Renovating and planting the lawn bed continues. I had to wait until after the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale before I made my final 'design' decisions. This is the end of the Lawn Bed, all cleaned out of a nearly dead potentilla and lots of weeds. I also removed two clumps of ornamental grass that had been grown in pots last summer and just stuck in this bed in the fall. "Just sticking" a plant somewhere is always…
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…
Benefit plant sales are a traditional spring event. Gardeners can spruce up their gardens and benefit various community organizations. Which will you choose? Or will you choose them all? Have you thought about giving your mother a gift certificate (one way or another) so she can pick out some flowers herself? This Saturday, May5 the Greenfield Library will open its plant sale at 9:30 am on the front lawn. It will close by 12:30, unless everything is gone…
The Bridge of Flowers is a blooming wonder. Starting in April and through October it is in flower from the bright crocus and daffodils of early spring, through rose season and then dahlia season. I could not possibly give you a list of all the flowers that take their turn on the Bridge, bulbs, annuals, perennials, blooming shrubs and trees, all making life in Shelburne Falls a delight and attracting over 35,000 visitors from across the country and…
More spring promises every day. The rugosas are the first roses to leaf out. This is Dart's Dash. The Thomas Affleck rose in front of the house is leafing out, too. But look what is budding up . . . alliums - I don't remember which one. Lilacs. These are the old white variety here when we bought our house. Troillus. I know there will be troillus at the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale on Saturday. Soon the…
There was a time when peony roots for planting were only available in the fall, the best time for planting. Today I saw several pink peony plants that are going to be put in the Bridge of Flowers Plant Sale on Saturday. I know I will also see peony plants in local garden centers. No one can resist the thought of having a peony bloom almost as soon as you plant it. June is peony season in my…
Grass loves cool weather and rain. We have had both in abundance which means it was time for the first lawn mowing. The strip of lawn in front of the house looks neat, and so does the main lawn. Henry even managed to get into the Sunken Garden. I thought it was still pretty wet. The late Elsa Bakalar, friend and mentor, said one of the tricks to preparing a garden for a Garden Tour is to keep…
In spite of Saturday's snow and sleet which continued most of the day, after a warm night with temperatures constantly increasing, Easter Sunday dawned warm and sunny and blissful. This is all that was left of the snow. The breeze was gentle and it was a perfect Easter Sunday. One of the first fences we removed over the past months was the wire fence that formed the 'fourth wall' of the Sunken Garden. These dayliles grew along the…
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…
If there is anything more enjoyable than an afternoon working in one's own garden, it is spending an afternoon working with a daughter in her garden. Yesterday we visited Betsy for a garden consultation, nursery shopping and planting day. Betsy has done some landscaping around her house which is built on sand that hides many many stones. In fact the house is directly across the road from a granite quarry whose boulders form a major element of the…