Kids with Dahlias and Breaking Down the Set

  • Post published:06/19/2012
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The preschool kids from Buckland-Shelburne Elementary School came to the Bridge of Flowers yesterday morning to drop off the 21 dahlia tubers they planted and have been tending for the past weeks. Head Gardener Carol DeLorenzo and I greeted them and thanked them for their patient work in caring for  the 'China Doll' dahlias that will bloom in all the shades of the sunset later in the season. Everyone loves dahlia season. After several days of excitement in…

Rose of the Day – Therese Bugnet

  • Post published:06/01/2012
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Therese Bugnet is the Rose of the Day. And this line rhymes. Therese Boo-nay is the Rose of the Day. Even though I do have three whole years of high school French, it took me many years to realize it was not Therese Bug-Net. Oh well. Miss Rochelle is no longer here to be scandalized. Therese Bugnet is a rugosa and it is the rugosas that are not only the hardiest roses in my garden, they are about…

Garden Bloggers Bloom Day – May 2012

  • Post published:05/15/2012
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Spring has come in starts and stops here in Heath, Massachusetts and so has the blooming season. The lawn, otherwise known as the flowery mead, is in full bloom. Here I show dandelions (of course,) white violets, and ajuga that has migrated into the lawn in a number of places. There are blue violets, too, and creeping ivy with its violet flowers. Colonies of this plant have come up in various sections of the lawn. I think I…

Weekend of Plants and Memorials

  • Post published:05/14/2012
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This Mother's Day weekend was filled with flowers, and memorials. The Ladue family, Kimberly, Troy and Lisa, visited the Bridge of Flowers and presented the Bridge committee with a donation that will help keep the Bridge in bloom. Their mother, Margaret Oliver Ladue was a flower lover and (among other things) worked in the gardens of an assisted living home. Through their family foundation, her children are able to support their mother's interests in education with an annual…

The Bridge of Flowers on National Public Gardens Day

  • Post published:05/11/2012
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In 2004, when the Bridge of Flowers was nearing its 75th anniversary, Elaine Parmett, a member of the Bridge Committee, decided to find out just who and how the Bridge of Flowers began. “I was a historian so I did research and learned it was Antoinette Burnham in 1928 who complained about the way weeds had taken over the abandoned trolley bridge. She wondered why they couldn’t have a flower garden instead. Her husband, who worked for the…

Bridge of Flowers – National Public Gardens Day Coming Up

  • Post published:05/09/2012
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The Bridge of Flowers is our local public garden, open and blooming every day from April 1 - October 30. Free! Universally accessible. I'll be celebrating National Public Gardens Day, May 11 this year, with a stroll over the Bridge of Flowers. What will you do? I've been almost Wordless, but for real Wordlessness this Wednesday click here

Weekend Chores – Removals, Renovations and Additions

  • Post published:05/07/2012
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While my husband was busy with the first lawn mowing - and fence building - I was busy with removals, renovations and additions. I have had a pink potentilla at this corner of the North Lawn bed for several years but never been happy. I was reluctant to remove it, but this spring it look nearly dead, so out it came. Removals can be difficult, but they are sometimes necessary. Neither the dead shrub nor its hole are…

Bridge of Flowers Is Sweetly Fragrant

  • Post published:04/20/2012
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As I walked across the Bridge of Flowers yesterday I was suddenly aware of a sweet fragrance. Looking around and sniffing first in one direction and then another I realized the fragrance was coming from this Viburnam carlesii, just beginning to bloom. This shrub is also called Koreanspice viburnam, and the fragrance certainly certainly is spicily sweet. It is not a surprise this is a member of the honeysuckle family. It is not fussy about soil, but I…

Spring Arriving Very Slowly

  • Post published:04/13/2012
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It is still so cool and cloudy that I have to go to town to enjoy flocks of daffodils - on the Bridge of Flowers. Hyacinths and tulips, too. For drama and beauty I look to the sky. To enjoy the beauty and drama of other skies, click here.  Skywatch Friday has arrived.

Hypertufa Trough – You Could Make Your Own

  • Post published:04/03/2012
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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…