elsa bakalar - Commonweeder

Three Women, Three Gardens

Layanee of Ledge and Gardens came to Heath to see Elsa Bakalar's gardens, now owned by Scott Prior and his wife Nanny Vonnegut. I joined her, pleased to have an…

Muse Day August 2010

Yesterday I spent the afternoon and evening preparing for, and enjoying a memorial for Elsa Bakalar, my friend, neighbor, colleague, and garden mentor who passed away in January at the…

Daylily Tour

Now that I have begun a Daylily Bank I have been paying more and more attention to the daylily family. Hyperion is a tall classic bright yellow daylily. Mine was…

Daylilies for All

Daylily season is upon us. Even those who can't name many flowers recognize dayliles, those growing in glorious organce by the road side, and those in shades of cream and…

Thirty Years Between the Rows

How has your garden changed in 30 years? How has your life changed in 30 years? As a person who moved every two or three years (on average) for the…

Bloom Record for Today

Last year this nameless tree peony did not bloom at all, but this year there will be three blooms. My dark pink tree peony only had one blossom, but paler…

A Trio for Trillium

Last Sunday was muddy and dreary but the group that gathered in front of the blazing fire at Curtis House in Ashfield was as bright and sunny as a summer…

Fashions for the Ladies Who Mulch

The Ladies Who Lunch need to refresh their wardrobes with a new little black dress from time to time. While I was in Boston for the Flower Show I stepped…