When photographers ask me the best season for visiting the Bridge of Flowers in Shelburne Falls, I say there is no Best Season. The joy of the Bridge is the ever changing and ever beautiful array of flowers from April through October. Right now, if you enter the Bridge on the Shelburne side, you will not only have the variety of color and texture on the Bridge, look up and you will see the glory of the hillside…
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…
I wasn't going to miss another Three for Thursday hosted by Cindy over at My Corner of Katy. Right now I have three pink natives blooming in my garden. I might be stretching a point to all this bee balm pink, but it is not brilliant scarlet so I am including it. Bee balm, Monarda, is native to North America as are the other two pinks in my garden. Bee balm is in my herb garden in front…
If Alma Potchke is blooming it must be September Bloom Day. I thank Carol at May Dreams Gardens for thinking of this wonderful way to keep a bloom record of my own garden, and to see what else is in bloom over this land. This beautiful achillea has bloomed beautifully all summer. It is at the end of the lettuce bed in the new Front Garden which means it has gotten watered along with the lettuce, including the…
I don't think a cutting garden is really supposed to look like this. A cutting garden is supposed to give each plant room to breathe. But here are scarlet bee balm, Hot Crayon Color zinnias from Renee's Garden, bachelor's buttons, gomphrena, and Hot Biscuits amaranth from Seed Savers looking like they are at a crowded cocktail party. Golden rod and tansy and mint in the surrounding field - all blooming. I thought Gomphrena would be great for bouquets…
Garden phlox can be one of the stars of the summer garden. I bought this unnamed pink phlox paniculata at the Bridge of Flowers plant sale last year and it looks great this year. There is no sign of mildew, but I can't say whether that is because of the weather, or whether this is a mildew resistant variety. Many gardeners avoid phlox because of the mildew which is common, but mildew does not hurt the plant, and…
Yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening preparing for, and enjoying a memorial for Elsa Bakalar, my friend, neighbor, colleague, and garden mentor who passed away in January at the age of 91. The flowers at the buffet supper in Jan and Cal's party barn were provided by The Passionate Gardeners, Mary, Susan and Eileen, gardeners who had come to learn from Elsa, and continued to help her in her garden- until that garden had to be given…
Now that I have begun a Daylily Bank I have been paying more and more attention to the daylily family. Hyperion is a tall classic bright yellow daylily. Mine was given to me many years ago by my dear friend and mentor, Elsa Bakalar. Ice Capades, a pale icy yellow, joined Hyperion on my new Daylily Bank last summer. The Daylily Bank was my excuse for buying several new daylilies like Siloam Double Classic. This grows to about…
Last fall I planted six lilies in the herb bed right in front of the house. Three Henryi lilies which are gold, and three white Henryi lilies, all from Old House Gardens, one of my favorite bulb suppliers. White Henryi was the first to blossom, dazzling white with its golden throat. Then this lily bloomed. I've got a bit of a prop to hold up the blossom so I could photograph it. It is neither the white or…
Last year I bought 3 golden Henryi lilies and 3 white Henryi lilies from Old House Gardens. The reason is obvious. My husband's name is Henry. When I was in Buffalo I saw a golden Henryi in Elizabeth Licata's garden - but I didn't recognize it because it was at least 6 feet tall! I guess I have a lot of work to do on my soil. My lilies are barely three feet tall and the stems are…