Not only the beans, but some of the first leaves of squash plants had been eaten. This is clearly bug damage, but what bug? I replanted the beans twice, hoping that whatever it was would have come and gone. Then I was talking to a friend and he suggested earwigs. Earwigs come out at night so of course, I would not see them during the day. Putting lime around the most desirable plants was one solution, but…
Saturday I went into Greenfield to buy plants at the Greenfield Garden Club Plant sale, but also stopped at the Greenfield Farmers Market to buy beautiful lettuce from The Kitchen Garden for Gourmet Club, and I bought a pot of beautiful double white petunias from LaSalles. The Farmers Market was full of vegetable starts, flats of annual seedlings, as well as the first greens of the season and huge bouquets of peonies from Hadley where spring has sprung…
The harvest has begun, but with the help of Mother Nature. Last night we had our first garden fresh salad, mostly with these self-seeded lettuces in the vegetable garden. The spinach in the Herb Bed needs thinning (and weeding) and I added the thinnings to the salad. The Red Sails lettuce directly seeded in the new Front Garden is also ready to be thinned. All of a sudden it is really taking off. I love being able to…
The main task for these past few beautiful days has been setting up the new garden in front of the house which gets protection from the wind, and sun early in the season. I thought I could plant hardy vegetables here and start my harvest early. Once again I used the lasagna method of starting a new garden. First I put down old chick house cleanings in lieu of finished compost. We did not get chicks last year…
The city is left behind. I'm home and the first trip out to visit friends we see a porcupine in front of the house eating an apple falled from our old apple tree. We had a delicious lunch of homemade tomato juice (with a few additions) carrot and parsnip soup, little chicken salad sandwiches and tiny fruit tarts. One of the best things about having a wonderful lunch at this house is having a tour of the vegetable…
Late blight has infected my tomatoes. Yesterday afternoon I went out to pick more beans and noticed that the single dead tomato branch was now several dead branches on all six of my tomato plants. It is difficult to see in the photo against the straw mulch, but the reality was very clear. If there was any doubt, one look at the tomatoes made it imperative to take instant and radical action. I pulled up all the plants and…
I never think I have much of a flower garden, but in August . . . The Black Dragon lilies are blooming in front of the house along with a crimson bee balm. The Stargazer lilies were a gift. Only one is blooming so far, but there are two or three more. I am always so relieved when I don't kill plants I get as a gift. My Casa Blanca lilies are not planted to best advantage, but…
“How’s your garden this year?” This is the question on everyone’s lips this summer, and in my case the answer is “Not good.” I began with the usual good intentions, and even more energy and enthusiasm as I decided to start my own vegetable seedlings and enlarge the garden. My plan was to grow more of my own vegetables than ever, and thus save lots of money on grocery bills. However, we all…
First I have to say the very most important event of the past week was the wedding of my cousin Jay and his beloved Juliet in a beautiful garden in Manchester by the Sea. It was a glorious day and celebration was in the air. Our hotel was hosting three wedding receptions and packed to the rafters with SEVEN groups of wedding guests. Juliet is a Nanny in the classic mode. The wedding guest list was filled with her…
What a celebratory weekend. All due honor has been paid to our veterans, and even the tree peony has joined in those solemnities. Appropropriately, she is named (in translation) The Face of the Goddess of Compassion. This year she has nine blossoms, each about 7 inches across. Next to Guan Yin is another tree peony, planted at the same time, about 5 or 6 years ago (the relevant journal has gone missing) but she is smaller and will have…