Two Gardens on the Whately Garden Tour – June 15

  • Post published:06/14/2013
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  The Garden Tour Season is well begun. Next Saturday, June 15, the Whately Garden Tour sponsored by the Historical Society includes 5 five diverse Whately gardens that will be open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. rain or shine. There are woodland gardens, gardens that reflect other cultures, cottage gardens and gardens that welcome all kinds of wildlife. A Garden for Family and Friends Last week I visited Nicole and Joe Pietraszkiewicz  who bought a newly built…

Moosewood in the Woods, Moose in the Field

  • Post published:06/12/2013
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Yesterday we took a (wet) walk in the woods and saw  this moosewood tree. It is more properly known as a striped maple, and more properly still as Acer pensylvanicum. It is a small understory tree, very tolerant of shade, and has very large leaves. Late in the afternoon, there was a flash of brown passing my window. I ran outside to see what it was. A moose. A young moose, who only stopped briefly to pose and…

Forbes Library Leads Off Garden Tour Season

  • Post published:05/29/2013
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Julie Abramson' s garden  is just one of six garden that will enchant garden lovers on the Forbes Library Garden Tour on Saturday, June 8, from 10 am til 3 pm. Julie's is a collector's garden that features some notable trees, clematis, and a colorful array of perennials and a rock garden. I was intrigued by the description of a rustic arbor covered with climbinbing hydrangea, PLUS two other arbors covered with roses, honeysuckle and clematis. Pure romance!…

M is for Marcescence on A to Z Blogger Challenge

  • Post published:04/15/2013
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M is for Marcescence. Marcescence refers to  the retention  of dead plant parts that are usually shed.  We all know that trees lose their leaves in the fall. Some of us may have noticed that oak trees, and beeches carry their dead leaves will into the fall. And maybe until the new leaf buds give the old leaf a final shove in the spring. Over the past few years I have noticed that there seem to be a lot…

Small Flowering Trees for the Garden

  • Post published:03/23/2013
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  “I’m not old enough to have shrubs!” a friend wailed at me one day while we were looking at her garden and she was trying to figure out how to make it more manageable. Well, small blooming trees may be the answer for those of us who are getting older. We might realize that a mixed border that includes small trees and shrubs will demand less work. The ornamental small blooming tree I have in my garden…

Dormancy – A False Death

  • Post published:01/27/2013
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  The leafless landscape seems dead, but dormancy is only a false death.  In the 1/24 issue of the New York Times Michael Tortorello takes us on a wintry horticultural tour of gardens in New York City and learns that death is not what winter brings. I grant you, the activity he sees in Central Park and other places is rather different from the dormancy I can see in my frozen snowy landscape, but still, his guides make…

Hemi-demi-semi Christmas Tree on Wordless Wednesday

  • Post published:12/13/2012
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We usually cut our Christmas tree from our own land. We are famous for having Charlie Brown trees. This tree strikes me as a hemi-demi-semi tree. The only tree we could find was this section of a tree that had been damaged by the ice storm several years ago. It only has branches on one side. I think this year, for the first time in over 30 years, we'll be shopping for our Christmas tree. For more (almost)…

Barren Branches – and Yet . . .

  • Post published:10/18/2012
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The  barren branches of the old yellow birch in my field retain a certain majesty this frosty morning. But the Thomas Affleck shrub rose that grows at the end of the entry walk is resisting the closing of the bloom season. The days have been chilly and windy, tearing dying leaves off many trees, but Thomas just laughs and says, "Look at me!" I bought this rose from the Antique Rose Emporium in Texas and it has been hardier and…

Bug on the Bridge of Flowers! Emerald Ash Borer

  • Post published:07/08/2012
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When a 5 foot tall bug appears on the Bridge of Flowers we all take notice. Especially when it is a shimmering shade of emerald green I wasn't the only one taking photos of this beautiful creature. But beauty is as beauty does, and the Emerald Ash Borer is no beauty infesting and killing ash trees. The USDA Forest Service has created a website with full information about how to watch  ash trees for damage. These bugs are…