Fairy House?
My friend Bruce Cannon welcomes all sorts of creatures into his garden, including a space for "the little dudes." For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
Meadows – and Art – Are Where You Find Them
During our trip to the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art I found a new way of looking at meadows and art. The plan is to turn Mass MoCA's rear access utility road into a green space and a work of art. The Rounds are created by using rammed earth and dry-stacked stone. The Rounds provide places to sit and visit and picnic in the midst of wildflower gardens. Thyme is a another featured plant in this meadow. I…
It’s Summer – Viewing, Touring and Paddling
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…
I Finished My Handmade Garden Projects – Giveaway
The trouble with the Handmade Garden Projects book by Lorene Edwards Forkner is difficulty in choosing where to begin. Steel trellises or other things made with metal scraps? Clever hose guides? Or creative containers? Then the Bridge of Flowers committee thought it might be a good idea to make hypertufa containers to plant and sell at our Annual Plant Sale on May 19. The decision was made. If you decide you want to have your own copy of…
I Love Water – Earth Day – Every Day
Water is everywhere around us. In streams, rivers and the oceans. We need water for everything, drinking, cleaning, agriculture, powering turbines. We cannot exist without water. In fact, we are water – about 60 percent water. Because it is so easy to turn on our taps and get all the clean, sweet water we need, we rarely think about water, how much we use, how we use it, what other people use it for, who doesn’t have safe…
Hypertufa Trough – You Could Make Your Own
Hypertufa is a concrete and peat moss mixture used to make garden troughs and ornaments. Hypertufa troughs are often used for succulent or alpine plant collections and can be a charming and useful element in the garden. You can make your own. I am not sure how Smith College made their troughs, but hypertufa is a great DYI project. Not being very adventurous in the craft area I am happy that the Bridge of Flowers committee has organized…
The Garden Transformed – Into Pottery
You can learn more about Pam Adorno, her work and her 11 South Gallery by clicking here. Pam Adorno loves vegetables as much as flowers. Michael Cohen captures the garden and the natural world in his tiles. Click here for more. Evelyn Snyder and the Kaleidoscope Potters love leaves. I've been nearly Wordless today,but for real Wordlessness click here.
Bridge of Flowers
The Bridge of Flowers officially closed on October 30, but it will be open for a few more days so people can take the scenic route from Shelburne to Buckland OR Buckland to Shelburne. Last week there was a final exciting event. Note the graceful ironwork on the Bridge sign. It was a collaborative community effort between Bill Austin and Grey Marchese of Austin Design in Colrain, artist/blacksmith Bob Compton of Rising Sun Forge in Conway, and Michael Therrien's…
Smith College Chrysanthemums
Sometimes a chrysanthemum is just a mum, but sometimes a chrysanthemum is Art. Artistically grown chrysanthemums will be on display during Smith College’s annual Fall Chrysanthemum Show which will run November 5-20 in the Lyman Plant House. A $2 donation is suggested. On display will be the stunning chrysanthemum cascades and other skillfully pruned and supported chrysanthemums, some in pillars, and some trained to a single stem with a giant bloom. Like the spring Bulb Show the Chrysanthemum…
One Writer’s Garden: Eudora Welty’s Homeplace
Eudora Welty has been much on my mind these last months. First there was a performance of the one act opera composed by Alice Parker based on Welty's The Ponder Heart, and then I read a biography of Elizabeth Lawrence who was a friend of Welty's, and then my book club read One Writer's Beginnings by Eudora Welty. All of that is topped off with the publication of One Writer's Garden written by Susan Haltom who researched and…