"What, if anything, do the infinity of different traditional and individual ideas of a garden have in common? They vary so much in purpose, in size, in style and content that not even flowers, or even plants at all, can be said to be essential. In the last analysis there is only one common factor between all gardens, and that is the control of nature by man. Control, that is, for aesthetic reasons." Hugh Johnson Hugh Johnson created…
My friend (and noted author), Kathryn Galbraith, explained the importance of trees to community in her beautiful new picture book for children, Arbor Day Square. I am fortunate to be surrounded by woodland here in Heath, but as a new member of the Bridge of Flowers committee I have been more and more aware of how healthy street trees, some of them quite new, add to the quality of life in a small town like Shelburne Falls, but…
This was the view of the newly planted Front Garden yesterday morning at 6:30 am. It was still snowing and the temperature was 32 degree. Windy. You can't see, but my tiny lettuce and broccoli transplants appeared to be damaged. The herbs did not mind the snow and by 10 am the snow was gone and temperatures had risen to 40 degrees. All is well - as far as I can tell. Today dawned with brilliant sun and…
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Yesterday my husband, Henry, and I went out to The Curtis House in Ashfield to film a session with Gloria Pacosa of Gloriosa & Co. and Trillium Workshops fame for the Shelburne Falls Cable TV show Over The Falls. The subject was how to make beautiful container plantings. Mine is the red arrangement and Gloria's is one of fifteen herbal containers that she is making for a wedding next weekend. The show will be aired first on May…
Tulips of many colors and hues are in full bloom on Shelburne Falls' Bridge of Flowers. It's enough to make one stop - or at least slow down - to enjoy the day and be grateful to live in such an area where going about one's duties and errand running brings one this kind of pleasure. And don't forget you can add a little bit of the Bridge to your own garden by buying a plant or…
The first plants to show green in my garden are the herbs growing right in front of my piazza. Parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme – as well as dill, tarragon, chives, basil, lemon balm and black stem mint – are handy for seasoning my cooking, and for steeping a cup of tea. Other herbs are planted throughout the garden: black cohosh or cimicifuga racemosa; comfrey; scented geraniums, and lovage. Herbs fall into two main categories. It is the…
Siberian iris are among the hardiest perennials I can think of. There were clumps of white iris, and deep purple iris around the house when we moved here 30 years ago. I've moved clumps of these around the garden, I've given them away to friends, donated them to plant sales, and I've even tossed divisions into the field and over to the edge of the road - see above. I don't want you to think I planted them…
The term rain gardens sounds kind of romantic. I imagine something vaguely tropical with exotic blossoms amid rain drenched foliage viewed from a wicker chair on a veranda. In reality a rain garden can have colorful blossoms, not necessarily exotic, but when the foliage is rain drenched the rain garden is doing its work of infiltration. Infiltration is not a romantic term. I have heard the term rain garden and seen Master Gardener work sheets on building a…
I just came back from checking the Larch seedling I was given ten days ago. I watered it the first couple of days, but the recent weather has been perfect for transplanting - overcast, cool (but not freezing) and showery. The tree seems to have settled in well. So far. Larch trees, tamarack, hackmatack, or more properly Larix laricinia, are that mysterious thing, a deciduous pine tree. This is a native tree that can reach 75 feet tall. It does…