Life will not be denied! is a cry often heard here at the End of the Road. Often as I am pulling out persistent weeds, but sometimes when an unexpected life is discovered, like this petunia coming up through the paving. In spite of all the heat and drought, the petunia has thrived all summer. No help from us. This Labor Day weekend our son Chris and his partner Michelle visited. Their French bulldog, Bibi admired the brave…
“Invasive species have the potential to completely alter habitats, disrupt natural cycles of disturbance and succession, and most importantly, greatly decrease overall biodiversity, pushing rare species to the brink of extinction. Many ecologists now feel that invasive species represent the greatest current and future threat to native plant and animal species worldwide, greater even than human population growth, land development and pollution.” William Cullina of the New England Wildflower Society We do not have to travel far to…
The wonderful thing about gardens is that a stroll down the garden path is apt to take you down paths of literature, science, and history as well. One person who knows this very well is Arcady, Garden History Girl. She has a great blog that touches on more subjects than you might imagine. I was enjoying her story of the Roman matron Livia's cool garden room with its beautiful wall paintings - never dreaming I would end up learning…
Over at Garden Rant Mary Gray's guest rant bewailed the state of many school grounds, all concrete and lawn. I am very familiar with the school grounds that she describes, but I feel fortunate that the children in our small town have a very different school experience. The Heath Elementary School, which opened in 1996, was built in a pasture surrounded by woodland. When the school bus pulls off the dirt road onto the driveway it passes a…
"Few things are more annoying than dogmatism; and dogmatism is nowhere more misplaced than in horticulture. The wise gardener is he whom years of experience have succeeded in teaching that plants, no less than people have perverse individualities of their own, and that, though general rules may be laid down, yet it is impossible ever to predict with any certainty that any given treatment is bound to secure success or failure." Reginald Farrer in My Rock Garden. No season was…
I never seem to get a Before picture. I don't avoid it on purpose, but I am usually so embarrassed at the state of my garden that I subconsiously don't think of getting the camera until I am a little way into the job. Just picture this as a weedy area after the spent broccoli has been pulled out. It is about 6 feet long and no more than 2 feet deep. After pulling out all the weeds…
Mostly I just weeded, and weeded all weekend, while Henry mowed and mowed. The big job we did, almost, was to take down this Stanley plum tree in our little 'orchard' next to the vegetable garden and rasberry patch. This tree has suffered over the years, most notably during the year we lived in Beijing and had renters; their horses had a fondness for fruit tree bark. The chain saw gave out before we got down the main…
I have a friend who once built himself a ‘lethe house.’ It wasn’t really a house, and it wasn’t really about forgetting, the way the mythical Lethe River in Hades was supposed to bring total forgetfulness to those who drank the waters. My friend planted a circular garden filled with soporific plants like valerian, poppies, chamomile and lavender that would send one into the mythical arms of Morpheus, the god of dreams. The garden was rimmed with large…
I'm so happy to participate in the Loving Local Farmers Market Blogathon hosted by In Our Grandmother's Kitchens for several reasons. First, Farmers Markets are beautiful and celebratory places to be. Everywhere are gorgous healthy fruits and vegetables, fragrant herbs and brilliant flowers. Everyone is cheerful when they are surrounded by this beautiful bounty. Who wouldn't like to spend an hour at the Farmers Market? Second, is the energy savings of locally grown produce. I know all about…
August is not rose season for me, but since it is Three for Thursday I thought I would report progress on The Rose Bank. When we had work done on our house foundation that end of the house had to be regraded, and my thought was to eliminate lawn mowing on that slope I could cover it with roses. The blackberry thicket that had been growing there has been more persistent than I expected, but I have been…