I Become a Judge at the Boston Flower Show

  • Post published:03/24/2012
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Spring was in full bloom inside the Seaport World Trade Center where the Boston Flower Show and BLOOMS! featured display gardens with reflecting pools, landscapes fit for a hobbit, Japanese maples, fountains, school gardens with veggies and flowers, as well as rooms filled with specimen plants and flower arrangements awaiting the intense gazes of the judges. This year I was not attending the flower show merely as an admirer, but as a volunteer judge. Earlier this spring I…

A Sign of the Early Times – Coltsfoot

  • Post published:03/23/2012
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Coltsfoot started blooming three days ago on the Rose Bank. This is the first flower in my garden and this year it is much earlier than usual. I wrote about Coltsfoot's properties as a medicinal herb here on April 17 in 2009. Coltsfoot is also known as Coughwort and is known as a remedy for coughs and other respiratory ailments across several culture. I wrote about it as a wildflower here last year on April 26. I wonder…

The Bridge of Flowers is Open Early

  • Post published:03/21/2012
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The weather has been strange, but a benefit is The Bridge of Flowers is now open during the day. Official opening April 1. I'm almost Wordless this Wednesday, but for real Wordlessness click here.

Chicken Encyclopedia Finale on National Poultry Day

  • Post published:03/19/2012
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Chickens have been much on my mind over the past two weeks as I participated in The Chicken Encyclopedia virtual book tour with the participation of 15 of us chicken loving bloggers. I am one of the bloggers who gave away a copy of the book and passed on some information. However, I also passed on some misinformation. Happily I have been corrected by Gail Damerow and the editors at Storey Publishing and I want to make the…

Timber Press and a Spring Giveaway

  • Post published:03/17/2012
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I spent today at a wonderful Spring Symposium organized by our local Master Gardeners who do so much to help us all improve our skills while offering us lots of inspiration. I bought a copy of the Week-by-Week Vegetable Gardener's Handbook by Ron Kujawski and his daughter Jennifer, who live near by. I know Ron from his days as a Cooperative Extension educator (and my days on the Extension Board). This sturdy spiral bound book published by Storey Publishing…

We Have a Winner! And It’s Bloom Day

  • Post published:03/15/2012
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I am happy to announce that Gracia is the winner of Storey Publications book The Chicken Encyclopedia.  Send me your mailing address and I will have Storey mail the book directly to you. Congratulations! Have fun with your chickens. While Gracia is celebrating  with her chickens I am celebrating my snowdrops on this Bloom Day. To see what else is blooming across the  country visit May Dreams Gardens. Carol, thank you for hosting this beautiful and useful meme.…

Guess Where I Am?

  • Post published:03/12/2012
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Can you guess?  I am in Boston! On March 13 I help judge entries at the Boston Flower Show! Come and see it beginning March 12.  More news and views to come.

Must Have Plants – What Are Yours?

  • Post published:03/10/2012
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When I asked readers to tell me about some of the plants they absolutely had to have in the garden, I got a variety of answers. Linda Tyler said she had to have coral bells, heucheras, in her garden because there is such variety in the foliage color and size. Tyler did not specify which varieties she has in her garden, but a quick look through the garden catalogs like Plant Delights Nursery shows photos of Tiramisu with…

My Girls – International Women’s Day

  • Post published:03/08/2012
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It was quite a job getting everyone in the family together in one spot even at a family reunion. My brother and sister-in-law bookend this group, but the rest of us include our five children, their spouses and the grandchildren. That is three daughters and three granddaughters. My oldest son's daughter Tracy (our oldest granddaughter) who lives in Florida couldn't make the 2010 family reunion, but she and her two daughters, Lola  on my lap, and Bella on…