Honeybees are in the air, literally and figuratively. A friend, Edward Maeder, who just moved to an old house in Greenfield suddenly saw clouds of honeybees and saw that a swarm had settled into the barn attached to his house. He raced to visit Don Conlon of Warm Colors Apiary to find someone who could help him. A local beekeeper who had also been at the Apiary returned with Maeder and said that he and a friend…
Yesterday morning I watched what I later confirmed was a cowbird being fed by another bird. I just happened to look out the front window and there was this little bird (fully fledged) standing still and looking around while another bird, a different type of bird, much the same size was running around picking up insects from the lawn and bringing them over to the cowbird. Through the window I couldn't hear the cowbird squawking, or whining piteously, but I…
Rhododendrons are in full spectacular bloom now. Many many of them are a single variety magenta variety. This is a shame because rhodies come in so many beautiful colors and shades. My friend Jerry (who I wrote about earlier) has been planting rhodies on his hill side for nearly 15 years, and now has a varied collection of about 400 rhododendrons in gorgeous colors. I do not know all the variety names but here is a sampling. Bees love rhododendron flowers. Scintillation…
One 2013 resolution is to keep a good Bloom Record this year, noting bloom twice a month on the 1st and 15th of every month. After a lot of rain, about 4+ inches, and then hot! weather, things are really moving in the garden. This is high rhodie season. Rangoon is nearly done, Boule de Neige is in full flower and Goldbusch is not quite blooming. Calsap is just beginning to bloom. I transplanted it a couple of…
Right now I have two sage plants in my herb garden right in front of our house. I have a Salvia officinalis plant that has survived several winters, and a brand new meadow sage, Salvia verticillata Evelina. I have since learned that there is a showier S. verticillata named Purple Rain with deep purple flowers. Soon I will add two or three six packs of the annual Victoria Blue salvia which I use as a kind of…
The cameras are rolling in Shelburne Falls. The camera dolly was ready on the Bridge of Flowers early this morning, but it was covered with camouflage netting. The dolly was covered with camouflage netting to hide it from the circling helicopter that was taking aerial shots. The Bridge of Flowers flowers were unimpressed. They bloom like this, cameras or not.
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!…
Wisteria is a mysterious plant. I am not good about taking Before and After photographs, but above you can see my wisteria in early May last year. This is my wisteria yesterday. My husband and son cut out the main trunk which was dead, leaving us with a young, lively trunk. There is another shoot coming up from the root that we will allow to join this trunk. I am glad it is not totally dead, and hope…
The suddenness of spring caught me by surprise yesterday. After two days of being kept inside by sometimes torrential rains, I went out and saw that the ajuga, escaped into the lawn years ago from an old flower bed, is in full and startling bloom. This area has not been mowed yet because I made the mistake of planting daffodils here and must wait until they have finished blooming and ripening. Only a few daffodils are still in…
I have not been posting very regularly because I have been so quietly busy. There were preparations for the fabulous Bridge of Flowers Plant sale which went off on Saturday without a hitch. I think we had 36 plants left over. Out of over 1300! On Sunday we hosted the Presentation of Elliott (in the plaid suit) and celebrated. And celebrated! Monday was just one thing after another and yesterday, in the heat, I was out of the…