The Master Gardeners organized a wonderful garden tour to Philadelphia and environs. Both Chanticleer and the Mt.CubaCenter gave us the shade of a woodland and I am so glad both were included. The first garden we went to was Chanticleer. Once the Rosengarten estate, it opened as a public garden in 1993. I had expected lush, but neat beds of exotic flowers, but what I found at Chanticleer was a peaceful garden with large potted plants in the…
On this July Garden Blogger's Bloom Day in Massachusettss my blooms are quite spread out, although I am looking forward to clusters of blooming daylilies very soon. On our divided hellstrip we have several daylilies. I got lucky in this section with congenial wine-y colors on the bee balm, daylily and echinacea. There are daylilies in several places in the garden, but I can guarantee I don't remember many of their names. In between the South and North…
Recently I met with Michael Schwartz at the Naugatuck Valley Community College in Connecticut to visit the rose trial gardens of both Earth-Kind roses and the newer organization A.R.T.S. trials. The American Rose Trials for Sustainability (A.R.T.S.) was founded in 2012 when the All America Rose Selections (AARS) closed its doors. Schwartz is the trial director of both gardens, as well as the current president of the A.R.T.S. organization. Earth-Kind roses have been around for a number of…
It's time for the Annual Daylily Festival at 23 Picket Lane in Greenfield. There will be vendors selling their arts and crafts as well. The garden opens at 9 am and the Festival will close at 4 pm. Visitors can walk through the woods that Richard Willard has been clearing and weeding for several years, or you an take a buggy ride out to the daylily fields. Daylilies are marvelous plants, beautiful in many shades and colors and…
During the Master Gardeners tour of beautiful gardens, we came upon a young couple with their photographer taking historic photographs under the tranquil shade of old trees. The groom was handsome and the bridge was beautiful and wearing a gorgeous wedding dress with delicate lace and a train. The photographer had endless directions for the happy couple - please kiss - now, bride, look demure - now look adoringly at each other. All was going swimmingly, although I…
Blue-eyed osteospurmum on the Bridge of FlowersUntil I began working on the Bridge of Flowers committee some years ago, I never realized how important annuals are to having a really flowery garden all season. Those of us who have perennial gardens accept that most perennials are in bloom for only three weeks or so. With deadheading and pruning we might be able to get a second flush of bloom. With careful planning, we can create a design that…
In 1982 I bought Theme Gardens by Barbara Damrosch, a book that promised how to plan, plant, and grow 16 gloriously different gardens. My eye was immediately caught by the idea of a garden for old roses. In the spring of 1982 we were embarking on only our third year in Heath where we had a big lawn in front of the house and planted a big vegetable garden. I had never given much thought to flowers except…
The world needs more pollinator gardens. The Bee Fest organized by the Second Congregational Church and the Franklin County Bee Keepers Association last week included talks by bee experts Lynn-Adler and Susannah Lerman, researchers at the University of Massachusetts and Kim Flottum the editor of Bee Culture Magazine. All gave us information about problems facing pollinators and how we can help. Susannah Lerman told us about her research which showed that mowing a non-herbicide/pesticide and un-fertilized lawn every…
On this June Garden Blogger's Bloom Day the rose have burst into bloom. It has been a cold and wet spring, but our last couple of days have been in the 90s. The weather gods show just how unpredictable they can be. For me, this spring is is the first really floriferous June we have had. All the roses but one are new plants and they are really showing off. This peach Drift rose blooms right next to…
It is Garden Tour season! So many gardens to see, to enjoy and to learn from. It could be said that every garden is designed around the flaws – I mean challenges - of the site. E. Bruce Brooks and his wife Taeko stood with me in front of his Northampton house and garden and we looked up at the tall brick building. “Our design aims to minimize the too tall house that sits on a too small…