It was a surprise to see Salvia on the front page of the NYTimes Sunday Styles section. Salvia has become stylish? However it was not Salvia officinalis, culinary sage, which is important in many holiday dressings and dishes at this time of the year that was getting this publicity, nor even the Christmasy red annual salvia (Salvia splendens) that is so common in many bedding plant projects. Unbeknownst to me, who does not keep up with Miley Cyrus…
The need to find symbols for eternal mysteries lies deep in the human family. At this time of the year the landscape is bare and frozen. All the life of nature seems to be frozen and dead. Gone is the verdant green, brilliantly colored flowers, rushing waters. The days grow ever shorter; even the sun seems to be failing. Ever since the beginning of time humans have faced the terror of this seeming death and looked for hope.…
The tree is up and decorated. Each year I get so much pleasure and I add each ornament. The tree contains memories that go back more than 60 years. After my mother's death my brothers and I had to empty her condo and split up her belongings. There were no surprises until we got to a big storage closet in the garage that, among other things, held boxes and boxes of Christmas tree ornaments dating back to the…
I have never used a hose guard, and I have certainly damaged plants as I have pulled the hose around the different beds. Hozearound sent me a sample of their product and I am looking forward to trying it out in the spring. It is made of really sturdy steel and the stake that goes into the ground is long. It can go 18 inches or a little more into the ground - assuming you don't hit any…
Thinking that they were too tender I avoided hollies for many years, but I finally decided to give them a try. I planted "Blue Princess" and "Blue Prince" about ten years ago. They are said to grow slowly, so I don't know if I am too impatient, but they have grown very slowly. They are growing in full sun, and there is no question that they are in acid soil. No need for Holly Tone fertilizer here. The…
Henry and I set out Saturday morning to cut our Christmas tree. Unfortunately, this photo does not capture the field of diamonds that surround our house, but it does capture our cat Holly who likes to hike with us. This time we had to stop and put her back in the house. We saw lots of animal tracks as we walked down the Rose Walk. I thought these were deer tracks, but Henry wasn't so sure. A fair amount of…
Rose at Ramble 0n Rose has won The Perennial Gardner's Design Primer by Stephanie Cohen and Nancy Ondra. Congratulations! I want to thank everyone who has helped me celebrate three years of blogging this month. And thank you Storey Publications for being so generous in making this Giveaway possible.
On a day like today I bitterly regret the lack of a windbreak to the northwest of our house where the wind roars down the hill. Only a single white pine, the sole tree to survive a windbreak planting more than 20 years ago, impedes the blast. My husband and I have been studying that pine and thinking it is time to try again. Therefore, it might not be pure coincidence that I arranged to meet with Sue…
not from China 'cross the Bay, but from the east in glorious array. I almost missed the photo, the colors change so rapidly. This morning the sunrise was more pearly, but then came a pink glow over our fields. Very mysterious and beautiful. To see more beautiful skyscapes logon to host Skywatch Friday.
Local chicken lovers have tended to make good use of extra lumber, roofing, and even old shower doors, but Sheila's hen house has a long history. While a young Sheila was still living at home with her parents her father gathered up the lumber from a bridge that was being dismantled to make a shed. When Sheila and her husband moved to Heath something more than 30 years ago they dismantled that shed to build a goat shed.…