I measure the march toward spring by the arrival of the first dandelion in my 'flowery mead' which some call The Lawn. Yesterday, the first dandelion showed up, at least a week earlier than usual. This morning it has been joined by a host of sunny compatriots. I hope the five days of 80 plus temperatures haven't lulled us into a fatal spring. Along with the dandelions, these violets seemed to pop up and bloom over night in…
Tynan arrived to spend part of school vacation with us and we devoted ourselves to art, the garden, and celebrating Earth Day at the eleventh most beautiful waterfall in Massachusetts. First, off to Umass, my alma mater, to visit our friend Dan at the new Studio Arts building. He gave us a tour of the undergrad studios where we saw all kinds of art, collage, drawings, assemblages, paintings, clay sculptures, and even a work made with black…
Grandson Tynan, at 11, is almost 5 feet tall. Gardens are not the only places where growth is amazing.Tynan arrived to spend part of school vacation with us and we devoted ourselves to art, the garden, and celebrating Earth Day at the eleventh most beautiful waterfall in Massachusetts.First, off to Umass, my alma mater, to visit our friend Dan at the new Studio Arts building. He gave us a tour of the undergrad studios where we saw all…
Earth Day celebrations remind us that there is work to do to build a sustainable world – and that we have to begin in our own neighborhoods. I know of two local efforts. Last week I visited Ricky Baruc at his Seeds of Solidarity Farm in Orange. In 1996 Ricky and his wife Deb Habib started farming in a woodland clearing. The soil was bad and season was not long, but they did not find these insuperable…
Earth Day celebrations remind us that there is work to do to build a sustainable world – and that we have to begin in our own neighborhoods. I know of two local efforts.Last week I visited Ricky Baruc at his Seeds of Solidarity Farm in Orange. In 1996 Ricky and his wife Deb Habib started farming in a woodland clearing. The soil was bad and season was not long, but they did not find these insuperable deterrents. They…
Gray and chilly. Temperatures in the 40s with winds gusting at 14 miles and more. There is still one pile of snow in The Sunken Garden. Still, I got a lot done over the past week. First I found out that the old daffodils growing here when we bought our house in 1979 are Van Sion, a heritage variety. I have Kathy Purdy of Cold Climate Gardening to thank for the ID. Van Sion is a beautiful…
Gray and chilly. Temperatures in the 40s with winds gusting at 14 miles and more. There is still one pile of snow in The Sunken Garden. Still, I got a lot done over the past week. First I found out that the old daffodils growing here when we bought our house in 1979 are Van Sion, a heritage variety. I have Kathy Purdy of Cold Climate Gardening to thank for the ID. Van Sion is a beautiful frilly…
Most of us go to the drugstore for all manner of over the counter remedies, but it wasn’t so long ago, that people turned to plants for their remedies. Even now, some of us know that poppies and foxgloves still provide us with medicines, but others are quite forgotten. Coltsfoot grows along my road. Its yellow dandelion-like flowers mean spring is here. It often grows along roadsides where the soil has been disturbed. The brilliant flowers are quite…
Finally I have blooming flowers other than houseplants to report on Bloom Day. I planted scillas and a few Glory of the Snow (Chionodoxa) in the grass a few years ago. Yesterday, when I tramped through all the dead tansy stems from last year, out to the new Potager my eye caught these two tiny plants pushing up through the rough stems and weeds. I can tell you that I have never planted any little bulbs in this…
It is early in daffodil season in my part of the world. This photo shows part of a low stone wall in Charlemont, the adjoining town, fronted by a show of daffodils, among the earliest I see. The wall faces south, providing protection and warmth, and cheering those of us who pass by and are weary of winter gray. Charlemont is also the home of the Mystery Daffodil Planter. Several years ago, small clumps of daffodils popped up…