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…
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…
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…
Three perennials that get A plus grades in my garden are achillea, otherwise known as yarrow, antirrhinum or snapdragon and astilbe. My first awareness of achillea was the roadside weed, or wildflower, depending on your point of view. Roadside yarrow is usually white with the typical achillea flat topped cluster of tiny flowers. The ferny green foliage is pretty even when the plant is not in bloom. When I began to learn about perennials from my garden mentor…
Daylily season has begun here at End of the Road Farm. The Daylily Bank is going to have it's first spectacular year. My idea was to have a collection of pale and pink daylilies on the Bank. Still, I couldn't resist some of the deeper colored daylilies. Each day more are blooming and each day I am happier with this project. I thought I could count three bloomers in one photo - 'Connecticut Yankee' delphiniums, shasta daisy and…
Greenfield Garden Club members opened their gardens to the public in a fund-raising tour on July 9. Water seemed to be everywhere in those gardens, fountains, pools and streams. One of the most important water features was in Marcia Stone and Norm Hirschfeld's garden - a rain barrel. They plan to add more. The rain off their garage roof fills the 55 gallon drum almost instantly. The Greenfield Garden Club raises money to fund many school projects.
When I went to the Hawley Artisans and Garden tour a beautiful exhibit of quilts , old and new, was on display in the East Hawley Meetinghouse. Flowers are a common motif on quilts. These embroidered squares reminded me of the embroidery my mother and her sisters did when I was a young child. Even I learned to embroider. None of us made embroidered quilts, though. This charming quilt by Connie Harris shows the kind of world we…
We enjoyed our 13 year old granson's company all last week - a very busy week. There was canoeing, dinner parties, cake baking, mowing lawns, feeding chickens and all manner of End of the Road activities. One day we returned to Birch Glen Stables which is practically around the corner for his second riding lesson. The first was last year, but he had not forgotten how to groom and put on the saddle. This year the lesson was…
Need I say more?
A visitor on the Franklin Land Trust Farm and Garden Tour last weekend noted that one of the benefits of local garden tours is they allow us to see what lies hidden behind the beautiful flower beds, fields and forests: creativity, art, industry, history, and strong community. On the weekend of July 9, all of these elements will be in full view as the artisans, conservationists, and creative gardeners of Hawley, Colrain and Greenfield open their worlds to…