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 Snow drops and Grape Hyacinths are doubling The bed of grape hyacinths doubled, and now they are growing right before my eyes. The growth was a great and lovely surprise.
 Snow drops and grape hyacinths are both so happy to be increasing These snow drops lived up to their name and shone through a snowfall. Just a small snowfall, but still.
 Daffodils Don’t ask me to discuss nomenclature of daffodils and jonquils. I am just enjoying groups of these sunny flowers that I rather carelessly planted here and there. Lucky for me they are coming into bloom at different times. The snowdrops and grape hyacinths give their all at once.
 Pieris japonica in front of the house Pieris Japonica is a seven foot shrub in front of our house. It loves the shade and starts to bloom early in April. It would be blooming even more if I had managed to prune of spent flowers in late summer. It is a tedious job, and my arms get so sore reaching up to clip the spent blossoms. I should mention it is wonderfully fragrant. I promise to do better this year.
Snowdrops and grape hyacinths, daffodils and pieris – all are encouraging me to believe that soon I will be surrounded by flowers. How is your garden doing?
 April is National Garden Month – the month when Snowdrops start blooming April is National Garden Month, and National Gardening Day is April 14. There is also a National Garden Week founded by National Garden Clubs but we will have to wait for June 7-13 to celebrate. We have lots of time and many occasions to celebrate our gardens, and get busy!
There have not been too many glorious spring days, but the weather has been sufficiently cooperative that we have gotten out to do some spring cleaning. We do not do much in the way of fall clean-up because we want to protect creatures that live through the winter under our leaves, or snack on the sunflower, aster, and coreopsis seeds that fall on the ground. We are protecting the wild creatures of our area as best we can. The joy of spring clean-up is the delight in finding greenery already showing. I recognize the clumps of asters, boltonia, cardinal flowers, daylilies, black-eyed susans, Jacobs ladder, and rhubarb.
 Scillas There are happy surprises. I forgot I had planted a handful of scilla bulbs last year. They showed themselves a few days ago, and I almost didn’t recognize them for what they were. Once I identified them I realized they would have to be moved. The scillas showed their sky blue flowers right in what will be the new (short) Rose Walk. I remembered that I had planted snow drops somewhere, but was surprised to find them growing by the peonies. Actually the two peonies may need to be moved too. They are in much too shady a spot.
I am so happy to be able to out in the garden. One of the benefits of gardening is the exercise we get. Of course, we all have our ways of working in the garden. I do a lot of my gardening, cutting back, clearing, planting and weeding, on my knees. On a spongy mat I say a little prayer for the plants and our world while I am giving my back a rest.
Some of my friends volunteered to care for the garden in the Energy Park. I have joined them, but I confess that when the different areas were being parceled out I requested the smallest garden at the south entrance. All of us choose as many native plants as possible. Our rationale is that native plants will attract pollinators from all types of bees, flies, lacewings, and butterflies. Supporting pollinators is important to local farms as well because many food crops require pollination.
Wisty Rorabacher has many talents including photography and making identification signs for different plants. She is especially fond of spring ephemerals. These native plants are so eager that they sometimes raise their heads right into the snow. She has brought many of these spring ephemerals to the Energy Park.
Wisty Rorabacher – Gardener and Photographer of Spring Ephemerals. She explained her method. “Once I clear an appropriate-sized patch of ground, and place a specific plant, and another and another, my gardening job is simply to get rid of unwanted plants, like grass, that might crowd out what I desire. Otherwise, my tasks are to be patient, observant, and enjoy. I start looking for tiny signs of new life as soon as the snow is almost gone. I love the whole process, from the gradual unfurling of stems and leaves, to the emergence of blossoms, the creation of seed pods, on and on until the plant goes dormant once again.”
 Primroses Ardy Keim is another Energy Park Gardener, but he has a garden at home as well. He happily told me about preparing his garden. “The first time this season I put seeds in the ground. That process, seed to soil, makes me realize I’m part of a larger system of life on the planet. The surface, soil and vegetation is so much more than my being here. Yet we live in harmony when the connection is recognized and promoted. It’s called gardening.
“While in my garden yesterday, I saw an overwintered radish plant that had gone to seed. I picked the pods to coax out the seeds. Then, looking at the soil and weeds and decaying organic matter in my raised bed, I looked for where to poke the seeds in the earth. They’ve waited since September. With the days getting warmer I look forward to seeing the first two leaves emerge.
“New life of spring uplifts the soul, with brown turning green and buds about to bloom. The fruit trees and shrubs I pruned in March are ready and happy. I am looking forward to a sunny day tomorrow and fruitful summer ahead,” Ardy said.
Nancy Hazard is another passionate gardener and is known for working with Greening Greenfield and the town’s tree planting project. Trees are so important. They are not only beautiful, they clean our air and give us shade. She told me simply, “I love gardening – listening to the birds – watching old friends emerge after the winter. It is so peaceful. I feel part of a whole – and the amazingness of all living things.”
My husband spends a lot of time with me out in the garden. He does heavy tasks, tasks that need his skills at putting up fence posts and wiring, and things I never thought of. While he is moving soil or compost around he is likely to stop and listen. He loves the music of the garden. He listens to the wind in our trees, and birdsong. And he taps me on my shoulder with a whisper, “Listen. Listen to the cardinal.” And I stop. And I listen.
Between the Rows April 11, 2020
 Daffodils on Bloom Day Never have I seen the garden begin to show itself in so many bits and starts. Over the past two weeks we have had warm days and cold days, and rainy days that transform the garden into a swamp. But I am so excited at what I have. I put daffodils here and there, in front of the house and in the main garden. Through no planning of my own they have different bloom times so there are surprises every few days.
Primroses on Bloom Day Somehow only the white primroses have come through this past winter. I will have to add colors.
 Snowdrops on Bloom Day The snowdrops have been slow in waking up and blooming, but here they are.
 Grape hyacinths on Bloom Day The grape hyacinths were showing tiny tiny nubs of color on Sunday, Monday it poured all day, and yesterday I could see more color, and this is what I see today. I can almost watch them grow.
 Fringed bleeding heart on Bloom Day. The fringed bleeding heart grows up against the southern house foundation. It blooms for quite a long time. I’ll have to make a note of just how long this year.
 Pieris This isn’t a great photo of the Pieris shrub growing in front of the house. It has been blooming for almost two weeks. This shrub was here at the house when we bought it, and it is still not in great shape. I learned how important it is to deadhead all these flower clusters, a tedious job, because if you don’t deadhead, there are fewer flowers the following year and the dead and brown clusters are left, chastising me for poor care. I’ll do better this year.
 Peony shoots In addition to the Bloom Day blooms there are flower shoots everywhere. Some plants are substantial, like boltonia and Jacob’s ladder and the daylilies, some are just barely poking up their heads, but they are telling me they are racing each other to see who will bloom next.
I thank Carol over at maydreamsgardens.com for giving us the ability to visit other gardens around the country – and the world and giving us the chance to share our own garden.
 Double Bloodroot on Bloom Day This is a PS for Bloom Day. This Double Bloodroot opened its blossoms later in the day. And see – another bud is push up through soil and wood chips. This has been a wonderful Bloom Day for us.
 Seedlings 8 days old – Mesclun and sunflowers on the left This is the time of year when we can’t wait to start planting seeds. Unfortunately it is not the time of year when we can put vegetable or flower seeds in the ground. Fortunately for those of us who want a jump on the season we can start seeds indoors without too much trouble or expense. It is helpful to know the date of the last frost in your area. It is also important to know the temperature of your garden soil. The soil temperature is even more important to your seedlings that the air temperature.
Seed Starting Equipment
A soil thermometer is a good investment. It will cost about $15. Different seeds need different soil temperatures to germinate energetically. Your seedlings will also need warm soil. One way to insure that your soil is warm is by covering your planting space with a clear plastic sheet or a tarp for a few sunny days.
Another way to protect seedlings when they go in the ground is to use row covers supported by wire hoops. These low tunnels will provide some heat, and they will also protect plants from hungry insects. I used row covers in my small vegetable garden in Heath and really appreciated the protection it gave early in the season. Greenfield Farmers Coop has all the items you will need for seed starting from trays and seed cells, soil thermometer, hoops and row covers. And seeds.
Having assembled your equipment and seeds it is time to plant. Fill the seed cells with moist seedling soil mix, but leave room for the seed and covering soil mix.
I started my seeds in my basement under a grow light. A grow light is the best way to germinate seeds, but people have been putting their seed trays on a sunny windowsill for years. If that is what you need to do, you will have to keep turning the seed trays. Seedlings are always bending towards the light and you want to keep them as upright as possible. Expect the seedlings to be a little leggier than they would be under grow lights.
Progression of Seedling Growth
 April 11 – Mesclun has been hardening off, almost ready to plant in my new vegetable garden Some seeds like mesclun lettuces germinate very quickly, others will take longer. I planted my seeds on March 18. Mesclun was the first to sprout. As I write the seeds that have germinated are sunflower, zinnia, cosmos, calendula, and fennel. Other seeds have not yet germinated. I have to wonder whether they need more time, or if the seed is no longer viable. Some of these seeds have been in my stash for more than a couple of years. I will wait a little longer before I give up on them.
Some of my seedlings have begun to develop ‘true’ leaves. I expect them to be ready tor transplanting in four to six weeks. I checked my weather records for 2019. I won’t say I take perfect temperature records, but last April 7 was the last day I recorded frost. As April progressed temperatures did not go below 40 degrees. I expect to put my seedlings in the ground by the first full week of May.
Of course I will not take my seed flats outside and immediately plant them in the soil, no matter how warm the soil is. Seedlings raised indoors are delicate little things. I will harden off my seedlings first. That means gently getting them accustomed to the sun and breezes. The first day seedlings can go outside they need light shade for two hours and then bring them back indoors. For the next six days add more sunny hours gradually to their outdoor stay. Don’t forget to keep the seedlings watered. The soil will dry out faster outside than indoors.
 4-11 Look at those sunflowers! Fennel also doing well. Transplanting
The day before the seedlings are ready for transplanting I will water them with a dilute solution of liquid fertilizer. This will give them a little extra strength when they come out of their cell. Now comes the trickiest part. Do not try to pull the seedling out of the seed cell by its fragile stem. The seedlings are very delicate and tender. I tear my little plastic cells to remove the moist soil and seedling carefully and pop it into the prepared bed. Some gardeners prefer using peat pots for growing seedlings. The planted peat pot can go right in the ground with no tearing or fussing. No worry about damaging the plant or its roots at all.
I have been told that starting seeds indoors can be done in the summer as well as in the spring. Some crops like broccoli and cauliflower can be started indoors the first August and be harvested in late October. My temperature record last year said all of October was very mild with no frost until November 1. It will be fun to see if I can get a fall harvest of broccoli and cauliflower.
At my age, an important aspect of gardening is having fun. It is fun to try out new flowers and vegetables. If they fail, finding out why can be quite intriguing.
Since moving to Greenfield I have not grown any vegetables. My wet garden is not suitable for vegetables. I do have a small spot where I can grow herbs, near the kitchen door, but that is not the same as being able to harvest my own carrots, zucchini, lettuce and tomatoes. This year I will have my own small plot in the Community Garden. The size of the plot will control extravagances. My sister/fellow gardeners will make working there especially pleasant. Expect more reports.
Between the Rows April 4, 2020
 Dandelions – Cheer and nectar in early spring. Pollen too. Dandelions are the first D pollinator plant I think of. They bloom in the very early spring and my Heath lawn had lots of dandelions every spring. I thought they very pretty and I also thought they were important for bees who needed nectar and pollen when the hives became active.
It seems there are differences of opinion, although they are not totally worthless. The Guardian International thinks dandelions are very useful to pollinators in the early spring. The Daily Journal of Kankakee, Illinois takes a different view, although they do not say the dandelions are completely worthless to pollinators.
The Pesticide Action Network UK says bees definitely need dandelions. Maybe Kankakee is just more particular about their lawns.
Double bird’s foot trefoil, Lotus plenus, is another lawn substitute. it has two inch dense dark green foliage with ruffled yellow flowers in the summer.
There are other low growing plants that sometimes substitute for grass in a lawn. Many of us might be familiar with Dianthus gratianopolitanus under the title cheddar pinks. They are only about one or two inches tall and have sweet clove scented pink flowers in mid-spring. It does tolerate mild foot traffic.
Double bird’s foot trefoil, Lotus plenus, is another lawn substitute. it has two inch dense dark green foliage with ruffled yellow flowers in the summer. It is often used as a ground cover, but it can be used on a lawn, or on a bank.
 Daucus carota Queen Anne’s Lace Daucus carota, Queen Anne’s Lace, is one of my favorite flowers. This grows along the roadsides. I don’t know why I never see it in a garden. Maybe I just haven’t seen enough gardens. I will have to work on that.
 Daucus carota Queen Anne’s Lace
 Crocus have no fear of the Pandemic The spring equinox, the first day of spring, arrived on March 19 this year, the earliest it has been since 1896! Clearly Madame Spring was not happy about being called to duty so early. She arrived with snow and rain and gloom. A pandemic also arrived.
Spring arrived just as people were beginning to really understand what the presence of Corvid-19 means. It means “sheltering in place,” and observing ‘social distancing,” which means staying home and keeping six feet away- from everyone. None of this is easy in a time of pandemic.
So what can I do every day?
I can look for pleasure. I smile at my crocuses, purple and gold. I admire the daffodil shoots. I get my rake and feed the compost bins with wet leaves. I am amazed at all the other green shoots hiding under the leaves.
When I take my rake out of our shed I blush to see the disarray. This is the time of year to get really organized! Now I have no excuses. I have time to organize. I have time to give the tools a good cleaning, and sharpening when necessary. I have time to categorize the organic fertilizers. I have time to clean the flower pots and set them outside. I have time to consider which of those-too-many pots can be given away.
I have time to work with my husband setting up grow-lights in the basement. I have an array of seeds chosen at the Cabin Fever Seed Swap and they can be started now.
My husband and I both have time to move the delicious delivery of compo-soil from Martin’s Compost Farm that has just been delivered. Our wet garden always needs a topping off.
 Raspberry patch set-up. The leaves have been left as mulch Over the past three years the raspberry patch became more and more difficult to harvest. How could I have forgotten the need for posts and wires to keep the canes in place. I knew how to do that in Heath! Oh, well. Onward!
My husband had put up stakes last year, and a couple of weeks ago he put wires around the stakes. This will keep my three raspberry rows in line. So to speak. This week I cut out the dead canes, and cut back the canes that will bear berries this year.
I’d like to tell you which raspberry varieties I grow, but the list is lost. I tend to like heirloom varieties like Latham and Heritage, so I might have at least one of those. Latham bears in mid-season, and Heritage in late summer into fall. I was picking well into fall last year so Heritage might be what I planted. Prelude is a variety that bears early which is always happy. And Boyne raspberries gets Excellent grades for flavor, freezing quality and winter hardiness! I might very well have chosen Boyne, but I don’t know for sure. I keep promising to keep better records, but . . .
I only grow red raspberries but Nourse Farms also offers black raspberries, yellow raspberries, and Double Gold with “a deep blush, golden champagne color” and very sweet.
The raspberries are just showing swelling buds, but what I call the herb garden, is getting down to business. I have a large sage plant right outside the kitchen door. It does not shed all its foliage during the winter. Unless it is covered with snow, I can harvest a few leaves if my fall harvest has been used up. I love that sage plant.
The wind had deposited lots of leaves on the herb garden. When I raked them off I revealed clumps of chives, ready to be put to use. I also have a clump of alliums.
 Chives and allium. The wind keep blowing the wind around and it loves this spot against the house. We are working on collecting the leaves! Chives, of course, are also an allium. The chives are for using in the kitchen, but this other allium is mostly decorative. The foliage is heavier, and the white blooms wait until mid-summer to appear. I do not use them in the kitchen.
Thyme grows near the chives. Both are ready for use in the kitchen right now.
 Oregano – and leaves The surprise was the oregano. I forgot how large the oregano plot was last fall. That patch had been covered with leaves all winter. After clearing the leaves the cheerful sunny green foliage was revealed. It too is ready for use.
Removing leaves revealed another green surprise – mountain mint. I actually have two varieties of mountain mint which attract many pollinators including flies, beetles, wasps and bees. They are such good pollinators that the Garden Club of America chose it as the Plant of the Year in 2018. The particular mountain mint that I uncovered is Pycnanthemum muticum which has ‘short toothed’ foliage. It is green and growing.
 Mountain mint – Bees love mountain mint I do also have narrow leaf mountain mint, Pycnanthemum tenuifolium, but it is still sleeping.
The excitement in the garden did not end with the delightful uncovering of green, but with a quiet, beautiful snowfall. Always a surprise in the garden.
This is how we are gardening in the time of pandemic.
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This past week I learned about the 1001 Pollinator Gardens project. Amy of the Wing and a Prayer nursery in Cummington told me how to join the crowd. I sent in my application that included a plant list. Amy wrote back and told me that she was happy that I had trees and shrubs in our garden. She was especially happy that we had planted two river birch trees. She said that river birches can host nearly 400! Species of caterpillars. I had no idea.
Check out https://1001pollinatorgardens.org/ and think about joining this great project.###
Between the Rows March 28, 2020
 Purple crocus It’s April Fool’s Day and the bulbs and flowers think it is time to join the fun. These purple crocuses have been blooming for a couple of weeks. Even the six inch snowfall didn’t daunt them. They came to bloom in the sun, and were still blooming when the snow melted. They needed a god drink.
 Snow drop This single snowdrop got tired of waiting like the rest of her indolent family. I could almost hear her shout “I am ready to bloom, slowpokes!” They other snowdrop will soon join her.
 Tiny daffodils I’ve never been able to decide whether these are diminutive daffodils or if they are just stunted because the soil is bad. Behind them you see foliage of the fringed bleeding hearts. They do bloom early in the spring, but not yet. Then they will bloom for months. They like this spot in front of the house foundation and southern sun.
 Japanese primroses These Japanese primroses are not blooming quite yet, but they are enjoying the good swim. Unfortunately the photo does not make it clear that they are growing in standing water, and it will be swampy all spring. The beautiful tall flowers are a gift from a friend who had them growing in her swampy garden.
At first I thought there were the violets that often come up in a lawn. But then I remembered. I planted these scillas. I might have to move them. As this part of the garden takes a new shape, they might not stand our footsteps. I think they are April Fools – teasing me.
 Daylily shoots I have quite a few daylilies, and some of them are shooting up bigger than this. Plant foliage on the right is the beginnings of the black eyed susan. And a couple of weeds.
Yes spring is here and slowly beginning of show off. Garden raking continues and new shoots are showing up everywhere. Happy April Fools Day. Only a fool would stay indoors today – so I am off and back to the garden.
Garden books always inspire and teach me. It was once a dream of mine to have a cutting garden. This would be a garden with lots of flowers from early spring to late fall. I would stroll amid these beauties every morning and pick a little bouquet, snowdrops or narcissus for my bedroom. I would wake every morning to the beauties of spring. In the summer and fall the house would be filled with my beautiful bouquets of roses, peonies, Mexican sunflowers and zinnias and endless other delicate and sturdy flowers. Need I tell you I never made such a cutting garden? However, at one point in my life I was quite pleased with my big bouquets of autumnal foliage and my favorite late blooming chrysanthemum called the Sheffield daisy.
 Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening by Matt Mattus Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening
I was just sent a beautiful garden book that has rekindled my desire to bring flowers into the house. Matt Mattus has written Mastering the Art of Flower Gardening: A Gardener’s Guide to Growing Flowers from Today’s Favorites to Unusual Varieties (Cool Springs Press $30.)
In his introduction Mattus tells us “Within these pages I touch on many of the lost 19th century horticultural crafts gardeners practiced, such as forcing lily of the valley pip into bloom or raising tuberoses and mignonette in the home garden.” I have no trouble with lily of the valley, but my attempt at growing a tuberose last summer was a total failure. And I’m not even sure I know what mignonette is. But this beautifully illustrated book gives me hope.
There is a brief beginning with basic information about Getting Started. Then we are on to gorgeous portraits of some spring bloomers like primulas and irises, but that is just a teaser. It is followed by page spreads of several flowers with very specific information about that one flower.
Certain flowers like primroses, Primula, which come in many forms, earn even more special attention. I have two types of primrose in my garden. Japanese primroses which are more than a foot tall love a swampy site that even has shade were given to me by a friend. My other old fashioned polyanthus is very small and sweet and makes me feel like I might bump into Shaskespeare any minute.
Then Mattus moves us into spring and information about 57 summer bloomers. Many of these will be familiar like lavender, petunias and zinnias. Some I never heard of like Bird’s Eye Gilia grown in cottage gardens in 1700, and Mignonette, also grown in the 1700s, and loved for its fragrance. It is just wonderful to find new plants that might feel like a necessary addition to your garden.
Mattus also has a wonderful blog. Gardening With Plants, has useful information about the world of plants, and how to combine plants in the garden and in a bouquet.
 The Earth in Her Hands by Jennifer Jewell THE EARTH IN HER HANDS
The Earth in Her Hands: 75 Extraordinary Women Working the World of Plants by Jennifer Jewell (Timber Press $35) takes us on a tour of the work done by women in many fields, botany, environmental science, landscape design, agriculture, garden writing and photography and public garden administration and public police. And more.
Some of the women profiled will be familiar. There is Marta McDowell, author of Emily Dickinson’s Gardens, and Beatrix Potter’s Gardening Life and more. July Moir Messervy is a garden designer with several excellent and useful books to her name. I have been reading Amy Stewart’s books for 15 years for their information and charm.
But there are other fascinating women I have never been introduced to. British Tessa Traeger is an amazing photographer; Hemlata Pradhan a Botanical artist in India; Mia Lehrer, a landscape architect at Studio-MLA in California whose concern is making cities more livable; Fionnulal Fallon writes a garden column for the Irish Tines and is also a flower farmer and florist in Ireland; and Cynthia Ann Brown is the Manager of Horticulture Collections and Education at the Smithsonian Gardens in Washington, D.C. There are many ways to go to work in the garden. All these women have included a note about other women who have inspired them. This is the kind of book that will lead you to finding other books and ‘gardeners.’
For the past three years I have been invited by a friend to read to her first grade every Friday afternoon. These first graders want to learn about everything, history, art, bad days, and learning about jobs they might do some day.
 The Seedling That Didn’t Want to Grow by Britta Teckentrup The Seedling That Didn’t Want to Grow
Garden books are for children too. The Seedling That Didn’t Want to Grow by Britta Teckentrup (Prestel $14.95) gives us a delightful story of how a seed was slow in sending up its first shoots, but accompanied and encouraged by a lady bird and an ant, did begin to grow among the forest trees. This unique seed grows and changes until finally its branches reach the sun. But that is not the end. There will be a lovely surprise in the spring.
The beautiful illustrations invite children to think about plants, other creatures and the environment. And we are all reminded that growth does not happen on a tight schedule. It has been hailed by Publishers Weekly as “delicate, complex, extravagant, beautiful and strong,”
Happy Reading!
Between the Rows March 21, 2020
 Clethra alnifolia, summrsweet or sweet pepperbush We have seen A and B. Now we are up to C – Clethra alnifolia, commonly called summersweet, is a deciduous shrub that is native to swampy woodlands, wet marshes, stream banks and seashores. Because of my wet garden, this fragrant shrub thrives. It is about four feet high. It gets lots of sun
The sweetly fragrant white flowers appear in narrow, upright panicles. It will bloom for a long season in mid to late summer. It attracts birds as well as butterflies.
 Cosmos, an annual The simple cosmos flowers provide easy access to nectar and pollen. They not only attract the familiar bees, cosmos attract other beneficial insects we rarely think about like lacewings, parasitic wasps, tachinid flies and hoverflies that feed on many pest insects.
I like them because they are easy to grow, and bloom late in summer and continue until late in the fall. How wonderful to be able to put together a bouquet so late in the year.
Like cosmos calendula flowers will attract benefiical insects like lacewings, hoverflies and ladybugs. They also attract the bees and butterflies that are so welcome in our garden.
 Calendula Calendula comes in various golden shades, sometimes daisy-like and sometimes like these lush calendulas. The flowers provide nectar and pollen that attract bees and butterflies. The nectar attracts other beneficial insects such as ladybugs, hoverflies, and lacewings.
While calendula attracts pollinators it is is also known to have medicinal powers. It has anti-inflammatory, anti-viral, and anti-bacterial properties, and is often used to soothe a long list of skin ailments including—but not limited to—cuts, scrapes, bruises, bee stings, insect bites. It is nice to have a little calendula oil or salve around to sooth a minor cut or insect bite.
When I started to really think about it, I realized had a number of other C flowers in my garden: Cardinal flower (Lobelia cardinalis), chrysanthemum, columbine, coneflower (Echinacea), coreopsis, and crocosmia (Montbretia). Columbine blooms in the spring, while the others bloom in the summer, and even into the fall.
How many C flowers do you have in your garden?
 Melinda McCreven – founder of the Cabin Fever Seed Swap with her sunflower seeds Have you ever attended a seed swap? Thirteen years ago Melinda McCreven wanted to attend a seed swap. When she could not find one she put out the word that she was holding a seed swap. One of the responders said a seed swap was a great antidote to cabin fever. And so the Cabin Fever Seed Swap was launched.
All kinds of seeds for swapping are brought to this jolly event every year. Some seed swappers are also seed savers. They collect ripened seeds from some of the plants in the garden whether vegetables or flowers. Gardeners collect those seeds and put them in small labeled envelopes.
 Danny Botkin had lots of vegetable and bean seeds Some seed savers bring bowls of large saved seeds, like different beans and squashes.
Some gardeners have leftover seeds still in their packets that they did not plant. Some even bring old seed packets, full of unused seeds.
McCreven brought a tin of big sunflower seeds to the swap. When we talked about the swap she reminded me that I, in my person as a Recorder columnist, awarded her a First Prize Blue Ribbon for her Sunflower in the first Sunflower Contest held in the Energy Park many years ago. She also won second prize for her sunflower the following year. The sunflower contest only went on for one more year, and I no longer remember any of the winners but they taught me about the pride gardeners had in their beautiful sunflowers, on tall stems or in charming bouquets.
McCreven is a Horticultural Therapist. When not arranging the seed swap she works with children and flowers in many ways. Last year she made a sunflower house at Just Roots for children to play in. She also gets calls from nursing homes who want her to plant and arrange flowers for residents.
 New seed packets and some that are slightly outdated In addition to saving seeds, and creating art with sunflowers, she works with six varieties of willow to make sculptures. I am looking forward to a tour of those willow sculptures in her back yard once the season has progressed a bit more.
Andrea O’Brien has been a part of the Cabin Fever Seed Swap for three years now. She is a farmer and a wife to farmer Ed O’Brien. Their farm in Orange has 100 cows, but only 40 are milking at any one time. Andrea is up at four in the morning to help with the cows, but she also cares for her own two acres of mixed vegetables. “I sell butternut squash by the bushel,” she said. She also sells fresh eggs and offers 20 week CSA shares to her customers.
O’Brien offers a seed swap at the farm on September 20 this year. There is a Tomato Tasting and a tomato seed swap. That is another occasion that sounds like a lot of fun, and a chance to try out some interesting heirloom tomatoes.
This year she brought Frederick, one year old, to the swap along with bean and squash seeds. “I bring the seeds of large vegetables, because that is most of what I sell,” she said.
Danny Botkin of Laughing Dog Farm in Gill brought lots of unfamiliar heirloom bean seeds. Danny likes sharing his seeds, and his knowledge. For nearly 20 years Botkin has been teaching others about growing food. He sometimes works with WWOOFers, those who make use World Wide Opportunities for Organic Farming. He works with WWOOFers, but also occasionally holds work shops; he is always teaching others about gardening/farming techniques for the health of gardeners and the land.
 Some people brought seeds in their own envelops I was thrilled with my selection of unusual and familiar-to-me seeds. I have packets of lettuce, radishes, Ronde de Nice Zucchini, Captain Kopeykin tomato, scarlet runner beans, Sugar Magnolia peas with a purple pod, Blue Lake pole beans (it seems very hard to find pole beans these days) zinnias, fragrant sweet peas, calendula and cosmos!
This year I have chosen a garden space for companionable perennials and annuals that will attract pollinators. I am also counting on this arrangement to provide me with flowers for bouquets.
Two summers ago my husband and I visited the Seed Savers Exchange in Decorah, Iowa. This organization, created in 1975 by Diane Ott Whealy and Kent Whealy, was to preserve heirloom seeds that would be available to everyone. Nowadays we see seed packets and plants that have been patented. All well and good, but we need to protect heirloom seeds. In fact, the Seed Savers Exchange has stored some seeds in the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Norway which is the ultimate protection of seeds in case of disaster.
I like to think positively about the future, but it is not a bad idea to hedge our bets and save seeds, have fun, and a beautiful and delicious gardens in the future.
Between the Rows March 14 2020
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