Since moving to Greenfield we seem unable to get through a day, or night, without thinking and dreaming about trees. When we bought our house, which was surrounded by nothing more than lawn, our attention was taken by the giant American sycamore on the tree belt in front of our house. I called an acquaintance, Dennis Ryan, who is a retired arborist and professor at the University of Massachusetts. I described our tree which we believed was a…
What are the essentials for an apocalypse? The New York Times listed essentials for the apocalypse in the September 24, 2017 issue. I did note that these are essentials as deemed so by a certain affluent group of Americans. Author Alex Williams lists 13 things to have on hand in case worse comes to worst, what with daily threats from North Korea – and our own White House. Is money one of the essentials for the apocalypse? At…
Kylee Baumle can date the beginning of her passion for monarch butterflies to September 17, 2006, the day she found a tattered Monarch butterfly with a tiny sticker on its wing in the field where the United Flight 93 Memorial stands. Most of us remember with horror, and pride, the passengers and crew of that flight that crashed on September 11, 2001. The sticker listed the monarchwatch.org website, a phone number and a set of three numbers. Baumle…
Last week I wrote about several neighborhood gardens that would fall into the category of The Foodscape Revolution which also happens to be the name of a book, The Foodscape Revolution: Finding a better way to make space for food and beauty in your garden by Brie Arthur. Arthur would have applauded the Chicoine/Ayers garden which eliminated grass completely from the tree strip, as well as the front and side yards. Most of the back yard was also…
My neighbor Wendy came over to our house to watch the solar eclipse. You can see our scientific arsenal, a colander, a red plastic dish pan filled with water and a big stainless steel bowl filled with water. We did not have any of the special glasses but we heard that you could watch the eclipse as a reflection in water, even if it was only a bowl of water. You can also hold up a colander with…
Last Sunday I went on an education edible garden tour and learned about the Squash Borer. In the first garden we visited we all noticed a yellowing and flopping squash plant. Was it lack of watering? No! We were seeing the fatal damage caused by a squash borer. Though I grew squash in Heath for many years I never had squash borers so this was quite an education for me. Espececially since when we got home and looked…
Recently I met with Michael Schwartz at the Naugatuck Valley Community College in Connecticut to visit the rose trial gardens of both Earth-Kind roses and the newer organization A.R.T.S. trials. The American Rose Trials for Sustainability (A.R.T.S.) was founded in 2012 when the All America Rose Selections (AARS) closed its doors. Schwartz is the trial director of both gardens, as well as the current president of the A.R.T.S. organization. Earth-Kind roses have been around for a number of…
It's time for the Annual Daylily Festival at 23 Picket Lane in Greenfield. There will be vendors selling their arts and crafts as well. The garden opens at 9 am and the Festival will close at 4 pm. Visitors can walk through the woods that Richard Willard has been clearing and weeding for several years, or you an take a buggy ride out to the daylily fields. Daylilies are marvelous plants, beautiful in many shades and colors and…
During the Master Gardeners tour of beautiful gardens, we came upon a young couple with their photographer taking historic photographs under the tranquil shade of old trees. The groom was handsome and the bridge was beautiful and wearing a gorgeous wedding dress with delicate lace and a train. The photographer had endless directions for the happy couple - please kiss - now, bride, look demure - now look adoringly at each other. All was going swimmingly, although I…
Blue-eyed osteospurmum on the Bridge of FlowersUntil I began working on the Bridge of Flowers committee some years ago, I never realized how important annuals are to having a really flowery garden all season. Those of us who have perennial gardens accept that most perennials are in bloom for only three weeks or so. With deadheading and pruning we might be able to get a second flush of bloom. With careful planning, we can create a design that…