My Heath Calendar cannot begin with flowers. The only flowers at the End of the Road are a few Christmas cactus blooms and a wonderful pink cyclamen.

February is still cold and snowy. This ‘possum found shelter and a snack in the compost bin next to the hen house.

March and still no blooms in Heath. Still the Talcott Greenhouse at Mt. Holyoke College and the Lyman Plant House at Smith College are full of bloom and hope at their big March plant shows.

Finally, April brings snowdrops down in the orchard.

May brings the rhododendrons.

Early June and the peonies bloom.

The Heath Calendar must include a double June listing. In late June and the roses come into their own. So beautifully, so  briefly. Hence the Annual Rose Viewing on the last Sunday in June. It never rains on the last Sunday in June. Really.

July and the Mothlight hydrangea begins to bloom and will be magnificent into the fall.

August hot and sunny. Hot colors in the garden. Gaillardia or Helenium?  Not sure.

September and berries are beginning to appear. Here are two different cotoneasters – all tangled up.

October and the late blooming Sheffield daisies are blooming like crazy.

November and  the larch, a deciduous conifer, has turned golden. The needles will soon fall.

December and our holly ‘Blue Princess’ is in full berry. And so the Heath Calendar has come full circle with wind and rough weather – and ready to begin again.