I am celebrating Garden Blogger's Bloom Day with special pleasure because the blooms have been reluctant to open because of rain, floods and the cold. Above is Dicentra eximia or fringed leaf bleeding heart. This grows against the house foundation right by the side door and is one of the first to bloom. I am sure this is because the foundation on the south side of the house creates a heat sink. It is very cheering this cold…
In 1908 a new trolley bridge started bringing milk, cotton products and passengers from Colrain to Shelburne Falls. In 1929 the trolley was no longer needed and the bridge became the Bridge of Flowers. The transformation began when Antoinette Burnham looked at the neglected bridge and thought that surely a bridge that could grow so many weeds, could grow flowers instead. That was the beginning of the conversion from industry to garden. Julius Blassberg bought the bridge and…
Invasive plants can be beautiful but they are also destructive. Gardeners are becoming more aware of the dangers of invasive plants, as well as the benefits of pollinator plants. We are now realizing there is more to designing our gardens than aesthetics. We have to consider our environment, how plants and wildlife interact. One of the most common and often used invasive shrubs is Burning bush, Euonymus alatas. It is popular for its beautiful red foliage in the…
Forty-nine years ago Wisconsin senator Gaylord Nelson, looked at the disastrous 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara, and thought that more attention needed to be paid to environmental problems. Thus he planned an Earth Day ‘national teach-in on the environment. He chose Pete McCloskey, a Republican Congressman, and Denis Hayes from Harvard to work with him creating this event. To make use of the energy of the young the date of April 22, during college vacations, was chosen.…
In 1997 Eveline Macdougall visited the Great Falls Community Garden in Turners Falls. She looked at that garden, and thought of all the gardens her family had grown. She thought about her own frustrations trying to ‘squeeze plants into tiny outdoor spaces while longing for a real garden.’ Then inspired by the Great Falls garden she turned to her friend Suzette Snow-Cobb who helped start the Great Falls garden for advice. Macdougall then began creating a community garden…
Bloom Day! The purple, and gold crocus I planted last year have bloomed! The gold crocus is just about done, and the purple crocus no longer seem to be attracting the honey bees. I think the bees drank them both dry. This photo has a second purpose - besides showing off the blooms - I wanted a record of where they were coming up so I could plant more this fall. I love scillas - in large swaths.…
Thomas Jefferson (April 13, 1743-July 4, 1826) was a man of many parts. We all know he had a plantation, but I never knew he inherited it from his father along with a lot of debts. He graduated from the College of William and Mary, but I didn’t know he practiced law. Briefly. He represented his county in the Virginia House of Burgesses, but I didn’t know he served as the second Governor of Virginia from 1779-1781. I…
Many of us gardeners eventually come to embrace shrubs because we need a low maintenance garden. I believe that in my new town garden, I have gotten a shrub garden that requires less work, and works with the limitations of my soil and space. I have concentrated on water loving shrubs like button bush, elderberry, and willow, but the shrub list is long. The earliest shrub to bloom in our neighborhood is Hammamelis or witch hazel. My neighbor’s…
Walter Cudnohufsky says “Design is Optimism Personified.” I saw Cudnohufsky’s design and optimism myself, one day about 11 years ago. “Keep talking. Keep talking,” Cudnohufsky said as my Heath neighbors, Lynn Perry and Rol Hesselbart, brought out all their concerns about the landscape surrounding their new garage. I was invited to watch Cudnohufsky at work. It was a lively consultation and I was amazed at how patiently he listened, how carefully he observed the area. Lynn visited me…
A culinary herb garden is almost a necessity for gardeners, because so many of us enjoy cooking. Even if cooking is not our first love, it is hard to make meals without some basic herb for almost every dinner. It can be expensive if we have to buy our parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme, but a small culinary herb garden, preferably not too far from the kitchen door is a thrifty answer. Fortunately for me the area by…