Yesterday's New York Times had a story about how a group of Californians were harvesting unwanted fruit from old orchards and homewoners who had ornamental fruit trees and bringing it to local hard pressed food banks.I told this same story on Saturday in my Between the Rows column about how local farmers here bring leftover produce to the Center for Self-Reliance on Osgood Street (413-773-5029) in Greenfield after the Saturday Farmers Market! And then I learned that it…
How can it be? The leaves are turning and the other night there was a frost warning. I had a fire in the wood stove the past two days. This year, as we approach the heating season with some trepidation, and a new (efficient we hope) heating system, we are still getting our firewood ready and hoping that the Farmer's Almanac's prediction of a very cold winter is wrong.
Marion Ives, the metalsmith (and Hawley neighbor) calls this copper and brass garden gate, currently on display at the Norman Rockwell Museum Good Morning Glory. I think of it as Good morning. Glory! which is the way I feel when I walk into my garden early in the day. This detail shows not only the morning glories, but the dragonfly which I find so charming.Although Marion has shown her work at the Norman Rockwell Museum in Stockbridge before,…
What is more beautiful than a bountiful vegetable garden? Why should the President of the United States be denied such a view? Why should he be denied a meal fresh fresh fresh out of the garden. Why shouldn't he encourage all of us to grow healthful organic gardens instead of arguing with our neighbors over the state of our lawn? Why shouldn't he donate some of the harvest to a DC food pantry?Roger Doiron founded Kitchen Gardeners International…
Planting a new bed is exciting, but also has elements of discomfort. Its kind of like letting your hair grow out - there is that wretched in between stage, neither long nor short. But there is always the vision of what it will be. After I had a strong young man remove the sod from the end of one of our Lawn Beds, the soil was revealed as dry and not promising. Still I finally had a space…
My Black Beauty lilies are planted in the herb bed along the piazza in front of the house. Here their tall turk's cap blossoms are high in the sun, but their roots are well shaded by the tarragon, garlic chives and bee balm.They have lived up to their publicity. They are trouble free vigorous growers and are considered one of the best lilies of the 20th century. I have had no trouble with disease or pests since I…
I am not a flower arranger. I do not do arrangements. In fact, I don't have many flowers in my summer garden, so I rarely even think about making an arrangement. However, as a garden columnist and blogger, I am known as A Gardener. Surely, as A Gardener I ought to be able to find a few flowers to stick in a vase without disgracing myself. Thus, when no one signed up to do the church flowers yesterday,…
Lilian Jackman, owner, grower and general factotum of Wilder Hill Gardens, invited me over to see the late summer garden. I found her at her shady potting bench, situated so that she could keep working in the heat of the day. I admired the thought that went into the design and siting of the potting bench, but did not feel up to the concept of working all morning, having a little lunch and digesting time and then setting…
Earlier this summer I bought this sourwood tree at the New England Wildflower Society's (NEWFS) nursery at Nasami Farm. It was an impulse purchase, but I was sure we would find a place for it. No brilliant ideas until a couple of weeks ago when we decided that our ornamental plum is diseased and needs to be taken out. The sourwood would be a perfect replacement, but it meant breaking sod and enlarging the Lawn Bed to give…
One of the many joys of blueberries is that they don't have to be picked the instant they are ripe. We've been picking since early this month, but there was something of a hiatus during the days of the Heath Fair, and immediately after. It takes us a while to recover from the Fair, but since we are regaining our energy my husband joined me at the blueberry patch yesterday where the berries hang thickly, all big and…