The garden of Pam and Gordon Oakes is just one of the gardens featured on this year's Franklin Land Trust Farm and Garden tour held on Saturday and Sunday, June 27 and 28. This tour is a major fundraiser for the FLT whose mission is to 'work with landowners and communities to protect their farms, forests, and other natural resources significant to the environmental quality, economy and rural character of our region.' This year the tour, centered in …
“June! Finally I’m going to have flowers,” a friend said after bemoaning how long it took for spring flowers to arrive in her garden. While it is true that a June garden can hardly avoid blooming, it is also true that a garden can have some bloom from April into October, even here in Heath. When my friend Elsa Bakalar was gardening in Heath she had enormous beds of perennials…
Happily for me my Monday Report coincides with Bloom Day hosted by Carol at May Dreams Gardens. Be sure and visit there. This is an exciting time because the roses are just starting to bloom in my garden. They loved all the rain last week. Rosa glaucaEven though the roses on Rosa glauca (formerly known as Rosa rubrifolia) are tiny and inconsequential, this is the rose that gets the WOWs at the Annual Rose Viewing. The bush is a…
Looks pretty doesn't it? And it is as pretty as many irises one might choose to plant in the garden. Don't! This is the common yellow flag that loves water and wet sites. It spreads by rhizomes, but I found out to my dismay that it also spreads by seed carried on the wind. A friend gave me several yellow flags to plant around my pond. They didn't do too much, but one day I found this indestructible…
I walked through the garden with my Sunday morning coffee amazed and delighted to see that the fat pink buds of my Guan Yin Mian tree peony had opened. Guan Yin is the name of the Bodhisattva (or goddess) of Compassion. The term bodhisattva is not much used in the west. It means those who have chosen to remain in the world even though they have enough merit to reach nirvana. Guan Yin is almost…
It has been a busy busy week - and not only in my garden. Let me begin with last Tuesday. Pastor Cara Hochhalter of the Charlemont Federated Church with several helpers, husband Jeff, and Deacon Erwin Reynolds behind her, turned a piece of church lawn into a winter squash patch. You'll notice that we are using the lasagna garden method. The squash will be harvested in the fall for the church's food distribution program. The Federated Church is…
Kate Bailey is the lucky winner of the froggy sundial. Kate, send me an email with your mailing address. I'll send that off to Teak, Wicker and More and they will send the sundial directly to you. Congratulations. Enjoy all the hours, sunny or not.
Cooks are known for guarding their secret recipes. Gardeners are known for giving away plants, seeds and advice to anyone who seems moderately interested. This is the time of year when their generosity is most evident, the kind of generosity that benefits the community as well as any individual gardener. Last weekend I volunteered at the annual Shelburne Falls Area Women’s Club plant sale that featured many divisions from the Bridge of Flowers, as well as plants from…
Midsummer Morning One big white peony enough for a bouquet. by Carol Purington My tree peony blossom is pink, but it is big enough for a bouquet. Carol's haiku are so evocative that I must include another on this Muse Day Monday. End of the row The child's strawberry basket still empty. This haiku seems to me a perfect depiction of a child's innocent greediness and the sweetness of summer. Thank you Carolyn…
I was flattered to get an e-note from CSN Stores saying that the commonweeder had the kind of readership that they were trying to reach. They proposed a Giveaway and I am very happy to pass that on to you. Their website Teak, Wicker & More offers a whole range of outdoor furniture which includes just about everything you need to make your gardens hospitable and comfortable. They have firepits and grills, planters, and of course, patio furniture. They…