The end of August view from the upstairs window shows not only a full garden, but my most recent project of a wine bottle hose guard on the left. Also in the center of that bed is a beautiful glass "flower" given to us by the sister of a dear friend. You can't see it very well here, but as soon as I see the sun shining on it I'll give a better photo. I wanted to get…
Last week I wrote about several neighborhood gardens that would fall into the category of The Foodscape Revolution which also happens to be the name of a book, The Foodscape Revolution: Finding a better way to make space for food and beauty in your garden by Brie Arthur. Arthur would have applauded the Chicoine/Ayers garden which eliminated grass completely from the tree strip, as well as the front and side yards. Most of the back yard was also…
My neighbor Wendy came over to our house to watch the solar eclipse. You can see our scientific arsenal, a colander, a red plastic dish pan filled with water and a big stainless steel bowl filled with water. We did not have any of the special glasses but we heard that you could watch the eclipse as a reflection in water, even if it was only a bowl of water. You can also hold up a colander with…
The edible garden tour arranged by Rabbi Andrea Cohen-Kiener of TempleIsrael took us to several gardens within walking distance of my house. The first garden we visited is a very pretty small garden created by Lisa Ranghelli and Bram Moreinis. This was their first garden and they showed their wisdom by saying they thought it best to start small. We admired the design, the assortment of vegetables and the exclamation points of marigolds. But we also noticed a…
Here is the August Bloom Day report. The summer of 2017 has been relatively cool, with only a few days that went over 89 degrees. We also had rain - almost sufficient to my desires. The hellstrip in front of the house is full of bloom - daylilies, bee balm, yarrow, coneflowers, and marigolds. Weeds and fallen sycamore bark as well. Several of the roses are blooming again. Folksinger, a Griffith Buck rose, is the most enthusiastic. Thomas…
What is a weed? How do I get rid of weeds? These are two of the questions gardeners agonize over. I own a wonderful book, Weeds of the Northeast by Uva, Neal and DiTomasso, that offers a page of extensive information of about 160 weeds, and a facing page of photographs showing those weeds in their various stages of development and flower form from baby seedling to seed at the end of the season. I use this book…
Cooks can hardly start a dinner without peeling with an onion, or some garlic, or maybe a shallot. For all the common necessity of onions in the kitchen, or even the gourmet at the table, alliums are not difficult to grow.I have grown regular onions and garlic. Onions can be grown from seed. The onions I usually grow begin as a handful of sets, immature plants that you can buy at local garden stores in the spring,…
Last Sunday I went on an education edible garden tour and learned about the Squash Borer. In the first garden we visited we all noticed a yellowing and flopping squash plant. Was it lack of watering? No! We were seeing the fatal damage caused by a squash borer. Though I grew squash in Heath for many years I never had squash borers so this was quite an education for me. Espececially since when we got home and looked…
Those involved with the creation of the High Line gardens in New York City were always aware of their predecessor, the Bridge of Flowers in ShelburneFalls. Both gardens make use of disused railroad/trolley tracks to create a beautiful garden that will welcome strollers from the neighborhood and visitors from far away. But there is a difference between these two public gardens that goes beyond physical scale. In Gardens of the High Line by Piet Oudolf and Rick Darke…
If you have berries in your backyard you can have fresh blueberries on your cereal in the morning and raspberries on your shortcake or ice cream for your dinner dessert. As far as I am concerned these are the easiest backyard berries to plant and harvest, but I am considering adding thornless blackberries. No matter what kind of berries you want, the first thing to do is choose your site and prepare your soil. All berries need at…