When I crossed the Bridge of Flowers the other day I was surprised by the number of roses - now in glorious bloom. I did not remember there were so many. There are pink roses . . . and red roses . . . and pale pink roses . . . and yellow roses. There are many shades of pink and red roses, and white roses and . . . peachy apricot roses, a particular favorite color of…
After a full week of rain and weather so cold we had a fire in the woodstove every day, the sun is shining. You can see the big rose bushes are weighed down with rain. I can hardly tell where Rachel's rose, Celestial and Ispahan begin and end. However burdened they are, rain soaked roses are very beautiful. I have written about Rachel's rose before. Click here for her full history. I planted Pink Grootendorst on the new…
In between Sunday's showers and torrential rains I visited Kathy Puckett's garden which is magnificent. A perfect event for Wordless Wednesday. ************************************************************************************************ I have to add a few words after all. On Saturday June 12, visitors are invited to experience Seeds of Solidarity at 165 Chestnut Hill Road in Orange. Seeds of Solidarity consists of a farm, home, and non-profit organization with educational programs. The day begins with a morning tour, which begins at 10 am and goes until 11.30,…
The chicks are one week old! They all survived the USPS trip here and a week of hot weather which has actually been a great benefit. Chicks need 95 degree heat the first week. I don't know that I have ever gotten through the first week with no fatalities before so we are celebrating. The photo is a little fuzzy. It was hard to take the picture and hold the chick at the same time, but you can…
I left the full frame of this Centaurea montana so that you can see how it persists in spite of grass, roses, nettles and various other weeds. We planted Centaurea montana more than 20 years ago - and then decided that spot, a small bank, was not a good place. We mowed everything down. The Centaurea didn't notice and it continues to come up every year. It is not invasive, just persistent. Centaurea montana is also called perennial…
When I went to Greenfield yesterday to help set up the Greenfield Garden Club Annual Plant Sale and Extravaganza, I got to see some of the damage wrought by the terrible storm the other night. So many trees were taken down that clean up is not yet completed. Branches and whole trees are stacked by the roadsides waiting for removal. I was stunned to see this tree on Wildwood still leaning against the house. In spite of damage…
Last year this nameless tree peony did not bloom at all, but this year there will be three blooms. My dark pink tree peony only had one blossom, but paler pink Guan Yin Mian had 15 blossoms! Not all at once - which is a good thing. This is the common white beach rose. I have several bushes in a kind of hedge. It has taken quite a beating over the past couple of years, but I think…
And buy! Gardeners are allowed to browse the hundreds of perennials laid out at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale - but no touching! Not until the starting bell rings out. This year the young woman in charge of the Annuals from LaSalle's in Whately said for the first time she had two women poised over a single flat of gorgeous rich purple geraniums. They did not come to blows; they shared, half and half. The sale runs…
A little Madness in the Spring Is wholesome even for the King, But God be with the Clown-- Who ponders this tremendous scene-- This whole Experiment in Green-- As if it were his own! Emily Dickinson Spring madness was in the air when I trekked to the New York Botanical Garden for the special exhibit Emily Dickinson’s Garden: Poetry in Flowers. Two rooms of the stunning Enid E. Haupt Conservatory were given over to interpretations of the gardens…
This is the day I wait for every year - the first tree peony blossoms. I bought this one because of the name which translates as Guan Yin's face. Guan Yin is the goddess of compassion and I am sure her face is as beautiful as this blossom. Tree peony flowers look fragile, but the plants are extremely hardy. I vaguely remember buying a bag of pink tulip bulbs last fall, and then sticking them in any old…