Gloria Pacosa can arrange just about anything, dinner parties, events, wedding flowers, pie baking, but when we got together the other day to shoot a TV show for Falls Cable in Shelburne Falls, I wanted her to arrange flowers. She had begun gathering material before I arrived. She had raided the flower garden for these dark scabiosa, the last of the sweet peas and gomphrena, as well as zinnias, sunflowers and . She said just…
Layanee of Ledge and Gardens came to Heath to see Elsa Bakalar's gardens, now owned by Scott Prior and his wife Nanny Vonnegut. I joined her, pleased to have an opportunity to introduce a new friend (we met at the bloggers July meet up in Buffalo) to the garden of an old friend. We got a private peek, but there is a tour on Saturday, September 19 being given by Jeff Farrell of Trillium Workshops. There are still…
Every food pantry welcomes donations of peanut butter because it is so nutritious, and every mother has it in her kitchen because no matter what else the kids refuse to eat, they will almost always accept a pb&j sandwich. Peanuts were the answer to Andre Briend, a French pediatrician, who was trying to find a way to treat malnutrition. He knew about F100, a fortified dry milk that could counter the biochemical effects of nutrition in children. But…
The wonderful thing about gardens is that a stroll down the garden path is apt to take you down paths of literature, science, and history as well. One person who knows this very well is Arcady, Garden History Girl. She has a great blog that touches on more subjects than you might imagine. I was enjoying her story of the Roman matron Livia's cool garden room with its beautiful wall paintings - never dreaming I would end up learning…
"Few things are more annoying than dogmatism; and dogmatism is nowhere more misplaced than in horticulture. The wise gardener is he whom years of experience have succeeded in teaching that plants, no less than people have perverse individualities of their own, and that, though general rules may be laid down, yet it is impossible ever to predict with any certainty that any given treatment is bound to secure success or failure." Reginald Farrer in My Rock Garden. No season was…
Bob Dane loves the blueberries Heath is famous for. He also loves the blueberry fields where they are grown which is why he has donated these sweet blueberry bud vases to the Franklin Land Trust to use as a gift for all those who donate $250 or more to the FLT and ear mark that gift "The Benson Place" to support the Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) and trail easement that has been awarded to the Benson Place Blueberry…
Weddings are important occasions. It is not surprising that the wedding of Chelsea Clinton, daughter of a former President, to Marc Mezvinsky should get a lot of attention and press. I did not expect debate and controversy about the menu of the nuptial dinner. Perhaps I should not have been surprised. The foods we eat, or do not eat, are significant elements of our culture and community, so the food served at a wedding takes on extra meaning.…
Here is part of the crowd of 70 garden bloggers at the Buffalo Botanical Garden. I was familiar with the blogs of some of these gardeners like Frances (lower left) of Fairegarden, and Susan (center in blue with hat) of Sustainable Gardening Blog, and Helen (in white under the camera) of Toronto Gardens. Susan is one of the Garden Ranters; she and I worked briefly for an Australian organic gardening website Organic Gardener which made us virtual colleagues!…
I was so pleased to get this notice from CISA, an organization I support and applaud - not to mention all the Local Heroes in the region, those noted, and those who labor devotedly without applause. At least not so far. Community Involved in Sustaining Agriculture (CISA) is pleased to announce that it has selected Belle Rita Novak of Springfield, J & J Farms in Amherst, and Dan Rosenberg of Real Pickles in Greenfield, to receive its prestigious…
“I have a good imagination,” William Siff told me as we sat in the shade overlooking the new Learning Garden in the midst of fields of medicinal herbs. He said he didn’t imagine the Goldthread Herbal Apothecary with its farm, workshops and national speaking engagements all at once, “But they are all a part of the same focus. “As a move towards sustainable living herbal medicine is a powerful vehicle. As a society we know a lot about…