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…
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…
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 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…
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. This single snowdrop got tired of waiting like the rest of her indolent family. I could almost hear her shout "I am…
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…
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…
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…
Bloom Day here in western Massachusetts has been creeping in. The temperature this morning, as many mornings was 40 degrees with temperatures sometimes rising into the 50s. These tiny yellow crocuses have been in bloom for over a month. Some days are sunny, some are cloudy. Some days are cold and some are unexpectedly warm. These little flowers surprise all the dog walkers who regularly walk past our house. I wish I knew their name. I should explain…
Two books came to me recently; the first Shrubs & Hedges and the other The Complete Book of Ferns. Good timing for me because all this mild weather (so far) has sent me daydreaming and planning spring projects. A garden is never-done. There are always changes to be made because of mistakes or because we just really need something different. Shrubs & Hedges: Discover, Grow and Care for the World’s Most Popular Plants by Eva Monheim (Cool Springs…