When I was a child being driven from New York City to my uncle’s dairy farm in Charlotte, Vermont, I was sure I knew the minute we crossed the state line because I could smell the scent of manure in the air. For me, Vermont meant a perfumed cow barn and manured fields; I could think of no lovelier fragrance. I still feel that way. Gene Logsdon, farmer, anthropologist, cultural critic and author of Holy Shit: Managing Manure…
I'm not sure if this really counts as the First Snowfall for Garden Bloggers, but snow surely did fall out of the sky last night. Yesterday around noon - all of a sudden - the sky turned black and the wind whipped up the leaves to such an extent that I could hardly see across the drive. Then slush fell out of the sky for five minutes. The weatherman called it hail, but it didn't do the kind…
Driving around town I spotted a group of shrubs with brilliant red berries growing by the road. In the warm autumnal sun the berries were really beautiful. The shrubs are about five feet tall. Could these be Ilex verticillata, winterberry? Another view. What do you think?
Thick frost on the ground this morning at 7:30. And yet, The cosmos still blooms exuberantly, but the morning glory may have seen its last morning.
Not all my bulbs have arrived, but I spent all night dreaming about where to plant these from Brent and Becky's Bulbs. I have never grown ornamental alliums before, but there were so many beautiful varieties in gardens this year that I decided the time had come. Brent and Becky offer 26 varieties of allium. I ordered A. aflatunense 'Purple Sensation' which has a slightly airy globe of tiny violet purple flowers on a 20 to 30 inch…
In spite of spotty frosts that we have had all week, the cosmos in the new Front Garden, as well as the Shed Bed are still blooming. They are protected in both spaces. I was able to take a big bouquet to church with me yesterday. While the cosmos still look summery, it was time to get down to those autumnal chores. My husband took a break from splitting firewood to dig sod and enlarge the southern Lawn…
October 19 CISA's own Margaret Christie will host Preserving Food: Canning, Freezing, Drying, Storage on Tuesday, October 19 from 6:30 to 8:30pm at the Greenfield Community College's Downtown Center. Register with Greenfield Community College by email or phone at 413-775-1803. October 22-23 Tower Hill Botanic Garden is proud to host the Garden Club Federation (GCF) of Massachusetts' "A New England Journey" Flower Show. This floral homage to New England's literary and cultural traditions will be sure to generate feelings of nostalgia and regional…
Whenever I have a question about gardening I know where I can turn. My neighbor, Bob Bourke, has been a Master Gardener for about seven years. Since his 60 hours of training he has answered a lot of questions for lot of people, but he has also judged vegetables at the Youth Building at the Franklin County Fair, and built a Question Wheel for the Master Gardeners Fair booth. He’s worked for the Spring Symposium and visited many…
Water is beautiful. Our Frog Pond is beautiful. We can't drink this water, but in July of 1990 it helped keep our house from burning down. The previous owners of our house used Conservation funds to enlarge the pond enough to qualify as a Fire Pond. We are so glad they did. Mostly, though we just use it for fun, swimming, catching (and releasing) newts, and ice skating in the winter. Water is essential. Out here in the…
Lots of people in Heath have an old apple tree or two. Sometimes the apples aren't beautiful, but they certainly can make good eating. I've been using the generous harvest from this unnamed tree to make apple sauce and apple butter. French toast with apple butter or apple sauce makes an easy and nutritious breakfast. My neighbor called me to say he and his wife had collected three big buckets of black walnuts from their two back yard…