Bridge of Flowers – End of Season

  • Post published:10/26/2011
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Chrysanthemums were planted in September. We want the Bridge to be full of bloom all season. I am so happy to see roses still in bloom. I am also happy to see a quiet river behind these dahlias. The dahlias are important at this season. But the weather has been so relatively mild that even the begonias are still blooming. The gardens will be put to bed and the official garden season ends on Sunday, October 30.  Have…

Meditation on the Morning Glory

  • Post published:09/27/2011
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This is the view out the window next to the breakfast table. From August into October and really killing frosts these Grandpa Ott morning glories prepare me for my day. And what a way to start the day - with Glory! Surely the day will be filled with moments of beauty, of inspiration, of opportunity to spread a little glory. Of course the sun does not illuminate and gild the glories every morning. Sometimes the light is dim,…

Color in the Autumn Garden

  • Post published:09/24/2011
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The days are growing shorter. When I drive down my road I have begun averting my eyes from a maple branch that has burst into flame. Autumn is officially upon us. And yet there is a lot of bloom in my garden. One of the benefits of annuals is that many will bloom well into the fall. I have pots of snapdragons, petunias, osteospurnum and ‘Million Bells,’  a healthy blooming border of an annual salvia around the Shed…

Oh, What a Beautiful Morning

  • Post published:08/19/2011
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This morning dawned cool and misty. A walk through the garden was so quiet and peaceful. A glorious morning indeed. And we look forward to a glorious day at the Heath Fair. Yesterday was all energetic activity. We had scores of boxes of books to bring to the Fair for the Annual Friends of the Heath Free Public Library book sale. $1 for hardcovers! This is our big fundraiser for the year. After loading up the books, we…

More Tours – Hawley

  • Post published:06/29/2011
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The weekend of July 9 is going to be busy. A festival of garden and artisan tours will be on offer. The Hawley Artisan's & Garden Tour, sponsored by the Sons and Daughters of Hawley is billed as "A Collage of Art and Gardens." One of my favorite gardens is Jerry Sternstein's vegetable garden that is much more lush than mine - and has a fabulous view. Other Hawley gardens have perennial borders and blooming shrubs, but many…

Franklin Land Trust Tour – Here

  • Post published:06/18/2011
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  What is a garden for? It depends on the garden, of course.Vegetable gardens are for feeding us. Herb gardens are for bringing us extra savor and health. Meditation gardens are to give us moments of serenity. Ornamental gardens are to give us pleasure. But all gardens can be shared --- doubling their pleasure and utility, of whatever sort. Sometimes sharing our gardens can also support a noble project.  That is what will be happening in Heath and…

Weeding, Trimming, Pruning, and Still Planting

  • Post published:06/07/2011
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My Monday Record is a day late because I have been so busy with all the weeding, trimming, pruning and planting. There is so much left to do that it seems I am not making progress, but I am! The roses are making progress too. This is a rose bush given to me by the Purington family on Woodslawn Farm in Colrain. The flowers are small, about one and a half inches across, but intensely fragrant - and…

The Bridge Continues to Bloom

  • Post published:06/03/2011
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People are always asking me what is blooming on the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls.  It changes every day but here are  some current views. These azaleas are as sunny as our June days. The tornadoes that went through Springfield and beyond on Wednesday didn't do any damage up our way. Azaleas have their own season, but the annual osteospernums will bloom all summer long.  That is what makes annuals so valuable in any planting. Blue is…

Faster and Faster

  • Post published:05/30/2011
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The Holiday Weekend started for me on Friday afternoon when I visited the Heath School's Garden Day. The classes have been working before now, of course, but on Garden Day, the whole day is given over to planting, weeding, mulching - and learning.  I am impressed with their energy, which I expected, but also with the quality of the child-sized tools they are using.  Many hands make light work was certainly the motto on Friday. You may wonder…