New Vegetables for 2013

  • Post published:01/26/2013
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  What is a hybrid vegetable? Hybrids are compatible plants that have been intentionally cross pollinated to create a plant that will combine the best attributes of both parents. This thoughtful work by plant breeders or hybridizers has brought us hundreds of new vegetable varieties that have more disease resistance, heat resistance, different coloring, or some other desirable trait. Hybrids have been created over the eons when plants naturally cross pollinated because pollen had been carried by the…

Days Grow Longer and Cold Grows Stronger

  • Post published:01/25/2013
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The days grow longer, so even though we are 'enjoying' a week of zero temperatures - and below - we can feel the shifting of seasons. The paperwhites that Brent and Becky sent along with my order as a bonus to cheer those of us who lived through Superstorm Sandy are indeed encouraging. I potted up my paperwhites in late November and kept them out in our bright unheated Great Room until January 6. Unlike most daffodils they do not need chilling…

Industry Produceth Wealth – The Farmer’s Arms

  • Post published:01/23/2013
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  I don't know what prompted my mother to make this Farmer's Arms sampler. It is true that her brother, my Uncle Wally, had a farm on the shores of Lake Champlain that our whole extended family considered Our Farm, and we kids/cousins were shipped up there for part of the summer. However,  my father tried farming but quit suddenly one frigid winter day in 1948. Of all the 20 cousins, including my five farm cousins, I may be…

Compost: Feeds the Soil and the Oppossum

  • Post published:01/22/2013
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This opossum has been a regular evening visit to our  compost pile. I don't think it is heating up at this time of the year but at least s/he is loading up on nutrituous peels. ADDENDUM - I had forgotten that oppossums are Marsupials - just like kangaroos. Only smaller, of course. Lots of fascinating information about oppossums here from the National Oppossum Society.

Latin for Gardeners by Lorraine Harrison

  • Post published:01/21/2013
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This gray Sunday I am alternating between a view of the swirling snow and my Christmas book Latin for Gardeners: Over 3000 Plant Names Explained and Explored. by Lorraine Harrison.  I never took Latin in school but over the years, almost in spite of myself, I have picked up a fair amount of horticultureal Latin. I don't always remember the Latin names of the plants in my garden, but knowing some Latin has given me information about plants…

Full Moon Getaway at Stump Sprouts in Hawley

  • Post published:01/20/2013
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A Full Moon Getaway will be held at Stump Sprouts Guest Lodge and Cross Country Ski Center in Hawley to benefit the Franklin Land Trust on Sunday, January 27 from 1 pm on. Snowshoeing, skiing and hiking. Bring the kids! Soup and snacks for sale. Come for a full day, overnight or just for a Moonlight Frolic. Ski, Snowshoe, Hike and enjoy the beauty of rural western Massachusetts,  For full information about cost and events, which include a…

New Flowers for 2013

  • Post published:01/19/2013
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  Everything is new in January. New plans and new plants and new flowers. Even those of us who say we can’t fit another plant into our garden, and love all the plants we already have, can be really tempted when we see all those bright catalog photos. Last year I added Gaillardia Arizona Sun to my garden and I just loved it. It just glowed in the garden for a really long season. I am hoping it…

Me and My Garden Journals

  • Post published:01/17/2013
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  Garden journals are as individual as every garden. Some are elaborate and some, like mine, are usually more sketchy. Still, I have tried to keep a journal noting weather, and plants planted. There are many reasons to keep a garden journal and I have tried to keep some kind of record of each garden year. My system has varied over time.  In our early years here on the hill I kept little 3 x 6 inch date books…

Variegated Plants for Shade

  • Post published:01/12/2013
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Some people think that the palette of plants for deep shade provide little visual diversity in color and texture but this is not true. Variegated plants can alter that perception. First I have to say that there are all kinds of shade, from the deepest shade that you would find in a coniferous woodland, to the gay dappled shade or high shade beneath deciduous trees. It is important to remember that if you want flowers in your shade,…