Ohhhhhh - Look at that! I cannot tell you how many times I uttered those words, and Le Flaneur listened patiently, turned and followed my pointing fingers at heucheras, sailboats, meat packing establishments, roof top restaurants and etc., etc., etc. We took the train into the city and set off to explore an array of Parks. We began at Battery Park, South Ferry, where people can get ferries to Staten Island, or Ellis Island or the Statue of…
I am writing this on Sunday, just before I set off for adventures in Norwalk, Connecticut and New York City - lots of gardens everywhere - so my Monday Record is a little early. I am afraid some of my more ephemeral blooms will not longer be lovely on Bloom Day, so here is Epimedium rubrum. I keep promising myself I will divide it, but no action so far. I thought this was a cut leaf bleeding heart, that is…
So many groups hold plant sales in the spring. They give us a chance to expand our gardens AND often support any number of worthy community organizations. Nasami Farm of the New England Wildflower Society is now open in Whately on weekends, Thursdays through Sundays from 10 am - 5 pm. until June 13. Nasami sells native plants that will thrive in our area, support birds, bees and butterflies - and our whole eco-system. Friday, May 7 9…
"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…
And now to see how Wordlessly beautiful the world is elsewhere click here.
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…