The rugosa rose may strike many New Englanders as the quintessential American rose, hardy and trouble free, but this rose is a native of Asia. Long before it made its way halfway around the world it grew and bloomed on the coasts of northeastern China and Japan. It had to make its way to Europe first, and did not arrive in the United States until the mid-1800s when it was imported for the nutritional value of the hips.…
The Annual Rose Viewing is almost upon us. The roses have held up in the heat pretty well. So have the weeds, unfortunately. But the roses don't care and neither do I. From 1-4 pm we will be enjoying rosy visions and the Heath zephyrs carrying their perfume. Cookies and lemonade in the Cottage Ornee to restore the tissues. Come up Route 2 to Charlemont, take 8A north to Rowe Road where you will see a ROSES sign,…
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…
The hardy rugosas are so cheering, blooming early and beautifully as they do. Belle Poitvine suffered a lot of winter damage as did several of the other rugosas. I don't think it was simply the weather which was very mild, but the age of the shrub. Like any living creature a rugosa has a life span, but it also has babies. More on that later. Like Belle Poitvine, Blanc Double de Coubert, is only about two feet tall…
The transit of venus, the passage of Venus between earth and the sun is an astronomical event that many will never see because it is so infrequent. We wanted to see it again, as we had seen it at dawn in 20o4, using the same technique, a homemade camera obscura. We went up to our attic which has a western window, perfectly situated for watching this phenomena that began at 6:04 pm on Tuesday, June 5. The only…
When I visited Daniel Botkin of Laughing Dog Farm some time ago, he showed me how he did a lot of planting in goat manure-laced hay. I envied his access to so much bedding because it does provide plants with nutrition and eliminates weeds. No fertilizing. No weeding. He is a lucky man to have manured goat bedding from his barn, as well and old hay bales. He said he doesn’t use the hay bales for planting until…
We are enjoying the best wisteria season ever. I don't know why one year is better than another. I have chronicalled the history of my wisteria here. And added a warning here. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
Purington Pink is the first rose of summer this year. The blossoms are modest, pale pink, fading quickly to almost white. The thorns are anything but modest, spiny and prickery. Like all of four of the roses that the Purington family gave me, this one is a strong grower. Just what we need here on the hill. Of similar prickliness is this rose, also from the Purington's Woodslawn Farm. I think it is a Harrison's Yellow, because it…
Container gardens seem to be more and more popular for ornamental plantings, and even for vegetable plantings. No matter which there is an opportunity for container shopping, ceramic, terra cotta, resin – all kinds of handsome containers are available at garden centers. This spring I succumbed and bought a terra cotta strawberry jar, not because I wanted to plant strawberries, but because I thought it would make a good looking herb garden in a pot. I bought a…
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…