Silent Spring by Rachel Carson Celebrates 50th Anniversary

  • Post published:01/11/2013
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Silent Spring by Rachel Carson can possibly be credited with starting the popular environmental movement. When the book was published in 1962 it was chosen as a Book-of-the-Month and was on the New York Times best seller for weeks. The book remains relevant today. The Western Massachusetts Master Gardener Association is sponsoring a Reading Silent Spring Together program with three free talks by local experts with community discussion.  There is no charge, but readers are asked to pre-register because…

Winter Light at the End of the Road

  • Post published:01/08/2013
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The winter light at the End of the Road is all about all I have to say about gardening on these winter days. I'm just enjoying the view. This rooster guards the front door, even during blizzards.     Day is done. For more Wordlessness on Wednesday click here.  

Hydrangea in Winter

  • Post published:01/07/2013
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  Very pretty hydrangea blossom. But I don't think it will count on Bloom Day.  

Stone Harvest at Goshen Stone Company

  • Post published:01/05/2013
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New England is famous for being a stony place. The stone walls that line our roads are a testament to the stones that farmers have been pulling out of their fields for centuries. We gardeners complain about constantly hitting stone as we dig in our gardens. On the other hand, most of us admire the beauty of stone patios and walkways, and dry laid stone walls built by stone masons. Gary Warner, of Goshen Stone Quarry, has been…

Enjoying Christmas Gifts

  • Post published:01/03/2013
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Those who know me know  that books, or a bookstore gift certificate, are my favorite Christmas gifts. Latin for Gardeners, Over 3,000 plant names explained and explored by Lorraine Harrison is a beautiful book. The textured cover even feels beautiful, and the interior pages are subtly tinted with green. Special sections of Plant Profiles, information about Plant Hunters like Sir Joseph Banks and Jane Colden and Marianne North, and Plant Themes like The Qualities of Plants, are a deeper but…

Happy New Year January 1, 2013

  • Post published:01/01/2013
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Happy New Year to all! "The Old Year has gone.  Let the dead past bury its own dead.  The New Year has taken possession of the clock of time.  All hail the duties and possibilities of the coming twelve months!  ~Edward Payson Powell  (American author and journalist 1833-1915)

Celebration Season – Eat Your Heart Out

  • Post published:12/31/2012
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Celebration Season this year has been quite lengthy. We had one rowdy family Christmas on December 22, but then a quiet adult Christmas  on December 25 with only one child and his lady, and a dear friend who always joins us for Christmas dinner. On December 29 the Heath Gourmet Club celebrated Christmas with a theme of Looks Like a Wreath to Me! Nearly every course was wreath-like. My savarin pans came in handy for the main course which was…

Gifts of Christmas

  • Post published:12/28/2012
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As we race around shopping and buying Christmas gifts for the people we love, the Salvation Army bell-ringers seem an appropriate accompaniment. The Holy Family was poor, and enduring so much bad luck, that they had to find shelter in a stable for the birth of the Christ Child. It is not hard to imagine the fear that Mary must have felt as she labored to bring this baby into the world. Where were they to go from…

The First Snowfall of the Year

  • Post published:12/27/2012
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I am counting this as the first  snowfall of the year, although there was a couple of inches of snow on the ground on Christmas so we  could all have a white Christmas and get an extra helping of Christmas spirit. Now we can enjoy the post-Christmas tranquillity, sitting by the fire, watching the snow snowing and the wind blowing. This photo was taken at 7 a.m. More Christmas is coming with further gatherings with family and friends.…

New England Gardener’s Handbook

  • Post published:12/22/2012
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Jacqueline Heriteau and Holly Hunter Stonehill, along with Liz Ball, James Fizzell and Joe Lamp’l have put together the New England Gardener’s Handbook: All you need to know to plan, plant and maintain a New England garden  (Cool Springs Press $24.99) that focuses on the plants that will thrive in the our soil and climate. Heriteau and Stonehill have been gardening and cooking together for many years; they are mother and daughter. Ball, Fizzell and Lamp’l will be…