Lily Season

  • Post published:08/01/2011
  • Post comments:6 Comments

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…

Norm and his Can-O-Worms

  • Post published:07/30/2011
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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…

Home Again Jiggety Jig

  • Post published:07/29/2011
  • Post comments:4 Comments

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…

Seen in Seattle

  • Post published:07/25/2011
  • Post comments:5 Comments

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…

View From The Bus

  • Post published:07/24/2011
  • Post comments:4 Comments

We were crossing water on the floating bridge when suddenly a gasp of excitement ran through our bus - The Mountain was out!  We caught views of  The Mountain at the end of the day as well when we were walking through the Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Garden. I'm told The Mountain is only out seven days a year, but I hope that is at least a slight local hyperbole.  When I visited here eleven years ago my…

Norm Hirscheld and His Worms

  • Post published:07/23/2011
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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…

Good-bye and Hello

  • Post published:07/22/2011
  • Post comments:3 Comments

It was good-bye to the daylilies at the End of the Road . . . and hello to airports in Hartford, Chicago ---------------- and Seattle!  Seattle Gardens are on the schedule for the next few day in the company of dozens of garden bloggers. Keep watching.

All About the Bridge of Flowers

  • Post published:07/20/2011
  • Post comments:5 Comments

The Queen of the Prairie looks more like the Queen of the River in this photo. She is attended by hundreds of handmaids and courtiers. As a member of the Bridge of Flowers committee many people ask me about when it is open and when is the 'best' bloom time.  Those questions are easy to answer. The Bridge of Flowers is open every day, all day from April 1 to October 30. There is no 'best' season. The…

Beehive and Worms

  • Post published:07/19/2011
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If one grandson visits the beehive charcoal kiln in Hawley, others will demand the same opportunity. Anthony documented everything for his vlog. That's V for video. He's way ahead of me. Drew is just astounded. We stopped at Avery's General Store to pick up a couple of things for supper, but we could have bought boots, or plumbing fixtures, or paint, or a slow cooker - or anything! After supper we went out to check the worms. I…

A New Pair

  • Post published:07/18/2011
  • Post comments:4 Comments

Its been a busy weekend with our Annual Family Meeting on Sunday. There was so much talk that I never even thought about the camera until we were half way home with a new pair of grandsons, Anthony and birthday boy Drew (13!) from Texas. Then, yesterday while 'The Major' organized the boys to set up the blueberry frame, mow the lawn, and relax in the Cottage Ornee, a friend and I drove over to The Mount, Edith…