Late June is rose season, but a few roses refuse to give up. 'The Fairy' is a familiar stalwart from June through October. That is five months of bloom high on our windy hill. Pink Grootendorst, an old rugosa, is almost as dependable. This bush has several little sprays of blossom. I love the frilly, pinked edged flowers. The new family of Knockout roses are proving to be equally hardy and determined. Notice the two buds at the…
Saturday afternoon was perfect for a golden drive to the new Bullitt Reservation for its grand opening. This is the newest project of the Trustees of Reservations, preserving 262 acres of meadow and woodland, and retrofitting the old caretakers cottage to meet Gold Leed standards. This building will soon be finished and will serve as the new offices of the Hilltown Communities Initiative and the Hilltown Land Trust. The soon-to-be office building is super insulated, and yet breathable,…
Thick frost on the ground this morning at 7:30. And yet, The cosmos still blooms exuberantly, but the morning glory may have seen its last morning.
In spite of spotty frosts that we have had all week, the cosmos in the new Front Garden, as well as the Shed Bed are still blooming. They are protected in both spaces. I was able to take a big bouquet to church with me yesterday. While the cosmos still look summery, it was time to get down to those autumnal chores. My husband took a break from splitting firewood to dig sod and enlarge the southern Lawn…
Check out what else is Wordless this Wednesday.
The rain fell. The sun is shining. The trees are glowing. The leaf peepers will be happy this weekend!
During the spring and summer most of look at the trees surrounding us and see a generally undifferentiated green. The tree foliage grows full and heavy; for the most part we don’t see the individual hues, or shapes. That changes in the autumn. During the past few weeks I have been particularly aware of the changes in the trees, partly because of the color changes each hour with the fluctuation of sunlight and shadow. Then, each…
Ted Watt has worked with the children of the Heath Elementary School for years, teaching them about the land and the world they live in. One of the blessings of the school landscape is a woodland where the childrren have studied the seasons and phases of life of many woodland creatures and plants. On their most recent exploration of the woods they found - drumroll please - a truffle. I know nothing about truffles, except that they are a…
This red Austin rose is climbing the fence at the Peggy Rockefeller Rose Garden at the New York Botanical Garden. It is just one of the more than 3000 roses growing in the newly designed garden with the goal of showing all visitors what roses can be grown in that climate without a lot of fuss. I got to spend the afternoon with Peter Kukielski, the Curator of the Rose Garden, who arrived in New York from Atlanta…
The city is left behind. I'm home and the first trip out to visit friends we see a porcupine in front of the house eating an apple falled from our old apple tree. We had a delicious lunch of homemade tomato juice (with a few additions) carrot and parsnip soup, little chicken salad sandwiches and tiny fruit tarts. One of the best things about having a wonderful lunch at this house is having a tour of the vegetable…