As my granddaughter Caitlin always says, "We always know WHAT Granny will give us for Christmas, we just don't know WHICH." The shopping is just about done but I haven't done much wrapping yet. No one knows who will get the cookbooks, scifi books, business books, garden books, poetry, books about Christmas, novels OR magazine subscriptions. Ladybug! Do you have a gift specialty? Does your family know WHAT if not WHICH?
Plants, one way or another, play a big part in our Christmas festivities and gift giving. I can’t think of any other holiday when plants are so important. We decorate our houses with evergreen wreaths, and deck our halls with holly. Or at least with laurel ropes, evergreen boughs and swags, and forced bulbs on the festive table. We also give plants as gifts, and may also receive a potted plant. The question is how can we…
Betsy Johnson is our winner! Practically a neighbor over there in Williamstown. Timber Press will send Seeing Flowers directly after I have her address, and I'll be sending her The Roses at the End of the Road. Everyone can order their own copy of The Roses at the End of the Road, or a copy to give as a gift to anyone who loves roses or tales of life in the country by emailing me at commonweeder@gmail.com or…
It's almost 2 pm EST which means only 10 more hours to leave a comment here. You might win this beautiful book, Seeing Flowers, from Timber Press PLUS my own charming book of essays about life among the roses, Roses at the End of the Road. I'll announce the winner tomorrow morning.
Behold this Tea Party in the Garden. My husband has been taking a drawing class at Greenfield Community College this semester, a gift to himself to celebrate his semi-retirement. I have occasionally given him a hard time, but he holds no grudge and painted my fantasy of a Garden Tea Party. Not quite finished yet. Of course, before there is a tea party there must be tea, which begins with the tea plant Camellia chinensis. Pastels, both. He's…
After heavy rain enough puddles on my path to flash back at me all the faces I might choose to wear. In her newest book of Tanka, Faces I Might Wear, Carol Purington opens with a poem that most of us can identify with. How often do we arrange our face based on the action or emotion of…
Beatrix Potter is known to almost every parent, but not as well known as her most famous creation, Peter Rabbit. In Marta McDowell’s new book Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life: the plants and places that inspired the classic children’s tales (Timber Press $24.95) we meet Peter’s progenitor. In 1890, the 24 year old Beatrix bought Benjamin Bouncer at a pet shop and used him as the model for Peter for some paintings that she sold. That was the…
Six years of blogging and I'm celebrating with a Giveaway. It hardly seems possible. Six years of documenting my garden, mostly, but also family events. Because of my blog I have met gardeners from around the country at Flings. All you have to do to meet some of them is click on the Buffa10 badge on the right side of the page. Over these six years and 1,406 posts I have learned that gardeners have a wide range…
The View from the Bedroom is a new attempt to capture the passing of the seasons. Another dusting of snow which will disappear quickly. For more Wordlessness this Wednesday click here.
Winterberry, Ilex verticillata, is a native deciduous holly. Its tiny white flowers appear in midsummer, and in the fall beautiful red berries add their color to the autumnal show. Winterberries are dioecious, which is to say that it takes a male and a female plant to create those bright berries. If you are adding winterberries to your garden it is important to order a male and female. Only the female will produce berries, but it only takes one…