This is not my William Baffin rose! Alas! I visited Deirdre Bonifaz whose garden is on the Franklin Land Trust Garden tour on June 26 & 27. Her garden has everything - blooming trees, blooming shrubs, fruit trees, perennials, vegetables, herbs, AND roses! We went around identifying the roses when we could, and admiring them always. Deirdre could hardly believe that I had managed to kill a William Baffin rose. You can see what hers looks like. When…
Ev Hatch, now retired from farming, is a member of the Hunger Task Force and a member of the First Congregational Church of Greenfield. When the First Church began planning a special day of service they called ‘Feet, Hands and Voices to Faith’ he knew just what to do. He donated a half acre of his farmland, and his services to prepare the field. On May 16th he and a crew, that included Luella McLaughlin (aged 93), set…
In between Sunday's showers and torrential rains I visited Kathy Puckett's garden which is magnificent. A perfect event for Wordless Wednesday. ************************************************************************************************ I have to add a few words after all. On Saturday June 12, visitors are invited to experience Seeds of Solidarity at 165 Chestnut Hill Road in Orange. Seeds of Solidarity consists of a farm, home, and non-profit organization with educational programs. The day begins with a morning tour, which begins at 10 am and goes until 11.30,…
Someone is dining out in the garden. Not slugs. The lettuce has been pulled out of the ground and eaten. Some has been eaten down to the ground. This row was attacked differently, but still, the lettuce is gone. I've never had bunny damage before, but this looks like what I imagine bunnies would do. Who has experience to share? On that assumption I took out the sample bottle of Deer and Rabbit Deterrent that Liquid Fence sent…
The chicks are one week old! They all survived the USPS trip here and a week of hot weather which has actually been a great benefit. Chicks need 95 degree heat the first week. I don't know that I have ever gotten through the first week with no fatalities before so we are celebrating. The photo is a little fuzzy. It was hard to take the picture and hold the chick at the same time, but you can…
When I first met my husband in 1971 we used to dream about our ideal home. Inspired by a Beetle Bailey comic strip, we called this mythical place Pork Corners. There was nothing porky about my house on Grinnell Street in Greenfield, but there in the tiny side yard I planted my first vegetable garden. I kissed the friend who came to dinner and brought a load of old horse manure as a thank you. He sent a…
How has your garden changed in 30 years? How has your life changed in 30 years? As a person who moved every two or three years (on average) for the first four sevenths of my life, I was stunned to realize that Henry and I have been in Heath for 30 years! And that means, that on May 22, today, I celebrate my 30th anniversary as garden columnist for The Recorder. It was a happy day for me…
I left the full frame of this Centaurea montana so that you can see how it persists in spite of grass, roses, nettles and various other weeds. We planted Centaurea montana more than 20 years ago - and then decided that spot, a small bank, was not a good place. We mowed everything down. The Centaurea didn't notice and it continues to come up every year. It is not invasive, just persistent. Centaurea montana is also called perennial…
The post office called at 7:30 am to say the chicks are in! When I arrived I could hear such a chick racket I thought there must be a number of people whose chick delivery had arrived. But, no. The racket was caused by 43 chicks alone. Chicks can travel through the mail because they do not need food or water for 48 hours after they hatch. We expected the chicks this week so we prepared over the…
And I beg your pardon by Wendell Berry The first mosquito: come here,and I will kill thee, holy though thou art. If the Harrison's yellow is blooming the mosquitoes will not be far behind. In the meantime I am making do with deer flies that have bitten and bitten. They are not as easy to swat and kill as mosquitoes that land and take their time to suck blood. Wendell Berry is a wonderful writer - and poet.…