I have written about SASTRUGI before. This word from the Russian refers to the snow waves that many of us notice after a snowfall, but sastrugi can take many other forms than the gentle ripples in the snow caused by the wind. We have had a least a few snow showers every day for the past week, and enough wind to blow the light dry snow across our field and into the Sunken Garden, created when the old…
Recently I’ve been writing about the books you read, for information and inspiration. Now I want to talk about the book you write, your garden journal. Garden journals are as individual as a gardener’s garden. I have seen beautifully kept journals, annotated with delicate sketches and drawings. Mine have never looked like that. I’ve seen journals devotedly kept every day of the year, with notes on the weather, what’s been done in the garden,…
Temperatures have been in the single digits for days now, but here in Heath, and I think all over the country, we are feeling a change in the climate as our new president takes office. Never has the phrase Global Warming been so positive as we warm to each other, warm to the tasks at hand. We were all feeling the warmth of good fellowship and optimism last night at the Inaugural pot luck at the Community Hall,…
Temperatures have been in the single digits for days now, but here in Heath, and I think all over the country, we are feeling a change in the climate as our new president takes office. Never has the phrase Global Warming been so positive as we warm to each other, warm to the tasks at hand.We were all feeling the warmth of good fellowship and optimism last night at the Inaugural pot luck at the Community Hall, to…
Dominique Browning of the late lamented House and Garden wrote in The Wall Street Journal recently about changes in the White House as the Obamas prepare to move in, and some changes that could be made."A green lifestyle shouldn't be an unaffordable status symbol; it has to become mainstream. With the Obamas' leadership, America can trace a path to a more compassionate, respectful, sustainable way of keeping house." she said.While I certainly look to the Obamas to set…
This abutilon was featured in my first Bloom Day post almost a year ago. It is in bloom nearly every month of the year and a pleasure every day. I was so happy to discover May Dreams Gardens and Carol's generous community of bloomers. I was a new blogger and it was my first experience of community and help with a new enterprise. My large Christmas cactus which was so maginificent a few days ago is starting to…
This posting just in from my friend Peter in Connecticut.Hello, Pat!This morning I was greeted by the arrival (or blooming) of my Inaugural poppies! Once every four years they bloom, although these haven't bloomed since January 1997 - they refused to bloom in 2001 or 2005 when George W. Bush took the oath of office. They're possibly, according to some nomenclatural set of rules, in the same class as Christmas or Epiphany cacti as far as blooming according…
Wordless Wednesday.
Going into a new year I have resolutions about making my gardens more beautiful, more productive, and greener. The term sustainability is a companion to organic in the gardening world these days. As usual, books, and now online sites, old and new will travel with me in my labors throughout the new year. My 1978 edition of Rodale’s Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening has been a loyal companion by my side ever since it was published. New…
January is the month when I welcome silence. December is gone with all its noise. Gone are the jingle bells, carols in the stores, party music, laughter, and loud conversations in crowded rooms. Gone are the midnight shrieks and horns on New Year's Eve. Gone are the snaps and snarls of overtired, over-scheduled, short-tempered spouses and children. Here in the country January is silent. Silence is almost an impossibility in the city. One summer…