesn't get any more perfect than this. I went to the Annual Japanese Iris Show in Shelburne Falls and got to see the best and most beautiful examples of Japanese Iris grown in the area. Japanese iris are the last iris to bloom in our area. After seeing this display of irises, I had to run over to Fox Brook…