The weather has been hot and dry. Our Texas grandsons Anthony and Drew were glad to take a dip in Rowe Pond near-by this past week. They are excellent swimmers after several years on their local swim teams. We left the Pond when we heard thunder, but we never did get the longed for rain. When Kate returned to Heath after tending to other family responsibilities in the eastern part of the state she did a little touring…
Spring and summer, planting and growing seasons, are busy times for the gardener especially when you add in Tour Season. For me Tour Season was especially exciting (and exhausting) this year because our garden was on the Franklin Land Trust Farm and Garden Tour, and then the following week I was attending the Hawley Artisan and Garden Tour, and the Greenfield Garden Club Tour, both on the same day – while many people were able to add on…
Last fall my neighbor gave me several of his famous garlic bulbs to use as seed so I could plant my second garlic crop in the vegetable garden. My first crop was not very successful, mostly because I did not pay attention to cutting off all the scapes in the spring. My harvest in July was puny. This time I planted each clove in well tilled soil and mulched heavily with spoiled hay in mid-October. You can read…
One of the stellar events of the Garden Blogger's Seattle Fling was the workshop with David Perry, photographer extraordinaire. We only had an hour of instruction, but I went right out to use the P setting on my little Canon Power Shot A590. I call it my Point and Hope because it is so difficult to use in the sun - but it was raining at the Bloedel Reserve and I was ready to actually move the dial…
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Compared to Heath, Seattle has a mild climate, and yet gardeners there share some of our problems. Generally, it does not get hot in Seattle. Gardeners go to great lengths pampering their tomatoes in an attempt to achieve juicy ripeness. Shelagh Tucker has a small greenhouse in her sloping back garden, but she also grows her tomatoes in a raised bed sort of hot house to provide the heat tomatoes require. Behind her, in another raised bed are…
I have not done with posts about my great trip to Seattle to tour amazing gardens with 70+ garden writers and bloggers, but I am so happy to be home and to see the glories of lily season. Our Daylily Bank is now in full bloom and it got a lot of attention when the Heath Gourmet Club was here on Saturday night to enjoy a delicieux dinner a la Francais. The Black Beauty lilies have been blooming…
Twenty-seven years ago Norm Hirscheld of Greenfield visited a permaculture farm where he met his first red wigglers (Eisenia foetida). “I was awestruck by how you could get rich black compost from vegetable scraps right in your house,” he said. He decided right then to become a worm farmer himself and built a wooden box, providing holes for ventilation, and put in a sufficient amount of wet shredded newspaper for bedding. He sent away for his pound of…
I've said farewell to all the gardens of the Seattle area including the beautiful Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island. And I've said farewell to Tacoma with its amazing Chihuly Bridge. I've stored up memories of my visit with my dear friend Kathryn Galbraith, children's author extraordinare and her lovely garden. I've bid farewell to all the garden bloggers like Kylee of Our Little Acre and my dear friend Kathryn. Now I'm at the very busy Seatac airport where…
As we 74 garden bloggers have toured Seattle we have visited private gardens, public gardens, and semi-public gardens to admire and learn about plants and Seattle's history. Here is a mock orange at the Dunn Gardens. All kinds of lavender everywhere. Bicyclists on their own path. Fabulous fruits at the Farmer's Market. Cherries, peaches, all kinds of berries - vegetables, too. Magnificent trees, towering. Potted plants everywhere, in the gardens and on the street. Fountains in the Mall…