Bridge of Flowers – Sale and Stroll

  • Post published:05/15/2016
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Yesterday the Bridge of Flowers held its annual Plant Sale and it was a great success! The sale included perennials from the Bridge itself as well as from area gardeners. Shrubs and trees as well: pussy willows, thornless raspberries, Japanese maples. Lots of special peonies! Japanese jack in the pulpits. Amazing. Hillside Nursery sent a few of its rare wildflowers down. In addition the master Gardeners were there to do soil tests, there were garden books from the…

Bridge of Flowers – a Public Garden, a Public Joy

  • Post published:05/12/2016
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May 6th was American Public Gardens Day, but the American Public Gardens Association (AGPA) says official festivities continue right through Mother’s Day. The Bridge of Flowers, possibly our most notable local public garden, will not have any special festivities, but the community enjoys the festive and floriferous atmosphere every day from April 1 to October 30. The APGA defines a public garden as one “that maintains collections of plants for the purposes of public education and enjoyment, in…

Children, Seeds and New Worlds Opening

  • Post published:05/08/2016
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  It has been my privilege and joy to spend a few Thursday afternoons with Kate Bailey’s first grade at Four CornersSchool reading about, and learning about seeds. They were already quite learned. They not only knew that apples held a star in their centers, that fruit pits were seeds; they also knew that strawberry seeds were on the outside of the fruit, not inside. They are all so eager to share information about their own gardens and…

Water Loving Japanese Primroses

  • Post published:05/04/2016
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These newly planted Japanese primroses are one of the reasons I am so excited this spring. A friend invited me to dig the primroses where they were invading her lawn. We did not make much of a dent in the patch that is thriving in front of her house and I am imagining that it will not be very long before they cover the ground in  this bed where it is very wet. Although you can barely tell…

Pruning Flowering Shrubs

  • Post published:05/02/2016
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  Last weekend I attended an introductory pruning demonstration given by Lilian Jackman at WilderHillGardens arranged by the Greenfield Garden Club, of which I am a proud member. I am a bad pruner. I am much too timid, which I am sure is almost as bad as being a too bold pruner. When I face a shrub that has spent blossoms, or dead or broken branches I know what to do with my pruning shears. Take out the…

Y is for Yes! and Z is for Zinnia

  • Post published:04/30/2016
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A is  for Yes! at Nasami Farm.  Yes, is what I wanted to say to almost every plant set out at the  special opening of Nasami  Farm yesterday. I am not the only one saying yes as members of the New England Wildflower Society got a special invitation to tour the Nasami Greenhouses and get a headstart on our shopping. Nasami Farm will be open on Saturdays and Sundays from now until October. There is a wonderful selection…

X is for Xerces Society on the A to Z Challenge

  • Post published:04/29/2016
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 X is for the Xerces Society.   "The Xerces Society is a nonprofit organization that protects wildlife through the conservation of invertebrates and their habitat. Established in 1971, the Society is at the forefront of invertebrate protection worldwide, harnessing the knowledge of scientists and the enthusiasm of citizens to implement conservation programs." What are invertebrates? All creatures without a backbone which includes, bees, butterflies and other creatures you might find in the garden like worms. It is the…

W is for Waldsteinia on the A to Z Challenge

  • Post published:04/27/2016
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  W is for Waldsteinia fragarioides, otherwise known as barren strawberry. Indeed, the leaves resemble strawberry leaves and there is some similarity of the small golden spring blossoms to strawberry blossoms, but this is a native groundcover and produces no edible fruits. In Heath I had Waldsteinia fragarioides growing in the shade where it ultimately covered a sizeable swath of soil. It is obviously hardy (it thrives in Heath) and the deer pass it by. It is a trouble free plant…

V is for Violets on the A to Z Challenge

  • Post published:04/26/2016
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 V is for Violets on the A to Z Challenge. Violets have always been a part of our lawn, more correctly called a flowery mead because of the all the 'weeds' growing in it. And yet dandelions, clover and violets provide nectar and pollen for pollinators in the  early spring when very few plants are blooming. Of course, there are many more types of violet and you can read all about them on the American Violet Society website. …

U is for Umbelliferae

  • Post published:04/25/2016
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U is for Umbelliferae. Umbelliferae is the family of plants that includes carrots, cilantro/coriander/ dill,  lovage, parsley, parsnips and Queen Anne's Lace. As well as a few others. I hadn't thought about the range of this family until I read Vegetable Literacy, a wonderfully informative horticultural book - and cook book filled with delicious recipes. The name Umbelliferae refers to the type of flower form - umbel. I wrote about Queen Anne's Lace here  and identified it as Daucus…