Cellulose to Paper, Plants to Everything

  • Post published:02/20/2012
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The Sunday New York Times did a fascinating story yesterday about Timothy Barrett, a man they call the Cellulose Hero and the work he has done with paper, and preserving important of historic paper documents. I read all this with pleasure in the paper edition of the New York Times. In addition to talking about Barrett's important work, there was a brief history of paper, invented by the Chinese more than about 2000 years ago. Before that those lucky enough to…

Ellen Sousa’s Green Garden

  • Post published:02/18/2012
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Ellen Sousa now lives in Spencer on a small farm with animals, veggies, and many native plants that have earned it certification as a Wildlife Habitat and Monarch Waystation. But it was not always so. As a child Sousa tramped the woods with her father and read Who Really Killed Cock Robin, an environmental mystery by Jean Craighead George. My daughter Betsy also read this book in sixth grade and she determined at that moment to become an…

The Curious and Sometimes Lascivious History of Vegetables

  • Post published:02/17/2012
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According to the historical record the soldiers inside the Trojan horse gorged themselves on carrots to 'bind their bowels' an important precaution, but other records tell of the emperor Caligula "who had a fun-loving streak, once fed the entire Roman Senate a feast of carrots in hopes of watching them run sexually amok." Carrots have fascinated more modern characters like Henry Ford who was anti-milk, and anti-meat, but crazy about vegetables, especially the carrot. At one point he…

Bloom Day – February 2012

On this second Bloom Day of 2012 I have very little to show. There is this white supermarket cyclamen that I bought in November that has more than seen me through the holidays, and the Wolf Moon. The wonderful thing about cyclamen is its long long winter bloom period. On February 4th I attended a Garden Writers Meeting in Boston, where we not only got  invigorating information and inspiration from Mary Kate  Mackey, but gifts from various vendors…

My Container Garden of Succulents is Growing

  • Post published:02/12/2012
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Seven weeks ago I gave myself an early Christmas present – a bowl in a classic shape (actually a sort of plastic flower pot) and four succulent plants. I had been inspired by reading Succulent Container Gardens by Debra Lee Baldwin which I had reviewed in this column earlier in December. I am not terribly good at caring for houseplants except for the succulents: a jade tree, an enormous orchid cactus, and Christmas and Thanksgiving cactus I had…

Fox went out on a chilly afternoon

  • Post published:02/11/2012
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I was about to start cooking yesterday when I looked out the kitchen window and saw my chickens all a-flutter and one in the mouth of a fox. A healthy and beautiful red fox. I opened the window and started yelling and banging my frying pan and lid. Everyone really got excited. The fox dropped the chicken and had trouble finding the hole in the chicken fence, but finally pushed his way through. The chickens went flying in…

Start a Free Range Chicken Flock – Contest

  • Post published:02/10/2012
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Dreaming of free range chickens? Dreaming of sun yellow egg yolks? Dreaming of buk-buk-buk songs in the back yard? Dreaming of cheerful, domestic and productive chickens working for you and keeping you cheerful and domestic?  This is your chance to win Free Range Chicken Gardens book by Jessi Bloom and published by Timber Press - as well as a $50 gift card for chicken feed or supplies from McMurray Hatchery One chicken coop plan from The Garden Coop (a $20…

Our Frog Pond – er – Beaver Pond

  • Post published:02/08/2012
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For more Wordlessness click here. For more about beavers, their habitat, and the revelation that they can build lodges on pond banks click here.

Garden Ornaments, Fairy Houses and Hypertufa

  • Post published:02/06/2012
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Garden ornaments were everywhere at the New England Grows trade show in Boston this past weekend. Concrete and ceramic Buddhas, saints, rabbits, wooden trellises and rain chains . These containers reminded me of the hypertufa workshop that the Bridge of Flowers will be scheduling in April. I want to make a garden trough for alpines. Or succulents. As I wandered around I saw this display of miniature and dwarf conifers - suitable for Fairy Houses. I only know…

Green River Ambrosia – Fit for the Gods

  • Post published:02/04/2012
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The Green River Ambrosia crew - standing L-R Brendan Burns, Will Savitri, Garth Shaneyfelt.  Kneeling L-R Sandy Pearson, Sam Dibble Mead is an ancient drink, essentially a wine made with honey instead of grapes. The great Norse hero Beowulf drank mead and feasted in a great mead hall 1500 years ago. Somewhere along the line mead fell out of favor as a popular drink, even in Scandinavia, but three young Greenfield men, Garth Shaneyfelt, Will Savitri, and Sam…