Brilliant Autumn Color is Flooding Heath’s Hills

  • Post published:10/02/2013
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All of sudden the autumn color we hope for and wait for has appeared. Every hour it seems more brilliant.     Down with invasive Burning Bush. Up with blueberries. Delicious berries and delightful autumn  color. Deep autumn color on the oakleaf hydrangea is stunning and unusual. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.

September 1 Record Fruiting and Tangles

  • Post published:09/02/2013
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This post is part of my twice a month record of bloom and doings in the garden, on the 1st of the month, and then on Bloom Day, the 15th. As we begin September it is clear that in spite of the hot and dry weather Thomas Affleck continues to thrive. One a very few other rose blossoms are to be seen. What the roses are doing instead of blooming is producing hips. The Rugosas have the biggest…

Dig Up, Dig Down, Cut Back and Rake

  • Post published:11/12/2012
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Mild weather this long holiday weekend has  given us time to work together to dig up, dig down, cut back and rake, all parts of putting the garden to bed. Henry helped me slightly enlarge the end of the bed around the fountain juniper, cleaning out weeds, and making room for small bulbs, miniature golden daffs, 'Diamond Ring,' Pink Sunrise' and macrocarpum 'Golden Fragrance' muscari. We will be able to see  these from the dining table in the spring.…

John Bunker and His Wanted Posters

  • Post published:11/06/2012
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  John Bunker, heritage apple expert, and author, distributes WANTED posters for the old apples he is searching for. He gives a pretty full description of the apple's appearance from size, shape, color of skin, color of flesh, stem size, and seeds. I've learned some new words like Acuminate which refers to the tapering shape of the seed cavity. I don't know what the 'eye' of the apple is. I know the opposite of the stem end is called the 'basin,' and has…

John Bunker and David Buchanan on Cider Day

  • Post published:11/05/2012
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John Bunker and David Buchanan gave a couple of talks on Cider Day all  about their experiences with finding and planting heritage apples. They also got to sell their books. I knew about David's book, Taste, Memory: Forgotten Foods, Lost Flavors, and Why They Matter,  but I didn't know that John had also written, and illustrated, a book about the apples and orchards of Palermo where he lives in Maine. Not Far From the Tree: A Bried History of…

The Bridge of Flowers is Closed

  • Post published:10/31/2012
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The Bridge of Flowers was prepared for closing, just before Superstorm Sandy - that did no damage this year. Unlike Irene last year. For more Wordlessness  this Wednesday click here.

Priorities and Preparations for Hurricane Sandy

  • Post published:10/29/2012
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While Hurricane Sandy was making its slow and warning filled way to Heath we had to set priorities and make preparations to weather the storm. With so much notice, and stories about a possible Sandy snow  storm (like last year) I realized it was time to plant the garlic. Fortunately I had already prepared the bed so it didn't take much to pull apart my choice garlic bulbs and plant each clove about eight inches apart in four rows. Then…

The ABCs of Heritage Apples, and Others

  • Post published:10/27/2012
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A is for Apple, but if we look at heritage apples we can march right through the alphabet. Baldwin, Cox’s Orange Pippin, (Old) Delicious, Esopus Spitzenberg, Golden Russet, and on through to Northern Spy, Roxbury Russet, Stayman Winesap and Westfield Seek-No-Farther. The Roxbury Russet and Westfield Seek-No-Farther remind us that some apples had a very local fame and audience before they spread to wider fields. In fact, Roxbury Russet was the first named apple in Massachusetts. Even though…

Surprising Blooms on a Gray Day

  • Post published:10/25/2012
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These surprising blooms are from Bluestone Perennials, one of a mum collection I bought a couple of years ago. The rabbits got to the planting of that collection and I rescued what was left and just stuck them anywhere in the garden and forgot about them. I hope I am not the only gardener in the world who sticks in anywhere and then forgets. This spring I saw what looked like chrysanthemum foliage in an odd place, and…

Year of the Rose Draws to a Close

  • Post published:10/23/2012
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  The Year of the Rose for 2012 as designated by the International Herb Society is drawing to a close. Thomas Affleck is the only rose in my garden that is still waving the banner. It has been a difficult year for the garden. Because of a mild relatively snowless winter, we came into spring with a drought situation. That drought hit in full force during the summer and since I get my water from a well I…